C f bentley, p.36
C. F. Bentley, page 36
Something bothered him. Something more than raw nerves irritated by the coffee. Sissy had ventured out and come back unharmed. The people loved her.
She seemed only in danger near the Crystal Temple or among the upper castes.
He didn’t have enough information.
Back in the CSS, he’d have access to numerous databases that detailed relationships, money interests, weapons registrations, and many other bits of unrelated information that could be pieced together to make a pattern.
Here, he doubted such databases existed. Law enforcement relied on interviews, and gut instinct, with a little assist from forensics to solve crimes. Jeoff might have more information by now. Jake had no way to contact him. Telephones were few and far between. And he didn’t dare leave Sissy alone long enough to go find one, or even to travel across the city to Law Enforcement HQ H Prime.
So he paced, checking the view out the window seven stories down, the locks on all four exterior doors, and the mood among the children who littered the floors, the chairs, and every path he tried to take.
Grim children with wide, frightened eyes. No Jilly to lighten the mood with a joke or a funny face or a wickedly sarcastic imitation of her elders.
A sharp knock on the door startled him. He jumped to reach it before the children flung it open without safety precautions.
Ashel glared at him, stamping her foot. Answering the door was her job, one she performed with enthusiasm.
Jake growled at her. She ran screaming for the protection of her mother’s apron. Maigrie screamed with equal shrillness. The crash and clatter of kitchen tools hitting the floor echoed throughout the apartment.
Everyone cringed. Including Jake.
He unsheathed his dagger and opened the door a crack. Suddenly he felt foolish. An enemy wouldn’t bother knocking. Still he needed to make a show of fierceness, to soothe his own nerves, if not Sissy’s and her family’s.
“Forgive me if I’ve come at a bad time,” Gil said, blinking rapidly, as if confused.
Or masking other, malicious emotions.
“Mind if I search you for weapons first?” Jake didn’t wait for an answer. With the dagger at Gil’s throat, he used his free hand to pat him down.
The fact that Sissy made no protest at his rudeness showed just how on edge they all were.
“You’re clean. What do you want?” Jake snarled.
“May I speak with Laudae Sissy?”
“You may,” Sissy called. She moved from the floor and her teaching games to a threadbare overstuffed chair. She sat with her back to the window, the late summer sunlight making a corona around her like a halo. She’d learned a few things about majesty in the six months she’d spent at the Crystal Temple. As High Priestess, she was as close to being reigning queen of Harmony as anyone could be.
Except she had the oligarchy of the HC to contend with.
The imagery was not lost on Gil. He knelt on one knee, head bowed before her.
“Laudae, I’ve come to beg you to return to the Crystal Temple.” “Why?” she asked.
The burden of continuing the interview became Gil’s. Jake knew he was a master at twisting words to his own purpose. Better at it than Gregor.
“The people have lost confidence in the Temple and the HC. We need you to return as a symbol of solidarity and stability.” “A lie. I’ve had enough of lies.”
“You are the only one who can cut through the lies to the core of the truth.”
“Every time I try, someone tries to kill me. The breach of the Covenant that represents is… is… ” She looked to Jake for the proper word. “Anathema,” he supplied. She still looked puzzled. “Blasphemy,” he tried.
She nodded. “Blasphemy at the highest level. I refuse to return to Crystal Temple until the per… per…
arsonist is found.” “Perpetrator,” Jake said too late. She shrugged and settled for her own word.
“But…
but that may take weeks! We may never know.” Gil began to shake. “The Spacers and the Military are already suggesting that any action taken by the HC is not valid until you return to the Crystal Temple.”
“You’ve shut down the government, My Laudae,” Jake smirked. “That takes guts. Means no one gets paid. No one can authorize emergency responses. No one can organize defense if the Marils invade. If the HC realizes this, maybe that will hurry up the investigation. Or at least get them to cooperate.”
Gil blanched and gasped. Sweat broke out on his brow. He wrung his hands.
Was he that good an actor?
“Will they invade?” Sissy asked Jake, ignoring Gil.
“If they monitor our communications as closely as the Spacers monitor theirs, then they may be tempted. Of course, the few Spacers I’ve met are independent enough they may respond with or without authority.”
“My Laudae,” Gil whispered. “Please, at least move to one of the smaller city Temples. That way you make a show of tacitly approving a continuance of Temple rituals. You cannot deny the people, all the castes, the comfort of continuing on Harmony’s path.”
“Temple life continued when I was at the burial caves and when I was in hospital.”
“Both times you left Crystal Temple you went to Temple-approved places. You remained connected to the Crystal Temple symbolically and spiritually.”
“Here, you’ve snubbed them all,” Jake said. “Kind of ironic considering your origins and that they disdain every caste but their own.”
“Enough, Jake,” Sissy reprimanded. Though her tone shared a bit of mirth with him.
“Please, Laudae. Do not continue on this destructive path,” Gil pleaded.
“I will remove to the closest Temple on one condition.”
“Which is?” Gil looked up with a modicum of hope in his eyes.
Jake scowled. He wanted Sissy to be strong and independent. He wasn’t sure she knew how to do that without being foolish.
“That everyone at Crystal Temple and the HC cooperate fully with Jake in his investigation of the arson. I mean answering every question truthfully when he asks. No deferring to underlings, no delays, and no dismissing him as insignificant. And we find the person who requisitioned the makings of gunpowder through the kitchen.”
Gil sat back on his heels.
Jake grinned from ear to ear. His Sissy had learned a lot. “Laudae, there is no precedent for that.”
“There is no precedent for a reigning High Priestess condemning the entire Temple and demanding they face the criminal laws like anyone else.”
“My Laudae, no!”
“Yes!
“And the time shall come
When Beloved Harmony
Lashes out in anger
Out of the ashes of
Discord Will Rise
One who loves us all,
Appeases Harmony,
Brings Chaos,
And restores life.”
“I… I must consult with My Laud Gregor.”
“Do that. Tell him I will go to the local Temple as a gesture of… ” “Of good faith,” Jake gave her the phrase.
“Of good faith. But if he does not agree to my demands and does not guarantee my safety with his own life, then I will disappear. I will break the government and the Temple. Chaos will reign and I will have fulfilled the prophecy of Discord’s chosen one.”
“Very well, My Laudae.” Guilliam backed out.
“Remind me not to make you angry with me, My Laudae,” Jake whistled through his teeth.
“As soon as my girls and I settle in at the nearest Temple, you will return to the Crystal Temple and begin your investigation. Bring in any expert you think you need. I will give you written authority for… “
“Blanket authority. Covers everything.” At last! He could requisition the formula for Badger Metal.
That no longer seemed important.
If he got his hands on the formula, he was obligated to return to Pammy and the CSS.
That no longer felt like home.
Now that Sissy had put the fear of the gods into these people about invasion maybe they’d listen to the CSS proposal for peace. He liked that idea more and more.
Except…
when he left, he’d have to say good-bye to Sissy. Forever.
Chapter 55
Gregor pushed the lever of the heavy mover forward, just as he’d been shown. The machine lumbered forward, its scoop lowered. At the proper place, the construction Worker sitting beside him signaled he should stop and operate the scoop. He switched to a knob and wiggled it around until it got under a small bit of charred debris. Then he wiggled it some more and the scoop tilted back.
A hover cam captured it all. Little Johnny stood out of the way, watching carefully, taking notes, and directing another media Professional with a stationary camera.
“Too much, My Laud,” the Worker shouted over the noise of the machine. He dropped his hand over Gregor’s to guide his movement.
Gregor had to bite his lip to keep from jerking his hand out from under the other man’s. Now was not the time or place to stand on formality.
If he’d had his way, Little Johnny and his camera would have been banned from this symbolic operation. Guilliam had convinced him the people needed to see him doing something positive to counter the rumors flying through the city about the rift between Sissy and Crystal Temple.
Just a little more jiggling and the debris rested solidly on the scoop. A pitifully small amount considering the vastness of the fire’s destruction. But it was a ceremonial beginning of the cleanup.
Two full days had passed since the fire. Two full days without a word from Sissy. Just those blasted images on the television of her accepting the adoration of the people. The media still reported her living with her family and often showed her with her adoring brother Stevie. She even performed a special blessing for Stevie and his spouse Anna at the announcement of a new baby on the way.
A small ceremony that the entire empire watched through Little Johnny’s hover cam.
“Now guide the lever backward just a little.”
Gregor obeyed the instruction. When he had backed the machine away from the debris field, he stopped everything, unfastened his safety harness, and jumped down. The foreman walked over to him, hand extended. Gregor handed him his bright green hard hat rather than shake the proffered hand. He’d endured enough familiarity from the lesser castes. No more today.
A semicircle of Temple observers clapped their hands a few times to signal their appreciation of his work. He bowed slightly. None of them wore black for the lost acolyte. He frowned at their disrespect. They should at least mourn the loss of their residence! He’d wear black until the new wing was finished and he’d moved back in. Then he’d probably find another excuse. He liked black. It seemed more formal and majestic than the bright jewel tones the others wore.
Gratefully, he turned back toward the sanctuary of his office and almost ran down Guilliam.
“I’ve told you not to hover so closely!” Then Gregor saw Jake behind Guilliam. Jake without Sissy. Heat and life drained out of him.
Only something dire would separate that man from his charge.
“My Laudae is safely settled in the small Temple that serves Lord Chauncey’s factories,” Jake said. He looked gaunt with weariness. Dark-blond stubble stained his face. New worry lines radiated out from his eyes. And his hands twitched around the hilts of several weapons. “That is privileged information. For her safety we made the move in darkness, before dawn. I don’t fear the people. I fear the people who can afford their own televisions and watch the news. The ones with access to vehicles and licenses to buy gasoline. The ones with the knowledge to create gunpowder and requisition the ingredients through your kitchen, My Laud.”
“Laudae Sissy has agreed to allow Temple life and ritual to continue,” Guilliam said. He looked nearly as weary and worried as the bodyguard.
“For now,” Jake spat out. He’d lost the tiny bit of deference he’d once maintained in his posture.
“My office, now,” Gregor barked. He stalked into the administrative wing that bordered the old palace and ceremonial centers of the Crystal Temple.
Jake took the lead, warily checking every cross corridor and shadowy alcove along the way as if he expected assassins to leap out at them at every turn.
Not good.
“What?” Gregor asked as he settled in his chair. He gestured magnanimously for the two men to seat themselves.
Guilliam took the straight visitor’s chair, grumphing and growling rather than speaking.
Jake prowled, touching this, peering at that, removing a book and replacing it neatly back where he’d found it.
The man made Gregor nervous, and not just from his readiness to draw a weapon.
“Stop that!” Gregor finally shouted at Jake. “I don’t have to put up with you. I can have you sent back to your unit.” “I’m afraid you can’t,” Guilliam said.
Jake grinned like a wild animal catching a glimpse of his long sought after prey.
“Why not? I am High Priest here.”
“But Laudae Sissy is High Priestess.” Guilliam’s words were so quiet Gregor had to strain to hear them. “She has appointed Lieutenant Jake as her special investigator in the matter of the arson, the ‘no bones’ cult, and the concussion grenade in the park. She orders us to cooperate fully with him, or she will close all Temple activities.”
“She can’t do that!”
“She can and she will,” Jake said. He leaned on Gregor’s desk, face so close Gregor could smell the soap he’d bathed with. He’d moved as quickly as a cat on a mouse. And that feral grin was back. “The people love her. Hover cams follow her everywhere when she steps outside her sanctuary. One word—and she breaks your government and your entire culture. She leaves you vulnerable to riot from within and invasion from without.”
Gregor closed his eyes. He saw in his mind’s eye the communique from the CSS offering peace.
Was this what it was all about? Had the CSS planted a spy to manipulate events to lead him to this choice? He’d be damned if he allowed aliens in to taint the Covenant. He’d find that spy if it was the last thing he did. The communications officer, perhaps?
“I shall order my people to answer all of your questions, fully and honestly,” Gregor said quietly. He had no choice at the moment.
“Starting with you. Now Guilliam has told me that Penelope is your daughter and Marilee was her mother. Penelope is high on my list of suspects. I need to know who else figures in this bloodline.”
“I don’t see what this… “
“Answer!” Jake’s hand rested heavily on his sword hilt. Gregor swallowed his pride and reluctantly gave over control of the situation to a lesser being.
Mary accepted a written note from Ashel through the open window at the back of the Temple guest suite. The oldest of Sissy’s acolytes had assumed a new maturity in accepting responsibility for clandestine communication between Sissy and the outside world.
“Laudae Shanet wishes to speak to you,” Mary announced after she read the note, then set it afire from a ceremonial candle.
“I can’t sit here any longer. All day we’ve been cornered inside. I need to feel Harmony beneath my feet, Empathy upon my back, and the wind in my face. We’ll walk through the park on our way to meet Laudae Shanet,” Sissy jumped up from the armchair her hosts insisted she use. The most comfortable place for their honored guest. It near swallowed her with its squishy cushions and deep seat. She had to tuck her feet under her or let them dangle awkwardly.
“Ashel,” she called out the open window. “Join us.”
“Marshie, too!” she piped back.
“Yes, bring your brother. He doesn’t go out enough.”
Marsh rarely spoke for himself. He tended to sit back and observe the world, big eyes noticing everything, his mouth firmly closed against any comments he might have. In a big, boisterous family, the quiet one often got overlooked. Sissy had done her best when she lived at home to include Marsh in family activities.
“But Jake said… “
“Mary, I don’t care what Jake said. I cannot stay indoors one more minute and keep sane.” Sissy herded her girls together and ushered them out the back door.
“Laudae Shanet is waiting for you at home,” Ashel said, slipping her hand into Sissy’s. “She says that no one at Crystal Temple is happy. And Jake is making a mess of things, scaring people.”
“Jake can be very scary at times,” Sissy agreed.
“I like him,” Marsh whispered, taking her other hand. He had to elbow Suzie out of the way for that honored place.
The six acolytes ranged out around them, chins in the air as if they didn’t care that they had been displaced by Worker children.
“Did you miss me when I was living at the Crystal Temple, Marsh?”
He nodded, reverting to his silent ways.
“We all missed you, Sissy,” Ashel insisted. “Mama especially. She cried herself to sleep for weeks after you left.”
“She was afraid,” Marsh said, his voice so soft Sissy wasn’t certain she heard him correctly.
Sissy let that one rest between them. She didn’t want to let them know how frightened she had been when Laud Gregor so abruptly transformed her from a simple Worker to High Priestess of all Harmony.
“Stevie wandered all over the city at night looking for you. When he couldn’t get in to see you, he started talking to you, but you weren’t there. He just kept talking as if you were; even answering his questions.”
Sissy gulped at that. “Stevie found me sometimes. He helped me read better.”
“Will Jake come to supper?” Marsh asked.
Sissy’s stomach growled to remind her that the dinner hour approached. Her entire family would be gathering to share a meal, to recount the day’s highlights, to laugh together. She missed them all terribly.
Mostly she missed talking to Stevie, exploring ideas, planning the future, thinking up better ways to work at the factory.
“I like Jake, too,” Ashel chimed in. “He’s smart. He taught me how to tie my shoes.” She pointed to the neat pink bows on top of her shoes.
