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  “They? You mean people like Segur or Nimri? The Counselors?”

  “Cainen Nimri is my brother. His real name is Rico.”

  “What?”

  “The first born son of each family generation is taken as a servant of Toth. Rico left us when he was five, and now he’s one of them. They will take my son from me in less than a year. My husband objected, called for a change in the old ways, and—and they killed him. I know they killed him; it was no accident. Talk to my father about it. He likes you. They made it look like an accident, but Counselor Jezru was there, and he—he—ohhh!”

  Gini shuddered, and clapped both hands to her neck, breathing hard. “They’ve seen us,” she gasped. “I must leave.” She jumped up and ran across the sand towards her house, whimpering.

  Michael sat stunned on the boat and watched her disappear in the trees. He got up and followed where she’d gone towards the green glow of the lantern outside her house. His eyes caught movement off to the right; a tall man robed in white, walking away from him, an ethereal figure in the dim light.

  The man was carrying a long staff with him.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Diego silently observed Zeb Jiskra’s interrogation, and then fled from the room when the man’s disciplining began. He paced the hallway, sweating, his big hands clutching at his robe as the screams went on and on. The sound sickened him, and a deep breath relieved a wave of nausea. He was fond of the old fisherman, had served on his boat when they were both younger men. And now this, a direct betrayal to newcomers who had only just arrived. What could bring the man to such an act? His needs were met, good fishing assured by the Counselors Diego selected carefully for his boats. All were children of fisherman like himself, who understood the Yellowfin and their habitat. He had a fine house by the amphitheatre, a place of honor in the village. What more could he want?

  The screams subsided, replaced by moans, and Diego breathed a sigh of relief at knowing Zeb had survived the punishment. He must talk to the man; find out what was bothering him so much he could subject their world to a scrutiny Toth could not possibly tolerate.

  Diego returned to his sleeping quarters, lay back on his bed and sighed again. Perhaps he was losing touch with the people, neglecting his communication with them. Each week he gathered them together to renew the promises of their Lord and give them The Pleasures that showed His affection for them. It was His thanks for the caretaking of all He’d created for their benefit. And Diego knew first-hand how one moment of Pleasures could dull the memory of past agonies of discipline.

  Still, he sensed a growing discontent among the people, and it worried him. More specifically, the acts of the younger counselors worried him, for it seemed that in recent years more and more of them were taking on the responsibilities of exacting discipline on the people without first consulting him. Servants of Toth, yes, but had they forgotten they were first of all Counselors to the families that had nurtured their early years? How long had it been since they’d felt the wrath of their Lord, the pain that set the body afire through every nerve? Had they forgotten the mark of their baptism?

  A sinister thought crept into Diego’s mind. Perhaps these young counselors, and especially Jezrul, who had been a difficult boy, remembered the pain all too well, and sought to repay it in their positions of influence and delegated power over the people.

  This thought disturbed him deeply. He arose and paced his room. He heard a scuffling sound outside, and went to the door, opened it. Two Counselors were holding Zeb up, his feet dragging along the floor as they moved him to another room to rest and consider the cause of his pain. They passed Diego, and as they did so the fisherman raised his head and looked right at him with tear-filled eyes.

  “Why did you let them do that to me?” said Zeb.

  Diego opened his mouth, but no words would come. He stepped back, closed the door and leaned against it. For the first time in years he felt the constriction in his throat, the sting of salt in his eyes. For the first time in years, Diego Segur wept—for a friend’s pain.

  In moments his grief had changed to a quiet anger. Jezrul’s action had undoubtedly been witnessed by the visitors, could arouse even more suspicion than did Zeb’s foolish remarks. It was time to have an understanding with Jezrul and the others. It was time for a reminder that Diego Segur was Counselor to them all, and the right hand of Toth.

  His reverie was broken by a soft knock at his door. He went to it, wiped his eyes dry, and found Cainen Nimri there. His heart jumped, for he’d assigned Cainen as guide to Leader Queal and the most respected family in the village. “Is there a problem?” he asked.

  “I bring a request from Leader Queal, First Counselor. There is some concern among the visitors.”

  Diego ushered the young man inside and listened quietly. Cainen reviewed Queal’s request for more freedom to look around, and the absence of the Counselors at meal times. The request frightened him a little, for it went against Lord Toth’s orders, and could only be granted by Him. “Tell Leader Queal I will consult with Our Lord, and give him the decision in the morning. This request displeases me, I must say. Surely you and the others are doing things that seem to intimidate both our visitors and the people, or we would not hear such a request. What have you personally done to incite this, Counselor?”

  “Nothing, my Counselor. Nothing! I follow the will of Toth in every way.” Nimri’s eyes moved left to where Diego’s staff leaned against a wall. Diego saw it, and thought, I should carry my staff when counseling these young people.

  “Perhaps,” said Diego, “but I hear things that make me think otherwise. Your instructions come from me as I carry them forward from Your Lord, and one of them, you should recall, forbids the possession of your staff of office except at times you’re on a boat, or during the ceremony on Toth’s Day. Have you been carrying your staff with you, Cainen?”

  “No, only as you’ve instructed, First Counselor.”

  “Has anyone else violated this in recent times?”

  Nimri shifted his feet uneasily. “I’m not in a position to say about what the others—”

  “I’m asking you a direct question, and you will answer it! Have you recently seen another Counselor carrying his staff in the village?”

  “Yes—yes, I have. Jezrul, First Counselor. He was carrying it this afternoon, and there have been other occasions.”

  Nimri looked frightened, eyes huge. Diego said quickly, “Thank you, Cainen, and Jezrul will not be told I heard this from you. I think you fear him. Do you?”

  “Yes, First Counselor, we all do.”

  “I see,” said Diego. “Well, that will have to be corrected. You may go now, and give my message to Leader Queal. I have other matters to attend to.” He waved a hand in dismissal, and the young man bowed, turned around, and fled from the room.

  Jezrul had been a difficult boy, and now he’d become an even more difficult man. First Queal’s demands, and now this. Lord Toth would have to be told, and Diego could only hope the man would be in a pleasant mood. He wondered if his own aging body could still hold up under the pain of discipline.

  Diego left his room, descended a winding, stone staircase to the narthex, and followed the short corridor to the vast dome of the sanctuary deep in the hillside. Concentric, semi-circular rows of pews faced a great stone altar, above which hung the symbol of Toth in heavy wood. In front of the altar was a throne of polished stone, on which the transfigured image of their Lord appeared to them. Behind the altar, massive mats hung over the entire wall, hiding the back entrance to the sanctuary and the sacred, closed rooms used by Toth during His early days when He’d walked among the people as a normal man. They were the places of Toth’s creative works, empty now. All equipment had been removed after His transfiguration, and taken by boat to the new temple at sea.

  Diego went behind the altar, pulled out a drawer containing the controls that summoned Toth to the people, and other controls that brought The Pleasures and occasional pain according to Hi
s will. He typed in a sequence of commands, then hurried to sit down in a pew nearest the throne, and folded his hands in his lap.

  Alone in the darkened sanctuary, senses acute, he heard a hum as lights in the domed ceiling came on, and formed a shimmering, pulsating veil around the throne. Suddenly, a man was sitting there, broodingly resting His chin on one fist, and looking away towards His left.

  “Your call is early, Diego. It comes at an inconvenient time. What is it?”

  “An emergency, My Lord, which requires your immediate advice before evening falls. I believe it has become necessary to discipline one of Your Counselors.”

  “Oh?” said Toth, looking suddenly interested. “Who is it, and for what reason?”

  “Jezrul, My Lord. I fear he has been corrupted by his position, and exceeds his authority.” Diego paused as Toth turned. He was now staring into the blazing eyes of His Lord.

  “And what has he done?”

  Diego told him, and as he did so it seemed as if Toth’s eyes narrowed, His chin resting heavier on His fist.

  “I’m aware of Zeb Jiskra’s foolish and dangerous remarks, Diego. Jezrul was correct in bringing him to punishment; would you have done otherwise?”

  “Yes, Lord Toth. I would have talked to him, found out his reasons for such an outburst. I would not have taken him away in a rough manner and aroused the suspicions of our visitors. I’m surprised, Lord, that you know about Zsalt’s indiscretion.”

  Toth’s smile was cadaverous. “Diego, all these years of service, and you forget that nothing escapes my observation. Nothing. I presume, of course, you would have told me about it this evening.”

  “Yes, Lord. I’m sorry.” Someone has told him. How?

  “The Jiskra family has become a problem,” said Toth. “They complain openly about giving up first-born sons to my service, and others are siding with them. This cannot continue, Diego. It is your responsibility to stop it.”

  “Perhaps it’s because they see what power has done to their son, My Lord. Jezrul has today brought his own father to us in terror and without authorization from me.”

  “Jezrul is no longer Zeb Jiskra’s son, Diego. He is my servant, as are you. All that you say or do comes from Me. Your authority comes from Me and your judgments are Mine. Your will is My Will in all things. Has this become a problem for you?”

  Diego felt a tingling inside the baptismal lump at the base of his neck. Warmth crawled down his spine, clutched at him. He stiffened, preparing for what might come. “You are My Lord and the Creator of my world. I have served You faithfully and enforced Your Laws for twenty-five years, and have heard You say that no other has served You as well as I. Lord Toth, have I done something to change your opinion of me?” The warmth in his back had changed to an ache spreading to his shoulders and legs.

  Toth smiled. “I detect softness in your leadership, Diego, a reluctance to forcefully administer The Laws when necessary. Perhaps it’s the burden of twenty-five years, the accumulated weight of difficult decisions. I remember a time when the celebration of My Day included admonishment of those who questioned The Law, another time when you banished half the village to the sea, all according to My Will. The people feared you then, dared not speak in whispers among themselves about perceived injustices that were only their own opinions. They obeyed The Law, and went about their lives in contentment. Now they question My Word, and I will not have it. And I will not have them arousing the suspicions of our visitors!”

  Diego bit his lip as the ache changed to sharp fingers of pain stroking his spine and the long muscles in his legs. “I feel your anger, Lord Toth, but suspicions have been aroused, and I must deal with them. Leader Queal has noted what he calls intimidation by the Counselors. He requests their absence during meal times so he can talk freely with the people, and he wants permission to look around the village without their constant presence. The more we control his activities here the more he will feel we’re hiding things from him. The zeal of certain Counselors has brought this about, My Lord, not any action on my part. Jezrul’s action has contributed greatly, for the visitors saw it, and I must deal with that also. I’m your devoted servant, My Lord Toth. Please trust me.” His words had become a gasp as pain enveloped him. He closed his eyes, and prepared for something much worse.

  And the pain disappeared in an instant.

  “Trust me, Lord,” he said, his eyes still closed.

  Toth was silent for a long moment, and then said, “Look at me, Diego.”

  Diego opened his eyes. His body was shocked numb, as if washed by fire.

  “Perhaps I’ve been too harsh with you. You are indeed my right hand, my extension to the people. I too have times of uncertainty in making judgments. I would like to walk among them, touch them, and assure them of My devotion. I wish that My transfigured state would allow me to feel their touch in return. I know the feelings of age and fatigue, Diego. I am not immortal. I want to trust you. I must trust you, but I feel the day is coming when I will want you here with Me in the new temple.

  “Your will is mine, Lord Toth,” said Diego, his body tingling from toes to fingertips.

  “You will grant Leader Queal’s request, but the visitors must be gone in three days. If they aren’t, I’ll have to consider defensive action to protect our society. Both my ancestors and yours came to this world to escape from such people.”

  “A war, Lord? Can we fight them?”

  “I have powers you have not dreamed of, Diego, powers that existed long before your birth, but never used.”

  “But others will be sure to come, Lord.”

  “In hundreds of years, perhaps. We are far from their worlds, and of little value to them. That has always been so. But you will help me avert a war by seeing to Queal’s satisfaction, and sending him on his way. As to Jezrul, you may admonish the boy, but do not break his spirit. He has qualities which are desirable in a leader if properly tempered.”

  Diego could barely restrain his horror. “Yes, My Lord.”

  Toth leaned forward, and waved one hand limply in benediction. “Diego, My dear servant, you have done well for me in the past. I wish you to do well for Me now, and in the future. My blessings on you.”

  And as the image of Toth flickered and faded, Diego received the gift of Pleasures, beginning at the base of his skull and moving down over his body like a tender mistress with knowledge of every nerve ending. He tilted his head back and gasped as The Pleasures swam through him several times and then were gone, leaving him limp and sweating, and feeling wonderful. In one instant his pain was forgotten, and he was thinking, how fleeting the wrath of My Lord is.

  After an hour, when he’d returned to his room, a terrible doubt crept into Diego’s mind, a doubt that he knew could cost him his life. The inference of Toth had been clear; somehow, He saw Jezrul as a potential First Counselor, a cruel zealot to take the position Diego had held for twenty-five years. How could he consider this? He thought also about the increasingly fluctuating moods of His Lord, hard and punishing one instant, understanding and benevolent the next. Could this mean mental deterioration in a man one step removed from having all attributes of a supreme being? The thought seemed treasonous, blasphemous, but it was there, and it frightened him.

  The fact remained that at least for the present he was in charge. The dissent of the villagers, for whatever reason, would have to be resolved, and the Counselors brought into line. He would begin with Jezrul.

  A young man barely out of his apprenticeship served his evening meal. Diego sent him to fetch Jezrul for a meeting in the sanctuary, and then took his staff and walked down the hall to the room where Zeb was recovering from his discipline. The room was bare except for a cot where the fisherman lay on his back, one arm draped across his face. The man appeared to be sleeping, but his body tensed as Diego came to his side. He moved his arm, looked up at Diego, and his staff.

  “So, you’ve come personally to finish the job. Why don’t you just kill me, and be done with it?”
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  “Please, old friend, I came to see how you’re doing. You’re free to leave whenever you wish.”

  “How can you call me friend? You ordered my punishment, and then left me to them, and only the thought of my family kept me alive.”

  “You’ve said foolish things to our visitors, and questioned The Law in public. Toth is displeased, and considers you a problem. You could have been killed, Zeb, your family left with nobody to provide for them. I could have banished you to sea with the others, and certain death from the Charni that guard the routes to the outer islands. Would you rather such a sentence be passed on your entire family? No, Zeb, your pain was the least of what could have happened to appease Our Lord.”

  “Our Lord,” said Zeb bitterly. He sat up and glared at Diego. “He’s only an old man who hides himself from us, and rules our lives according to laws that haven’t changed in centuries. They are laws we have nothing to say about. We are his work beasts with our own children as masters over us, and we are to say nothing.”

  “Zeb! It’s this kind of talk that has brought you pain.”

  “So stop it, then. Use your staff of power!”

  “I came here to use it, yes, but not in that way. I came to relieve your pain, to try and reason with you. I regret the severity of your punishment; it was more that I expected.”

  Zeb shook his head sadly. “More and more you’ve cloistered yourself in the temple, and given your responsibilities over to the young. I don’t think you even know what’s going on out there: the constant orders, the disciplining, even a murder, all unpunished. We are ruled by our own children.”

  “A murder?”

  “Davos’ boat and his own son-in-law who had openly opposed the taking of first-born sons for your army of masters.”

  “That was an accident, a chance encounter with a Charni.”

  “It was no chance encounter. Do you think we’re so stupid that we don’t know the power of your staff to call the Yellowfin to our nets, or to bring a Charni when you desire? Do you think we don’t see that somehow the power that gives pain and pleasures is connected to something within each of us, a something that is put there at the time of our baptism?” Zeb grabbed the back of his neck, and squeezed hard. “Do the Yellowfin and Charni have baptismal marks, First Counselor? Are they also the baptized of Toth?”