The girl was wide-eyed and bobbing her head, the sudden hope of freedom erasing any anger or distrust she might have held. Steeling herself, Renna assumed the position of blessing, hand outstretched at waist level, eyes distant. The girl looked at her hand and back up to her face, blankly uncomprehending.
Renna sighed. “You kneel, stupid child. Kneel and kiss my hand. That’s what you do when a priestess takes her leave. Honestly! We obviously need a greater presence in the countryside.”
Embarrassed, the girl mumbled an apology and dropped to her knees, moving with care and apparent pain. She had to reach up with her left hand to grasp Renna’s right, and the movement made her flinch and gasp. The older woman ruthlessly suppressed her inward twinge as she saw the girl’s nails were rimmed with filth. She needed this child to trust her. She even put on her benevolent smile. Hot water. A good long soak and scrub. As soon as I’ve taken care of the warehouse. This was the price of the priesthood – or one of them, at least. Then the girl grasped her fingers, and the world disappeared in a blinding flash.
– A MAN BUT NOT A MAN TALLER THAN HE OUGHT TO BE HIS BODY THE UMBRA OF ENDLESS WINGS OF FLAME oh Goddess what HOLDING THE SUN IN HIS HAND HIS FACE ALL ANGLES AND RED EYES LIKE PITS OF BLOOD what is happening HE LAUGHS LIKE AN AVALANCHE AND HIS TONGUE IS FORKED BEHIND FANGED TEETH like the drawings of demons in the old logs but but please Gaia they’re metaphorical AND THE SUN IN HIS HAND IS MADE OF GLASS AND WHEN RAISES HIS FIST THE WORLD BURNS AND ASHES FILL THE SKY AND MOUNTAINS RISE AND SEAS BOIL AND FLESH MELTS my eyes are burning but still I see Blessed Mother make it stop AND HE LOVES THE SHARD OF GLASS AND HE WANTS IT AND HE LUSTS AFTER IT WITHOUT END AND HE CASTS OUT SEEKING BUT ONE STANDS BEFORE HIM BEARDED AND STRONG OF THE NORTH THE FIGHTERS AND RECLUSE MONKS AND HE IS CROWNED WITH A GEM STANDING BEFORE THE SERPENT SKULL AT THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING the savages of the Black Isle don’t have kings, do they? the Great Arena in Megalith has a serpent skull – why would one of those savages come to the Mainland? AND WHEN HE PUTS FORTH HIS HAND IN THE ROCKY LAND THE DESTROYER RAGES THWARTED AND THE KING HOLDS THE SUN IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND THOSE RAGING RED EYES ARE TURNED ASIDE yes Goddess, let it be so THE KING ASCENDANT AND RENNA THE WISE STANDS BEHIND WITH HER HANDS ON HIS SHOULDERS AND THE WORLD SHOUTS IN ACCLAIM –
Renna lay prostrate on the floor of the jail and breathed for the first time in eternity. Her eyes were having trouble focusing. She felt like when she was a child and she had spun herself in one spot for too long, her innards twirling and jerking. Her mouth tasted sour and watery, but she swallowed back her bile and kept herself from vomiting by sheer force of will. She flailed at the rough waiting room bench and managed to latch on to it. She pulled herself up, sitting unsteadily on its splintered face. Her breath was coming in great gasps almost as if her body had forgotten how to breathe. It sounded like the girl was doing the same, and as her vision cleared, Renna looked to her. She still knelt on the floor, and streams of tears coursed from her dark eyes, though she did not seem to be crying in the usual sense. She looked calm, centered, and almost vacant as she stared at nothing with wet eyes and panted as if she’d just run a race.
“Did you see it?” Renna managed after a moment. The girl didn’t respond. “Did you see it?” she demanded, voice firmer.
“Yes,” Nira whispered. “I saw it.”
“Mistress,” snarled Renna, shaking. The damnable girl would not look at her. “I saw it, Mistress.” She hoisted herself onto her feet, tottered over to the kneeling wretch, and shoved her over. That got the girl’s attention, though she retained that unnatural serenity. It was infuriating. “‘There is no power in the Light,’ is it? Do you think I’m stupid? Tell me why I shouldn’t have you killed right now!” What did I see? How can this be? Her head was still spinning.
“I didn’t know. That never happened before. I’m sorry.” Her words were simple, unadorned. Truthful. “I guess I was wrong.” She seemed at peace with that fact, no matter how she’d railed against the Light before. The flow of tears had stopped, and as she sat up she wiped at her face, looking surprised when her hands came away wet.
Renna’s brain raced. The demon, the savage northerner, the shining glass Shard. Herself and the adulation of the masses. Her body thrummed with pent-up need for action, for resolution. She wanted to race through the streets. She wanted to strangle the girl. She wanted to set fire to the Treehold and watch the Oakies burn. But most of all, she wanted to know. “Was it real?” It came out as a ragged whisper, the words searing her throat with the strength of her need.
The girl seemed to resurface from a trance, looking at her for the first time instead of through her. She looked confused, and she reached for words, tangibly grasping after what they had seen. “Real… I think so. Will be?
