Chapter 50: Abhorrent Food (1)

Chapter 50: Abhorrent Food (1)

As it turned out, dealing with the bodies wasnt that difficult. Navraj, despite being shaken up, knew just what to do.

He broke into my meeting location, Navraj said. And killed my door guard. Were completely justified in all this.

Im not sure the city guard will agree, Xerxes replied dryly, looking at the bodies and the blood.

Navraj tsked. I mean in the eyes of the Father. The guard will never find out what happened here. He stepped over and put a hand on Xerxes shoulder. Ill never forget what you did here today. You saved my life.

Xerxes eyes flitted to Katayouns. We saved your life, he said.

Navraj nodded. And I owe the two of you because of it. For now, just leave. Ill take care of this mess. Im skipping the normal vetting process and authorizing you to attend regular meetings. Reaching into a pocket he pulled out a slip of brown paper he had folded into a square. Memorize the address there, and the knocking pattern, then destroy the paper. By fire, preferably. Show up next week at the second hour after noon. Meeting locations change monthly, and the next one is the last one at this location, so dont miss it.

Xerxes took the paper. Understood. So well just see ourselves out?

Navraj nodded. Go the way you came. Close the door behind you. Ill put the bar in place later.

Thus ended their initial meeting with the Cult of the Eternal Father.

Out in the bazaar, Xerxes and Katayoun walked in silence until they were a good distance from the meeting location. Then Katayoun grabbed his arm and sagged against him.

Whoa, you okay? he said, reaching his free hand over and putting it on her forearm.

Im fine, she replied. But that was insane. You could have died!

No, he said. I had you there.

She was looking up into his eyes, her face was inches from his. Her lips.

No, its too soon for that.

They found a public fountain in an out-of-the-way alley where Xerxes washed most of the blood off himself. However, the clothing was too far gone, so they bought some replacement pieces. After that, they wandered the bazaar arm-in-arm for a time. They eventually left, heading to a part of town north of the school where they found a quiet place to have dinner together.

So were in, Katayoun said.

The cult, you mean?

Yeah. I thought itd be more difficult. Other than the nearly dying.

He laughed. Hopefully that means the hard part is over. But, if were going to start going to meetings, then, well.

Rabya summed it up by saying it was just one way mages helped the Pontifarch keep order in the empire.

He started joining Katayoun in the library. And enjoying it.

Back on Mannemid, hed never been a fan of reading books, at least outside of rune study. Gandash had been a library person, and had always tried to drag Xerxes and Bel along. It never worked.

But for some reason, studying with Katayoun just felt right. It wasnt as though they held hands, or leaned up against each other when they read. Just being in her presence was enough to ground him.

He tried to convince her to join the sword practice sessions, but she wasnt interested. However, she supported his passion for it; when the Swordmasters gathered, she refused to let him spend time with her instead.

The Epitome has been important to you for a long time, and itll stay that way forever, she said. Im not going to let you get distracted by me.

When he told the Swordmasters about that, they marveled.

Dont let this one get away, Jad said.

I second that, Kashtiliash added.

And he had no intention of doing anything of the kind. The Swordmasters liked her, and she seemed fond of them. Life was perfect.

Then came the cult meeting. Hed assumed they would meet in a shadowy room with candles everywhere, while wearing deep-hooding cloaks. There would be chanting, knives, snakes, blood, and a sacrifice to a summoned Abhorrent.

Instead, there was a twenty-minute lecture by Navraj about the true story of the Pontifarch, most of which revolved around trying to convince everyone that he was born as an ordinary human named Bukru. Xerxes didnt care one way or another if the Pontifarch used to be named Bukruor still was for that matter. But he found the story difficult to believe, despite the supposed historical proof Navraj provided.

After the lecture, Navraj passed around a bowl for donations.

Wait a second, Xerxes thought. Is this whole cult thing just a scam?

He put a mina in before passing the bowl along. There were only ten people present for the meeting including Xerxes and Katayoun, so the process didnt take long.

And now, for some refreshments, Navraj said, whereupon they had some pastries and wine.

Later, on the way back to the school, Katayoun said, That was interesting.

If you say so, Xerxes said. If this wasnt some critical mission, I think I might have passed out from boredom.

She laughed.

Weeks passed.