3

Molin paced around the marble-topped table he had brought with him from thecapital. The mute who always attended him hid in the far corners of the room.Molin's wrath had touched him three times and it was not yet high-noon.

The injustice, the indignity of being the supreme priest of Vashanka in a sinkhole like Sanctuary. Construction lagged on the temple: inept crews, unforeseenaccidents, horrendous omens. The old Ilsig hierarchy gloated and collected thecitizenry's irregular tithes. The Imperial entourage was cramped into inadequatequarters that shoved his household together. He was actually sharing rooms withhis wife - a situation neither of them had ever desired and could no longertolerate. The Prince was an idealist, an unmarried idealist, whose belief in thebliss of that inconvenient state was exceeded only by his nai'vety with regardto statecraft. It was difficult not to enjoy the Prince's company, however,despite his manifold shortcomings. He had the proper breeding for a uselessyounger son, and only the worst of fates had brought him so perilously close tothe throne that he must be sent so depressingly far from it.

In Ranke, Molin had a fine house - as well as rooms within the temple. Rareflowers bloomed in his heated gardens; a waterfall coursed down one interiorwall of the temple drowning out the street-noises and casting rainbows acrossthis very table when it had resided in his audience chambers. Where had he gonewrong? Now he had a tiny room with one window looking out to an air shaft thatmust have sunk in the cesspools of hell itself and another one, the larger ofthe two, overlooking the gallows. Moreover, the Hounds were elsewhere thismorning and yesterday's corpses still creaked in the breeze.

Injustice! Indignity! And so, of course, he must clothe himself in the majestyof his position as Vashanka's loyal and duly initiated priest. Kadakithis mustfind his way to these forsaken quarters and endure them as the priests did ifMolin was to acquire better lodgings. The Prince was late - no doubt he'd gotlost.

'My Lord Molin?' a cheerful voice called from the antechamber. 'My Lord Molin?Are you here?'

'I am, my Prince.'

Molin gestured to the mute who poured two goblets of fruit tea as the Princeentered the room.

'My Lord Molin, your messenger said you wished to see me urgently on mattersconcerning Vashanka? This must be true, isn't it, or you wouldn't have called meall the way out here. Where are we? No matter. Are there problems with thetemple again? I've told Zaibar to see to it that the conscripts perform theirduties...'

'No, my Prince, there are no new problems with the temple, and I have turned allthose matters over to the Hounds, as you suggested. We are, by the way, in theouter wall of your palace -just upwind of the gallows. You can see them throughthe window - if you'd like.'

The Prince preferred to sip his tea.

'My purpose in summoning you, my Prince, has to do with the upcomingcommemoration of the Ten-Slaying to take place at the new-moon. I wished certainprivacy and discretion which, frankly, is not available in your own quarters.'

If the Prince was offended by Molin's insinuations he did not reveal it. 'Do Ihave special duties then?' he asked eagerly.

Molin, sensing the lad's excitement, pressed his case all the harder. 'Extremelyspecial ones, my Prince; ones not even your distinguished late Father, theEmperor, was honoured to perform. As you are no doubt aware, VashankamayHisnamebe-praised - has concerned Himself rather personally in the affairs ofthis city of late. My augurists report that on no less than three separateoccasions since your arrival in this accursed place His power has beensuccessfully invoked by one not of the temple hierarchy.'

The Prince set down his goblet. 'You know of these things?' he asked with open-faced incredulity. 'You can tell when the god's used His power?'

'Yes, my Prince,' Molin answered calmly. 'That is the general purpose of ourhierarchy. Working through the mandated rituals and in partnership with our Godwe incline Vashanka's blessings towards the loyal, righteous upholders oftradition, and direct His wrath towards those who would deny or harm theEmpire.'

'I know of no traitors ...'

'... And neither do I, my Prince,' Molin said, though he had his suspicions,'but I do know that our God, Vashanka - may-Hisnamebepraised - is showing Hisface with increasing fre-• quency and devastating effect in this town.'

'Isn't that what he's supposed to do?'

It was difficult to believe that the vigorous Imperial household had produced sodense an heir; at such times as this Molin almost believed the rumours thatcirculated around the Prince. Some said that he was at least as clever andambitious as his brother's advisers feared; Kadakithis was deliberately botchingthis gubernatorial appointment so he would have to be returned to the capitalbefore the Empire faced rebellion. Unfortunately, Sanctuary was more than equalto the most artfully contrived incompetence.

'My Prince,' Molin began again, snapping his fingers to the mute who immediatelypushed a great-chair forward for the Prince to sit in. This was going to takelonger than anticipated. 'My Prince - a god, shall we say any god but mostespecially our own god Vashanka - mayHisnamebepraised - is an awesomely powerfulbeing who, even though He may beget mortal children on willing or unwillingwomen, is quite unlike a mortal man.

'A mere man who runs rampant in the streets with his sword drawn and shoutingsedition would be an easy matter for the Hounds to control - assuming, ofcourse, they even noticed him in this town ...'

'Are you saying, my Lord Molin, that such a vagrant is ploughing through mycity? Is that why you've called me here, really? Does my suite harbour aviperous traitor?'

It must be an act, Molin decided. No one could attain physical maturity withonly Kadakithis's apparent intelligence to guide him. He had attained maturity,hadn't he? Molin's plans demanded it. He was known to have concubines, butperhaps he merely talked them to sleep? It was time for a change of tactics.

'My Dear Prince, as hierarchical superior here in Sanctuary I can flatly statethat the repeated incidents of divine intervention, unguided as they are by therituals performed according to tradition by myself and my acolytes, constitute asevere threat to the well-being of your people and your mission to Sanctuary.They must be stopped by whatever means are necessary!'

'Oh... oh!' the Prince's face brightened. 'I believe I understand. I'm to dosomething at next week's festival that will help you get control again. Do I getto bed Azyuna?'

The light in the young man's eyes reassured Molin that the Prince did understandthe purpose of a concubine. 'Indeed, my Prince! But that is only a small part ofwhat we shall do next week. The Dance of Azyuna and the Divine Seduction areperformed at the festival each year. Many children are born of such unions, manyserve their ersatz-father with great dignity - I myself am a son of the Consort.But, under extreme circumstances the Dance of Azyuna will be preceded by themost sacred recreation of the Ten-Slaying itself. Vashanka - mayHisnamebepraised- rediscovers His traitorous brothers plotting to overthrow the divine authorityof Savankala, their father. He slays them on the spot and takes Azyuna, at herinsistence, to bed at once as his consort. The child of such a union - if therewere any - would be well-omened indeed.

'My Prince, the auguries indicate that such a child will be born here inSanctuary - of all places - and our God's activity here would lend belief tothis. It is imperative that such a child be born within the strictures of thetemple; it would be fitting if the child's natural father were you ...'