The Bones of God by Stephen Leigh

Author:Stephen Leigh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: ePublishing Works!
Published: 2011-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

—•—

Colin was out there. Somewhere in the Flats.

Kiri unpolarized the window, watching fingers of liquid purple black dissolve, and gazed out at Genesis. Not much could be seen of the settlement because of the erratic funnels of sand that danced through the streets. She could see people hurrying about their business, thorbanis flapping. Kiri cupped the soft curve of her belly. “He’ll be all right, little one,” she whispered. “Your father is the Exori—he can’t be hurt.” She’d been sick that morning, the first time the nausea had reached her. She could see the pregnancy was just beginning to show when she looked in the mirror of her bedroom.

“Colin, you can’t go chasing this ghost, damn it! You’re needed here. To have you wandering the Flats isn’t going to do any good.”

“You’ve no right to tell me what I must do,” he’d shouted back at her, but it had been the Exori’s voice, not Colin’s. “Something is waiting for me out there. MolitorAb tells me that. “

The other members of the Sabbai would arrive in a few minutes for the weekly meeting to arrange the worship schedule for the temple and to deal with the problems of the town. That latter item had become more tedious in the last several months: as Genesis grew, the logistics swelled with complications. Arguments were becoming heated among the Sabbai, even in Colin’s presence. Kiri didn’t look forward to the next few hours at all. She wished Colin had returned, if only because then the quarrels would be aimed at him, not at Kiri. That tendency was one of the things she hated: because she was Colin’s lover, even those who knew her well usually assumed she always thought as Colin did. In fact, she was often in disagreement with him.

It had been simpler a year ago, two years ago, when it was only Colin and Pale and herself, along with the few followers impelled as much by curiosity as faith. Kiri stared out the windows and whispered a prayer for Colin’s safety, trying to forget the rancor she felt when he’d insisted on going.

“I have to find that Presence, the visions.”

“Colin, why won’t you listen to me when I tell you that you ‘re driving yourself too much? By MolitorAb, I don’t want to lose you, not now.”

“I have to know how to deal with this situation. MolitorAb will tell me.”

“She’ll tell you even if you stay here. I hate arguing with you like this, but I know that I’m right.”

“And I know that I’m right. So who am I supposed to believe, Kiri? You or myself?”

She heard the door open and polarized the window again—a wash of inky purple trickled down the pane. FirstBorn Pale and SlowBorn Brightness moved together into the room, shuffling toward a rear corner as if there were an isolette set there, as if they wished to avoid offending the humans with their strong odor. Both bowed to Kiri, though Pale used the lower, more respectful bow while the priest merely nodded, her bright eyes peering at Kiri.

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