Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest

“I’d like to ask you something,” I said to Buxnir.

He was just getting into a car to leave for the Benai Nibeyim conference. It was the first day of the light cycle but Aleph had not yet risen, leaving just the bluish tinge from the sapphires making everything look cold.

“What? You realize I’m going to have to leave soon.”

“Yes. I think it would be a good idea if you let everybody at the meeting know about how their current leaders have been having girls raped so I couldn’t have sex with them.”

“How do you think that would help?”

“I’m not sure who decided what but I think it’s time Benai Nibeyim members realized they’ve been doing some really stupid, immoral and illegal things to avoid conflict and will hopefully elect leaders who will do a better job.”

“I suppose you have a point. I’m trying not to let them know how I’m helping you because, well, not all of them are so keen on taking on the Nuharas and liberating Rendamar Temple. Then there’s the Prophesied Ruination, perhaps we should concentrate on that. Personally I think the two are related so not liberating the temple will make the Prophesied Ruination worse.”

“Dwendra and myself and our friends have been praying about this and we think this issue needs to be addressed now.”

I let myself in the front door and shouted, “I’m still alive!”

“In here,” shouted Mum. “There’s a lawyer who wants to talk to you.”

I went into the living room and found my parents sitting with a smartly dressed, faharni hipsickah. I vaguely recognized her from the courthouse and some events I’d been to with Dad but I couldn’t remember if I’d ever been told her name.

“Ah, Clindar,” said the woman lawyer. “You probably want to sit down.”

I sat down trying to read her and my parents. None of them seemed very worried.

“What is it?” I asked, guessing it had something to do with my bullying related cases.

“I’ve been hired by Zonlaria,” said the lawyer.

I hadn’t seen Zonlaria since the festival which had been four light cycles ago.

“I don’t know her very well,” I said.

“She’s being very reasonable considering the circumstances.”

“Clindar!” said Dad, sternly. “Don’t say anything!”

I knew enough to know that phrases like, “being very reasonable,” usually meant the person in question was being very unreasonable.

“You’re familiar with her medical problems?” asked the lawyer.

“You’ll have to tell us!” said Dad to the lawyer.

“Latchmir,” said the woman lawyer, “you’re always so suspicious.”

“Let’s say she told me something about it,” I said, “but I’m not exactly privy to her medical records.”

I thought that was a good compromise between honesty and vagueness.

“There’s no easy way to say this,” said the lawyer. “She’s pregnant with your child.”

“What?” exclaimed Mum.

“She ...” I started to say.

“Shhh!” said Dad, putting a finger in front of my face.

“This wasn’t part ..!” exclaimed Mum.

“You too!” said Dad. “My wife was merely expressing shock, she’s not taking a position on the truth or otherwise of your claim.”

“You realize pregnancy will aggravate my client’s condition and any attempt to medically interfere in the pregnancy will make matters still worse. Also, she doesn’t have any children and it’s likely she won’t be able to get pregnant a second time so she wishes to keep this baby.”

There was a pause. I was strongly tempted to deny having had sex with Zonlaria but decided to take Dad’s advice.

“This isn’t ...” said Mum but Dad held his finger in front of her to stop her.

“All she’s asking is that you help financially support her and her family. It’s likely her brother and mother will have to take time off work to care for her and it will definitely interfere with her career plans. She’s even willing to consider visitation, shared custody or marriage.”

“Does she have any evidence my son did father this child?” asked Dad.

“Obtaining a DNA sample from the fetus won’t be possible until birth due to my client’s sensitivity to medical intervention. However, she does still have the underwear she was wearing and has tested the blood type of the semen. It’s type gimmel, I believe that’s your blood type Clindar? It’s also quite rare.”

Mum gave me a very cross look.

“As I’ve said, my client’s being reasonable, against my advice. She will be forced to press rape charges ...”

“Rape!” exclaimed Mum.

“My wife’s merely expressing shock at the accusation,” said Dad.

“... if you don’t agree to these terms. You did use a date rape spell on my client and had sex with her while she was unconscious but there was a witness?”

I sat there not saying anything and trying very hard not to proclaim my innocence. I knew the truth was complicated and I couldn’t just explain it to anybody. I certainly didn’t want Mum to know the truth.

“Well here’s my client’s proposition in writing,” said the lawyer, putting a document on the drink table and standing up.

“Obviously we’ll have to consider this,” said Dad.

“I’ll look forward to hearing from you. I’ll see myself out.”

I sat there with Mum looking daggers at me and muttering, “Fornication, fornication, fornication ...”

Dad watched to make sure the other lawyer really did leave. He got up, made sure the door was locked and then came back. “Clindar?”

“I didn’t have sex with her! She tried to seduce me so I just used a two minute knockout spell on her so I could teleport without her seeing. I think the witness was a mage friend of hers who knows darn well I didn’t rape her, or have sex with her at all.”

“Then how did she get pregnant?” asked Dad.

“I’m not even sure she is but there are lots of men!”

“She is asking for a lot of money,” said Dad, quickly leafing through the document, “but we might be able to negotiate it down.”

“You notice how nobody directly involved, except me, was here to be questioned!” I said. “The kid’s DNA shouldn’t match, unless she’s somehow created a fetus from my DNA without having sex.”

“That sort of technology is expensive and subject to heavy legal restrictions,” said Dad.

“The semen on her underwear shouldn’t match my DNA either," I said, "but I’m not sure we can rule out expensive, illegal technology.”

“We’d have to pay for DNA tests,” said Dad. “It might be better to pay up rather than fight this considering our other problems and your reputation.”

“Undeserved reputation!” I said. “Which is basically your fault Mum! Won’t that open us up to similar claims?”

“Don’t fornicating blame me!” said Mum.

“It is your fault, Anden!” I said. “You and your fornicating Benai Nibeyim friends fornicating arranged this!”

Mum burst into tears and curled up into a ball. I’d never seen her that upset before.

“Can we try to keep calm?” said Dad.

I looked at him, wondering how much I should tell him.

“Is Clindar in trouble?” asked Attan, standing in the doorway in his night clothes with a smirk on his face.