Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest

We were just going to have dinner. The last few days had been full of appointments with lawyers, court dates and a lot of waiting around for people who seemed to think our time wasn’t important. Mum had got the food out the oven and was starting to put it on plates. I had a weird sensation. I didn’t hear or see anything but I felt as if there’d been an explosion at the side of the house, where there was a narrow passage from the front garden to the back. This faded immediately but I could still feel a strong presence, which moved round to the front. Dad looked towards the side and then front wall and was clearly tracking whatever it was as well.

“She might be dangerous!” Dad said, getting up.

I realized the presence had a distinctly feminine feel to it. Dad probably thought it was the Vineyard Magis and I was fairly sure it was an anavah. Then the presence split into two, two anavot! If they were anavot I was at least going to talk to them! I sprang up and followed Dad.

“Afterbirth!” said Mum under her breath.

“What’s happening?” asked Attan.

By now I was in the hall, behind Dad. One presence was now on the other side of the front door, the other in the garden. Then the buzzer sounded.

“Your father’s got very good hearing,” said Mum.

She knew about Dad and me being psychic but Attan didn’t.

Dad opened the door, froze and gasped. I peered round him, trying to get a look at the visitor.

“Hello, remember me, your daughter?” asked a female voice that made chills run down my spine.

“Egrindreth!” I exclaimed, now right behind Dad and looking over his shoulder.

I’d often wondered if I’d see her again and how she’d be different now she was a Temple Prostitute. It was red night making it look as if she’d had glowing blood poured over her. Egrindreth had been seven when I’d last seen her and she was now fifteen. She looked old for fifteen, nearly as tall as Dad. She didn’t look like a prostitute; normal teenage girl’s clothing with a sparkly harness and one shoulder bare, hair in a bun and no obvious make up or tattoos. (A harness is a system of belts or chains Paxian women, including teenage girls, wear on the outside of their clothing. It pulls their clothing in below their breasts and above their hips showing off their figures.) The most striking thing about her was this strong power she emanated, something I couldn’t remember from when she’d lived with us, I was now sure she was an anavah. I couldn’t see her companion.

“You’re no longer our daughter,” snapped Mum behind me. “We gave you to the temple.”

“Don’t be so literalistic!” said Dad. ”Come on in! Your friend too!”

Egrindreth started walking into the house as Dad and me backed away. Now I could get a better look at her body and could see she now had large breasts and hips. She walked stiffly with hands clenched into firsts.

“I was never a prostitute,” she said. “I thought you’d like to know that. They didn’t like the look of me so they gave me to a religious order ...”

“Haprihagfen,” said Mum, her voice simply dripping with hatred, “they’re Winemakers but it’s illegal to convert.”

My blood ran cold remembering the free advice from the first matchmaker. I didn’t know much about Winemakerism. They worshipped Yoho, as our Trulist sect did, but they possibly worshipped two other gods, I’d heard conflicting claims on that. They didn’t have Temple Prostitutes and were notoriously orientationist, only allowing their followers to marry the opposite sex.

“What?” said Dad.

He was more open minded and tolerant than most Trulists but he had a deep hatred for Winemakers. All he ever said to explain it was he’d personally witnessed their evil.

“I live in Hecrin now,” said Egrindreth.

Hecrin was a small country on the east side of the Great Basin. It was the only country on Midbar to be predominantly Winemaker.

“How did you qualify for citizenship?” asked Dad.

Hecrin was a notoriously difficult country to emigrate to.

“The Hapri ...”

Mum rushed down the hall saying, “Outside you! I want to talk to you in private!”

“But ...” said Dad.

“I’m going to talk to my daughter in private!”

“I need to talk to her!” I shouted.

“I thought ...” said Egrindreth as Mum pushed past me and collided with her.

Dad just stood there. I followed as Mum pushed Egrindreth out the door.

“What’s going on?” asked Attan.

I was pretty sure he was a hipsick, with no psychic powers. This was probably why he didn’t have any of my problems.

Mum bulldozed Egrindreth out the door with me behind her and turned round. “Back in the house!”

I could now see Egrindreth’s companion, a girl who looked about the same age with light coloured hair.

“I need to talk to her!” I said.

“I need to talk to her first!” said Mum.

“This is extremely fornicating important!” I said.

“Don’t swear!” screamed Mum and punched me in the nose and then kicked me in the stomach. This had the effect of pushing me back towards the door but she wasn’t really strong enough to inflict pain. Then she said, “Lofaracri!” and I came over very weak. She’d put her calming spell on me, it always made me feel terrible. She pushed me into the house and slammed the door.

“Anden!” shouted Dad. “I don’t really think that was necessary.”

I lay on the floor feeling sick, tired and week.

A minute later, I felt the power fading outside and Mum came back in and grabbed her coat.

“I’ve just remembered there’s an emergency Sorority meeting, you can finish dinner and save some for me.”

The Sorority was a women’s group that met at the Temple. The idea of women’s groups seemed rather un-Trulist but I’d been told they just discussed things like housework, pregnancy and fashion, so I doubted any men wanted to join.

“What about ..?” Dad started to ask.

“She’s Haprihagfen now! They’re fundamentalist Winemakers, that’s the last thing we need and I think we’ve had enough drama for one double cycle,” she shot me a hateful look. “I made it quiet clear to her she’s not welcome here!”

“I need to talk to her!” I shouted as she marched out the door, slamming it behind her.

I staggered to my feet, opened the door and staggered out to the road as I felt another explosion of power. Egrindreth and her friend were nowhere in sight.

“Anden!” Shouted Dad who’d followed me out to the front garden. “What the fornicating gods do you think you’re doing!”

“Emergency, got to go!” shouted Mum, getting in the car.

“I thought we’d agreed ...” Dad started to say.

Mum drove off.

“What the feces is up with her?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” said Dad, stamping one foot. “I’ve never seen her like that before. I remember how upset she was when we had to give Egrindreth up so I think this is very strange. Admittedly I’m not sure if I’d rather have her as a prostitute or a Winemaker but you really needed to talk to her and Mum denied you the chance. She knows we’ve got to do something major to cheer you up, I thought we were in agreement about that. Then I don’t think she knows Egrindreth’s a powerful psychic like you and I can’t tell her.”

“She was the anav, well anavah, I met a long time ago?”

“Yes. That was before she’d reached puberty so her vibes weren’t nearly as strong. Are you OK?”

“I think so. My nose and stomach don’t hurt and I think the spell’s starting to wear off already.”

“Is anybody going to tell me what that was about?” asked Attan, coming up behind Dad.