Tales of Midbar: Secret Priest

Dad had taken me to the courthouse to try to get an injunction that would allow me to stay in school until the legal matters were settled. This was an old, stone building from before the Cataclysm with the interior walls painted in a scheme which I’m sure was deliberately chosen to be depressing. I was sitting in the corridor as I might be required to testify and shouldn’t know what was happening with the case. I was feeling worthless and nervous and angry so I was looking at the floor with my firsts clenched. I felt a burst of power from the direction of the women’s toilet. This faded to the same feeling of power I’d had when Egrindreth had come to our house. Egrindreth and another girl came out and walked over to me. The companion seemed to be the same one as before but in the white electric light I could see she had the light skin of a bennis but her ears weren’t pointed.

“Egrindreth!” I exclaimed, standing up, feeling a bit wobbly and wondering if the women’s toilet had a second entrance, I knew its male counterpart didn’t.

She came up and hugged me while her friend hung back. I felt a surge of excitement as her breasts pressed into me. I probably shouldn’t have felt that way about my sister but it was almost as if she was a stranger.

“I’m Vrenloa,” said her friend, smiling.

“Don’t make this difficult,” said Egrindreth, letting go of me.

“We need two slegim,” said Vrenloa

“Not him! You should know that!” Then Egrindreth turned back to me and said, “I can talk to you as long as I don’t try to recruit you to Haprihagfen so we can’t discuss religion. How much do you know?”

“That you’re a fundamentalist Winemaker so you’re evil, or at least that’s what Mum says and Dad hates all Winemakers but thinks I need to talk to you.”

Did they knew they were anavot and should tell them? I didn’t feel they were evil and I didn’t know if the friend was Haprihagfen or even a Winemaker. I was normally a good judge of character but they were the only anavot I’d ever met and I’d had no contact with Egrindreth for eight years. I suspected eight rather eventful years during which we’d both changed a lot.

“I’m not allowed to discuss religion,” said Egrindreth, narrowing her eyes but staring at me. “What korbar do you think you are?”

“Dad would say that was religious.”

“Nuharas say everything’s religious!”

“We’re anavim aren’t we?”

“Yes. Good that simplifies things. It’s dangerous for anavim to have strong emotions unless we’ve been trained to use our powers. Therefore you must try to stay calm.”

“I’m a teenager!”

“I think you need to know there’s some agreement, I think from a long time ago, which means a certain organization has some sort of claim to us. I don’t know all the details. Only this wasn’t respected with me, that was a mistake. By the time they figured it out I knew too much about Haprihagfen so I had to stay with them. They treated me very well. The point is only this organization is supposed to help you but I don’t think they are.”

“I’m really getting sick of laws being obeyed and disobeyed depending on whether they would help me or cause me problems.”

“Do you mean if a law helps you it’s ...”

“Disobeyed. If the law causes me problems, it’s obeyed or enforced or whatever.”

“That’s typical. Most people don’t like anavim and will go against normal principals in order to persecute us.”

“Korbarism is one of the sins of Trulism.”

“Yes but ... Ah nearly had me. Not supposed to talk about religion.”

“If you’re not allowed to help me, what can you do? I really need to know how to get a girl to have sex with me.”

“Typical male!”

“First you should convert ...” Vrenloa started to say.

“That’s what we’re not allowed to do!” snapped Egrindreth.

“I’m the only boy at school who hasn’t had sex with a girl. That’s bullying by exclusion and it’s making me very miserable! I thought you said I needed to avoid strong emotions because not having sex is making me very emotional!”

“I can help you,” said Egrindreth, “if your life’s in danger. I’ll also tell you to watch out, there’s weird stuff going on you’re not supposed to know about. I don’t know the details and I don’t think Haprihagfen does.”

“So you’re just going to leave me because of some stupid laws?”

“I think all fornication breaks loose or something if they get broken, Vrenloa!”

“OK, I’ll keep my hands off him! said the nearly bennis girl.

“Oh, yes,” said Egrindreth, “remember there’s all these prophecies that something really bad is likely to happen soon.”

“Dad doesn’t believe them.”

It occurred to me this was religious but I didn’t really care.

“Well I think your problems might have something to do with it,” said Egrindreth.

“That’s stupid!”

“There are very few anavim and we’re tied into paranormal stuff more than most people. Anyway we probably should go before Dad comes out.” She backed away and started to turn.

“There are like two teenage anavot on the planet and one of them’s my sister! Then there’s that law about psychics not having sex with each other.”

“That’s religious,” she said walking away. “Anyway, there are more teenage anavim than you think.”

“Are you the Vineyard Magis?” I asked Vrenloa.

“No.”

Egrindreth gabbed her hand and started dragging her away.

“Can you introduce me to the Vineyard Magis?”

“Only if it will save your life. Bye!”

They went back into the women’s toilet.

“You’ve got to use the toilet again already!” I said.

I felt another of those bursts of power and their vibes were gone.