Ydnas: The Girl of the Prophecies Page 6
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“Rules and laws create chaos.”
(from The Book of Irony)
An elegant carriage, preceded and followed by platoons of mercenaries, pulled up to the side of the street near Kor’s orphanage. Talek was standing there, with one of his neophytes (who was dressed like him, but was a good deal smaller). “Now we will use the spell I showed you this morning,” Talek whispered to the neophyte, who nodded.
One of the carriage doors opened, and a middle-aged man in elegant vestments emerged and called out, “Excuse me, sir, but I’m looking for an orphanage run by a woman named Kor.”
“And who would you be?” asked Talek.
“I am Ininka Codrifex, Area Witness from the Cathedral of Child Welfare Services,” said the man, a little pontifically.
“What you are looking for, you will not find here,” said Talek, in a dark, sepulchral voice. “This building, which was a school for courtesans, has been condemned.”
“I had heard that they might be in just such a building,” replied Codrifex, a little sternly, “and while we admire the work of well-intentioned amateurs, we want to be sure that the children live in a safe and healthy place. That is part of the function of our Order, you know. The welfare of children is our first concern. Surely you can understand that, Mr., Ah, …”
“My Name is Talek. I’m a priest at the local Church of Irony.”
“Talek. Yes. Unfortunately, this neighborhood has deteriorated greatly in the last few years, and we are very concerned about the children here.”
“You have good reason to worry, Brother Codrifex. Almost all children in this neighborhood are malnourished and abused. The death rate is very high, and they receive no formal education. The main exception to this principle is Kor’s orphanage.”
“Does your Church minister to the poor, Mr. Talek?”
“That’s a fascinating question, Mr. Codrifex. We don’t give them edifying lectures, nor do we give handouts. I might also mention, that we recognize many different kinds of poverty. We tend to believe that everyone is poor, in one way or another. But yes, we do try to help them, mostly through subverting their world view.”
“That is fascinating, Mr. Talek, and I’m sure your Church is doing a wonderful job. I’d like to learn more about it. We often share resources with community organizations, you know. Under certain guidelines, of course.”
“Of course.”
“But now, I do have a job here. I believe this is the place?”
Talek sighed and hesitated for a moment. Then he raised his staff. Something indefinable seemed to radiate for a moment from the obsidian shard attached to the end. “Yes,” he said, pointing to his neophyte, “and you’re in luck! Here is Kor now!”
“Ah, pleased to meet you, Miss Kor,” said Codrifex. “I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you and your work.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Codrifex,” said the neophyte brightly, making a little curtsy, “and I’m happy to say that I’ve filled out our part of all the forms that apply to this case. Here they are.” And suddenly there appeared in the neophyte’s hands a huge bundle of papers, which he (she?) handed to the Area Representative. A little staggered by the weight of the bundle, Codrifex managed to turn and place it in the carriage. As he turned again to face them, his expression showed, for a moment, traces of puzzlement and despair.
“I do so look forward to seeing your report, Mr. Codrifex,” said the neophyte, brightly, “do you think you can prepare it soon?”
“Well, these things do take time,” said Codrifex, with a knowing smile. “I will have to confer with my superiors, check with other cloisters. You know how it is. But you can be assured that I will do everything in my power to expedite matters.”
Talek’s posture showed the relaxation characteristic of relief. “Well, I know you’ll do a wonderful job, Mr. Codrifex,” said the neophyte cheerily. “Now, do have a wonderful day!”
“Why yes, thank you, and the same to you!” said Codrifex, bowing briefly, and disappearing into his carriage, which quickly rolled off, somewhat to the disappointment of the small crowd of con artists, prostitutes, muggers, pickpockets, drug zombies, beggars, spies, touts, fences, and voyeurs that had been converging on it.
“That will keep him busy,” said Talek. “Although it is far from obvious, those forms make a kind of circle; each of them will ultimately require him to fill out one of the others first.” After a moment he added, “I wish I hadn’t done it that way. I mean, there must have been a better way, a way not involving deceit, a way not so burdensome for him.”
“You are too hard on yourself,” said the neophyte. “Where would be the irony if there was some perfect solution?”
“Maybe just in that,” said Talek. “I mean, perhaps we have become so convinced of pervasive ironies in our lives that we would miss a chance for unblemished action, even though it was staring us in the face. That would be so ironic that it is almost certainly true!”
“Maybe so,” replied the neophyte, “but in any case, it was awfully funny, wasn’t it?” And suddenly they both burst into laughter, skipping around and hugging each other like children.
When they had calmed down a bit, Talek said, “I don’t know whether Kor would approve of our methods, either.”
Vidigeon (who was awake and alert once again) had watched all this with great interest, for many clues had pointed to the orphanage as a possible location for the girl he sought. Now he saw that Talek appeared to be hiding something there. He put the orphanage higher on his list.