Lost at Sea Bk. 01 Ch. 08

Bella pointed up. "Up there. Asleep in the shade next to the old lamp... thing. I gave him a bag of dates right before I got there and he ran up there to gorge himself."

"Oh my," Janie's voice came from the office door.

"I see you've found the table," Will said over his shoulder. Bella hopped off and trotted across the room to look over Janie's shoulder. She snorted, stifling a laugh.

"Oh, there is no mistaking what that is, is there?" Bella snickered.

"Well, it's a little abstract..." Janie said, walking in and looking at the ink stain from different angles.

Bella followed her in and tapped the ink with a finger. "Completely dry. No hope of turning it into something else."

"I suppose we could add more ink?" Janie said, tapping her finger against her lips in thought.

"Or sand it, or give it a dark stain," Bella said.

"Don't you dare," Will said, leaning in the doorway. "I love it."

"I guess our shame will live in infamy, on display for all to see," Janie said. She felt like she should be embarrassed, but she wasn't.

"Our shame? You're the one who spilled the ink," Bella said, bumping Janie with her hip.

"It is rather artistic," Janie said. "Like the kiss earlier."

"What?" Will asked, confused.

"Oh, I suppose you two didn't see it. When you kissed Bella earlier, right before you left. It was beautiful. Like a painting."

"All her, I'm sure," Will said.

"Our Janie seems to be developing a taste for erotic art," Bella teased. Janie looked scandalized.

"I'll get her some more," Will grinned.

"We'll make her some," Bella grinned. The pair of them were like circling sharks.

"That's enough," Janie said sternly. Her mask of stern professionalism was back in place. Only the twinkle in her eye and the twitch at the corner of her mouth gave away her amusement. She gestured to the mess the rest of the room was in. "Let's get this place cleaned up."

There was a knock from the other room. "Have fun," Will said. He shut the door behind him.

_______________

"No, Mister Sterling. I am here to see Miss Castilian," the stern woman at the door said. She was wearing a red Magistrate uniform with gold trim and an impressive sunburst-style compass medallion. She looked him up and down slowly, with a strange clam intensity to her gaze. It was paradoxical, but Will couldn't think of a better way to describe it. It wasn't threatening, but he didn't like it.

"Ah, sure, Madame-" Will said.

"Prelate," the woman corrected.

Will blinked. This short, stout, silver haired woman was the head of Fort Deliverance. The highest ranking Magistrate official on the island. "Of course. Prelate. Come right in. You and Janie can use my..." The image of Will's new improved desk entered his mind. "...I mean... I am with a client right now. I need to find you some space. Come in. You'll need to give me a moment."

She walked into Will's front room and immediately locked eyes with Big John Sonder, a burly whaling boat captain who was sitting at the table. The captain seemed confused, and a little worried. She stared at Big John for a few moments while Will walked into his office, saying nothing. After she'd satisfied whatever she was looking for by looking at the captain, she began looking at the floor. Her eyes slowly tracing the perimeter of the room until she had come full circle. Then she looked at the ceiling. Big John looked up too, but didn't see anything but wood and stone.

Inside the office, Janie was sorting through the paperwork they'd scattered earlier, trying to put them all back in the proper order.

"The Prelate is here," Will said from the doorway. "In my lighthouse."

Janie nodded, "Thomas said that might happen."

"Who's Thomas?" Will asked.

"The Guardsman from last night who collected Timmonds' thugs. You might have missed that part of the conversation." Janie put a spreadsheet down on top of another spreadsheet.

"Yeah, I think I really did miss the part where the Grand Prelate of Fort Deliverance was going to show up here," Will said.

"She isn't a Grand Prelate. Just a Prelate," Janie corrected him.

"Oh, is that all? Just a Prelate. Oh good. It's not like she has five hundred soldiers, a ten ship armada, and can see into a person's soul or anything," Will snarked.

"It's only a hundred and eighty soldiers. The Fort is still waiting on troops," Janie said, putting another piece of paper on a different pile.

"So should I just send her in then?" He looked at the desk. The impression of Bella's back and butt were mostly covered, but two of the handprints were plain to see. "I guess this is pretty much obscured."

"What?" Janie said, looking at where Will was gesturing. She looked at the table. Her eyes slowly went wide and Will swore he could see her heart beating in her neck. "Oh no."

"You think she'll be able to figure it out even with all the paperwork?" Will asked.

"Of course!" Janie said, starting to stand up, then stopped. She felt like she had nowhere to go. "No. Wait. You really don't understand. She's a Prelate. She sees... everything. That's what she does! She can see... patterns. If she sees any drop of that ink, she'll know what it is! She'll see how it got there! Even just seeing the table might be enough for her to... know."

Janie looked up at the ceiling. Bella was asleep in Will's bed. The Prelate was fairly congenial, even maternal, as far as Prelates went, but the Magistrate had a tense relationship with witches. Even registered ones like Bella. No matter how relatively kind the Prelate was, she would absolutely never approve of what Janie and Bella had done in this room. Janie felt like she was slowly being tied in a knot.

Will felt similarly, but for different reasons. "Alright... so she can't come in here. What if I move Big John in here, and you meet with the Prelate out there?"

Janie nodded. "That should be fine. Just don't mess up my stacks."

Will nodded and turned around. "Captain Sonder, we're going to have to move this into my office. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"No problem, Will," Big John said picking up his hat and walking into the office just as Janie was walking out. "Who the hell's that? She makes mah skin crawl," Big John asked just before the door closed. Janie winced, just a little.

The Prelate ignored what she had heard. "Hello, Acolyte Castilian. I understand you had quite an eventful evening last night." Her tone was surprisingly maternal.

"Yes, Prelate. Thank you for coming," Janie said. She walked forward, took the older woman's offered hand, and bent to kiss the sigil on the large ring she wore. "Can I get you some water?" she asked.

"That would be fine, thank you," the Prelate said, moving to sit in the chair Big John had vacated.

Janie poured a glass from the pitcher on the shelf near the table and set it in front of the Prelate. When she turned, she saw the Prelate was fixated on the bullet score in the desk. She turned and looked a the exact place Quincy had fired the gun from.

"I'm sorry to inconvenience you like this, I just couldn't get away from the office any time soon," Janie said as she sat down. Her heart slowly knotted in her chest. An image of Bella splayed out on the table, on this table, welled unbidden into her mind. Nowhere was safe. The whole lighthouse bore the stain of carnality now. She maintained her composure, hoping that somehow the Prelate would not notice. No, that was probably too much to hope for. It was only Will and Bella that had been on this table. Not her. She hadn't done anything. Hadn't done anything here, her mind reminded her, rebelling against her attempts at composure.

"Are you alright, Acolyte?" the Prelate asked.

"Yes, I'm..." Janie remembered who she was talking to. "No, Prelate. I'm not. Last night was awful, and I did not get much sleep. Today has been very busy and very... confusing. I'm really not doing well at all."

"Well, your fortitude is commendable," the Prelate said, "and I appreciate your candor. From all reports you handled yourself admirably."

"Thank you Prelate," Janie said, smoothing her skirts and putting her hands in her lap.

"If you wish to speak with one of the Confessors about your experience, I'm sure either of them could help you," the Prelate suggested. Janie had only spoken with the Prelate a few times before. She was always kind and maternal. Strong in a quiet sort of way. Janie wanted to like her, but there was just something about the way she looked at you, about the way she looked at everything, that was incredibly unnerving. She simply saw too much.

"I think I will, Prelate. It will have to wait until the end of the week, though. I will be alright until then," Janie said with a small smile.

"So, tell me about your Circle here," the Prelate said, gesturing in a circle to the ceiling. "I assume all this is approved in the archive?"

"Of course, Prelate. Will is cursed," Janie began.

"I had heard of that. This is the first time I've met the man. He seems well enough, but there is a powerful magic bound to his soul. I've never seen it's like before," the Prelate said.

"Nor has anyone else he's talked to. As far as he can tell it cannot be broken. It seems to upset probability in strange ways that are often quite dangerous. He's escaped death so far, but many people who have been near him haven't. I believe the death toll so far is nineteen, though I can't be sure that all of those were related to the curse. Personally, I believe they are, at least indirectly."

"So you set up the Circle to ward against this curse," the Prelate nodded, following Janie's train of thought.

"Yes, Prelate. That's why Will hired me. He wanted to make sure the curse would not affect his clients," Janie said.

"A wise precaution. So what about the other wards? And the Telling?" the Prelate asked.

"The Wards are mostly to make sure Will isn't being swindled or enchanted. The Telling was... an afterthought. I told him I knew how to make a Telling circle, and he said he'd pay to have it added. I thought if anyone did try to swindle him, it would be a good way to find out why. I thought that it might also be useful for the Magistrate to have access to a Telling circle inside the town, for emergencies."

"Useful indeed. Even more useful if we had known about it," the Prelate said, a stern look on her face.

Janie's brow's rose. "I registered everything! It's all in the archive! I thought I did everything right," Janie said, clearly worried and upset.

The Prelate's piercing eyes looked at Janie for a moment, and then she closed her eyes, thinking, or perhaps seeing something beyond normal vision. When they opened she sighed. "Bureaucracy. You did everything correctly. The archivists did not have the same creative foresight as you. They simply filed the information away after it was approved, and never spoke of it to anyone who might be able to use the information." Janie let out a sigh of relief.

"Tell me about the charm that broke your Telling," the Prelate asked. "That is a serious concern."

"I did not ever see it," Janie said. "I only hear the sound. It was loud. Like breaking wood."

"Where did it happen?" the Prelate asked.

Janie got up and moved to the spot where she'd been grabbed with the knife to her throat. Then she stepped to where she'd moved to after the Telling had taken hold. She looked at where Timmonds had been and pointed to the spot on the ground. "There."

The Prelate stood and walked to that place, looking at empty air. She looked up at the ceiling, then back down to where Timmonds had stood. She closed her eyes for a few moments and Janie felt something like a gathering pressure, like the morning before a storm when the air feels heavy. The Prelate opened her eyes.

Each of her eyes now had two pupils, and two irises, which were suddenly gold and intertwined creating a shape similar to a sideways number eight.

Janie was quite unnerved. The Prelate said nothing. She simply scanned the area again and nodded. "Strong witchcraft. Blood magic. The witch who did it has hidden herself from my sight, but I can see the residual aura of her power. That may be enough to track her." The Prelate closed her eyes and the pressure in the air was gone.

"The witch's magic did some damage to your Circle. You'll want to repair it before you use it again," the Prelate said, giving Janie a small smile. Her eyes were back to normal. "You can bill the Fort for the materials on my authority."

"Thank you, Prelate." Janie said, a bit at a loss.

"Alexandra?" Bella's voice came from the stairwell. "Is that you?" Janie whirled around at the sound of her voice, anxiety welling up within her. Bella was a witch. And N'madi. And now Janie's lover also. The Prelate was a Magistrate Cleric. And a Master Diviner. So many things could go wrong with the two of then in the same room. How does Bella know the Prelate's name? Janie thought, verging on panic.

"Bella," the Prelate replied. She did not sound surprised. "I thought I recognized your aura here."

Bella rounded the bookcase and clasped hands with the Prelate of Fort Deliverance. "I was taking a nap upstairs," the dark haired beauty explained. "How is your goddaughter?"

Prelate Alexandra smiled. "Doing very well. Back home and nearly ready to burst. I cannot thank you enough for your help."

"It was my pleasure," Bella smiled. "What brings you here?"

"Acolyte Castilian had an encounter with a very rare and dangerous charm. I came to speak with her about it," Prelate Alexandra said. "We were nearly finished."

"Sounds like I have good timing," Bella smiled. "I was just about to go out to get something to eat before I have to go to work. Would you like to join me?

Janie felt like she was dreaming.

Prelate Alexandra looked like she was just about to say no, but then she sighed and gave Bella a small smile. "That sounds wonderful. This is the first time I've left the Fort in more than three months. It seems like there is always a new thing that needs my attention. Some time in the sun would do me well."

"Excellent," Bella said. She turned to Janie and gave her a quick hug. Janie stiffly returned it, her mind still reeling. Bella kissed her on the cheek a then collected her satchel."Janie, love, can you tell Will I said thank you for the use of his bed. I'll see you both tomorrow. Oh, and remind him that he has something for you!"

Janie nodded slowly and finally found her voice. "Alright... ah... yes, Miss... Bella."

"Thank you for your testimony, Acolyte," Prelate Alexandra said with a small incline of her head.

"Of... of course, Prelate," Janie said.

"Please write up a formal account tonight with an Archivist. Ask them to deliver it to me personally to review and annotate before they file it," Prelate Alexandra said.

"Yes, Prelate," Janie said with a small bow of her own.

Bella opened the door and the Prelate followed her out.

"How have you been since we last spoke?" Alexandra asked.

"Wonderful!" Bella exclaimed. "I have a familiar now. I'll introduce you to him."

"Oh, that's most impressive-"

The door shut. Janie stood for a long few moments . The silence felt oppressive. Two worlds that she'd been trying to keep utterly separate had just collided, and somehow, miraculously, she hadn't been crushed between them. She crossed to the sideboard and shakily poured herself a drink.