AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"What did you think it was?" Zeal asked.
"Your marks!" the young man shot back. "This is god-lace. That means it's the lace our god made, right?"
Zeal shook his head. "It's the temptation part of your soul being shown to the world. Nothing more, nothing less. The pattern isn't one I design, but rather what you do." He jerked his thumb back to Vernie. "Just like her collar has wide, bold strokes. That's because her personality - when she lets it show - can be more than people can take. She says what she thinks and tries her hardest to think before she says it. Her collar shows mewhoshe is, not what."
Vernie just pulled at her shirt to show how accurate Zeal's description of her collar was. "But we were told that the patterns say something about what we'll become."
"No, they say what you have become," Zeal corrected. "It's why the children are asked to dip their hands midway through their education. It's so they can see what has changed. For Nari, we made sure her progress was visible to everyone around her."
"My lace there hasn't really changed," I admitted, pushing up my sleeves to show the rest. "And I was pulled in far enough to get it that high."
"Savi was worried that if your lace wasn't enough, those around you might not get the right perception of you," Zeal admitted. "She wanted a bigger sign. One you couldn't ignore."
"Ok, but I still want to know what the problem is," Orilee reminded us. "Something's going on, and I know I'm not the only one who's heard rumors."
So I decided to answer, since Zeal kept pushing the conversation in other directions. "Priestesses of the Word are being assigned to traditionally feminine jobs. And by that, I mean things that citizens outside the temples would consider feminine. Teaching, scheduling, record keeping, and such."
"Secretarial," Vernie clarified. "Teachers and aids, basically."
"But," I went on, "I've also heard that Priestesses of the Body are being told to tithe to the temple for missed sessions. They are being given minimum numbers of sessions that they must complete each week or pay for not doing them. Action students aren't being allowed to train for all options. A friend of mine was just denied for her physician training, even though the head of the infirmary wants her to learn. So far, it doesn't seem that Protection is being targeted like this, and I haven't checked with Obligation recently, but I do know that women are no longer allowed on the construction teams."
"That's bullshit!" Zevon snapped.
"Why do you care?" Orilee asked. "Means more chances for you to get a good position after graduation."
Zevon just gaped at her. "Because a priest is no better than a priestess, and what is done to one of us will eventually be done to all of us."
"And that," Zeal told him, "is why you got the collar in your Choosing." Then he turned his eyes to Orilee. "Do not encourage the divide. Do not blame the men who want to help you. This is a problem of fair or not. It isn't men against women, it's a tyrant against the oppressed, and the oppressed can never win without someone to offer aid."
Konas simply shoved his hand over his mouth. "Zeal? Is it going to happen to Protection too? And if it does, what happens to the bonds?"
"I will not break the bonds," Zeal promised as he pushed to his feet. "I will not change the matches. Every time they send a guardian to be reimmersed, I will grow the bonds." His voice was getting loud, and anger was taking over his face. "I will mark them louder, making it even more clear that they belong together. And if they try to immerse the desires, I will mark them as well! I shall not break hearts and divide souls! I do not choose lightly. I do not throw people together because it's easy. I never give a Path to someone that they do not belong on."
"Which means," Livia said softly, "that men with a female guardian will soon be restricted from leaving the temples, right? Or from using their guardian as their bodyguard. Or something!" She tossed up her hands. "But if that happens..."
"Then the men will also become the oppressed," Orilee realized.
Zeal just nodded his head slowly. "This system was designed to be run by gods. It was designed to be managed by men, with checks and balances to make sure that if we are distracted, the system will not fail. Unfortunately, we never planned to be forgotten. In our perceived absence, the system failed, and nowmypriests are the ones paying for it."
Zevon just leaned in to tap Delran's shoulder. "Pass me some of those pages? If we all take Nari's share and spread it around, then she can deal with this."
"But I can't," I told them.
Zeal simply caught my chin, making me look up at him. "But you already are. This is also not your Path. This is their Path, so let them do it."
"And do what instead?" I asked. "I can't make Kinen stop! I'm the reason he's doing this, Zeal."
"No," Zeal corrected. "You are the excuse, and do you know why? Because every mark on your body reminds him that I am still here. He is living comfortably while using my priests as his slaves. Every year, more work is passed down until the newly graduated disciples are buried in it and the High Priest does little more than visit his well-placed friends in society." Then he leaned in. "I need you to be a thorn. A beautiful one that will bury itself deep. I need you, my Chosen, to remind them about me."
"I'm trying," I breathed.
He bent just a little more. "It won't be easy, but I believe in you as much as you believe in me."
Then, right in the middle of my class, Zeal kissed me. Not softly. Not subtly. Zeal claimed my mouth, his tongue dove between my teeth, and he kissed me like he never wanted to stop. He kissed me until I melted into him, my eyes slipping closed, and I could almost feel the dampness of his realm's fog around us.
"The lace," Delran breathed.
"It's like a match mark," Konas agreed.
