"I wasn't told anything except to show up," Griffen said, resentfully. Etienne had blithely given him the time and place but nothing more. He was going to have words with the werewolf hybrid. Small wonder Etienne had disappeared as soon as the ritual broke up. Griffen wanted to confront him. He could have warned him that they were going to be performing some kind of heavy magic in public, before an unprepared and largely nonmagical public. By the time the crowds had cleared, Etienne was gone. With his gift of foreknowledge, he might have had some inkling that Griffen was pissed off.
"Maybe they thought you already knew what was up," Cos suggested. "Are you descended from a member of the original krewe? Lord knows that when we started up Antaeus again, we had to go through all the archives for our history. Amazing how little people write down when they're sure something is going to carry on in living memory. I'm making sure that every single event this year is documented, recorded, and made into a computer file as well so that we don't have to go through it all again next time."
"No. I'm from Michigan. I came to New Orleans last summer. I just graduated from college."
"You did?" Bert asked, surprised. He studied Griffen's face. "You must be some special if they asked you so soon."
"You can see why," Holly said. "He's got a gift for magic. They must have sensed that."
"I reject your supposition that what went on in there is magic," Cos said.
"What else could it be?"
"But what's all of it for?" Griffen interrupted the budding argument. "Why are you involved in this ritual?"
Holly regarded him seriously. "Well, do you believe in the concept of a sacred trust? Can you entertain the concept without going all ironical on us?"
"In theory," Griffen said honestly.
"Well, this is more than theory, isn't it?" Cos said. "It turned out to be the God's honest truth. I was told what I could expect, but I myself did not know what kind of a holy miracle it was until just a few minutes ago, and it has changed me forever. I wish I could tell my whole congregation. It was mind-blowing."
"For me, too," Griffen said, sincerely. "No argument there."
Bert nodded. "What we went through in there is the reenactment of a sacred trust passed down from king to king. It used to be that the king of a country wielded all four elemental scepters to protect his realm, but here we only have our kind of kings, who rule at Mardi Gras."
"The four elements are invoked, with spirit to bind them together, in the name of the Trinity," Cos added. "This is a sacred rite."
"I'm not really a churchgoer," Griffen said. "Would that prevent me from participating?"
"But you're not against goodness, are you?" asked Bert.
"No, just not sure what I believe. I don't impinge on other people, but organized religion is not my thing."
"Are you an atheist?" Cos demanded, his brows down.
Griffen shook his head. "I can't say exactly that I believe in a higher being; but I can't deny that what I thought of as the supernatural is in my everyday life now, since I came to New Orleans."
"I'm not surprised," Holly said, with a grin. "No matter what you believe, things happen in this city that are hard to explain anywhere else. You don't have to be a believer. We all come from different traditions, Griffen. I'm a wiccan myself. I couldn't make it to . . . Well, we'll talk later about that." Griffen understood. He had known a few wiccans in Michigan and wanted to hear more about the local practitioners. "Antaeus is a Baptist. Only Nautilus is a good Catholic."
"I'll pray for you all," Bert said, sincerely. The others groaned. "Sorry, but you are probably all lost to heaven," he said. "I hope for your souls' sakes that you find your way before God calls you home."
"I'll be in the Summerland," Holly said. "He can call me there."
"Are you blaspheming?"
"Can you call it that if it isn't your belief system?" she asked. "Look, Griffen, it doesn't matter what we call ourselves, or how we practice, or what we believe or don't. What matters is that what you did and will do protects New Orleans. It is a special place. Some major ley lines come through here. The energy centers running along the Mississippi alone could power some serious spells . . ." Bert groaned. She rounded on him. "All right, but why does a priest cense the church with incense and chanting?"
"To drive out malign energies. The devil!"
"That is what we do, too! We all call the devil by the name that has meaning to us. Darkness, chaos, evil, greed, anger. Sin is a matter of discussion, but that which hurts other living beings is just plain wrong. Can we agree on that?"
"To place it to do God's work--" Bert said.
"Or Goddess's," Holly put in, earning an annoyed scowl from him.
". . . Is a holy thing."
"I can get behind that," Griffen said. "But don't ask me to put a label on it. It wouldn't be sincere."
"All right," Cos said. "I don't want to get ugly about it."
"I have some other questions, if you don't mind," Griffen asked. "About the ritual specifically. Why, if it's important to bind the energy to protect the city, don't we do it right here and now?"
"We don't have the energy yet," Holly said. "We have to raise it to bind it. Our ritual today will start drawing out the power that is in the city, so, on the day of our parade, we can gather it up and imbue the city with the protection it needs for the next century. Really, it should have been done every decade."
"Like a booster shot?" Griffen asked, grinning. Holly grinned back.
"I don't know what the fuss is," Cos complained. "You know, we all got along okay without doing this for years."
Holly rejected his assertion. "This is a vital focus for the state and the country, even the continent. Most people ignore New Orleans except at Mardi Gras, but what happens here affects people and places for thousands of miles around it. So, we will use the energy that people give while they are here for the Carnival, and from the four elements themselves."
"It all comes from God," Bert insisted.
"I am in no position to dispute that with you," Holly said. "The higher powers are a matter of faith, as you say."
Griffen sensed they were skirting delicate subjects again. "It worried me that all that power has been cut loose without control. It seemed totally wild. Isn't that dangerous?"
"Of course it is," Cos said seriously. "We could be killed trying to lay the power on parade day. We're all prepared for that. Aren't you?"
Griffen was taken aback. "No! I . . . I didn't really know until now what it meant to be the king."
"Well, in most krewes it's purely ceremonial--or financial. You can understand why this particular ritual hasn't been tried in a long time. When our krewes started marching again, the text was in the archives, but no one wanted to try it until all four of us were back. Now we are. And we are standing up to protect our home."
Bert cleared his throat. "I read in the Book of the Sea--that's our records--that once these scepters are unleashed, they have to be deployed in exactly the right way as soon as possible or problems start to ensue. We can't just play with them. The power has to be kept in balance. Otherwise, there are far-reaching consequences. Yes, that could be death, but if we're careful, it won't be."
Griffen felt his heart sink. He wasn't sure whether he was prepared to die for his newfound city. Etienne hadn't been open with him about the risks. He needed to make Etienne tell him what else he had foreseen. The others watched him curiously. He swallowed his ire.
"If you don't mind my asking, the ritual calls for the kings of krewes to govern the elements. You're female."
"Well, I am glad you noticed that," Holly said, her voice deeply ironical.
"I'm not objecting! But the language doesn't say 'or queens.' "