He raised his arms and crossed them at the wrists. "Let us give our prayers to the Great Light."
Kris knelt and read the prayer from the Book of Liturgy.
"O Great and Brilliant Light, let this, our sacrifice to You, be blessed. Guide us, if You will, in the Way of our Ancestors, and the Law of the great Lawyer, Bel-rogas, who was illumined by Your radiance in the days of the Catastrophe which destroyed the evildoers of the world. Keep us and protect us in the Truth and the Light."
Kris heard the echo of his words ringing in the empty auditorium.
The priest raised his crossed arms again. "May the Great Light illumine you as He does the world."
"And may He guide us in the Way and the Light," Kris responded.
The young priest turned to the altar again. The glowing spot of the Image was approaching the Central Pit.
The sixteen acolytes stepped up to the altar, each one carrying a small bronze box. The priest bowed again to the shining Image and took a large bronze cup from its receptacle on the altar. Then he turned to the acolytes, facing the auditorium again.
"O Shining Holiness," said the priest, "Accept these, the gifts of the Clans, as the Sacrifice which You have ordained."
Each of the acolytes opened his small bronze casket and took a pinch of the powdered herb that it contained. The pinch of powder was reverently placed within the bronze cup held by the priest. Each of the acolytes went in turn, the order of the Clans corresponding to the order of the years in a Cycle of sixteen.
Then the priest held the cup of herbs above his head, faced the great shining lens in the roof, and spoke a brief prayer of offering. After a moment, he turned and placed the cup in the Central Pit, taking care not to obscure the light from above, which was moving slowly toward the center.
The young priest again looked out over the empty Temple.
"Who are you who come to pay your respect and worship to the Great Light?"
It was the moment that Kris had been waiting for. He stood, and, reading carefully from the Book of Liturgy, he answered the question, putting his own name in the proper place.
"I am Kris, son of Kym, of the Clan of Yorgen. I come this day to say to the Great Light: I have done wrong, O Holy Light; I have done-wrong against Your Law and against the Way of our Ancestors. But I say that I have intended no wrong against You, and I say upon my honor that I will avoid such wrongs in the future. I ask your blessing, O Great Light, that I may never do wrong again."
His voice was strong and powerful in the great room, and it sounded even louder than that of the celebrant.
The priest seemed not to notice. He crossed his wrists in supplication and said: "You are pardoned for your error in the effulgence of the Great Light."
He turned back to the altar.
At that moment, the focus of rays from the Great Light struck the Central Pit and the cup of powdered herbs that lay within it. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then, the herbs began to smoke, sending a pleasant aroma through the Temple. At last, the powder burst into a green flame. It flickered for nearly a minute, and then died.
The service was over.
Chapter XIV
When he stepped out of the Temple, Kris saw Dran peDran waiting for him. The little Bronze Islander leaned from the saddle of his deest and said, "Captain, Secretary Norvis is come from Tammulcor. He is wait for you at the Inn."
Kris nodded and mounted his own animal, paying no attention to the throngs of people that lined the streets leading to the Square of Holy Light. None of them had crossed the line of black-and-red-clad men who guarded the Square.
Kris signaled, and the Hundred Men fell into formation behind him, following him toward the Inn of the Purple Deest.
Norvis peKrin Dmorno was waiting in the banquet room. He was just finishing his midmeal; across the table from him sat Marja geDel Vyless. The girl saw Kris first, and she stood up with a happy little cry when he entered the room.
Norvis stood too, extending his hand. "You did a beautiful job, Kris. All Nidor is talking about the great Kris peKym who drove the devils out."
"You were wonderful, Kris peKym," said Marja, holding his other hand tightly. There was a light in her eyes that Kris had never seen before.
Kris eased himself into a plush chair. "What brings you here, Norvis?"
The secretary grinned. "In the first place, we wanted to bask in the reflected light of your glory; in the second, we thought you might need a little money."
Kris returned the grin. "It would not hurt anything. Is there anything left in the treasury at all?"
Marja looked at him with shining eyes. "There's more than you can imagine, Kris peKym. You've made more money for the Party in a year than my father made in fourteen."
"Donations?" Kris asked.
She shook her head. "Some of it, of course. But most of it is the money you got for us."
"The Dimay scrip," Norvis said. "Since all that cobalt went back into the Bank of Dimay at Tammulcor, the notes that you bought at two for one are now worth their full value. We're twice as rich as when we began."
"Good," Kris said. "We've got quite a bill here at the Inn. It wouldn't bother me in the least to tell the manager he owed it to us, but I think it's better to pay it, as long as we have the cash."
"I'll take care of it immediately," Norvis said.
Kris turned to Marja. "How are things with you?" he asked. "It's a long ride from Tammulcor. Tired?"
"We didn't ride; Norvis brought the Krand."
Kris nodded. "And how's your brother?"
"Ganz is fine," the girl said. "He's really doing things in Tammulcor."
"Just a second," Kris said. "How come you came up on the Krand?"
Norvis spread his hands. "How else could we bring a few hundred thousand weights in cash? On deest-back?"
"You're right," Kris admitted. "Where's she docked?"
"Number Three Pier. I gave half your crew liberty; they wanted to see Gelusar. I hope that's all right."
"Certainly," Kris said.
"Good. What are your plans now?"
Kris leaned forward. "I've got it all figured out. Actually, we don't know if the Earthmen will ever come back or not. We'll have to make sure that if they do we'll be prepared for them. So I've sent a message to Elder Grandfather Kiv peGanz, telling him that I want to talk to him about the running of the Council from now on. The Merchants' Party should have some kind of voice in the government."
Norvis nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, I suppose that's best. What did he say?"
"I haven't heard yet; he hasn't replied. I imagine the old gentleman's still a little shocked by what happened to the Bel-rogas School."
Marja blinked at him. "But I thought you were just at the Great Temple. Weren't you seeing him?"
"No," Kris told her. "I went to the midday service. There was no one there but me, and the priest was just a young man. I doubt if any of the Elders will be conducting services themselves until the next feast day."
Norvis stood up from the table. "Everything seems to be nicely in hand now," he said. "I guess I'd better go back to the Krand and pick up a little of our ill-gotten gains. I didn't want to bring it with me until I knew for sure how much you needed."
"Just enough to keep us here at the Inn," Kris said. "A hundred men and deests can eat a lot of food."
"I'll take care of it," Norvis assured him, as he turned and walked out of the room.
Kris followed him out with his eyes and then looked back at the girl. Just for an instant, he was a trifle startled. She had her elbows on the table, and her chin was cradled in her palms. She was staring at him intently.