“I need to talk to Hansen,” Justin insisted. “Tell him, Val. Mae’ll get me showered.”
Val slinked away, muttering something about how some people got all the good jobs. Mae helped Justin to the door but hesitated before leaving. “Are you sure about this? You’re really in bad shape. What caused this?”
“Magic I wasn’t prepared for,” he said. “This is the physical toll for being part of such power when I wasn’t trained enough. But we found out what we needed.”
Mae lowered her voice. “You said something else when you got back . . . about the god’s touch. What was that all about?”
He didn’t answer for a long time. “Something else I wasn’t prepared for. Something glorious.”
That was all he’d say, and she guided him out to one of the guesthouse’s bathrooms. He managed to make it in on his own, and she sat outside as he showered, listening for the sound of falling. He managed to avoid disaster but still looked exhausted when he emerged. Even dressed later in clean clothes, it was obvious to anyone that he’d been sick. Once he was propped up comfortably on the bed, though, Mae began hunting for her hairpins. She didn’t have to be Cloistered for Hansen like she did Jasper, but she still needed to be Arcadian proper.
“Don’t,” said Justin, seeing her start to pull her hair up. “Stay like you are. Just brush it down.”
“Are you crazy?” she asked. “You know how these people are.”
”Yes,” said Justin. “Yes, I do.”
That was all he’d say until Hansen was shown in. The Arcadian did a double take when he saw Mae, but it seemed to be more out of surprise than uncontrollable lust. He accepted the chair offered to him near Justin’s bed and paid little attention to her after that as she sat near the door.
“Dr. March,” said Hansen awkwardly. “You’ve been ill.”
“I’m on the mend,” said Justin. “But I hope your master will understand why I can’t make it today.”
“Of course, of course,” said Hansen. “I’ll let him know, and perhaps you can reschedule if you recover before your trip ends. Let us know if there’s anything we can do. I’ll keep you in my prayers.”
Justin smiled and shook his head. “There’s nothing anyone can do—well, except my god. This is his doing, the price I gladly pay for wielding his power.”
Mae might have thought she’d misheard, but Hansen’s startled look told her otherwise. “I’m sorry, did you say your god?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Justin, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“B-but Gemmans have no gods,” stammered Hansen. “You persecute those who do.”
“Some of us have gods, gods capable of great things. Gods who truly make their followers earn power and reward those who serve faithfully.” Justin paused and gave Hansen a long, scrutinizing look. “You’re a faithful man. If you served my god, you would’ve married Elaina long ago.”
Hansen froze. “How do you know about her?”
Justin spread his hands. “Because my god’s power is great, and he’s given me knowledge about many things. I know that you do much of the temple’s work but that the Grand Disciple takes all the credit and rewards—other things, not just Elaina. I know you hate him for it.”
Mae didn’t know any of the context, but she could see that Justin had struck a nerve. Hansen shook his head, almost frantically. “No. I serve him faithfully. I gladly share what I have. He is a great man who deserves much—”
“Like the woman you love?” asked Justin knowingly. “How can you say that? If you won’t admit to your own feelings, think about hers. Does she enjoy it? How does she feel each time he makes you bring her to his bed? Does she like getting his ‘blessing?’” Hansen stood up, face flushed. “I’m leaving—”
“—to do what? Crawl back to him and tattle on me because I know that he’s sleeping with your concubine? So that he’ll reward you with another shit errand that you’ll get nothing for?” Justin pointed at the chair, and despite his pale face and signs of sickness, there was an authority in him that Mae was completely unprepared for. “Now sit down and shut up. I’m going to help you change your life.” Hansen sat.
“My god also knows about your plan to take down the RUNA’s media stream,” continued Justin.
Hansen’s jaw nearly hit the ground. “There’s no way you can know that!”
“Haven’t you been paying attention? My god can do anything. You think Nehitimar’s the only player in town? You’re wrong. Mine sees everything and can do things yours can only dream of. And this media stream plan? It’s a dream. No self-taught hacker can take it out. The Grand Disciple’s setting you up for failure.”
“They aren’t self-taught,” said Hansen, regaining a little composure. “They were trained by a programmer who defected from your country a few years ago. He swears he still knows the protocols and says that if the stream is attacked from at least three different points, it can be temporarily disabled.”
Justin said nothing but simply gave the other man a hard stare. Despite that, Mae had a feeling Justin was as surprised as she was. He’d said not even an EA programmer could crack Gemman networks . . . but a defector trained in them? It was possible, possible enough to give the theory a little more consideration. And Mae knew enough to know that the media stream was backed up and run out of several points throughout the country, exactly for the purpose of avoiding crashes. Simultaneous knock-outs could have an effect, but she didn’t know enough of the technicalities to say for sure. Justin probably didn’t either, but he was doing a good job of acting as all-knowing as the god he claimed he served.
“It won’t work,” he told Hansen. “You and the others will fail. And you’ll be caught and trapped in our country. And the Grand Disciple and your president will disavow all knowledge of your plan, claiming you worked alone. And then they’ll leave you to rot in a Gemman prison. Don’t worry, though. I’m sure Elaina will be well-taken care of.”
“What do you want?” asked Hansen, through gritted teeth.
“It’s what you want, not me.” Justin pointed at Mae. “Look at her.” Hansen, seeming reluctant to do so, turned and looked.
“She’s not my concubine. She’s not my wife. I have no legal claim to her, no force that keeps her by my side, but she chooses to stay with me anyway. Would Elaina do that for you, if no laws bound her to you?”
“Yes,” said Hansen instantly. “She loves me.”
“Can you imagine that?” Justin lost some of the command in his voice and was now going into wheeling-and-dealing mode. “Having your beautiful woman free and uncovered, for all to see, with everyone knowing that she’s with who she chooses—you—and that no one else, no matter how much they want her or lust for her, can lay a finger on her.” He focused on Mae. “Tell Hansen what you studied in school.”
She wasn’t expecting the question and presumed he wasn’t talking about her military training. “Music,” she said.
Hansen, however, was one step behind. “You went to school?”
“All our women do,” said Justin. “They can learn what they want, take on what professions they want, and be with the men they want. We don’t cover them up either. We let them show off their beauty. And we don’t let men who are full of themselves crush others who’ve done the work. A man who serves gets his rewards. They aren’t snatched up by others.”
That was perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, Mae thought. There were certainly power inequalities in the RUNA, but compared to Arcadia? Yes, her homeland was every bit the paradise Justin was describing.
“And your god allows all these things,” said Hansen wonderingly. “Well,” corrected Justin, “our country does. But . . .” He studied the other man carefully, and Mae could guess Justin’s thoughts almost as if he was explaining them out loud to her. Hansen might be dissatisfied with what his god had given him, but he’d been raised in a world with gods, and that was what he understood. “My god makes it possible. It’s the kind of world his followers live in. He could make it possible for you. And Elaina.”