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"You&039;ve got to be kidding"

"You&039;re not impressed?"

I"On the contrary, I&039;m always impressed by castles This one is particularly nice It has a nice view of the ocean, and it&039;s not falling down like lots of the castles Sarah has dragged me to see"

"But?"

"Portland Castle isn&039;t reallya hand that I hoped would express all the e "I know, I know, the Court isn&039;t heaven, but it&039;s similar, and well, this just isn&039;t hed and took h the entrance, on the tail end of a group of tourists "Would it help if I told you that the Court itself isn&039;t in the castle?"

"Then why - "

"One of the portals is contained here This way"

Heedless of the tour group, which was heading for the Tudor kitchens, Theo turned left and walked down a short hallway to a thick wooden door bearing a sign that read PRIVATE

"You&039;ll have to forgive my curiosity, but as life like when this castle was new?" I asked as we entered a small, dark room, no doubt an administrative office I shivered a little at a draft that seemed to be centered at the doorway

"Dirty Everyone had lice and diseases And it smelled Here we are See this?" Theo pointed at a small niche in the outer wall of the room It was probably intended to hold a candle or lamp "Press the far left side, and the entrance to the portal should be revealed"

A dull ru around in surprise The wall on the far side slid back about three feet, leaving an opening through which it was possible to enter "Good gravy, don&039;t tell eway?"

"No doubt several It was built by Henry VIII He had a partiality to secret passageways Left at the fork, then straight on"

The passageas lit with soft lights, for which I was grateful considering the uneven floor I proceeded down the narrow passage, obediently taking the left branch when the passage split into two "What happens if you come here when someone is in the office?"

"Doesn&039;t happen That room is unoccupied, just made to look like an office in case someone stumbles upon it"

"Haven&039;t the castle people noticed it?"

"I&039;m sure they have, but the roo of it All portals are created in such a way They are visible to mortals, but made so that unless you knohat the portal is, no memory of it will re back the skeptical thought that such a thing was i else I should know other than what you told h that misty blue doorway," Theo directed

I stopped before the twirly bluish lights that evidently served as a portal to the Court Despite several mental lectures, my stomach continued to churn unpleasantly

"I told you - I&039;ve only been to the Court once, for a petition that failed Non-members are seldom allowed in, and then only on Court business I can&039;t iine they&039;d deny you and your cha the trials, but politeness will count heavily on your side"

"I&039;m always polite Except to Sarah, but she&039;sis allowed," I said, taking a deep breath to calm my stomach Theo must have feltthem a supportive squeeze

If you prefer, you can leave the talking to ht not be a member of the Court, but I&039;m more comfortable with the members than you are

No, it&039;s OK I can do this You&039;re sure they won&039;t separate us?

I won&039;t let them

I was comforted both by the warmth of his hands on my shoulders and by the smile that brushed h the bluish haze, and entered the Court of the Divine Blood

"OK, now I&039;ine the equations it would take to explain the time and space of the Court" I stopped on the cobblestoned corner of what appeared to be a pleasant European village circa the early eighteenth century Ahead of us was a town square co on the broad wooden lip of the well, chatting More people strolled through the square, soroups, a few popping in and out of the half-tis that lined the square So happily on a bike bell that warned of his approach An orange cat sat in a pool of sunlight, licking her paws Three dogs chased a ss in the trees that lined the square Above it all, tall spires of various buildings could be seen over the blue-tile roofs capping the stone and wood structures that surrounded the square It was idyllic, pleasant, and co when you considered that it was all located in a slish castle

"As with most elements of the Court, it&039;s best if you just accept it and not try to figure it out," Theo said, consulting a signpost with several narrow arrows on it

"I&039;ve never been one for blind faith," I rebird flitted toward h look before flying off "Don&039;t get , this is really lovely, but it&039;s not very heavenly, is it?"

Theo looked a? Fluffy white clouds and choirs of angels playing the harp?"

A young wo a tray of pies They smelledwell, heavenly I sniffed the air appreciably "Maybe nothing quite so trite So the Court is made up of a town?"

"Yes Or a palazzo, or cathedral, or forest The one time I was here, it resembled a desert, complete with snakes and scorpions It all depends on the whi displayed in a shop at the edge of the square, and looked warily at Theo "Sovereign? You meaner"

"No I told you, this is not heaven The Christian concept of God is based on the Sovereign, just as are the deities of other religions, but they are not the sae?"

"The sovereign isn&039;t one entity"

"So it&039;s ods

"No The sovereign is the sovereign Neither one, nor many It just is"

"You refer to the head of the Court as an &039;it&039;?" I asked, n has no gender It is sin It presides over the Court and enforces the canon All else is done by the mare"

"Mare? Mare like the dark area on the moon?"

He smiled, and my heart turned over "No, in this case it&039;s an old term that is n&039;s right hand, so to speak It will be one of therants you membership to the Court once you pass the last trial"

"How many mare are there?"

"Three"

"So the ender neutral?" Myso many impossible ideas at once, but I was firo with the flow" that held off judgent conclusion

"That&039;s right Ah That looked like a ht back" Theo dashed off down one of the narrow alleys that snaked off of the square I forced a pleasant expression on my face, and tried to look as if I frequently found myself in pseudo-European, out-of-ti men in a small horse cart drove pastpleasantly on the cobblestone Behind the pink scarf, perched on a bright yellow motorbike, whipped around the horse cart with a wave at the driver

This place was definitely going to take so used to

"Well, hel-lo there, beautiful"

I turned to face the speaker Aa skiainst a light pole, giving me a salacious once-over "You must be new I haven&039;t seen you around the Court The name&039;s Gabriel"

"Gabriel? I&039;m surprised to see you without your truave it a rather sloppy kiss, although I badly wanted to wipe my hand afterward

"Alas, I am not that Gabriel," the man said with a smile that bordered on a leer as he not-so-subtly eyed my breasts I crossed my arms over my chest "I am a cherub, not a vessel"

"A vessel?"