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A frustrated and angry Master Jojonah shuffled down theand grand corridor running along the top of the cliff wall overlooking All Saints Bay Windoere spaced every few feet to the ht, the eastern viehile the left-hand as dotted sporadi-cally by wooden doors layered with carvings of intricate detail Each door told a separate story, one of the fables that formed the basis of the Abellican Church, and usually Jojonah, who had only fully examined a score of the fifty doors in all his decades at St-Mere-Abelle, would pause and look at a portion of yet another After an hour of perusal, he ht have fully scrutinized a six- inch-square block, reflecting on all of the hiddenparticularly foul, and in no mood for reflections on his strayed Order, thehis lips to keep fro aloud

He was taken by complete surprise, then, when a man blocked his path He ju face of Brother Brauer monk inforain, though not smoothly"

Master Jojonah didn&039;t blink, his expression holding that angry stare and focusing it, not quite intentionally, on Brother Brau?" Braumin asked

"Why would I care?" Jojonah blurted before he could con-sciously formulate a reply He silently chastised hi the unintentionally sharp retort as a personal lesson concerning just how angry and out-of-control he had becoer and frustration, had pushed Markwart too far Of course he cared about Brother Dellwell And of course, Master Jojonah did not want to take his outrage out on Brother Braumin Herde, in effect, his closest friend He looked at the hurt and surprised expression on Brauy

Jojonah quickly bit back that reply, though, conjuring another i lifeless in a wooden box That iht as a father ht have for one of his children

"Brother Brau his voice sharp, and loud

Brauht be over-heard, for there were indeed other h none in the immediate area

"Brother Dellh his own foolishness, I have been told Well, reatest truth, the one inescapable fact of our existence And if Brother Dellone before"

"What nonsense is this?" Brother Braumin dared to ask, quietly, calmly

"The nonsense of your self-iht back at him "The nonsense to believe that any one man can make a difference, a real difference, in the course of human events" The master snorted and waved his hand disrab hihly shoved the arm away

"Get on with your life, Brother Brau where you will and secure your own little corner of the too-big world!"

Jojonah pounded off down the corridor, leaving poor Brau perplexed and wounded to his heart

And Jojonah, too, was hurting In the midst of his little speech he had al But it was all for a noble purpose, he reain his inner center of harer in a great mental belch He had berated Braumin, loudly, publicly, because he loved theenough for hi the road with Master De&039;Unnero before Brauone

That was the safest course, Jojonah knew, given Markwart&039;s foulparanoia Brau time Given the "accident" that befell Brother Dellman, the course Jojonah had set Braumin on, with his talk of Avelyn and the faults of the Church and his visit to Avelyn&039;s sacred grave, suddenly appeared to Jojonah as incredibly selfish Battered by his own conscience, he had needed Braumin&039;s support, and thus, in his desperation, had pulled the ht hold for Brother Brau Jojonah profoundly now Markwart had won, it see to believe he could beat the powerful ain He felt weak and sick, the sath and righteous deterreat doors of St Precious

Master Jojonah&039;s brutal treat corridor What could possibly have happened to so turn the master around?

Brother Braumin&039;s eyes widened; he wondered if that had indeed been Master Jojonah he had been speaking with, or if, perhaps, Markwart, or even Francis, had taken control of thethe notion Possession was difficult enough on the unsuspecting who had never been trained in the use of the stones Since Jojonah could use the soul stone, and use it well, he had definitely learned how to manipulate his spirit in such ways that would prevent such intrusion

But what, then, had happened? Why had the rily and rudely to him? Why had the master practically disavowed all that the two of them had tried to accomplish, all that they considered Avelyn to stand for?

Brauht of poor Deller monks hinted that it was no accident at all, but rather a coordinated maneuver by De&039;Unnero and the other twoon the wheel with Dellht led Brau hih of gentle Master Jojonah, to put aside his hurt and believe that to be the case But still, it e his th the course this quiet rebellion reat risk for Brother Brau corridor, staring out theat the dark waters of the cold bay below,over the possibilities, when a sharp voice from behind startled hi around, had the dis-tinct feeling that thePerhaps Jojonah had known of Francis&039; spying, Brau with ev-ery word

Braumin looked back to the"To whom?" he asked "Or to what? The world? Did you think Ias hed "Come now, Brother Braust ourselves Not when such possibilities loom before us"

"I admit that never have I seen you in so fine a mood, Brother Francis," Braumin replied "Has someone died?"

Francis let the sarcasm slide off his shoulders "It is likely that you and I will be working together for many years to come," he said "We really must learn more of each other if we are to properly coordinate the training of first-year students"

"First-year students?" Braumin echoed "That is a job for mas-ters, not immaculates " As soon as he heard his oords, Brother Brau, and he didn&039;t care for the path at all "What do you know?" he asked

"I know that there will soon be openings for two ly "Since few of the present group seems worthy, the Father Abbot will be left with difficult de-cisions, perhaps even waiting until those worthy in ht that your as-cension to hest-ranked immaculate and were chosen as second on the most important mission to Aida, but truthfully, it seeh and turned to leave, but Braurabbed Francis roughly by the shoulder and spun hi Braumin&039;s hand on his shoulder

"What two h that one of the departing masters would be Jojonah

"Did not your mentor tell you?" Brother Francis replied "I did see you speaking with hiently, rug-ging hard on Francis&039; robe as he spoke

"Jojonah," Francis answered, straightening and pulling away

"How?"

"He is to depart on the morrow for St Precious, to accompany Master De&039;Unnero, ill become the new abbot," Francis was all too happy to explain, and he did indeed enjoy the crestfallen expression on Brother Brauht hard to hold control, re- himself that he should not openly appear distressed by Jojonah&039;s departure But this wasFrancis so hard that the man nearly fell to the floor

"Ah, my temperamental Iainst your possible pro He shoved past Francis and started down the corridor, first in the direction Jojonah had gone, but then, too hurt and confused to even think of confronting the man at that time, he spun about and walked briskly, then broke into an open run, to his private rooreat amusement

Despite his protests, Brother Brau The Father Abbot had struck against Master Jojonah, it seemed, in a way that was at least as effective as Brother Dellman&039;s accident With Master Jojonah far away in St Precious, an abbey whose stature had been greatly diminished by the death of revered Abbot Dobrinion, and under the watchful eye of wicked De&039;Un-nero, Father Abbot Markwart had all but neutralized the man

Now Brauiven him in the corridor, the abrupt dismissal and disclaimer of all they had hoped to achieve Brau, and so he put aside his own hurt and anger and sought out Jojonah, going to the master&039;s private room

"I find it difficult to believe that you would be stupid enough to coreeted him coldly

"I should desert my friends when they need me most?" Brother Braumin asked skeptically

"Need you?" echoed an incredulous Jojonah

"Blackness has come to your heart and spirit," Braumin pressed "I see your pain clearly on your face, for I, above all others, know that face"

"You know nothing, and babble like a fool," Jojonah scolded, and truly it hurt him to speak so to Brau one, back to your duties, before I report you to the Father Abbot and he pushes you even further down the list of promotions"

Brother Braumin paused and considered the words carefully, and then he ca Jojonah talked of the list of pro that to their last dis-cussion before they had met in the corridor, Brother Braumin could then see another course that the older ht that despair had defeated you," he said quietly "I cae in tone profoundly affected Jojonah "Not despair, matism It would seem that my time here is ended, and that my road to Brother Avelyn has taken an unforeseen twist That bendHowever, it would seeether has reached its end"

"Then what a," Master Jojonah replied soh this situation quite carefully

Brother Brauave an incredulous, even derisive, snort