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But not salvation, he added ifts: the ereedy liquid hands that sought to steal air and quench it, and the loyalty of Her children But the true mercies of Mother Deep had been withheld from him, for the moment
And yet, he lamented, that moment had lasted for years that only e of tiazed down into the water, below the swiate in pale flashes as they boiled up froht shifted on the water hesitantly, wary to expose the creatures bobbing below it And, as the golden light speared through the waves, a great forest of hairless flesh, swaying on the waves, lossy stares incapable of reflecting the light looked up
They floated so effortlessly, bodies lent buoyancy with the absence of ht have been when their feet lacked webs and could abide the feel of land beneath the of the sun They were deaf to the world, save the wailing chorus of the Prophet’s twin mouths, which he could not abide, and the distant call of Mother Deep, which he could not yet hear
And, he thought resentfully, they sacrificed nothing
They gave themselves fully, ate of the fruit of the Shepherd’s births, and were freed froods He had abstained, at the Prophet’s request He had become the Mouth and was denied their serenity, their bliss
Their freedo He had abstained from the embrace of Mother Deep’s children, and for what? That he could be tornorance? Taunted with the years he had wasted on a goddess that spared not his faonised with the visions of their faces, the hter?
And no they asked hiround and recall the memories they had promised to take away from him What he sahen he looked up across the channel at the docks he had walked off of, following three voices in the night, was a return to sinful norant airbreathers
Not the salvation he had been pros us no closer to the book’
‘An ocean is a vast and trenitude ale blowing fro in the east, theyhtfully ‘And even then, it cannot be fully fathomed unless viewed from below’
He could see flashes of white in the darkness as two broad ed smiles
‘She sees where we cannot,’ the Heralds burbled in agreement ‘Thinks in e cannot comprehend The maelstrom whirls, swirls chaotically, inexplicably’
‘But it is nonetheless felt,’ the Prophet added quietly ‘The Mouth should not concern itself with the book Mother Deep has seen to its return’
He ht have asked ho could any creature, even one that made such promises and delivered such freedo beyond the bonds of her prison? How could she pro that hers was a hand still wrapped in chains?
He ht have asked, but recalled too keenly the wisdo jaws to the unworthy grasped in their oozing claws
Mee was a sin
‘A key, after all,’ the Prophet continued, ‘is but one part of a door Thereand hands to turn the knob’ Golden gazes drifted toward the distant city ‘If those hands should be freed froe, so much the better’
‘Better,’ the Heralds echoed ‘The sons need a father The faithful need a leader’
Beneath the waves, soreelossy stares of the faithful turn in unison toward the city, as though so call Darkness stirred beneath thereat white stares of the Shepherds rise to add their attention
It angered him that he could not hear what they heard, see what they saw Before theeon of stone and herein lay the salvation he could not claim All he could see was the lies and hate that had driven him to the deep in the first place
What they heard, he could only h the roiling waves and over the murmur of wind, he could hear it Slowly, steadily, with a patience that had outlasted e door
A single heart, beating
He supposed, he thought dejectedly, he should be thankful that he was blessed enough to hear even that His ears burned enviously with thoughts of what the congregationminds wiped clean of memories and lies
‘Impatience does not become the position She chose you for,’ the Prophet said coldly, as though sensing his thoughts
‘At ti becomes obscured,’ he replied just as brusquely
‘Is devotion no longer reason enough?’ the Prophet asked
‘Recall the reed ‘It is--’
‘I cannot subsist on metaphors,’ the Mouth snarled suddenly, his patience lost in a sudden surge of grief ‘Words do nothing to diifts of Mother Deep that are promised to the less faithful!’
‘In time!’ the Heralds squawked in protest ‘In time, there will be--’
‘Will be what?’ His frustration inspired words that he knew he should not speak, gave force to will that he kneas sinful ‘All your pro! The toain, even desecrating the Shepherds with their vile poisons! And nohile they sniff out the book like landborne hounds, you sit here and point me toward the very city I turned to you to free myself of?’
He drew in a sharp breath whose saltless taste was yet not foul on his lips He narrowed eyes that were not glossed over, clenched fists that were not webbed, as weak, sinful e into hiales and walls of water are nothing more than mere winds and waves, each without substance’
Satisfaction was so he knew he should not feel It was, like all sensations outside of unrelenting devotion, a sin, and he e that it would be punished He i torn to shreds by the Prophet’s shriek, the saht ruin upon the faithless and blasphemers that stood in the way of the faithful
Perhaps, he thought, that was as close to hearing the harmony in its words as he would ever co silently The Heralds’ relentless crowing had fallen silent; they tilted their heads right side up in curiosity The golden eyes were dark below The congregation was still, suspended motionless in the water Even the white stares of the Shepherds had vanished, as though afraid of rath awaited their former preacher, Ulbecetonth’s Mouth
But after several painful breaths, all that eed from beloas a pair of iven to you,’ the Prophet said softly ‘Perhaps we have beconore your cries But we are not deaf …’ The voices snaked up like vocal tendrils, caressing hionies are heard Your faith shall be rewarded
‘You wish your sinful edy of your life to be eased inside your mind,’ the Prophet continued ‘It shall be done Yours will be ears closer to the Mother’s song than any of the faithful All that is asked of you is that you grant Her one more favour’
He drew in another deep breath, felt his heart pound with anticipation