Read Ebook: The guest rites by Silverberg Robert Giunta John Illustrator

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Ebook has 33 lines and 3983 words, and 1 pages

do!"

He ran out. Marik and Polla, sitting quietly, exchanged glances.

"We are moving in the right direction," Polla San said. "But I think you would be wise to guard your room of prayer lest he seek to add to his collection."

"No fear of that," Marik said. "We'll see him again."

The Earthman disappeared later that morning. Kenra Sarg reported that he had set out, alone, in the general direction of Corolla, after fruitlessly attempting to bribe one of the kitchen boys to accompany him. He had offered them fabulous sums, but they had laughed at him.

The Eye of Marik's Carthule was still in place, but one of the younger acolytes, who had been praying all morning, told Marik that the Earthman had furtively entered the room of prayer and had backed out upon seeing the priest at his devotions.

With the Earthman gone, Marik returned to the calm of his daily routine. The after-meal meditation was a pleasant one; he and Polla San sat facing the desert, contemplating the grandeur of Carthule and pondering the meaning of His ways, until they sank into a transcendent peace. As the night winds began to cool the desert, they fell into a discussion of the problem of evil.

Marik maintained that Carthule had created the Earthmen out of His infinite wisdom, better to show the virtue of His people by contrast; while Polla San, wandering on the very edge of orthodox theology, suggested that the god whom the Earthman worshipped was actually independent of Carthule, representing the embodiment of evil as Carthule was the personification of good.

Marik refused to accept this, arguing that Carthule had created both His people and the Earthmen, or perhaps--as a concession to Polla San--that he had created the god of the Earthmen who, in turn, had created the Earthmen. The discussion went on through the night, while the night winds swirled the sand up around the temple, and they felt no need of sleep.

"Your theory denies the omnipotence of Carthule," Marik said, as the night winds began to lower in intensity. "If you postulate an evil force of as great power as the good, you deny the factors on which our morality--" Marik broke off, seeing that Polla San had slipped off into the near-sleep of a reverie.

He stood up, his long legs cramped after the afternoon and night of sitting, and walked up and down. The desert was settling into its morning calm after the tempestuous night. He stared out across it, thinking of the Earthman who had set out for Corolla with the priceless eye of Carthule in a pouch by his side.

There was a figure in the distance, walking slowly and with great difficulty in widening circles, following a wild path to the temple. Marik lifted his nictitating lid to make sure his eyes were not playing him false.

Then, rather than awakening Kenra Sarg or Polla San, he did up his robe and went out in the desert to fetch the Earthman back himself.

He had been wandering all night, tossed by the night winds, eyes and ears and mouth choked with sand. He was still master enough of himself to throw an angry glare at Marik when the priest approached, but he suffered himself to be lifted like a child and carried back to the temple. The pouch was still hanging by his side, Marik noted.

"I see our friend has returned," Polla San said.

"Yes," Marik said. "Yesterday morning he departed without taking leave and lost his way again on the way to Corolla. After a night in the desert he found his way back to us and is once again looking for sanctuary. This is true, isn't it?" Marik said, looking down at the Earthman cradled in his arms.

The Earthman angrily spat out some sand.

"Carthule in His mercy has brought our wanderer back," Polla San said.

"I'll take him below," Marik said. "His night in the desert has left him weak and sore, and he needs rest. But he will always find sanctuary here with Carthule. Carthule shows His generosity to the lowest of creatures."

Kenra Sarg appeared at the door. "I see our guest has returned," he said.

"Yes. He has come back to us." Marik handed the Earthman over to Kenra Sarg, despite an impotent look of rage from the huddled, battered little thief.

"Take him to the room he had, and let him rest. He has traveled, and he is weary. I will go to the room of prayer, and offer up the Guest Rite for him, for he is our guest again. For as long as he cares to stay."

Kenra Sarg nodded and carried the Earthman inside.

Marik turned to Polla San. "Carthule has treated us well. I always feel happy when we have a guest."

Polla San smiled. "He still has the eye, I hope."

"He still does. I don't think he got too far last night. I've never seen anyone quite so angry."

"He will never find his way to Corolla alone," Polla San said. "Not without this." He thoughtfully fondled the compass in his hand.

"If my acolytes were not all so busy, I would allow one to guide him," Marik said, smiling. "But I can spare none, and I enjoy offering our hospitality. He is our guest, and we must do all in our power to make his stay enjoyable. Perhaps he will never want to leave."

"No," Polla San said, standing up and flexing his legs. "He will leave often, and silently. Perhaps he will take your statue's eye as well, to put in the pouch by his side. But he will return, as he did yesterday."

"He will return," Marik said. "Again and again. He will never find his way across the desert to Corolla, and eventually he will stay here as our permanent guest. And one day he shall die, if not sooner then later--these Earthmen are a short-lived breed--and we will recover the eyes, which will still be in the pouch by his side."

"It is wonderful to have a guest," Polla San said.

"It is," Marik said. "He shall live here with the eyes by his side, and one day he will die and we can recover our treasures from him. He can never get far with them. We can wait. He has but a few decades left, while Carthule has all eternity. Come," he said.

Together they went to the room of prayer to offer the service of the Guest Rites.

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