Dmitri wriggled his fingers. “I’m the same priest who’s protected you all along. Why should seeing another aspect of my powers alarm you so? Don’t you know I’d never use any power against you?”
Slowly, Martin clutched the offered hand and allowed Dmitri to help him up. Would Martin one day manage such a feat as disappearing?
Dmitri continued the conversation as though nothing unusual had happened. “Why do you think the Father prohibits two men or two women together?”
“Mine is not to question your god.” Martin would like to ask a few questions with his fists about why he and Peter were kept apart and how Dmitri knew of them. Although, much more demonstration of holy power might turn Martin into a true believer.
“Mage bond pairs are extremely powerful, especially when they bond young. But, if not guided, they go rogue, use their powers for evil, not good. Which is why mages as a whole were considered dangerous.”
“I don’t understand. It’s the Lady’s people who took my parents.”
“Who do you fear most in this world?”
A few sevendays ago, he’d say he feared nothing or no one. Now… “Someone who could take away all I hold dear.”
Dmitri turned his head in the direction of the Lady’s temple, where a tall spire shot toward the sky. “So does she. And the only thing she holds dear is power.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you kept Petran and me… Peter…apart.”
“Doesn’t it? Could you have held off a novice guard when you were young?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Congratulations, you have found your mage bond. Do you have any idea how rare that is? But if you’d received no training, what would happen if you held a sword on an experienced fighter?”
“He’d likely take my weapon and kill me.”
“Precisely.”
Though Martin couldn’t see Dmitri’s eyes, he felt a hot stare boring into him.
“You needed to mature, for us to see what you would become, how strong you were before we trained you. Why make a man give up the life he knows if he’ll be of no service?”
“And you’ve been watching me all along.” Hadn’t Dmitri said something similar before?
“We gave you the amulet to hide you and keep you safe.”
“What about Peter?”
“One of our trusted servants, a minor practitioner, kept an eye on him until the time came for you to reunite. He was in no danger, and wards prevented any from seeing him as the pirate lad. Even you, until now.”
“Why now?”
“Because you’ll need your bond for the next level of your training.”
“I need to ask one more thing.” A hard thing to ask, but something Martin very much wanted to know. “Is the Father real?”
Dmitri slowly shook his head, tutting. “Do you believe he is real?”
Did he? “I don’t know. I’ve prayed to him in times of trouble.” And hoped the Father protected him from the Lady.
“And did you feel comforted?” Dmitri folded his arms inside the sleeves of his robe.
“Somewhat.”
“At that moment, you believed in him.”
“Yes, I guess I did. But is he really there?”
