“Holy Mother,” he said, “I pray you, we throw ourselves on your mercy. Without your blessing, we are done. Without your blessing, the empires will fall, these two, who hold the ancient and true ways up as a light for all humankind.”

She was silent and stubborn. She could wait him out.

He had not done yet.

“Yours is the most power of all, Holy Mother. Yours, the right to strike first.”

Still raging, while displaying a calm face, she succumbed to curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“We are vulnerable to those who live in the north, if they choose to invade us while we are weak. You can weaken them. You alone have that power.”

A clever man, but naturally, he must be, because all Arethousans were clever, lying, unscrupulous creatures who drank bathwater and ate too much garlic and onions and dressed improperly, men like women and women like men, and pretended a false humility that was in truth nothing but pride. Yet she could not help herself. He had piqued her interest.

“What do you mean?”

“You are the Holy Mother. She commands the obedience of all children of God. Is that not so?”

“That is so. I am delighted that you, a heretic, can recognize my authority.”

He nodded, not quite bowing his head. He was a dangerous man as he had himself confessed. He did not truly believe; to him, the church was merely a tool.

A weapon.

“Those who are disobedient, what comes of them?”

“They are censured. They must do penance.”

‘And after this? If they still disobey? I think you have the power to place them under a ban.”

‘Ah!” breathed Adelheid, cheeks flushed and eyes bright as she understood him.

As Antonia did. “I could place them under anathema, if they deserved such an excommunication, but how does this help Aosta? How does this help Arethousa? How does it help the holy church, which must be my sole concern?”

Because he was a dangerous man, he smiled. He shrugged. “One time, when I am young, I stand on duty at night. I hear a noise in the bush. It might be anything, but I thrust with my spear. I stab a man in the leg. So we discover this one I catch is a spy. He tells us where the enemy camps and what they intend. So we take the enemy by surprise. This is my first victory. It comes sometimes that a man must thrust his spear into the dark where there may be nothing but a rat. In this way, we strike even if we do not know what we will hit. It is better than nothing. It is better to do something than to stand and wait.”

“I am tired of being helpless,” said Adelheid. “I am tired of standing and waiting while others take action.”

“You believe I should place all of Wendar and Varre under anathema. If I do so, none may be blessed at birth or marriage. None may receive last rites. The deacons may not lead mass, and the biscops may not ordain deacons. This is a terrible thing, General.”