Chapter 12

The sea is dark and so is the sky. Tirad cannot see anything. There is no moon or stars in the sky. He feels a slight motion under his feet and hears the water banging against a wooden wall; he is standing at the edge of a boat. He hears a voice from afar as if someone is calling him. But as he rolls his eyes on the water, he can’t see anyone. The boat suddenly shakes as if the giant fish have attacked it. He loses his balance. He still hears the voice, it is Lealy’s. As he falls down into the water, he sees the attacker that floats on the sea. It is not a fish. It is a giant snake that has rolled around ready to devour him. Tirad screams. Lealy is calling him. He feels the cold water against his skin as he reaches the waves and with a sudden shake, he wakes up and sits on his bed. His skin is covered with the humid moist and sweat. He rolls his hand under his pillow and takes out Parsana’s handwritten pages and sighs, relieved. He had put them there last night to be sure if someone came into his cabin in the middle of the night, they wouldn’t find them. He gets up from his bed and looks outside of his cabin window.

A large crowd has gathered for the Spawn-Scorching ceremony. The fire is lit. He feels confused. It must be around mid-day. How could he have overslept like this? The maids will serve lunch after Tuesday morning Spawn-Scorching. He didn’t want to miss this particular ceremony that he needed so much. He washes his face with his daily water share and takes a clean cloth that is placed on his shelf, ties it around his waist. He shall wash up after the ceremony. He takes out his leather bag and puts Parsana’s pages in it and hangs the bag around his neck. He doesn’t know who is performing the ceremony today but he hopes it would be Hurmaz. He looks from his window again, but the crowd is dense and he can’t see the performer. He better get down faster before it is over. But the blue book catches his eyes. He had put it there on his desk in the middle of the night. He should hide the forbidden book now. He looks around to find a suitable hiding place, but he can’t find one. It’s best to put it under the bed, at least not to have it lying around within eye’s reach. He picks up the book. There’s a note under it! It’s Hurmaz’s handwriting. The note is short and written to Tirad, telling him to attend the Circle meeting next morning before the Spawn-Scorching ceremony.