Kao uncrossed her arms and stopped leaning on the wall. “Agreed.”

“What do you mean agreed?” Atr looked quickly between Kao and Lac. “The two of you cannot just make a decision on your own.”

Clo’s eyes narrowed at Kao, when her youngest sister rolled her eyes. “Please stop being petulant Kao.” She then turned to Atr. “That also applies to you. Lac and I agree to this, you have no right to object.”

“Lac has not agreed,” Atr said gesturing at the goddess who had spoken the least in their meeting. “We are talking about her prophet. She just got a prophet, and now she is being restricted on how she can use him. More to the point, why are we even having this conversation. Lac only needs her prophet to declare Kao’s toy a heretic. The faithful will do the rest.”

“Because if they kill him like that, his thread will be marked by their faith in us,” Clo replied, speaking slowly in the hope the words would finally get through to her obstinate sister. “Mother is watching the thread, and she will notice. His actions nearly woke her up and even now we can…”

The words were cut off by a faint sound from the other side of the room. All four goddesses froze as they stared at the far wall. For the smallest fraction of a second, a door had materialized. Even with the door gone, the goddesses seemed afraid to speak for fear it would appear again.

Atr recovered first, but her words came out in a half whisper. “We only have Kao’s word on that. For all we know her actions are the reason why moth…” Atr stopped mid-word to look at the far wall before continuing. “Why she is not sleeping well.”

“We know because Kao told us,” Lac whispered, harshly.

“So?” Atr stared at her sisters in disbelief. “She has said a lot of things and made us agree to a great deal to get this so call information.”

“We heard your objections when you made them the first time,” Clo said, holding up her hand to forestall the argument’s return. “Kao is a brat who plays fast and loose with the rules. BUT, she has never broken an agreement directly, or lied to us. That should be enough.”

“But…” Atr began looking to Lac for support.

“I agree with Clo,” Lac said, glaring at Atr. “Kao has not lied to us, and I do not want to risk any further disturbances. It is better to let time pass, and let her sleep become deeper. But as you so kindly pointed out, this is my prophet and my decision.”

Atr seemed intent to keep arguing, but Lac made the point moot before Atr could open her mouth again. “I agree to the terms Kao.”

Atr stared at Lac in horror while Kao nodded.

“Then I will hold you to that,” Kao said, turning to walk away from her sisters. “We should do this again sometime, maybe in a few millennia.” The words seemed to echo softly in the room as she faded from view.

“Why?” Atr asked staring at Lac. “You have to limit your influence to what Kao has, and get nothing back. He is your prophet, and I do not know when the pattern will allow another. Why did you give it all up?”

Lac smirked, “First, because the slightest suggestion is enough to set him in motion, so I already need to be careful what I tell him to do. Second, and more importantly, the powers Kao gave up are returning to her. This will make her debate what counts as aid to him as opposed to using her influence. It will limit her and slow the return of her full abilities.”

“Third,” Clo said smiling, causing both her sisters to turn to her in surprise. “Kao is bad at details. We did not say when we had to compare the influence we exerted, or what happens if one side uses a lot of influence and the other does not. It would be unfortunate if he died before she knew just how much more influence she was allowed.”

…

[In a temple basement]

Olrich slowly turned the letter over in his hands. Why do they want to talk to me now?

The wax seal of his family’s coat of arms appeared and dissipated as he slowly turned the letter over in his hands. They cannot know that I am a prophet. I have not left the basement since the goddess gave me this path. What could they hope to gain from a priest? I doubt they have changed.

Olrich set the letter down and rose from the table. Out of habit, he walked to the room that held the works of the prophets. The door was never repaired, and stood propped open with the bar he used to force the lock. Crossing the threshold he dropped to his knees and again offered his thanks to his goddess.

The books before him glowed with holy power. I wish the head priest could see what I do, Olrich thought, as he knelt in the bright room. If only he could, then perhaps he would understand why no shrine could be more appropriate than this space is now.

Olrich knelt feeling the holy power of the space wash over him and waited for his goddess to call for him. He knelt quietly giving his thanks to the goddess as he did every day. Before he found his way to her service, he would have questioned how long he was expected to wait. But now he knew it did not matter. A minute or a lifetime, it does not matter. I serve and follow the path she sets. I need only wait for her instructions nothing more.

After thanking the goddess again for remaking him into a tool she could use, he stood and walked to the corner of the basement that served as his room. Sitting on the cot he picked up the diary beside it. Another day of my service to the glorious goddess Lac has come and gone. I waited patiently for her orders to give me purpose. I just noticed the date. I cannot believe it has been six years since she blessed me by allowing me to become her prophet.