Chapter 6: Odd Convergence, Part 3
April 29, 2008[Sorry for the delay; I had some trouble coming up with the last bit of today's post.]
Kerim carefully considered the woman in front of him as she ate her stew.
In some ways, she was dangerous. Her empathic abilities meant that he had to be very careful around her – he had to not only give the appearance, but also the substance.
Right now, that wasn’t a concern – he had no qualm with her. Power or no, she was still one of his, and for that she was precious. Not as important as Joachim, or Sthana – the prophet is not a role that should play a major part in a story – but she still formed a side-plot, through her relationship with Darren (though that was far off yet).
What was a concern, however, was that she remained. She had not given Joachim his prophecy yet. That she was here, counter to the plot, meant that something had changed her plans. Now he couldn’t allow her to go her own way – she had to stay with Joachim.
He briefly considered falsifying the prophecy. It should be possible – tricky, since he hadn’t attempted any mental manipulation of so subtle a nature before, but possible. But that would have other repercussions – such as if the true prophecy came for Joachim. Then there would be the possibility of conflicting prophecies, and he did not dare insert so chaotic a variable. If that happened, there was no telling what the boy would do. No, he did not dare falsify the prophecy, except as a last resort.
Where did that leave him? False prophecy or not, his immediate goal was to ensure the close proximity of this woman, Kiara er’Rammin. For that, he could “touch” her mind, and keep her with them… but that too was risky. He wasn’t sure of the extent of her empathic abilities; in David’s story, their range had been subject to the plot. He wanted to keep any uses of his ability around her to a minimum (the mental side of them, anyway).
That left only one real option – somehow, he had to convince her to join Joachim the old-fashioned way. That meant that he had to know why she was here. She was supposed to have gone south, back to Delenn, for now. What could have…?
Ah. The Voice. If that was the case, then there was still hope – any prophecy she had would have to be for Joachim.
Kerim barely managed to suppress a smile, but when Kiara lifted her head up to look at him, he realized it hadn’t been enough. It appeared that even that sense of satisfaction he’d felt had been enough to alert her. And worse – his reaction could not go unnoted. She would have noticed something.
Better say something. “So… do you have another prophecy?” The frown on her face told him all he needed to know. She looked at him for a few moments, and then returned to her food.
He was pleased, and didn’t bother stifling the emotion. She would expect exactly this response, after all. Now, all he had to do was keep the group here till Kiara had given the prophecy, and he was home free.
