Lightsong személy
Idézetek
I try to avoid having thoughts. They lead to other thoughts, and–if youre not careful–those lead to actions. Actions make you tired. I have this on rather good authority from someone who once read it in a book.
– Még mindig nem értem, miért gondolja, hogy ezt magának kellene kinyomoznia, uram.
– Nem mintha lenne más dolgom.
– Azon túl, hogy isten legyen.
– Az túlértékelt – közölte Fénydal, amikor odaértek az utolsó szemtanúhoz. – Nagyszerű előnyei vannak, de irtó hosszúak a munkaórák.
358. oldal
– Ma reggel kifejezetten boldognak tűnt, felség.
– Boldog is voltam – mondta Fénydal –, mert nem is sejtettem hogy mi zajlik. De hogyan lehetnék kellőképpen tunya, ha folyton ki akarok nyomozni dolgokat? Komolyan mondom, ez a gyilkosság tönkre fogja tenni a hírnevemet, amit annyi munkával értem el.
– Részvétem, fenség, hogy ilyen kellemetlenségeket okozott önnek a motiváció látszata.
362. oldal
“What happened to the previous God Kings?”
“Died,” Lightsong said. “Oh, don’t look so surprised. It happens to people sometimes, even gods. We make, if you haven’t noticed, laughable immortals. We keep forgetting about that ‘live forever’ part and instead find ourselves unexpectedly dead. And for the second time at that. You might say that we’re twice as bad at staying alive as regular folk.”
“How do the God Kings die?”
“Gave away their Breath,” Lightsong said. “Isn’t that right, Scoot?”
Lightsong’s high priest nodded. “It is, your grace. His Divine Majesty Susebron the Fourth died to cure the plague of distrentia that struck T’Telir fifty years ago.”
“Wait,” Lightsong said. “Isn’t distrentia a disease of the bowels?”
“Indeed,” the high priest said.
Lightsong frowned. “You mean to tell me that our God King—the most holy and divine personage in our pantheon—died to cure a few tummy aches?”
“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, your grace.”
Lightsong leaned over to Siri. “I’m expected to do that someday, you know. Kill myself so that some old lady will be able to stop messing herself in public. No wonder I’m such an embarrassing god. Must have to do with subconscious self-worth issues.”
The high priest looked apologetically at Siri. For the first time, she realized that the overweight priest’s disapproval wasn’t directed at her, but at his god. To her, he smiled.
Maybe they’re not all like Treledees, she thought, smiling back.
“The God King’s sacrifice was not an empty gesture, Vessel,” the priest said. “True, diarrhea may not be a great danger to most, but to the elderly and the young it can be quite deadly. Plus, the epidemic conditions were spreading other diseases, and the city’s commerce—and therefore the kingdom’s—had slowed to a crawl. People in outlying villages went months without necessary supplies.”
“I wonder how those who were cured felt,” Lightsong said musingly, “waking to find their God King dead.”
“One would think they’d be honored, your grace.”
“I think they’d be annoyed. The king came all that way, and they were too sick to notice. Anyway, my queen, there you go. That was actually helpful information. You now have me worried that I’ve broken my promise to you about being useless.”
“If it’s any consolation,” she said, “you weren’t all that helpful yourself. It’s your priest who actually seems useful.”
“Yes, I know. I’ve tried for years to corrupt him. Never seems to work. I can’t even get him to acknowledge the theological paradox it causes when I try to tempt him to do evil.”
Siri paused, then found herself smiling even more broadly.
“What?” Lightsong asked, then finished off the last of his drink. It was immediately replaced by another, this one blue.
“Talking to you is like swimming in a river,” she said. “I keep getting pulled along with the current and I’m never sure when I’ll be able to take another breath.”
“Watch out for the rocks, Vessel,” the high priest noted. “They look rather insignificant, but are sharp edges under the surface.”
“Bah,” Lightsong said. “It’s the crocodiles you have to watch for. They can bite. And…what exactly were we talking about, anyway?”
Chapter 27
– El sem tudom képzelni, milyen lenne az ő korában hozzámenni az istenkirályhoz.
– Sunyi, én meg azt nem tudom elképzelni, hogy te bármilyen idősen is az istenkirály házastársa légy! – közölte Fénydal. Aztán lárványosan elfintorodott. – Vagyis de, túlságosan is jól el tudom képzelni, és az a szoknya rémesen rondán fest rajtad. Jegyezd fel, hogy fenyítsük meg a képzeletemet, amiért képes volt ilyen rettenetes látványt tárni elém!
– Felírom az illemtudása mögé, uram – közölte fanyarul Llarimar.
– Ne butáskodj! – Fénydal belekortyolt a borba. – Olyanom már évek óta nincs.
76. oldal