Page 172 of Star Bringer
“We were just discussing something called the Star Bringer,” Ian says.
Shock hits me in the gut, and I choke a bit on air. Beckett is kind enough to thump me on the back a few times until I can breathe again.
Merrick fidgets with his fingers and studies the rest of us for a minute. Finally, he asks Ian, “What do you know about the Sisterhood of the Light?”
“Not a lot,” Ian admits.
“The Sisterhood of the Light was born on Serati, because it was the home of the Ancients—we have many of their artifacts, as well as remains of their civilization. Deciphering some of those remains has taught us much about their civilization, and we came to learn that the Ancients were the architects and creators of the system. That they had the power to create suns and planets with the assistance of an orb known as the heptosphere.”
Merrick sounds so comfortable as he speaks of our belief system, as if all those doubts we talked about earlier have been resolved in him. But maybe this is the easy part. I can speak just as eloquently of our history—I’ve studied it since I was a small child—but that doesn’t mean I don’t have doubts that any of it is true.
It also doesn’t mean that I don’t wonder why I was chosen by the universe to be the high priestess when I feel just as confused and doubtful as everyone else. Especially now that I’ve met Beckett.
Maybe that’s the point—it’s not a choice if it’s easy. I just wish it didn’t have to be this hard. I’ve been trying to convince myself that anything I want must be the will of the Light—but every day, it feels less like I’m following the Light, and more like it’s just me, alone in a dark, enormous system, making harder and harder choices.
“So it’s not a weapon, then, like Gage was told?” Ian asks.
“That’s not its primary purpose,” Merrick answers, “but like all things of great power, likely it can be used for destruction as well as creation.”
“And the alien DNA?” Max says. “Is that true?”
Merrick smiles. “It is. At least for some of us. No one knows what happened to the Ancients and why they vanished. But once we found the artifacts, we did research and uncovered much of what I’m telling you.”
“And it looks like the Corporation was doing the same sort of research,” Gage says.
Merrick frowns. “Yes, I wasn’t aware of that. But these secrets were bound to come out in the end.”
I feel sick. All these years, the Sisterhood saw our doctrine as a way to spread the word, and now, all these years later, people are being tortured—and murdered—by the Corporation because of something they have absolutely no control over: their DNA. It’s disgusting. And terrifying. And even worse than I imagined.
“Which is your way of saying that anyone could have alien DNA.” Max looks a little green and I understand his unease. The possibility of being from the Ancients is something I’ve lived with my entire life. I believe it makes us special, believe that we hold a part of the Light inside us. But I imagine being a part of a gestalt could make someone question a lot of what the Sisterhood believes.
“According to the Book of the Dying Sun,” I say, “when a high priestess dies, a new one is reborn. Sometimes it takes a while, but it always happens. And that person has the power to activate and control alien artifacts like the heptosphere. Essentially, the high priestess is the Star Bringer.I’mthe Star Bringer.”
Most everyone is looking at me at this point—except Ian. He’s glaring at Merrick like he puked on his good shoes.
“So have you…ever activated an alien artifact?” Beckett asks me. Thankfully, she seems fascinated and not disgusted.
“No. But then none of the high priestesses who came before me have either. Our scriptures say that our powers will manifest when the time is right.”
Ian is still looking at Merrick when he says, “The Star Bringer is the high priestess, Merrick?”
Merrick sighs, and the weight of the entire system is in the sound. It stops the blood in my veins for a second.
“Yes,” Merrick says. He looks right at me. “The high priestess is the Star Bringer. And the Star Bringer…isKali.”
Chapter 73
Rain
For a second, I’m sure that I’ve heard incorrectly. Merrick can’t possibly be saying what I think he’s saying. Not only is Kali the Star Bringer, she’s also the high priestess? But that’s impossible. That’s what I am.
Before I can say anything, though, Ian whirls around and stalks toward Merrick like he wants to kill him—or at least punch the stuffing out of him. Max must think so, too—and of course he does, I realize; he’sinside Ian’s head—because suddenly he’s there, between the two men.
He slams a hand down on Ian’s chest. “Back up,” he tells him, but Ian doesn’t look like he’s in the mood to listen. To be fair, he hasn’t been in the mood to listen to anything or anyone since we woke up to find Kali gone.
“Not until he tells me what the fuck he’s talking about,” Ian growls. “How are the Star Bringer and High Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Light connected?”
“They’re one and the same,” Merrick clarifies. “The Sisterhood seeks out the high priestess specifically because she’s the one who interacts with alien technology. Because she’s the Star Bringer.”
