Nirvana Effect

42



Lila, newly widowed adulteress and girl of sixteen, walked past the guards of Manassa’s temple. They were expecting her, at Manassa’s instructions, and let her pass without so much of a glance. As was customary with the Onge, she wore little clothing, but she made it a point to lose her skirt on the long walk to Manassa’s bedchamber so that only a loincloth remained.

She walked into his quarters with impunity. He was working with a microscope at his corner desk. He had turned before she even entered the room.

“My husband is dead, my lord,” said Lila. “Glis is dead.”

She stood in the doorway. She resisted the urge to walk closer still. She wanted him to look at her. She wanted the eyes of the living god upon her, much as she’d had his eyes for years before he’d risen to power. She hoped she still had his eyes.

He looked at her and half stood up in his seat. She smiled. She had his eyes, though she knew she didn’t hold the same power as before. He had the power in all things but a few. He could have any woman he wanted. For now, he desired her. This fact didn’t repel her, but rather drew her closer. She had to hang onto the doorway to keep from falling in.

“I am sorry for your loss,” said Manassa.

“It was as you had foreseen!” shouted Lila, ecstatic. “It was exactly as you had foreseen!”

“You have kept our promise? You have told no one?” he asked.

“Not a soul,” she said. “I won’t tell a soul. It’s our secret.”

“As a god, Lila, I hear all things. I love you a great deal, more than any other, but I will cut out your tongue if you break our agreement.” He spoke with sincerity. There was no menace in his voice. He was making a statement of fact.

She gulped. She had known their relationship was different now, but in that moment she realized how different.

“I have much better intentions for your tongue than that, though,” said Manassa. He smiled. For a moment he was Mahanta again. She sighed and felt warmer. “Well done, Lila. You were very brave and loyal. You may enter,” he said.

He watched her walk into the room. She stopped in the center so that the candlelight could dance all over her dark body. She saw she was overcoming his discipline. He moved forward from the chair, but then sat back down.

“Lay down on the bed,” he told her. “I’ve just got to finish this.” He turned back to his microscope.

She eased herself across the sheets. Yes, he has the power in all things but a few. Despite his godly discipline, she’d seen that look in his eyes.