The Priest
Marla hated visiting the Priest, he was so uptight and there were so many forms she had to guard. Still, she knew it was her obligation, their agreement was clear she would have her power and her influence as long as she complied with their expectations. And she couldn't say she was fulfilling her part of the pact right then. Marla knew they would be disappointed and that she would need to work much harder.
She walked to the cathedral through the square, the pigeons went flying as she passed by. She walked slowly as she was still feeling weak, she hadn't expected to feel unwell for so long, but there she was, reduced to a crawling mass. She could feel the presence of the cathedral looming over her, watching all her moves, seeing how she was failing to move fast to her objective. She had decided to go alone, she didn't want to have Naomi around checking on her, and she thought that it would be more dignified to go alone, showing that she was not as weak as to need support. She finally arrived at the foot of the cathedral and reached to the doors. Just before crossing the gates she took a foulard and covered her head, she had to look piteous, she was dressing especially modest that day, making sure that she was fully covered and her clothes were loose, it didn't matter that half of the people from that church had seen her naked, they still had to guard the forms.
She walked in into a confessional and kneeled, after a few minutes she heard a known voice at the other side.
-I'm glad you have come.- said the Priest.
-Naomi said you'd be interested, and taking into account that you've come yourself instead of sending someone else, it does look like you're. Father.- she added afterwards, remembering that she had to call him that.
-Come, we will find a more suitable place to talk.
The Priest was a tall thin man, with papery skin and small dark eyes that shone like coins on the bottom of a fountain. He was wearing the usual clothes for a priest, but he was much more. Marla didn't really like him, but she couldn't find a way out, and she had come to like the power that her position involved. The Priest leaned over her and kissed her forehead as a blessing. Then, he lead her through the cathedral, it was an old temple, and it had lots of hidden passages. They got through an old wooden door into one of those passages, the ceiling was low and Marla's head kept brushing against it, the Priest had to walk with his head lowered all the time as not to have it crashing. It was clear that no one had passed through that passage in years as it was full of dirt and cobwebs. They walked through it for at least two hundred meters until they arrived to another door, this time a metal one closed with a heavy padlock. The Priest searched through his pockets and took out a key, he then opened the door and hurried Marla through. She started brushing dust off her clothes not even looking at the room they had just entered, when she finished she realized that they had arrived into a high tech room in a refurbished old house. She was almost sure that she had never been there.
-Where are we?- she asked.
-Headquarters.- replied him shortly, handing her a dress.- Get changed.- he ordered her pointing into a small room separator.
She got behind it and looked at the dress. It was a long old fashioned high collar dress, it was a dark blue, almost black. She wondered why she needed to wear it, it was the first time they made her dress differently to a meeting, usually they were more than happy to have her naked. She changed into it feeling kind of silly and wondering what was all that. Once she was changed the Priest lead her through a poorly lit corridor. There were square shapes that could have been paintings, but that she couldn't see, and all the windows were blinded by thick velvet curtains.
At the end of the corridor, there was a heavy metallic door, on its left side, there were some screens and other equipment that Marla didn't recognize. Apparently one of them was a retina scanner because the Priest approached it opening his eyes widely. The door beeped and opened. Behind the door was a small well-lit white room with a door similar to the one that had just opened. They crossed it and the first door started closing, not until the door was completely shut the other one gave way.
-Whatever you do, don't touch anything and don't speak unless spoken too, understood?- told her the Priest and without waiting for an answer he moved on to the following room.
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