Wolf Boy, Chapter 14, Part I

Pan said, “I suppose knowledge can become dangerous. But that isn’t a given. Nothing is. Operating in the dark isn’t automatically non-dangerous.”

“Omission versus commission,” Kaiden said.

“Yes,” Francesca said. “Hoarding knowledge can be a sin.”

Pan and Kaiden laughed while Francesca’s eyes crinkled in a delighted smile, which made Pan wonder how Will had responded to that particular dig.  

Francesca said, “When we returned to Earth after the sainthood investigation on Mars, Will spoke to other Cubi about young Panfilo. Most are not as old as Will though a few are. I cannot speak about them, but in this case, I don’t have to. A Cubus—I’ll call him Rafe—picked up images from a dream he experienced at a Club, the places Cubi go to feed off dreams of volunteer humans.”

Pan and Kaiden nodded. The Mars Station didn’t have a Cubi-Human Club—not enough Cubi officially visited—but such services were discretely offered during the station's conferences.

Francesca said, “The human at the Club was attended by an old Cubus, one from Britain. But the setting was Rome, the original Saint Peter’s Basilica. Cubi can add structures to dreams. They can also add people from their memories. That older Cubus added a man with features similar to yours.”

“The wolf boy grown older.”

“Will says, No. He says Rafe says the man had genetic markers similar to the wolf boy and to you—the violet eyes, the rings around the tail—but the man was not the same boy that Will saw with Bettelin. And again, the location was Rome.”

Pan decided not to pursue the idea of humans and Cubi using religious institutions for their sex dreams. He shook his head slightly at Kaiden who appeared ready to voice his thoughts regarding that revelation.

“Confabulation,” Pan said instead. “Invention.”

“Possibly. But Cubi can recall images from the past in flawless detail. Rafe, the Cubus who witnessed the dream, believed the image was related to a place and time period a hundred or more years after Bettelin.”

All hearsay. No wonder Cubi testimony wasn’t allowed in official courts.

The chapel door cracked open and a figure strode in. Francesca rose and walked down the aisle to meet a man with flaxen fur, tufted ears, and a tail.

Looking over his shoulder, the man said to Francesca, “A couple of security guards practically stripped me. They finally said, ‘Oh, you're him,' and let me in. I’m here with a summons. Revlin, Lady Margaret’s biggest fan, wants you to join the pilgrimage’s welcome-and-farewell party.”

“Revlin was her postulator. And he works here. The pilgrims don’t want to hear from me. They don’t even know who we are.”

The man shrugged. He slouched the way Phillipe did but in a far more insouciant way, his tail drifting over his shoulder.

He said, “Some of them do. Phillipe has gone into hiding. He thinks he’ll be deluged with faith-promoting rumors. He’s probably right. Justin and Victor joined Revlin.”

“Not you?”

“Eh, I figured I’d keep the controversy of my existence to a dull throb. No public appearance.”

“Fine. Yes. I’ll go. Would you escort Pan and Kaiden to our suite?”

“Sure. Will says—”

“I know. I know. He’s going with you.”

Francesca strode out of the chapel at a brisk clip. The man turned to Pan and Kaiden.

Pan thought, I guess I am an Anthros. He could tell this man wasn’t one from his smell, which was human if anything. He must be Xavier, the Cubus who took on an Anthros appearance.

Xavier said, “Francesca's people are stashed in the Constable’s Tower. We have space for you.”

They left the chapel. The bodyguards waited on the sward where they turned in seemingly desultory circles to observe the chapel, the outside walls, the great hall. Voices rose from the great hall in acclaim.

Xavier said, “The pilgrims will head from the Great Hall to the chapel and then begin the first leg by boat to the River Tyne.”

“Not exactly Lady Margaret’s route.”

“No—but a decent compromise. Newcastle upon Tyne and York want their fair shot at the pilgrims.”

Xavier was part of Francesca’s Congregation, Pan remembered. He and Phillipe registered shortly after Xavier became corporeal, so they were practically married. And he’d aided in Lady Margaret’s canonization. Because he was actually interested in Saints? Or to keep in good with the Church?

Political know-how 101: People can have more than one reason. They aren’t always looking for an angle.

Except for all the times they are.  

Xavier led them beyond the castle walls and then back up a straight path. They were closer to the beach that touched the North Sea, and Pan and Kaiden both slowed, nearly tripping up the armed bodyguard behind them. She gripped their arms in surprise and then smiled.

Glancing back, Xavier also smiled. He slowed and leaned his elbows on the low stone wall. Pan and Kaiden did the same. The wide ocean stretched before them, an unending slate gray broken by the slightest ripples of white foam. It was surprisingly placid if one ignored the constant rotating grumble of waves against the long, flat beach.