As the religious folk filed out to let the King and his council confer, James smiled to himself and rose from his seat.

He moved from the central chair to walk around the edge of the table, trying to make it look like he was pacing. When he thought he was far enough away from the council members not to be heard, he whispered to Hester.

“All right, you can finish that thought,” he said.

“Lord Anansi thinks that you should trust the masked man,” Hester said. “‘At least try to work with him,’ he said. And he fully endorses whatever Bear has to say about the monotheists.”

“Well, that would be a lot more useful if the masked man was in the meeting,” James replied quietly. “But I take his point, and I remember what Bear said. Thank you, Hester.”

“There is another thing,” Hester said. He caught a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“What is it?” James asked. “You don’t have to worry, if you’re thinking I’ll get mad at you for something Anansi said. I know you’re the messenger. If he and I disagree, that’s between me and him.”

“It’s not something Lord Anansi said. It’s a request from me. I’ve been thinking about how I might be of greater use to you.”

So she can be a more integral part of my story? James thought. Clever spider.

“What did you have in mind?”

“Could you teach me to Dreamwalk?” Hester asked. “I don’t have a lot of Skills, because I’m relatively young. But I’m a direct descendant of a god.” There was an obvious note of pride in her tone. “I should be able to learn the Skill, too. Then I could spy on your enemies, or pacify those who resist your authority, or something…”

Her voice trailed off as if her confidence was petering out as she spoke.

“That sounds like a great idea,” James said instantly. “Let’s try it out tonight!”

“Really?” Hester sounded excited.

James guessed she must have had this idea on her mind for a while.

She probably waited for a time when she knew I would be paying attention to her anyway, because she didn’t want to bother me or something.

“Yes, really,” he said. “And feel free to bring up any other ideas like this if you have them. I’m happy to have your help.”

“Yes, sir!”

James’s superhuman senses told him that Hester’s body was performing some strange movements on the back of his ear. He wondered if she was dancing for joy or something, but he didn’t ask. If she was that excited, he would only embarrass her by calling it out.

He turned to look at the door. The last of the religious folk were clearing out, and James watched the last man close the door behind him. It was Tiberius Galt. The man made eye contact with James as the door closed. James thought he saw Galt’s mouth begin to crinkle into a smile.

“Hm.” James pivoted back to the table. “So, opinions?”

“Would it be so bad to be officially Christian—er, officially aligned with the God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that is?” asked Harry Luntz of the Agriculture Commission.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” muttered Zora.

“You were just a little aggressive with them,” said Taylor Bunting of the Salvage Commission. She looked at James as if just remembering that she was addressing his mother, and he shrugged.

“Aggressive?” asked Zora. “I could’ve just cursed that windbag. It’s not too late. I could turn him into a stone, or a dog, or a chair!”

A few members of the council looked mildly alarmed, while James, Mina, and a couple of others snickered quietly.

“Not too many musical theater fans, then,” James observed. He turned to Zora. “Mom, please be serious.”

She sighed. “Fine. You’re lucky I didn’t say that stuff to Cyrus’s face, though. I’ve been making light of them, because taking them seriously, they’re a serious problem. They’re trying to make you declare a state religion. What’s next? I anticipate a dangerous armed faction with divided loyalties within your kingdom, Your Majesty. It’s something you can’t afford.”

Mina nodded. “I tend to agree. America got along fine without a national religion for centuries. Why do we need one now, when we finally know that there isn’t a right one? It’s just a way to keep the people he brought loyal to him and try to divide others from you.”

“Thank you both,” James said. “I take what you’re saying seriously. I do want to hear other opinions, from outside my family, though.” He made eye contact with Dave, who obliged James with an immediate answer.

“Outsiders can’t dictate policy to the King,” Dave said bluntly. “Cyrus essentially made a demand. You should throw him out. We don’t need special interest groups here. This country is besieged enough from the outside without adding problems within.”

Damien spoke up. “James, I don’t speak for anyone but myself here—hell, I’m only here because you invited me today—but I should tell you I have a blessing from Lycaon. Since that’s not actually another name for the God of the Bible and the Torah and the Koran, I can’t say I’m in favor of you declaring the country in the service of that deity. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who feels that way, because I don’t think I’m the only one who has a non-biblical god’s blessing. Theocracy isn’t what any of us signed up for.”

James nodded slowly. “Who else has a non-biblical god’s blessing?”

Around half the hands around the table went up. This was no surprise to James. Those who had been elected or selected onto his council tended to be among his more extraordinary followers, and several were former Rulers who had submitted to him.

“I have a question, Your Majesty,” said Goblin Overlord Duncan.

“Go ahead,” James said.

“What is ‘theocracy,’ sir? We don’t use that word.”

“It means rule by the religious class,” answered Jeremiah Rotter. “The priests, in other words.” He looked at James seriously. “But in this land, only the King can rule.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“I guess that answers my question,” said Harry Luntz sheepishly. “Of course there have to be negative consequences. No one offers something for nothing, right? Probably a bad deal for us anyway.”

Taylor Bunting nodded seriously as well, though her eyes were on Dave as if it was his words that had persuaded her.

“I agree with the wise council’s consensus,” said a very recently familiar voice. James began twisting his head back and forth as subtly as he could, looking for where it was coming from. “You shouldn’t give in to their ridiculous demand, especially not when the members of this group are so weak. But neither do I think you can afford to just let them go on their merry way. The question is what to do about them.”

Several council members jumped at the sudden and unexpected voice from somewhere in their midst. The eyes of most looked in James’s direction as if he might have some explanation.

James did not meet their eyes at first. He was looking for the speaker amidst the other figures. He quickly found where Bear was. The masked figure had materialized, out of nowhere somehow, standing right behind where James had been sitting.

I have a plan for how I might deal with Cyrus already, James thought. But what the hell am I going to do with you? I know my Mom and Anansi said to trust you, but…

“What would you propose we do, stranger?” asked Dave, looking mistrustfully at the masked man. His tone was cold.

“I don’t propose anything,” Bear said. “I’ll just observe again that this group is weak. There are a few members with decent power, but their collective strength is nothing significant. And it would be a shame if something were to happen to these good, God-fearing, weak people as they travel to their next destination. If they were to be beset by a pack of wolves, for instance.”

“These are innocent people!” exclaimed Bunting.

“They are,” Mina agreed, though she looked conflicted—as if she was thinking about the possible threat Cyrus’s group might pose in the future and weighing it against their present “innocent” status.

“I think that’s going a little far,” Zora said quietly, giving the masked figure a sharp look. “Even for you. You should understand what people can bear.”

“It doesn’t matter what we’re willing to bear,” said Dave. “Your Majesty, you’re in charge. If you tell me and the soldiers to go and kill these people while they’re on their way through the woods out of here, we’ll do it without a second thought. They pose a real future danger.”

“Of course you can count on me,” said Luna, wagging her tail from her position between Duncan and Samuel. “I never liked the smell of that Cyrus fellow in the first place.”

“I appreciate all of your thoughts,” James said. “I will peacefully and politely reject their request to establish an official state religion. I’m happy to let them build their own church, temple, or mosque, but I’m not interested in declaring my allegiance to one god right now.”

Hopefully we’ll never descend into such savagery that a command like the one Dave suggests would be considered normal or acceptable. We’re not cavemen. We had electricity just a few months ago!

He was surprised that Dave was willing to take such violent preemptive action against the non-violent Cyrus and his followers, although not exactly displeased. It was good to have someone so committed leading his troops. The Battle of the Haunted Forest seemed to have had a profound effect on the veteran.

“You know that Cyrus fellow is not going to be grateful for that,” Bear said. “For him and his ilk, more is never enough. For an offering that small, he won’t even give you that crown. But if you eliminate him, you could always take it by force.”

“That is not how I am doing things right now,” James said forcefully. “I don’t rule out the use of force, even preemptively. But I don’t need to steal from the man, and I sure as hell don’t intend to kill him and his followers over a peaceful religious difference. Thank you again for your advice, Bear. I take what you have to say seriously. But watch yourself. This is my country. If I say there’s not going to be any killing, then there will be no killing.”

“I tried to warn you,” Bear replied, shrugging.

“How did this masked guy even get in here?” muttered Bunting under her breath.

James shared the sentiment but had little interest in the question. The masked man calling himself Bear was clearly a demon, ghost, spirit, or some other such supernatural being. He did not much care which one for now. The answers would reveal themselves in time. All he needed to know was that Bear was someone to take seriously, but clearly also someone whose advice he had to weigh carefully before taking it.

Premeditated murder of innocent people who had not threatened violence, as Bear proposed, was so far outside the Overton window of the Fisher Kingdom that James knew he had to reject it openly and immediately, even if it had been the right choice practically.

He looked at Rotter. “Would you go and tell them to come back inside, please?”

Rotter nodded, rose from his seat, and walked to the doors.

When he opened them, Cyrus’s group began streaming in without further instructions. They must have known immediately that their fate had already been decided.

James felt a strong stirring of sympathy for them. Their plight, if they had to leave his kingdom because of his unwillingness to adopt their faith as the state’s religion, would be biblical. Like the Israelites fleeing Egypt, they would wander through the wilderness and experience danger, privation, and hardship.

But that’s not my choice, he reminded himself. I’m not forcing them to go back out there. If they leave, it’s because they can’t stand not getting their way, not because of anything I did or said.

The monotheists filed into the rows of seats, seemingly looking for the same places where they had been seated before the recess. James waited for everyone to return to their places so that he could speak to the whole group at once.

Last came Cyrus, holding the crown he had offered James with the tips of his fingers, as if worried that he might break it if he clutched it too tightly.

Cyrus was the only one who did not sit down. Instead, he strode into the central aisle and locked eyes with James.

“Well, Your Majesty?” he asked. “What is your verdict?”

“The Fisher Kingdom will not be adopting an official state religion at this time,” James replied. “I understand that is probably a disappointment to you, but I consider that it would be unfairly exclusionary to all the followers of gods other than yours who reside here.” He shifted to the plural pronoun, pulled by some impulse to sound more official. “We are happy to assist you, or any of your group members who intend to stay here, with establishing a house of worship within the Fisher Kingdom. We bear you no ill will, and we would willingly extend the protection of the Kingdom to any member of your group who is willing to take the Fisher Kingdom’s loyalty oath.”

There was a long, pregnant pause before Cyrus spoke. He had looked disappointed as James spoke, then amused, and then something else that was hard for James to name. The followers had murmured in disappointed tones, but most looked as if they had expected and already accepted this outcome.

“Ah, yes, your oath,” said Cyrus. He wore a nasty expression on his face now. Clearly, he wasn’t used to being told “no.”

“Yes,” James said. “It’s a requirement for every citizen.”

“I’ve heard it spoken,” Cyrus replied. “I haven’t been hanging around here doing nothing at all, you know. I’ve been paying attention. Seen your followers lurking about. Heard the way they talk about you. They’re fanatics. Who take an oath to you personally. One that asks that all the gods bless the Fisher Kingdom.”

Really. My followers are fanatics? If that isn’t the pot calling the kettle black…

But James just shrugged. It was an eloquent shrug. He didn’t need to say anything.

“This is a take it or leave it thing, then,” Cyrus said. “We take your blasphemous oath and agree to our faith in the one true God being equal with all other cults, or we leave.”

“If you choose to see matters that way, then yes,” James said. “The oath is mandatory.”

“Would you say that we have a disagreement on how best to run a country, Your Majesty?” Cyrus asked. His tone was weirdly calmer now. His eyes, locked onto James’s own, looked almost serene. It should have worried James, but he felt calm. Confident. In control.

“Based on your insistence on putting religious faith above governance, I would have to say we do, Cyrus,” James said.

A great weight suddenly pressed upon the air all around James. Cyrus’s expression turned to a cold smile.

And the whole world turned black.