Matriarch? Of the Temple to the Kitchen God?
Even if I didn't have the foggiest idea what that raccoon dog was up to, the gullible crowd in the courtyard had no doubt it was the next Big New Amazing Thing. At Anthea's announcement, they went wild, clapping and screaming and chanting Lodia's new title.
"Matri-ARCH! Matri-ARCH! Matri-ARCH!"
I raised both wings like eyebrows at Katu. As Lodia's closest friend, he must have known about this farce beforehand and failed to warn me.
Except that he looked as bewildered as I felt.
"What is the 'Matriarch of the Temple,' Pip?" he asked. "Is that another leadership position?"
Based on Anthea's phrasing, it had to be. Personally, I thought that it was nonsensical in the extreme to call a woman who'd never borne a child a "matriarch," but this was Anthea, so what could you expect?
At the top of the steps, Anthea beamed at the crowd and hissed something at Lodia. The girl lifted a reluctant hand and waved it once. She seemed to fear a vulture demon (or an angry sparrow) would swoop down and bite it off.
The crowd didn't care. They screamed even more loudly and started picking up armfuls of shredded firecracker wrappers and flinging them into the air to rain down like plum blossom petals. Surely some noble lady would take offense at having burnt bits of paper land on her coiffure, I thought, but no one objected.
All right. This farce had gone on long enough. Flying around behind Katu, I used my forehead to bump him between the shoulder blades and push him forward.
Time for your speech, High Priest.
I thus propelled him onto the steps next to Lodia. She practically leaped backwards to let him take center stage, forcing Anthea to step back as well. It was that, or drag the girl forward again, which wouldn't have been a good look.
"Loddie? What's going on?" Katu whispered as he passed her.
She made a small, helpless gesture with her hands. "I don't know. Her Ladyship told me to come out here with her so she could make an announcement and then – oh, Pip! There you are! Oh, thank goodness!"
I could have killed Anthea for sending Lodia into this panic. Yes, here I am, Lodia. Katu, give your speech. I'll sort things out here.
He raised his arms in that now-familiar gesture and, surrounded by a cloud of glittering butterflies, began to expound upon the glory of the Divine Intercessor. I'd heard variants of this speech so many times that I didn't bother listening.
Inside, I snapped at Anthea.
She actually obeyed, instead of staying outside just to spite me. That meekness said scrolls about how guilty she felt over the mess she'd made.
Perching on Lodia's shoulder, I fixed Anthea with my fiercest glare. All right. I have been patient long enough. Explain yourself.
Her mouth pushed out in a pout. "You're planning to set up a whole network of Temples all over Serica, aren't you? Someone needs to oversee them. I thought Lodia would be the ideal candidate."
You thought Lodia –
I cut myself off before I could shred the girl's self-confidence, stuff the shreds into a firecracker, and blow them up.
YOU ARE READING
The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox
FantasyAfter Piri the nine-tailed fox follows an order from Heaven to destroy a dynasty, she finds herself on trial in Heaven for that very act. Executed by the gods for the "crime," she is cast into the cycle of reincarnation, starting at the very bottom...
