“Brutha?”
“Yes?”
“Om be praised!”
Brutha craned his neck to look around.
“Is he here?”
“-here? How do you feel?”
"I-
His head ached, his back felt as though it was on fire, and there was a dull pain in his knees.
“You were very badly sunburned,” said Nhumrod. “And that was a nasty knock on the head you had in the fall.”
“What fall?”
“-fall. From the rocks. In the desert. You were with the Prophet,” said Nhumrod. “You walked with the Prophet. One of my novices.”
“I remember . . . the desert . . .” said Brutha, touching his head gingerly. “But . . . the . . . Prophet . . . ?”
“-Prophet. People are saying you could be made a bishop, or even an Iam,” said Nhumrod. “There's a precedent, you know. The Most Holy St. Bobby was made a bishop because he was in the desert with the Prophet Ossory, and he was a donkey.”
"But I don't . . . remember . . . any Prophet. There was just me and-
Brutha stopped. Nhumrod was beaming.
“Vorbis?”
“He most graciously told me all about it,” said Nhumrod. “I was privileged to be in the Place of Lamentation when he arrived. It was just after the Sestine prayers. The Cenobiarch was just departing . . . well, you know the ceremony. And there was Vorbis. Covered in dust and leading a donkey. I'm afraid you were across the back of the donkey.”
“I don't remember a donkey,” said Brutha.
“-donkey. He'd picked it up at one of the farms. There was quite a crowd with him!”
Nhumrod was flushed with excitement.
“And he's declared a month of Jhaddra, and double penances, and the Council has given him the Staff and the Halter, and the Cenobiarch has gone off to the hermitage in Skant!”
“Vorbis is the eighth Prophet,” said Brutha.
“-Prophet. Of course.”
“And . . . was there a tortoise? Has he mentioned anything about a tortoise?”
“-tortoise? What have tortoises got to do with anything?” Nhumrod's expression softened. “But, of course, the Prophet said the sun had affected you. He said you were raving-excuse me-about all sorts of strange things.”
“He did?”
“He sat by your bed for three days. It was . . . inspiring.”
“How long . . . since we came back?”
“-back? Almost a week.”
“A week!”