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‘I wasn’t challenging him,’ said Robin, careful not to sound defensive. ‘I made a mistake and he corrected me. Several times, actually.’
‘Ah, well… Will’s better at memorising doctrine than living it,’ said Wace, smiling again. ‘He’s a clever young man, but hasn’t yet made pure spirit because he falters, constantly, at step six. You know what step six is?’
‘“The pure spirit knows acceptance is more important than understanding,”’ quoted Robin.
‘Very good,’ said Wace. ‘The materialist seeks understanding, where the pure spirit seeks truth. Where the materialist sees contradictions, the pure spirit grasps that disparate notions and ideas are all part of the whole, which only the Divinity can comprehend. Will cannot rid himself of adherence to a materialist conception of knowledge. He tries, he seems to succeed, but then he falls back again.’
Wace scanned Robin’s face, but she said nothing, certain that showing a particular interest in Will would be dangerous. When it became clear that she wasn’t going to speak, Wace went on,
‘And you challenged Jiang when he was instructing Emily, also on the vegetable patch.’
‘Yes,’ said Robin, ‘I reacted instinctively, I was—’
‘“Instinctively”,’ repeated Wace, ‘is an interesting choice of word, and a great favourite of materialists. Only when mankind has rid itself of the base emotions we call “instinct” are we likely to win our battle against evil. But your – to use your word – “instinct” seems to be particularly engaged by Disruptives, Artemis.’
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ said Robin.
‘Will. Emily. Even quiet little Lin has her Disruptive tendencies,’ said Wace.
‘I barely know any of them,’ said Robin.
Wace said nothing for a few moments. He cleaned his plate then dabbed at his mouth with a linen napkin before saying,
‘Your Revelation was difficult, I hear. Daiyu manifested.’
‘Yes,’ said Robin.
‘She does that,’ said Wace, ‘when she feels the church is under threat.’
He looked at Robin, no longer smiling, and she forced herself to look back at him, to school her features into a look of confusion rather than panic. His large, dark blue eyes were opaque.
‘You… can’t think I’m a threat to the church?’
The words came out as a whisper, which wasn’t feigned. Robin’s throat felt constricted.
‘Well, let’s see,’ said Wace, without smiling. ‘Stand up for me.’
Robin let her knife and fork fall to her plate and stood up.
‘Here,’ said Wace, moving away from the sofa to a patch of clear carpet in the middle of the room.
Now they faced each other. Robin didn’t know what was coming: sometimes Becca or Mazu led them in simple yoga movements as part of their meditations, and Wace stood as though about to give physical instructions.
After staring at her dispassionately for ten seconds, he reached out and placed his hands on her breasts, his eyes boring into hers. Robin stood stock still, feeling nothing but shock. She seemed to be watching from outside her own body, barely feeling Wace caressing her.
‘Spirit is all that matters,’ said Wace. ‘The body is immaterial. Do you agree?’
Robin said ‘yes’ automatically, or tried to do so, but no sound issued from her mouth.
Wace removed his right hand from her breast, placed it between her legs and began to rub.
At the exact moment Robin jumped backwards, the door behind her opened. She and Wace both turned, his hand falling from her breast. Becca and Mazu entered the room, the former in her white tracksuit, the latter wearing long white robes, a witch bride with her long black hair. With the door open, baby Yixin could be heard crying from upstairs.
It would have been hard to say which woman looked more furious and outraged. Neither Mazu nor Becca seemed to have learned the lesson of materialist possession: both, it was clear, were incensed to find Wace’s hands upon Robin. After a few frozen moments of silence, Becca said in a high, cold voice:
‘Giles has a query.’
‘Then send him in. You may go, Artemis,’ said Wace, entirely relaxed and now smiling again.
