should
his--and the Church's--official position be? Positions, rather, with
this Communion of Promise Cortin had instituted at Odeon's urging.
That, unlike the Sealing he couldn't officially know about, was both
public and taking place in church, though not--quite--as part of the
Mass.

He would be expected to condemn both that and the Families, as Cortin
anticipated--but should he? It was a delicate question, since his
first priority had to be doing what little more he could to prepare
Odeon for his critical choice, working through and around Cortin while
awaiting the Protector-to-be's arrival. Then came the propagation of
faith and worship.

He smiled slowly. He might be able to derive some amusement, if not
pleasure, from this full cooperation after all, if he did it properly.
He'd never been accused of moderation, for excellent reason, and saw no
reason to change that particular aspect of himself.

Back Cortin and her team--now become a Family--to the hilt, then. That
would serve both his modified purposes, with the side benefit of
confusing the Sealed ones, who knew his identity, no end. Since the
only thing he could know about by normal means right now was the
Communion of Promise, and he wanted to make the greatest impact he
could on the Sealed ones, he'd simply announce he was studying the
prophecies and would issue a decision later; conditionally, he'd allow
them to continue.

As for the Families and Strike Force, he could undoubtedly trust Sara
to publicize them as soon as she was permitted to, probably after the
convent raid. That would be good timing, since the raid's aftermath
would provide Odeon and, incidentally, Cortin, the last of his
pre-decision lessons. He'd contact them after Sara's stories were
published, invite the Protector's Herald and acting Protector to
concelebrate Mass--though since he was now helping her, perhaps he
shouldn't mention the Protector role. Nor would he have to be
concerned about her powers any longer, since her truthsense would
assure her he was no longer--for now, at any rate--a threat.

And what about the Brotherhood? It had served him well, his doubles
and Victor in particular, increasing the population of his realm quite
nicely. That, however, was no longer his objective--worked against the
faith-and-worship weapon system, in fact. He'd have to order it
disbanded, urge the members to repent their sins and return to the
Church and sacraments. They'd sti