05-09-2014, 09:20 AM
They were God's miracles?
Perhaps they were at that. It was as good an explanation as any. But Michael doubted that this Hasan would believe there were dozens, perhaps hundreds or thousands, of others with the power of God.
It was not so difficult to see how the man had come to proclaim himself the twelfth in the line of Imams. A man of unwavering faith and zeal struck by a sudden and irresistibly intoxicating power. If he weren't so dangerous, Michael would have pitied him.
As it was, it seemed that Hasan was not merely a blind devotee. He at least had enough sense to use a potential asset before he purged an infidel.
As Hasan laid his careful questions, Michael shuffled from the damn hospital trolley and stood. Some of Hasan's followers eyed him suspiciously, some with open hostility but Michael paid them little heed. From what he knew, it would be Hasan who would decide his fate. If he chose death, they would soon regret their eagerness.
However, in the middle of Mecca, Michael doubted he would survive long, and he had no intention of dying.
He briefly toyed with the idea of lying to the prophet, but itching anticipation of the challenge that gnawed at the iron chains of his self-control was spiked by his recent frustration. Even so, he was not without caution. "I came to Mecca just as many have lately, because of your meeting with Nikolai Brandon. Of course I came with the Custody. I have no interest in either your or the Ascendancy's goals, I came to prevent needless deaths,"
after a slight pause he added. "As much as one man can, anyway."
Michael had studied Hasan and his people, he could not say he understood them fully, but he grasped enough to answer the next question without arousing suspicion. "Why should I be afraid of the man who healed my wounds? We all die eventually, but I doubt I would be blessed by this miracle for no reason. Perhaps I can help avert a war."
For now, anyway. War would be inevitable. Neither Hasan nor Ascendancy would yield until the other was destroyed, but perhaps he could minimize the slaughter. "I have been unconscious for a while, however, what has happened that would spark a war?"
Edited by Michael Vellas, May 9 2014, 09:34 AM.
Perhaps they were at that. It was as good an explanation as any. But Michael doubted that this Hasan would believe there were dozens, perhaps hundreds or thousands, of others with the power of God.
It was not so difficult to see how the man had come to proclaim himself the twelfth in the line of Imams. A man of unwavering faith and zeal struck by a sudden and irresistibly intoxicating power. If he weren't so dangerous, Michael would have pitied him.
As it was, it seemed that Hasan was not merely a blind devotee. He at least had enough sense to use a potential asset before he purged an infidel.
As Hasan laid his careful questions, Michael shuffled from the damn hospital trolley and stood. Some of Hasan's followers eyed him suspiciously, some with open hostility but Michael paid them little heed. From what he knew, it would be Hasan who would decide his fate. If he chose death, they would soon regret their eagerness.
However, in the middle of Mecca, Michael doubted he would survive long, and he had no intention of dying.
He briefly toyed with the idea of lying to the prophet, but itching anticipation of the challenge that gnawed at the iron chains of his self-control was spiked by his recent frustration. Even so, he was not without caution. "I came to Mecca just as many have lately, because of your meeting with Nikolai Brandon. Of course I came with the Custody. I have no interest in either your or the Ascendancy's goals, I came to prevent needless deaths,"
after a slight pause he added. "As much as one man can, anyway."
Michael had studied Hasan and his people, he could not say he understood them fully, but he grasped enough to answer the next question without arousing suspicion. "Why should I be afraid of the man who healed my wounds? We all die eventually, but I doubt I would be blessed by this miracle for no reason. Perhaps I can help avert a war."
For now, anyway. War would be inevitable. Neither Hasan nor Ascendancy would yield until the other was destroyed, but perhaps he could minimize the slaughter. "I have been unconscious for a while, however, what has happened that would spark a war?"
Edited by Michael Vellas, May 9 2014, 09:34 AM.
"She saw a flaring halo around his head, radiant in gold and blue. It shouted of glory and power to come"
"No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it."