Silas lay prone on the canvas mat in his room, allowing the lash wounds on his back to clot in theair. Tonight's second session with the Discipline had left him dizzy and weak. He had yet toremove the cilice belt, and he could feel the blood trickling down his inner thigh. Still, he could notjustify removing the strap.

　　I have failed the Church.

　　Far worse, I have failed the bishop.

　　Tonight was supposed to be Bishop Aringarosa's salvation. Five months ago, the bishop hadreturned from a meeting at the Vatican Observatory, where he had learned something that left himdeeply changed. Depressed for weeks, Aringarosa had finally shared the news with Silas.

　　"But this is impossible!" Silas had cried out. "I cannot accept it!""It is true," Aringarosa said. "Unthinkable, but true. In only six months."The bishop's words terrified Silas. He prayed for deliverance, and even in those dark days, his trustin God and The Way never wavered. It was only a month later that the clouds parted miraculouslyand the light of possibility shone through.

　　Divine intervention, Aringarosa had called it.

　　The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time. "Silas," he whispered, "God has bestowed uponus an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be asoldier of God?"Silas fell to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa—the man who had given him a new life—and hesaid, "I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart commands."When Aringarosa described the opportunity that had presented itself,............