Read Girl Takes The Oath (An Emily Kane Adventure Book 5) for Free Online

as the bread and wine of communion is derived from Bacchus and Ceres, you know, Dionysus and Demeter.”
    “But you don’t believe those gods are coming back, do you?” Gunderson sneered.
    “Aren’t we talking about what Hölderlin believes?” Emily said, as if she shared nothing of the poet’s sensibility. But on some level, she did share his sense that an ancient spirituality could cut through the noise of the present moment and speak to us, as it had already spoken to her.
    “Whatever,” Gunderson said, rolling her eyes.
    “Does Hölderlin really think the gods, or the divine, or whatever name we have for the spirit, will one day return, Miss Tenno?” Marquez asked.
    “No, sir.”
    “Then is Mr. Talib right—is it about despair?”
    “No, sir. Recognizing the departure of the gods is what he means by spiritual life. That’s why he thinks it takes courage. Spirituality isn’t easy.”
    As the class prepared to file out of the room, Marquez made a few last second announcements. “And there’s a lecture on Hölderlin and Philosophy, next Friday at eight, across the street. I hope some of you can make it there.” The last bit he said with his eyes fixed on Emily.
    “Yeah, like I’d be caught dead on the other side of that hedge, with a bunch of hippies and degenerates,” Gunderson said to her friends, laughing as they walked out the door. Emily hung back for a few seconds to avoid following them too closely.
    “Hey, Em, that was profound, you know, what you said back there,” Talib said, poking his head back in the room to find her. “C’mon, let’s go, okay?”
    They made their way through the network of corridors and tunnels connecting the classroom buildings in the yard. Staying indoors meant they could keep their covers off, and wouldn’t have to salute everyone they encountered, or be chastised for failing to.
    “You could be right about Hölderlin’s despair, Zaki.”
    “I kinda like your way of thinking about it better, you know, the departure of the gods being essential to spirituality. It’s not so depressing.”
    “Is God closer in Islam? I mean, isn’t Allah much more present in daily life for Muslims?”
    “Well, yes and no,” he said, after stopping in a corridor to consider her question for a moment. “There’s still lots of middle-men, if you know what I mean. Mullahs and Imams, people who guide worship, layers of organization. Allah is not any closer for all that.”
    “Would people really blow themselves up if they didn’t feel the presence of something divine?”
    “I don’t know how anyone could work themselves up to do something like that, but I can’t imagine it’s really about Allah. It seems more like weak-minded, frustrated young people being manipulated by ambitious types, you know, when they’re vulnerable.”
    “It sounds horrible for them,” Emily said.
    “I’m sure it is,” Zaki said, and then after a moment, he added, “It makes the divine seem even more distant from this world. That’s why I think you’re right to think true spirituality requires a sort of courage, just to see God across a distance that’s so vast and full of such distractions.”
    “Now who’s being profound,” she snorted, punching him in the shoulder. “Whoa there, big guy,” she said with a laugh, shaking her hand in mock pain. “It feels like you’ve ratcheted up the workouts again. You’re like a total rock.”
    “I’m just trying to keep up with McDonough, and Carnot. She’s like lifting every free moment these days. Haven’t you noticed?”
    “Yeah, I guess so. It’s like she’s on some sort of mission. Maybe she should tone it down a little?”
    “And you, how am I supposed to keep up with you?” Zaki chuckled.
    “What? I don’t lift.”
    “Yeah, right. Whatever. I see you out there every morning. And lately you and Carnot and Tanahill are on the field even earlier, doing some sort of workout.”
    “Yeah, that’s just for CJ. She wanted to work