Read The Witch & the Cathedral - Wizard of Yurt - 4 for Free Online

he asked distractedly.
    "Let's just finish the wine." I wondered if I should mention a delicate mental touch I was still not completely sure I had felt.
    He emptied the bottle into our glasses. "I'm in much too responsible a position to enjoy magical flying," he said bitterly.
    I thought about this, sipping my wine slowly. He had enjoyed flying, and he had telephoned me to come help him in spite of the bishop. "Tell me what's really troubling you," I said. I considered adding, "Confession is good for the soul," but rejected the thought.
    He hesitated. I waited, knowing that at a certain level anything he said to me was a betrayal of his position in the Church. For that matter, Zahlfast's warning to me may have included conversations such as this one.
    "The bishop has been bishop for nearly forty years," Joachim said at last. "He had already been here for many years when I first came to Yurt."
    I nodded, studying his face. It had always been hard to read, and I could only see now how truly worried he was about something.
    "This last year, he has become extremely weak. His mind is as clear as ever, and he still directs the affairs of the diocese. But he never leaves his house, even to go to service in the cathedral, and for the last month he has not even left his bed. The doctors say he does not have long to live."
    I contemplated the blow it would be if I heard the old Master of the wizards' school was dying and nodded again.
    "When they made me dean, I knew that most commonly a new bishop is elected by the cathedral priests from among the senior officers of the chapter. Any member of the Church could of course be elected, but cathedral priests usually have a preference for their own officers. But since I've only been dean for a few years, I had not thought this would be a concern in my case. I had in fact always assumed that Norbert, the cathedral cantor, would succeed. He is quite a venerable scholar if not a senior officer, and very dedicated to the Church's welfare—you saw him in the street this afternoon."
    "And aren't you the youngest of the senior officers?"
    He did not seem to hear me. "This last week both the provost and the chancellor spoke to me, separately and privately. Neither mentioned Father Norbert. Both said they were too old and comfortable in their present offices to seek the position of bishop. When the old bishop dies, I fear they may elect me bishop in his place."
    "But that's wonderful," I said. "It's an enormous honor."
    "It is an enormous responsibility," he answered with a flash from his dark eyes. "And I know I am not worthy."
    "I'm sure the old bishop thought exactly the same thing when they elected him," I said encouragingly.
    "But why me? What have I done to deserve this?"
    "You were Royal Chaplain of Yurt for years," I suggested.
    "A position as chaplain to an aristocratic court has never been considered a great sign of spiritual purity."
    "And you've been to the Holy Land."
    "So have several other members of the cathedral chapter, including the chancellor. What special merit can they imagine I have?"
    I took a sip of wine I did not want while wondering whether to remind him. "You brought someone back from the dead."
    'That had nothing to do with my merits," he said, staring straight ahead. "Besides, it was so long ago I doubt they remember, even if they heard about it in the first place."
    When there was that note in his voice, I knew better than to argue with him. Instead I said, "I think you'd be a very good bishop."
    The edge of his mouth twitched in what might have been a wry smile. "The good opinion of a wizard is not what I need."
    I knew him too well to worry that this might be an insult. "At least if you were bishop you wouldn't have to worry about someone else's disapproval if you needed help with another magical problem."
    He leaned forward, resting his forehead on his fists for a moment, then shot me one of his piercing looks. "I realize wizardry does not demand the same level of