Kieran was knelt in prayer to Amun-Ra in his room when he realised that he was not alone. Ademus stood behind him. "It has been decreed that I can not sacrifice you to Amun-Ra this evening. The sacrifice is to be carried out by someone with more authority than myself. You should be glad of this news for a sacrificial victim should be killed quickly, with minimal fuss. I am unable to do that, I did not know how to make a sacrifice to Amun-Ra when I was appointed High Priest and I have no more idea of what to do now." Ademus said. Kieran was not surprised by the news, but pretended to be shocked and went along with what Ademus was telling him. "Then who will make my body sacrifice to Amun-Ra?" He asked. He already knew who would carry out the sacrifice, but wanted to hear Ademus tell him. Hearing Ademus admit that Paul was of higher authority than him, would give Kieran a lot of pleasure. "Paul has been asked to carry out the duty. He is the Highest of High Priests in Egypt, and as such, is over me. You will be killed quickly by Paul. I spoke to John at the temple of Isis, he has been there a long time and has witnessed Paul make many sacrifices. He told me that Paul is not one to waste time killing a victim, when the act is to be done, it is done, sometimes so quickly that no one is quite sure at first whether or not he has killed the victim. But you must not expect compassion from him as it rare that he will have any such feeling for a sacrificial victim." Ademus said. Kieran nodded, His father had told him the same thing when he was younger. Paul had never been one to display any emotion in front of any one. kieran supposed it was because Paul had seen so much, that nothing could cause him to feel an emotion, as it would not be new to him. Sofia had told him, that if she wanted emotion when she was growing up, it was Claire she turned to, not Paul. This was different though, surely Paul had never had to kill someone that he knew, how would he react to that? Ademus turned and left him to his prayers. Not long after Paul walked into the room. "I can not sacrifice you to Amun-Ra this evening. I have been instructed by Amun-Ra to appoint a new High Priest in place of Ademus, and to make Sofia High Priestess. There is another life that will be made forfeit upon the altar today." He said, his face expressionless as always. Before Kieran could query what was happening, Paul turned and walked from the room.
Francois was standing outside the courtyard, waiting for Ademus, when he heard raised voices. He could not make out what was being said, but it sounded like there were 2 people, one male and one female. The female voice seemed to be pleading with the male voice. Francois suddenly realised why he could not make out what was being said, they were speaking in a different language, the language of the ancients. Suddenly he heard the male voice speaking as if to put an end to the conversation and recognised it as Paul's. "I have made my decision, to go against it would bring the wrath of Amun-Ra upon us all. You can say as you wish, Sofia, but my decision is final." Wondering what had been going on, Francois walked into the courtyard only to find in deserted. There was no sign of Paul or the girl he had been speaking to. Sofia he had called her. The name sounded familiar, and then he remembered Ademus telling him about Claire's daughter, Sofia, who had just been made a priestess. Ademus had killed Claire the previous year to stop her from revealing his plans to get rid of Paul and Saska to Paul. Not that it had done him any good. Paul had know what was going on, and had survived the attack, killing Marc and many of the soldiers with him. The question was how Paul knew Sofia and what they had been arguing about. Ademus had said that he had been uneasy, as she was out to avenge her mother's death. Also Paul was intent on taking his revenge on the one responsible for Saska's death, Ademus. Something strange was going on with this sacrifice and Francois determined to stay and watch what happened.