The Devil in Green (24 page)

'Not at all. Swinburne proposed a different approach: that there are
advantages in the existence of Evil in the world. It gives men the
opportunity to perform acts that show humanity at its best. Evil spurs
mankind into action. Without Evil, we would live in a world where men
could not show sympathy, compassion, forgiveness or self-sacrifice.'

'But—'

'Also, consider Hicks' "soul-making" explanation,' Peter continued
hastily. 'He said that man, who is made in the image of God but not in
the likeness of God, is an incomplete being who must strive towards the
perfect likeness of God. Qualities such as courage and love would not
make sense in a world without Evil, because the world would be nothing
more than a nursery paradise for children. Hicks' explanation is that Evil is
necessary in order to build character and develop man into the likeness of
God.'

'That's a good argument. Why didn't Hitler use that in his defence? He
was just doing God's work to get us all on track for—'

'You are not distracting me from my lesson today, Mallory.' Peter
maintained a pleasant facade but attempted to give steel to his words.

'So Hicks' argument is that this whole world is just one big classroom
with a culture of disciplinarianism.'

'Mallory

Mallory slid back cockily in his chair, settling in for a bout of tutor-
baiting. 'It's not a distraction to ask questions,' he said.

'There is no need for questions. There is only a need for you to listen
and heed.'

'But surely a strong religion encourages debate. By answering the
questions of doubters it will reveal its consistency and power and that can
only lead more people into its open arms.' Mallory nodded with faux-
seriousness and it was that plain mockery that gave Peter the shocking
urge to run down the room and clip the grinning jackanapes around the
ear. He wasn't prone to violence, ever, but Mallory brought out the worst
in him.

'There is a time and a place. Perhaps you can encourage your brother
knights to enter into these discussions in the free time you have on your
hands.' Peter smiled, knowing they had no free time at all. It wasn't very
Christian to enjoy that barb, but he took the pleasure nonetheless.

Mallory also encouraged disruption in the others, and that was dangerous in a place that could exist only through discipline. Oddly, Miller, who
followed him around like a dog, remained studious and intense, but
Daniels and Gardener and some of the others who normally paid attention
became distracted and lighter in mood.

Peter worked his way through the first part of the lesson, but instead of
easing off, Mallory's baiting became progressively worse; something was
eating away at him. As Peter weighed whether to continue, the decision
was made for him. The door at the back swung open just enough for him
to see Blaine, who must have been listening for a while. He signalled his
intention to Peter before slipping away quietly.

Mallory moved through the corridors of the former museum with
irritation.
Sent to the headmaster's office.
It was demeaning, and only added
to his growing feeling that perhaps he should skip the cathedral and the
knights; it hadn't turned out like he'd expected at all.

From rooms on either side came the drone of voices explaining
herbalism, astronomy, basic field medicine and other more esoteric
subjects. The tutors were generally decent men and it was only Peter who
received the brunt of Mallory's disruption, not because of who he was, but
for what he said.

Blaine's room lay behind a thick oak door. Mallory hammered on it and
loudly announced his name.

'Come.' Blaine's Belfast tones echoed dully.

Blaine was as hard and emotionless as ever, sitting behind his desk with
his hands splayed out on the blotter. Mallory only had a second to take this
in before pain erupted across his shoulders. Briefly he glimpsed two of the
Blues hitting out at him with cudgels from either side of the door before a
blow caught him at the base of his skull and he blacked out.

When he came to a few moments later, the knights supported him by
pinning his arms painfully behind his back. Blaine was standing only a foot
away, peering into Mallory's face with a coldness that made him seem
devoid of humanity. 'You're a troublemaker, Mallory,' he said. 'Sooner or
later I knew I'd get somebody like you.'

Mallory almost couldn't resist making a smart comment, a pathological
response that had got him into trouble many times before. He was only
restrained this time by an ache in his jaw where one of the cudgels had
given him a glancing blow.

'I could see it in your face the moment I set eyes on you,' Blaine
continued. 'You don't like authority. You think you're bigger than you are.
You think you're important. Well, you're not. Not at all.' He returned to
his desk and pulled from one of the drawers something that Mallory
couldn't quite make out.

'You thought this was going to be an easy ride,' Blaine said. 'A bunch of
soft Church people giving handouts to freeloaders. Well, they might be soft,
but they're not stupid. They know how desperate things are. They're in the
fight of their lives to save this religion, and they know they can't afford to be
weak or they'll lose everything. They're good people, all of them, devout
people, and they knew they wouldn't be up to some of the hard choices
necessary to keep this Church going. That's why they hired me.'

As Blaine approached, Mallory saw what he was weighing in his hand: a
cosh, black leather on the outside, filled with something heavy, probably
ball bearings. Mallory didn't have time to consider what lay ahead of him.
Blaine brought the cosh down hard on Mallory's left shoulder blade. The
pain made his knees crumple, but Blaine showed no emotion at all, neither
sadistic pleasure, nor contempt.

'They don't want to know what I do,' Blaine said, without missing a
beat. 'They just want the job done. So I use my own initiative. I train up
knights who can do the work out there and won't start crying the moment
somebody steps on their toes.'

The agony receded until Mallory's shoulder was enveloped by a dull
ache. He made to respond, but Blaine brought the cosh down on his other
shoulder so hard that Mallory thought he might black out again.

'You might think this is an overreaction,' Blaine said. 'It isn't. This place
is based on discipline. That's the only thing that's going to hold it together
through all the hard times ahead. You don't wait until little problems
become big problems. You stamp on them early, get them sorted out.
Lessons get learned, discipline is maintained.'

'I can see why you chose a black shirt for your outfit.'

He waited for the next blow, but Blaine held back. 'You see, with your
attitude, Mallory, I really should throw you out on your ear. Some would
say you're not worth the trouble. But I don't see it that way. If I did that,
you'd go out there, start bad-mouthing the knights all over the place,
saying what a bunch of shirtlifters we are. And you see, the knights, they're
only going to work if they've got a good reputation. The best reputation.
Tough. Fair, of course, but tough. People will know not to mess with
them, and because of them, not to mess with the Church. The way I see it,
Mallory, I can't expel you. I can't send any failure into the world. I have to
make everybody work out, one way or another. You're not going to leave,
Mallory. We'll be watching you
very
closely from now on. You're going to
turn out just the way I want.'