“Thou knowest as well as I there is no good in him.”
The queen sighed, and said almost under her breath: “Well was it for his wife that she died early. But his poor children!”
“And his poor, poor niece, poor of a truth before he hath done with her!”
“Atlano, since thou didst leave, he hath kept Electra from me. He hath pleaded the sore state of Olto, that he hath ever need of her.”
“Hath Olto been sick so long?”
“From the time thou didst leave, he failed. Soon he was too weak to serve in the great temple even. The other temples thou knowest he had not visited in a year.”
“And now Oltis will have charge over them all. Would the law were not as this. Would it could be changed.”
“Call to mind that Oltis hath no son. His nephew Urgis cometh after him.”
“Yea, that followeth that Urgis will leave the temple at Chimo, to be the chief priest in our temple when Oltis is high priest. I could take cheer in the thought that one is of like cunning with the other. So Oltis will be high priest, and Urgis chief priest of our great temple. The two will need a firm hand, Atlana.” Again his laugh rang grim.
The queen had become very pale. Noting this, Atlano continued, “But, to change, I have brought thee a gift.”