—“A Penitential Service to Be Used on the First Day of Lent,” in The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of Ireland Sabina would not be the one to take me closer to magic. She had given up on secrets. As for Eli Field, his heathen revival had only served to weaken him, making him enemies in the church and putting him in the crosshairs of the mysterious tasiu. If supernatural power was being exerted in Vureas Bay, Eli and his friends were not the ones directing it. The coconut trick was proof enough of that. Everyone knew the real power was coming from the hill above the village, where the tasiu lived with his apprentices. The latest news of the tasiu? He had issued a curse that resulted in the death of a theological rival. Spectacular! The morning after my argument with Sabina, a long-legged runner arrived bearing word from the hilltop: the tasiu was expecting me. The rain had been dumping for two days—incidentally, ever since Eli had rescinded his promise to open the skies. The big water was rising.
