And God said unto [Hosea], call her name Lo-ruchama, 'not-forgiven':
for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel;
but I will utterly take them away.
-Hosea 1:6
ONE - JOSIAH
Where was he? With madness glazing his eyes, he stared about himself. In bed but where? And then slowly, as the dream fell away, he recognised the grey sheets that half covered him, the bare white walls, the metal floor, the steel sink in the corner - he was in his chambers. A long sigh fell from Josiah’s mouth and he collapsed back into the pillow. His mouth was so dry, his sheets were soaked with cooling sweat, and yet Josiah forced himself to lie down again and close his eyes; not to sleep but to say the prayer for bad dreams. He clutched his pendant - a metal fist over a full moon - and, too easily, the words came to his lips and he mumbled them to the darkness - he had had too many nightmares of late.
“God of Steel, watch over my soul as it drifts from my body. Let no truth be found in evil dreams and may no harm come to me through these visions. For you are the One That Dreams Not. And make my flesh as steel. Amen.”
