by Tora Moon
“Eidstrun must have gone after him,” Rizelya said with more calm than she felt. “The idiot probably hied off into the swamp again.” She held out a hand for Aistrun to help her up.
“Right you are,” Leistral said, looking at the edge of the swamp. “Here they come. Eidstrun is furious.” She sounded awed. “I’ve never seen him like this.”
Eidstrun, still in warrior form, practically glowed with fury as he drove Keandran, cringing in his human form, in front of him. Swamp crud clung to his legs and chest and covered Keandran. Seeing Rizelya and Aistrun, Eidstrun grabbed Keandran by his neck and flung him to his knees in front of them.
“I will not go after him again,” Eidstrun growled as soon as he had shifted back into human. “The dung-encrusted cur led me deep into the swamp. He kept yelling, ‘I’m coming, I’m coming.’ When I caught up with him, he didn’t know where he was going.”
“Where were you going?” Aistrun growled. Alpha power coated the words, demanding an answer.
“I don’t know!” Keandran wailed, cowering.
“Tell us what happened.” Rizelya added her own power to Aistrun’s.
Keandran choked back a sob. Gone was the mouthy, arrogant man; he now cringed before them sniveling and terrified. “I don’t know what happened. I shifted with everyone else and moved to attack the control janack and its beasts along with the rest of you. Then …” He paused, a look of confusion on his face. “Then, I …” He stopped again, searching his memory. “There was someone calling my name, I think.” He looked up and glared at Eidstrun. “The next thing I knew this beast was banging my head against a tree and yelling at me. We were in a slimy pool. Look at me!” He indicated his filthy condition. “I’m covered in slime. How do I know he didn’t drag me there to kill me? Huh?” His eyes widened as he lifted a hand to his head, where a fine trickle of blood dripped into his eyes. “He was trying to kill me, see!”
“If I had tried to kill you, you’d be dead, cur,” Eidstrun sneered, his fists balled up at his sides. It was taking considerable control for him not to use them on Keandran. “I remember what happened, whereas you do not.”
At Rizelya’s raised eyebrow, he continued. “I had finished killing one of the janacks and looked around because it wasn’t Keandran with me but one of Laynar’s warriors. I saw Keandran through a break in the trees. He was already in the swamp. By then, the others had the monsters well in hand, so Leistral opened the fire shield for me. I chased the mangy caitiff. He had shifted back to human and was yelling, ‘I’m coming.’ I caught him once and he fought me and escaped. He took me unaware,” Eidstrun mumbled the last in embarrassment. Anger filled his voice as he looked back at Keandran. “It took me until we were deep into the swamp to catch him again. Bugger moved fast. I had to knock him unconscious to stop him from escaping me a second time. When he came to, he was like this, unable to remember anything but the beginning of the battle.”
Sometime during Eidstrun’s tale, Laynar and her seconds had joined the group.
“There’s something wrong with him,” Laynar interjected. “No one willingly goes into the swamps, especially with a nest to destroy. Is this the first time he’s done this?”
“No,” Rizelya admitted. “He did this in Strunell Territory as well.”
“When we return to the Keep, he will be examined by the White Priestess.” She snapped her fingers at a couple of men still in their warrior form. They descended on Keandran and bound his arms behind his back. When Rizelya started to protest, Laynar shook her head sternly. “It’s for our safety, and his. He will not be drawn back into the swamp this way.”
Keandran struggled and swore, but the warriors were much stronger than he. They gripped his arms, lifted him off the ground between them, and carried him off the battlefield.
“Thank you,” Rizelya told Laynar. She was relieved Laynar had taken control of the situation and of Keandran.
Laynar shook her head. “It is necessary for an alpha to make difficult decisions. It was easier for me since he isn’t one of my pack. Let us get him back to the Keep quickly.” She looked around the field where several of the Reds were still burning the monster remains. “The rest of my platoon will return when they’re finished.” Without waiting to see if the others followed her, Laynar strode toward the horses.
All of Rizelya’s pack returned to Strunheim Keep with Laynar, Keandran’s guard, and three of Laynar’s seconds. They rode quickly. The only noise was the curses and screams from Keandran, until Laynar grew tired of the noise and had him gagged.
***
When they rode through the gates of Strunheim Keep, Rizelya wasn’t surprised to see Layhalya and the White Priestess waiting for them at the top of the steps leading to the Temple. Laynar would have mind-spoken to her alpha while on their way back. Rizelya had to admit there was trouble in Keandran’s soul. She’d hoped to wait and have a White Priestess examine him at Strunlair Keep where the Clan Alphas could deal with any problems that were found. She looked at Layhalya, who looked frail leaning on her cane. She hadn’t wanted to drop any problems in the old woman’s way.
Rizelya twisted in her saddle in order to see Keandran. He was still sputtering and cursing, even with his mouth gagged. There was no help for it; the problem had come hunting her down rather than waiting for her timing. She frowned, thinking this was the way of the Goddess. Keandran needed help and so the Goddess had provided it. Rizelya turned back, settled into her saddle, and guided Kymaya across the courtyard to the Temple.
The White Priestess was dressed in a dazzling white gown of soft silk that grazed the tops of her sandaled feet. The sleeves were long and flowing, the hems brushing the priestess’s knees. A white gauze veil covered her hair, bound to her head with her coronet of rank, the High Priestess of this Temple. Thin, white side-lock braids woven with small crystals descended over her shoulder and reached to her waist. A total of eight rings encircled her fingers; each one held a crystal and denoted one of the eight magical Talents. From her neck hung the symbol of the Goddess and Her Consort—an eight-pointed star. In its center was a small, brilliantly faceted diamond.
The power of the priestesses of the Goddess came from their connection with the Goddess and Her Consort, who ruled the Posairs’ world. Their Talent manifested in the color white. All called to the Goddess had white hair and had a secondary Talent as indicated by their eye color. The Supreme White Priestess, who was believed to embody the Goddess, had white hair and unusual eyes: white with black rims. Only the one who was destined to become the Supreme would be born with such eyes.
The priestesses were the soul workers and spiritual leaders of the community. Rizelya knew if anyone could help Keandran—or her—it would be one of the White Priestesses. They could commune with the Goddess to determine what, if anything, was tainting their souls. Rizelya said a quick prayer to the Mother and Matriarch, praying her soul was not tainted with the evil she had been dreaming about lately. Suddenly she was afraid of what the White Priestess would see within her.
Rizelya hid her fear by dismounting first and going to the steps. The downcast gaze required when approaching a High Priestess, helped her grab her fear and strangle it. Clasping her palms together, thumbs crossed, she raised her hands until her fingertips touched the middle of her forehead. She bowed her head with her eyes closed in reverence to the representative of the Goddess. She would wait in this position for hours, if needed, until the priestess acknowledged her.
She heard the others get off their horses. A muffled “oof” told her Keandran had been pulled from his horse. Movement on either side of her indicated Aistrun and Laynar had joined her in obeisance to the priestess.
A sigh of silk and the perfume of the sacred kehani flower preceded the priestess’s gentle words. “Blessings of the Mother, dear children.” After a few moments, the priestess touched the top of Rizelya’s bowed head in blessing. A zing of energy entered her head and a feeling of well-being suffused her.
The blessing gave he
r permission to open her eyes and raise her head. As she did so, she caught the terror on Keandran’s face as the priestess blessed the man standing next to him. Does he know he’s tainted?
It seemed as if he’d struggle again, but the conditioning of years standing like this, waiting for a blessing, kept him still. Keandran squeezed his eyes tight as he awaited the priestess’ touch. Rizelya watched in fascination as a beam of white light burst from the priestess’ fingertips and passed into Keandran’s head, he groaned and then collapsed.
The White Priestess shook her head when Rizelya and Aistrun moved to help Keandran. Rizelya saw Keandran’s chest rising and falling. He was still alive.
It didn’t take much longer for the priestess to bless the others, and then she moved back to where Rizelya stood.
“He is indeed tainted,” she said as she looked at Rizelya with eyes the pale blue of a sunlit lake. “We will see what we can do. Bring him into the Temple.” She motioned to the two men who were still in their warrior form.
When Rizelya and Aistrun tried to follow Keandran into the Temple, the priestess put up a restraining hand. “No. You cannot come. This is a thing for the soul workers to do. We will let you know when he is well.” With a swish of her skirts, she disappeared into the Temple.
Aistrun took Rizelya’s arm and turned her back to the steps. “Come on, we can’t do anything for him except pray to the Mother that he will recover.”
Rizelya let him conduct her back to the horses. As she led Kymaya across the courtyard to the stables, Rizelya couldn’t help but feel relieved she hadn’t collapsed at the priestess’ touch. Hopefully it meant she wasn’t tainted.
After the evening meal, her squad-pack gathered in her room. They hadn’t had any word from the Temple on Keandran’s condition.
“Does this mean we can leave him here?” Eidstrun asked hopefully. “Please say we can.”
“Hey, it depends on what the priestess determines.” Aistrun ran a hand through his hair. Rizelya noticed it was getting shaggy and he was beginning to grow a beard.
“We must leave no later than day after tomorrow if we’re to reach Strunven and Strunlair Keeps on schedule,” Rizelya reminded everyone. “If he can travel with us we’ll take him. I don’t want to leave him for Layhalya to deal with. She has enough problems with these new control janacks.”
The talk turned to recounting the last battle with the Malvers monsters and the surprise of two control janacks in the nest. It soon devolved to the last few fights and all the changes in the patterns of the monsters. It was late when the rest of the group drifted to their beds. Even with the worry she may be tainted and the priestess would find out and keep her from her duty, Rizelya drifted easily to sleep.
A dreamless sleep.
In light of Keandran’s condition, Layhalya released Rizelya and her squad-pack from training her people. They sat around the lounge in the fighting-pack house, waiting for word from the White Priestess about Keandran. All of them were worried about how sick he may have been without them realizing it. Although Keandran had made himself very unlikable in the time they had been together, he was still part of their pack.
When they wandered into the Keep-house dining hall for the midday meal, the talking stopped. Hushed whispers followed them as they made their way around the buffet tables.
Rizelya was stirring the noodles on her plate, not eating. She glanced at the others. Typically, Aistrun and Eidstrun weren’t letting anything get in their way of a good meal. The women weren’t eating with quite as much gusto as the men, but they were eating.
“Any word from the White Priestess?” Laynar stood at the end of the table, tray in her hand. Her young sister, Laynal, was behind her.
Rizelya slowly shook her head. She scooted down the bench, pushing Leistral and Dehali to make room for Laynar. The men took the hint and moved to give Laynal room. When everyone was situated, Rizelya said, “I hope we hear this afternoon. We’ve already stayed two days longer than we expected.” She could hear the frustration and worry in her voice. “We now have two chedan to travel to Strunven Keep, teach them, and travel on to Strunlair Keep in time for the clan meeting. If he isn’t well enough to travel tomorrow, we’ll have to leave him here.”
“Grandmother understands,” Laynar said. “She’s sending me with two platoons to escort you through our territory.”
“Hey, expecting trouble huh?” Aistrun commented, taking a break from his food.
“She thinks there will be more nests like the one yesterday.” Laynar put her fork down. “I hope she’s wrong.”
“Am I going with you?” Laynal asked, hope filling her face. “I did really good during the fight. You need me.” She nodded knowingly.
“Yes, you create a strong shield,” Laynar agreed, smiling.
“So, am I going? Huh? Say that I am!” The young girl wiggled excitedly.
Laynar looked at Laynal for a long moment, and then turned to Rizelya. There was a gleam of mischief in her eyes. “What do you say? Is she good enough to take with us? Or should we leave her here to deal with Grandmother?”
Rizelya grinned, joining in the teasing. It felt good to be doing something besides moping. “Oh, I don’t know. She is pretty young …”
Laynal turned to Rizelya and made a pleading gesture with her hands. “Please say I can go, Rizelya. I know they’ll let me if you say it’s okay.”
“I’m not getting in the way of Layhalya.” Rizelya tossed her hands in the air in mock fright, and lowered her voice, “She scares me.”
“Nothing scares you!” Laynal protested.
Finally, Laynar took pity on the young woman. “Yes, I need you, scamp. You’re going.”
“Yippee!” Laynal cried and jumped up, banging the table in her haste. Quick hands kept glasses from tipping over, except Laynal’s, and juice spread across the table. “I’m going to go pack!” She rushed off, oblivious to the mess she’d made.
“Oh, to be young!” Leistral observed as she used the napkins to clean up the mess.
“So when are we leaving?” Dehali asked.
“In the morning,” Laynar replied, “with or without Keandran.”
“Good.” Dehali stood up. “I’m going to do something constructive. If you need me, I’ll be in the practice arena.”
“I’ll join you,” Eidstrun said as he stood up too. The two started walking out of the dining room.
Leistral piled a last napkin over the spill and rushed to join her pack-mates.
“Doing something constructive sounds good,” Rizelya said with a sigh. “I’m tired of just sitting here waiting.”
“Well, we do have to plan our journey,” Laynar replied. “It will be possible, barely, to get you to Strunven Territory in a short time.”
“Great idea,” Aistrun spoke up. “Let’s get going.”
***
Later in the afternoon, a novice priestess found them in the small study they had commandeered. Maps were scattered over the surface of the table. Rizelya and Laynar were arguing over how fast they could travel with two platoons.
“Hey,” Aistrun interrupted them. “We have a visitor.” He indicated the door where the young girl of twelve or thirteen hung back, as if afraid of entering.
Laynar beckoned the girl to enter. “You have news?”
“Yes, Lady.” The girl’s voice quavered in nervousness. “The White Priestess wishes to see you and the Strunland alphas.”
The three rose quickly and followed the girl out of the Keep-House and into the Temple. She led them through the main sanctuary, where services and ceremonies to the Goddess were held. The deep, rich smell of incense filled the room. Rizelya could smell the sweet fragrance of kehani flowers and the tang of frankincense. She breathed deeply, letting the sacred fragrances settle her mind and heart.
As a Red and a fighter, she didn’t attend Temple services much, she was too often away from the Keep when services were held. Even so, she went to the Temple for private prayers whenever she could. Sh
e loved the Goddess, in all her forms, but most often called upon the Mother or the Crone. Her pace slowed as she absorbed the peacefulness of the sanctuary. She looked up to see Aistrun had also slowed and was breathing deeply. Laynar and the novice priestess were on the far side of the sanctuary where they stood waiting for her and Aistrun.
She quickened her pace and so did Aistrun. “I’m sorry,” Rizelya told Laynar. “It’s just been a long time since we’ve been able to enjoy the peace of a Temple.”
“All is well. Perhaps the White Priestess will perform a ceremony for you before you leave.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful,” Rizelya said. Aistrun was nodding in agreement. “I’m sure our squad-mates would appreciate it as well.”
“Then I will arrange it with the White Priestess.” Laynar indicated to the girl to move on.
Although Layhalya was the Keep Alpha, Rizelya noticed Laynar did much of the running of the Keep. It surprised Rizelya Layhalya was willing to send Laynar with them when she seemed to be needed here. But after their discussion this afternoon, Rizelya was glad Laynar was going to be traveling with them. She was a good leader and a sharp tactician.
The novice led them through a door at the rear of the sanctuary. Rizelya had never been anywhere in the Temple but the sanctuary, even when her niece Wisah, was doing her priestess training in the Temple at Strunland Keep. She looked curiously around her, doubting she would have another opportunity like this to see the interior of a Temple. Closed doors lined the corridor where she wondered if they were rooms for the priestesses who lived within the Temple. In between them, murals of the Goddess in her various forms were painted on the walls. A scene of the Maiden as a young girl, no older than their guide, frolicking in a meadow filled with various animals, was on one side. Farther down, the Maiden was shown again, this time older and in her visage of a warrior fighting a nest of monsters.
They turned a corner, and this time the murals were of the Mother, the nurturing aspect of the Goddess. A very pregnant Goddess nursed an infant in one scene and in another, the Mother as healer, tended to her flock of children. Another turn took them down a corridor in which the murals were of the Matriarch, the ruler and leader. This face of the Goddess was depicted as a mature woman dispensing wisdom. Many of the keep alphas were in this stage of their life and it was the Matriarch to whom they prayed.
