Mistress of the Night

CHAPTER 11

Full night had finally fallen. Moonshadow Hall had slipped, if not into slumber, then at least into the uncomfortable quiet that followed in the wake of horror. Through her window, Feena could hear Dhauna's intermittent shrieks and inarticulate curses as they echoed up from the infirmary and across the inner courtyard.

She closed her eyes for a moment and murmured, "Forgive me."

Feena crossed to the door of her chamberold sandals making no noise on the floor, homespun skirt and linen blouse whispering around her bodyand opened the door.

Outside, Jhezzail started. Feena bit back a wince. She'd expected there would be someone watching her door. She'd hoped it wouldn't be someone she liked.

"Be at ease," she said.

One hand made a sign. The other touched her medallion. Jhezzail's eyes widened for a moment as Selune's magic took hold of her, then drooped and softened, her fear washed away. Her arms fell down to her sides. She didn't move as Feena approached, but her eyes followed her closely.

"Velsinore commanded me to watch your door and summon her if you came out," the acolyte said with utter calm.

"I guessed that," Feena replied. "What's been happening in the temple?"

"I don't know. I've been here all evening. I think Velsinore and Mifano have been in the infirmary with Mother Dhauna."

"And Julith?"

"They shut her out. She's waiting in the winter chapel." A spark glimmered in Jhezzail's placid eyes and she added, "She asked me to let her know if you came out."

Of course, Feena thought. Julith would do that.

Feena raised her chin and said, "Thank you, Jhezzail. I'm sorry I have to do this." Before the acolyte could react, she thrust out her fingers once more. "Bright Lady of Night," she prayed, "hold her fast!"

The calm in Jhezzail's eyes flashed in alarm, but it was too late. The power of the spell locked her muscles and joints, paralyzing her. Feena acted swiftly, darting back into her room and emerging with the patiently torn strips that had been her bed linens. The calming spell had been necessary to draw information out of the acolyte, but neither it nor the spell of holding would last long. Feena gagged Jhezzail first, then swiftly lashed her arms to her body. Grasping her tightly, she dismissed the magic. Jhezzail's muscles sagged.

The girl struggled, but Feena hoisted her over one shoulder and carried her quickly into her chamber. She dumped her on the bed, then grabbed her legs, forcing them together so she could bind them. Behind her gag, Jhezzail was screaming. The torn cloth turned the wails into a high-pitched whine.

"I'm sorry, Jhezzail," Feena apologized. "I truly am. I admire your faith. Please tell Julith that I think you'll be a great priestess someday."

Long strips of fabric bound the acolyte to the bed frame so she couldn't roll off. Jhezzail's eyes were wild with fear. Feena turned away to avoid meeting them.

She shut the door of the chamber but didn't try to lock or block it. When other acolytes or clergy realized Jhezzail was gone from her post, it would be easy enough for them to rescue her. Feena prayed that the acolyte wouldn't be missed too soontwo hours, maybe more. That would be enough time.

The corridors of Moonshadow Hall were deserted. The clerics were probably either seeking solace in prayer or huddled with the frightened acolytes, trying to mend their faith in the face of the day's events. Feena kept a sharp watch anyway, creeping through the shadows to the refectory, into the silent kitchens beyond, and out through the stout door, into the little garden. She gave the old, mossy pillar a fond brush of farewell, then hopped over the wall and out of Moonshadow Hall.

She didn't want anyone to see a wolf running in Yhaunn's shadows again, so she didn't change form. Instead she stayed on two legs as she trotted through the silent streets of the city, climbing steadily up toward the city gates that she'd passed through fourteen nights before.

In the sky above, the moon was only the barest sliver of a crescent, as if even Selune were hiding her face in shame. Feena's chest ached. Sobs had wracked her through the afternoon, and through the long twilight of evening. Inside, she felt broken.

The water in the basin in her room was stained red with Dhauna Myritar's blood. Feena could still taste the tang of it in her mouthand thinking about it only brought the taste back stronger than before. Sharp. Salty. Warm. Tingling like copper on the tip of her tongue, heavy like iron against the roof of her mouth.

Feena clenched her teeth and forced the memory away. No more sobs. No more tears. Her eyes were dry. She couldn't cry anymore. She might never cry again. Dhauna's betrayal felt like a void in her very spiritDhauna's betrayal and her own loss of control in striking down her old friend and teacher.

There was no point to staying at Moonshadow Hall any longer. High manners and elegant gowns wouldn't convince Selune's clergy anymore. The priests and priestesses, acolytes and devotees would shun her. Mifano and Velsinore would be merciless. There would be no more games or petty humiliations. At the very least, they would do to her exactly what she was doing to herself banishment, exileif she was lucky.

And if word escaped Moonshadow Hall of what had happened, the people of Yhaunn would shun the temple itself in horror. They might do more. Feena had a vision of a mob, Noyle and the other denizens of the Cutter's Dip at its head, descending on the graceful white walls and blackening them with the smoke of a thousand torches.

A wave of fear swept over her at the thought. She clutched for the nearest wall, holding herself up. When the moment passed, she drew herself up straight.

It was better to remove herself from Yhaunn before any of that came to pass. Dhauna's dreams, the dreams that had drawn her to the city and that had held her within it, were nothing more than the nightmares of a mad, old woman. The only heresy, the only danger, was in Dhauna's age-tortured mind. The New Moon Pact… a horrid coincidence, a tale encountered in chance that had taken root in madness.

Feena's hand strayed to her medallion, caressing the nicked and worn surface.

Moonmaiden have mercy on Mother Dhauna, she prayed silently. Let her wake tomorrow and remember nothing but peace.

She wished she could hope for the same.

The street opened up ahead of her, broadening into a wide plaza before the keep that hunched over the city gates. Like many of the merchant cities of Sembia, Yhaunn seldom closed her gates, even by night. At so late an hour, though, the guards on duty did take extra care with who they let inand who they let out. Feena found herself waiting behind a tall riding horse that had been loaded down with bulging saddlebags like a common mule. One of the gate guards was inspecting the bags dubiously while his partner questioned the horse's dismounted rider.

"Hey, Grat," he called forward. "Seems he packed like a half ling in a hurry, too!''

The other guard's voice rumbled off the stone walls of the keep, "Packed in a hurry, riding fast, wanting to get out the gate later than an honest man has reason toif you don't want to tell us where you're headed to, maybe you want to tell us what you're running from."

"Look," argued the rider, "I swear I haven't done anything wrong. I just want to leave."

His voice was angry, but also frightened. And strangely familiar. Feena stepped around to the other side of the horse. The man who clutched the animal's reins as if they were his mother's apron strings was Keph Thingoleir.

She ducked back and her nose wrinkled. Based on what she had seen from Keph in the Stiltways the other night, she could easily guess at any number of reasons he might feel the need to get out of Yhaunn fast. Whatever it was, with so much stuffed into his bags, it didn't look like the young man was coming back any time soon.

Feena pressed her lips together. It was tempting to simply slip away and let the guards deal as they would with Keph, then come back later. Keph had, after all, sneered at her offer to return his aid. Anything he was running from, he probably deserved.

But what if Stag and Drik had started looking for revenge? He didn't deserve that.

In spite of what the young man might think, she did owe him.

"Moonmaiden's grace," she cursed. "One last time and never again!" She drew herself up and stood tall, then stepped out from behind Keph's horse, carrying herself with the poise that Julith had taught her. "Goodmen!"

All three men stared, Keph most of all. Feena stopped in front of the guards.

"I speak for Moonshadow Hall,'' she said. "I will vouch for this man. Let him pass."

The guards glanced at each other. Annoyance crossed the face of the one that had been examining Keph's bags and he started to speak, but his partner, deep-voiced Grat, slapped him across the gut.

"Your pardon… uhhh… priestess," he said with gruff respect. "Do you have any way to prove your authority?"

He stared at her rough country clothes with some uncertainty, but Feena caught his eye and held it.

"I am Feena Archwood, Moonmistress-Designate of Moonshadow Hall." The words slipped off her tongue too easily. She had to force herself not to tremble at what had become nothing more than a brazen lie. She lifted her chin and held Selune's medallion up for them to see. "If that's not enough to satisfy you, you may call on Guard Captain Manas. I'm certain he will be pleased to come down at this hour and confirm my identity."

Grat swallowed. "Ahh… I don't think there's a need for that, Moonmistress." He glanced at Keph. The young man was still staring at Feena, his eyes so wide they looked ready to pop right out of his face. "This one has the look of someone with something to hide, though."

"He did me a service some nights ago, sir," Feena told him. "If he passes through the gate in my charge, will you let him go?"

"I…we…"

Grat looked to the Other guard. Feena raised an eyebrow and turned to Keph.

"Does the city guard have any reason to pursue you?" she demanded. "Have you broken any of the laws of Yhaunn or Sembia?" Keph blinked and shook his head mutely. Feena looked back to Grat. "In Selune's name, I say that I believe him. Let us pass."

Grat stared at herthen stepped aside. "Thank you," Feena said. "Mount, Keph."

The young man scrambled to obey.

"Do you not have a horse, Moonmistress?" asked the second guard, obviously suspicious. Feena turned her glare on him, and he flinched away. She put her back to him and marched on to the gates.

A moment later, hoofbeats followed, quick at first then slowing as Keph caught up to her and matched the pace of his horse to her stride. The young man stared down at her with an expression of awe.

"Feena, I-"

"Keep quiet," she hissed.

The slow rhythm of his horse's hooves was the only sound as they passed through the gates and out of Yhaunn. The road to Ordulin stretched out in the starlight before them. And beyond Ordulin… Feena drew a deep breath. Arch Wood village. Home.

She could tell that Keph was watching her, sneaking quick, confused glances in the darkness. She didn't say anything, and somewhat to her surprise, he didn't say anything either.

Too arrogant to admit he was wrong in rejecting me before, Feena thought, too ashamed to find I've come to his rescue this time, and too startled to find that the countrywoman he scrapped alongside is also a haughty priestess.

Her mouth twisted. No, she reminded herself. That's not me. I'm not that woman.

She started to turn aside, toward the stand of trees that housed the little clearing where she'd first encountered Stag and Drik. She could change there. Her wolf form was more suited to travel, especially at nighteven if the thought of becoming the animal that had attacked Dhauna put a knot in her stomach.

"Good night, Keph," she said. "Safe journey."

"Feena?" The young man twisted in his saddle and asked, "Where are you going?"

"There's a path," she lied. "My journey lies that way."

"Wait. I'll come with you."

He pulled on the reins, turning his horse. Feena stiffened.

"What?" she asked. "Why?"

She couldn't quite make out his expression, but Keph's voice was tight. "I need…" He choked, hesitated, then seemed to change his mind. "Thank you for helping me," he said.

"You helped me at the Cutter's Dip," she said. "I owed you."

"I told you that you owed me nothing, but you helped me anyway." He urged his horse over toward her and asked, "Can I travel with you?"

"I don't need your protection, Keph."

The words came out more harshly than she'd intended. Keph was quiet for a moment.

"Sorry," he said finally. "I didn't mean to say you did. It's just… It's a dark night. I'd like the company. Please."

Feena glanced toward the trees. In her wolf form, she could move fast, trimming a day or more from her travels, but…

One night won't make a difference,'her knotted gut argued. Stay human for one more night.

"All right," she said, and her stomach relaxed. "We'd best stay on the road though."

"What about the path?"

"I'll pick up another one later."

They walked in silence until Keph shifted uncomfortably and said, "Feena, do you mind if I make a light?" "There's nothing to see."

"The dark is getting on my nerves." He turned and reached for his saddle bags. "I have a sunrod…"

Feena clicked her tongue. "Too bright," she said. "We wouldn't be able to see anything beyond it. Let me."

She picked up a fist-sized stone from the road. A prayer to Selune brought the glow of a full moon to it, bright enough to dispel the darkness around them, not so bright as to completely spoil their night vision.

"Better?" she asked, passing the stone up to him.

He hesitated before taking it.

"Thank you," he said.

He settled the stone into the crook of his arm, cradling it, then looked down at her. In the magical light, she finally got a good look at his face. He still seemed thunderstruck at her presence. She looked away uncomfortably.

Most of the land in that part of Sembia was farmers' fields and pastures. Low hedgerows separated fields from the road. Feena listened to the rustlings of small creatures in the hedges as their illuminated passing disturbed the nocturnal activities of mice, small birds, and badgers. A fox crouched in the shadows, eyes gleaming.

"You never asked me where I was going," Keph said with the abruptness of someone desperate to break a silence.

Feena glanced up at him and replied, "You didn't ask me where I was going either."

She looked back to the hedgerow. The fox was gone. Keph hadn't even noticed it.

"So," he ventured, "where are you going?"

"Arch Wood."

His face creased. "That's northwest of Selgaunt, isn't it? Right on the border with the Dalelands? It's a long way."

"My village is there." "Ah."

They walked a little farther.

"What's your village like?" he asked finally.

"Small," said Feena. "I suppose it's more of a hamlet, but no one there would ever admit to it. There's only a few houses clustered around a mill really, with a blacksmith on the other side of the mill run. My mother's cottagemy cottage," she corrected herself, "is out beyond the smith's."

"It sounds nice," Keph said. "Why are you going back?"

"I've had enough of Yhaunn," Feena said. She managed to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "Moonshadow Hall has lots of priestesses. Arch Wood needs me back." She looked up at Keph and asked, "What about you?"

He shrugged and said, "Ordulin, I guess. Then maybe Selgaunt or Saerloon."

"Wherever the road goes?" asked Feena. Keph nodded. "You did leave Yhaunn in a hurry, didn't you?" When he nodded again she asked, "Am I going to regret helping you?"

He fell silent, his eyes suddenly dark. Feena frowned. "Keph?"

"You might," he said.

He took a deep breath and drew something out of his pouch, then opened his hand to let it dangle from his fingers.

A disk of Shar.

Feena gasped and leaped away, eyes searching the night for signs of an ambush.

"Feena!" Keph shouted. "It's not what you think!"

He kicked his feet free of his stirrups and slithered out of the saddle, still clutching the glowing stone in one hand and Shar's symbol in the other. Feena whirled to face him.

"Stay back!" she growled at him, stepping away. He held his arms wide and said, "Please, listen to me. This isn't a trap." "What is it then?" "I need your help," he pleaded.

Feena stared at him in shock. There were tears running down his cheeks. His outstretched arms were trembling.

"I didn't know you were a Selunite, Feena. I swear I didn't. I wouldn't have helped you if I hadnot then, anyway. And you know I didn't expect to see you at the gate tonight. But now…" He choked. "Selune is Shar's enemy, isn't she? You have to help me, Feena. Please. I'm running away!"

She stared. A Sharran running away… Her stomach convulsed. Her cheststill aching from sobsheaved.

And she laughed. A short, bitter bark. Her mouth twisted.

"Well," she said. "I guess that makes two of us."

Selune was slowly sliding down against the night sky behind them. In the eastern distance, Yhaunn threw up almost as much light as the slivered moon, the combined glare of thousands of lanterns and torches a stain of brightness in the dark. Because the city was sunk down in its quarry, that stain was really all there was to see of it. It was strange, Feena thoughtYhaunn was only really there when you were right down in it.

She and Keph sat together on a hilltop not too far off the road, looking back the way they had come, the glowing stone set between them. Down along the hill's slope, the young man's horse chomped contentedly at summer dry grass. Its pale hide shone ghostlike on the fringes of the magical moonlight.

Feena took a pull at a bottle of surprisingly good wineKeph really had packed his bags in a rushand passed it back to him. He drank as well, then stared at the bottle without saying anything.

"There's no rush, Keph," she told him. "Take your fime. We still have half a bottle left."

Keph sighed. "There's not really much else to tell. After the dream, I knew there was only one thing I could do." He sat with one leg stretched out and the other bent, one arm draped around it. He took another gulp of wine, then rested his cheek on his arm. "I was wrong about so much, but Variance, Jarull, BolanSharnone of them were going to let me go easily. If I stayed, what would happen to Adrey? To the rest of my family?" He looked up. "So I ran."

"You can't outrun a goddess, Keph."

"But I can try to keep anyone else from getting hurt, can't I?"

"You can do that." Feena stretched out her arm, and Keph gave her the bottle. "Wouldn't Mifano and Velsinore love to see this? As if they didn't have enough to turn against me, I'm sitting and drinking wine with a Sharran."

Keph snorted and said, "Just this morning, I wouldn't have even thought about having wine with a Selunite. Let alone the werewolf who killed Cyrume."

Feena growled under her breath and bared her teeth.

"The Sharran at the well in the Stiltways?" she said. "I didn't kill him."

Keph looked at her, surprised.

"But everyone says"

"If I'd had to," Feena said. "I would have. He was going to poison that well." She drank from the bottle. "But I didn't have to. He killed himself rather than face me. He died with Shar's name on his lips. I didn't touch him. But Moonmaiden's grace, I'd like to know who did! It's almost as if I were being set up." She took another sip and set the bottle aside. "Why would this Cyrume try to poison the well anyway?"

"As an act of devotion to Shar, I suppose," Keph said sourly. "We" His face twisted. "Sharrans are supposed perform a dark deed at least once every tenday. Jarull said poisoning the well was Variance's idea. Apparently the cult was smaller and a lot less aggressive before she came along."

"That would probably explain why Moonshadow Hall had no idea they were in the city." Feena stared back at the stain of Yhaunn. "Where did she come from?"

"Jarull says the Temple of Old Night beneath Calimport."

Feena's eyes narrowed. "I've heard rumors about that place. It's supposed to be the ancient seat of Sharran power, the oldest of Shar's temples."

"Bolan and Jarull never said much about it. They just went really quiet whenever they mentioned it."

"Jarull…" Feena glanced at Keph. "Your friend seems to have taken to his conversion zealously."

"I guess he has," Keph said. "What am I going to do, Feena? Have I damned myself over stupid revenge?"

Feena sighed again and rubbed her medallion between her fingers.

"I don't really know," she said. "I'm no philosopher. For what it's worth, I don't think you did anything wrong. Think about the initiation Bolan put you through. You swore no oaths. The sacrifice you made was only an illusion. And you're repentant. There's hope, I think." "And what I did to Lyraene?"

Feena said, "That you'll have to live with, Keph. It was no noble act. You'll carry the stain of it for the rest of your life."

"I guess I have to expect that," Keph replied. He stared out at the distant, dark horizon. "But what about the orison? I felt Shar's power, and I channeled it…"

"You couldn't have." Feena scowled. "A priest has to take oaths and training. It sounds too easy, too convenient. It must have been some trick. There's a spell that lets a priestess share the power of her faith with someone else. If Variance worked that on you, it might have felt like you were casting an orison when it was really Variance's magic." She closed her eyes and scrubbed her knuckles against her forehead. "The thing you have to fear is Shar's cult, not the goddess herself."

The young man blinked. "I shouldn't be running?"

"Oh, you should be running," Feena said. She opened her eyes again and gave him a long look. "They've gone to a lot of trouble to seduce you. They're up to something, and like you say, I don't think they'll give up easily."

Keph exhaled slowly and shuddered. He leaned back, stretching out on the grass and staring up at the star-speckled sky.

"What if I came to Arch Wood with you?" he asked after a moment. "Just for a little while. The Sharrans won't think to look for me there, will they?"

Feena groaned, "Oh, aye. That should cause some talk. I go aWay and come back with a man ten years younger than me and a price on my head in Yhaunn…" She looked at him and asked, "Are you so sure you want to travel with a werewolf who'll tear into her oldest friends?"

For a moment, Keph was silent, then he rolled over onto his side to look into her eyes.

"For what it's worth," he said, "I don't think you did anything wrong either. Dhauna manipulated you. Just like Variance manipulated me."

Feena stared at himand raised her eyes to Selune's crescent.

"Moonmaiden's grace," she whispered, "aren't we just the best people to give each other advice?" She smiled and sighed, "Thank you, Keph." She picked up the wine bottle and offered it to him. "How about a toast? To the two most gullible fools in Yhaunn."

"Not so gullible anymore," Keph said. "And never again in Yhaunn."

He reached for the bottle and let it slip through his fingers to tumble onto the ground.

"Listen!" he gasped.

Feena heard it too: a wild cascade of hooves in the night. Someone was riding hard and fast along the Ordulin road. A sudden foreboding struck her. She grabbed the glowing rock and willed the magic to fade. Darkness wrapped around them. Keph ran for his horse and Feena scrambled for the crest of the hill and a better view. Staying low, she scanned the road's length.

A lone rider moved in a broad patch of bright moonlight, galloping west from Yhaunn like a madman. Or a madwoman, Feena thought. As the rider drew closer, Feena slid down from the hilltop. Keph was already mounted, his overstuffed saddlebags abandoned.

"Is it the Sharrans?" he gasped.

"No," said Feena. "The rider travels in moonlight. It's one of my people."

"What do you want to do?"

The hoofbeats were even closer.

"Wait," she said. "We'll face her. I think I know who it is. If she finds us, then she deserves to."

Out on the road, the rider slowed then stopped. The horse whinnied in alarm as its rider pulled hard on the reins, wheeling the animal around and back to a narrow gap in the hedgerow. Heels kicked into the horse's side and sent it cantering across a field of swaying grain toward the hill.

"Feena!" shouted Julith. "Feena, where are you? I know you're close!"

Feena stepped forward and called, "Here!"

Julith spun her horse around, then slid out of the saddle and ran toward her.

"Feena! Moonmaiden's grace, Feenathank Selune I found you."

Her hair was wild, blown and tangled by her ride. She spread her arms. Feena hesitated, then opened her arms to accept the young priestess's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Julith," she sighed. "So much happened. There was too much to say. I just couldn't stay in Yhaunn any-"

Julith stiffened, staring up. "Who?" she gasped. Feena twisted her head to see Keph looming over them on his horse.

"Keph Thingoleir," Feena said. "That's another story." She ran a hand over Julith's flushed, wind-burned face. "What are you doing out here, Julith? Why come after me?"

"To warn you." Julith hugged Feena then pushed her away. "We found Jhezzail. Mifano and Velsinore are coming after you and they're bringing half of Moonshadow Hall with them."

Feena's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about?"

"They mean to take you back by force, Feena. They think your attack on Mother Dhauna was deliberate."

"But you don't," Feena said. The realization felt like a weight lifted from her.

"I know you would never do something like that of your own free will," Julith said as she dug into a satchel that she wore slung at her side. "They're going to be an hour or so behind me. The only reason I managed to get out ahead of them is because they were arguing over the best magic to use to find you. They'll be working together by now and on your-trail."

"How did you manage to find me, then?" Feena asked.

"Unlike Velsinore and Mifano," the younger priestess said with a smile, "I know you, Feena. I knew that if you were running, you'd be heading back to Arch Wood. I just rode in the right direction, and while I rode, I prayed to Selune to guide me. And she answered my prayer."

"I" Feena pressed her lips together, then exhaled slowly. "Thank you," she said.

"Don't thank me just yet," said Julith. She pulled out a gray bundle tied up with a leather strap. "This is how you carry your clothes while you're in wolf form, right?" Feena blinked and nodded. Julith breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." She thrust the bundle at her. "That's a robe. Take off your clothes, change into your wolf form, and get back to Moonshadow Hall."

"But if Mifano and Velsinore are coming after me, why would I want to run to them?"

"You wouldn't," Julith answered, looking her in the eye. "You need to get back for Mother Dhauna's sake."

Feena's heart sank.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"She let Chandri heal her wounds, but when Velsinore tried to give her the belladonna you prescribed, she refused it. Velsinore tried casting healing magic on her as well, but Mother Dhauna resisted that, too." Julith swallowed. "Then she prayed to Selune herself, asking her to send her brightest light."

Selune's brightest light…

"The light of a full moon?" Feena asked, and Julith nodded. Feena sucked in her breath. "Moonmaiden's grace, she's forced herself to transform into a werewolf!"