Mistress of the Night

CHAPTER 15

The corridor outside the winter chapel was wide and straight, and lit by old magic, crystals that burned silver with Selune's light. As she marched down the corridorrobe billowing around her, Julith at her sideFeena could imagine what a member of the New Moon Pact must have felt like: An avenger of Selune's faith, a defender racing to shield the innocent and unsuspecting…

Then a pair of acolytes stepped out from a side corridor, took one look at her, and fled in terror.

Julith shouted and started to leap after them, but Feena caught her arm and said, "Let them go."

"They'll go straight to a senior priestess. Everyone will know you've returned."

"They'll know soon enough anyway." She released the dark-haired priestess and kept going. That was the other side of the New Moon

Pact, she thought. Avengers and defendersbut feared by their own sisters.

She could understand that all too well.

Sounds of fresh confusion were starting to echo through Moonshadow Hall as they reached the end of the broad corridor. Feena wrenched open another pair of broad doors. Hot, muggy night air flooded into the corridor. The doors opened onto the cloisters. Directly in front of them, the full moon gate was a tall round arch, the central courtyard dark and empty beyond it. Feena stepped forward.

Julith gasped and said, "Feena, the gateswe can't enter the courtyard during a new moon!"

Feena paused on the threshold of the full moon gate-then stepped through. Nothing happened.

"Breaking a few traditions is the least of our worries, Julith."

She held out her hand. Julith swallowed, stepped through the gate, and took it. Hand in hand they walked to the center of the courtyard. When they stopped, Feena spoke a prayer. Moonlight rippled across the grass, pushing back the shadows.

Around the cloisters, Feena could see the pale faces and robes of Selune's clergy as they gathered to stare in awe and shock. They whispered between themselves, some still clutching funeral drapings and candles, others carrying feast platters and baskets of bread. Those few who were armed hovered around the gates, hands on maces, trying to decide whether they should enter the courtyard after the offending priestesses or not. Feena let go of Julith's hand and raised her arms.

"Mifano!" she shouted. "Velsinore! Your High Moonmistress summons you!"

New gasps burst out of the watching clergy. Feena repeated her call.

A door slammed open. Priestesses leaped aside as Velsinore appeared at the waning half moon gate. Her face was white with rage.

"Feena!" she spat almost incoherently. "Julith! The traitors stand together. How dare you? You have no"

"no right?" Feena asked, lowering her arms. "I have every right. Fm one of Selune's priestesses. I'm the High Moonmistress of Moonshadow Hall. Who has a better right?"

"You're not the High Moonmistress!"

"With the High Moonmistress's passing, the Moonmistress-Designate takes her place."

"I think you gave up that title when you turned on Mother Dhauna," called Mifano. The silver-haired priest stood in another gate. The Waxing Crescent sword was in his hand, delicate blade burning with silver fire. His eyes were narrow. "You shouldn't have come back, Feena. Mother Dhauna is dead because of you."

More than you know, Feena thought. She forced sorrow away, stood tall, and said, "I had to come back."

"To rescue Julith?" asked Mifano. "To stand with her while her Sharran friends attack us?"

Armed priests and priestesses stood at all of the moon gates. Their eyes darted to Mifano, but the priest shook his head. He stepped out into the courtyard and approached slowly, sword extended. After a moment, Velsinore murmured a prayer and moved forward as well. She drew the Waning Crescent sword awkwardly, but the weapon was steady in her hand as she crossed the courtyard to stand with Mifano. Feena glared at them.

"Put down your swords," she growled. "Julith is no traitor. Neither am I." She raised her voice so that all of the gathered clergy would be able to hear her. "Keph Thingoleir was trying to flee from Shar's cult. He didn't escape. Julith's memories were altered by a Sharran priestess who came to drag Keph back to Shar's embrace. Someone told that priestess that Keph had been captured. There is a traitor in Moonshadow Hall, but it's not one of us." She raised her hand and pointed at Velsinore and Mifano. "It's one of you!"

Velsinore's breath hissed through her teeth. "Ridiculous! You lie!"

"Do I?" Feena touched her medallion. "Moonmaiden hear me," she prayed. "Sanctify my words. Let no falsehood be uttered here!"

A shimmer passed over the courtyard. Feena drew a breath and lowered her hand. When she spoke, her words rang in pure, bright tones off the encircling walls of Moonshadow Hall.

"By Selune's grace, I say that one of you, Mifano and Velsinore, betrayed a penitent soul to the darkness of Shar!"

"And by the Bright Lady of the Night," snarled Mifano, "I tell you that I am no traitor to Selune!" "Nor," spat Velsinore, "am I!" Their words rang just as brightly as Feena's.

– ‹§› "… but so great was Selune's weakness to the pleas of the world that she reached out and opened a passage to a distant place of flame. And Shar's peace was shattered." His voice trembling, Bolan lowered his raised arms and crossed them over his chest. "Thus was division made between the two sisters and so has Shar ever sought to heal the rift that Selune caused." The priest raised his smooth, white face to the darkness of the temple's rocky ceiling and called, "Lady of Loss, may we do your work in fighting Selune's followers wherever we find them! Mistress of the Night, we honor you!"

"We honor Shar!" chanted the assembled cultists.

"We honor Shar," Keph chanted along with them. The words left a bad taste in his mouth. The entire ceremony made his skin creep as if filth had been spread across his body.

Somewhere in the depths of the temple, Jarull moaned. Variance hadn't cast her cloak of shadow and silence back over him. Every peak in the cultists' chants brought fresh groans and wails of torment echoing through the tunnels. Some of the cultists had looked fearful at first, but soon they seemed to revel in his sounds of anguish.

Variance stepped up to stand at Shar's altar.

"In fighting Selune's followers," she said, "we bear remembrance for all that has been taken from us. We bear remembrance for Shar's loss. We fight the Selunites as Shar fights their weak and treacherous goddess. We meet their hatred with our hatred. We do honor to Cyrume, torn apart like an animal. We do honor to Keph, returned to us by Shar's blessing." Cold, razor-edged steel flashed in the dim light as she snatched a chakram from her belt and held it high. "Shall we visit Shar's blessing on Moonshadow Hall?"

"Yes!"

Fists and weapons punched the air. Shar's faithful had armed themselves with whatever they could: clubs, knives, swords… Bolan wore a harness festooned with pouches and flasks. When he moved, cold metallic odors drifted off of him.

From where he stood behind the altar, Keph could see all of the gathered cultists, their eyes bright and their faces flush with zeal. Between them, Bolan and Variance had worked the cult into a frenzy. Talisk, Starne, and Baret were there, lashing the air with swords and slapping at each other. They weren't the only ones caught up in the madness. An old man was shaking with murderous ecstasy. A woman in wealthy merchant's dress was tearing at her clothes. There was blood on her mouthshe had bitten herself. Someone else had begun screaming and beating on the wide metal rings Keph remembered from his initiation. The clashing sound filled the air, competing with Variance's urgent exhortations.

"Will we show the Selunites mercy?"

"No!"

"Will Moonshadow Hall stand at dawn?"

"No!"

Keph felt sick.

Variance spread her arms wide and shouted, "This night shall live in legend! May Shar grant us her divine favor!" She swept her chakram down. "It is time!"

The voices of the cultists rose in a howling chorus. Somewhere Jarull shrieked.

The courtyard was silent, the watching clergy shocked by the contradictory truths.

Julith's voice hissed when she asked, "Feena, how?"

Feena held up her hard, gesturing the younger priestess to silence.

Moonmaiden's grace, she wondered silently, could we have been wrong? No. Everything they had reasoned out pointed to Velsinore or Mifano as the traitor.

Feena stared at the pair, looking for something to suggest that one of them had somehow resisted her prayer and was actually lying or telling some half-truth.

Both watched her with hard eyes and held their swords of office in steady hands. Neither had the look of someone who was lying. Feena's mouth was dry as she tried to think of another possibility.

"The Sharran priestess…" she said. "She was behind the poisoning I stopped. I think she's been trying to manipulate us into panic. Her name is Variance."

"I don't know anyone by that name," growled Velsinore, and Mifano echoed her.

Julith said, "She's a Calishite. Her hair is long. Her skin is pale and dusky, like she hasn't been in the sun for a long time."

Feena watched Mifano and Velsinore as Julith spoke, but neither reacted. She shot a glance at Julith.

The dark-haired priestess bit her lip in thought, then added, "She wore a ring, an amethyst set in old silver."

Mifano's sword wavered. Feena's eyesand Julith's and Velsinore'ssnapped to him.

"You recognize the ring?" Feena asked.

"It sounds like" Mifano's lips drew tight. "Lady Monstaed has taken to wearing a ring like that. But she's not Calishite."

"When did she start wearing the ring?"

"Less than a month ago." Doubt creeped into his eyes as he said, "About the time she transferred the lease on her properties from Ladysluck Tower to Moonshadow Hall."

"Did you tell Lady Monstaed about my encounter in the Stiltways and that I thought there were Sharrans in Yhaunn?" Feena asked.

His mouth opened then closed, and he nodded. "I told her about that," he said. His sword fell. "Selune's shining face, I told her everything that happened in Moonshadow Hall."

Julith gasped. All around the cloisters, whispers of alarm and surprise rolled through the assembled clergy. Hope leaped inside FeenaMifano was no traitor, only a dupe!

"And you told Lady Monstaed about Keph's capture?" she asked.

Mifano blinkedand shook his head. "No," he said. "Feena, I swear I haven't even stopped to think about her since your attack on Dhauna."

His words rang with truth. And Feena realized, why should Mifano have contacted Lady Monstaed back in Yhaunn to pass on news of Keph anyway? He couldn't have known she'd be interested in the young man. She ground her teeth as the brief moment of hope faded.

Worse, the only evidence linking Variance to Velsinore or Mifano was useless. Mifano's gossip had let Variance know about Moonshadow Hall's misplaced confidence. But if he hadn't been the one to tell the Sharran priestess about Keph's capture…

"Someone is still a traitor," Feena said. She looked up. "Velsinore, who"

The tall priestess's sword snapped up defensively. "I certainly didn't tell this Variance anything!" she snapped.

Feena groaned and said, "I didn't say you did. I need to know if anyone among the clergy who rode with you last night might have"

"Wait." Julith laid her arm on Feena's arm. "We've made a mistake." Feena glanced at her. The priestess was looking at Velsinore intently. "Variance said that not all of Selune's clergy are faithful. She never said that one of us told her about Keph's capture."

"I certainly didn't tell this Variance anything," Velsinore had said. Selune's power confirmed that statement as the truth. But Variance wasn't the only Sharran in Yhaunn, was she?

"Velsinore," Feena spat, "did you tell anyone about Keph's capture?" She stepped forward. "Answer me! Did you betray Keph to the Sharrans?"

The tall priestess took a step back, her eyes wide and her mouth open.

"I… I…" she stuttered, as if trying to form words when none would come, as if the power of a goddess prevented her from speaking a lie.

Feena bared her teeth. She didn't know how Velsinore had managed to deny that she was a traitor to Selune, but her falsehood had caught her! Whispers around the cloisters turned into a surging, seething muddle of confusion. Velsinore squeezed her mouth shut. Growling, Feena reached out for her.

Velsinore whirled and lashed out with her sword.

Caught by surprise, Mifano gasped in shock as the shining blade sliced into his body. Feena heard the metal grate against bone and leaped back in shock. In the cloisters, confusion rose into screaming chaos. Velsinore twisted around, letting go of the sword, and shoved Mifano's jerking body to the ground. Feena and Julith dodged forward almost as one to catch him.

As they reacted, Velsinore turned and sprinted out of the courtyard, back toward the waning half moon gate. The priests and priestesses standing in the gate and the cloisters scrambled to get out of her way. In less than a heartbeat, she had vanished into Moonshadow Hall.

"Moonmaiden's grace!" Feena cursed at the merciless distraction.

Mifano's blood was pouring across her hands. The silver-haired priest's breath was coming in rattling rasps.

"Down!" ordered Julith. "Put him down!" She raised her eyes to the swirling, swooning clergy. "Chandri! I'm going to need your help to save him!" She glanced at Feena. "Go get Velsinore! I'll handle this!'

Feena grimaced and slid Mifano into her arms, then rose and charged after Velsinore. Clergy dodged out of her way almost as quickly as they had dodged out of Velsinore's. Feena opened the door through which the traitorous priestess had vanished and plunged inside.

There was no sign of Velsinore, but even in scant moments she could have easily gotten out of sight. With the milling priestesses and priests out in the cloisters still screaming, the echo of running footsteps would be drowned out as well. Sound and sight weren't the only means of tracking at Feena's disposal, however. She concentrated, seeking the balance between woman and wolf that was her hybrid form. It wasn't easyboth woman and wolf were furious and it was tempting simply to let the beast take over. Feena strained and resisted the impulse. She wanted answers and she wasn't going to get them if she tore Velsinore apart.

"Selune, help me," she murmured and took a deep breath as fur rippled over her skin and her joints shifted within the folds of the robe.

Her next breath brought a flood of scents to a wolfs nose: The odor of human fear, thick and overwhelming as panic swirled in Moonshadow Hall; the musty scent of funeral drapes and candles; the rich smells of Idruth's kitchen. She picked Velsinore's scent out of the flood easily, thoughmusty like the drapes, but with a hint of something dark and metallic: the odor of the medicines in the infirmary. With a start, Feena realized she recognized that smell from somewhere else. It was remarkably similar to the Sharran poison. Not the same, but close, as if the medicines and the poison originated in the same place.

What had Velsinore been doing?

Feena loped after the priestess. Velsinore's scent led down toward the kitchen. Feena growled. The kitchen garden… she couldn't be the only person who knew the trick of getting out over the garden wall. With Moonshadow Hall on alert against the possibility of a Sharran attack, the door from the kitchen to the garden would certainly be sealed, but it wouldn't be nearly as heavily guarded as the temple's main gates.

If it was sealed at all, she realized. The main gates were Mifano's responsibility as the bearer of the Waxing Crescent, but the kitchen, like the infirmary, was Velsinore's.

She paused outside the kitchen and shifted back into her human shape, then opened the door carefully and peered inside. Everything seemed still and quiet. Across the cavernous room, she could see that the door to the garden had indeed been sealed. A huge plate of solid steel had been fastened into place over it. No one was getting into or out of Moonshadow Hall that way without considerable effort.

Which meant that Velsinore was trapped inside the kitchen. Feena stepped through the door and put her back against a wall. There was still no movement.

"Velsinore?" called Feena. "Velsinore, why did you do it? Why did you turn your back on Selune?"

"Turn my back on Selune?" Velsinore's voice came from somewhere to the right. Feena began to creep that way as the tall priestess spoke. "I'm no traitor, Feena."

"How can you say that?" Feena asked. She kept moving. A rack of pots drew her attention. Was that a shape crouched behind it?

"Because it's the truth. Don't you remember the evidence of your own prayer?"

Feena clenched her jaw and said, "When I came back to Moonshadow Hall with the poison from the Stiltways, you couldn't deny the presence of Sharrans in Yhaunn quickly enough."

"The Sharrans were as surprised as you to learn that I knew about them," said Velsinore. Her voice was quiet and Feena heard her shift slightly. The shape behind the rack of pots didn't moveit was just a big cauldron. Feena froze and looked around as Velsinore continued, "You were rightwhoever Variance is, I didn't speak to her. The Sharrans in Yhaunn are led by"

"Bolan," Feena supplied. "You told Bolan and Bolan told Variance."

A tall cupboard stood strangely ajar. She slid toward it.

Velsinore was silent for a moment, then hissed, "You know more than it seems."

"Keph told me. Bolan's an alchemist as well as a Sharran priest." Her eyes narrowed as she closed on the cupboard. "The medicines in the infirmary…"

"Purchased from Bolan," confirmed Velsinore. "Until I contacted him with news of Keph's capture, he thought I was nothing more than a simple devotee who liked to gossip." Her voice turned scornful. "It sounds like I played him just as Variance played Mifano. I've been drawing information about Sharran beliefs out of him ever since I stumbled across him a year ago."

Velsinore's voice was close. Definitely close. Feena moved up to the cupboard from the side.

"Why reveal yourself now, then?" asked Feena. "And why keep what you learned about the Sharrans a secret from Dhauna and Mifano?"

"Turning over Keph seemed like an advantageous way to introduce myself. And why keep what I learned a secret?" She paused for a moment. "Let's say I was biding my time. If Dhauna hadn't lost her mind and brought you to Moonshadow Hall, I would have become the Moonmistress-Designate."

"What about Mifano?" Feena asked.

Velsinore laughed and said, "He was never really a contender. I had Mother Dhauna's ear."

"And when you were finally High Moonmistress, what then? What would you have done with all the information you had collected on the Sharrans? Wiped them out in one big raid and taken all the glory?"

"Not exactly." Velsinore's voice dropped. "I would have invited them into Moonshadow Hall."

Feena froze, and Velsinore laughed again.

"Let me put it in terms you'll understand," the traitor priestess said. "When you fight the servants of Malarevil lycanthropeswhat is it that sets you apart from them? You all become animals, don't you? What is it that sets Sharrans apart from Selunites? Their darkness to our light? Do you know that we share many of the same legends?" Velsinore drew a slow breath and said, "I'm no traitor to Selune, Feena. I've just realized that there's more to the relationship between the Moonmaiden and the Mistress of the Night than our faith wants to admit."

It felt then as if Feena was back in her dream, with an ancient, whispering darkness pursuing her. Her stomach lurched in horror. Selune had been trying to warn them of heresy within Moonshadow Hallthe very heresy Dhauna had dismissed as nothing more than lies. The New Moon Pact might have been framed for the heresy that had brought them low, but Velsinore had fallen straight into that twisted belief.

Feena had rediscovered the New Moon Pact. Velsinore had rediscovered the New Moon Heresy.

"Stop it!" Feena snarled.

She lunged for the open door of the cupboard and ripped it wide. It was empty.

Gray robes flashed in the corner of her eye. Feena spun around as Velsinore rose from behind the cauldron she had dismissed earlier. She took a step toward the tall priestess.

"You're wrong," Feena spat. "Selune and Shar are enemies!"

"Maybe we only think they are."

Feena's breath hissed between her teeth. "Our Silver Lady have mercy upon you, Velsinore. You're wrong. You may not think you're a traitor to Selune, but you are!"

"Then why does she still answer my prayers?" Velsinore thrust out her hand, Selune's medallion in her grasp. "Moonmaiden, scour my enemies!"

A scream wrenched itself out of Feena as silver-white fire burst all around her, burning her flesh and searing her very soul.

The Sharrans poured out of a cramped tunnel and through a splintered wall into a dusty cellar beneath a broom-maker's shop. Had the shopkeeper known what the broken wall had hidden? Keph didn't think sothere was blood on the shop floor and the smell of death in the air. Someone had been murdered to keep the newly opened passage a secret.

Outside the shop, the night was sweltering hot and still. Clouds veiled the stars. Far off in the distance over the Sea of Fallen Stars, heat lightning lit the sky in silent display. Yhaunn seemed to hold its breath. The chants and clashing that had accompanied the cult through the tunnels beneath the city fell silent. Most of the cultists slipped into the shadows, and all Keph could think of was a swarm of rats darting through the streets.

Variance walked down the center of the street like some kind of dark matron and where she walked the shadows grew deeper, cloaking her skulking children. Anyone meeting the dark tide in the street would surely vanish into it, and anyone glancing out a window would see nothing but thick shadow and vague figures.

Keph had been counting the cultists. He edged up beside Variance as they strode along.

"You have twenty-eight madmen and women following you," he whispered. "That's not going to be enough to launch an assault on Moonshadow Hall. If the Selunites can't stop you themselves, the city guard will!"

Variance looked at him. He could barely see her face, but her voice was low and calm. "Are you trying to convince me to stop the attack?"

His stomach twisted. "You're leading the cult into a massacre."

Faster than he would have thought possible, her hand lashed out and dug into his shoulder. Her fingers were hard. He gasped.

"You should only worry about the task ahead of you," she said. "When the time comes, I suggest that you run for Fourstaves House very quickly. You won't have long before the distraction begins." Keph caught the flash of a frown. "For now, stay close and hold your tongue. I will turn Shar's magic against you if I have to." ' She released him and he staggered. A short distance away, Bolan snickered.

"Keph! Hey, Keph!" Baret jogged over to him. "Where's Jarull tonight?"

Keph could feel Variance's eyes on him. He ground his teeth together.

"Jarull… is out of Yhaunn," Keph lied. "He's gone to Ravens Bluff."

"Why would he do that? He's going to miss everything!"

Baret sounded genuinely disappointed.

"Maybe Shar called him," Keph answered.

"Dark!" Baret said in wonder. "Both of you touched by the goddess!" He drew a deep breath. "Talisk, Starne, and me were wondering if we could stand with you during the assault. Talisk says that if Shar rescued you from the Selunites, she must have you marked. We could be an honor guard for you."

Keph's throat seemed to close around his breath. "No," he said.

"Come on!"

"I said, no!"

Keph reached out and pushed the other man away, Baret stumbled and cursed.

"Keph's modesty ill becomes one favored of Shar," interrupted Variance. Keph whirled on her. The priestess was wearing a smile. "The Lady of Loss has given him a special task tonight, one he must perform alone. But such faith as yours will be rewarded, Baret. Bring Talisk and Starne to me and receive the blessing of Shar's own strength."

Awe crossed Baret's face. "Yes, Mother Night!"

He disappeared into the shadows. Variance watched after him for a moment. Keph glared at her.

"He doesn't deserve to die," he said between clenched teeth.

"He came to Shar's embrace willinglyeven more willingly than you did." She stopped abruptly then called, "Bolan!"

Without further instruction, Bolan swiftly herded the other cultists away from her. Keph looked around, uneasy. They stood at an intersection, a quiet square that stood under the watchful eye of a statue dedicated to some otherwise unremarkable merchant prince. He knew the square. Moonshadow Hall lay a short distance almost directly along one of the intersecting streetsand Fourstaves House off along another.

"Perhaps," said Variance, "you'll find that Shar triumphs over Selune after all, Keph."

Once again, the shadows seemed to thicken around her. Keph shuddered. In spite of himself, he took a step closer to the priestess. Facing the watching statue, she held out a hand and beckoned with two fingers.

"By the power of the Mistress of the Night, I bid you come forth, O beasts of Shadow!"

Around the plinth on which the statue stood, shadows lengthened and deepened, then swirled and condensed. Something within them movedand five massive dogs came padding silently into the square. Keph shuddered and moved back. The dogs were as black as the night itself, with smooth, shining coats over thick muscles, and malevolent eyes above powerful jaws. And Variance wasn't finished.

"Come forth!" she said. "Come forth! In Shar's name, come forth!"

The black dogs kept coming until eighteen of the beasts squatted and stalked in the square. Even Shar's faithful pressed back from them. One of the dogs growled at Bolan and the priest took a cautious step away.

"Be calm," Variance commanded. "They're shadow mastiffsour allies." She raised her hands and Keph could feel the power that flowed from her as she made a final call. "Rax! Variance Amatick summons you to Shar's service. Bound by ancient contracts, I call you now. Rax, stand forth!"

The shadows didn't so much condense then as collapse.

The final shadow mastiff to step onto the square was as large as a warhorse and brutally scarred. All of the other dogs looked to it with deference.

Variance held out her hand and said, "I would have you be my lieutenant tonight, Rax. Half of these beasts will be your pack. I ask only that you cause the greatest confusion possible." Her hand swept around the square. "In return I offer three nights hunting upon Faerun with Shar's blessing."

The huge dog's eyes narrowed and it let out a growl. Something about the sound of the black beast struck terror deep into Keph's soul.

Variance nodded calmly and said, "I thank you, Rax. Choose your pack and go. Your territory lies that way."

She turned and pointedbut not toward Moonshadow Hall or even Fourstaves House. She pointed down a third street.

Directly toward the night-crowded maze of the Stiltways.

Rax growled again and trotted off. Nine of the other mastiffs followed. Variance turned to Keph.

"There is your distraction," she said. "You'd best hurry if you want to make the best of it. When you have the tiles, bring them to me at the east wall of Moonshadow Hall. I'll be waiting for you." Keph stared at her. Her eyebrows arched. "Go!" she commanded. Her hand jabbed in the direction of Fourstaves House.

Keph whirled and ran. Behind him he could hear Variance as she called out to the cultists, "Come forward and receive Shar's blessing, for now we join her battle!"

The gout of divine fire lasted only moments, but it left Feena writhing on the floor of the kitchen. Footsteps approachedshe forced herself to roll over and raise her head. Velsinore looked down at her. In her hands she clutched a long iron rod, a spit from the kitchen.

"Tell me, Feena," she said. "If Selune is good and Shar is evil, then why does Selune grant me the power to do this to you?"

Feena looked down at her hands. They were burned red and raw. It hurt to flex her fingers. The sleeves of her robe were smoldering. She groaned and sat back on her heels, looking up at Velsinore.

"I asked myself that question when Mother Dhauna forced me to attack her," Feena snarled. Her lungs burned with every breath. "This is what I think: Selune grants you power, but you choose how to use it. Selune isn't evil. You are."

Rage flared in Velsinore's eyes and she swung the rod with both hands. Feena hurled herself aside, tumbling across the kitchen floor. The rod hit the stone of the floor with a resounding clang. Sparks and chips of stone spat from the impact. Velsinore heaved the rod back up and whirled after her, but Feena rolled back to her feet. One hand grabbed for her medallion.

"Bright Lady of the Night, lay your touch upon me!" she prayed.

Cool magic washed over her, soothing the worst of her burns. Feena gasped in relief and dodged back from another wild swing of Velsinore's rod. She darted swiftly to the side of the big cauldron, putting it between her and the tall priestess.

"You asked me another question," Feena said. "If you're a traitor, why does Selune still answer your prayers?"

"Do you have a homespun answer to that too?" asked Velsinore. She stalked around the cauldron, but Feena just moved with her. "Let's hear it."

"Selune answers your prayers so that you know her power and never forget that she's there for you. She answers your prayers so that one day you will come back to her."

Velsinore's hands slid to one end of the rod and she swept it out in a wide, flat arc. Feena ducked down and let it hum over her head. Thrusting her weight against the cauldron, she sent the huge pot screeching across the floor. Velsinore gasped and stumbled back. The iron rod went flying from her hands to ring against a distant wall.

Feena darted out. Velsinore had already recovered her balance and stood ready for her. They crouched, circling each other like animals.

"Here's a question for you, Velsinore," Feena said. "If the Sharrans are suddenly your friends and allies, what's going to happen to you when they attack Moonshadow Hall?"

"They won't attack. They're too weak, and Bolan is a coward."

"Bolan doesn't lead them any more in anything but name," Feena reminded her. "Variance does and if she's been manipulating us, she's been manipulating them."

Velsinore's face flushed red. "You're lying," she spat.

"You've deluded yourself." Feena stopped and took a slow step back from Velsinore. "Come back to Selune. You're wrong, but we all mistakes. Find your faith again and-"

"I'm not the one who's wrong and I haven't lost my faith! I never left Selune, you mangy dog!" Her eyes flashed and the fingers of one hand curled into a sign. "By the Moonmaiden's light," she howled, "let your hidden spirit be revealed!"

When Mother Dhauna had spoken the prayer, Feena had been caught off guard by the attack of a beloved friendbut she had been facing a friend. As silver light shot out from between Velsinore's fingers, Feena threw herself away across the floor. Face grim, Velsinore swept the light to follow her. On a long counter, polished pieces of silver plate had been laid out in preparation for a feast that would never happen. Feena hurled herself into the shadow of the counter just as distant shouts of alarm and confusion came echoing through the corridors and into the kitchen.

"… dark mist! There's a cloud of dark mist on the west side of the temple!"

"Take positions. Get the novices to safety. Someone summon the guard!"

"There's still a crowd outside the gates!"

"Do you hear that, Velsinore?" Feena shouted over the top of the counter. "That's your friends coming. That's the Sharrans attacking!"

"Focus, Feena," Velsinore replied. "You've never had focus. The Sharrans aren't fighting me right now. You are."

The bright moonbeam of Velsinore's spell wavered overhead as she slid closer to the counter. Feena watched the shadows dance and drew a deep breath.

"Moonmaiden guide me," she murmured.

She leaped to her feet. Moonlight washed over her, stirring the wolf within and trying to force her body to transform. Teeth clenched, she fought back the transformation as she snatched up a big silver platter from the counter and held it up like a shield.

Reflected moonlight flashed back at Velsinore.

Magic intended to affect a lycanthrope had no effect on her, but the sudden reflection of light was dazzling. Velsinore's free hand shot up to block it and she glanced away out of instinct. In that brief moment, Feena jumped up on the counter and leaped at her with an angry shout.

"Selune!"

Velsinore gasped and tried to duck, but she wasn't fast enough. Feena's arm caught her around the chest. The two priestesses slammed to the floor, locked in struggle. Moonlight winked out. Feena managed to get an arm around Velsinore's neck in a chokehold, but Velsinore slid her arms free. One hand scrabbled for her medallion. Feena growled and snatched at it.

Too late. Velsinore's fingers closed.

"May Selune's touch turn against you!" she gasped with her last breath.

Her arm snapped up, slapping the hard metal of the medallion against Feena's neck just at her shoulder.

Feena screamed as pain split her flesh. Under her robe, she could feel wounds opening, gushing blood. The magic tore into her, sinking deep into her flesh. Something ripped inside her chest. Her grip on Velsinore loosened. The traitorous priestess started to slip free.

Feena clenched her teeth and tightened her hold, clawing with her other hand for a new grasp on Velsinore's head.

"By my faith and for Mother Dhauna," she gasped, "Bright Lady of the Night give strength to my arms!"

The prayer hadn't even left her mouth before Selune's power descended on her. For just a moment, it seemed that she was whole and uninjured. Magic thundered in her muscles. With a wild cry, she jerked them tight.

Velsinore's head wrenched around and her neck snapped with a loud crack. Her body shuddered once, then went limp.

Heresy died.

Feena clutched a dead weight in her arms. She pushed Velsinore away. The effort sent new pain ripping through her. Feena choked and toppled onto her back. Velsinore's final twisted curse had done something awful inside her. A cough wracked her and she could feel warm blood spatter across her lips. The borrowed strength of the goddess was already slipping away. Like a dream in the distance, she could hear the frightened shouts of Moonshadow Halland a sudden fierce cry: the charge of Shar's cult.

Moonshadow Hall needed her, if not as High Moonmistress, then at least as a warrior. She tried to move her arm, to reach for Selune's medallion. She tried to force the words of a prayerBright Lady of the Night, lay your touch upon me! out of her throat.

Her arm didn't move. Her prayer drowned in blood. ran through streets that seemed darker than he had ever known them. Was it just his imagination or was it some foul magic of Variance's? Did Shar's gaze rest upon Yhaunn? He could almost believe it did. He could almost believe he had brought disaster down on the entire city.

Sweat streamed from his forehead, catching in his eyebrows and dripping into his eyes. It poured down his back. His shirt was plastered to his skin. His breath came in huge, thick gasps. It felt as though his chest was ready to rip itself apart; cramps cut into his sides. Anyone who glimpsed him must have thought he'd gone mad.

He didn't dare to stop or even to slow down. Variance had studied him, and his family, too well. The attack of the shadow mastiffs on the Stiltways would be too much for the city guard to handle, especially combined with an attack on Moonshadow Hall. Faced with a threat to the city, Strasus Thingoleir wouldn't even hesitate before throwing himself and his entire family into the fight.

It didn't seem possible for his knotted guts to twist any tighter, but Keph could feel them clench with the hollow, watery feeling of new fear. The wizards of Fourstaves House would save many lives in the Stiltways. He knew that. They would drive the black dogs backbut not without risk to themselves. A vision of monstrous Rax flitted through Keph's mind. If Strasus, Dagnalla, Malia, Krin, or Roderio was hurt or killed because of what he'd caused

But he couldn't leave Jarull in Variance's grasp either. His family had a chance at least. They were powerful. They had magic. Jarull was already a prisoner, mad and tortured solely because Variance had needed something to hold over Keph's head.

He choked and tried to run a little faster. You idiot, he cursed himself, you stupid, stupid idiot!

The first deadly howls drifted over Yhaunn from the Stiltways as Keph tore around a corner and sprinted across the small courtyard toward Fourstaves House. The three stone dogs at the door growled and bristled at his sudden approachKeph didn't think he had ever been so happy to see them. Compared to the shadow mastiffs, they were like puppies! He thrust his hands out for them to smell, but kept moving, reaching for the door before the guardians had fully taken his scent. One of them snapped at him. Keph froze, his chest heaving.

"Hurry!" he implored the stone animals. "Hurry!"

It took only a moment before the dogs relaxed. It seemed like forever. He pushed the door open. The entrance hall was empty, but Fourstaves House was alive with shouts and commotion. Up in the family wing and down along the warded corridor of workshops, doors were banging as the Thingoleir wizards prepared for battle. Keph darted across the hall and threw himself into the shadows of a parlor. Pressed up against a wall, he tried to stifle his panting gasps.

Scant thundering heartbeats later, he heard Strasus's voice call, "Are we ready?" A small chorus answered him in the affirmative. "Then may Mystra ride with us!"

Keph held his breath as footsteps raced down the grand staircase and across the entrance hall. The door openedoutside, the stone dogs whined in greeting at their masterand closed again. Keph released his breath, slid over to a window, and twitched aside a heavy curtain. Out in the courtyard, Strasus held out his hand and spoke a word of magic. Mist and faint glimmers of light swirled into the form of a silver-gray horse. Dagnalla cast the same spell and the two elder wizards mounted while their children and son-in-law worked magic of their own and rose up into the air.

Strasus urged his phantom horse around to face the mansion. In the window Keph froze, but his father just raised his staff and uttered another magical wordand a command: "Let none enter!"

For an instant, green light shone bright enough to illuminate the courtyard. Lines of magic laced across the window in front of Keph's face then fadeda new ward. He swallowed. Strasus touched heels to his mount's side and pulled on shadowy reins. The apparition reared silently and began to gallop up into the night as if climbing a hill. Dagnalla rode at his side, with Malia, Roderio, and Krin soaring around them both.

The five wizards of Fourstaves House raced off like heroes. Keph turned away from the window and slunk back out into the entrance hall.

Halfway across the hall, an underbutler stopped, startled. "Sir!" he said in surprise. "I didn't realize you were here."

The man's eyes were wide. Keph realized what he must look likebut then again, he'd come home more than once looking much worse. He forced back a grimace and feigned a lazy, drunken sneer.

"I was asleep in the parlor until all the racket happened." He strutted across the hall and turned up the staircase. "If anyone asks, do me a favor and tell them you haven't seen me."

The underbutler swallowed and said, "Sir, your father did leave instructions for all of usthe next time we saw you, we were to tell you that he would like to have a word with you at your convenience."

"Did he?" Keph turned to look back at the servant. An angry retort started to roll off his lips out of pure habit. "Well, you can tell the old man that" he caught himself and bit his tongue" you can tell him that I send him my respect."

"Sir?"

"You heard me," Keph growled. "Now don't you have something to do? Be about your duties!"

Keph leaped up the stairs two at a time without looking back. It would look strange if he were to turn down the north hall toward Strasus's study. At the top of the stairs, he turned south instead, toward the family quarters. As soon as he was out of sight of the stairs, however, he stopped and sagged against the wall. Too close, he thought. That was all too close. He closed his eyes for a moment. His limbs were shaking and weak after his run, but he couldn't stop yet.

Forcing his eyes open, he creeped back out to the end of the corridor and looked down over the entrance hall. The underbutler was gone. Keph darted across to the north corridor. Once again, wards brushed against him like spiderwebs as he passed under the archway. He shuddered at their touch.

The floor outside Roderio's laboratory was still stained. Keph looked away and hurried on down the corridor's length, passing other doors: Malia's laboratory, shared with Krin; Dagnalla's workroom; the arcane library shared by all of the wizards; and at the end of the hall, Strasus's study. Keph stopped in front of the study door. When was the last time he'd entered the study? Years ago. Had he ever tried to enter when Strasus wasn't there? He couldn't recall. He didn't think so. But Roderio and Malia did it all the time. Taking a deep breath, he reached down and squeezed the door's ornate latch.

It was locked by a plain mechanical lock. He could feel the metal bolt clicking and pulling with each squeeze of the latch. Keph's lips twitched. So much panic, only to be stopped by a humble lock? He groaned and slapped at the wood of the door in frustration.

Something seemed to crawl across his hand. The latch appeared to shift slightly.

Keph started, pulling his hand away. The crawling sensation vanished and the latch stiffened once more. He frowned at the wood, then slowly pressed his hand back against it. The strange sensation returned, playing over his hand like a dog snuffling at his scent. Keph's breath hissed. He kept his hand in place. Another ward? The answer came in a heartbeat as the latch gave way to his grasp. The crawling sensation disappeared.

It couldn't be that easy, could it? Cautious, Keph pushed open the door.

On a perch just inside the study, a strange bird croaked and stirred, turning its head to look at him.

He froze. It was no bird. Its feathers were burnished copper, its head and wings cast to resemble a stylized hawk. Its eyes were fashioned from chips of sapphire exactly the same glittering blue as the sapphire that decorated Quick's hilt.

The copper hawk had something else in common with Quick, too. Still staring at Keph, it rattled its wings. Sparks flashed between the thin metal plates of its feathers.

"Oh, Beshaba's ivory arms," Keph cursed.

The stone, mortar, and wood of Moonshadow Hall tickled at Feena as she rose slowly up through the temple's structure. For a long moment, it seemed as if she were everywhere within the old walls all at once. She stood among frightened novices as elderly priestesses tried to calm them in spite of being terrified themselves. She stood within the gates as younger priestesses and priests gripped maces in preparation for battle. She stood above the gates as acolytes rang alarm bells to alert the city guard to danger. She passed through the infirmary where Chandri spoke desperate prayers of healing over Mifano. She passed through the archives, through dusty storerooms, and through the cold vaults and crypts that lay beneath the temple.

And as soon as she wondered at the wash of impressions and the miraculous vision, she realized what was happening.

Moonmaiden's grace, she cursed, I'm dead!

"Feena! Feena!"

Julith's voice. Where was she? Feena tried to call out, to turn around and find the younger priestess. There wasn't time. Suddenly, irresistibly, she was outside of Moonshadow Hall and gazing down upon it.

Clergy crawled around the ring of the temple roof. Moonshadow Hall had known nothing but peace for generations, but abruptly Feena could see that it had once been intended as a solidly defensible building. The walkway that circled the roof was protected by parapets. Above the false, decorative gates that marked the outer walls, guardhouses stood out, additional protection for defenders. The temple's original windows faced only inwardattackers would have to storm the main gates or climb the high, smooth walls to gain entrance.

At least they would have centuries ago. Generations of alterations had weakened Selune's temple. The wall of the kitchen garden looped away from the temple like a bubble. The slope of the winter chapel's roof was a ramp reaching almost to the top of the walls. A bold attacker could cross the gap with a leap. Here and there, windows had been forced through the outer wall. Guardhouses and parapets crumbled in disrepair. Mifano and Velsinore had been the only leaders of Moonshadow Hall to dismiss the Sharran threat, it seemed!

To the west of the temple, she could see the lingering cloud of dark mist that screams had described as she had struggled with Velsinore. A few of Selune's clerics still looked out that way, but more were racing around the roofs to take positions on the east and south as figures broke from shadows to surge around the temple walls. Feena drew a sharp breath. The mist had been a trick to draw attention from the real attack. On the east the figures had grappling hooks to attack the walls. On the south, outside the gates, they had an easier target: the mob of poor who had gathered to demand a share of the New Moon Beneficence were fleeing or falling before the screaming Sharrans. Selune's priestesses had tried to get some of the poor inside the protection of the temple. Now they struggled to close the gates against the rush of Sharrans!

There were more than just humans among the cultists, too. Feena could see some kind of beasts loping alongside them. Wolves? No, huge dogsbut not natural animals at all. Creatures summoned by dark magic. Feena growled under her breath. Cyrume, the cultist in the Stiltways had his body been ravaged by one of those beasts in order to frame her? She struggled to turn her head, trying to see more.

Shadows crawled up the roof of the winter chapel toward the top of the walls. The Sharrans had found Moonshadow Hall's weakness. Feena tried to call out a warning to Selune's defenders.

Nothing happened. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She just kept rising, higher and higher above Moonshadow Hall, up toward a full moon that hung bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than any she had ever seen in her life.

A blue-haired woman stood in the air before her, soft wings beating slowly at her back, arms outstretched in welcome though her eyes seemed to hold immeasurable sorrow. Feena recognized her from legends and from the tall relief that stood against Moonshadow Hall's pale wallsone of the seven Shards, Selune's greatest servants. The Shard smiled softly, sadly, and beckoned to her.

Fear sharper than pain stabbed through Feena.

No, she whimpered silently. No, I can't. I won't. I'm needed!

"Feena! Feena!" Julith's voice called again, growing distant.

Closermuch closerthere was a growl. A chorus of growls, like a pack of wolves at her back.

No, like a Pact. Feena was aware of Niree Swifthands's lean gray form to one side of her and Rade's black bulk to the other. More animal voices rose behind her. Tyver Thorndrove's human voice rang out in triumph above them all.

"She denies death, Shard! There is still hope. She denies death!"

The Shard's beckoning gestured slowed, then stopped. Her arm fell back to her side and her eyes… her eyes shone with joy.

She faded from the sky and the glorious full moon faded along with her. Darkness fell.

A darkness that surged with whispers. Feena stared into it. Selune's warning? That couldn't be right. The New Moon Heresy was dead once more, killed along with Velsinore. The New Moon Pact had been rediscovered. What more was there?

She found her voice and called, "Tyver!"

The Peacemaker was crouched in front of her. "Feena! Feena, listen to me! The Pact"

"The darkness, Tyver!" Feena screamed at him "What is it? I still don't understand what Selune wants of me!"

"There are things that should not be understood. There are things that must not be spoken. When the time comes, you'll know what to do," Tyver said, then he reached down and grasped her shoulders. "Feena, if you would deny death for Selune's service, enter the Pact!"

"Tyver, J don't-"

"The Pact, Feena!" Tyver shook her hard. "Enter the waters of the moon" "Feena! "shouted Julith.

Feena coughed. Blood sprayed out of her throat and she gulped air. Close by, Julith gasped. Feena groaned and opened her eyes. She was still on the floor of the kitchen, though Julith had her sitting up, her hands on

Feena's shoulders. The young priestess's symbol of Selune dangled around her neck. Feena could feel the fading remnants of healing magic coursing through her body-but too little and very nearly too late. Blood had spread in a pool around her. Her head felt light.

She didn't have long. She could feel it.

"Oh, Feena," Julith said. "What did Velsinore do to you?"

"The attack?" slurred Feena. Speaking hurt. "What's happening?"

"We're holding the Sharrans off," said Julith, "but just barely. They tried to climb the winter chapel and"

"I know." She shook her head at Julith's look of amazement. "You stopped them?" Julith nodded and Feena grunted. "Good. The book of the New Moon Pact. Where is it?"

"I" Under smears of blood, Julith's face went pale. "I dropped it in the courtyard!"

Enter the waters of the moonSelune's sacred pool.

"Take me there." She got a hand onto Julith's shoulder and tried to stand. The effort sent a wave of pain through her. Julith hissed and caught her as she fell backward.

"You need more healing than I can give you," Julith said. "We need to get you to"

Feena opened her mouth and spat out more blood. "Get me to the courtyard!" she choked.

"Nice bird," said Keph. "Pretty bird."

The copper falcon cocked its head. Keph stretched out a hand as if the wondrous construct might somehow catch his scent. Why not? It worked for the stone dogs at the door of Fourstaves House. It had seemed to work with the creeping ward on the study door. He held his breath, praying that his luck would hold out and that the falcon would let him pass as well.

The metal bird leaned forward. Keph stepped through the door and into the study, moving a little closer. "Good bird," he murmured. "Good bird…"

Whether he had moved too close or too fast, he couldn't tell, but the bird pulled back, its wings spread wide. Keph could see the blue sparks that danced along them and his nose caught the sharp smell of lightning. He froze but the bird didn't relax. He stretched his hand out a little farther.

The bird's wings snapped down and its body stiffened as its hooked beak opened and vomited a thin, crackling stream of lightning at him. Keph felt the energy crack into his outstretched fingertips and writhe up his arm. He snatched his burning hand back with a yelp, shaking it against the sudden sharp pain.

"Ow! Beshaba's-"

The copper falcon stiffened again, wings out then down. Keph danced aside just in time as lightning arced down to the floor where he'd been standing. The falcon's head swiveled, following him. Its wings pumped again. Keph stifled a curse and dodged back. Another stream of lightning crackled across the study, then another.

A long arc caught his leg. Keph choked on another yelp and hopped frantically. He needed cover against the metal guardian, but unfortunately there was none. Strasus's study was open, with bookshelves back against the walls and three tall tables too high to hide behind and too solid to consider tipping overif he'd been able to reach them. The falcon spat its lightning with disturbing efficiency, keeping him boxed in by the door as if to give him the option of retreat.

Except that retreat wasn't an option. At least not yet. He needed the slate tiles. If he could find them, maybe he could get past the falcon, grab them, and get out again. Keph scanned the tables and shelves as more lightning — chased him back across the room. Books, strange figures, talismans, fetishes from distant lands, scrolls, a pile of crumbling leather, a rust-eaten sword, a heap of odd coins…

Coins. The conversation he'd overheard around the breakfast table came back to him. Krin had described coins that had been found with the tiles. On the same table as the coins, the ancient leather, and the rusty sword, a big piece of gray silk covered something flat and thick.

The tiles?

Keph clenched his teeth and hurled himself toward the table, straight past the copper falcon's perch.

The bird let out a screech and flung its wings wide. Lightning flashed in a crackling burst that seemed to hit Keph from every angle at once, lifting him off his feet even as it knocked him across the floor to crash into tall stools set before one of the other tables. Brilliant flashes lit his visionfor a moment it seemed as if he couldn't close his eyes. His hair stood on end. The sweat that had soaked his clothes puffed away into rank steam.

The falcon's eyes, glowing bright blue, were fixed on him. Keph ground his teeth. He couldn't hide from the bird. He couldn't get past it. How was he supposed to deal with something that was faster than he was?

The same way Lyraene and the Sharrans had dealt with Quick: brute force. Attack the weapon, not the wielder. His hand closed on the leg of one of the stools. It was good, heavy wood. The seat of the stool was even heavier.

Keph surged to his feet and charged at the falcon, stool raised.

Lightning crashed against him, another thin, stinging stream. Keph sucked in his breath at the pain, but didn't stop. The falcon screeched again, spreading its wings. Before it could unleash another powerful burst, he twisted around and swung the stool with all of his strength and weight.

The heavy wood smashed into the bird with a crunch and swept it off its perch. It hurtled across the room to crash against the far wall with a metallic clatter. Keph darted after it. One wing bent back, its entire side bashed in, the thing lay on its back, struggling to right itself. Lightning crackled in wild arcs across its battered copper feathers. Keph spun the stool around in his grip. Holding it upside-down by two legs, he drove the broad wooden seat down against the construct.

Metal crumpled and screeched. He hit the bird again. Blue sparks spurted out in a final cascade. Keph lifted the stool and peered underneath. The falcon lay against the floor like a broken toy. It wasn't moving.

Keph dropped the stool and staggered to the table with the coins and the silk-swathed object. He reached out and twitched the silk aside.

Shouts and screams echoed through Moonshadow Hall as Feena, most of her weight on Julith's shoulders, stumbled out into the cloisters. An acolyte racing through the cloisters nearly ran them down.

"What news?" Julith asked.

"There's no sign of the guard yet," the girl replied, gasping for breath. Her voice was very nearly hysterical. "There's something happening over in the Stiltways!"

"A distraction," groaned Feena with dreadful certainty. The guard would go there first, trusting thick walls and Selune's might to give Moonshadow Hall a chance to hold out on its own for a time. "No help from the guard."

"Carry that message, girl!" Julith said. "We must have faith in Selune. Let all her servants hold their ground."

The acolyte plunged on along the cloisters. Julith twisted her head around and Feena caught fear in her eyes.

"Are you sure about this, Feena?" she asked. "Yes," said Feena.

Her head was swimming. Her vision was blurred and fading. Her legs felt numb, cold, and heavy. She knew that if she looked back the way she and Julith had comeif she'd been able to look backshe would have seen a steady trail of bright red blood. She needed more than healing. Tyver had given her a clue.

"Do you know what will happen?" whispered Julith.

Feena managed a grin and said, "No."

A shudder wracked her. She didn't even have the strength to cough anymore. Her throat felt like it was filling with blood again. Julith turned away, her face grim.

"Ready, then?" she asked. "Last few paces."

Feena's heart fluttered with agony as they staggered together across the cloister and through the gate of the waning crescent. Moonlight, the last of her spell, still sparkled on the grass of the courtyard. More light winked in and out above, conjured by Selunites only to be blotted out by shadows called by the Sharransby Variance or Bolan.

Feena could make out arrows and stones littering the ground. At least some of the Sharrans' attacks had reached over the temple walls. The sacred space of the courtyard was empty of other people, thoughMoonshadow Hall's defenders had other places to be.

The book of the New Moon Pact lay close to the blood-darkened grass where Mifano had fallen. Had Chandri's prayers rescued the silver-haired priest? Feena couldn't ask the question.

"Hurry, Julith," she breathed. She tried to point to the pool, but her free arm just flailed loosely. "Beside the pool."

The dark-haired priestess dragged her over and lowered her down beside the ancient stone wall around the pool, then raced to snatch up the abandoned book.

"What now, Feena?" she asked.

Feena prayed that her next guess was correct. "The first page," she rasped. "There's a rite…"

Julith opened the book and scanned the page. Stepping into the brightest of the light that shone from above, she raised the ancient text and read aloud.

"What time has consumed, not even gods can recall, but know thisthese words were spoken by those who first made pact with the Moonmaiden, just as they were spoken by the last. This is the sacred rite of the New Moon." Her voice rose. "Selune, Moonmaiden, Silver Lady of the Night, hear me!"

"Hear me…" echoed Feena. The words were weak and faltering. She reached up and groped for the stone wall, dragging herself upright with trembling arms. "Selune," she prayed with all the strength she could force out of her battered body, "Moonmaiden, Silver Lady of the Night, hear me!"

"I have roamed in darkness"

"I have roamed in darkness," repeated Feena. The words tore at her throat, but she forced them out anyway, speaking them as Julith read from the book.

"Shadows hold no fear for me. Under your light I have run the moon's road. I have known your bright faces: joy, strength, and wisdom. For your sake, I have held death itself at bay, but the Ancient Knight is swift"

Up on the rooftops, there was a wail of pain. It ended sharply. Outside, Sharrans cheered. There was a hiss and patter like rain as arrows came falling out of the sky. Shouts from above heralded the reaction of Selune's faithful. Slings hummed and the shower of arrows came to an abrupt end. Julith's voice broke and she huddled down, but kept reading.

"and I must be swifter!"

The hair on Feena's neck rose. Under the blood that stiffened her robes and caked her arms, she could feel her skin tingling. She heaved with weakened arms and numbed legs. The words were the oath of a warrior and she would not speak them sitting down. Bracing herself against the stones of the wall, she rose into a crouch. Her head spun, but she stayed up and the words poured out of her.

"By blood spilled, by my faith, give me your blessing and I shall be yours. I will strike down your enemies. I will be your claws and your teeth. Where darkness lies, I will be the unseen shield that defends the children of both sun and moon. Where they have fallen, I will make silent vengeance that no more shall follow. Where shadow gathers, I will be the secret light that turns it aside."

She heard dull thunder and desperate screams. The Sharrans had turned some kind of battering ram against

Moonshadow Hall's gates. Julith faltered, her voice almost fading away, but it seemed to Feena that she could hear the words of the oath in her heart, as if she had always known them both as a woman and as a wolf. She lifted her arm, reaching up toward the dark, shrouded sky. Her legs straightened. For a moment, she stood tall, ignoring the pain that stroked up and down her spine and the crippling ache that throbbed in her head.

"Selune, make pact with me for I have seen your hidden face! Between light and light, the new moon guards the night! Selune, make"

Her vision faded. Her balance pitched.

"— pact-"

"Feena!" screamed Julith.

She caught her breath, struggled to force the last words out: "with"

She was falling. She twisted, trying to find her balance once more, but something pushed at her legsthe ancient stone walland she toppled over. Cool water closed around her. Air burst out of her tortured lungs and Feena choked on water. Her throat burned. One last bubble of air pushed through her mouth. Her lips shaped it with dreamlike hesitation, me.

– ‹§? — Black as Shar's own darkness. A double handspan wide and high. As thick as four fingers held together. Tiles of slate as thin as fine porcelain and marked on the front with silver writing that Keph's mind refused to recognize. Hinged like a book, Variance had said, but in truth not so much hinged as caught along one side in an arrangement of silver rods and clasps that bore a resemblance to both a cage and the setting of an elaborate piece of jewelry.

Keph stared at the book. No wonder it had so completely fascinated his father. No wonder Variance should want it. He swallowed.

"Guide me through this, Selune," he muttered, "and you have my service!"

He reached down and picked up the book.

The instant his fingers closed on the slates, a dark force pulsed through him like a dragon's roar.

— _

‹§› Variance gasped and staggered as the call that had tugged at her for more than a month faded. Bolan whirled.

"Mother Night, are you well?"

"Better," Variance breathed. Keph had The Leaves of One Night. She called out to the nearest shadow mastiff. "Seek the man who stood with me when I summoned you," she commanded the creature, pointing in the direction of Fourstaves House. "That way. Escort him to me!"

The beast growled and loped off. Variance drew a deep breath.

"Now, Bolan," she said, "we unleash our worst." She reached to her side and drew her chakram from her belt. "Mistress of the Night," she called, thrusting it high, "drive ice into the hearts of your faithful and let Moonshadow Hall be brought low!"

All around her, shadow mastiffs lifted their savage muzzles and let out a howl as terrible as night itself.