Mistress of the Night

CHAPTER 1

Month of Eleasias, the Year of Rogue Dragons (1373 DR)

The little clearing beside the road to Ordulin just outside of Yhaunn was quiet except for the sluggish gurgle of a summer-warmed stream. All was still'but for the slow dance of leaves stirred by an evening breeze. Quiet. Still. Peaceful. Even so, the wolf that squatted in the twilight shadows at the edge of the clearing waited a few minutes morea lesson of caution learned the hard waybefore stepping out into the open. Between its jaws, it clenched the loop of a strap that bound a tight bundle of rags. The animal dropped the. bundle beside the stream, then sat back and with a silvery jingling of the chain collar that circled its neck, shook itself.

With every shake, the wolfs russet pelt grew shorter, except at its head where a mane of red hair billowed free. Canine features flattened and smoothed as limbs grew longand human. The change took only moments.

Feena rose up on two feet, naked except for the chain she wore. Out of reflex, she put a hand to her throat checking to see that the medallion hanging from the chain had survived her journey. It had, of course. Battered and scratched, the disk of silver that bore Selune's symbol of bright eyes and seven stars seemed able to survive anything even a werewolf could throw at it.

She hoped it would survive what she was going to face in Yhaunn.

"It's been a busy month, High Moonmistress," she said, rehearsing the excuse one more time as she reached for her bundle. "I couldn't come any sooner. Two of the village women were pregnant, then one had a difficult birth and the baby was sicklyI had to watch over him, Mother Dhauna."

The strap around the bundle had slipped tight. She picked at it in frustration until it opened and her clothes spilled out onto the ground: light sandals, a simple blue skirt of homespun wool, and a blouse of linen dyed yellow with yarrow. Feena shook the dirt out of the skirt and pulled it on.

"What was wrong with him? A twisted leg, Mother Dhaunaand jaundiced, too, the poor little thing!" She bit a corner of her lip as she cinched the drawstring of the skirt tight around her waist. Was the excuse too much? "Maybe just the twisted leg," she muttered.

"There's nothing twisted about your legs, missus, not from where I'm standing!"

Feena snatched up her blouse and spun around. At the edge of the clearing, two men emerged from the trees. One carried a short sword, the other a heavy club. Neither looked particularly honest. Both wore unpleasant leers.

"See, Stag, I told you I heard a jingling like silver! I'm never wrong about that!" said the man with the club.

He pointed his weapon at herspecifically at her chain and medallion. Feena twitched her blouse up to cover both the medallion and herself.

"Oh, now don't do that, missus," Stag said as he slid forward. The other man circled to her far side. "Drik and I were just enjoying the scenery. Pretty clearing this, isn't it? Favorite stop for travelers. Not sure why you'd want to take your clothes off, but I'm not complaining.''

Feena cursed herself. The bandits had come from downwindshe'd missed their scent entirelyand she'd been too caught up in practicing her excuses to notice their approach.

"Stay back," she warned them, taking a step back herself to keep both men in view.

Stag chuckled, "Don't be frightened, red bird. We'll take what we want and if you behave yourself, you won't get-"

Feena's toes found the straps of one of her sandals. With a snap of her leg, she sent her footwear flashing at Stag's face. The bandit's sword swooped to swat it aside, but Feena was already spinning around, shifting her balance and driving her other foot hard into Drik's belly. His breath whooshed out of him and he staggered back, doubled over. Feena stepped clear, thrust her arms into the sleeves of her blouse, and jerked it on.

"hurt?" she asked Stag. "Is that what you were trying to say?"

The swordsman growled, a pitiful sound, and charged at her. Feena met his charge with a rush of her own, throwing herself down at the last moment to knock his legs out from under him. Stag fell flat on his face and went skidding along the ground. Feena rose to confront Drik. The bandit looked pained, but he was upright again. He swung his club at her.

Feena ducked under his swing and grabbed his opposite shoulder, twisting him around with the force of his own blow. His arm came around again and she plucked the club out of his hand and drove it sharply into his already tender belly. When he doubled over, she brought it down hard against the back of his head. Drik sprawled bonelessly across the ground.

"Nice moves, missus," Stag said. He was back on his feet, his face streaked comically with dirt and grass stains. His sword, however, was held low and menacing. "Got any more?"

"Yes," said Feena. The fingers of her left hand touched her medallion while the fingers of her right stabbed at Stag. "Bright Lady of Night, stay his hand!"

Like moonlight itself, the cool power of Selune flooded through her, drawn by her faith and shaped by her prayer. Feena felt rather than saw the magic that reached out and wrapped around the banditfreezing him in place. Feena walked up to him and stared into his startled eyes. She hefted Drik's club. Stag's eyes turned frightened and pleading. Feena shrugged.

"It is a pretty clearing, isn't it?" she said.

She slammed the club into Stag's head. Stag went down to join Drik in the dirt. Feena looked down at the bandit, then kicked his unconscious form.

"Don't you have any" she spat, delivering another kick" respect"

A third kick.

"— for the clergy?"

Feena snatched up his sword and hurled both it and Drik's club away into the bushes, then found her sandals and pulled them on. She pushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and turned back toward the road and Yhaunn.

"Moonmaiden's grace," she cursed, "I hate the city!"

Yhaunn had begun life centuries ago as a cluster of crude cabins caught between the quarry where workers hewed out great slabs of granite and the docks where they shipped them out to cities around the Sea of Fallen Stars. Many great buildings in Selgaunt, Saerloon, Westgate, and Alaghoneven far off Cimbar in Ches-senta and Velprintalar in Aglarondhad been built with Yhauntan stone. By the time the quarry was played out, Yhaunn had become a city in its own right. Its buildings had spilled out of the narrow strip along the bay and right into the old quarry itself, with the city's wealthier citizens building higher and higher onto the quarry walls until habitations filled the rocky basin.

In the gathering night, Yhaunn was filled with shadows. Feena stood at the city gates high atop the old quarry cliffs and stared down at the tightly-crowded bowl of the city. Selune had risen and her silver light fell over Feena's shoulders, illuminating the streets of Yhaunn but casting darkness between the buildings. Feena's hand reached for her medallion, but she stopped it and lifted her chin. It's no different than a forest at night, she told herself. A big stone forest.

With no trees and a lot of people. She swallowed.

"Never been to the city before, country wife?" laughed one of the guards at the gate. "Best keep a tight hand on your purse!"

Feena glared at him and started down into the city.

Even among all the buildings, Moonshadow Hall stood out, both from the heights of the city and from street level. The temple of Selune was a big, round structure that shimmered pale gray in the moonlight, a counterpoint to the full moon rising into the sky. Depicted in tall relief on the temple's walls were Sehlne's seven Shards, the goddess' winged servants and warriors. Together with sculpted owls, the Shards stood guard over the many gates that stood along the temple's outer walls. Only one of the outer gates was real, though. The rest were merely symbols of the true gates that represented the phases of the moon around Moonshadow Hall's sacred inner courtyard.

Feena strode up to the main entry gate and the acolyte who stood guard at it. She couldn't have been more than fourteen years old and the blue and silver robes that she wore fit her awkwardly. A mace, its head etched with a crescent moon, hung from a belt around her thin hips. Feena wondered if she could actually use it. As she approached, the girl glanced at her idly, looked away, then looked back as she realized that the woman in homespun and linen wore the same symbol she did.

"Welcome to Moonshadow Hall, sister," the girl said in greeting. She sounded as if she didn't quite know what to make of the rough woman in front of her, but Feena had to admit that even so she managed to force a pleasant, welcoming note into her voice. "Is this your first visit to the hall?"

Feena couldn't suppress a slight twitch. "No," she said, "it isn't. But-"

"Feena?" called a voice from within the gate. "Feena, is that you? By Our Silver Lady, I knew you couldn't stay away from me forever!"

A man came bounding out of the temple, a pale blue half-cape flowing behind him, and swept her up in his arms. Feena forced herself to smile and accept his embrace, but she gripped his arms the instant she felt his hands slide toward her bottom.

She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear, "I wouldn't like to thump you in front of the girl, Mifano."

Mifano kissed her cheek and laughed, his hands moving back to a more brotherly position. His breath smelled of cloves and cinnamon.

"Ah, Feena, silver flame of the immortal moonhow my heart has missed the blunt impact of your wit." He turned to the acolyte and said, "Jhezzail, this is Feena. We trained together here when we were younger than you."

Feena saw the acolytes' eyes widen at the introduction, but once again it seemed that the girl managed to hold her composure. She bent slightly and dipped her head.

"Elder sister," she murmured formally.

"Younger sister," replied Feena, bowing her head in return. As Mifano took her arm and escorted her through the gate, she muttered, "I see my reputation is intact."

"You were a… unique novice, Feena. Not many clergy of Selune are blessed the way that you are."

"Not many would consider being a werewolf a. blessing," Feena snorted, "even among Selune's clergy. Remember, my mother sent me here to learn how to control that 'gift' as much as to be initiated into Selune's mysteries."

"Not that you needed much initiation, as I recall." "My mother taught me well."

Mifano fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "We were all sorry to hear about your mother's death. In spite of her choices, she was an example to us all."

Feena looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Though he was no older than her own almost thirty years, when he chose to be serious Mifano seemed to age into sudden maturity. Maybe it was because he always played the role of the flirt that he usually seemed younger. Maybe it was because his prematurely silver hair that some claimed was a mark of Selune's favor lent him a strange sense of agelessness. Either way, she could in that moment see how the man she remembered as a clownish adolescent could have risen to prominence as a priest.

"Thank you," she said. She let the awkward silence drift for a heartbeat longer, then cleared her throat and added, "I hear that you've been making a reputation for yourself as well."

"I've taken on some extra duties at Moonshadow Hall" Mifano said with mock humility.

He gave a casual shrug that shifted his half-cape back behind his left shoulder, exposing the sword that rode on his hip. Feena's eyebrows rose at the sight of the weapon. The hilt that curled out of the scabbard was forged from bright steel, decorated with silver and mother-of-pearl, and marked with a crescent inside the circle of a full moon. Mifano's smile grew wide.

"Why, Feena," he asked suggestively, "are you staring at my sword?"

"Give it up, Mifano." She pointed at the sword and asked, "Is that really the Waxing Crescent?"

He grinned and nodded. Feena whistled. The sword was an artifact of Moonshadow Hall, traditionally given as a symbol of office to the priest or priestess who represented the business of the Hall in the city at large. It was a high honor and one of the most powerful positions within the temple.

"You have made a reputation for yourself! But I've never seen the Waxing Crescent carried outside of ceremonies before."

"Why shouldn't I carry it? It's a badge of honor and a fine weapon." He stroked the hilt. "And other than you apparently, women love"

Feena wrinkled her nose. "I get the point," she said as they stepped through another set of doors and into the cloisters around the temple courtyard. "So if you hold the Waxing Crescent, who holds the Waning Crescent?"

Mifano grimaced and flicked a finger along the open air passage.

Coming along the cloister toward them was a small cluster of priestesses. In the lead, issuing instructions as she walked, was a tall woman with soft brown hair that fell to her shoulders. On her belt hung the sword that was the twin to Mifano's: the Waning Crescent, symbol of administrative authority within Moonshadow Hall. She looked up and met Feena's gaze.

Feena suppressed a scowl and said, "Well met, Velsinore."

Velsinore looked as though she was choking back similar distaste but answered, "Well met, Feena."

Velsinore murmured something to two of the three women following her and they scurried away, leaving one to trail in Velsinore's wake as she paced forward. With every step, the Waning Crescent slapped against Velsinore's leg and Feena wondered why she even bothered to wear it. Then she saw the look of hostility that passed between Velsinore and Mifano and understood.

She wears her sword because he wears his, thought Feena. Moonmaiden's grace, whatever else Dhauna wants me for, I've arrived in the middle of a power struggle!

"I was looking for you earlier," Velsinore told Mifano. "I had assumed you were out in the city pursuing one of your dalliances in lieu of your duties."

"My 'dalliances' are part of my duties," Mifano replied. His voice was as smooth as oil. "Or perhaps you'd prefer to see the cupboard bare as donations fall. But I wasn't dallying. Not outside of Moonshadow Hall at least."

He slipped his hand around Feena's arm. The visiting priestess jerked free and gave Mifano a scowl as Velsinore turned her attention back to her.

"Mifano met me at the gate and escorted me here," Feena explained.

"I'm sure he did," Velsinore murmured as she looked Feena up and down, examining her country skirt and blouse. Feena flushed. The tall priestess wasn't dressed quite so fancifully as Mifanoshe wore a simple high-collared robe of dove gray. The very simplicity of the robe, however, spoke of sophistication and authority. Feena's clothes, on the other hand, spoke of dirt, labor, and the country. A long crust of wolf spittle stained her skirt. She must have drooled during her travels. Angry, she wiped at the stain.

Velsinore's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "So you've returned to Moonshadow Hall. Have you given up your mother's vendetta against the servants of Malar?"

Feena flushed even deeper and said, "Do you mean 'have I stopped defending Arch Wood village against the predators of the Beastlord to fight the shadowy minions of Shar because Shar should be the only enemy that really matters to a priestess of Selune?'"

"When you put it that way," said Velsinore, "yes."

"No."

"Ah," Velsinore said as she folded her hands. "Then why have you come back? I imagine Mifano was too busy flirting with you to ask."

Mifano's eyes narrowed. "I was offering her hospitality."

"Which is my responsibility," said Velsinore. She glanced at Feena. "We have space in the acolyte's common room, of course. You're welcome to it."

"I don't think I'll be staying," Feena growledat both of them. "I'm only here because Dhauna Myritar sent for me."

Both Mifano and Velsinore stared at her. "She sent for you?" asked Velsinore. "A prayer carried on the Moonmaiden's beams," said Feena. She crossed her arms. "Do you doubt me?"

Velsinore and Mifano exchanged a glance, then Mifano looked back to Feena and asked, "When?"

Feena bit her tongue. "Recently," she said, evading. "Where is she? I'll talk to her and be on my way."

"In her quarters, preparing for the Full Moon Blessing," Velsinore told her. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gestured for the priestess who had remained with her. "Tam, take Feena to the High Moonmistress."

Feena froze the younger priestess with a glare and said, "I know how to get there."

She strode off along the cloister, leaving the startled priestess in her wake. A heartbeat later, rapid footsteps followed her.

"Feena!" called Mifano. "Wait!"

"Why?" Feena swung through another door and back into the interior of the temple. The ramp that led up to the second floor and the high priestess's quarters was just beyond.

Mifano caught her hand. "You should know," he said hastily. "Dhauna has… things have changed at Moonshadow Hall. They're complicated."

Feena pulled away. "Things never change," she said. "They're always… complicated."

Feena raised her hand to knock on the carved wood of the High Moonmistress's quarters and was suddenly reminded of a precocious fifteen-year-old acolyte summoned before the high priestess of Moonshadow Hall for pummeling a silver: haired boy who had presented her with a collar and leash. She forced the memory aside. Some things did change. She rapped on the wood.

When there was no immediate response, she knocked again.

"Mother Dhauna, it's"

The door opened partway before she could finish. A young, dark-haired priestess peered out. She wore a harried expression.

"Please," she said quickly, "this isn't a good time. Can you come back later?"

Feena blinked. "I'd rather-"

"Feena?" Dhauna's voice rose from somewhere inside. "Feena, is that you?"

The dark-haired woman winced, but Feena raised her voice and called back, "It's me, Mother Dhauna!"

"By Our Silver Lady!" The high priestess's voice was shrill and excited. "Finally! Let her in, Julith! Let her in!"

The dark-haired womanJulithsighed and swung the door wide. "She's in her bedchamber," she whispered. "Please, try to keep her calm."

Feena looked at Julith, but the other woman was already turning away. Feena stepped inside and shut the door. Dhauna's sitting room was cluttered with stacks of books and bundles of scrolls. Papers hid the desk. She stared at the mess in surprise as she passed on into the bedchamber.

"Feena!" Seated in a chair before a dressing table, Dhauna Myritar twisted around to greet her.

Feena only barely managed to bend in respect. Somehow, it seemed, her muscles had forgotten how to move and her eyes had forgotten how to blink.

The High Moonmistress of Moonshadow Hall was all but lost within the silver lace and blue silk of her vestments, her head and face overshadowed by a high, stiff collar. For as long as Feena had known her, Dhauna had been a cheerfully plump priestess often mistaken for a woman twenty years younger than her actual age. But no one would underestimate the woman's age again. Her brown skin had faded to the color of crumpled parchment, and her dark gray eyes had lost their luster. She was not merely thin, but so gaunt that her gown was loose on her wasted frame.

"Mother Dhauna…" Feena murmured in shock.

"Oh, stand up!" Dhauna's gesture was sharp, making her irritation plain. "It's the vestments. They make me look like a starving dwarf. Life waxes, life wanestime catches us all, eventually." She swatted at Julith's hands as the priestess attempted to brush her fine, white hair. "It looks fine, Julith!" Her eyes focused on Feena again. "You took your time."

Feena finally blinked and fumbled for the excuse she had spent so long fussing over. The shock of the changes in the high priestess had her shaken. Was that what Mifano had been trying to warn her about?

"I couldn't come any sooner* High Moonmistress," she managed. "It's been a busy month. Two of the village women were…" Her carefully rehearsed words began to slip away from her. She clutched at them desperately, "…were sick. And one was pregnant with a difficult boy."

Dhauna grinned and replied, "In my experience, all boys are difficult."

"He had a jaundiced leg," said Feena hastily. She grimaced as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"And the rest of him?" asked Dhauna.

"Twisted," Feena said.

Dhauna laughed.

Julith stood behind the high priestess, a simple circlet of silver bearing the disk of the full moon in her hands, staring open-mouthed at their exchange. Dhauna stretched around and glanced at the circlet.

"Not that one," she ordered. "The moon's road tiara! You know that!"

"But Mother Dhauna-"

"The tiara!" As Julith laid down the circlet, Dhauna turned back to Feena. "Why didn't you come, Feena? The truth this time."

Feena looked down at her feet. Above the soles of her sandals, they were very dirty.

"I didn't want to face Moonshadow Hall and Yhaunn again," she confessed. She glanced up. "You know I don't belong here."

"You're happier in the fields and woods, I know. It's your nature, just as it was your mother's nature. Even more so, I suppose." Dhauna winced as Julith set an ornate confection of a tiarasix crescent moons surrounding a full moonon her head. The white puff of her hair sank under the weight and Julith reached for a comb to fix it in place. Dhauna ignored her, keeping her gaze on Feena. "But I called for you, Feena." A pleading tone entered her voice. "I called for you at every turning of Selune's face."

"I know," said Feena. "I heard every call."

"Then why didn't you come?"

"I couldn't just drop everything and abandon my village!" Feena protested. "The people do need me."

"I know that! I gave you time," Dhauna's voice rose in accusation.

Feena's rose as well. "Eventually!"

"When I realized you weren't going to come quickly enough."

" 'Be here for the full moon of Eleasias,' you said." Feena spread her arms. "Here I am!"

"Just barely! Ow!" The High Moonmistress let out a shriek. She clapped one hand to her head and whirled around in a cascade of silk and lace to snap at Julith. "What are you doing?"

The young priestess stood with the tiara in one hand the comb in the other, and a look of dismay on her pale face. "The moon's road tiara is too heavy, Mother Dhauna. Your hair's too fine to support it, even with a comb"

Dhauna's face twisted and her eyes came back to life with sudden rage. "Then give me the full moon circlet, you stupid girl!"

Silence fell over the bedchamber like a shroud. Julith's eyes went wide and Feena was certain that she saw her hands tremble. There must have been surprise on her own face as well. Dhauna stared for a momentthen seemed to crumble.

"Julith," she whispered, "I'm sorry." She gestured with withered fingers. "Pleasego on ahead to the courtyard. Feena will help me finish and walk with me to the Full Moon Blessing." She looked over her shoulder at Feena and asked, "Won't you?"

Feena nodded. "Of course."

Julith set the moon's road tiara on the dressing table and bent deeply to the high priestess, then fled the room. Dhauna sat back with a sigh. Feena stepped up to her cautiously. More had changed about the High Moonmistress than just her wasting body.

"Mother Dhauna," Feena asked, "are you all right?"

"No, Feena, I'm not," Dhauna replied, sitting up again. "There's not much time before the ceremony." She pointed to the dressing table. "If you could help me…"

Feena picked up the lighter circlet and settled it over the high priestess's hair. Dhauna looked at herself in the mirror that hung over the table.

"Good enough."

"Why did you call me here, Mother Dhauna?" asked Feena. "What's wrong?"

In the mirror, Dhauna's eyes shifted to look at her. "Selune has been sending me dreams, Feena." She looked at the mirror again. "Though it seems that the Moon-maiden measures her sendings by the strength of my faith rather than the strength of my body."

Feena knelt beside the wizened priestess's chair. "What are these dreams?"

"Warnings," Dhauna said as she wrapped her hand around Feena's. "Impending dangergreat dangerfrom within the faith, I think. Possibly even from within Moonshadow Hall." She smiled at Feena's look of alarm. "Or so I have come to believe. The wisdom of gods is a mystery to mortals. I'm still searching for the deeper meaning of the dreams."

"The books in your sitting room," said Feena.

Dhauna nodded and said, "Guidance from those who came before us. The books come from the archives. I have even more spread out there. I don't believe I've read so much in my entire life."

"What have you found?"

"Nothing yet. Scraps. Clues." She released Feena's hand and brushed fingers through Feena's hair. Feena could smell old parchment and fresh ink on them. "Julith helps ne. I couldn't hide the dreams from her for long. But if; he danger is within Moonshadow Hall, I need help from lomeone outside the hall. Someone I can trust. Someone vho isn't afraid of controversy."

Feena closed her eyes and said, "I should have come looner."

"It would have been better if you had," said Dhauna. Will you help me?" "Yes."

"Thank you." Dhauna's hand rested briefly on Feena's lead in a blessing gesturethen the high priestess ighed and struggled to sit upright. "Though I think the irst thing you could help me with is getting out of this hair!"

The High Moonmistress's ornate vestments were beau-iful and in times past Feena had known her to wear hem as easily and as casually as an old shawl. She found terself holding billows and bustles out of the way as)hauna eased herself out of the chair and reached for a wir of canes. Feena took one from her and offered the old triestess her arm instead. Dhauna accepted it gratefully. Pheir progress along the corridor outside her quarters md down the ramp to the temple's ground floor was still low, however. Just inside the door that led out to the loisters and the temple courtyard, Dhauna paused, her lead bowed for a moment in prayer, and Feena sensed the [ivine surge of the goddess's touch. Dhauna breathed a igh. Releasing Feena's arm and shifting her grip on her ane, she stood solidly on her own two feet.

"For ceremonies only," she told Feena with a smile. Such is the price of vanity."

She strode through the door a little awkwardly, but rith renewed strength. Feena followed in her wake.

Outside, the temple courtyard was filled with the lergy and novices of Moonshadow Hall, as well as with hose citizens of Yhaunn who paid honor to Selune.)hauna circled around the cloister to the full moon ate. During the day, the courtyard could be entered reely through any of the seven open gates that led into it, but tradition dictated that by night only the gate corresponding to the phase of the moon could be usedand since the closed gate of the new moon was nothing more than a brick-filled arch, the courtyard was never entered during the dark of the moon. Feena remembered youthful frustration at being forced to walk all the way around the cloisters when cutting across the shadowed courtyard would have saved her precious time. Having grown older, she found the walk strangely comforting, a moment of contemplative transition between outside world and sacred ceremony.

As Dhauna stepped through the full moon gate, clergy and worshipers parted before her, making a wide aisle across the moonlit grass to the sacred pool at the courtyard's far end. The High Moonmistress proceeded down the grassy aisle at a stately, measured pace. On either side, men and women bent in respect as she passed:

Feena, however, stopped just inside the gate. Julith stood at the back of the crowd, and Feena slipped in beside her.

"I'm sorry for what happened in Dhauna's bedchamber," Feena whispered.

The young priestess sighed and shrugged. "I'm getting used to it," she murmured back. "Some days she's better than others."

Her eyes were fixed on the other end of the courtyard. Dhauna had set aside her cane and was standing in front of the sacred pool, her back to the crowd. Overhead, the moon was almost perfectly aligned with the courtyard, the high priestess, and the pool. Dhauna raised her hands. "Selune," she called, "Moonmaiden, Bright Lady of Night, Our Lady of Silvertonight we honor your fullest aspect and pray for your blessing of strength…"

As Dhauna continued her invocation, Feena leaned in closer to Julith.

"Some days?" she whispered. "Getting used to it?" She pressed her lips together, then asked, "The dreams?"

Julith started, then nodded.

Selune's warnings were taking their toll on more than Dhauna's body, it seemed.

Feena leaned back toward Julith and asked, "How long has she been having them?"

Julith's gaze darted to her. "Feena!" she hissed and nodded at Dhauna and the sacred pool.

Feena rolled her eyes and said, "We're not novices, Julith. No one is standing over us to make sure we follow the ceremony. How long?" Feena nudged the other priestess. "Gome on."

"A little bit less than a month." Julith managed to speak almost without moving her lips. "Since the waning gibbous moon."

The night she had first sent for me, Feena thought. She winced.

"Do you know what happened?" Feena asked.

Julith gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. "I found her barefoot in the courtyard in the middle of the night, almost at moonset. She's been barely eating since then. She's developed an obsession with the archives. And her moods…" The priestess fell silent for a moment, then added, "There are only a few of us in the temple who really notice the lapses of her mind, but it's clear that her health is failing." She glanced sideways at Feena. "If you're her friend, you should probably know that there's pressure on her to step down."

Feena's eyebrows rose. Dhauna Myritar had led Moonshadow Hall for well over twenty yearsit was hard to think of the temple without her at its head.

"Pressure?" she asked. "Who from?"

Before Julith could answer, the High Moonmistress lowered her arms. On cue, a chorus of novices began to sing a hymn. After a few bars, the crowd joined in as well, a sweet roar of sound that would have been impossible to hear over. Julith and Feena dutifully added their voices to the song, but Julith caught Feena's eye and nodded toward the sacred pool again.

Four figures had stepped forward from the crowd. Two were acolytes bearing silver pitchers. Dhauna took the pitchers and poured their contentsmilk and pale wineinto the sacred pool as a sacrifice to Selune.

Flanking the acolytes, however, were Mifano and Velsinore. Feena's eyes narrowed as another piece of the rivalry between the two fell into place.

The hymn ended. Feena leaned toward Julith once more as they knelt along with the rest of the crowd to receive the High Moonmistress's benediction.

"Dhauna hasn't named a successor yet, has she?" Feena guessed. Julith nodded. "But Velsinore and Mifano are the prime candidates?"

Julith nodded again. Feena grunted and straightened, her suspicion confirmed. Dhauna wanted her to help, but dodging the two rivals wouldn't be easy.

"In the face of darkness," called Dhauna from the front of the courtyard, "be strong, for the Bright Lady of Night gives you her blessing." She folded her hands. "May Selune guide your steps in the night and bring them to a new dawn."

The crowd rose in a rustle of fabric and a murmur of voices, the ceremony complete. Feena rose as well, turning to Julith. Dhauna's voice, however, brought the attention of the entire courtyard back to her.

"Friends!" she shouted. "Friends!"

When silence had fallen again, she spread her arms and smiled.

"I'd like you all to join me in a song of welcome. Moonshadow Hall opens its arms tonight as one of its own children returns home." She held out her hands. "Feena of Arch Wood, daughter of Maleva, come forward and be recognized."

"Oh, Moonmaiden's grace," Feena cursed under her breath. She shot a glance at Julith as the entire crowd turned toward her. "Is this one of Dhauna's bad days?"

Julith wrinkled her face and gave a tiny shrug.

"Wonderful," Feena muttered.

She stepped forward. The chorus of novices led the crowd in another hymn as she walked the length of the courtyard up to the High Moonmistress. Mifano gave her a playful wink as she passed. Feena glowered at him.

Dhauna reached out and took her hands. "Let all on whom Selune's light falls be welcome if they desire," she said with a soft smile. "Welcome back to Moonshadow Hall, Feena."

"Thank you, Mother Dhauna," Feena replied humbly. Dhauna turned her toward the watching crowd.

"Friends," she called, "this is Feena Archwood, a true priestess of Selune, and by Selune's grace" The high priestess reached back and dipped her hand into the sacred pool, sending ripples through the shining reflection of the full moon, then pressed her dripping fingers to Feena's face" I name her Moonmistress-Designate and my successor at Moonshadow Hall!"

Feena stared at Dhauna in shock.