Blood of the Fold

"I made Sister Ulicia give it to me. She had no business wearing it."

"You made…"

"Verna was named Prelate, Richard," Warren said as he put a reassuring hand to her shoulder.

Richard grinned. "I'm proud of you, Vema. Put it back on, then."

"Richard, Ann isn't… The ring was taken from me… I was convicted by a tribunal… and removed as Prelate."

Sister Dulcinia stepped forward. "Verna, you are the Prelate. At the trial, every Sister here with us voted with you."

Verna searched all the faces watching her. "You did?"

"Yes," Sister Dulcinia said. "We were overruled by the others, but we all believed in you. You were named by Prelate Annalina. We need a Prelate. Put the ring back on."

Verna nodded her tearful gratitude to the Sisters as they voiced their agreement. She slipped the ring back on her finger and kissed it. "We have to get everyone away at once. The Imperial Order is coming to take the palace."

Richard gripped her arm and pulled her back around. "What do you mean 'the Imperial Order is coming to take the palace'? What do they want with the Palace of the Prophets?"

"The prophecies. Emperor Jagang intends to use them to know the forks in the books so he can alter events to his advantage."

The other Sisters behind Verna gasped. Warren slapped a hand over his face as he groaned.

"And," Vema added, "he plans to live here, under the palace's spell, so he can rule the world after the prophecies help him crush all opposition."

Richard released her arm, "We can't let him do that. We would be frustrated at every fork. We wouldn't have a chance. The world would suffer under his tyranny for centuries."

"There's nothing we can do about it," Verna said. "We have to get away or we'll all be killed here, and then there's no chance for us to help — to think of a way to fight back."

Richard swept his gaze across the gathered Sisters, many of whom he knew, and then looked back to Verna. "Prelate, what if I were to destroy the palace?"

"What! How can you do that?"

"I don't know. But I destroyed the towers, and they were made by the wizards of old, too. What if there were a way?"

Verna licked her lips as she stared off. The crowd of Sisters stood silent. Sister Phoebe pushed her way through the others.

"Verna, you can't allow it!"

"It may be the only way to stop Jagang."

"But you can't," Phoebe said, on the verge of tears. "It's the Palace of the Prophets. It's our home,"

"It's going to be the dream walker's home, now, if we leave it for him."

"But Verna," Phoebe said, gripping Verna's arms, "without the spell, we will grow old. We'll die, Verna. Our youth will be gone in a twinkling. We'll get old and die before we have a chance to live."

With a thumb Verna wiped a tear from the other's face. “Everything dies, Phoebe, even the palace. It can't live forever. It has served its purpose, and now, if we don't do something, its purpose will turn to harm."

"Verna, you can't do this! I don't want to get old."

Vema hugged the young woman. "Phoebe, we're Sisters of the Light. We serve the Creator in his work to make the lives of the people in this world better. The only chance we have to better their lives, now, is to become like the rest of the Creator's children; to live among them.

"I understand your fear, Phoebe, but trust in me that it won't be as you fear. Time feels different to us under the spell of the palace. We don't feel the slow passing of centuries, the way those outside imagine, but the rapid pace of life. It really doesn't feel much different when you live outside.

"Our oath is to serve, not simply to live long. If you wish to live a long and empty life, Phoebe, you can remain with the Sisters of the Dark. If you wish to live a meaningful, helpful, fulfilled life, then come with us, with the Sisters of the Light, to our new life beyond what has been."

Phoebe stood silent, tears running down her cheeks. Off in the distance, fire roared, and occasional explosions punctuated the night. The cries of men at battle were coming closer.

At last, Phoebe spoke. "I am a Sister of the Light. I wish to go with my Sisters.. wherever that takes us. The Creator will still watch over us."

Verna smiled, running a tender hand down Phoebe's cheek. "Anyone else?" she asked, looking among the others gathered. "Does anyone else have any objection? If you do, it must be heard now. Don't come to me later and say you didn't have the chance. I give it now."

All the Sisters shook their heads. Soon they were all voicing their wish to go.

Verna twisted the ring on her finger as she looked up at Richard. "Do you think you can destroy the palace? The spell?"

"I don't know. Do you remember when you first came for me, and Kahlan used that blue lightning? Confessors have an element of Subtractive Magic from the wizards who created their power. Maybe that will do some harm to the vaults, if I can't."

Kahlan's fingers touched his back as she whispered. "Richard, I don't think I can do that. That magic was invoked for you — to defend you. I can't call it for anything else."