Soul of the Fire

Ann comforted her. "I know, Sister Georgia. I know." She lifted the woman's chin. "You are a Sister of the Light. Straighten yourself up, now. What is done to this body is not what matters. Our eternal souls are what concerns us. Beasts in this life can do what they will to your body, but they cannot touch your pure soul.

"Now, act what you are: a Sister of the Light."

Sister Georgia smiled through the tears. "Thank you, Prelate. I needed to hear your scolding to remember my calling. Sometimes it's all too easy to forget."

Ann went to her purpose. "Where are the others?"

Sister Georgia lifted a hand to point off to Ann's right and a little behind. "Over there."

"Are you all together?"

"No. Prelate, some of the Sisters have sworn themselves to the Nameless One." She bit her lower lip and wrung her hands. "There are Sisters of the Dark in our order."

"Yes, I know."

"You do? Well, Jagang keeps them elsewhere. The Sisters of the Light are together, but I don't know where the Sisters of the Dark are, nor do I care to."

"Praise the Creator," Ann said with a sigh. "That was what I was hoping-that there wouldn't be any of them among you."

Sister Georgia glanced over her shoulders. "Prelate, you must get out of here or you will be killed or captured." She started pushing Ann, trying to turn her around and get her to leave.

Ann seized Sister Georgia's sleeve in an attempt to get the woman to listen.

"I'm here to rescue the Sisters. Something has happened to give us the rare opportunity to help you escape."

"There is no way-"

"Silence," Ann growled in a whisper. "Listen to me. The chimes are loose."

Sister Georgia gasped. "That's not possible."

"Oh really? I'm telling you it is so. If you don't believe me, then why do you think your power is gone?"

Sister Georgia stood mute as Ann listened to the raucous laughter of men gambling not far away. The Sister's gaze kept searching the area beyond the wagons, fearing they would be caught.

"Well?" Ann asked. "What did you think was the reason for your power being gone?"

Sister Georgia's tongue darted out to wet her lips. "We aren't allowed to open ourselves to our Han. Jagang only allows us to do so if he wants something. Otherwise, we mustn't. He's in our minds-he's a dream walker, Prelate. He can tell if we touch our Han without permission. It's something you don't dare try twice.

"He can control it. He can make you very sorry for anything you do which he doesn't like." The woman was dissolving into tears again. "Oh, Prelate…”

Ann pulled the woman's head down to her shoulder. "There, there. Hush now. It's all right now, Georgia. Hush now. I'm here to get you away from this madness."

Sister Georgia pulled back. "Away? You can't. The dream walker is in our minds. He could be watching us right this very minute. He can do that, you know."

Ann shook her head. "No, he can't. The chimes, remember? Your magic has failed, his magic has failed. He is no longer in your head. You are free of him."

Sister Georgia began objecting. Ann gripped her arm and started her moving.

"Take me to the other Sisters. I'll have no argument, do you hear? We must get away while we have a chance."

"But Prelate, we can't-"

Ann seized the ring through Sister Georgia's lip. "Do you want to continue to be a slave of this beast? Do you want to continue to be used by him and his men?" She gave the ring a tug. "Do you?"

Tears welled in the woman's eyes. "No, Prelate."

"Then get me to the tent with the other Sisters of the Light. I intend on getting you all away from Jagang this very night."

"But Prelate-"

"Move! Before we're caught here!"

Sister Georgia snatched up the pail of porridge and scurried off. Ann followed on her heels, with Georgia glancing back over her shoulder every few paces. The woman hurried along at a good clip, skirting every campfire and group of men by as wide a margin as she could without getting closer to men on the other side.

Even as she did, men still occasionally noticed her and reached out to snatch at her skirt. Most would laugh when she squeaked and scooted away.

When another man caught the Sister's wrist, Ann put herself between them. She smiled at the man. He was so surprised he let go of Sister Georgia. The two of them made a quick escape.

"You are going to get us killed," Sister Georgia whispered as she hustled between wagons.

"Well, I didn't think you were in the mood for what the fellow had in mind."

"If a soldier insists, we have to. If we don't… Jagang teaches us lessons if we don't-"

Ann shoved her onward. "I know. But I'm going to get you out of here. Hurry up. We must get the Sisters and escape while we have the chance. By morning, we'll be long — gone and Jagang won't know where to look."

The woman opened her mouth to object, but Ann shoved her onward.

"As the Creator is my witness, Sister Georgia, I've seen more shilly-shallying out of you in the last ten minutes than your first five hundred years in this world. Now, get me to the other Sisters, or I'll make you wish for Jagang's clutches instead of mine."