Temple of the Winds

"Verna, we must call him Excellency," Janet said in a shuddering whisper. "If we displease him for any reason at all, we have to serve a week in the tents."

Warren spoke Verna's name with rising inflection. Verna waved him to silence. "The tents? What are you saying?"

Janet's eyes flooded with tears again. "He gives us to his soldiers for a week. We have gold rings, so they won't kill us, because those with gold rings belong to Jagang, but they can do whatever else they want. They pass us from tent to tent for a week. Even the old Sisters are sent to the tents. Jagang calls it a lesson in discipline that all must learn."

Janet fell to her knees, convulsing in sobs as she covered her mouth with both hands. Verna sank down beside her and hugged her.

"You don't know what Jagang's men do to us," Janet cried. "You don't know, Verna!"

"I understand," Verna whispered. "Hush now. It's all right, now. We'll get you away from here."

Janet shook her head against Verna's shoulder. "I won't leave Amelia here. I'm all she has. I'm a Sister of the Light. The Creator would never forgive me if I abandoned her. If I leave her. I'd be leaving my duty to the Creator. She's my friend. She came back to the Light. She came back to the Creator.

"Jagang sent her to the tents, again. If I'm not here when she comes back, she'll go crazy. No one else will tend to her. The Sisters of the Dark won't go near her. and the Sisters of the Light won't forgive her. I'm her only friend. I'm the only one who forgave her and accepted her back to the Light.

"She'll be a bloody mess when she gets back. You don't know what Jagang's men are like. Except for broken bones, Jagang won't allow us to use the gift to heal one another when we come back from the tents. He says it's part of the lesson, that our souls may belong to the Creator when we die, but in this life, Jagang owns our bodies.

"We can have our broken bones knitted by the gift when we come back. but until then, we have to suffer the agony of that along with everything else. If I'm not here, no one else will heal that much for her, or comfort her." Janet was nearly hysterical. "I won't leave without Amelia." Verna felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. Her heart pounded in terror. Bile rose into her throat.

Verna's voice broke. "How do you endure it?"

Janet held her fists to her heart. "We are Sisters of the Light: we must endure for the Creator."

Verna shared a long look with Warren's troubled eyes. "Do you know where we can find her? Maybe we could go find her and take her with us."

Janet shook her head. "We're passed among the tents. She could be anywhere. The army is spread out for miles and miles in every direction.

"Not long ago, more captured women were sent back here. The screams are everywhere, so you can't simply follow the sounds of screams. Besides, if we went out among the tents, we wouldn't last five minutes before we were dragged into one of them."

"How long?" Verna asked. "How long until Amelia is back?" "Five days, but she won't be able to walk for at least a day after that, maybe two."

Verna held a tight grip on her rage. "There's nothing saying I can't use my gift to cure her once she's back."

Janet looked up. "That's true. Five days, then. Tomorrow night is the full moon. The fourth day after the full moon."

"Are you able to leave this place? In order to meet us? I don't think we can get back in here again."

"Not very far. I can't even imagine how you could have gotten in here." Verna showed the woman a tight smile. "I'm not Prelate for nothing. Warren helped, too. We'll come back, four nights after the full moon."

"Verna, there's one other thing. If Jagang can't enter my dreams, he will know something is wrong."

Verna pressed her hands to her face. "But you've already given the oath. You can't take it back, or it would mean nothing. You have already given your heart to Richard." "Then I'll have to be careful." "Can you do that? Can you get away with it?"

Janet touched her fingers to her lips. "What choice do I have? I'll have to." Verna held out her dacra. "Here. At least you can protect yourself." Janet pushed it away as if it were poison. "If I was caught with that thing, I'd be sent out to the tents for a year."

"Well, at least you can use your gift, now that Jagang can't enter your mind to prevent it."

"It won't do any good here. Jagang has total control over all those with the gift who are here-Sisters and wizards. It would be spitting into a storm to try to use my gift against them."

"I know. That's why we can't try to take the others right now. We'd never make it. The Sisters of the Dark would fight us, and with their use of Subtractive Magic, they would cut us to pieces." Verna pressed her lips together. "Janet, are you sure about this?"

"If I don't help a Sister in dire need, then what good is my oath as a Sister of the Light? One has come back to us from the Keeper; perhaps she can teach us how to bring the others back."