Desert Rising (24 page)

Sulis and Lasha both nodded.

“Do we tell Jonas and Alannah?” Lasha whispered, as they made their way to the dining hall.

“I don't know,” Sulis whispered back. “I don't like that Joaquil was waiting when we came down the stairs. I think she was spying on us.”

“Oh, what can the stupid little snit do?” Lasha said with a snort. “Even if she does report to someone, the Counselor of the One said we weren't to be bothered anymore. Initiation is next week. There's nothing they can do to us now.”

Sulis still felt vaguely worried. “I'm sure you're right,” she said, shaking off the feeling. It was probably just the lingering headache from Kadar's soul shoving her out of his mind. “Let's eat.”

T
HE
C
RON
E SAW
the gray-­cloaked pledge out with a slight smile on her face. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough. And it certainly looked suspicious: the Ranger with two of the pledges, closeted upstairs with members of a desert clan. Had Aryn's scion been smarter, she would have brought a representative from each of the deities to the healing, to avoid the impression that she was tainting the pledge by letting her wake her twin. But since the Ranger had not taken this step, Ivanha could cry foul. She and Voras could protest that the pledge group had been tainted by the influence of the other deities—­and this after the Counselor of the One had warned them that the One would tolerate no more meddling.

The Crone would use the Counselor's own words to keep the One out of the fight. She would use the secrecy of Aryn's Ranger to force a delay of the Initiation Ceremony. And once it was delayed, the power was in the Crone's hands. Aryn and Parasu would have to make concessions before Ivanha and Voras would let the Ceremony continue. She had two weeks to plan this attack with the Templar carefully and secretly. The other deities would be completely unprepared when the Crone and Templar simply did not show up for the Ceremony.

The Crone tapped her fingers on her desk, thinking. They would send her Mother Superior and the Knight of Voras to the pledging ceremony to tell the Counselor they would not cooperate. No—­even better, each would send only an acolyte, showing their disdain for the others' meddling. She nodded to herself. Once again, Ivanha and Voras would have the advantage they needed. They would reform the lax morals of this world and rid the desert of the infidels who professed no allegiance to a deity. She set off to inform the Templar of the plan.

 

Chapter 14

T
HE DAY'S BEGINNING
was a warm one for spring. The sun streamed into the corridor between the deities' shrines and the Temple of the One as the pledges walked to their last meditation with the Counselor before the Ceremony of Initiation that night.

Sulis was surprised to see that the Altar of the One had been walled off by large, carved, wooden screens. She examined the carvings—­pictures of
feli,
humans, and the deities.

“The first pairing,” Jonas said, coming to stand beside her. “Look—­this panel shows the One throwing down the temples of the deities. Then this one has the One with the
feli
. And this shows the pairing of the first pledge Tomas with a
feli,
in his hour of need. He was the first Counselor.”

The Counselor walked out from the side of the screens. “You are right, Jonas,” she said, as the pledges took their seats on woven-­grass mats in front of the screens. “These screens have been used for the Ceremony of Initiation since the Temple at Illian was founded. They represent the separation between your pledge life and the choice that will be made at the Altar of the One. Other screens separate the altar from the second exit. These mark the transition between the choosing and the new life you will lead as an acolyte.”

Sulis looked around at her companions. Alannah had her chin up as she stared at the Counselor, and Sulis wondered if she was still resolute in her plan not to allow any deities to take her. Lasha was chewing on a corner of her lip as she stared at the floor. Jonas was gazing at the screens, his expression unreadable. Sulis herself felt a whirl of emotions. Anticipation for the events to come. Nervousness that she would say the wrong words or be held back another season. And fear, which she tried to squash—­fear that the wrong deity would take her, or that being taken would change her allegiance to the desert in a way it had not for her mother.

“Before we start today's meditation, I will answer questions about the Ceremony of Initiation tonight,” the Counselor continued. “Though some of the deities would prefer everything be cloaked in secrecy, we've found pledges can attain a trance much more easily if they are not fearful about what is to come.”

She waved to the screens. “As you see, the Temple has been divided. When you arrive tonight, you will go to your mats and meditate and calm your minds. Or, at least, attempt to,” she said with a slight smile. “Being nervous is normal. You and your
feli
will be called back one at a time, where I, along with the Voices of the deities, will be waiting at the altar. You will take a sip from the sacred goblet and kneel, with a hand touching your
feli's
head. You will clear your mind and chant the Words of Awakening. You will be taken by a deity, and the Voice of that deity will escort you past the second screen, where an acolyte of your new house will escort you to the deity's shrine.”

She looked around inquisitively at the pledge class, nodding encouragement when Sandy raised his hand.

“What happens if you can't clear your mind? What if you can't get in a trance to let the deities in?” he asked.

“Then you will be returned to the pledge class for another season of training. I don't expect that to happen to anyone in this pledge class, however.”

Sulis raised her hand. “Is the drink in the sacred goblet drugged? Is that why we have to take a sip?” she asked. She heard a scandalized hiss from Joaquil, and Alannah nudged her with an elbow.

Counselor Elida laughed. “Straight to the point as always, Sulis. The sacred drink contains many herbs, some of which do relax the mind. You will not be drugged insensible, however, because the deities would not be able to reach a drugged mind.”

Sulis nodded, satisfied. If the cup had been drugged, it would have been difficult to focus on a specific deity when the taking occurred. She still had hope that the pledges' will mattered—­not just whom the deity wanted. She was surprised when Alannah raised her hand.

“Counselor, how does it happen?” she asked.

The room became quiet, as the pledges waited for the answer. It was what everyone wanted to know but no one thought would be answered.

Elida looked over the class thoughtfully before answering. “Usually, there is some connection felt between the deity and the pledge. Many acolytes describe it as sense of knowing and familiarity, feeling like they were coming home, when their deity brushed their mind, and they accepted that bond.”

She looked around at them. “I will be there with you to make certain there is no forced bonding, no violation that could harm your mind. The worst that can occur is that you will be sent back to train another year with the new pledges.”

Sulis thought about that. She'd seen two newly paired pledges this spring already. They were housed this season in Aryn's and Parasu's dormitories, which kept them separated from the pledges about to be taken. They seemed very young to her, scared and excited at once. She knew that Lasha had gone out of her way to talk to them, advising them to bond with their
feli
, but Sulis hadn't had a chance to meet any of them.

“No more questions?” the Counselor asked, looking around. “Then I want you to practice clearing your mind. Start by picturing yourself walking to the altar and taking a sip of the goblet. Then kneel and make your mind clear, a blank slate.”

After the meditation, the pledges headed to breakfast as a group. It was a quiet meal, with no one engaging in normal gossip or chitchat. They churned over what they'd learned about the ceremony, going over the ritual again and again. There were no classes for the day, so they lingered over breakfast.

“It's like they want to drive us crazy,” Lasha suddenly burst out. “Nothing to do but think about tonight. I hate waiting.”

Sandy nodded glumly. “After today, we'll all be separated from one another,” he said, shooting a glance at his twin. “No more classes together, no more meetings in the courtyard. We'll be kept too busy bonding with our own deity to worry about anything else. I wonder how many of us will be sent to temples in other cities.”

Sulis nodded, looking around at her friends. Who would go to Aryn? Who would be with Ivanha? She didn't know; she didn't know if any of their practice and planning would work. Would Lasha become an acolyte of Ivanha, forced to always wish for something more? She looked at her friend, who was nervously twisting a lock of hair around her finger, probably wondering the same thing. What would Alannah decide? Could she open her mind to be claimed by a deity? If they were in separate shrines, would they still be friends? For that matter, they could be separated even if the same deity took all of them—­sent to a temple in the far north or the east coast. She felt a pang in her stomach and wished she hadn't eaten. This was the last day she and her friends would have together. She opened her mouth to say that and caught Alannah's eye. The other girl nodded and gave a sad smile, and Sulis realized they were all thinking the same thing.

“I hope it doesn't hurt,” Joaquil said in a low voice.

Sulis looked down the table at the girl, who was playing with her food, much of it untouched. It hadn't occurred to her that Joaquil would be nervous since she had both a father and mother in the Temple.

Dani gave her a mock punch on the shoulder. “Can't hurt as much as goin' against me in defense class, can it?” he teased her.

Joaquil gave him a small smile. “True—­nothing can be as bad as you as a sparring partner,” she teased back.

He pretended to be hurt, and Sulis watched their flirting thoughtfully. She wondered if they'd be permitted to have a liaison after they were taken. She looked at Jonas and Lasha teasing each other and wondered if romances were monitored between the altars, controlled by the deities.

“But what are we supposed to do all day?” Lasha wailed. “I'll be pulling my hair out by evening.”

“Why Lasha,” Dani said in a high falsetto, mimicking their deportment teacher, “you should engage your time in self-­reflection and calm meditation on your moral quality as benefits a true lady.”

Lasha threw the last of her breakfast roll at him, which missed and hit Joaquil instead. Joaquil looked at her in surprise, then heaved a flatcake at her, which missed and hit Jonas. Food started flying as they engaged in a mock battle, one side of the table against the other, with trays used as shields, until a scandalized acolyte of Ivanha kicked them out.

Sulis pulled a bit of flatcake, sticky with syrup, out of Lasha's hair as the women crossed Ivanha's courtyard to the dormitories.

Joaquil giggled. “There you go, Lasha. Now you have something to do—­getting syrup out of your hair in time for the Ceremony.”

The Mother Superior met them at the entrance and began to speak, but then stopped when she saw their disheveled state.

“There was a bit of an accident at breakfast,” Sulis told the woman solemnly, with a straight face. She heard Alannah giggle behind her.

The Mother Superior shook her head and sighed. “Get yourselves cleaned up, then. Once you're presentable, you are to fold up your bedding and clothing and stack them neatly. The maids will remove them later. The rest of your day should be spent reviewing the words of the ritual and meditating on your life to come.”

It was a sobering reminder that they wouldn't be coming back to the dorm after the Ceremony. They would be assigned rooms in the dormitory of the deity they served.

The day became even hotter—­too hot to stay indoors. Sulis, Alannah, and Lasha sat in the courtyard, their
feli
sprawled beside them.

Sulis pushed Djinn's head off her knee. “Get off, Djinn,” she said. “It's too hot to have your fur coat on me.”

Alannah worked a comb through her long, wet hair, and Lasha ran her fingers through her short curls.

Lasha looked up at them. “You two will visit me if I get taken by Ivanha and tell me all about your travels. You have to promise me that,” she said in a small voice.

Alannah shook out her hair, flipping it back over her shoulder. “Not much chance of that,” she said. “Not after what the Counselor said. You've become familiar with and to Aryn. I'm more likely to go to Ivanha than you are. I don't have a feeling for any of the deities.”

Sulis and Lasha exchanged glances, and Sulis wondered if she should mention the gold color Alannah's cloak had turned when she put the spell on Voras's soldier. Sulis decided not to, not wanting to disappoint Alannah if she was wrong.

“Same goes for me,” Sulis said. “I've never felt the deities as you and Jonas have. I only ever feel Djinn or you two in my mind. And Kadar. For all I know, I'll be picked by Voras because his Templar once had a
geas
on my mind.”

Lasha made a face. “Don't say that. Why don't we practice on each other again, the way we did before the fire?”

Sulis smiled and threw a
geas
at her, trying to ensnare her brain and make her squawk like a chicken. Lasha let out a startled “Awk!” but quickly broke Sulis's hold. They practiced in a haphazard way, trying to get each other to do silly rather than significant things, until the dinner bell.

In the dorms after dinner, they silently changed into their shifts. Their bedding was rolled up against the wall, their clothing in neat piles beside the sheets. Sulis didn't think her shift looked too terrible, falling to her ankles, but she admired Joaquil's fine embroidery and had to admit she'd never get away with wearing her own outside the Temple grounds. The pledges were all nervous, twitching the long garments and making last-­minute adjustments. The only person who seemed calm was Tori, who sat on her bunk reading a thick, dusty, leather-­bound book.

The Mother Superior came to the door and motioned to them to follow her. Joaquil immediately stepped in line, followed by Tori and Luella. Alannah and Lasha silently followed. Sulis brought up the rear, taking a last look at the dormitory before she left. They walked through the courtyard where Ivanha's acolytes gathered for vespers, and the women parted before them, silently reaching out to touch their shoulders as though wishing them luck.

The men met them in the hallway, led by the Knight of Voras. Their shifts were shorter, and they wore trousers under them, but they all looked as nervous as Sulis felt. Dani caught her eye and winked at her as though he felt unperturbed, but his hands shook slightly, and he clenched them at his sides. They filed into the Temple of the One and sat in their usual places on the reed mats. As though summoned, their
feli
flowed through the doorway and took positions next to their paired. Incense filled the air, and Djinn gave a giant sneeze, spraying Sulis. Unlike the other
feli
, who remained sitting tall, just barely touching their paired, he sprawled beside her and laid his big head in the lap she created with her crossed legs. When she didn't immediately stroke him behind the ears, he reached a long leg out and touched her knee with his paw, claws barely sheathed. She sighed in irritation and caressed him, so he would not put a hole in her shift. His answering purr filled the meditation area, and the other pledges looked over at them in surprise. Lasha met her eyes, and Sulis rolled hers. Lasha looked away quickly, hiding a smile.

The Counselor of the One stepped out from behind the screens.

“The Voices of the deities are preparing themselves for the ritual. They will arrive shortly. When they arrive, we will bring you back in order of the time you were paired. Please begin your meditation. Clear your mind and let the peace of the Temple assuage your anxiety.”

The Counselor stepped back into the inner sanctum, and Sulis tried to focus her mind. Aryn was what she wanted. She concentrated on good thoughts about Aryn and messengers but had to rein in her thoughts again and again as they drifted. She wondered whether being taken would hurt.