Desert Rising (27 page)

Dani sighed. “Jonas is right—­we should get back to the dormitories. All this is what got us here to begin with.” He paused and looked Sulis in the eyes. “I'm not blaming you. Nothing we've done is against rules, so we shouldn't be punished like this. But I also don't want to be a pledge the rest of my life. We'll see what happens over the next few weeks. Maybe they'll talk things through, and someone will back down.”

Sulis nodded, but her thoughts were still rebellious. As they filed out of the Temple, she caught Tori's eye. The older woman gazed thoughtfully back at her and gave a nod and a faint smile. When the other women went back through Ivanha's shrine, Sulis saw Tori duck through Parasu, presumably on her way to the library. Sulis was interested to see Jonas follow Tori. As far as she knew, the two of them weren't friends, but maybe Jonas was intrigued with the idea that the history of pledging might give them some way out of this situation.

That evening, the Mother Superior came to their room before vespers. Sulis had been lying on her cot, leaning over Djinn while he gently batted her black hair with his paws, claws sheathed. The Mother Superior cleared her throat, and the girls gathered around her. She gave them a small, tight smile.

“You will continue your morning meditation with the Counselor,” she said. “Then, you will go to Parasu's classroom for an advanced diplomacy and customs class, as well as advanced scriptures. After midmeal, you will break into groups and report to the shrine you have been assigned to. The acolytes at that shrine will further assign you to lessons or classes. Joaquil and Alannah will report to Ivanha. Tori will report to Parasu. Luella will report to Voras. Lasha and Sulis will report to Aryn.” The Mother Superior's face pinched as though Sulis's name were a lemon she had sucked.

Sulis realized they'd been assigned by how the Voices of the deities thought they would have been taken in the Ceremony of Initiation. She glanced over at Alannah to see how she felt about being put into Ivanha's shrine. The other girl held her head high, but there were two pink spots on her fair cheeks.

“I will not be reporting to Ivanha,” Alannah told the Mother Superior. “I will report to the Counselor and see what tasks she has for me.”

The Mother Superior raised an eyebrow. “You have been assigned, pledge. You will report as ordered.”

Alannah cocked her head. “Or what? You'll not let me join the Initiation Ceremony?” She laughed once, scornfully. “I am telling you this as a courtesy, not to ask permission. Ivanha's actions have taken away any authority you ever had over me.”

The Mother Superior looked first baffled, then furious. Alannah was right; there wasn't any real punishment she could give. Usually, pledges were threatened with being held back a year. With that threat already in play, all she could do was warn, “The Crone will hear about this.”

“Yes, please be certain she does,” Alannah said to the woman's receding back.

Sulis let her breath out in an explosion when she was certain the Mother Superior was out of earshot. “I thought I was the only one who could make a scene like that,” she said.

“No, Alannah was scarier. We expect things like that from you,” Lasha said.

Alannah shrugged. “Well, really, what good does it do to pretend? Maybe if they realize they've lost control, they'll try harder to resolve this.”

Joaquil flipped her hair and went back to her cot. “I'll be reporting to Ivanha as ordered,” she said.

Luella shook herself all over, like a big dog. “I won't be reporting as ordered. I'm going to Aryn, with Lasha and Sulis. Voras can stuff it.”

Tori had a slight smile on her face. “I will report to Parasu, as ordered. Most of my time is spent in the library while I'm there, so it will suit my purposes well. Indeed, some of the scholars overheard Jonas and me talking about ancient traditions and pointed out texts for us to read.”

“Had any luck with your, um, studies?” Sulis asked delicately.

Tori turned an old book around in her hands. “Some. There are depths to that place I've not delved into. I think what we are looking for will be found in the underground stores, in some dusty tome we can hardly read because the language has changed over the years.”

At midmeal the next day, the women found that the men were also feeling rebellious.

“They assigned Shane to Aryn,” Sandy announced. “Not that he's going.”

Lasha replied, “They assigned Luella to Voras and Alannah to Ivanha. I figure if we all go as a group, what can they do? Send soldiers to force us to different shrines?”

“Let 'em try,” Luella growled.

“I've been thinking the same way,” Jonas admitted. “Shane will stick with Tori and me when we go to Parasu's shrine. If they refuse him, we can all walk out. Luella can go to Aryn with Sandy, Lasha, Sulis, and Alannah.”

“I'm not going to Aryn,” Alannah said quietly. “I'm going to the Temple of the One. If the Counselor won't teach me, I'll just hang around and listen, or meditate.”

Dani laughed. “And I'll be safe and sound, missing the rebellion—­though I can't wait to see the Knight's face when Luella doesn't show up with me.” He paused. “But do you realize they'll take this as another example of Aryn and Parasu tampering with you guys? After all, Ivanha and Voras are the ones getting left out.”

“And Aryn, with me going to Parasu,” Shane pointed out quietly.

“But she gets Luella instead,” Dani said.

“What else can they do to us?” Sulis asked. “They can't send us home—­not since we're each paired with a
feli
. The One won't permit them to force a bonding. What can they do that would be any worse?”

Dani shrugged. “Guess we'll find out,” he said with a grin. “When I was first paired, I didn't think things would become interesting until we were taken by a deity. How wrong was I?”

Lasha led the group going to Aryn's shrine. When they got to the shrine, the Ranger's white head was bent over a desk, scribbling something down. They stood quietly until she noticed them.

“Ah, yes, the pledges. Our acolytes will meet you here every day after midmeal and will accompany you to your afternoon assignments. Lasha, you're to go with Kiera to the healing hall. Healer Vann will give you the preliminary lessons. Sulis, our riding master has requested you as her apprentice until we can make other uses for you. Harris will accompany you to the stables. Sandy, the Cantor will be along shortly for your training . . . Where is your brother?” She stopped abruptly and straightened up, looking at them fully for the first time.

“At Parasu's shrine,” Sandy told her blandly.

The Ranger eyed them a few moments, folded her arms across her chest, and leaned against the desk. “I see. And I see that Luella has joined us. Are there any other surprises forthcoming?” she asked.

“Not that we know of,” Sulis said. “But we weren't expecting the last one, either.”

“Indeed,” the Ranger said dryly. They held their breath as she bent over the desk again, scribbling something on a clean sheet of paper. She folded it in thirds. “Quenton, come here please,” she called.

She handed the paper to Quenton, a burly man with a full beard. “Please deliver this to the farrier with Luella when you're done with your errand. You might as well take Sulis to the riding master while you're at it; One knows no one will bother her with you around.”

“I was about to set out now,” he rumbled. “Come along, younglings.”

The pilgrims in the hallway parted for the burly smith as he lumbered before them out into the street.

“Shame what they're doing to you pledges,” he said affably. “Making you wait and all. But the ways of the deities are mysterious. Spend most of my time shaking my head at them, to tell the truth,” he said with a chuckle that invited the two girls to join in. “Don't you worry, all us Temple folk know you're not a whit to blame.”

Aggie was waiting for them in front of the stables. She was speaking with Severin, who appeared amused by something she was saying.

“Sulis, excellent—­you're here,” she said, then paused as she saw Luella. “What is Luella doing here?”

“Delivering her to the farrier, Aggie,” Quenton said. He and Luella walked past and disappeared into the building that housed the blacksmith.

Aggie turned back to Sulis. “Have you ever fought with a knife or sword?” she asked.

“I've handled knives a lot and had some training in them,” Sulis said, “but my uncle always hired guards to protect our caravans, so I never needed to put anything to use.”

“She has the height for a saber, Mistress,” Severin said politely. “Or even a long sword if she built her upper-­body muscles a little.”

“Even so, I'd rather she relearned the skills of knife fighting. If someone comes at her, it'll probably be close in. She's also to learn archery, but that can wait until she's taken,” Aggie replied. She turned to Sulis. “Severin has agreed to coach you in knife fighting. We needed someone uncloaked to train you because the Templar refused to send us a knight trainer, and Aryn's best fighters are riding the trail as couriers. Severin is the quickest with weapons in Illian. I hope he will be as quick as a teacher.”

He gave Aggie a small bow. “I will do my best,” he said.

“After he is done with your lesson this afternoon, you will help me teach some of the less advanced students in the riding arena.”

Sulis nodded and gave Severin a worried glance. Kadar had warned her about Severin months ago but now seemed to be friends with him. She wasn't certain if she could trust him although Aggie obviously did.

“Come along,” Severin said. “We'll use the training grounds for practice, so we don't spook the new riders.”

He tossed a sheathed dagger at her and she caught it automatically. It was medium-­sized, with a hook that would fasten to the belt around her waist.

“Good reflexes,” he commented. “We'll use dulled blades for training, but I want you to use the one I've given you to practice in your spare time, until the moves feel natural.”

“Ivanha's acolytes will love that,” she muttered, picturing their scandalized looks as she thrust her dagger at the bushes in their courtyard.

“Does that really bother you?” Severin asked, an eyebrow raised in challenge.

She grinned. “No. It'll be fun.”

His mouth quirked into a smile. “Good. Now, here is a practice blade. Do you remember the grip?” He demonstrated the hold, and that began her long afternoon.

Quenton and Luella showed up as the last trainees were putting their horses back in the stalls. Aggie dusted off her breeches and joined Sulis. The four of them walked back to the Temple, Aggie and Quenton talking comfortably about the new stables and the new horses that had been brought in.

“Everything go okay?” Sulis asked Luella in a whisper.

The other girl nodded. “I like the farrier. He's got good horse sense. I'll be real happy working under him. You?”

“I'm brushing up on my knife work, then schooling beginner riders,” Sulis said, fingering the knife at her belt. The weight was unfamiliar against her side.

“Hmm, knives. That's good. We could spar sometime,” Luella said. “Gonna miss that about not goin' to Voras.”

The other pledges exchanged stories of their days over dinner. Each had been assigned to work as if he or she been taken by that particular deity. Alannah slipped in shortly after they'd started eating. Only Joaquil and Dani were missing from the pledges' table.

“Where do you think they are?” Sulis asked.

“Eating at the other dining room, no doubt,” Lasha said. “Makes more sense than trekking down to this one.”

“And the separation begins,” Jonas intoned.

“Did anyone who switched shrines have problems?” Sulis asked.

Shane shook his head, and Luella shrugged. Alannah nodded ruefully.

“The Counselor wasn't terribly happy to see me,” she admitted. “She wants me to start training with a deity because I'll have to be taken by one of them. I wouldn't go away, though. I told her that with all the confusion, I would rather understand what the One expects of her ­people. My relationship with the deities should come out of my obedience to the One rather than the other way around. In the end, she let me tag along when she spoke with Vrishnis and settled disputes.”

“What are you going to do when the time comes?” Sandy asked curiously. “Who do you think you'll be taken by?”

Alannah smiled faintly. “We'll see. If any of the deities speaks to my heart, then I'll accept whoever it is. If not, I'll stay a pledge until I find something to give my heart to. I'm skilled enough in the mind arts that I don't think a deity can take me if I don't wish to be taken.”

The table was silent at that. Sulis had to agree. Alannah could push away any intrusion on her mind, unlike the rest of them, who were usually reacting to something that had already happened to them rather than actively preventing it.

Sulis felt deeply disquieted, worried that maybe she'd end up like her mother and be taken by Ivanha, who didn't suit her, because her mind wasn't controlled enough. She tried to turn her thoughts to more productive things.

“Find out anything else in the library?” she asked Tori.

Tori looked at Jonas, and he shook his head. “We didn't have much time to look. Some of the older histories are buried pretty deep in the stacks. We'll probably have to skip midmeal to sift through them.”

Joaquil was at vespers that evening, but the hour of silent meditation after left them no way of asking about her day or the reaction when Alannah didn't show up at the shrine.

The days following were similar. Dani, when they saw him, said that he was given menial work and that Joaquil had been set to mending. It seemed those shrines did blame the pledges for the Ceremony's failure.