The whisper of sandals on the stones of the floor brought
Ria to her feet. She stared at the doorway. Malera parted the beaded curtain.
“Come. ‘Tis time.”
Ria’s hands tightened. She walked toward the older woman.
“Are you sure I’m ready for the trial?”
Malera smiled. “I chose you from the slavers’ pens. For five
years, I’ve nurtured and honed your abilities. You are the daughter I dared not
birth.”
Ria took the chief priestess’ hand and brushed her lips
across the back. She tasted anger roiling inside her mentor. A part of Ria
recoiled from the strength of Malera’s emotions. Who had angered the chief
priestess? Would the fermenting fury guide Malera’s choice for the test?
“When I call fire from the stones, how will I use it?”
Malera’s thin smile increased Ria’s inner quaking. A glint
of smug satisfaction in the chief priestess’ dark eyes tinted Ria’s thoughts
with uneasiness. What did Malera plan? Suddenly, Ria was afraid. She looked
away to keep her mentor from reading these emotions.
“Do not fret. The task will be within your abilities.”
“When you joined the circle for the first time, what was
your task?”
Malera pursed her lips. “A most enjoyable one. My mentor
bade me cleanse the temple of the malcontents who tried to destroy the rights
of the women who use the fyrestones. Though several of the women escaped, I
succeeded in destroying most of the rebels, leaving only those who had fled
years before for my mentor to purge.”
Ria frowned. “What did the malcontents do?”
“They gave fyrestones to men who were unfit to use the
crystals, and to women who were untrained in the proper ways of this temple.”
“How could anyone not trained here use any crystal other
than a white?”
“The rebel priestesses diluted their power. They joined with
men. They permitted studs to use the stones. They were fools. A wise woman
never cedes her power. She does not share control with anyone. As the only
temple in the land, all must obey us.” She lifted Ria’s chin and gazed into her
eyes.
Malera’s eyes narrowed. They compelled obedience. Something
inside Ria made her resist the compulsion. Confusion filled her thoughts. Acid
flowed in her gut. A need to rebel arose, but how could she act against the
chief priestess’ guidance? The older woman rescued her from forced service in
one of the pleasure houses. Malera had shown the kindness Ria’s mother had
withheld. Ria’s hands clenched. Just because the old man chosen as her
betrothed died under mysterious circumstances, she’d been declared cursed and
sold to the slavers. No one had cared about her fate until Malera.
The chief priestess released Ria’s chin. “’Tis time for you
to face the test, as all who are selected to serve the temple must.”
Ria nodded. “I am ready.” As the knowledge of how she wanted
to use the crystal solidified, her stomach fluttered. Even if she must defy her
mentor, she would use the stone to help, not harm.
Malera led Ria into the large rotunda where those who came
to petition the priestesses waited for a summons. Tiles reflecting the colors
of the fyrestones covered the floor. Benches lined the side walls. Tables where
the petitioners placed gifts of food, cloth, spices, and gems, flanked the
doorway to the inner chamber. Here also, the tithes from each hamlet were
collected.
When Malera parted the curtain made from strings of white
crystals like the one Ria had used to light the candles, her stomach clenched.
She stepped inside and faced the circle. Three priestesses stood on the first
tier and Ria studied the fyrestones in the depressions carved in the limestone
of the circle. They glowed with power.
The chief priestess led Ria to the
topmost tier where a single scarlet crystal glittered in the cup. With a
flourish, the chief priestess handed Ria the scarlet stone. “This is the one
you used in practice and have imprinted with your spirit. Use the crystal
well.” She retreated to the base of the tiered circle.
“Prepare for the
testing.”
Ria drew a deep breath. She noticed a glint of scarlet in
Malera’s hand and wondered why. Ria raised her crystal. The sun edged over the
opening in the roof above the circle. “Let us begin.”
The three women holding yellow fyrestones called fire. Then
two spires of orange appeared. Ria stared at the stone balanced on her palm.
The sun centered in the opening. She basked in the warmth. Her crystal glowed
and a flame rose. With care, she blended the yellow and orange tongues of flame
with those from the scarlet.
“Seek the hamlet of Gydon,” Malera said.
Ria molded the fire into a sheet. A map of the land from the
ocean shore in the south to the northern mountains appeared. Using a finger of
fire, she sought the farming hamlet near the hills beyond both wastes and the
grove. Houses appeared, then people, mostly women and children. Three elderly
men and several youths led scraggly beasts to a pasture beyond the walls. Some
of the buildings looked as though they’d been scorched by fire in the past. The
gardens were ill tended. The people looked beaten. Ria smiled. She could help
them.
“This is your task,” Malera said. “For years, the hamlet of
Gydon has failed to send the tithe to the temple. You will destroy the fields,
the flocks, the herds, and the orchards, to force the people to leave.”
“Where are the men?” Ria asked.
“Sold into slavery to pay the tithe. Twenty years ago, there
were those living near Gydon who attempted to use the fyrestones in ways
opposed to the chief priestess’ dictates. I cleansed the temple of their ilk,
but three remained until my predecessor challenged them and won. Gydon must
become a lesson for all the people of Fyre. They must see what happens to those
who defy me.”
Ria held the flames steady. “How can those who remain pay
the tithe? Don’t you see how poor the people are?”
“They have children to sell. Young girls for the temple.
Older girls, women, and boys, to serve in the pleasure houses. Destroy the
flocks, fields, herds, and orchards. Lay waste to all. Show the hamlets of Fyre
what happens to those who refuse to pay the tithe.”
Defiance
built within Ria. How could she use the flames to punish the innocent? “Do any
of the rebel priestesses still live?”
Malera smiled. “They are dead and their studs with them. Do
as I command.”
“Priestesses should use fire to help. I’ve visited the
scriptorium and have read many scrolls. What you tell me to do is wrong.” Ria
saw the thin line of scarlet flame flow from Malera’s hand. Ria felt the chief
priestess’s attempt to use the fyrestone she’d been given. “No.” Ria braced and
fought her mentor.
