Mistress of the Night - Don Bassingthwaite [24]
She gasped, and her voice broke. Feena felt as if she couldn't move, spellbound by the tale, but Julith stepped around the table and moved to the old woman's side. Dhauna took Julith's hands.
"I have to finish," the high priestess said. She looked at Feena once more. "I always wake up before it catches me, but just before I do, I realize that I'm carrying something." She gestured around them. "A book. That's Selune's clue, Feena. I'll find the answers I need here."
Feena drew a slow breath and said, "There are a lot of books here, Mother Dhauna."
"Yes," the high priestess agreed, "but I think I understand other parts of the dream now, too. Selune's faith is ancient, among the oldest in Faerun. We've had our dark times. The consuming horror with many voices… the old terror that destroys tranquility?" She leaned forward and whispered one word. "Heresy."
Feena's teeth clenched. "Heresy? Mother Dhauna, is that really-"
"How old were you when the Time of Troubles fell upon Faerun, Feena?" Dhauna snapped. "Eleven? Twelve? It was before you came to Moonshadow Hall, I know that, but your mother must have told you about the fear and uncertainty that came with the casting down of the gods. Heresy is worse. It's insidious. It isn't a test of faith, it's torture, chaos that divides temples and turns sister against sister. Even in a faith so tolerant as Selune's, when heresy rises, all of us feel the upheaval."
"Mother Dhauna…" said Julith in soothing tones, but Dhauna brushed her away.
"What must be stirring now," she asked Feena, "that the Moonmaiden herself moves to warn us about it? Feena, believe me, whatever heresy grows in Moonshadow Hall, we have to stop it. We have to…"
She sighed and seemed to sink in on herself.
"Dhauna?" Feena gasped in alarm.
The High Moonmistress shook her head and replied, "I'm just… tired. Selune's warnings take their toll." She cast her eyes over the books in front of her, then turned a tired gaze on Feena. "I need to get back to work. A tenday, Feena. I'm sure of it. You'll stay?"
Feena nodded, numb.
"Good. Tell no one about the dreams, Feena. Even if you're defending me."
"I won't, Mother Dhauna," Feena promised, but the old woman was already turning back to her books.
A soft touch on her shoulder drew Feena's attention. Julith stood beside her. The dark-haired priestess shook her head and silently gestured for Feena to follow her.
"That's the best she's been in two days," she said as she led Feena back to the archive door. Julith glanced back over her shoulder at the pool of light that surrounded Dhauna. The High Moonmistress was gingerly unrolling a scroll that seemed ready to crumble at any sudden movement. "I'm worried, Feena. She's becoming obsessed with heresy. What if there is no heresy?"
"You mean, what if she's truly going mad?"
Julith held out her hands, helpless, and replied, "I don't know what to think. Sometimes I would say yes, but the books and scrolls that she asks me to fetch, the notes that she makes-there's a method to them, I'd swear it."
"There are things to be seen by moonlight that sunlight cannot reveal," murmured Feena. It was a favorite saying among the followers of Selune. Sometimes the
Moonmaiden's insights could be more than a mortal mind was capable of dealing with.
But sometimes the saying was just an excuse.
Feena gripped Julith's hand and said, "Let me know if it gets worse."
"I will," Julith replied. She returned Feena's grip-and drew her into a close embrace. "And you come to me if you need to. I'll help you however I can."
Startled, Feena stiffened, but then relaxed. There was a genuine warmth in Julith's voice and embrace.
"I will," she said.
"If you need to be alone," Julith added, "I can tell you how to get rid of Velsinore and Mifano."
A smile spread across Feena's face and she stepped back.
"No, that's all right," she said. "I think they're done with me for today. But you're right. Some time alone is