Mistress of the Night - Don Bassingthwaite [31]
Feena and Dhauna Myritar glanced at each other. Dhauna shook her head wearily. "Go, Feena," she said. "Whatever they want, you can deal with it."
Feena choked back a curse. How could a day that had started off with such promise have gone so wrong so quickly? She ran from the courtyard through the nearest gate, ignoring the stares of the gathered clergy. She couldn't imagine that the chubby high priest of Tymora was happy at being held back by a mere acolyte.
He wasn't, but Jhezzail was standing her ground with the air of a seasoned sentry as Colle Shoondeep seethed and ranted. Somehow, though, the High Luck managed to look even more enraged when Feena appeared and dismissed the girl. He stepped back coldly, drawing his robes around himself. The grizzled man wearing the crest of Yhaunn who accompanied him-the guard officer, Feena guessed-stared at her in confusion. He seemed ready to ask something, but Colle caught his eye and waved one chubby finger in a gesture of caution. The guard's eyes widened slightly. Feena glanced down at herself, aware for the first time that she was still wearing her peasant blouse and homespun skirt. Had the man mistaken her for a servant? She grimaced.
"What can I do for you, High Luck?" Feena asked with all the grace she could muster.
"We need to see Dhauna Myritar, Moonmistress-Designate," Colle said. "It is a serious matter that requires her attention." He indicated the guard. "This is Guard Captain Manas."
Feena raised an eyebrow and asked, "Captain?"
"As I said, this is a serious matter," Colle said, standing straight. "We need to see the High Moonmistress."
Feena crossed her arms and replied, "The High Moonmistress isn't seeing anyone. Whatever your problem is, I can deal with it."
"Not this," said Manas. His voice was surprisingly pleasant, especially compared to the High Luck's. "This concerns the High Moonmistress alone."
"Dhauna Myritar has chosen me to act on her behalf," Feena growled. "What concerns her concerns me."
Colle's face flushed angrily. "More true than you-" he spat, then bit off his words abruptly.
Feena's eyes opened wide and she looked between the two men.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
Manas glanced at Colle as if seeking permission for something. The priest pressed his lips together and gave a little shake of his head, but the guard captain turned back to Feena.
"Moonmistress, you're a werewolf, aren't you?"
Feena actually jumped a little, startled by the blunt-ness of the question. Most people would have danced around the matter or tried to ignore it. In an instant she understood both the guard captain's tension and his surprise at seeing her. He hadn't mistaken her for a servant, she realized-he had simply been shocked to find himself face to face with her. And Colle… it seemed the priest of Tymora had indeed recognized her as a werewolf at the council of temples the day before. He was already looking triumphant at her discomfort. Feena bit back another growl as one rose in her throat and drew herself up, matching Colle's stance.
"I have been blessed by Selune," she said, using Mifa-no's expression for her shapechanging. "What of it?"
"The guard has received a scattering of reports this morning of sightings of a creature seen lurking in the shadows around the city last night. A few of the reports described a wolf-unusual enough in the heart of the city-but others described the creature as walking onto two legs, a human with the head and tail of a wolf." Manas tucked his thumbs into his sword belt. "In short, Moonmistress, the typical description of a werewolf."
Feena sucked in her breath. Apparently she hadn't been quite so stealthy as she thought. And if Colle had known the day before what she was…
The High Luck must have read her glare.
"Fortunately," he said, "word of the same sightings reached my ears as well. Naturally I went to the guard to offer my services and to tell them what I knew."
He tried to make his voice sound concerned, but didn't quite manage to disguise a gloating note. The priest had led the guard right to her.
"Naturally,"