Mistress of the Night - Don Bassingthwaite [73]
Feena gasped and flinched back. Her hand darted up to clutch the battered disk of her holy symbol. "That's monstrous!"
"And so the ancient New Moon Pact became the reviled New Moon Heresy, its members damned and the very mention of it erased. The pact survives only in remote inscriptions and barbarian tales, the mere mention of the heresy only in charges that take more than a decade to even identify." Dhauna closed the great tome and said, " Our Silver Lady shield us from such horrors."
Feena swallowed and said, "But if the priestesses of
Glister could even be accused of such a thing____________________" She looked up. "Dhauna, could the New Moon Heresy have been reborn here? Is that what Selune is trying to warn you about?"
"No," said Dhauna, a gentleness returning to her voice. "There's no truth to the Heresy. It was a false accusation-terrible, but false. The priestesses of Glister were caught by a shadow of a memory of it. And whispers of the Heresy in my dreams…" The High Moonmistress patted Feena's cheek. "A clue, nothing more. One I misinterpreted in my weakness. Heresy is a danger, but knowledge of the New Moon Heresy was necessary only to uncover the truth of the Pact."
"Then why did Selune send the dreams at all?" Feena asked in confusion. "What does she want?"
Dhauna's gentle smile hardened. "She wants me to bring back the New Moon Pact. That's clear to me now. She wants me to lead the fight against her enemies outside of the temples-and within it. My summoning of you, that was part of her plan, too."
Feena stared at her. "What?"
"Only lycanthropes could belong to the New Moon Pact." Dhauna Myritar reached up and wrenched with magic-enhanced strength at the neck of her robe, tearing it wide to expose her chest. "Bite me, Feena! Turn me into a werewolf!"
Feena stared at the High Moonmistress in shock.
"No!" she spat. "Dhauna, that's-"
"Insane?" Dhauna's eyes were bright and her cheeks flushed, but her voice was steady. "That's what you all think of me already, isn't it? My ears are still sharp, Feena, and in spite of what everyone seems to think, so are my wits. There are things to be seen by moonlight that sunlight cannot reveal." She moved closer, holding her torn robe wide. "Bite me!" she ordered. "You were the one my thoughts turned to the night of that first dream. Selune knew I would need you here to share her blessing with me! With it, I will be stronger, more vital-the Moonmaiden's arm!"
"Dhauna, no," Feena said. She backed away from the old priestess. "Being, a werewolf isn't a blessing. Do you know what would happen if I were to bite you?"
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't." Dhauna lowered her hands from her collar and said, "On the night of next full moon, I will take the form of a wolf, with no more than an animal's wild instincts. I saw it happen to you as a girl. We had to lock you in one of the chambers in the infirmary until the night was over. But you learned to control it, didn't you?"
Feena gasped. "I learned to control it, yes, but I was born a werewolf. The wolf has always been inside me. In you…" She spread her hands. "Mother Dhauna, the beast would rage out of control. Believe me. I've seen it happen all too often."
"Control can be taught."
"I-" Feena ground her teeth together, cutting off her own words. "No. I won't do it."
Dhauna hissed, "You have to." Her voice rose and broke. "You have to! Selune has guided us both to this moment."
"I won't!" Feena shouted.
Her refusal echoed in the sudden silence. Dhauna stared at her with hard, cold eyes. After a moment, she said softly, "I see."
"Mother Dhauna…" Feena began.
The high priestess just shook her head. "I feared this," she said. "You reject Our Silver Lady's call. I'm sorry, Feena." Her arm rose, fingers curled