I burned.
The castle was dark, but the stones were cool under my feet. I welcomed the silence and the
quiet. But as I walked
the halls the very stones began to warm, blistering my feet. The familiar halls became a maze
where I wandered, lost and confused.
"She's stopped drinking."
I stumbled into the kitchen. Anna was there, lying on the floor, sweating and moaning. Othur
was seated at the table, a mug of ale in one hand. When I touched his shoulder, he collapsed to
the floor like a broken doll.
"Her eyes are so sunken, like Epor's."
I fled, running, crying out to the Goddess for aid. When I burst into the chapel, the benches
were filled with the dead and dying victims of the sweat.
Archbishop Drizen and Deacon Browdus stood before the statute of the Lady, their vestments
drenched in sweat, dragging on the floor as they went about the service. Two acolytes, the men
in Rahel's loft, were assisting with the offering.
"Can you think of anything else to try, young'un? From her teachings?"
They all ignored my pleas and cries as they moved about the base of the marble statue. The
cool peace of the chapel filled me then, and I sank to my knees. The Goddess reached out to me
and with a glad heart I stretched out my hand to touch hers, wanting nothing more than the
peace of her gardens, there to dwell forever.
But her hand withdrew before it touched mine and it was only when I looked up into the
Lady's face that I realized that she was sweating too. Suffering as Her people suffered. The
marble moved then, the Lady raised her arms and called out to her husband, the Sacred Sun,
and the flames rained down on my skin.
"I's have an idea."
I burned.
* * *
"…Death of earth, birth of water..."
I burned.
The heat within my body was all encompassing, and there was no escape. It was in my blood, inmy lungs, and every limb of my body. I tried to lick my lips, to find some precious moisture inmy mouth, but there was none. My tongue was a dry and lifeless thing, and my lips cracked andstung. I could feel the sweat under my breasts and behind my knees, but it dried as fast as itappeared. There was only heat and I burned. I tried to open my eyes, to see what washappening but there were only blurs about me. Nothing seemed to have any substance exceptthe pain behind my eyes and the flames that licked my flesh. I tried to reach out but my handsgrasped nothing but dry air.
