Page 73 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

Burda pretended to hum with the others as her mind churned.

What did the Sacred Mothers believe was Mortdh's by right?

The only thing that came to Burda's mind was too terrible to coalesce into a complete thought.

They wouldn't sacrifice their own, but not every child in the enclosure had a mother. Some had been orphaned, and even though they had been placed in the care of other mothers, they weren't as dear to them as their own children. They were the most vulnerable.

Burda knew every one of those children by name.

That night, she lay in the dark of the dormitory building, and thought of her options.

She'd been told to call in two weeks, but she couldn't wait that long. She'd been told to use the device sparingly because using it too often might expose her. If she was caught with it, she would be the next apostate, and there would be no one to stand between the Order and the motherless.

But the moon was filling, and the children were running out of time. She had to get help.

It was still dark when she got up and went to the garden.

No one would wonder why she was there so early, because everyone knew Burda liked to water her vegetables before the heat came. No one would pay any attention to an old woman doing routine work in the garden.

She knelt by the east wall, where the mango leaves provided shade and partially obscured her from sight, and pulled the device out of her brassiere.

A distant humming made her stop and put her hands in the soil. She pulled weeds until the humming faded. Then she wiped her fingers on her work pants, held the device as she had been shown, and brought the speaking piece close to her lips.

Her call was answered by the same voice as before.

"Forgive me for calling early," she whispered. "It could not wait."

28

SULLHA

When Bowen told Sullha Monday evening that Kian wanted her to serve as the translator for Burda's calls, she'd been grateful for the opportunity to talk to her old friend and eager to help.

She hadn't expected her services to be needed so soon.

Now she was running to the office building, clutching her phone, and ignoring the perplexed looks people were giving her.

She didn't have time to stop and explain that Burda was waiting for a callback and that the clock was ticking.

By the time she pushed through the office building's doors, her lungs were burning.

"Over here!" A slim blond man waved at her from the stairs.

Great. Now she also needed to climb a flight of stairs when she could barely catch her breath.

"They're waiting." He led her down the corridor to the one door that stood open.

Inside, Kian stood next to an oblong table, and another man was sitting down.

Sullha bowed because she didn't know what else to do, and Kian was one of the most intimidating people she had ever met.

"Don't do that," Kian said. "Come, take a seat. This is Onegus, the Chief of Guardians. Onegus, this is Sullha."

The chief nodded. "Nice to meet you in person, Sullha. Heard many good things about you."

"Thank you." She was still struggling to catch her breath, and her throat was dry.

Kian walked over to a sideboard and pulled a can of sparkling water from a hidden refrigerator.