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Holdwas going to be working with theHarvestingTeam, gathering “theBloodof theMother” which was what they called the pancakes-and-syrup liquid everyone was drinking.Celiawas surprised to learn that it was harvested and didn’t just appear in the large wooden cauldron the way the food appeared in the smallerMotherpots.
Fiercewas being sent to theRepairShop, which was good news.Hewould be able to help out with the repairs to their ship and estimate how long it would take to be ready to fly.
Celia’sassignment came last and it was rather mysterious—the unicorn priestess simply read her name along with a list of others and added, “BranchTwo,” without saying what they would be doing there.
“Wait—that’s the branch where no males are allowed, right?”Fiercesaid.
“That’sthe one.”Holdnodded. “Doyou feel all right about going there, my lady?” he askedCeliaanxiously.
“Idon’t like it,”Fiercedeclared before she could answer. “Anythingcould be going on there—Idon’t think it’s safe forCeliato go on her own, without one of us to guard her.”
“Butwe have different job assignments and even if we didn’t, males aren’t allowed onBranchTwo,”Holdpointed out.
Theargument was settled whenSess’elycame up toCeliaand gave her a shy smile.
“You’rewith me today,” she told her. “Weget to work inSilkProductiontogether.”
“Oh, isthatwhat we’ll be doing?”Celiaasked. “Isit, er, dangerous?”
“Nota bit!Aslong as you’re not male.”Theunicorn girl gave a lighthearted laugh. “You’regoing to love it.SometimesIcan’t believe it’s my job because honestly,Iwouldpayto do it!”
Fiercestill looked suspicious butCeliafelt somewhat better about her mysterious assignment.
“Allright.Thankyou for letting me know we’re working together,” she said, smiling at the unicorn girl.
“Ofcourse!Youseem like such a nice person—Ihope we’ll be friends.Comeon!”
Sess’elymotioned for her andCeliawent to stand beside her.Sheturned to look at her guys for a moment.
“Well,IguessI’llsee the two of you later,” she told them.
“Wait!Beforeyou go…”Fiercegrabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her close to his broad chest in a tight hug. “Ifyou have any problems, shout for us,lelka,”he murmured in her ear. “IswearIdon’t care whereIam in this fucked-up place,I’llcome running.”
Holdhugged her next, saying pretty much the same thing.
“We’reattuned to you now,” he murmured, stroking her back. “We’llhear you so just shout if there’s trouble.”
Celiawas touched by their protectiveness.
“Well…thank you, guys.”Shesmiled up at the two of them. “ButI’msureI’llbe fine.”
“Notif we don’t hurry!”Sess’elystamped one cloven hoof impatiently. “Comeon, or all the good-tempered spiders will already be taken and we’ll get stuck with the cranky ones!”
“Excuseme?Thegood-temperedwhat?”Celiaexclaimed.
Butthe unicorn girl didn’t answer—she only grabbedCeliaby the arm and dragged her out of the dining area.
38
CELIA
Celiagot to find out firsthand exactly how hard it was to pull one of the sky-lifters upwards.Theremust be some kind of pulley system, she thought, but if so, it wasn’t a very efficient one.Herarms were sore by the time she andSess’elyfinally got toBranchTwo.
“Ugh—it’s always such a pain to go up and down without some of your worshippers to do the pulling,” the unicorn girl said, shaking out her arms. “Anyway, it looks like we got here first after all, so come with me andI’llshow you around.”
“Thankyou,”Celiasaid, smiling. “Er, where are we going?”
“TotheHolyWeb, of course.Comeon—it’s this way.”Sess’elystarted walking along the branch and as soon as they curved a little way around the trunk,Celiasaw what must be the “HolyWeb.”Itwas an enormous flat spider web with strands as thick as her fingers, laid out like a giant trampoline.
