Priestess of the White

“This is the dancing room,” Tide murmured. “Rozea has two or three big parties in here each year. Sometimes the king attends. Last year he—”

Her words were lost behind the clang of a bell. Faces turned toward the raised floor. Rozea had appeared. The madam waited until the room was quiet, then handed a large gold bell to Leaf.

“It is good to see you all in one place again,” she said, smiling. “So many lovely faces in one room.” Her gaze flickered around the room, then her expression became sterner.

“You will have all heard by now that Toren’s army will be leaving in a week to join the fight against the Pentadrian invaders. Many of our customers will be going to war to risk their lives for our sakes.” She paused, then smiled. “And we will be going with them.”

Emerahl felt her stomach sink. The last thing she needed to do was tag along after the very priests who wanted to find her. She would have to leave the brothel.

“Well, not all of us,” Rozea corrected. “Some of you will stay here. I’ll leave the choice up to you. We will travel as comfortably as we can. I have already arranged for tarns and tents to be made. Our customers will still be of the same quality and they expect a certain degree of luxury for their money.”

She smiled. “For some of you this will be a rare opportunity to travel outside Porin. You will also witness a great event. It is not every day you have the chance to see the White in battle. You may even, if you are lucky, meet one of them.”

Emerahl resisted a smile. Rozea was making tagging after an army sound like a wonderful adventure. There would be a lot of work, in rough and dangerous conditions. Surely none of these girls - and boys - were fooled by this pretty speech.

Her senses told her that the room was buzzing with excitement. Emerahl sighed. These young women and men know nothing of war, she reminded herself. There hasn’t been one in over a hundred years, from what I’ve heard.

One pair of eyes was not shining with excitement, however. Moonlight was standing to one side, her expression aloof. Emerahl sensed mild envy from the woman. Rozea’s voice became businesslike again.

“Those of you who wish to go, come to the front of the room. Those who want to stay behind, move to the back. Go on now. There is no shame in either. I need people to come and people to stay.”

Brand strode forward confidently. After a moment’s hesitation, Tide followed. Emerahl stayed where she was, near the back. As the room began to settle, Rozea scanned the faces of those closest to her. She frowned, then looked up at the back of the room. Seeing Emerahl, her lips thinned in disappointment. Emerahl felt her stomach knot. She tried to think of a reason Rozea might want her to come on this trip, but she could find none.

The woman’s attention returned to the small crowd before her.

“Thank you. Stay here and Leaf will write down your names. You may all have a day free to visit family before you go, if you wish to. Once again, thank you.”

She stepped down from the raised floor and strode toward a pair of doors. As she reached them, she paused and looked at Emerahl.

“Jade. Come with me. I want to speak to you.”

Emerahl smothered a sigh and followed Rozea into a large room furnished with an enormous bed fit for a king. In fact, she thought, it probably is for the king. The woman closed the doors quietly, then turned to face her.

“Why don’t you want to come with us, Emerahl?”

Emerahl signed and looked away. “I only just got here. I feel comfortable and safe for the first time in... well, a long while.”

Rozea smiled. “I see. What if I told you I have plans for you? What if I said that by the time you returned to Porin you would be the richest, most sought-after lady of pleasure in all of Toren?”

“What do you mean?”

Rozea’s smile widened. She took Emerahl’s arm and gently drew her to the bed. They sat down. “Moonlight is pregnant. I can’t take her with me, and I’ll need a new favorite soon anyway. The comments customers have made about you have proved me right. You’re good at your work. You have a quality about you that intrigues men. I want you to be the new favorite. Since you must be seen to earn the position, you will leave with the girls and take on your new role when we—”

“I don’t want to be the new favorite,” Emerahl interrupted.

Rozea’s eyebrows rose. “Why not? You will have fewer customers, and then only the best of them. You will earn ten times as much as you do now.”

“But Panilo—”

“If you have a special place for him in your heart, then you may still see him.”

“I don’t want to leave Porin.”

Rozea straightened and crossed her arms. “I’ll give you a few days to think about it. I have to warn you, Jade. The comfort and safety you have here must be earned. I expect you to come with me, favorite or not.” She inclined her head at the door. “Go.”

Emerahl bowed her head and walked out of the room. The knot in her stomach had grown into a hard lump of anxiety. She looked around at all the whores talking excitedly and sighed. I thought I’d found a place to lie low and hide. Instead I’m to become the city’s favorite mistress. So much for the anonymity of prostitution! She considered the options she had. She could leave the brothel now and remain in Porin, alone, unprotected, with limited money in a city half-empty. If Rozea pays me. Emerahl chewed her lip. Or I could leave the city with Rozea and the girls.

Rozea would probably follow behind the army, after the supply carts. The priests would travel at the front of the column, leading the army. Their attention would be elsewhere. But the priest searching for her might guess she’d take the opportunity to leave. He might stay behind to watch for her. This is so frustrating. I don’t even know if the priest is still watching the gates. She did not like taking even tiny risks. One small mistake could mean her death. She had lived a long time, and the longer she had lived, the more fond of living she had become.

Either that, or I’ve just become a bigger coward.

Then I must get over it. Sometimes risks have to be taken, or one ends up trapped and miserable. So which risk is worse?

Leaving the city with the whores might be a smaller risk than leaving by herself. If she was one girl among many the priests might not look closely. Then again, she might stand out as the only one whose mind was unreadable.

Unless, of course, they think there’s a good reason for my lack of thoughts. A good reason, like being dead... or unconscious.

She felt a shiver of cold run over her skin. Playing dead was not something she wanted to do again if she could avoid it. Reaching an unconscious state, however... There were many ways to do it, and not all of them were unpleasant.

“What’s wrong, Jade?”

Emerahl turned to find Brand approaching. “Rozea ordered me to go.”

Brand snorted. “So much for giving us a choice. Are you going to visit your family before you go?”

“No, are you?”

The girl shrugged. “Probably. I don’t like them much, but I may as well take the chance to leave the brothel for a day.”

Emerahl frowned. She doubted Rozea would allow her to go out. How was she to get the substances that would make her fall unconscious?

Then the obvious solution came to her. She lowered her voice. “Could you do me a favor, Brand?”

The girl smiled. “Depends what it is.”

“I’ll probably need a little something to help me relax on this journey. Could you do some shopping for me while you’re out?”

Brand’s eyebrows rose, then she grinned. “Sure.”

The warm updraft from the ravine bore the young Green Lake tribesman upward. He tilted his wings and