Astera waited until morning to describe the events of the previous night to Charis. There was no point reporting to her when it happened, Charis would realise she couldn’t assist and suffer further frustration. To what end?

“Mistress, are you awake?”

“Yes, I am just wondering if I should open my eyes or not?”

“Well keep them squeezed shut, I need to ask you something and I need you to think only about my question until you answer,” Astera replied. The playfulness in Astera’s voice relaxed Charis immediately and she could only imagine Astera’s cheeky smile, unfortunately.

“That sounds selfish! Thank you for the excuse to delay what I need to face just that little bit longer.”

Astera needed to regroup as Charis’ words hit her, realising the dilemma her Mistress faced.

“So, this may sound strange, so let me finish before you answer.”

“Would you sit on the bed? Your voice seems so far away,” Charis said.

The lack of life and emotion in Charis’ request concerned Astera, the swings in mood in a matter of moments a further worry.

“The behaviour of the Judge Knights and the Priests are not holy. They are boisterous, they are disrespectful and they attacked us last night, although it was amateurish and unorganised, which you would think was done by a few hotheads. The problem is Judge Knights are a serious Order and they don’t tolerate hotheads. The City Seers contacting Helice via Rhea are trying to identify which town they came from as they have not come from the City. They appeared not long after we arrived and no one knows from which town. Could they be actors or pretenders?”

Charis laid still and anxiety gathered within Astera while waiting for a response. Did Charis return to sleep due to exhaustion after a night’s slumber? Astera was about to speak to check, when Charis stirred.

“I think you may have the truth of it, we need to make sure though if we can.”

“Thank you Mistress.”

When Astera left her room Charis wondered if she should open her eyes. She kept them sealed as she would play the coward and put off being disappointed for another day. Open them and all doubt would flee, either blind forever more or happily surprised, although she didn’t have any confidence in such an outcome. Once a thing is gone, it doesn’t return. Halius’ loss still haunted her; he wouldn’t greet her, ever again.

“Thyia!” called Charis.

“Yes Mistress, I didn’t realise you knew I was here. I mean Yes Mistress.”

“You are Astera’s shadow and I knew she wouldn’t leave me unattended shall we say. Although we both know, you are my bodyguard and Astera would choose someone she totally trusted with her life let alone mine. So I need you to do something.”

“Yes Mistress.” she stammered, as she entered the room. They both did it! They knew things, no one told them they somehow knew. How wondered Thyia?

“Can we gain access to the roof of the Inn?”

“Yes Mistress, I think the roof will still hold us. I will leave some of my armour and my shield in your room to make sure.”

“Good, lead me to the roof please.”

“Yes Mistress.”

---

Dione and Helice were perched upstairs and gazing out of useful windows keeping a watch on the Keep’s Gate and the trail to Farstay.

“How are the preparations?” Helice sent to Alcmene.

“You should ask your Seer-sister, although I think it is fair to say the mysterious Judge Knights are the main cause of consternation for the moment.”

“You know I can ‘hear’ you both don’t you?” Clymene sent.

Helice and Alcmene both chortled internally across their shared Seer Link.

---

Astera called over Otonia to asked about the scouting the day before, there was too much happening to ask any sooner. She reported the bodies were decomposing, they were human, some farmers, some men at arms and others unrecognisable bodies with hardly any clothes. Burning them destroyed them well enough; it also made gathering any other information difficult. The armour and weapons worn by the Militia were where they left them, so they collected it up and added the recovered pieces to the store since both warrior-sisters were equipped again.

By this time, Thyia and Charis found a way to the roof of the Inn. The roof steeped and inclined to allow snow to fall away, the four sides rising to form a small rectangular platform at the top. The platform easily accessed by using a trapdoor within the small attic above the upper floor hallway. Charis climbed up first, there being standing room for two, at most three on the platform, a low carved rail held you there otherwise with a slight misstep you were sliding down the roof.

Thyia paced in a circle in the attic, her fingers locking and unlocking with those on her other hand; she wasn’t sure and she needed to discuss Charis’ behaviour with Astera. Charis didn’t stand, she slid across the platform and then started taking off her under cloth, which she folded and placed under her head. She then untied the wrap around her breasts, and pulled it away and added the cloth to her ‘pillow’. Charis wore a small loincloth; the rest of her flesh being exposed to the morning sun.

Charis asked Thyia to fetch her mid-afternoon, her closed eyes, unable to contain slowly forming tears.

“Mistress would you like me to stay with you?”

“How would you do so? With the trapdoor open, I need to part my legs or they would fall through. Do you propose to stand on the ladder, your head positioned to keep an eye on my loins?”

Thyia opened her mouth and then closed it. She was conversing with her Mistress from the attic and now wasn’t brave enough to climb the ladder. It seemed inappropriate, to stare at your Mistress’ loins while being on guard.

“Thyia, I can hear your brain clicking. Secure the trapdoor and guard from the hallway if you decide it necessary. Leave me to my deliberations as I am and will always remain in command of myself.”

Her words were matter of fact, worse, they carried multiple meanings, and Thyia couldn’t decide what to do.

“Mistress, I have been assigned your bodyguard, so I will stand guard and as you suggest in the hallway. Please call me if you need anything, I will leave the roof ladder in the hallway down.”

“Excellent,” Charis replied, cheerfully.

Was her reply a bluff, wondered Thyia, then realised she didn’t break her fast. She hoped someone would visit, to fetch some food to her and she needed guard duty relief as well. This reminded her Charis didn’t break her fast either. She nervously glanced up at the roof, wondering if she was going to hear a body tumbling down it at some point in the future. The horror of the thought paralysed her.

Charis celebrated the warmth of the sun upon her. The White Lady advised Charis if you wanted to call upon Judge’s favour or aid the best time was the middle of the day when he was strongest. Foolishly, childlike she thought if she prayed, for most of the day, with the Sun upon her exposed flesh she would observe a penance and hence gain a reward for her faith and belief. If by middle of the afternoon, the worst happened and she remained blind, she thought she could still exploit the height for another purpose.

While Charis enjoyed the sun on her skin, her circle, gem, ring, and loop were tingling; she felt an unexplained delight from them as they hummed, those under her skin surfacing, thankfully painlessly. There was never any thought they were alive in any way so possibly she was more sensitive to them now since the Seers were encouraging her in their ways. The last few weeks of travel, responsibility, and stress caught up with her, she slept deeply, coma like.

---

Otonia relieved Helice from her watch. She worked to a plan. Helice grinned, as she knew middle of the day was approaching and if there was one thing Otonia couldn’t do, it was cook. Helice took over the Inn’s kitchen and prepared a middle of the day meal for the Innkeeper and the warrior-sisters, distributing food to those on guard or relieving them. Helice eventually found Thyia, who ran for the outhouse.

As Thyia finished and exited, a boy stood nearby, quickly ducking back around the wall of the outhouse. Thyia followed him around. He nervously scanned about him; trying to make sure no one noticed, sticking to the side of a cottage near the Inn’s privy.

“The Baron needs to talk to you. He has asked me to invite the first one I see of you to follow.”

“How do I now you are from the Baron?”

Surprised by the question he went wide-eyed, searching for an answer, biting his fingernail.

“He sent me?” the boy stammered.

“Lead on then,” Thyia said.

The boy led her by a circular route around a number of cottages out of direct line of sight from the Keep. Instantly, Thyia reacted and rolled away. If her instinct betrayed her, she would look ridiculous and slightly embarrassed, dagger in hand with a stern visage, still Astera taught her to employ every one of her senses and trust them. Better to look a fool than dying foolishly.

As she was rolling and glancing back, a Judge Knight, in no armour, which is why he surprised her, was wielding a huge wooden cudgel and completing his swing miss. From the ground, Thyia threw the dagger now in her hand and was delighted Otonia’s training paid off as the dagger caught him in his exposed throat as he tried to arrest the full swing of the cudgel. He dropped the cudgel and grabbed his throat. Thyia grasped her second dagger and left handed stabbed at his exposed stomach. The slash landed to the left of centre, yet still hurt him. He stumbled forward, blood gushing from his throat.

From the back of the cottage, another Judge Knight started towards her drawing his sword. She left her daggers where they were and backed around the cottage. Thyia started to prepare her sling. He was closing in on her as she loaded a stone. She glanced up, not enough time she concluded, so balancing on her toes she prepared to throw herself left, right, or back depending upon her eyesight and skill.

Then he fell towards her, with numerous dagger thrusts up under his ribs. Behind him was Helice, daggers and hands covered in his blood. She stood statue like, eyes wide full of fear. Slowly her fingers unwrapped, a drop of blood following her daggers to the sandy ground. Staring at her hands, she started wiping the blood off her hands on her armour, unfortunately her hands ended up swimming amongst the blood already there. She wiped furiously to no affect.

Her first kill thought Thyia, as she remembered her own and quickly dismissed the ravening animal she was then. Thyia reached for her warrior-sister and embraced her, including her bloody hands without reservation. Then they heard a noise from inside the cottage.

“You will be well sister, we must find out who made the noise,” Thyia whispered.

Thyia broke their embrace slowly, ensuring Helice the statue could stand by herself, her muscles rigid. Thyia gingerly picked up Helice’s daggers and placed them back into Helice’s hands, relieved when her fingers wrapped around them and adjusted her grip on them. Thyia took the sword from the now dead Judge Knight and approached the cottage, the source of the noise.

As she peered inside, she saw one of the new initiates, longhaired, Dirce, tied and gagged. Recognising Thyia, Dirce started mouthing behind her gag and showing her tied wrists. Thyia placed her finger over her own lips and spied about the cottage to make sure it was clear before she approached Dirce.

Thyia quickly ungagged and untied Dirce and helped her to her feet. Thyia noticed Dirce flinch at the blood painted on Thyia’s armour.

“It is not my blood. Are you able to walk?”

“Yes, I was clubbed behind my legs and swept from my feet, pride hurt more than anything else.” Dirce stretched her legs as she spoke.

“Quietly follow, we aren’t out of this yet,” Thyia said.

She then peered out of the cottage doorway and checking on Dirce, they left.

“Mistress, I was about to be picked up by another of their order mid-afternoon, he will be here soon and find them.”

“We will not have enough time to clean up the mess and the boy has already run off to tell them,” Thyia replied.

“No Mistress, he was forced to help them and I overheard them threaten his mother. He may just decide to run to her and run away.”

As Thyia and Dirce exited the cottage, Thyia was relieved to discover Helice moving. She recovered Thyia’s daggers and then handed them to her, although Helice didn’t speak. As Thyia sheathed her daggers, Helice grasped and readied hers.

“Let’s see if we can make something of this. We will drag both bodies inside the cottage and cover up the blood as much as possible with dirt. I also appreciate why they choose this part of the village, the cottages are mostly empty here so we can observe them from a safe distance and check how they react,” Thyia said, welcoming the distraction of commanding and planning, still concerned about Helice.

Thyia hugged Helice and gently guided her daggers back into their sheaths.

“The three of us will need to drag them back into the cottage. You understand Helice?”

The direct question appeared to draw her back; there was work to do.

Thyia noticed two crossbows as they dragged the first one inside the cottage. She did some practice with the ones they acquired from the brigands although these were larger. The second body followed the first, the three warrior-sisters dragging it inside and they left with the two crossbows and quivers of bolts. Thyia and Dirce kicked some dirt over the blood beside the cottage from the two men and they, along with Helice retreated to a cottage nearby with an excellent view of the ambush cottage doorway.

Thyia turned to Dirce and asked her to practice reloading the crossbows.

“You need to stay calm and regardless keep reloading the crossbows until I tell you to do something different,” Thyia ordered.

“Yes Mistress.” Dirce pictured in her mind’s eye her spear and shield with Drosis, when she took time to fetch some food and visit the privy. Well she visited the outhouse first and ended up here.

“When they approach us Helice, can you see if you can gain an opening from behind and wield your daggers to attack if possible? You well enough Helice?” Thyia asked, pushing for a response and noticing how Helice reached for her daggers again.

“Yes, I think so.” Her hands found their calmness maintaining a flexible grip on her daggers, remembering the words of her trainer. She held her daggers ready at her waist, out of sight, thereby avoiding the possibility of sighting the blood on them, although she couldn’t ignore the stickiness.

“You will be fine, get busy, and see if you can hide outside of the cottage. They should be coming from the direction of the other cottage and he should come yelling when we try to stick him with some crossbow bolts,” she smiled, plotting death.

Dirce glanced at her and then kept practicing, concentrating on her task to ensure she held her water and not shame herself. While at least one of the warrior-sisters eagerly smiled at the coming of death.

“Mistress, how did you know … about the ambush?”

“Dirce, only Charis and Astera are Mistress, we are warrior-sisters and how do you think I did?”

“You heard him?” Dirce knew she was guessing, although it seemed the best guess.

Thyia kept watch and spoke to the ‘outside’, ignoring the social norm of facing Dirce.

“The boy was silent and jittery, not unusual for someone young. As he led me through the village the cottages were empty, one or two every so often, until here a group of empty cottages, again nothing too suspicious.” Thyia chanced a glance at Dirce to check she was still interested.

“Continue sister,” Dirce encouraged.

“With empty cottages, there are few smells, especially from the outhouses. So when I smelt a sweaty male pig, I reacted.”

Dirce didn’t need any special hearing to recognise the venom and bitterness in Thyia’s last words. Dirce waited for Thyia to continue, she didn’t.

They didn’t need to wait long, although two Judge Knights approached the cottage not one. Both stopped confused as they considered the dirt and blood mix. The first crossbow bolt missed and sunk deeply into the cottage wall. The problem with this was not only did it miss; it also provided a direction from where it was released. The Judge Knights gawked back along its line and then another bolt released, this one hitting. A solid hit to an upper arm, followed by a yelp and a curse.

They both charged the cottage. Another bolt, it also missed, Thyia cursed this time, moving targets were always more difficult. She grabbed the crossbow handed to her and released, they were several strides away now, and the bolt took wounded arm in the chest. He stopped dead in his tracks and fell backwards. His companion struggled around to the door and began bashing it in.

Both crossbows were loaded by the time he broke it down. Dirce and Thyia released at the same time, one bolt missed the other struck the door as he half carried it before him as a shield. He grinned as he threw the door aside and realised the pathetic opposition before him was one unarmed female and another with daggers. The cottage was the ideal size to swing his sword and leave his victims struggling to find room to dodge within it. Kill the one with daggers and capture the other at his leisure he mused as he stepped forward.

He felt the steel enter under his rib cage, both sides at once. Sliding through his flesh repeatedly, the final thrust tickling his heart and then he felt nothing as he fell forward. He reached the ground as Helice withdrew her daggers and prepared to strike again, although he escaped her further wrath as he fell out of range to the ground. When he hit the ground she realised her target was dead as blood pooled out of him and onto the cottage floor. Helice was once again with them, with bloody hands and daggers, her face blank.

“Helice! Now! Help please!” harshly whispered Thyia. Helice shock herself back to reality.

They went and dragged his friend into the cottage they utilised as an ambush site.

“It could have been worse, they could have been wearing their heavy armour,” Dirce said.

Thyia appraised Helice and nervously laughed, then hugged Dirce for stating the obvious. She knew when these didn’t return to the Keep they would send more and they would be armed and armoured. Then Helice threw up.

“Well at least your aim with that was poor, you missed us all,” Thyia said.

The three of them gathered the four dead Judge Knights into their ambush cottage and tried to cover the blood and any footprints in and around the cottage where they held Dirce. Judge Knights visiting and possibly investigating would waste time to solve what happened, it they ever did.

Helice stumbled to a corner of the cottage, lent against a wall, and studied the collected bodies, fixated by the blood and the death. Thyia wrapped her arms around her before she could slide to the floor. With a nod to Dirce, they transferred to yet another empty cottage.

“Keep a look out, please,” Thyia asked, pleased when she saw Dirce grab both crossbows and prepare them for use in their defence.

It took some effort to convey Helice into the other room as she slowly stepped towards it with Thyia’s assistance. Once in the room, Thyia chatted softy encouraging and convincing Helice to remove her blood drenched armour and clothes. When Helice was ‘clean’, she stared at Thyia and the blood on her armour and clothes.

“It is normal Helice,” Thyia said, removing her bloodied armour and clothes. With no discernible blood on either of them Thyia lay down beside Helice on the rickety wooden bed and embraced her as Helice slowly rocked back and forth in the foetal position.

Thyia turned Helice to face her, slowly, carefully and gently. She lightly kissed her then whispered to her; killing is a grief you cope with and it takes time. Helice clung to Thyia like a lifeline and returned her kisses.

“It was us or them sister and you saved us both times,” Thyia whispered, assuring her.

Through the open doorway, Dirce peered back, distracted. Thyia noticed and scowled at her, startled she returned to task.

Thyia and Helice were both committed to each other’s pleasure oblivious to their surrounds, Thyia to support her seer-sister and Helice grasping for distraction. The bed strained to contain their vigour, finally collapsing causing a momentary pause and laughter, guilty sultry laughter from Thyia, while Helice quickly returned to her distraction. Helice couldn’t grant herself any final pleasure, sensing instead for a sister, and sent her pleasure, her pain, and her guilt in a long desperate release, a plea for succour and healing as much as opening her mind again sharing with her seer-sister.

---

Alcmene paced.

“Have you lost contact with Helice sister?” Clymene screamed, in her sending.

“Yes, her mind has gone … I cannot touch or sense it.”

Clymene calmed, the shock of loss passing as quickly as it hit her.

“Is she unconscious? … Is she de…” Clymene sent.

“We don’t know, so stop imagining the worst sister.”

“We have no other to contact to ask.”

Clymene’s sadness evident in the sending, Alcmene sympathised as she shared the devastating realisation of Seer contact loss and no way to confirm one way or the other. Perhaps there was a chance.

“Sister, return to the house.”

“I am behind you,” Clymene said.

Alcmene spun around and hugged her.

“I have finished the preparations as I mainly asked Rhea to take care of the small details, the less time I am near the Temples the better. Also Apelles’ seems more than enthusiastic to take charge.”

“I have an idea, we need to get naked and wrap ourselves around each other to be one. There is one other we can contact. Mistress Charis.”

Alcmene didn’t need any communication; Clymene’s face full of doubt confirmed her scepticism.

“We can try sister, please Clymene. Try?”

The two sisters squatted, facing each other naked, their legs wrapped around their sister opposite, their arms wrapped around and their heads resting side by side on each other’s shoulders.

“We are one sister, do you sense our binding, is this what Rhea and Raisa enjoy?” Alcmene sent.

“Perhaps, let us reach out, we will have to make the distance, there is no Seer thread to follow.”

“Strength sister, Helice is gone and Charis cannot reach outside of herself, we know the difficulty so concentrate and search for them, imagine they are with us.”

Without a Seer thread, there was no path, no direction so they needed to extend their Seer Touch in every direction, they imagined a spider’s web, expanded, and extended it. Flinging it further and further away from them, they caressed Rhea’s mind and created a hole in their web around her and hopefully the Temple of Saph in Hillperch.

“Do you think Rhea’s presence is a direction so we don’t have to explore every direction?” Clymene sent.

“We can try; it would save time and effort to concentrate in one direction.”

After a bell, the warmth in their items distracted them and their sweat, proof of their effort made them uncomfortable. They skimmed a number of awakened minds, they weren’t Charis or Helice, and similarly they were closed, unable to reach outside themselves.

Dread, evil, selfishness, the shock brief, their Seer Web collapsed instantly, the contact unexpected. The mind they touched flicked questioningly and then the contact broken. Alcmene and Clymene slumped backwards, their grasps releasing, their legs splaying apart and sweat issuing from every pore of their bodies.

Barely conscious they both realised, not only did they fail they may have awakened an evil to their existence.