The thought stuck in her head as she bid farewell to the pilot, who nodded sympathetically again as she climbed out of the ship. She brought only a small case which contained a single extra robe and nothing else. Apparently she wouldn’t be needing much of anything here at the Priory of Extreme Atonement—everything was going to be provided for her—from the bitter milk to the beatings, she thought dismally.
She thanked the pilot again and watched as the ship took off and disappeared into the pale purple sky. Then she was left, standing on the dusty road in front of the Priory, trying to summon the courage to approach it.
Taking a deep breath, she plodded over the hard-packed dirt road, which hurt her bare feet, and stood in front of the vast arched doorway. It was made of some black wood, which matched the dull black stone the Priory was constructed of, and it rose at least ten feet above her head. There was an enormous metal knocker on the front of the door, shaped like a humanoid head.
Elli couldn’t tell if the head was meant to be male or female but one thing was certain—it was in terrible pain. The eyes were rolled up in anguish and the carved metal mouth was open in a silent scream. The sight of it made her shiver and for a moment, she couldn’t bear to raise her hand and grasp the knocker.
I can’t! she thought wildly. I can’t turn myself in to be beaten and starved and kept in isolation for most of the day, every day for a year—or maybe two! I’ll go crazy. I know I was bad, breaking my vows, but surely I don’t deserve this. The Ascending Priestess Superior only sent me here so it would look like she was trying to get a piece of the Healing Lattice for the old Priestess Superior, even though she’s not. The poor old Priestess Superior is going to die because nobody cares enough to try and save her!
As it had before, the thought stuck in her brain. And then she remembered the words of the old Priestess Superior when Elli had last seen her.
“You take care now, child,” the old woman had said. “And don’t worry about what to do—the Goddess will guide you. She has promised me she will.”
But how will she guide me? Elli wondered. Guide me to what?
Slowly, an idea began growing in her mind. Could it be that it wasn’t the Goddess’s will for her to go into the Priory and be punished? Could it be that she was here for a different reason altogether?
“Maybe I should try and get a piece of the Healing Lattice for the old Priestess Superior,” Elli whispered to herself. If the Goddess didn’t mean for her to be punished, why else would she have allowed Elli to get sent to Pok?
But how could she go about it? She didn’t know anything about Pok—or the Tenebrian palace. She was barefoot and the dusty dirt road seemed to stretch out forever in front of her. How would she even get there?
“Goddess,” Elli whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “If you truly mean for me to go on this quest and try to get a piece of the Healing Lattice to save the old Priestess Superior’s life, then you have to give me a sign. Give me a way to get to where I need to go. Please, I just—”
Her prayer was interrupted by the sound of a woman shouting.
Seven
“Gee-up, Looney. Gee-up there, now!”
Opening her eyes, Elli saw a rickety wooden cart being pulled by a large, ornery looking zorel. Its front end was a patchy gray and the hind quarters were brown—a mismatch if Elli had ever seen one.
Must be a cross breed, she thought, her eyes roaming over the large beast. Its front claws were clumsily shod with iron, which looked heavy and bulky, and its arching back was bowed as it pulled the heavy load of thunder melons the cart contained.
Apparently the zorel wasn’t moving as fast as the hard-faced woman who was driving the cart wanted it to. She was whipping up the long leather reins, and shouting for “Looney” to “Gee-up, I said!” continuously.
Elli saw what the trouble was at once. The zorel was shying every time she put her left hind foot down. There was probably a stone in the heavy iron shoe nailed to her left hoof, pressing into the soft interior sole and causing her pain.
“Excuse me.” Elli stepped away from the foreboding door and its agonized knocker and back into the dusty road. “Excuse me,” she said again, waving at the woman. “But do you know how far it is to the Tenebrian palace from here?”
“Going to the palace, are you?” the woman sneered, yanking on the reins to slow the plodding pace of the zorel. “And what business might the likes of you have there?”