As they reached the end of the passage, however, he said, "I think Shar has held her hand over us, Variance. We've been lucky."
"How so?"
"The Selunites must have figured out what Cyrume intended, but they haven't taken any action against us. They didn't even tell the city guard."
Variance froze dead in the passage. Bolan continued on several paces before turning to look back at her.
"Mother Night?" he asked.
Variance forced herself to remain calm.
"You know something you haven't told me," she said.
In spite of her best efforts, her anger must have been clear. Bolan shook his head sharply.
"I only just found out myself, Mother Night!" His voice cracked with poorly concealed fear. "I have a client, a devotee of Selune, who comes to my shop to buy tinctures and medicines for Moonshadow Hall. She gossips, though I'm certain she has no idea who she gossips to. She says the guard interviewed the Selunite werewolf, but the werewolf claimed an alibi. The beast must have taken Cyrume's holy symbol too, because the guard has no idea that he was a Sharran or what he intended to do. Only the Selunites know. And we've been watching for signs of reprisal, but there are none. From what my client says, the Selunites are more concerned with some internal matter than with us." He spread his hands and repeated, "We're lucky. Our own plans can proceed uninterrupted."
Variance bit back a curse.
Bolan must have interpreted her silence as anger, because he quickly added, "I can see if there's anything more we can learn"
"No need," she said. "You're not the only one with a source among the Selunites. I'm meeting mine tonight and he's considerably better placed than a servant devotee. I'll find out what's going on inside Moonshadow Hall."
"While it still stands," said Bolan. He sounded relieved and particularly zealous after having avoided her wrath.
"Of course," replied Variance.
She flicked her fingers and Bolan continued up the passage.
Feena stepped into the receiving room and closed the door.
"She's sleeping," she said.
"Good." Mifano sat at the room's table, in the same seat he had occupied the day before. The silver-haired priest was dressed to go outFeena could smell the scent he wore from across the room.
Velsinore, in contrast, still wore the ceremonial robe she had donned for moonrise. She stood on the far side of the table, arms clasped behind her back.
"What happened, Feena?" she asked.
"I don't know," Feena said. She stepped up to the table and settled her hands on the back of a chair. "Julith says she left Mother Dhauna reading at her desk and went to her own room. She responded to Dhauna's screams just the same as the rest of us. She doesn't know what happened. I don't know what happened."
But she could guess. Dhauna had nodded off over her booksand another dream had come upon her.
Moonmaiden, she prayed silently, what danger could be so dire that you would risk killing a faithful priestess with warnings?
Out loud, she said, "I think she'll be all right in the morning."
Mifano frowned and glanced at Velsinore. Her lips twitched as if in some shared communication. Mifano looked back at Feena.
"We're not that optimistic," he said.
Feena's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Mother Dhauna is going mad, Feena. We all know that. After tonight, I don't think we can deny it any longer."
"She's not mad," Feena replied.
"Then what do you call it?" Velsinore asked. "Tonight, a seizure. Yesterday she hit you in the courtyard." "She didn't mean it."
"But she did hit you. Half the temple saw it," said Velsinore, her face drawing tight. "She's been acting erratically for the last month. Julith has been trying to hide it, but she can't hide everything. Dhauna spends all her time now in her chambers or in the archives. When we do see her, she stares at us like we're up to something. She's paranoid, Feena."
"Maybe she has something to be paranoid about," Feena snapped. "Julith told me youboth of youwere pushing her to step aside."
"She should have stepped aside," growled Mifano. "To me or to Velsinore. Instead…"
He left his words hanging. Feena sucked in her breath.
"Instead she appointed a rough, back-country werewolf as her successor," she finished for him.
"If that isn't a sign of her madness, I don't know what is," Velsinore spat.
Feena ground her teeth.
"Dhauna isn't mad," she repeated.
"Explain her actions then!"
She had promised Dhauna not to tell anyone about the dreams. Feena hung her head.
Velsinore pursed her lips and muttered, "I thought so."
Mifano cleared his throat and said, "Feena, you should know that we've sent to the House of the Moon in Waterdeep for advice. If the high priestess there agrees with us, we'll seek out two othersand Dhauna Myritar will be forced to step aside." He met her eyes. "When she is, her recent decisions will also be questioned."
"And I'll be forced aside as well," said Feena.
"You keep saying you don't want this," Velsinore said. "The night of the full moon, when you first arrived, you couldn't wait to leave again."
There was a hint of cunning in Velsinore's voice. Feena glanced at her sharply, but it was Mifano who completed her suggestion.
"You want to get back to your village, don't you?" he said. "Your loyalty to Mother Dhauna does you credit, but you have to see that she's not herself anymore. You're suffering just like us." He leaned forward. "If you speak out, it will be easier to bring her down gracefully and for you to return home with dignity."
"You want me to betray her?" Feena snarled through clenched teeth.
Mifano waved his hands, palms down.
"No," he said. "We'd never ask that. But you need to take another look at the situation. Dhauna Myritar might truly believe that she's all right, but she can't go on like this. Neither can we. Neither can you." He sat back and added, "We've had nothing but chaos since you returned." -
"You know as well as we do that you're not meant to be a High Moonmistress," added Velsinore.
Maybe Velsinore was trying to be soothing as well. Maybe she had meant the words as an expression of sympathy for Feena's situation. They didn't come out that way. Feena whirled on her.
"Is that what you really think, Velsinore? Is it?" She glared at Mifano and asked, "What about you?"
Neither silver-haired priest nor tall priestess said anything.
"So," hissed Feena after a moment. She stepped back away from the table and spat on the floor. "All right then. Velsinore, you can run the temple and keep the numbers in your accounts. Mifano, you can make nice with the other priests of Yhaunn and carry on your petty seductions in pursuit of donations. I'll be standing by Dhauna when she needs me most."
She turned and flung open the door.
"Feena!" Mifano called.
Feena spun around and snapped her teeth at him.
He jerked away, color draining out of his face. Velsinore flinched and reached for her holy symbol.
Feena could feel the wolf pacing within her. When she looked down at her hands, they were huge and hairy, nails halfway to changing into claws. Her face… she could feel her nose and mouth pushing forward into a muzzle, her skin itching with a fine layer of fur. She bared long teeth at Mifano and Velsinore.
"Am I not blessed of Selune?* she growled awkwardly.
She pushed the wolf away, drawing back her anger, and stalked out of the room as a woman.
Julith was in Dhauna's sitting room, trying to restore the scattered books and scrolls to some kind of order. She looked up as Feena strode in. Like Velsinore and Mifano, she flinched back, but Feena could tell it was only from the violence of her expression.
"Feena," she asked, "what happened?"