Shadowdance 01 - A Dance of Cloaks

know what I’m sworn into.”
    The faceless woman punched the last spike of the tent into the dirt with the hilt of her dagger and then stood. Without the wraps, her body looked far more relaxed and feminine. Her breasts actually had room to breathe, and Veliana couldn’t help but feel both jealousy and annoyance. To have that much beauty and hide it? What was the point in that?
    The thought of beauty stung her deeply. She ran her fingers along the bloody wound from her eyebrow to her chin. No one would think her beautiful now. She was a scarred freak. The eye, what was left of it, ached with every breath she took.
    Zusa watched her trace her finger over the cut, her lips curled into a frown.
    “We are the faceless,” she said, looking away into the forest. Her short black hair fell across her face, hiding her pained expression. “There are only three of us, all priestesses of Karak, and all expelled. We are considered slaves to our sex, so weak and vile that we must live outside the temple with the rest of the sinful world.”
    “What did you do?” Veliana asked. She forced her hand away from the wound on her face. It would do no good obsessing over it now.
    “I bedded a priest in training,” Zusa replied. “A young man named Daverik. We were young, foolish. When we were caught, he was given lashes and a ten-year penance. I was forced to become one of the faceless.”
    Veliana huddled closer to the warmth of the fire and let the words sink in. A beautiful woman caught in bed with a priest. Rather than deal with the issue, they forced her out, hid her beauty, and declared her vile. She felt anger stir within her stomach. How could she be sworn to become one of them? Why were the gods so cruel as to put her in such a situation? Again she promised vengeance upon Thren and his son.
    “Your sisters,” Veliana said. “They’re beautiful too, aren’t they?”
    Zusa nodded. “We all are. Do you understand why I saved you? To see another woman hurt, humiliated, her beauty stolen by a man … I couldn’t bear it. Better that you become one of us.”
    “One of the faceless.”
    “My faith in Karak has not wavered,” Zusa said. She sat at Veliana’s side. Gently her fingers traced the dagger wound across her eye. “I will see what Pelarak can do about that. He is our greatest priest and strongest healer. I must also have his permission to fully induct you into our order.”
    It was all insane. Thren might think her dead, or he might hear of Gileas’s failure. She couldn’t possibly leave James alone and vulnerable, could she? The guild needed her. James needed her. Karak was nothing. The Ash Guild was family.
    “I can’t,” Veliana said. “Please. I belong to a guild, the Ash Guild. If I don’t hurry back, Thren might destroy everyone I know and love.”
    Zusa tapped at her lips, her gaze momentarily distant.
    “No,” she said at last. “Not yet. You must meet the high priest. I must hear his words. But afterward, I promise you, I will give you a chance to save your friends. Can you accept this, Veliana?”
    The idea burned her stomach, but Veliana nodded in understanding.
    “So be it,” she said. “To the temple we go.”

CHAPTER
13
    P otts hated this part of his job. He could deal with Leon’s general slobbery, his impatience with setbacks, and even his temperamental, dangerous mood swings. What the old man could not stand, however, was informing Leon of current events while the man bathed in his wooden tub. Even though his rolls of fat effectively censored him, that only seemed to make it worse. Two pretty maids worked him over with brushes, scrubbing ferociously against his skin in between splashes of hot water. Through it all, Leon giggled as if being tickled.
    Master of the Connington fortune, one of three lords of the Trifect
, thought the advisor,
and yet nothing more than a fat child in a bath. If there are gods in this world, they have cruel tastes for amusement
.
    “I’ve been given word from the Green Castle,” Potts said after clearing his throat twice to get his master’s attention. “They’ve sent yet another wagon of wine from their stores, though they insisted we pay extra since we’ve already cleared out half of their vintage.”
    “Tell them I’ll pay them that extra when I actually get the blasted bottles,” Leon said, his giggles replaced by an annoying whine. “Those rogue bastards think to starve me of drink and food. It used to be just the city, but now the