The blue light of predawn penetrated Pyre's closed lids. His head rested against something solid. His clothes were damp. He opened his eyes. He was in the herb garden beside the well! He must have fallen asleep drawing water, which meant he had not mopped the floors. Keeper, he chided himself, only I could fall asleep drawing water! Demerits were guaranteed now, and detention a strong possibility. Blast it all! It was too late to save himself. Might as well face whatever punishment awaited him. Cook Grayson was sure to box his ears and give him a good scolding.

Just as Pyre was about to pull himself up, he heard something scrape open, like a window. He pressed himself flat against the well. From the direction of the Inner Sanctum he heard the fall of feet. Small feet. Pyre peered around the well. A girl, in a white gown, leapt over the garden wall. Her dark hair was pulled back the same way Fand wore hers. For an instant he thought she was Fand and then he saw her face. She was not Fand. The girl saw him and her eyes grew wide. Those eyes were the same color as Fand’s. Urgently she whispered to him, "Please help me. I must get out of here. Which way?"

Which way indeed? He looked at the kitchen door that he had failed to close last night. She could not go through there. There was a path beyond the kitchen garden. It went straight to the pig sties. He pointed and whispered back, “Take that path through the gate. Follow it until you reach the third left gate. They keep pigs there and it has an opening in the wall where the muck is chunked out. You might be able to squeeze through. Its nasty, but it will take you away from here."

"Thanks." The girl ran through the gate and headed down the path.

Pyre felt shaken. She had looked so much like Fand. If only she had been Fand. Who was she and where had she come from? Females were not allowed in this section of the city, not even as servants. He glanced at the dark shadow of the Inner Sanctum. A window was open. Had she come from through the window? Females were not allowed in the Inner Sanctum, ever. At least that was what he had been told. A terrible thought hit him. Was she a thief? Had he just helped a thief escape? That would be just like him. Afraid he had just made his situation even worse, Pyre rushed to the back wall and scrambled over it. Fearfully he approached the open window. On tip toes he peered inside.

The sun had yet to touch the day with its full light. Though inside the room was dim Pyre could make out a single figure asleep on an ornate bed. He didn't know there were bedrooms in the Inner Sanctum. Beside the sleeping body were mangled loops of rope. The body rolled over. It was a man. It looked like-no it could not be. NEVER!

Terrified, Pyre ducked down. He felt suddenly ill. That could not be, that must not be Jerue. Pyre wanted to look again to make sure, but lacked the courage. With his heart in his throat, he backed away from the window. If that was Jerue, perhaps the girl hadn't come through the window at all. He had not seen her do so. Still he could not rationalize away the scraping sound he had heard. It had been the sound of the window opening.

*

That day, every time a door opened Pyre's heart leapt and dashed madly until he knew the person entering the room had not come to take him to be punished or scolded. By night fall, he was spent. He was also puzzled. Nothing had happened. Nothing. No one had called him in to give him demerits or detention. Cook Grayson did not mention the dirty floors.

During the evening meal Pyre was careful not to make eye contact with anyone. Also, he sat alone and spoke to no one. After the meal, when the last man left the hall Pyre sighed. The worst had not happened. At least not yet. Now if he could just manage to get the tables cleaned and the floors mopped without falling asleep, he would be good. Quickly he went to the well, drew water, came back inside and set to work. When he finished mopping the floors the front doors opened. He thought, This is it.

Seeing his expression, Loren Uhr laughed. "A bit jumpy my friend?"

"A little."

The laughter left Loren's eyes. "You have reason to be. Dr. Kran noticed at Supper. He wants you to come to the Infirmary for a tonic."

Pyre did not like tonics, his mother had dosed him with too many over the years. "I'd rather not."

Stolen story; please report.

"Doctor's orders." Loren crossed the wet floor and took the mop from him. "You sit down. I will rinse this out and then we will go."

Pyre sank onto the nearest bench. He rested his head against the wall. His mind began to drift. Weariness sucked him under. Dreams fast and vivid poured through him. The images moved so quickly they were blurs of color. His heart raced. Some one was calling him. He knew the voice. Fand! A different voice pulled him out of sleep. He opened his eyes.

Gently Loren said, "Come, we must go. You need more than a tonic, you need some privacy." He helped Pyre to his feet and kept a steadying hand on him as they crossed the Common to the Infirmary. Once inside they went directly to Dr. Kran's office. The doctor was not in, but this didn't trouble Loren. He pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked what Pyre thought was a closet door. He said, "Go in there."

Though he did not like tight spaces, Pyre was too weary to protest. He was surprised by the size of the closet. It was not a closet at all but a room. It had strange gray stone covering the windowless walls. The stone covered the floor and the ceiling. There was a narrow cot against the back wall. Loren closed and locked the door behind him. The shape of the door disappeared in the wall. He told Pyre, "Lie down and rest. You need some peace."

Pyre asked, "And how can I find it here?"

Loren swept his hands outward. "The gray stones that cover floor, walls, ceiling and door deflect magic and thought invasion. Your thoughts will be safe here and you can explore them and find where they lead you without having to worry about anyone probing you. You can also pray whatever prayers you feel the need to pray and no one will intercept them, but the Keeper."

"Can anyone monitor our conversation?"

"No."

As soon as he heard this Pyre asked, "Have you word of Fand?"

Loren nodded. "Yes, she is in Kammin Spire."

"Is she all right?"

"She should be."

"What do you mean she should be?"

Seeing his agitation Loren laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked him right in the eyes and said, "According to Appocca, Angs is kind to his concubine."

"Concubine! Has-"

"No Pyre, he has not violated her. She is safe until the moon reaches its fullness. Then-"

Pyre could not bear to hear the words, he yelled "Stop!" He knew where this was going. The moon, the blasted moon! So much about farming and fertility concerned the moon. It now concerned Fand. When the moon was full...if only there was a way to keep that from happening.

Squeezing his shoulder Loren said, "Resen is the best Pathfinder known. We must pray he gets her out. He is near the city. Pray and trust, that is all we can do."

Bitterly, Pyre said, "It is not enough."

Letting go of his shoulder, Loren said, "I know it seems so, but worry and panic, will not help Fand and they will wear you out."

The door reformed and opened. Dr. Kran entered. He stepped inside and the door once again vanished. To Pyre he said, "Ah, you are here. " He uncorked the bottle. A noxious smell filled the small room. The doctor said, "This will revive you."

Or kill me, thought Pyre. He took the bottle and drank it down. It tasted even nastier than his mother's tonic and he didn't think that was possible. With the back of his hand he wiped his mouth. "Disgusting."

"Indeed." Dr. Kran then said, "You did a good deed this morning. A family is very grateful to you."

Confused, Pyre asked, “What?”

"The girl made it safely home."

The girl. Had that only been this morning? He said, "She looked like Fand."

Loren who had been silent suddenly growled. His face flushed an angry red. He shot a look at Dr. Kran. "They always do." He started to say something else, but a look from Dr. Kran quelled him.

Pyre asked, "I think I saw-"

"Jerue," Loren finished for him. Angrily, he added, "From time to time he captures a young woman to test his celibacy."

Pyre asked, "What? Why would he do that?"

Loren started to say something but Dr. Kran said, "That is enough Loren." To Pyre he said, "It is a good thing you fell asleep by the well. Sometimes what seems to be a mistake to us may be divine intervention for someone else. Now lay down and get some rest."

Pyre protested, "I can't sleep here. I must get back to my cubicle before curfew."

"Yes you can. You are here by Appocca's permission you will not get into trouble. Now lay down."

"What about Jerue?"

Before Dr. Kran could answer, Loren said, "He is preoccupied with the loss of his concubine."

"Loren she was not a concubine." Dr. Kran motioned toward the cot. "Pyre, get in bed."

Ever obedient Pyre did as he was told. The tonic had upset his stomach. The talk had upset his mind. This business with Jerue was troubling. He watched the doctor and Loren leave. He tested the space inside his mind, for the first time in weeks he felt utterly alone in his brain. Immediately, all the thoughts he had been repressing rose to the surface of his mind like jammed logs in a river. One crashed into another.

For awhile he lay there dazed and gasping. It took awhile for his mind to sort itself out. Finally his thoughts all ran to Fand. She was alive, there was still hope. Loren had implied that Resen would be able to get her out of that Kammin Spire place. What if Resen failed? Worry and misery swirled inside of Pyre. He must DO something! He was working himself into a panic when Loren's words echoed in his mind, "Pray and trust." At present it was all he could do. He slid off the cot, clasped his hands and prayed harder than he had prayed in his life. Would it help? He didn’t know.