Page 71 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

Nobody laughed now.

When they'd joked that they were too old to be desired, it hadn't occurred to any of them that desire might not be the problem, but their age might.

"How old is too old?" Leehy asked.

"There's no set number. It depends on your physical condition, and you can improve it with proper nutrition and exercise. Doctor Bridget will examine you, and Doctor Merlin will design an individual plan for each of you. He has developed all kinds of elixirs to strengthen the body. His mate was in her mid-fifties when they met, and he did everything he could to increase her chances of a successful transition."

That lifted the women's spirits. None of them was older than that, which meant there was still hope for all of them.

"When can I get an appointment with Doctor Merlin?" Zohara asked.

27

BURDA

The okra was indifferent to what the humans did on the island. It wasn't bothered by the Sacred Mothers or the crazy rumors surrounding the disappearance of ten women and two children from the enclosure. All it cared about was getting water at dawn and shade at midday, and Burda gave it both, no matter what else was going on around her. Vegetables kept their own rhythm, regardless of rebellions, explosions, blackouts, and every other crisis the males on the other side of the wall manufactured.

"They doubled the circles." Mahra handed her the next seedling. "Morning and evening now. Mother Dassah pulled me aside in the laundry yesterday. She said a woman my age shouldn't carry water alone from the well when she could carry it with sisters."

"What did you say?" Burda asked.

"I didn't know what she was talking about. What well? Was it supposed to be some allegory?" Mahra's eyes darted to the pathway and back. "I just smiled and nodded like a fool. What else was I supposed to do?"

Burda pressed the soil down around the seedling. "When she spouts something like that again, ask her to explain. It was probably what she expected you to do. It would have given her an opening for a recruitment sermon."

Mahra froze with the seedling still clasped in her hand. "So, I failed. I should have asked. I'm so dumb."

The girl wasn't the brightest, but she wasn't stupid either. She was just afraid of her own shadow, and that fearfulness often rendered her mute, but not deaf. She was very good at collecting gossip because no one paid her any attention and people talked next to her as if she wasn't there.

That was why she was perfect for infiltrating the Sacred Mothers.

"You didn't fail." Burda gave her a reassuring smile. "You got nervous, and that was perfect for your cover. Let them believe that you're timid and afraid to ask questions. That way no one will expect much of you when you sit in their circles, hum their hymns, and report to me everything you hear." Burda reached for the watering can. "You can hum, right?"

"Of course. Not well, though. I'll probably mess up the tunes."

"So, you mess them up. You think anyone will care? As long as you fit the profile of their recruits, you'll do fine."

Mahra let out a breath. "There is a big assembly today after dinner. I was invited."

"Where are they meeting?" Burda asked.

"The dining hall. That's the only place big enough for them. You can come, you know. You don't need to be a Sacred Mother to attend the sermons. They welcome anyone who wants to listen."

"Of course they do. The more the merrier."

By midmorning, the little ones came, and Sensa peeled off from the group that was headed toward the play equipment and planted herself at the edge of the row with her little fists on her hips.

"You're not doing it right," she announced. "Saphira said slow water goes deep and fast water runs away."

"Did she now?"

"She did." Sensa pouted. "I miss Saphira. She was nice."

"She is nice."

Sensa shook her head. "Mama says that she's dead, so she can't be nice to nobody no more."

"That might be true." Burda kept patting the soil next to the new seedlings. "Some say that the dead are here with us, so we need to talk about them with respect, or they will do mischief to us."