This Red Sky

Chapter Fifteen

The cloister was a smaller, rectangular building attached to the back of the House of Gamorax. High marble walls formed a courtyard between it and the sanctuary of the Temple. The windows of the cloister were small slits covered in stained glass. Even with the flowers and vines that covered the walls, it looked strangely foreboding.

"It is here that I must leave you," Klodius said in a forcedly cheerful voice, at the base of a set of stairs that led up to a pair of heavy wooden doors. Two male guards stood on either side, and they crossed their spears as they saw the knight approach. Sonia pulled her coat more tightly around herself, even though it was hot.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, and then glanced up at the doors. "Then—then I should go."

She was halfway up the stone steps when she heard Klodius' voice.

"Mareka!"

God, what is it now? Sonia turned to look at him. The knight beckoned her back, and she reluctantly returned. The moment she stepped within arms' reach, Klodius snagged her arm, pulling her in close.

"Your beauty is wasted on the god," he murmured close to her ear. Sonia yanked back against his grip, but the knight held fast. "You can still come with me."

Sonia wrenched her arm out of his grip, holding the place where bruises rose on her skin.

"Leave me alone," she backed away and quickly ran up the stairs.

The guards relaxed as Sonia approached. Glancing nervously at them, she lifted the dragon-head knocker, letting it fall.

The sound was loud, reverberating through the interior. There was a minute's pause, and then a slit slid open, revealing an older woman's eyes.

"We are at worship! What do you want?!" she demanded.

"Um," Sonia swallowed hard, glancing behind her. Klodius slunk away, peering back over his shoulder. "I just came from the House. I'm here to join."

The eyes narrowed, and then the door was yanked open part-way from the inside. A yellow-gloved hand shot out, dragging Sonia inside, and the door swung shut behind her.

The only light came dimly from a yellow-and-green window, and from the candlesticks set into the wall. They were inside a dark hallway with plain walls and a stone floor. Unintelligible female voices drifted through the space, seeming to come from the walls themselves.

Sonia found herself looking into the glaring eyes of an imperious old woman with thickly curled silver hair under a yellow headdress and a droopy, pouchy face. She wore plain yellow robes, belted with a black sash. A candlestick was gripped in one hand, which she thrust in Sonia's face. The girl flinched.

"From the outlying villages?" the woman gripped her chin, turning her face from side to side. "Fleeing the dragon's wrath, I expect."

"Yes," Sonia said, pushing her hair behind her ear. She tried to look past the woman to the cloister within, but she stepped into her line of sight again.

"And what is your name?" the woman asked begrudgingly. Before Sonia could respond, the woman raised a hand. "This is the first day of your new life. What came before, the people you knew—unimportant. What name do you wish to take as a bride of Gamorax?"

Sonia felt almost relieved. This way, the false name didn't seem so much a lie.

"I'm Mareka," she said. "Daughter of—"

"What did I say?" the old woman smacked her on the side of the head. "I am the Matron of this cloister. You call me Mother. Come, the sisters are in our sanctuary."