invitation. And not just to life, bur to join the circle. To join the priestesses of Eilistraee.
Halisstra's eyes narrowed. It had to be a trick of some kind.
"Trust?" she said - out loud, surprised to find that her ability to speak had returned.
She didn't need to let the scorn she felt creep into her voice; the word already held a negative connotation in the drow tongue, imply-ing weakness, naivete. She thought of the alliances she'd tried to build among her own sisters and how those alliances had been betrayed. She'd tried to reach out to Norendia, telling her sister about the bard who'd been teaching her darksong. A few cycles later, that bard had "fallen" from one of the city walkways to her death. Later that same cycle, Jawil, second oldest of the Melarn daughters after Halisstra, had made an attempt on Halisstra's life. When Halisstra had rushed to Norendia for help, she had been stabbed in the back. Literally. Thankfully, Halisstra's magic had proved strong enough to save her - and to kill her two sisters.
"Trust," she muttered again.
Behind Feliane, she could see the priestess who had slain the troll. The woman looked down, smiled, then stepped back out of sight.
Ideas flashed through Halisstra's mind, quick as lightning strikes. She could usebae'qeshel magic to charm Feliane into lowering her a rope then stun the rest of Eilistraee's priestesses with a painful burst of sound and escape. But each flash of inspiration left behind it a rumble of doubt, disturbing as the distant thunder.
Was escape really what Halisstra wanted - or had there been a faint echo of truth in the oath she'd sworn earlier? She'd been drawn to the World Above, though she hadn't been able to articulate the reason, either to Ryld or to herself. But now she was starting to un-derstand. She'd always thought treachery and selfishness to be indel-ible hallmarks of the drow, but she was beginning to see that there could be another way.
The drow who lived on the surface not only trusted one another, they were also willing to extend that trust to her. Even knowing that she had killed one of their priestesses - that she might do the same to any of them. Their faith in her capacity for redemption was strong, even though there was only the word of a dying priestess to base it on.
Or was there?
From somewhere above came the sound of a flute, playing a few soft, tentative notes. It reminded Halisstra of the sounds Seyll's sword had made when she was fighting the stirges. And of that single, piercing note that had at last knocked them from the sky. Had that been Eilistraee's magic at work? Had Halisstra already been accepted by the goddess, even then?
Feliane waited patiently, hand still extended, as Halisstra wrestled with her doubts. The elf priestess's entire body was glowing silver. Her hair seemed alive with sparkling stars, her smile was as bright as a crescent moon. The goddess had filled her, transformed her. She stared down at Halisstra with a mother's love, urging her to accept it.
Trembling, Halisstra raised her hands above her head, just like the figures painted on the cave walls.
"I accept, Eilistraee," Halisstra said. "I will serve you."
She felt a tear streaking down her cheek, and angrily told herself it was just a drip from the ferns above - then she realized it didn't matter.
Feliane, too, was weeping.
The elf priestess began to chant, and Halisstra felt her body grow lighter. The stone floor dropped away from her feet as she floated upward, drawn by Feliane's spell. The fringe of ferns made the hole in the ceiling look too narrow to fit through, so Halisstra crossed her arms tightly against her chest, making herself smaller. As she rose through the opening, wet ferns brushed against her face, forcing her to close her eyes. Her body squeezed through them, slipping out of the cave, and she felt dozens of hands touching her, guiding her. The priestesses were all around the opening, lifting her from the cave, hugging her, singing.
"Climb out of the darkness, rise into the light..."
Opening her eyes, Halisstra looked up and saw the full moon through a break in the clouds. The goddess's face smiled down at her, weeping raindrops of joy.
"Eilistraee!" Halisstra cried. "I am yours!"
"The goddess welcomes you into her embrace," Feliane whis-pered in her ear. "Now you must prepare yourself for the trial she has set you."
Ryld frowned, puzzled, as he examined the footprints in