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place where the Goddess of the city speaks. She holds us all in the palm of her hand, and as her most beloved servants, it is upon us to best please her. What do you know of the gods, girl?”
    Galia shrugged cautiously. She wanted to please this woman. She knew that she very much needed to please this woman. She didn’t know whether she would do that best by being totally honest or by trying to protect herself and guessing at what the woman needed.
    “We had gods in my homeland, but they did not live in houses as great as this,” she said.
    The other woman sneered.
    “You knew the old gods, then,” she said dismissively. “You knew the gods of blood and bone, the ones who hunted the forests and ruled over nothing greater than the streams and rivers where they were birthed. Compared to the Goddess of Tenebris, they were hardly gods at all.”
    “They were enough for us.”
    The words fell out of her mouth before she could stop them. Her defiance hung in the air between them.
    The Oracle laughed. The sound was surprising. It was rich and warm, completely at odds with the cold woman who made it. She was still laughing when she got up. She crossed the room to Galia, and slapped her across the face.
    The force of it turned Galia’s head, the pain sharp and shocking. Galia realized distantly that it was only by some kind of miracle that her jaw hadn’t broken. She did, however, taste blood.
    “Remember that pain when you next speak to the Oracle of the Great Goddess,” the Oracle said. “That is the first blow you have from me, and if you persist on being stubborn and intractable, it will be far from the last. I can have you strung up on the wall and beaten until blood runs down.”
    “Yes, Oracle,” Galia said, her voice remote.
    The blow should have made her afraid, but for some reason, it did the opposite.
    She can strike me. She can have me beaten until my blood runs. But that is all she can do. All she has is my body. All she will ever have is my body.
    “Your gods were nothing compared to our great Goddess. You will learn that soon enough. You have the spark within you. I sensed it just as my own mistress sensed it in me. In time, the people will fear you, just as they fear me.”
    Galia stared, aware that her mouth was hanging open. The Oracle smiled at her.
    “The wheel spins. We stay on top or are brought down low. Let that be your first lesson.”
    “Yes, Oracle.”
    The Oracle examined her closely for a moment.
    “Go now. Rhea will return you to your quarters. At dawn, you will come to me and we will begin our work in earnest.”
    “Yes, Oracle.”
    Galia could feel the Oracle’s eyes boring into her from behind. As she exited and the door closed behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief. Rhea’s eyes drifted to her swollen lip, but the tall woman said nothing. Instead they took a different route to the one they’d taken before. In only a few turns, Galia was lost. But finally Rhea turned a final corner, opened a door, and stood aside.
    The room Galia entered was less sumptuous than the Oracle’s, but only barely. The bed took up most of the space, and she could see that it was a beautiful, carved frame, the bottom made of ropes that were woven into an intricate pattern to support the mattress. The walls were hung with lengths of orange silk brocade. On a sideboard were silver platters of fruit, roast chicken, and bread. There was a beautiful white pelt that warmed the center of the room, and across the far wall was a wide window that ran from edge to edge. When Galia crept up to it, she could see the lights of Tenebris blinking into existence as darkness fell.
    “It’s so beautiful,” she whispered in awe.
    “It is yours,” Rhea said. “More food and washing water will be brought to you in the morning, but you can sleep until then.” Then Rhea left.
    As the door closed, Galia felt an unfamiliar pang of panic. She knew the fear of being hurt or killed. She knew the fear of pain, hunger and