Chapter 6

The Priestess

Hecate continued to be an inspiration to me as my training intensified. My lessons in dance and song gave us both a chance to come closer together. Hecate moved with such grace that it was hard to compete with her. I was not much of a dancer at any rate but she just made anything I did seem lazy and incompetent. She tried to encourage me as best she could, telling me that I had so much potential if only I could tap into the root of it.

On the other hand I excelled at singing which was something Hecate seemed very pleased of. If I had any trouble reaching a high note, she would press her hand against my stomach so hard that I'm sure she could've touched my spine, and she taught me how to project my voice and make it seem as if I were singing to everyone in the room individually just by the way I moved my eyes and my body.

If I showed any signs of being good at something then Hecate was the first person who encouraged me to become excellent at it.

____

I awoke one morning to find the chambers in a state of chaos. The young women were running around in such a panic. Their raised voices had stirred me and the others from my sleep.

"Selena!" Someone called. I rubbed my eyes of sleep and looked around. Selena's teacher was in the room and quickly ran to her student, "Selena, come with me now, we must get you dressed." Before my friend had a chance to respond her teacher had grabbed her arm and dragged her from her bed. Whatever was happening was of great importance.

I got up and made my way to Hecate's chamber which was harder than expected. Everyone was rushing about, and my position as a Follower was doing me no favours; the concubines had no issue with knocking me out of their way.

"Come on girls," I heard Isis' voice over the banter of the crowd, "No need to panic. Just get yourselves ready as quickly as you can." As hard as she tried there would be no order to this chaos and as she was so busy I decided it best not to ask her what was happening.

Just as I reached the last chamber before Hecate's, someone pushed me roughly from behind into the stone wall. My face smacked hard into the brickwork and I thought I heard a cracking sound. I pushed myself from the wall and rubbed my face as I kept walking.

I made it to Hecate's bedchamber only by staying by the wall after that. Her chamber door was open and I could see that she was already dressed, she sat crossed-legged on a cushion while trying to put her hair into a high style. I knocked on the wood gently and she turned to face me, "Ana, thank goodness you've arrived," She paused for a moment, "What happened to your face, my dear?"

"I was pushed into a wall..." I replied. She sighed heavily at this and turned back to her mirror to arrange her hair.

"A little makeup will fix that soon enough."

"What's going on, Hecate? It seems as if everyone were going mad." I asked as I brought my hand away from my face. It was not bleeding but it stung considerably.

"The Priestess is on her way here now. We only just heard a few minutes ago. I would imagine that she is coming to perform her check of us, to make sure we are worshipping our Gods in the correct manner," Suddenly she snarled at her reflection in annoyance, "Don't just stand there Ana, come and help me," I obeyed immediately and knelt behind her, taking her long black hair in my hands and helping her to lift it into the fashion she required, as we sat together I asked her about the Priestess for I had never met her before, "Truth be told child, she does not think well of our endeavours. According to her, our actions are sinful and without place in worship. Her idea of worship is bloodletting and sacrifice constantly. Personally, I do not believe in her morals," she stopped talking briefly as she finished handing me the hair pins needed to hold her hair in place then she looked to her makeup box and began pulling items out, "Ana, it would appear that I have exhausted my supply of face powder, be a dear and go acquire some for me would you kindly."

I nodded in the mirror and made my way quickly out of her room and back into the crowd. Still the concubines were panicking over their preparations and I struggled to reach the cupboard that held the vast amounts of makeup used by my Elders. Once there though I removed one of the glass pots from the cupboard and tried gingerly to make my way back to Hecate's bedchamber.

One of the other girls must have been pushed behind me, for I was knocked down suddenly by the weight of another girl. The glass pot flew out of my hands and I watched as time seemed to slow down in that horrible moment, the powder escaped its prison and landed entirely on a well dressed concubine... Not just any concubine... It was Dinah...

She screamed so loudly that it brought the whole of the human quarters to a halt. She was almost smothered in the white powder, ruining her own makeup, her hair and her dress.

Oh no... If anything I did was going to deserve a beating from Dinah, this was surely it.

"You foul little creature!" She screamed. She swung her leg at me and kicked me hard in the face. Whoever had fallen on me had obviously had the sense to run before Dinah could catch her and how I envied them for their quick thinking, "I should have you brought before the Matriarch for this. You're trying to ruin me and my reputation!" I did not have time to apologise before she kicked me again. She reached down and grabbed my ear, bringing me up to my feet, I'm sure she delighted in hearing me cry. She was about to smack me with the back of her hand when something stopped her.

Another hand came from nowhere and grabbed Dinah's wrist forcefully. We both looked in shock at the person who had intervened. It was Hecate, her face stern and her eyes full of fire.

"You will take your hand off my student, Dinah." She said in a calm manner, "You have no right to punish her."

"Damn you, Hecate," Dinah spat at her, "Your idiot student here has ruined me for the last time."

"May I remind you that I am Lord Kain's higher concubine? I have higher authority than you and I say that you will not harm this child. I am Lord Kain's property, this girl is my property which means that she too belongs to Kain... You would not wish to anger our Lord would you?"

Dinah wrenched her wrist from Hecate's grasp and then stepped away, looking at both of us, "This is not over." She said before she turned and stormed away, her blonde hair releasing clouds of powder as she spun round. The halls which had gone eerily silent during this time gradually began to come alive again as Isis told everyone that they still had work to do.

"It would appear that we share a common enemy, Ana."

From that moment, Hecate became more than my teacher and my friend; she became my sister.

I watched with my young friends from the shadows as the Priestess arrived. For a woman who would chastise us for our 'low' deeds she certainly did not mind dressing in a most provocative manner. Her robes were in many ways traditional but the design had been sewn in such a way as to reveal her breasts slightly as well as being cut on both sides from her ankles up to her hips; her hood remained up, covering her face.

We watched in silence as our Elders presented themselves and knelt before her in a neat row; only when they were assembled did the Priestess remove her hood. Dark ebony hair cascaded the sides of her face which was painted or tattooed in black markings to show her status, her skin was a warm, welcoming brown and I could not help but wonder why such a beauty would oppose our methods of worship.

She did not say anything, she merely looked at the girls before her who began to roll up the sleeves of their robes to expose their mutilated limbs to her, some of them unwrapping bandages that went up well past their elbows to display just how far their loyalty went.

The Priestess quickly inspected their wounds. Her eyes darting between deep and bloodied lacerations that stretched on and on. Her eyes fixed on one young girl in particular; she did not speak, she merely clicked her fingers loudly at her. The young blonde stood up, a little too pale in colour I thought but attractive none the less.

"Where are your marks of devotion?" She accusingly asked. We looked at the girl waiting for her response. Her arms, although covered in marks were obviously old and healing, at the least they were a month old.

The blonde girl reached for her robe ties and undid them, then she shrugged the heavy fabric off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor so she stood naked before everyone. Her body was a hideous mess, bloodied, red and raw from where her skin had been stripped from the muscle in several places, one of these skinless sections stretched across the whole of her back, exposing her ribs beneath the muscle.

The Priestess did not flinch at the sight although my friends and I certainly did. "And who do you serve?" She asked the girl.

"Lord Melchiah…" she said proudly with her head held high, "It is an honour to serve him." Nothing more was said on the matter.

The Priestess waved her hand at the girls before her, and they all took their leave.

The Higher Concubines stood in line next in ascending order of importance. Hecate and Dinah stood shoulder to shoulder. A fiery demon beside an icy temptress.

The Priestess walked behind them. She began moving the hair from the napes of their necks to reveal their markings. Each Higher Concubine was instructed to tattoo themselves with their masters' sigils, the back of the neck being the ideal place for such a tattoo, it did not invade the beauty of the concubine and also served as an amazing mark of devotion; if they are 'truly pure and with faith then their hands would be guided to mark themselves when they cannot see'.

Her Holiness did not remain long with each of them, a few simple questions were asked, like how many years they'd been in service, how many girls were under their care and whether they had new apprentices; she seemed intrigued to find out that all of them were training new Followers.

When she reached Hecate there was a difference in her behaviour. She touched the tattoo on Hecate's neck softly and then bent down to kiss the blank ink embedded in her skin.

"I trust you are abiding to the laws of your sect," she said, "Even a whore must still obey the rules."

Hecate laughed quietly at this, "My dear Priestess, in seven years my conduct has never been called into question. I only do what is requested of me by our Lord Himself," she turned to face the Priestess and moved her dark hair from the side of her neck to reveal the two puncture marks upon her throat, "Our Lord has never complained about my methods; in fact He relishes in them." Hecate's words were filled with splendour and lust.

Her Holiness was not impressed with the obvious display of debauchery and turned away from her in disgust.

"You sicken me…" she muttered, "What you and your sect stand for makes a mockery of our cause. The sacrifice is all that is important, the blood we provide the Gods with is what sustains them, not…" Her voice has become angry and has risen in volume but she had thought better than to make herself seem weak in comparison to Hecate which was a sensible decision, she turned back to my teacher, "I do not agree with your methods, child… But, your presence is requested by the Gods themselves and whether that is correct or not… You shall remain here until they say otherwise." Hecate nodded gracefully and then she and the others retired from their line.

The Priestess asked to see one more person before she went. The Matriarch. Isis obliged her in this request by taking her directly to her private chamber.

I walked straight to Hecate after the Priestess had disappeared from sight and held onto her robe.

"Why does she need to see The Matriarch?" I queried, "She does not offer sacrifice like us."

Hecate took my hand in hers and led me down the halls towards her bedchamber. "Dear child. That is a long story and one that is better heard after one turns sixteen." I hated when she did this to me, I was a bright child but she spoke in such riddles all the time.

We returned to her bed chamber and Hecate immediately sat me down on her cushions while we both sliced our thumbs to offer our sacrifice to the idol.