Anna grew excited at her friend’s enthusiasm. “What is it?” she asked.

“It is called haoma,” Ruth told her. “When crushed with mint and olive oil, it provides an excellent cure for ailments of the breath. Can you take me to see where it is growing? Perhaps we can cultivate it in our garden.”

Anna was preparing to answer when someone began shouting in the corridor.

Ruth’s head snapped up. Anna’s heart skipped a beat as a look of fear shattered her friend’s face.

The shouting grew louder.

Ruth leapt up and rushed to stack the parchments in her arms. “Help me hide these,” she commanded. Together they slipped the manuscripts back inside the jars and sealed them. They worked quickly as the shouting increased.

Were they under attack?

Anna nearly jumped out of her skin when Sister Tabitha burst into the chamber. She was carrying a torch and grinning from ear to ear.

“Come quickly, come qui-quickly!” she repeated, stuttering in her excitement.

Ruth laid a hand against her heart. She, too, had been terrified. Unaware of having caused a disturbance, Tabitha led them to the great round room where they found the Sisters and Mother Susana sitting together.

Susana greeted them, smiling. “Join the Circle,” she said. “We have gathered to decide whether or not to send Sisters Shereen and Naomi as Awakeners.”

Anna felt hesitant as she sat down among the women. On either side of her, Sister Ruth and another woman gently lifted one of Anna’s hands into theirs. Anna gasped at their touch and her mind raced.

She was not qualified to join the Circle! She was not even a Sister, not officially. And she was nowhere near as wise or knowledgeable as the others. What if—?

Sister Ruth gave Anna’s hand a firm squeeze, bringing a quick end to her rampant self-doubt. Ruth then leaned over and whispered, “Breathe deeply and try to clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Concentrate on listening with all your senses. On connecting yourself with the others and allowing their thinking and intentions to enter you.”

Nodding, Anna tried to do as she was told. As the silence expanded and deepened, she began to feel a light buzz coming through the fingers of the women’s hands. It was like a binding force, a uniting, as if many splinters were joining to form a single board.

After a few moments, Mother Susana spoke. “We have entered the silence before Creation. We have entered the ground of the Goddess. May our bodies be still. May our minds be peaceful. May our hearts be open. May all that we realize today benefit all of Creation.”

Sisters Shereen and Naomi stood and moved to the center of the Circle.