Ruth said nothing and gently lowered Susana’s eyelids with her fingertips. Silent tears streamed down and pooled in the wells of her cheeks.

Ruth and Anna spent another two days in Mother Susana’s chamber. They wanted to be absolutely certain that the marauders had left. During the wait, they collected every useful thing they could find. They gathered herbs and flints, goatskin pouches, quills, ink, blankets, dried dates, and a jar of olive oil. Ruth said it was important to take all they could since she did not know what they would find on the outside. She said this as though she knew they would get out of the chamber, though Anna had yet to understand how.

On the third morning, Ruth and Anna held Communion. They said blessings over Mother Susana and buried her, as best they could, with a sycamore seedpod in her hand. Then they sprinkled her body with wine.

When the ceremony was complete, Ruth stood and walked to the door. Anna expected to see her miraculously roll away the large stone. Instead, the Sister lifted a hand and pressed it against the wall alongside the stone. Anna recognized the motion. A secret entrance! The slab of rock rotated on an axis to reveal a long dark tunnel. Ruth lifted her lamp and motioned for Anna to follow.

Within minutes, the women found themselves back in the main chamber. They pulled torches from the walls and lit them. The flames cast an eerie light over the giant pile of rubble before them.

“Look!” Anna gasped. Sister Joan’s hand protruded from the rocks. Nearby, they could discern the dusty arms and legs of several men.

Sister Ruth knelt and held the hands of Sister Joan and one of the men. “May you all return to the Great Cycle, and yet be born again,” she whispered.

Farther ahead, the corridor echoed with an ominous silence. Gone were the sounds of conversation, the mortar and pestle, crackling fires, drums, the clack of the loom, song, and laughter. Anna’s scalp began to hum.

They approached the pantry with caution. When certain that it was empty, they stepped inside. Ruth gasped. Every jar, bowl, and pot had been smashed against the ground. Dark stains spread on the floor where milk and oil were soaking into the dust. A few dried figs and olives rested among the shards of broken pottery. The men had taken everything.

“Gather what you can,” Ruth said as she bent to the floor.