Slowly,Trin nodded. “It is…what I deserve.”

“Forfalling in love and getting a little nookie? Honey, no!” Becca shook her head.“Think about what you’re saying!”

“Ihave to side with Becca on this one,” Charlie said. “I had no idea they wereplanning on maiming you.” She shookher head. “That’s going too far—way too far.”

Beccasnorted. “Too far? By any sane standards these people left ‘too far’ back inthe dust a mile back! We need to get her out of here—now.”

Charliefrowned. “Maybe you’re right. This really is way beyond the pale. I just—”

“Youwill not be taking The Defiled One anywhere!”

Theringing voice of Betina made them all jump. Trin turned, her heart heavy, tosee the high priestess standing there flanked by two lesser priestesses, botharmed with hand-held destroyers. Behind them was the priestess with pale purplehair.

“Iknew they didn’t belong here, your holiness,” she was saying to the high priestess.“I don’t believe they’re priestesses at all.”

“Youdid well to come and tell me, Lali.” Betina spoke without taking her eyes offTrin and her companions. “Who are you?” she demanded of Charlie and Becca.

“We’vebeen sent by the Goddess of the Kindred—the Mother of All Life—to help andprotect Trin,” Becca said, apparently deciding that honestly was the bestpolicy.

“Yes—she’sbeen punished enough,” Charlie put in. “So we’re going to need to take her backwith us now.”

“Ithink not. The Kindred goddess, yousay?” Betina frowned. “I have heard of her. A misguided deity whose supportersadvocate the forbidden practice of females and males mating and livingtogether.”

“Itmay seem forbidden to you but it’s normal to us,” Becca pointed out. “Can’t youtry and see anyone else’s point ofview?”

“Isee only right and wrong and what you are espousing is totally andunequivocally wrong,” Betina spat.“Not only that, it is blasphemous anddisgusting!”

“Well,so much for talking it out,” Charlie muttered.

“Thereis nothing to talk about,” the high priestess said firmly. She pointed at Trin.“The Defiled One must be taken to a cell for security until the Ceremony of Sacrificetomorrow. As for you…” She narrowed her eyes at Becca and Charlie. “You shall bothbe imprisoned in the dungeons beneath the temple while I decide what to do withyou.”

“You’llbe sorry for this.” Charlie’s eyes were blazing. “We were sent by the Goddessherself to save Trin!”

“That’sright,” Becca said, also glaring at Betina. “She sees what you’re doing to thispoor girl and she does not approve. Nobody would. You’re treating her like awar criminal just for falling in love!”

Thehigh priestess looked at them speculatively. “You serve your own goddess withmuch fervor and determination—perhaps with a little retraining you might be ledinto the light to serve the true goddess—the Goddess of Judgment—instead.”

“Don’thold your breath, sister,” Becca snapped.

“Yeah,I don’t think we’re interested in converting to the Nazi Germany of religions,”Charlie added.

“Well,you will have a night to think about it.” Betina snapped her fingers.“Guards—take them to the dungeons.”

Charlieand Becca looked like they wanted to put up a fight but with the muzzles of thedestroyers pointed right in their faces, they didn’t dare.

“I’msorry,” Trin whispered as they were led away. Though she hadn’t been able toagree with what they were saying, she was still touched that they had come allthe way from Earth to try and rescue her. She only hoped her new friends wouldbe treated more gently than she had been.

* * * * *

“Soshe refuses to come with you?” Thraceasked, staring at the viewscreen where the blonde haired woman, Charlie hadappeared. He had spent a restless night, pacing up and down the length of thesmall ship, itching to invade the temple and take Trin out by force ifnecessary. Only the other males’ repeated reminders that the Goddess had saidTrin had to make her own choice had held him back. And now to hear that she hadrefused to come…

“Sheabsolutely refuses?” he demanded.

“Shhh—notso loud!” Charlie hissed. “We’re prisoners here. If anyone finds out we managedto hold on to our communicators we’re in deep trouble!”

“You’rein prison?” Stavros pushed closer to the viewscreen.

Truthand Far spoke at the same time.

“Howin the Seven Hells did that happen?”

“Areyou in danger?”

“Notright now,” Becca said, shoving in beside Charlie so that her face filled theother half of the screen. “We told them we came from the Goddess so they are showing us some respect. I thinkthey think of us as misguided but possibly teachable.”

“She’sright,” Charlie said. “They want to convert us.”

“Convertyou?” Truth scowled. “To a religion of fear and shame?”

“Notto mention a religion of no nookie,” Becca pointed out. “Don’t worry—we’re notgoing over to the dark side here.”

“Nota chance in hell,” Charlie agreed.

“Istill don’t like this.” Far frowned. “Thank the Goddess you were able to holdon to a communicator when they took you!”

“Goodthing we brought them in the first place,” Becca pointed out. “It’s weird howthis temple is able to block our ability to think-speak to each other throughour bonds. I wonder what kind of stone it’s made of? It’s so strange.”

“Strangeand very lonely,” Stavros said softly. “I miss you, Charlotte.”

“Imiss you too, honey,” Charlie said. “But we’re not the ones in immediate dangerright now—Trin is.”

“What?”Thracehad been shifting impatiently from foot to foot, waiting to hear more news ofthe female he loved. Now his worse fears seemed to be confirmed. “I knew it!”he exploded. “I knew it—what have they done to her?”

“Well,they gave her a really bad haircut and scratched her up some,” Becca told him.

“Notto mention they shot her pet horses,” Charlie said softly.

“Theykilled Swift and Silk?” Thracefelt a stab of pain in his heart. “But Trin lovedthose animals! She spoke of them often…talked of riding on their backs andcaring for them since they were young.”

“Itwas a pretty bad scene,” Becca admitted reluctantly. “They made her dig a graveto bury them, too. She was…pretty shaken up.”

“Butnot shaken up enough to leave?” Truth asked, raising an eyebrow. “What is shewaiting for?”

“Well,she feels guilty,” Becca said. “Feelslike she deserves all of this—they’ve got her completely brainwashed here.”

“Shethinks loving Thraceis a sin,” Charlie added. “And she admitted that she still loves him—so shethinks she’s still sinning.”

Thrace feltlike he was going insane.

“Shestill loves me and that’s why shewon’t come to me? Oh, Trin…” He ran a hand through his hair distractedly. “Whatare they going to do to her? I have to get to her…I have to!”

“Well,that’s actually why we’re calling you,” Becca said. “We couldn’t get you lastnight because there’s no reception in the dungeons. But we’ve been brought upto a holding cell on the first floor. I think because they want us to see thisceremony that Trin is involved in today.”

“Ceremony?”Thracefelt an ominous twist in his gut. “What ceremony?”

“Well,it’s…” Charlie sighed. “It’s the Ceremony of Sacrifice. She, uh, has to choosehow she wants to be maimed.”

“What?” A red curtain seemed todrop over Thrace’seyes and he felt his hands curling into fists. “I’ll kill them,” he growled.“I’ll fucking kill them!”

“Watchout!” he heard Truth say. “He’s going into Rage!”

“Rage?I thought only Kindred could do that,” Becca remarked, looking alarmed.

“Youthought wrong, apparently,” Far said grimly. He grabbed Thrace by the arm. “Thrace,listen—going into a killing Rage won’t help us get Trin back!”

“He’sright,” Becca said from the viewscreen. “Now that they know they haveintruders, the priestesses have sealed the temple up tight. There’s no wayyou’re getting in here short of a battering ram or some kind of laser cannon.”