“Wake up!” Awlena cried.

She’d been dragging behind the rest of the group. Eyelids felt heavy but sleep wouldn’t come. Everyone was cloaked in white robes, but the air already chilled with the setting of the sun. They collapsed, yet for Awlena, sleep would not come. Then she took a step and the fatigue struck as her legs went limp. She fell backwards and immediately broke into exhausted wakefulness.

They had past the threshold! They made it! That stupid sleepless desert was behind them at last. But here they were, on the ground with the bitter chill of the desert night fast approaching.

Sleeping in the open under the stars might cause Vestor to catch a chill. They might even freeze if the night grew too cold. Awlena stepped out. Her hand abused her face with slaps as she struggled to stay awake. First, she dragged Vestor and nestled him next to Nadia. With sleepiness overwhelming her she stepped back across the boundary. Josh and Dew had fallen beside each other so she pushed them together in an embrace that had them breathing on each other faces. They didn’t stir so much as moment.

That stupid Darrel had run ahead! She needed to get everybody in one huddle. She went further from the border. But the further she walked the sleepier she became. Her head fell limp. She slapped herself but it was no use. Awlena made sure she didn’t collapse as she cuddled against Darrell with her head rested on a sun warmed rock. She hugged him close as they all slept.

Stones cooled as a high wind howled. As the diminishing moon rose above the three pairs who clung to each other. Nadia and Vestor were the first to shiver.

Grunts followed the sound of wood sliding over sand. Imps with a rough skin of leathery scales that camouflaged them amidst desert terrain approached. Each creature drug a wooden plank that served as a sled. They dropped the planks and rolled each sleeping individual onto one before dragging them further across the desert.

In a few hours, they approached the southernmost tower of Ambrosia’s Temple. A young man in priestly garb festooned with blue ribbons scanned each of the sleds. His light brown eyes laughed at the moonlit travelers in white cotton robes. He smiled sharply at the imps holding their hands out. One gold tether rested in each leathery palm by the time their business finished.

“Good work. Thank you for bringing them here. I doubt anything would be able to wake them for hours. They couldn’t have made it easier.”

The lead imp took a few more gold tethers as a bonus. With a quiet cry, they scattered back into the desert. The man rubbed his hands together.

“You first, let’s get you locked away in a nice comfy bed. And I’ll see about retrieving your wizard pendant. The master is going to be quite thrilled about how easy this turned out.”

He hauled Nadia over his shoulder and took her in the tower.

“This is going to be murder on my back,” he muttered.

Strong light streamed through a high stained-glass window that almost reached the ceiling. A blonde woman in flowing white robes centered the window; shades of pink, yellow and blue served as her background. Her arms outstretched in welcome toward the bed. A rectangular beam of light shaped by the window advanced to the bed from the edge of a circular burgundy oriental carpet; patterns of blue loops point formed points towards its edges. The light crept over a footstool lined with faded red satin. A polished cherry writing desk with a sloped surface stood nearby.

A shelf above was lined neatly with pens and ink bottles. As mid-morning approached, the light reached the huge chamber bed with a polished cherry frame. High carved posts flowed with dragons that curled as they flew upwards to a carved mongoose. The scales of the dragons were meticulously carved, and each had a whiskered snout.

The carvings looked as if they could spring to life, untwine from the post, and fly freely around the chambers. The mongoose threatened to jump down upon Nadia as she slept. Rays of light from the stain glass window spread around the room to color its antique elegance. The bedding was a covered pink canvas. Thin nets of white fell to surround the mattress in a protective embrace.

A large set of heavy double doors creaked as they opened. The old wood complained loudly against the hinges. A young man in long green garb decorated with a black pattern of elegant loops pointing upwards to his shoulders entered. He carried a brass pitcher on a tray along with some tiny brass cups. He set the tray on a small bureau by the bed before shutting the doors slowly behind him. With a gentle sway of his hand, the white netting enclosing the bed parted.

It bunched against the foot post. Nadia laid on her back. She had stirred momentarily only to fall back into a sound sleep. Dark hair floated over the down mattress as she breathed calmly. A gown of fine white silk replaced her desert robes. Her skin shone cleanly. Her right arm rolled outwards; it stretched to reach for the edge of the bed and exposed her underarm. The young man poured a cup of water for her, filling it half full. He crawled to her over the wide mattress on his knees. When he knelt by her side, he tucked his hand between her neck and the mattress and gently lifted.

It was the fourth time he had given her water like this, each time she had drank in a barely lucid state. But this time she awoke before the cup reached her mouth. She looked tiredly at the stranger kneeling beside her as he offered her the water, which she eagerly drank. When the cup was empty, she looked at this robed man who smiled so pleasantly. His shining brown eyes captivated her until she caught herself blushing.

“Where am I? Where are the others?”

The empty tin cup rested between the silk that clung to her thighs while she gripped its handle. The man slid away over the soft mattress, stood at the side of the bed, and bowed.

“This is the temple of the Tramen Fohar, my lady, and I am Drelnac, the last remaining keeper. Your traveling companions have been rescued as well. Forgive me for wearing priestly robes, as I am a humble keeper who did not want to waste such majestic garb. Your presence here is quite a shock. Forgive us if we aren’t sure of your intentions. Did your party mean to loot the temple?”

Nadia sat up but kept a grip of her blankets. The silk night gown was a bit much. Wait, had she been bathed? Where was her desert robe? What had these people done to her while she slept? Where were the others? Nadia struggled to remain calm. She had to focus on the most important question.

“No! We didn’t come to steal! I’m sorry, but I came all the way here to reverse a transformation. Did you once have books here, books that turned men into woman?”

“Yes.”

Nadia released her empty cup, which rolled toward the floor. It clinked against the stone heavily. Nadia lunged to her knees and grabbed the keeper’s collar, “Where do you keep them!?”

“Keep them! They were stolen long ago, you won’t find any here.”

Nadia left go and fell back into the bed. A dizzying fever took hold of her; she closed her eyes and sighed.

“Only a few months ago I was a man like you,” she said faintly, “I came across one of the books, and now I’m a woman. I’ve been a woman for almost an entire summer! I’m starting to lose my past self! I’m starting to like this body! You have no idea how important this is for me! But we’re here, finally, the temple. This is the temple of Ambrosia right? Where are my friends? I need to get everybody together so we can talk about what to do next!”

“Your friends are still sleeping. I assure you they are very well cared for. But you are exhausted and need further rest. If you bother to check your hands, you’ll see we’ve taken the time to heal some rather nasty flesh wounds.”

Her hands, the bandages were gone and her fingers and palms were healed smoothly. If she looked really closely, she could see the thinnest of lines where the deepest of cuts had been. Nadia tried to sit up on her knees so she adjusted her gown.

“Did you heal Dew! His leg is messed up! I couldn’t fix it properly and there might still be poison! I’m worried he might never walk again and-”

“He is being tended to, though his wound may require surgery.”

“Thank you. Please, if you’re a temple keeper I’m begging you to let me commune with Ambrosia. I need to speak with her!”

“You want her to make you a man then,” Drelnac’s eyes gleamed as he smiled gently, “In this temple you can easily give back what has been given. Of course, acceptance by the Goddess Ambrosia as one of her own is a gift; you reject the gift and it can never be given again.”

“Then there is a way! Let’s go! I never wanted this stupid gift in the first place; I won’t want it again.”

Dizziness struck her. The room spun as she struggled to remain upright. Drelnac pushed the center of her collarbone, sending her back down with the slightest pressure, “You need to rest a while longer, such a ceremony is very taxing, if you took it now, you might die. The full moon is a while away anyhow. Regain your strength first. I doubt it will take a healthy young lass like yourself long.”

Nadia sighed again, “It’s more complicated than I said, one of my friends is possessed by a demon. He used to be able to control it at will, but because of me he’s lost control. My powers keep his incubus subdued. I haven’t seen anything else work. If I turn back into a man now, I won’t have the exact same powers, so he might become a monster.”

“That would certainly complicate things. We don’t need a monster destroying the temple. But he is fine for now as well. He is being held nearby under our care in strict supervision.” Drelnac took the brass cup that rolled off the bed and set it on the tray next to the pitcher, “Which reminds me, I must tend to your friends awhile. There is water on the table for you. Drink as much as you need. I’ll bring a hot meal later. I believe there is a way to keep the evil inside your friend sealed without keeping you this way. I’ll consider it immediately.”

“Thank you,” Nadia whispered.

“You are most welcome.”

Large wooden doors shut with the sound of a latch locking in place and a bar sliding from the other side. Nadia took deep breathes. There was a certain lightness to her chest, as if a weight had been lifted from her. She slid her fingers across her collar bone to find the absence of any chain. Her heart beat frantically, but she was ever so tired and drifted into an uneasy sleep anyway. Her head sunk back into a soft cozy pillow.

The pendant no longer hung about her neck.