Loud bells clanged outside and Amara groaned. The sun had barely risen, she was in no mood to be awake so early. She got up and looked out of the window in her room to see occupants of New Chicago filing into a building that was four houses down from the one she was in. They were all wearing the same cloaks Amara first saw Joslyn in. Since she was still dressed from the previous day, she ran outside barefoot to see what they all were up to.  She silently filed in behind everyone, amazed at what was before her. 

It was a church, with the same color scheme as Joslyn’s house. Even the runners on the floor leading up to the pulpit were black. The ceiling was a beautiful mural of dragons and strong-looking women, all of whom were faceless. On the wall behind the lecturn, there was an enormous painting of Maiyara. Whoever painted it had captured her stunning beauty so well it almost looked real. Everyone that wore a robe took a seat on a cushion facing the portrait. Amara hung back by the door, the bells stopped and the chanting started. 

“Blessed are we, the followers of the Mother. May she spare us and save this land from certain death. We serve her eternally,” The group repeated several times in unison. 

They bowed several times and repeated the chant until bells rang again. Which must have signaled the end because everyone placed an offer on a shining silver collection plate and readied themselves to leave. Amara snuck out before anyone turned around to see her and went back towards the house. Joslyn was not lying about the dragon worship. The service was one of the strangest things she had ever seen. Maiyara was not just a Queen to these people, she was a Goddess. 

“I see you caught our service.” Joslyn’s voice made Amara jump. 

Amara blushed as Joslyn removed the hood of her cloak from her head. She fluffed out her black coils and tidied them. 

“What is going on in this place?” Amara asked while she watched her.

Joslyn removed her robe, revealing her normal clothes underneath, and hung it in her closet. “I told you, the dragons are to be worshipped, not destroyed. As long as we worship them and treat them with the respect they deserve, they do us no harm. The city of Athena and all the cities like it were and still are destroying that status quo. So we fight them. Soon, they will no longer be a problem for any of us.” She whipped around to face Amara with a stern look on her face. 

“Did the dragons tell you that? Did Maiyara brainwash all of you?” Amara crossed her arms. 

Joslyn bore an expression of disgust at the statement. “Absolutely not. People here before me believed this and it has been passed down to us. The dragons came 80 years ago and some believed they were a sign from the heavens. It made sense. How else would these mystical beings have come to be? While the government devised ways to rid themselves of them, others wanted to live in harmony with them. That is the mission of the Sacred Scales.” Joslyn walked inside her home, slamming the door behind her. 

Amara was glad she touched a nerve of some sort—nerves around here needed to be touched and eyes needed to be opened. Dragons were dangerous, serving them would not make them any less dangerous. Amara would have to find a way to convince them of this truth, slay Maiyara before this got any worse, and stop the Sacred Scales from spreading like a disease.