For the moment, at least, she was too stunned to be really afraid. She turned to the w'woman. "Lady—can you help me?"
"Help you how?" the w'woman asked.
"To do what's needed—except that I don't know what is needed!" She hesitated. "I mean … I've been dismissed, but he said I haven't done anything wrong!"
The w'woman shook her head slowly. "Nothing like this has ever happened before. All I can tell you is that custom says a 'na who has been dismissed must make atonement for allowing @'s thakur to accept one who proved unworthy."
Dana was silent for a moment, absorbing that, then she nodded. In her
misery, it didn't seem too unreasonable that she should have to die just for being of no further use. She had tried to live by Sandeman custom; she couldn't change that now, simply because it became … inconvenient. "You're right, of course. But I can't do it myself right now, and I don't have a clan-chief to help me."
The w'woman looked at her with what seemed to Dana like approval. "Perhaps a clan-chief can be found for you."
"I'd … appreciate that." Dana licked her lips, fear beginning to emerge from her stunned misery, but her mouth was so dry it was little help. "I should talk to them myself, I suppose—at least if they'll talk to me—but I can't dial the phone. Would you, please?"
The w'woman nodded. "What clan?"
"I don't think it matters that much," Dana said. "Alanna first, if I have to pick one. If their chief won't help, just keep going until we find one who will."
"A good choice." The w'woman dialed the bedside phone, obviously a familiar combination, then spoke to the warrior who answered in High War Speech. Dana could understand only an occasional word of that variant of Classical Russian, though she could read and write it fluently; all she could gather was that the w'woman was asking for the Alanna.