It was necessary time off.
Tarrin lounged in the baths with Allia while the rest of the Tower slept, letting the slight hiss of the hot water and the sound of dripping lull them as they laid on towels by the hottest part of the pool, soaking up the heat. It was needed time. Allia had been very quiet for the last few days, as she seemed to step back and allow Keritanima the room she needed to work. Allia usually wasn't that talkative, but it was still enough for Tarrin to notice it. She'd had to share Tarrin with the Wikuni, and he felt that she had done so with tremendous grace and civility. Allia and Keritanima were very dear friends, and he had seen that bloom in the last few days, bloom into the relationship necessary for Allia to accept Keritanima as a sister. But it didn't take away from the simple fact that Allia needed the same attention that Keritanima did, and Tarrin had been lack in his duties as her friend and brother to provide it. Allia's patience about the matter was very commendable, but Tarrin knew that it was time to remind her just how important she was to him.
Allia was his sister, but she was also his best, closest, and most personal friend. The love he had for her transcended normal definitions; he loved her as much as any member of his own family, and it was a love so intense and powerful that he felt lost when she wasn't close to him. It was as deep as a love could be between two people who weren't romantically involved. They were friends, siblings, confidantes, and partners. There was nothing that he couldn't tell her, nothing that he wouldn't do for her, and he knew she was the same. That intense trust, between two people that were naturally very suspicious, formed the cornerstone of a relationship that defied Tarrin's every attempt to rationalize it. She had been there for him when he needed her, and now she needed him. And he wouldn't fail her.
So he brought her down to the baths, one of the few places where Allia would truly relax, and massaged and pampered her into total contentment. Such personal attention was vital for her mental well-being, a very tactile and sensual assurance that she was loved and needed. Selani were a very sensual people, almost as dependent on their senses as the Were-cats were, because they lived in a world where the slightest misstep could bring death. By indulging in those senses, Tarrin put Allia's mind at ease, and it made her relax. She had been much too tense the last few days.
Allia sighed blissfully, her incredible blue eyes opening and staring directly into his own. "You do know how to spoil me, brother," she said with a gentle smile.
"You needed it," he replied. "You've been a bit nervous the last few days."
"It's the situation," she told him. "I don't feel comfortable being a thief. It goes against our ways."
"I know. I figured that was part of what was bothering you. But it was necessary."
"Yes, I'd have to agree," she admitted. "We aren't in a position where we can live by our codes. Survival is the first rule." She rolled over on her back and stretched languidly. "Besides, Keritanima did make it seem somewhat honorable."
"How is that?"
"By painting the church as an enemy of the katzh-dashi, who host us," she replied. "Stealing is wrong, but raiding one's enemy is more than acceptable. Until the Tower proves she is an enemy, I can find honor in striking back at her foes."
Tarrin chuckled. "That's one way to justify it."
"How do you justify it?"
"I don't," he shrugged. "I really don't care one way or the other."
"That's another way to justify it," Allia said with a smile, reaching out and nudging his shoulder. "What is this strange curiosity I see for Miranda?"
Tarrin looked at her. "I really have no idea," he replied.
"She is quite cute. I'm not sure how you'd feel sharing your bed with someone covered in fur."
"Allia!" Tarrin said in shock. "I don't feel that way about her!"
"You certainly feel something."
"I don't know what it is," he said. "I do like her, but something about her…sings to me. It's not romantic. I don't know what it is. I think of her as a friend, nothing more."
"She certainly seems to like you."
"I hope so," he replied. "I talked to Dar yesterday," he mentioned. "I think he's starting to get interested in Tiella."
"He needs a girlfriend," she said approvingly. "Tiella is a good woman."
"She'll be over here in a few days."
"I know. How have you fared without Jesmind?"
Tarrin gave her a strong look. "I guess I don't think about it," he said. "For some weird reason, I miss her."
"She meant alot to you, my brother," she told him. "I think that if your circumstances had been better, you would be married to her."
Tarrin sighed. "Maybe," he admitted. "She's too stubborn to make a good wife."
"She's just like you. That makes it a good match."
"Well thanks," he said with a snort. "How's class coming?"
"Much better now," she replied. "Yesterday I finally managed to understand the intricacies of weaving in multiple flows. I still need practice, though."
"Kerri can help with that."
"She's too busy with the scrolls."
"She needs to learn how to make time," Tarrin grunted.
"Like you made for me? This really was sweet, deshida."
"You're my sister, and you needed some extra attention," he smiled. "Besides, I longed to put my paws all over those places I'm not allowed to touch in company."
Allia laughed. "Don't start with me, brother," she warned with twinkling eyes.
"Maybe I just miss that about Jesmind."
Allia laughed again. "You're worrying me now," she teased.
"Just consider yourself lucky that I'm Were," he grinned, leaning up on his elbows. "If I were human, I'd be too busy staring at your bosom to give you the time of day."
"I get enough of that from the others, brother," she said. "I don't need it from you. What is it about human males that makes it impossible for them to look a woman in the eye?"
"Because there are better things to look at, I suppose," Tarrin shrugged. "Your eyes may be pretty, but to a human, they're not your most appealing attribute."
"Oh? And what would that attribute be?"
Tarrin grinned at her. "It depends on the tastes of the looker," he teased. "I've always been partial to tails. But you don't seem to have one, so I guess I'm left out." Tarrin snaked his tail up off the floor, letting it weave back and forth over his head to catch her attention. "And you can't tell me that Selani don't look."
"Of course we look," she challenged. "We just don't keep looking."
"That's no fun."
"Selani courtship is a serious affair," she told him. "Let's stop talking about this, before I start getting bad ideas and no way to carry them out. I'd feel dirty if I took a human for lover."
"No you wouldn't," he teased.
"Maybe not, if it were someone I respected," she admitted. "But I find humans to be…plain. They don't incite my interest."
"No wonder," he said. "What did you think of the teaching?" he asked, referring to the night of learning the basics of Sha'Kar.
"I noticed that it strikes a great resemblance to the Language," she replied. "Its structure is almost identical."
"I noticed. Maybe your people and theirs are distantly related. Some in the Tower think it may be true."
"It is possible," she said. "Our histories begin only about three thousand years ago, and our beginnings say we were a lost people, wandering the wilderness, until the Holy Mother's voice called out and led them into the desert, and into the true lands of peace and prosperity. Perhaps we are distantly related to them. It is possible." She put her chin on her arm. "But I don't think so. They vanished some two thousand years ago, and my people were firmly established before that happened. Had we been cousins, I'm sure there would have been contact and communication."
"Maybe. Perhaps we'll find out someday."
"Perhaps," she agreed. "Tarrin."
"Yes?"
"Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?"
Tarrin smiled. "I don't think you have to, sister," he said, reaching out and taking her slender, four-fingered hand into his huge paw, swallowing it up.
"Some things don't need to be said."
Keritanima was in a foul mood. She woke up after a long two days without enough sleep, and her shoulders throbbed furiously. Even the whisper of her red silk dress over those tender burns, that had blackened her skin and charred away her fur, made it feel like someone was dragging a wood saw over her skin. But in one way, she accepted that pain for what it meant, and what it did for her. They were the Selani brands, and they marked her as the sister in all but blood to a Selani warrior.
They told everyone who looked at them that she belonged.
She would gladly suffer that pain for the rest of her life if it meant that she was part of something that wasn't self-destructive. For her entire life, she had always stood outside, looking in through the window to long for what others had. She had wanted a family, but got the Erams. She wanted friends and joy, and got death and sorrow. She wanted happiness and peace, and got conniving, treachery, and murder. For the first time in her life since meeting Miranda, Keritanima felt good about something, felt there was a chance, that there was hope. It had lifted a tremendous weight off of her, a weight that had bogged down her soul for years. She had to keep them hidden, because there was absolutely no way for her to explain or justify them in the character of the Brat Princess, and in a way, that ate at her. She was proud of those brands, as proud of them as the Knights were of theirs, and she wanted the entire world to see them. But she had to keep them hidden, to keep up her appearances.
Keritanima's sense of peace only went so far to counter the effects of sleep deprivation and pain. She was in a truly black humor, so black that she stormed out of her rooms without saying a word, and giving no thought, no care, and no consideration to how others perceived it. The other Initiates were accustomed to Keritanima, so the word went out quickly that she had a look on her face that was worse than usual, and the hallways quickly depopulated before her.
Miranda watched her go, leaning up against the doorframe with Binter and Sisska behind her, a slight smile on her face. "My, that was abrupt," she mused. "It looks like you're in for an interesting day, Binter."
"So it seems, Miranda," he agreed in his deep voice. "I should bring a broom. She is likely to become violent by lunchtime."
Miranda chuckled. "May be," she agreed. "Binter, a boon of you."
"Yes?"
She reached into her bodice and withdrew a small note. "Take this to Jervis' office," she asked. "It shouldn't be too far out of your way, and I know you have little to do while her Highness in in class."
"I will deliver it after her Highness is in class," he promised.
"Enjoy," she told him with a straight face.
"Courage, my mate," Sisska said in a totally serious voice. Vendari humor tended to be subtle.
"I would rather battle an oni with my arms chopped off," he said soberly, then he went past Miranda and stalked out into the hallways behind the High Princess, to be nearby should she need assistance.
"I think this will be an eventful day," Sisska mused as they watched him go.
"Yes, I do believe that you're right," Miranda agreed. She looked back over her shoulder, and the five scrolls resting on the table. "A very eventful day indeed."
That day created a routine of sorts that became Tarrin's daily activity for the next month. The morning would be spent with the Council, as they and the Lorefinders continued to experiment and study, observing Tarrin's powers and trying to find a way to bring them back under control. The going was slow, because every attempt to create a weave strong enough to perform the task came up short, and the Lorefinders had to teach those weaves to the Council before each use, since only the most powerful of the katzh-dashi had a chance of containing Tarrin's raw power. It was exhausting for Tarrin, a mixture of effort, fear, and anxiety amplified by continued close contact with people that he didn't like. Of the Council, the only one he truly could say he liked was Koran Dar. The others all struck at him on a subconscious level that made him distrust them.
After lunch, he spent time reading in the library. Lilenne proved to be a wonderful librarian of sorts, and she always found for him books that were very interesting and also quite entertaining. She gave him books on High Sorcery and other types of Sorcerer's weaving, and that allowed him to understand how magic worked when it involved all seven Spheres. What his subconscious mind could grasp and use immediately, his conscious mind was slowly starting to comprehend. Though he couldn't practice, Tarrin learned a great deal about Sorcery through those books, for they taught which Spheres were used for which weaves, and explained the effects in some detail. If he ever tried to use them, it would only be puzzling out the magical strengths of the individual flows when they were woven together into completed spells. All of the Sorcerer's most common weaves were taught in those books, the same books that Inititates from higher grades were forced to read in conjunction with their organized classes. Weaves like solid air, to move things, warming the air, conjuring forth fire and lightning offensively, creating light, raising the earth, creating sound where none existed, controlling water, melding one element into another so as to weaken the first, like introducing water into rock to turn it to mud, affecting temperature in objects to make them burn, or cause them to freeze, generating barriers of both physical and magical natures, even the basics of how to raise Wards, and a very brief introduction to the conjuring of Elementals. The fundamentals of Illusion were covered, how they were mixtures of Air, Fire, Divine Power, and Water, and the tremendous advantages of them were explained in detail in a book devoted completely to the subject. Illusions were limited only be the imagination of the weaver and the amount of power he could put into it. The larger and more intricate the illusion, the more power it required, and separate weaves had to be made to simulate sounds and smells and things like heat from illusory fire. Tarrin absorbed it all, and he found himself getting sincerely interested in the idea of learning how to do all those things.
But his power was dwarfed by Keritanima's astronomical advancement. She rose three steps through the Initiate in one short month, awing and dazzling her teachers and katzh-dashi alike with her utter understanding and almost instinctive ability to learn, duplicate, and alter weaves. In a shockingly short time, Keritanima could perform weaves that full katzh-dashi had trouble weaving together, and do it with a precision that made them think she'd been weaving spells since birth.
The afternoon and evening was spent with Allia and Keritanima. Miranda had scribed the scrolls into a book, and then the scrolls were put back in the courtyard. And they began to learn. It went much faster than any of them expected, because the langauge of the Sha'Kar bore a very striking similarity to the Selani tongue. Its structure was identical, and many of the words were hauntingly familiar, as if they had been extracted from the same root word. They all learned quickly, through their own unique advantages. Keritanima, because of her eidectic memory. Tarrin, because he had an innate aptitude for learning languages. Allia, because the language she was trying to learn was so similar to her native tongue. But what they didn't count on was Miranda. She managed to learn it herself, through her scribing and being present when the others practiced. They all agreed that their accents had to be atrocious, but they had managed to gain a proficiency with it.
But it was incomplete. Without an alphabet, it really didn't do them much good in trying to unravel the mystery of the spidery Sha'Kar script. None of the books had that information in them, and it forced Keritanima to begin making preparations to do what nobody had done in a thousand years…break the code of the Sha'Kar writing. She would have a distinct advantage over every other person who attempted it, because she could speak the language, and would be able to recognize words if she could puzzle out their letters. The written form they had used to learn it was phoneticized, Sha'Kar words written using the letters of the Common tongue's alphabet, so the learner could pick up pronunciation and inflection correctly. There was no relationship between the two's written languages, and that was why it wasn't going to be easy.
Tarrin made use of his ability to leave the grounds, and visited his family every four days. He was always careful to take only Dolanna, and he always left them in various places around the city while he went to go see his family. They had decided to take Anrak up on his offer, and spend the winter in Ungardt lands. Anrak was waiting for a break in the stormy early winter, trying for a few clear days that would let him get up to Tykarthian ports before the next storm, and port-hop his way home.
It was the day of that departure that Tarrin broke his routine and slipped out of the Tower in the pre-dawn hours, then ghosted his way through snowbound streets in Suld. They planned to leave on the highest tide, taking advantage of a clearing of the usually cloudy skies and constant mixture of rain and snow that made Suld famous for bad winters. It had been cold enough to make it snow for the last five days, and it had managed to pile up to impressive levels along the sides of the streets.
By the time he reached the house, they were already packed and waiting on some of Tomas' men to pack their belongings on a sled. Jenna looked miserable in her heavy furs and cloak, with a red nose and eyes that told him she'd been crying. Jenna and Janette had become quite close, and now they were separating. Tarrin hugged his mother and father, then picked up Jenna and held her in his arm as he greeted Tomas and Janine. Janette was still in bed, for they didn't want to wake her up and put her through the goodbyes. She had said her goodbyes before bed the night before.
"Looks like this is it," Tarrin told his mother.
She nodded. "It'll be good to visit home," she said. "I was worried that Jenna wouldn't be able to see her birthright."
"I'm going to be cold," Eron complained.
"Live with it," Elke told her husband. "You agreed to it."
He chuckled ruefully. "I know, but I'll still be cold."
"When are you planning on coming back?" Tarrin asked.
"Next fall," she replied. "I think we'll go back to Aldreth. It was nice to live in Suld, but I miss the village life."
"There are a number of villages on the coast, mother."
"I know, but Aldreth is our home. I don't think your father and I would really feel comfortable in some other village."
"No, I won't," Eron agreed. "Aldreth is the place for us, son. It took leaving it to really ram that home."
"At least I'll know where to go when all this is over," he said with a smile.
"We're ready to go!" Tomas called from the sled.
"Well, this is it," Elke said, embracing her son. "You take care of yourself. And write to us."
"I'll try," he promised, hugging her back. He turned and embraced his father, clapping him on the back. "You stay warm."
"I'll be spending the winter by the fire," he laughed. "You just stay well."
"I will." He cuddled Jenna close, then tapped her on the nose. "You stay out of trouble, stripling," he told her. "Mind our parents. And no using Sorcery on your cousins!"
"I'll be careful, I promise," she said with total insincerity. Jenna had learned some simple Mind weaves, especially one that made people take her suggestions as good ideas, and try to carry them out. That had already gotten her spanked about five times. A willful teen with the power to make others do what she wanted was a very bad combination.
"I mean it," he warned. "If mother and father tell me you're tampering, I'll come up there and kick your butt."
"They won't, I promise," she said with a grin.
Tarrin carried Jenna just a little ways off from their parents, to look at the sled. He set her down and looked at her for a long moment. Jenna, his sister. She was already blossoming into a lovely young woman, and she had a maturity to match her skills with her magical power. But she was also a child, and a child that Tarrin trusted. He and Jenna had always been close, even though they did fight as often as other siblings. She was leaving, and with his life ahead of him uncertain, she was a good friend to have. "Jenna, I want you to do something for me."
"What, Tarrin?" she asked.
He reached under his red Initiate shirt and pulled out a small wooden box. "I want you to take care of this for me," he said. "It has some things in it I've owned for a long time, interesting little things I found in the forest. I don't know where I'm going to be this time next year, and I really don't want to lose these. Would you take care of them for me?"
"Of course I will," she promised, taking the box. "May I?"
"Go ahead," he said, and she opened the box. "Wow, Tarrin, these are really neat," she said, holding up the gossamer wing. "What kind of insect owned this?"
"I have no idea," he said. "That's why I've kept it. Someday, maybe I'll find out."
"Who knows?" she said, putting it back in and closing the box. She slipped it into a small pack that probably held some of her personal belongings. "I'll take good care of it, Tarrin," she promised. "It'll be just fine."
"I hope so, brat," he said with a teasing smile, picking her back up again and whirling her around, making her giggle, then carrying her back over to his parents.
"Why didn't you bring Allia, Tarrin? I wanted to say goodbye," Elke complained when they returned.
"She's asleep, and she needs to sleep," he replied calmly. "I'll tell her for you, mother. Now you have to go, before Grandfather tans your backside for making him miss the tide."
After one more round of kisses and hugs, he watched his precious family pile into the sled, and with Tomas, start off for the harbor. Janine, with a heavy robe around her to ward off the chill, stood on the porch beside him, watching them go. "They'll be alright, Tarrin," she assured him.
"I know," he sighed. "Mother and father have always made their own luck, Janine. Now that they're out of the line of fire, they'll be just fine. I'm more worried about me."
"You have time to come in for some breakfast? I'll have Deris make you some pancakes."
"No, this wasn't a sanctioned visit, Janine," he told her. "I'm going to get in trouble for this as it is. I have to get back. I just wanted to be here to say goodbye."
Janine patted him on the arm. "A year isn't all that long, Tarrin. You'll probably be there to welcome them back where they call home."
"I hope so, Janine," he said soberly. "I really hope so."
The game of Beri Bally Bell that Miranda and Jervis cooked up had taken time to develop. But it was the nature of spies and other perpetrators of intrigue to have a great deal of patience. Splitting time between her scribing duty and her planning, Miranda had managed to work out most of the details with her rabbit Wikuni counterpart in just a few days. The real time came from pulling back their people and preparing them for the mission at hand. The sudden pullback of spies on the grounds and in the city had confused Ahiriya, but it did not stop her from her aggressive blockade of all useful information, nor did it stop her hunters from trying to root out and destroy the agents the Wikuni pair had laced through the Tower, Court, or among the parlors of the noble houses.
It began later that day, when a certain agent belonging to Jervis was spotted by a Royal guard slipping quietly out of the office of Duncan, the Keeper's personal secretary. Inspection of the office had revealed several drawers and cabinets had been opened and rifled, drawers and cabinets that held sensitive information. This incensed Ahiriya, and she sent out her people to totally disrupt all operations in the Tower.
She had taken the bait.
Miranda had seemed rather smug that afternoon, as she sat quietly on a stone bench in the courtyard as Keritanima read from the book, teaching Tarrin and Allia more and more words from the Sha'Kar tongue. She had a needlework hoop in her lap, and her small needle flashed rhythmically back and forth as her precise hands created an intricate geometric pattern in one of Keritanima's frilly dresses. Keritanima, ever in tune with the subtleties of her oldest friend's moods, seemed irritated by Miranda the entire session. By the time the sun began to creep behind the living wall forming the boundary of the hidden courtyard, she looked almost completely exasperated.
The courtyard itself had become one of the Tower's great mysteries to Ahiriya and many others. They knew that Tarrin, Allia, and Keritanima disappeared into the maze for hours at a time. They knew that they had to be doing something in there for such a long period of time every day. Scouts, trailers, even attempts to follow them from the tops of the Tower all failed, however, because Tarrin and Allia knew how to cover signs of their passage, and the magic surrounding the courtyard hid it from probing eyes. People sent in to follow the trio were always left lost, wandering the maze for hours themselves, just to try to find the way out. The maze was huge, and it was very deceptive. Only a handful of people on the grounds knew their way along every twist and turn. The only ones that weren't Tarrin, Keritanima, Allia, or Miranda happened to be the four gardeners that kept the hedgerow walls neat and trimmed. And they swore up and down repeatedly that there was no courtyard within the maze, and there was nowhere other than a walkway itself where the three could go. It drove Ahiriya crazy, and it also stretched Keritanima's little game very thin.
The other thing had been the brands. Keritanima had always been very careful never to let others see them, but they had finally been seen that morning. Tarrin hadn't been the only one to leave early. She had visited the baths, and had the bad luck of crossing paths with a patrol of guards wearing nothing but a towel. The brands were in plain sight, for her fur wouldn't grow back over them, and she had little doubt that Jervis would have a report on his desk concerning them by morning. They had already talked it out, and she wasn't that worried about it. "We're starting to run out of time," she told them calmly after debating the issue. "They're moving quickly, and so are we. If I have to reveal myself, then so be it, because I have no intention of going back."
And that was that.
"And what are you so happy about?" Keritanima finally exploded at Miranda when they finished at sunset.
"Oh, nothing," she replied with a mild smile. "I've been working out a little deal with Jervis. It should be going off any minute now."
"You did what?" she gasped.
"Oh, come now, Highness, it's not like I haven't gone behind your back before," she said with a cheeky grin. "Jervis and I had an idea, and we decided to go with it. We should have the upper hand in the Tower and the city by morning."
"And what marvelous plan is this?"
"Oh, one of Jervis' men sacked Duncan's office," she said, biting the thread in two. "That made Ahiriya angry, and she overreacted, as usual. We're already in place to make her pay for it."
Keritanima blinked, and then she laughed. "Miranda! That's so blunt!"
"Yes, it was," she smiled. "Sometimes brute force does have advantages."
She laughed again. "I think I can live with Ahiriya's displeasure," she grinned.
"What difference does that make to us?" Allia asked.
"When Ahiriya goes to get Jervis' men for the break-in, Miranda's men will be there to get the drop on them," Keritanima explained. "They'll never expect Miranda to put a hand in, because what goes on between Jervis and Ahiriya isn't supposed to concern her. There will probably be open fighting in the halls of the Tower."
"Possibly," Miranda admitted. "Even if the Keeper throws most of our people out, there won't be many of Ahiriya's people left to interfere. In a scenario of smaller numbers, we have the advantage. Ahiriya has more territory to defend and fewer people to do it with. That gives us the advantage."
"I sometimes think that war is less complicated than this game you play, sister," Allia said. "It is fighting without fighting."
"The real fighting is probably going on right now, sister," Keritanima told her. "By morning, we'll see who came out on top."
"It will be us," Miranda said confidently. "I estimate we'll have twice the people that Ahiriya will have left, and the attack will put her out of sorts. Between Jervis and myself, she won't be able to keep us away from the information that we want for very long."
"That is very clever, Miranda," Keritanima said approvingly. "I think I'll have to kiss Jervis soundly on the lips after this. He actually came in handy."
"Jervis is a worthy adversary, Highness," Miranda said mildly.
"I know," she replied, then she gave Miranda a strange look. "Exactly when did I lose control of things here?"
"When you started learning Sorcery," Miranda replied with a cheeky smile. "You've been neglecting your operations, because you're so wrapped up in your training. It's a good thing I noticed it, and stepped in to pick things back up."
"I did, didn't I?" she said ruefully, scrubbing the back of her head with her clawed fingers. "That was very unprofessional of me."
"We're all entitled to the occasional mistake, Highness," Miranda told her with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Well, there is one thing for certain," Allia said. "It will make things nervous."
"That's true," Keritanima agreed. "If Miranda's right, it won't take us long to find out what they want from us. I can get that information from Erick, because I know he has it. And with as much as I've learned, we may be able to make it if we run."
"Only if we have reason to run," Allia said.
"True, but I have the feeling that we will," Keritanima agreed. "We'd better get back to our rooms. With the impending chaos coming, we'd best be barred in and safe."
"Yes," Allia agreed. "If there is going to be fighting, as you suspect, then we should keep ourselves clear of it." She stood up. "Let us sneak back in one by one. If there is alot of tension out there, let us not enhance it with our sneaking about."
"Good idea," Keritanima agreed. "Go on, Miranda. I know you want to go see Jervis and see how things are going."
"Yes, the thought did cross my mind," she smiled, placing her needlepoint in a shoulder satchel, then sauntering out calmly.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kerri," Tarrin said, standing up, hunching over, and then flowing into his cat form. "I'll sneak out the back," he added in the unspoken manner of the Cat.
"See you tonight, my brother," Allia said, and he turned and wormed through a small hole in one of the hedges, following a path his cat's paws had tread a hundred times before.
Tarrin had done it many times before, and had never had any trouble. Because they ignored the many cats on the grounds, he was able to pick his way over to the North Tower with very little problem. But this time, he was met by the slim, pretty Sorceress, Jula. She was standing in his room, arms crossed, and she was staring at the door when it opened. "Jula," he said in some surprise. "What are you doing in here?"
"And what were you doing off the grounds?" she demanded. "I saw you in the streets of Suld this morning! They didn't give you permission to leave!"
"I had to see my parents," he replied calmly, stepping in and closing the door. "It was important."
"Tarrin, that Ward is there for your protection more than it's there to stop you from leaving," she said in exasperation. "It stops whoever is sending things after you from getting them onto the grounds."
"Like it stopped that Doomwalker?" he asked, stepping past her, towards the closet. She turned to keep her eyes on him, but he didn't pay her very much attention.
"How Jegojah got onto the grounds is something they're still trying to figure out," she said to him bluntly. "Doomwalkers are very powerful, Tarrin. There's a good chance it was able to breach the Ward with its own magical power."
Tarrin stopped. "How did you know its name?" he demanded.
He turned around, but it was too late. Little Jula, kind Jula who had braided his hair, had healed his father, had been there for his family, had been his friend, one of the few Sorcerers that Tarrin would trust enough to put his back towards, snapped a black metal collar around his neck. The very same collar that had been used on Jesmind. The instant that metal touched him, he felt its alien magic assault his mind, sweeping through it in a black wave of numbness. Tarrin's mind instantly boiled with nameless fury, and his eyes ignited from within with the unholy radiance that betrayed his anger. That rage attacked that mind-numbing magic, pushing at it, grabbing it and trying to tear it asunder, but the raw power of the attack was overwhelming, and the magic had specifically been created to subdue one of his kind. In sudden desperation, the Cat reached out, touching the Weave, but for the first time, the magic was not there to respond to his call. With a strangled cry, his claws snapped out and he lurched at that pretty face, a face etched in stone as it calmly watched the Were-cat struggle against the magic trying to wrest control of his mind.
But if he made it or not, he had no idea. His consciousness lost its footing, and he felt himself spiralling into a vast prison of black emptiness, and he knew no more.
He had been defeated.
Jula swallowed, putting a hand to the pit of her stomach. He almost got her. Had he had one more step, those claws would have found her, and she would have not lived to see if it would work. Tarrin had stopped when he was but a finger's width from her throat, and then slowly stood upright, his face losing its mask of rage, and his eyes draining of that curious inner radiance that marked his anger. He was now docile, and suppliant to commands.
"Tarrin," she called calmly.
His ears picked up, and he looked at her.
"You will accept orders only from me. Do you understand?" He nodded mindlessly. "Follow me. Speak to no one as we walk."
"Tarrin do," his voice replied, but there was nothing in it that even hinted that the voice was alive.
It was a night of chaos, punctuated by shouting, and the occasional clashing of sword on sword. At first, it was very uncommon and erratic, but then it became so obvious that the Keeper was forced to mobilize the Tower Guard to put a stop to the violence. But even that only contained it, for the men that worked for Ahiriya were spurred on by their mistress, to seek out and eliminate the infestation of opposing agents. But what Ahiriya didn't understand until it was too late was that that was exactly what her counterparts wanted her to do.
It got so crazy that Allia didn't make it back to her own room. She stopped at Keritanima's room first to pick up a book she had left there, and Binter had barred her in after a fight started down at the end of the hall. The massive Vendari absolutely refused to open the door after that. With Binter guarding one door and Sisska guarding the other, the life of the Princess, her maid, and her guest were made very secure, but there was no attempt to get at them.
Allia slept fitfully that night, as the occasional sound of shouting disturbed her sleep, and also the nagging feeling that something was not right. As soon as Binter ventured into the hallway and proclaimed it safe, Allia was out of Keritanima's room, and she returned to the coupled rooms that were hers and Tarrin's.
The first indication that something was not right was that Tarrin's door was unlocked. She entered his room, and found everything neat and clean and untouched. The bed had not been slept in-that, or Tarrin had made it so it looked exactly the same as it did the day before. That, she doubted. Tarrin favored sleeping in his cat form, if only to avoid having to make the bed, and that always disturbed the blankets. His staff was standing in the corner, and the books Lilenne had suggested to him were still sitting on the small table in the corner. That too was not normal. Lilenne demanded that the books be returned to the library the first thing every morning, so he had to drop them off before going to his appointments where they studied his power.
Concerned, Allia left the room and quickly hurried over to the main Tower. Things were tense, as large numbers of guards roamed the passageways, and Sorcerers, Initiates, and Novices alike moved around in a great deal of confusion and uncertainty. Everyone knew that something very strange had happened the night before, and it involved open fighting in the hallways of the Tower. But Allia didn't concern herself with others, she was there for only one reason, and that was to find her brother. She checked the three places that he may be in the main Tower, the kitchens, the dining hall, and the baths, but he was not there. The kitchen staff had not seen him, and neither had the Novices who tended the baths.
Fear beginning to creep into her, Allia returned to the North Tower and immediately sought out the two people that may have seen him. She found Dar first, as he was scurrying towards the exit to go to the main Tower for breakfast. "Allia, good morning," he said gently to her as she approached.
"Have you seen Tarrin this morning, friend Dar?" she asked immediately.
"No, I haven't," he replied. "We were going to play some chess after class. Why, what's wrong? Did he get caught up in that strange craziness last night?"
"I do not know," she said grimly. "Tarrin is not here. He would have told me if he was going somewhere."
"Why don't you go ask Keritanima, and I'll go ask Tiella," he replied. "I was going to meet her for breakfast."
"Yes, I was looking for her," she said. "Come back to Keritanima's room with your answer."
"Alright," he said, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile. "He probably just wandered off. You know how he is."
"I hope so, friend Dar," she sighed.
When she returned to Keritanima's room, she was forced to pull Keritanima aside as a small ferret Wikuni chatted with Miranda. "Sister, Tarrin didn't go back to his room last night," she whispered to her in Selani. "His bed was untouched, and now I can't find him anywhere on the grounds."
"What?" Keritanima demanded, a bit too loudly. "You're sure?"
Allia nodded. "He isn't anywhere he would usually be."
"If he went out to watch the fireworks last night-" she began, then she snorted. "Come on, let's go see if he was in his room last night," she said, grabbing Allia's arm and pulling her towards the door.
Tarrin's room wasn't that far away from Keritanima's, so it only took them a moment to get there. With the immense Binter in tow behind them, Keritanima and Allia re-entered the room. Keritanima immediately closed her eyes and knelt on the floor, putting her black button nose close to the stone. "Tarrin was here last night," she said. "But he wasn't alone. There's a human scent here, one I don't know. It's female. She was here a while, but Tarrin wasn't. Bah," she snorted, standing up. "I'm not about to crawl around on the floor like a bloodhound." She raised a hand, and Allia felt her touch the Weave. A faint glow suddenly sprang into being on the floor, an erratic, splotchy trail of sorts that entered the room, moved towards the closet, then turned towards the center of the room. Then it merged back into the glow by the door. "That's Tarrin's scent," she said. "Now, let's follow it and see where it goes."
"Clever," Allia said. "You must teach me that weave."
"It's something I thought up a few days ago," she shrugged.
The glowing trail wasn't completely illuminated. As Keritanima walked along, the trail in front of her appeared, and the trail behind them winked out. They followed the trail through the North Tower and out onto the grounds, where the trail began to break up on the cold, frost-covered ground. Keritanima depended on Allia's sharp eyes to pick out the faint, weak glow among the frosted blades of grass, and they slowly tracked the trail across the grounds.
It ended at the main gate, where a group of guards stood vigil beside four or five covered forms. They eyed the pair of Initiates with hostility as they approached. Tarrin's scent trail went right through the gate, right across the Ward, to disappear into the streets beyond.
"What happened here?" Keritanima demanded.
"The same that happened on the grounds last night," one guard replied. "Enemy agents attacked last night, and they killed the guards to get onto the grounds."
"Posh," Keritanima snapped, coming over and lifting one of the blankets. The man had been young, and his chest had been caved in as if some Giant had grabbed him in his massive hand and squeezed the life out of him. That was not a wound caused by any weapon she had ever seen. "Unless the agents all joined hands and jumped up and down on his chest, I don't see how they accomplished this."
"They had to have had a mage with them," another demanded. "One of them was burned, and another was frozen solid."
"Arcane magic doesn't work on the grounds, blockhead!" Keritanima snapped at him. "This was Sorcery!"
"You're daft, woman!" the guard snapped back. "What would a katzh-dashi be doing attacking his own guards?"
"Idiots," Keritanima growled. "Allia, I'm going to follow the trail. I want you and Binter to go over to the far side of the grounds, to my Marines. Binter, I want you to order them to fall in and prepare for possible action. If Tarrin didn't leave by choice, and whoever made him leave still has him, we'll make them pay in blood for it. If Tarrin was taken by a Sorcerer, then we may need some serious reinforcements."
"I will not leave you undefended, Highness," the massive Vendari said bluntly.
"You have to, Binter," she replied. "I don't have time to go get Miranda, and I need my men to be ready now."
"I will go get Miranda," Allia said. "Binter will not leave you unguarded, sister. It goes against his honor."
Binter nodded simply. No more needed to be said.
"I will go get Miranda, and have her prepare your men," Allia promised.
"Alright. I'll meet you on the Knights' training field. Have Miranda form my men up there. If it does come down to a fight, I'd like to invite the Knights to join it."
"I will," she promised. She reached out and gave her sister a quick embrace, then left them and ran on swift feet back towards the North Tower.
Miranda was still talking to the ferret Wikuni when Allia entered, and she was not about to be patient. She pushed the slim male aside, his black furred face looking like a mask over his eyes, and put herself firmly in front of the cute little mink Wikuni. "Keritanima is following Tarrin's trail off the grounds," she announced. "She bade me to come to you and have you form up her Marines on the training grounds of the Knights."
"What?" Miranda challenged.
"We do not know if Tarrin left voluntarily. If he did not, then Keritanima wants to be ready to sally out and reclaim him, by force if necessary."
"Slow down," Miranda said. "What happened?"
"There was another scent in Tarrin's room, a female that Keritanima does not know. I believe she suspects that this female either lured Tarrin out, or forced him. The trail leaves the Tower grounds. We found several dead guards at the gate where they left, and they were all killed by Sorcery."
"That's not Tarrin's style," Miranda mused. "Tarrin would have simply killed them hand to hand. Maybe it was Dolanna?"
Allia shook her head. "Keritanima has met Dolanna. She would know Dolanna's scent."
"You're right," she said, tapping her little pink nose absently. "I'll go ready the Marines. Allia, maybe this is something that the Council should know. They may have an agenda for Tarrin, but that means that they need him alive. They'll help."
"I, do not know how to contact them," Allia said helplessly.
"Then go find Dolanna," she suggested. "If there's one katzh-dashi you can trust, it will be her."
"I will," she said. "I know where Dolanna's room is."
With a living mountain trailing behind her, intimidating everything and everyone out of her way, Keritanima made good time along the slush-covered streets of Suld, following a very faint trail that glowed on the cobblestones before her. The traffic on the streets had partially muffled the weave she was using, which translated a scent's presence into visible light. The weaker the scent, the weaker the glow, and Tarrin's scent had been partially destroyed by the passage of people, wagons, and animals. But it was enough for her to slowly, painstakingly follow the fragmented trail, finding where it started again every time it vanished, slowly working them across the city.
It took nearly an hour, and Keritanima attracted a good deal of attention from the pedestrians. Mainly because she would not get out of anyone's way. When she had Binter overturn the cart of a merchant that angrily demanded she get out of the middle of the street, it caused more than a few of the curious to follow her at a discreet distance. The slender little Wikuni and her awesome bodyguard turned into the head of an informal procession that crept across the city streets of Suld, following something so strange that none of the followers had the faintest idea what she was doing. But Keritanima paid them no mind. She knew that this was it. It was over. And she didn't care.
There was no way she was going to be able to explain this. Keritanima arguing logically with guards, issuing sharp commands, possibly even leading her troops, these were not things of which the Brat was capable. But the Brat was only a figment of her imagination, where Tarrin was a very real part of her life, and he may need her. He had been so kind to her, being her friend, taking her in, giving her a feeling of peace and security that she had never felt before. She loved him, deeply, and the very thought that someone may have kidnapped him, and that they may be hurting him, raised an immense towering fury in her that made her want to smash the life out of the people with her bare hands. The Brat had been created to protect her, and right now, someone else needed her protection more.
Keritanima followed the trail into a courtyard, across some grass, over a waist-high iron fence, and then into a building. She looked up to see where she was, and almost had a heart attack.
The trail entered one of the servant's entrances to the Cathedral of Karas.
"Impossible!" she gasped. "Impossible!"
"What is this place, Highness?" Binter asked.
"It's the Cathedral of Karas!" she said in dismay. "Why here?"
"Why not?"
She glared at him, then stepped back and raised her hands. She wove together a very powerful weave, a weave she wasn't supposed to know, and sent a magical wave of probing Mind flows through the cathedral. The weave was designed to seek out conscious minds, to locate and count the number of sentient beings in an area. Mind weaves usually didn't affect members of other races, but this one didn't affect the mind, it simply registered the presence of active sentience. The Weave could also disseminate between different types of sentience, which allowed the user to discern if the people touched by the weave were of the same race.
Keritanima counted nearly six hundred people either in the cathedral, or far below it. Only three of those contacts registered to her as normal, meaning that those were Wikuni. The rest of them were not Wikuni. Keritanima realized with some dismay that she couldn't tell if one of them was Tarrin.
Changing tactics, she sent another weave of a similar type out, searching for shaerams. There couldn't be that many of those in there. Every shaeram had a tiny touch of the Goddess in them, for they were her holy symbol, and that resonance would respond to her magical probing.
Again, she was dismayed. There were sixteen shaerams either inside or underneath the cathedral. Keritanima had no idea if they were being worn, or simply being kept in drawers, and she had no idea which was Tarrin's.
She smacked herself. How stupid! Searching for shaerams to locate the touch of the Goddess was fine, but there was a way she could search for him using the same technique that would prove it was him!
Tarrin had the holy symbol of Fara'Nae branded to his shoulder, and it had just as much magical presence as a shaeram!
Victory! The holy energies of Fara'Nae's symbol reacted to her searching weaves of Divine energy, searching out Divine emanations of a specific type, that matched the very same emanations that came from the brand on her own shoulder. Tarrin was the only one that had that peculiar signature, unless they were holding a Selani.
Tarrin was almost two hundred feet below the cathedral.
Subterranean passages? What secrets did the cathedral hold that weren't on her plans?
"Binter," she said soberly.
"You found him, Highness?"
She nodded. "He's underneath the cathedral. He's not moving."
"Then let us go get him."
"No," Keritanima said. "We have no idea what we're getting into. Let's come back in force. I'm not going to challenge a cathedral full of priests unless I have an army at my back."
"Wise," he agreed.
Allia began to move with more and more urgency. She knew that something was very wrong. Her brother was in danger. She could feel it. Allia was Selani, and Selani trusted those gut feelings alot more than humans did. That she believed that Tarrin was in danger was enough for her, and it caused her heart to race and her feet to move faster and faster.
Tarrin wouldn't leave without letting her know. He did occasionally wander off to roam the grounds, but that was the grounds. He would never leave the grounds without telling her. She mulled it over again and again, and every time she did, she walked faster and faster. By the time she was out the door, she was running. By the time she reached the main Tower, she was pushing people out of her way. She almost overshot Dolanna's door, sliding on the stone and coming back to it to knock with desperate urgency on the polished wood. There was no answer, so she knocked again, and again, and continued to knock until the door swung open abruptly.
Dolanna looked horrible. Her eyes were red, as was her nose, and she had a haunted look on her face that made Allia's blood run cold. Her blue dress was wrinkled and unkempt, and her dark hair was tangled and unattended. "Mistress Dolanna!" Allia said in shock. "Whatever happened to you?"
"It is a long story," she said in a hollow voice. "What do you need, Allia?"
"Tarrin is missing, Dolanna!" she blurted. "He did not come back to his room last night!"
"Perhaps that is for the best," Dolanna said in a weary voice.
"Dolanna!" Allia gasped. "He is gone! Keritanima tracked him leaving the grounds, and she found another scent in his room. We fear he was abducted!"
That made her blink. She pulled the Selani into the room and closed the door. "Abducted? Oh, dear!"
"What is it?"
"Allia, you have no idea what is going on!" she said, her eyes widening in comprehending horror. "They must have used the collar on him!"
"Mistress, slow down," Allia said, grabbing her by the arms. "What is going on?"
"Jesmind came to me before she left, and asked me to find out what was going on," she said. "I have been looking into things. Last night, I came across a horrifying discovery, something that has made me doubt the integrity of my own order. It is awful, young one. The Council has become monsters!"
"Dolanna!" Allia said, shaking her. "Tell me what is going on!"
She put her hands on Allia's shoulders. "Allia, Tarrin was not attacked by Jesmind on accident," she said with haunted eyes. "The Council had Jesmind captured, and they set her loose on him on purpose!"
Allia stared at her in shock.
"The Council wanted him to be non-human, so they captured a lycanthrope, the first one they could find, which was Jesmind. They had her infect him with her condition. They had a device left over from the time of the Ancients, a collar that controlled Were-kin. They used it on Jesmind, and made her attack Tarrin."
"You mean the katzh-dashi did that to him deliberately?" Allia said breathlessly.
Dolanna nodded. "Two days ago, that collar was stolen from the vaults," she said. "The Council kept it quiet, but they've been trying to find out who did it. This activity is what allowed me to find out the truth." She stared directly into Allia's eyes. "If Tarrin is missing, then whoever stole that collar has used it on him, and he has no defense against it. It enslaves a Were-kin's will." She pushed the Selani away, for her grip was starting to draw blood on Dolanna's arms. "Last night, there was some kind of war between two shadow groups in the hallways. The thief probably used that to cover Tarrin's capture."
"Holy Mother!" Allia gasped. "Miranda's plan backfired on us!" She grabbed Dolanna by the arm. "We must go see the Council!" she said hysterically. "Keritanima is finding Tarrin now, and we must be ready to take him back! By combat if necesary!"
"I will not go to the Council!" Dolanna said adamantly. "They did this to him, Allia! I will not face them! If I were to come face to face with them right now, I would try to kill them! All of Tarrin's pain, all of his suffering, they caused all of it! You did not see the worst of it, Allia, when he first changed-" she stoppped, her voice breaking. "He has come very far, but even now he feels the pain, and lives in fear of what he has become. And they sit there and watch him suffer day after day as the study him, knowing what they have done to him!"
The impact, the horrible truth of those words, they crashed on Allia like the most powerful sandstorm, and she reeled back from it. They destroyed her brother's life, and they sat there and studied him day after day, saying nothing, yet seeing their handiwork every time his tail moved. That they did it willingly, actively capturing Jesmind to infect him, it declared their evil and dishonor plainly. Dolanna was right. Allia would not be able to face the Council, else she would try to tear their faces from their heads.
"But we must have help!" Allia said helplessly. "If Tarrin is being held against his will, we may have to fight, and we may need the Sorcerers' magic! Where do we go?"
"Tarrin has friends among the katzh-dashi, Allia, more than he knows," Dolanna told her. "They will come to his aid. But right now, your best help stands with the Knights. He is one of them, as are you. Go to Darvon, go to him and tell him what happened. The entire order of the Knights will rise up behind you, and that is a force that no one in all of the West would want to face. If Keritanima can find him, the Knights will be the ones to get him back. I will go and speak to those who support Tarrin, and convince them to come and help."
"Yes, but are you safe walking the halls, Dolanna? If you know this horrible secret-"
"They do not know that I know, young one, not yet," she assured her. "The one who told me was killed during the night in the fighting. I will be very safe."
"I will send Faalken to you, Dolanna," Allia said decisively. "Do not leave until he gets here."
"I, I thank you," she smiled. "I would feel much better with my old friend standing vigil for me. I no longer feel safe walking the halls of the Tower."
"You are my brother's friend, and that makes you mine as well," Allia told her with a gentle pat on the arm. "You stay here, and Faalken will come to you. You do not have to face such a burden alone."
The relief in her smile, in her eyes, spoke volumes. "Go now, Allia," she said. "It will take the Knights time to mobilize. If Tarrin is still in the city, or even if he is not, then they will find him."
The sudden arrival of two hundred fully armed, highly disciplined Wikuni Marines at the fringes of the Knights' training field at first caused a bit of a panic among the Knights supervising the cadets. They had no idea why they were there, for the Marines had direct orders to stay away from the Knights. But on the other hand, the famous discipline of their military organization also told the supervising Knights that if all of them showed up like that, then they were ordered to do it.
But before Darvon arrived on the field and a Knight could go over to the Marine Colonel in charge of the detachment and find out what was going on, Allia was seen running at full speed towards the field. Allia was Selani, and few alive could rival her foot speed. Her silver hair flying out behind her, she skidded onto the field and almost bowled over Ulger, who stood fast and helped catch her from her wild sprint. "Allia, what is the blazes is-"
"Not now!" she said in a strangled tone. "Faalken, go to Dolanna, right now!" she barked in a hysterical tone. "She needs you!"
"Allia, what-"
"Right now!" she screamed. "Ulger, I must see Darvon! Tarrin's life depends on it!"
"Tarrin? Allia, slow down," he said in a reasonable tone. "What's going on?"
"Tarrin has been kidnapped!" she said in a strangled tone. "Keritanima is out trying to find him now, and she wants us to be ready in force in case we have to fight to reclaim him!" She motioned at the Wikuni quickly assembling at the edges of the field. "She's called out her Marines, and she wants the Knights to stand ready as well!"
"So that's why they're here," he said. "Runner, summon Darvon!" Ulger barked harshly to a cadet standing at the edge of the field. "I don't care if you have to drag him out of the privy, but get him here now!"
"Yes, sir!" the cadet said with a salute, then turned and ran back towards the barracks.
"Could the commander of the Royal Marines come forward?" Ulger called to the assembling Marines, as Faalken rushed off towards the main Tower.
The Wikuni that approached was an eight span tall monster of a leopard Wikuni wearing a gold braided rope that attached to the epaulet of his right shoulder and looped under his arm. He was huge, with a large chunk of his right ear missing and a wicked scar puckering the right side of his muzzle. Large amber eyes blazed down at Ulger as he approached, but the man's high discipline caused him to salute Ulger sharply. "Colonel Manx, commander of the third Special Division of the Royal Marines," he greeted.
Ulger saluted as well. "I'm Ulger," he said. "Your Princess ordered you out here?"
He nodded. "The command was conveyed by her maid, but we know it to be a lawful command. She gave us the password."
"Where is she now, Allia?"
"She's in the city, tracking Tarrin with her magic," she replied. "She said she would come back here when she found him."
"Hmm," he said. "You're sure that Tarrin was kidnapped?"
"I cannot guarantee it, but from what I have learned so far, it is a very good bet," she replied. "A magical device that can control Were-kin was stolen from the Tower vaults two days ago, and Dolanna suspects that it was used to spirit Tarrin off the grounds. You know as well as I that there is no way anyone could physically force him to leave."
Darvon approached, and he was plainly not happy. His armor looked a bit dishevelled, and his hair was still damp. "Could this have waited for me to finish dressing, Ulger?" he snapped.
"Lord General, we have a problem," Ulger said. "Tarrin is missing, and Allia thinks that he was taken against his will."
"Oh my," Darvon grunted. "You have proof?"
"Not solid, but I give you my word as a Selani and as a Knight that I am not willingly lying to you, Darvon," she said pleadingly. "Tarrin would never just leave without telling me. He is my brother!"
"You do have a point," he agreed. "You two seem to share the same brain. He wouldn't leave without telling you."
"Keritanima is looking for him now, using magic," she continued. "She had her Marines mobilize in case we must use force to recover him. She hoped that the Knights would assist."
"Assist? Your Marines had best save us some room, Wikuni," Darvon growled. "Tarrin is one of us, and we are all One Under Karas. Ulger!"
"Yes, Lord General?"
"I want every Knight and cadet who can walk assembled on the field in full battle dress in ten minutes!"
"Yes, Lord General!" Ulger said with a grin and a salute. "Sound the alert!" he shouted, rushing away from the Lord General and waving his arms. "We are on alert!"
"If he was taken, then we'll be ready to go get him," Darvon said in a growl. "No doubt the fighting last night in the Tower has something to do with all this," he added. "I knew I should have sent my Knights in there to stop it."
"I had the same feeling, Lord General," the Wikuni Colonel agreed. "But my orders were to remain in the barracks."
"Hindsight is always perfect," he grunted. "Since we may be working together, we'd best get to know each other. I'm Darvon."
"I am Cololnel Manx," he replied. "You obviously hold rank over me, my Lord General. I accede to your flag, so long as your orders don't counter our existing orders."
"I appreciate that, Colonel," Darvon said gracefully. "We don't need any confusion on a battlefield. Let's hope that it doesn't come to that."
"The best fight is the one avoided," Manx agreed. "But if we do fight, it will be a good chance to measure ourselves against your reputation."
"Don't sell yourselves short," Darvon told him. "The reputation of the Royal Marines is towering, and no doubt well deserved."
"You are most kind, my Lord General," Manx said with a slight smile.
"Allia, go find yourself some good swords in the armory," Darvon told her. "I know you won't stand aside and watch."
"No," she said bluntly.
It was chaos in the compound of the Knights, and by the time Allia had a good pair of swords and a belt for them, most of the Knights had organized into sharp lines, and warhorses were hurriedly being lined up near the stables, in full harness. Miranda and Sisska were on the field as Allia returned to Darvon's side, and the maid was already starting to answer questions of the Colonel. "I can only tell you what I was told, Colonel," she told him calmly. "That we were to wait here for her Highness to return with news."
"She should not be out there alone," Manx said hotly.
"She has Binter with her, Colonel," Miranda said with a steady expression. It wasn't easy to ruffle Miranda. "If Binter can't protect her, then she doesn't have much need for the rest of you."
Manx glanced at the massive Sisska, standing near to Miranda and ready to attack if she was threatened, and he nodded slowly. "We need to organize," he said. "The Marines use tactics that the Knights probably do not. Let's iron out our arrangements now, before we have to do this in a combat situation."
"I agree," Darvon said emphatically. "Knights rely on their armor," he said. "We prefer to smash through the center of an enemy line, then break up the opposition and mop them up."
"We also prefer a direct assault, but across the entire line," Manx said. "We push them back in one push, driving them into their reserves, and we move quickly to keep them off guard. In this case, the Marines can flank the Knights at the tail end of a wedge, and when the line buckles around the Knights, the Marines can prevent them from enveloping your rear, and we can drive in and hold them in a state of disorganization while the Knights continue around and split up, and attack from the rear."
"This only works if you're fighting on a battlefield, gentleman," Miranda told him. "You happen to be in the middle of a large city. You won't have that kind of room."
"True, but it's our elemental style," Darvon said. "Even if we attack only ten Knights to ten opponents, we use the same basic tactics."
"Are your men trained for close quarters combat?" Manx asked.
Darvon nodded. "Allia's really brought us up to speed on close fighting. We can handle ourselves."
"The Marines train specifically for house to house combat and close quarters," he said. "It may be best if we have to attack a building if you let us take the lead."
"I won't argue about that, but having a squad of Knights there to smash through doors and use their armor to shield your less armored men may be useful."
"Yes, no doubt," he agreed.
They continued to debate the exact actions of their units for a quite a while, covering several different scenarios, from building combat to chasing down an armed column trying to spirit Tarrin out of Suld. But Miranda cut them short and pointed, saying "now we'll know exactly how to set up." Keritanima was running towards them with Binter just behind, and she was out of breath by the time she arrived. The Wikuni bowed respectfully, and the Knights did the same when the realized who it was.
"He's…in the Cathedral…," she panted. "He's…being held…underneath it."
"The Cathedral of Karas?" Darvon said in surprise. "Are you sure, your Highness?"
"Positive," she panted.
"I never thought I'd have to attack my own church before," Darvon grunted. "But if you say he's there, then he's there. We'll just have to go get him."
"They must…have dug out passages…not on the plans I had of it," she said, recovering her breath. "But I don't understand why they took him. It doesn't make sense."
"It makes this a siege, Lord General," Manx said. "That means I'll have the better chance."
"The Cathedral is huge, Colonel Manx, and the Priests there will no doubt use their magic to defend it. I think we should start by trying to negotiate. After we surround the building, of course. The priests of Karas are one of the arms of our own faith. I can't see any reason why they would kidnap Tarrin, but maybe I can convince them to let him go without combat. Once I make it plain that the Knights will assault the Cathedral if they don't, they may change their minds."
"Miranda, go fetch the plans I have," Keritanima said to her maid. "We can use them."
"At once, Highness," Miranda said, scurrying off with Sisska behind her.
"You have plans of the Cathdreal, Highness?" Manx asked curiously.
"I needed them. Let's not go into that right now," she said decisively. "We need some katzh-dashi, gentleman. If we have to attack, we'll need Sorcerers to disrupt the priests' magic. Trying to attack the cathedral without magical assistance would be suicide. Did you talk to the Council, Allia?"
"No, but I did talk to Dolanna," Allia said stiffly. "She is rounding up Sorcerers we can trust."
"Trust? What in the Nexus is going on?"
"It is bad," Allia said in a trembling rage. "Dolanna had horrible news. I cannot face the Council right now. I would have to kill them."
Darvon gave Allia a startled look, but it was nothing compared to the way Manx was gaping at Keritanima. "Would you mind explaining to me what you're talking about?" Keritanima demanded.
"Tarrin was turned Were by the Council," Allia announced in a voice trembling with rage. "It was the Council that captured Jesmind and sent her after him. The same collar they used to control her was stolen some days ago, and Dolanna suspects that it was used to capture Tarrin."
Keritanima stared at Allia for a long moment, then she sighed. "I knew that the katzh-dashi were doing more than it seemed," she said in a disgusted voice. "I'm not surprised. They even had the foresight to send Dolanna to bring Tarrin back, just so a Sorceress with experience in dealing with Were-kin would be there to keep him under control."
"You mean to tell me that the Council had Tarrin infected deliberately?" Darvon demanded of Allia, his faced splotched in pure rage.
Allia nodded. "I have not heard it from them, but Dolanna is someone that I trust. If she says it is so, then she believes that it is so. She would never lie to me about something as important as this. That is enough for me."
"It may be enough for me too," Darvon said in a grim tone, "but it's something that I'll hear out of the Keeper's mouth for myself. Right before I smash her teeth in."
"May I watch?" Allia asked in a savage tone.
"I'll hold her so you can break her nose," Darvon growled.
"I would find that very pleasing."
"Let's not drift off course here," Keritanima reminded them. "When Miranda gets back with the plans, we'll need to organize a way to quickly surround the building without raising too much attention to it. Today is a service day, so we may be able to get in place before they realize what's going on." She grinned evilly. "They can't sneak him out, because I can pinpoint his location with Sorcery. If they start moving him, we can adjust our deployment to keep him solidly inside our lines."
"Pardon my boldness, Highness, but when did you learn strategy and tactics?"
"I do more than admire pretty dresses, Colonel," she said brusquely. "Now hush."
"Yes ma'am."
Miranda arrived with the plans, and she had company. Dolanna and a small group of robed Sorcerers were following her, numbering fourteen, and they included Sevren, Elsa, and surprisingly, Lilenne and Brel. One noticable absence was Jula, but perhaps Dolanna simply couldn't find her in time. Faalken was marching alongside the small dark-haired Sorceress protectively, and it was clear from Dolanna's expression that she had suffered some kind of emotional trauma. "Dolanna," Keritanima said gently. "We appreciate your help, and the help from all the rest of you."
"Tarrin is Ungardt, and from a clan allied to my own," Elsa, Mistress of Novices, said gruffly. She was carrying a wicked-looking axe, which looked a bit out of place for someone wearing a robe. "Ungardt care for their own."
"Now gather round everyone, let's get ready."
"Where is he?" Dolanna asked.
"Under the Cathedral of Karas," Keritanima replied.
"And by what right do you command us?" Brel asked sourly.
"By the fact that I'll have Binter here grab you by the ankles and tear you in half if you don't like it," Keritanima snapped, her eyes blazing.
"You're only an Initiate."
"She also happens to be a Princess," Manx warned in a flat tone. "We do as she commands."
"The Knights stand under her banner, Sorcerer," Darvon warned. "We will follow her commands as well."
Brel gave Darvon a look, then nodded. "Now your judgement I'll trust, Darvon," he said. "If you say she commands, then she commands. Let's see what we're going to do about this, your Highness."
Keritanima gave Brel an impish smile, then unrolled the plans, flattened them out with Sorcery and hung them in midair. "There are six entrances we have to cover," she said, pointing them out. "What he have to do is surround the Cathedral without raising an alarm. Right now, they're about to start services, so we should be able to do that. Once we're in position, our seven strongest Sorcerers will circle and create a Ward around the cathedral that blocks all magic. That's going to keep the priests from using magic to repel us if we invade."
"Our priests are trained for fighting, Princess," Darvon said. "They'll fight hand to hand."
"Yes, but they're nowhere as well trained as your Knights and my Marines," Keritanima said calmly. "Without their magic, we should be able to roll them under quickly and without a bloodbath. We're not there to slaughter everyone. We're there to get Tarrin and the people that took him. It's a big place, and I seriously doubt that everyone in there knows that Tarrin's being held there. Until we manage to figure out who did it, and how involved the church is, there's no need to kill everyone in a frock. They could be innocent."
Manx nodded sagely, and Darvon voiced agreement. "We will have to move quickly," Darvon said. "The Sulasian Army won't like armed columns laying siege to the city's cathedral. We have to get him out of there before the King's men can respond, so there's a certain call for haste in this."
"Yes, but after we have the cathedral completely overwhelmed, I hope they'll see reason and simply hand him over. But trust me, gentlemen, one way or another, we will get him back," she said adamantly. "After we have the cathredral Warded, we send in Darvon to negotiate. If he can't get satisfaction, we allow the worshippers to leave, then we invade. The mechanics of the invasion will be up to you, Colonel and my Lord General. I won't step on your toes in that regard. But I would like to see the cathedral taken with a minimum of killing. We'll save killing for the truly guilty."
"My men are trained for non-lethal combat, Highness," Manx promised. "There will be a minimum of bloodshed."
"I know my Knights wouldn't like having to put our own priests to the sword, so we'll be gentle," Darvon mirrored.
"Good. Let's get moving. It'll take this many people time to get organized and start marching, and we have to get there before services are over."
The room was small, lit by a single lantern that hung from a hook on the low ceiling. The room was cool and somewhat damp, and Irvon hated it. The fat cleric sat behind a stone bench, glaring a bit at his Sorceress visitor. Irvon hated Sorcerers. They were tainted by the foul goddess that commanded their magic, and none of them could be trusted. That she would bring that creature into his cathedral, right under the nose of the thrice-damned Tower, was an outrage. He stood there with a blank expression on his face, right to Jula's right, seemingly as stiff as a statue. Jula herself looked very smug, sitting in the chair he reserved for visitors, her hand patting the paw that creature had placed on her shoulder like he was some kind of pet.
He had no idea what came over her. He knew that Jula was operating under instructions from her own superiors, but they should have warned him. That creature was too dangerous to have around. That she would bring him there, to their hidden base, rather than simply run with him, was quite beyond him.
"I don't care who sent you, Jula," Irvon snapped at her. "I want that Were-cat out of here. If they can track him, then you'll bring the katzh-dashi down on our heads. I have orders from Kravon himself on the matter. I'm not to do anything to compromise our base here, and you can't get any more compromising than that," he said, pointing a fat finger at the Were-cat.
"I can't outrun the Knights, Irvon," she said calmly. "When they find out he's missing, they'll take Suld apart stone by stone looking for him. This is the last place they'd think to look."
"I don't care," he snorted. "What you have to do doesn't concern me. You bringing that thing here is endangering the Black Network's operations in Suld."
"I think it's funny that you're worried about it," she smiled. "Tarrin's amulet prevents anyone from finding him with magic, and nobody is left alive that saw me bring him off the grounds or into the cathedral." Irvon glared at her. That she killed four acolytes and a priest, the ones from above that had no contact with, or even knowledge of, the dark tunnels under the Cathedral, was going to be hard enough to explain. Irvon was High Priest of Karas, but he was also a ranking member of the Black Network. Irvon's position made the Cathedral the perfect and ultimate base of operations for the ki'zadun, their name in the Old Tongue. Nobody would expect a bastion of law and goodness to be the base of an organization that sought to subvert such things.
"I thought you had orders to kill him."
"They changed their minds," she shrugged. "He's a Weavespinner, Irvon. That alone makes him a valuable asset. We can find ways to use him."
"I'm glad you think so."
"Trust me, the collar controls him utterly," she smiled. "Tarrin, come down here and give me a kiss," she ordered. He bent down and kissed her gently on her upraised cheek, then raised back up. "Now be a dear and break Irvon's desk in half."
Irvon gave a strangled cry as the Were-cat raised its clasped paws and stepped forward, and just barely managed to get his legs out from under the desk as the creature's paws slammed into it, shattering the polished wooden desk into splinters. Irvon was dumped to the floor, falling backwards out of his chair, and he came up spluttering, with his fat, narrow-eyed face spotched red with anger.
"As you can see, he's completely subservient," she said with a light laugh. "And he will only obey me, Irvon. Keep that in mind. If something were to happen to me, he'd stand there until someone took off the collar. And you really wouldn't want to be here when that happens. Trust me." She leaned back in her chair and smiled at him. "Tarrin, come back over here," she commanded, and the Were-cat returned to its place beside her, paw resting lightly on her shoulder.
"I still don't have to like it, witch," Irvon snapped. "I want you and it out of here."
"I'm afraid you'll have to live with it for a day or two," she told him. "Unless you'd like to explain to my Mistress why the ki'zadun refused to harbor a fellow member, especially one operating under direct orders from her superiors. She would have a very long talk with you about that."
Irvon paled, and swallowed. Nobody crossed the Black Mistress, the ranking katzh-dashi in the Tower. She had a very ugly reputation. "Alright, but I want it in a dungeon cell, and in chains," he snapped.
"Why?" she asked. "Tarrin is just as obedient as a little puppy. Aren't you, my dear?" she asked with a laugh, patting his paw. "He's just as good here as there."
"I want to keep it out from underfoot," he said bluntly, "and keep you from getting any ideas."
"Oh come now, Irvon," she sighed. "I do despise you, but I've been ordered to let you live. I think we can be civil to one another. Yes, well, I do have to let you live. Now there's an idea. Tarrin, be a dear, and go over there and bite Irvon."
When Tarrin took a step forward, Irvon gave out a squealing cry and backed into the corner, preparing to call on the magic of Karas to defend him from the attack. That only made Jula laugh. "Tarrin, stop," she commanded, and he stopped moving forward. She stood up and smoothed her silk dress, giving Irvon a horrifically evil smile. "Tarrin, come here," she said lightly. Tarrin returned to her side, and Jula gave Irvon a smug look. "With him, we will win, Irvon," she said triumphantly. "He has the power to defeat the Guardian, and he has the power to get the Firestaff. And once we have it, then Val will be reborn, and we will rule. I'm certain that your part in that glory will be remembered. If you're not too much a nuisance, that is," she said with a cold smile.
"H-how? He's mindless!"
"Ah, yes. You see, the collar only subverts will, not intelligence, memory, or ability. If we give him instructions, he will carry them out. He won't have any choice. He'll know he's being controlled, and rage against it in the tunnels of his own mind, but he will have to obey. He knows what we're talking about right now. He can hear us, and he'll remember it. But he can't do anything about it. I'm sure that he'd just love to take me and strangle me with my own intestines. Wouldn't you, my dearest pet?" she asked of him, patting him on the cheek, but there was no outward reaction. "Yes, I know you would. But he can't," she told him with that same cold smile. "The collar makes him mine, and I am the only one he'll obey."
"You are deranged," Irvon told her seriously. "I have a service to conduct. Get that animal out of my office."
"Yes, go mouth your platitudes and demean yourself to replenish your pitiful power," Jula sneered. "If only Karas knew what kind of bootlicking sycophant he was granting his magic to."
"Yes, well, that's something between me and Karas, isn't it? Now take him to the dungeon. That's an order."
"Only because it pleases me to do so," she said. "I need to change my dress, and I don't relish the idea of baring myself in front of him. Why, the shock of my beauty may snap him free, and I'd have to fight off his advances. I've seen him naked, you know. I must admit, he's, impressive. If not that our lovemaking would change me into a Were-cat, I may be tempted."
"Sick," Irvon growled, stomping out of his office. "Just get rid of it."
"Indeed," she said. "Come, Tarrin. We have something to do."
The entire city of Suld knew that there was about to be war.
The entire order of the Knights of Karas, both from the Tower and from the chapterhouse, trotted in perfect rows along the streets of the old city, sweeping everything out of their way. They were resplendent in their black armor and snapping pennons, row after row of lances held at perfect angles, and visors lowered for battle. Among them rode two hundred Wikuni in mail shirts and carrying heavy broadswords, as well as perhaps a dozen Sorcerers. They were followed by rank after rank of smartly marching cadets, keeping a perfect cadence with the striking of armor-shod boots upon the centuries-old cobblestones. They had the grim demeanor of men about to do battle, and those expressions did not change. Two thousand armored warriors, human, Knight, and Wikuni, sent civilians scattering before them, crushing carts and wagons out of their way, and causing total confusion that spread along and before them like a wave crashing on the beach.
Leading the column was a rather unusual commander, a slight, slender fox Wikuni wearing an Inititate's dress, the indigo color marking her as a middle-grade Initiate. But her expression was hard, stony, and she was attended by the commanders of that host who made all who looked upon them realize that the slender little Wikuni was defitely in command. She looked infuriated, and her tail writhed behind her like a living thing of its own free will, like a dancing flame with a black tip caught in a stiff wind. She gave sharp, incisive commands, and they were relayed and carried out by Wikuni and Knight alike with the smooth, precise coordination that marked good military units.
They caused an instant wildfire of gossip to rise up and sweep across the city, gossip of what they were doing, why they were there, and what was going on. It only intensified as they approached the Cathedral of Karas, but all gossip stopped when the Knights, an order under Karas, quickly and efficiently encircled the waist-high iron fence that surrounded the Cathedral, forming a wall of flesh and steel that nobody was permitted to cross. The Knights parted and the Wikuni rushed out, seizing anyone on the grounds but not yet in the church's walls, picking them up and carrying them back outside the wall of horse and man and armor that the Knights had created. The cathedral's bell began to toll, as if it marked the completion of the besiegement, telling all outside who were paying attention that those within had no idea they had been surrounded.
Keritanima nodded once the maneuver had been carried out, and gave Lilenne, who had become the leader of the katzh-dashi accompanying the host, a calm look. "Alright, Lilenne," she said in a cold voice. "Cut the Cathedral off."
The swallow-necked Shacean nodded calmly, and she dismounted along with her other Sorcerer companions. Seven stepped forward, and then joined into a circle. The other seven also joined into a circle, and after a moment of preparation, the two circles reached out to the Weave.
Hands erupting in the wispy white aura of High Sorcery, the two independent circles erected poweful Wards that cut the entire building off from the Weave, a complete sphere that went high above the steeple and well below the crypt, an invsible bubble that isoloted everything within from the delicate matrix of magical energy that either powered all magical spells, or provided other magic a pathway from its origination to complete a circuit to the caster. Within that sphere of Sorcerer-conjured anti-magic, there was no magic to power spells.
And no magic to power magical devices.
Deep within the Cathedral, a large bronze-bound door with three heavy bolts locking it in place shimmered in a brief display of magical light, and then fell dark.
To: Title EoF