Chapter 15
Her name was Zarina, and she had absolutely no idea what was going on.
She sat on the divan in Tarrin's private chamber, but she didn't know his name. She watched in mute, almost terrified wonder as the huge—so incredibly tall!!—creature paced back and forth angrily in the room, which didn't seem very large to her, his anger and hatred showing clearly on his face. Zarina didn't understand why he was so furious. She didn't understand why he had made her go back to her Master's estate, and why this strange creature confronted him. The only memory she had of that was the pain, the pain of punishment, something any servant on the island strove mightily to avoid. She sat there and did what a servant did, did what she was told and did everything she could to avoid attracting attention to herself when it was obvious that one of the masters was not happy. She was told to sit down, and by the Goddess of the Sha'Kar, that was exactly what she was going to do. She was going to sit there and be silent and wait until she was told she could get up.
For his part, it was all Tarrin could do to keep control of himself. Frightening the Sha'Kar into wetting himself didn't hold the same sweet satisfaction he'd have felt if he would have bitten the man's throat out with his own teeth and drank his blood. Even now, nearly a half an hour after returning with the servant girl to an empty room—he had no idea where Kimmie and Sapphire went—he still had to labor to retain his composure. Every time he let his attention wander, he could see nothing but that Sha'Kar using Sorcery to torture the poor girl, and that sent him right back to the edges of utter rage.
How could he do such a thing! The Ancients prided themselves on their vow to never use Sorcery against another except in self defense! How could they have become so twisted… so evil? Tarrin thought he had a sadistic bent, but to inflict that kind of terrible pain for no reason other than one was displeased… that was absolutely monstrous! At least Tarrin had reasons for doing what he did, not torturing a young girl because he thought she had caused an honored one displeasure! And what was worse, the Sha'Kar didn't even bother to find out what happened, and he did it right in front of him! The Sha'Kar were so arrogant that they just assumed that Tarrin's ways were their ways as well, but he would never adopt a practice of torturing the innocent for its own sake!
Back and forth, back and forth, Tarrin stalked up and then back down the middle of the room, as the servant girl watched him from the corner of her eyes, keeping her head down and her shoulders hunched. She still clutched his vest around her like it was some kind of magical armor that would save her from harm, and seeing her like that, so utterly defeated, it made his blood absolutely boil. No wonder the servants were so obedient, if that was what they experienced when they displeased their noble masters!
Perhaps it was bad timing that the knocking on the door was lost to Tarrin while he seethed in his rage. Getting no answer, the door was opened, and Iselde and Auli were standing outside. They were wearing their shimmering robes, and Iselde stepped just inside the door and called out. The servant girl glanced at the two of them and seemed torn, as she found herself in a serious predicament. The masters were looking at her, looking at her sitting on the divan and not serving, presuming to be above her station. But the honored one had told her to sit down, and she was not going to disobey!
It was their scents that he noticed. Not their calls, getting more and more worried, or the sight of them by the door. Those Sha'Kar scents touched his nose, and he almost lost control. He whirled on the door with his eyes glowing in their unholy greenish aura, narrow, with his fangs bared and his ears fully back. When his tail went straight out behind him, Iselde gasped and took a step back from him in fear. "H-Honored one?" she asked in anxiety. "You asked—"
"GET OUT!" Tarrin roared at them, extending his claws and actually starting to move towards the door with all his most formidable weapons bared, his manner telling the two Sha'Kar females that if they were still there when he reached them, he would use those claws and fangs on them. With gaping looks of shock, terror, and confusion, the two Sha'Kar females scrambled out of the room as quickly as they could manage and slammed the door behind them. Tarrin could hear their footsteps as they bolted down the hall, and not even Iselde's squeal of fear shook him out of his fury.
All the ground he'd gained went right out the window after the Sha'Kar had barged in. Tarrin went back to pacing the floor in a stalking, aggressive manner, his tail slashing behind him so hard that it knocked over the second divan when he passed by it. The servant girl watched him, trying not to move, though she was trembling so hard he didn't see why she wasn't sliding off the divan, and the smell of her fear was almost acrid in his nose. That fear did make him calm down, when he realized that she was afraid of him. And she probably had good reason to be. The Sha'Kar didn't intimidate with physical violence, and though using magic was more sinister, there was something elemental, instinctual about a good old physical threat that never failed to traumatize the victim. Especially when delivered by a creature twice one's height and strong enough to tear one in half at the waist. Tarrin had a lot of practice laying down those brutal ultimatums, and he knew how to present himself in the most intimidating manner possible. He wasn't trying to do that now, but he hadn't told the girl what was going on, and she probably didn't realize what he'd done. That spell had left her so scattered after Tarrin cut it off that she couldn't even walk. He doubted she understood why she was there.
Slowing to a stop with his back to her, he clenched his fists several times and relaxed them, trying to calm down enough to be rational. He let out his breath explosively as he felt himself calm down enough to face the girl without terrifying her, his tail slowing to a stop behind him. He turned and faced her, saw her still keeping her head down, but watching him out of the corner of her eye. She was still wearing the wrap and his vest, and Tarrin realized that he must look even more intimidating, being stripped to the waist, where all his formidable muscle was clearly visible.
Blowing out his breath one more time, he scrubbed his paw through his hair, then flicked his ears. "Look at me," he said in as calm a voice as he could manage, which probably didn't sound all that calm to her.
She did so reluctantly, raising her head to meet his eyes. He could see her fear plainly, smell it sharply on her.
"Calm down, little one," he said shortly. "I'm not angry with you. I'm angry with your former master."
She didn't miss him use the word former. She put a hand over her chest, over the tattoo, and looked away from him. "I will serve you faithfully," she said in a tiny voice.
"You'll serve no one but yourself," he snorted. She cringed when he advanced on her, putting her hands up to protect her face. He reached under her arms easily and put a finger over the tattoo. He meant to weave a spell to remove it, but the instant he touched it he felt the magic of its creation. It was more than a spell of marking. It had complicated Mind weaves in it, and since he wasn't human he couldn't fathom what they were supposed to do. There were also some other kinds of weaves that he couldn't make out in the intricate interlaced knot of multiple spells. The tattoo was more than a mark of ownership, it was a magical spell that probably helped the Sha'Kar control their human servants, which outnumbered them by more than three to one.
Tarrin realized that only a human could have made the spell. It was a Mind weave, and only humans could use Mind weaves against other humans. The human Sorcerers on the island were creating these Mind weaves to control the servants!
The strong background magic of the interior of the Ward had kept him from sensing its magic the first time he came into close proximity to a servant. He hadn't noticed it before. Regardless, he picked through the amalgamation of several weaves and found that it wasn't going to be easy to remove. The Mind weaves were all embedded in her mind, and since he couldn't tell what they did, he'd have to be careful getting rid of them. He studied the cleverly woven spell and puzzled out that any attempt to remove it would do harm to the girl's mind, so he had to attack it in another fashion. If he couldn't unravel the spell, then perhaps if he cut off all magical power to it, it would fade on its own and dissipate without causing the girl any mental damage. He studied the spell's layering in her mind and concluded that that would indeed be the case. The weave wouldn't do her any harm unless someone tried to unravel it without knowing exactly what they were doing. It had some kind of layered architecture that would cause a cascade effect, as flows broke and interacted with other flows to create a new spell completely different than the one first created. Tarrin knew it could be done, for Spyder had done it against him when they fought, and he had also done it to her by infusing her Fire weave with Air and making it explode. This spell was much more complicated than that, but it would behave in a similar manner. If he poked around it and made a mistake, he would trigger that trap and harm the girl's mind. But by starving the spell of all energy, cutting it off from the Weave the same way he had cut off the Sha'Kar, it would kill the spell without it doing any harm. It would just cease to exist. He did just that, and didn't have to resort to High Sorcery to have enough power to do it. Cutting off an active Sorcerer was much harder than simply choking off the flow of energy into a relatively weak spell, by Weavespinner standards, anyway. It may be a complicated spell, but it drew very little energy, and that was the only energy he had to overwhelm to cut it off from the Weave. He put his magical will over the spell and quickly choked the life out of it, cutting it off from the source of its power. He sensed the spell in her wither, and then simply evaporate when the magic fueling it stopped. The entire spell simply died out without disrupting its weaving, and thereby not doing the girl any lasting harm. In the span of a heartbeat, the spell simply ceased to exist.
He removed his paw from her chest and saw the tattoo visibly fade, but the look in the girl's eyes caught his attention even more. It was if they had suddenly had a fog pulled away from them. She shook her head and put a hand to her temple, then looked up at him in confusion. "What happened, honored one?" she asked weakly.
"I removed that damned mark," he said, tapping her on the chest meaningfully.
"I am ready, Master," she said resolutely, putting her hands behind her back and presenting her chest to him.
He realized she was waiting for him to put his mark on her.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Zarina, Master."
"Mine is Tarrin, and don't call me Master," he said bluntly. "You'll stay with me until we get off this island, but once we do, you'll be a free woman."
"Free?" she asked in a tiny voice. "Me?"
He nodded. "Well, not exactly free," he amended with a rueful look. "I have to deliver you to my bond-mother."
"I live to serve. To serve is all," she said in a hopeless voice, a voice of utter defeat. Even without the enchanted tattoo to influence her mind and her actions, she still had the mentality of a slave. And it infuriated him all over again.
"You can stop sticking your breasts out at me, girl," Tarrin growled. "I'm not going to mark you. Like I said, you're as good as free. I don't want you going far because I don't trust these Sha'Kar, but I don't want you thinking you have to serve me, either."
Zarina blushed and pulled the vest around herself again.
"You'll travel with us until I get you back to my bond-mother. She'll take good care of you."
"As you wish, Master."
"Don't call me that!" he snapped at her, and she winced and looked at the floor, trembling visibly. He blew out his breath and reached under her chin, then lifted it until she was looking him in the eye. "If anyone ever needed a gentle hand, it's you, my little fawn," he told her. "You'd do best with Dolanna. She'll take very good care of you. I think I'm a little too intense for you."
"What do you mean, Ma-" she cut herself off, then she cringed.
"Dolanna is a gentle and loving person. You've been conditioned to be a slave, Zarina. Dolanna will help you overcome that and be your own woman."
Zarina was very quiet, but there were tears sheening her eyes. "You truly mean it? I am to be free?"
"As free as you can be, given you'll have to undergo some mandatory training," he chuckled. "My mother will be chomping at the bit to get you."
"I am to serve her?" she asked, the disappointment in her voice bitter.
"You'll learn from her," he said firmly. "You have a special gift, little fawn. I'm not going to tell you what that gift is yet, because it will confuse you and may put you in danger, but it's very special. My mother will teach you all about it, and help you become the best you can be. Is that too much to ask in exchange for me freeing you?"
She broke into tears, putting her hands over her face again. Tarrin knelt in front of her and put his huge paws on her shoulders in a very delicate, gentle touch. She looked at him, her face absolutely adoring, all fear of him gone from her eyes and her scent. "Why?" she managed to ask, and he understood what she was asking. Why her? Why get into a fight with a Sha'Kar over her?
"Because to me, you're more than just a human," he told her with gentle eyes. She reminded him so much of Jula. So confused and afraid, so desperately needing guidance and love. Tarrin couldn't give her love any more than he could have given Jula love, but he could give her guidance and support. Dolanna would be best suited for fanning the embers that had once been the fire of her independence, a fire the Sha'Kar had thoroughly squelched with their magical control and their horrific torture. She had done a wonderful job keeping a terrified turned Were-cat from going insane, teaching him how to cope with his new life. He felt she'd be just as good at taking a terrified former slave and teaching her to be her own woman.
She cried a little longer, and Tarrin even collected her in his arms and let her cry it all out on his shoulder. He could have shown Jula this kind of support, but he hadn't. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Then again, he had hated Jula, where he had no reason to hate this young, tormented girl.
She sniffled a little, and Tarrin pushed her back out to his arm's length. "Feel better now?" he asked with a gentle smile.
"Yes, Ma—uh, Tarrin," she managed to say with a meek smile, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you, but my kind are very high strung, and when we get angry, it can take us hours to calm down," he apologized.
"It's alright, Master," she said. He could tell that that master was an automatic thing for her, so he didn't berate her for it. She probably didn't even realize she said it. She had to consciously stop herself from saying it, and even then, she couldn't stop herself entirely.
"The first thing we need to do is get you some clothes," he said, looking down at her. "Then I'll take you to Dolanna. You'll be best off with her. Like I said, I may be too intense for you right now. I know this all must be traumatic. Like your whole life was just turned on its ear."
She nodded with a sniffle.
"Well, living with me wouldn't make that go away," he admitted. "I'd be very bad for your state of mind right now. Especially right now, given how angry I still am over all this. I think you'll be good for Dolanna too," Tarrin said with a grim smile. "She's been getting very strange lately. A project like you will get her focused again."
"Why would you be angry, honored one?" she asked.
"Because what that Sha'Kar did to you is against everything he claims he believes in," he said with a snort, his ears flicking in irritation. "He outraged me so completely with that act that it was all I could do not to kill him. I'm still thinking of going back over there and tearing his head off," he admitted with a flat look that made the girl flinch. "Sorcerers are never supposed to use their magic against the innocent. Only in self defense," he told her with a rising voice.
"It was his right," she said, speaking like a slave. "He is the Master."
"He had no right to do that to you!" Tarrin hissed in sudden fury, laying his ears back as his eyes exploded from within into the unholy greenish aura that marked his anger. The girl flinched away from him again, looking to want to fall backwards off the divan and crawl across the floor, but something kept her absolutely rooted to the spot. He gave her a chagrined look and quickly calmed down, his eyes returning to normal as he put a paw on her trembling shoulder. "I didn't mean to frighten you," he said ruefully. "Now maybe you see why it's best you stay with Dolanna. My temper is going to get the best of me for at least a few days, until I completely calm down and get all this out of my head. I don't want to terrorize you, even by accident."
Standing up with the girl looking up at him with a mixture of fear, surprise, and the first hints of elation at having been taken from that horrible place, Tarrin closed his paw into a fist and debated the wisdom of going out of the room. He was still broiling inside, and the scents of the Sha'Kar all over the hallways and chambers were going to make it worse. But he needed to get the girl some clothes, and he needed to go find Dolanna. It would be best for her to get her into Dolanna's care as quickly as possible. He was obviously making her afraid, and he didn't want to continue tormenting her like that.
The door opened again, and Tarrin's reaction was swift and immediate. Kimmie found herself staring at an incensed Were-cat, eyes glowing, ears back, fangs bared, feet wide, back coiled, and claws ready to rend her apart. "Tarrin!" she said in surprise, stopping in the doorframe. "What's gotten into you!?"
Tarrin realized it was his mate, then blew out his breath and calmed down, standing fully erect again. Kimmie looked at him in surprise, then noticed the human with his vest over her sitting on the divan. And the other divan knocked over. "Uh oh," she breathed as she closed the door and entered the room. "What happened?"
In a tightly controlled voice, Tarrin told her what had transpired. About meeting her on the street and scenting the way they used her, and then delicately going around revealing she was a Druid. He only told her that he sensed potential in her. Then about the confrontation with her master. His voice became filled with rage when he told her about how the Sha'Kar had tortured her with magic.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Kimmie asked fearfully.
"I almost did," he seethed. "I don't know how I managed to stop myself. I put the fear of the Goddess into him, though. He won't set a foot out his house until a month after we're gone."
"He deserves it," Kimmie said vindictively. She sat down beside the girl, who started trembling again. She flinched a bit when Kimmie put a paw on her shoulder, keeping her eyes closed. "It's alright, little girl," she said in a soothing tone. "I'm not going to hurt you. Such a pretty little thing," Kimmie said, picking up the wealth of the girl's dark hair. "Could you fit one of my dresses for her? She needs something other than that towel and your vest."
"It wouldn't be too hard."
Kimmie stood up and offered her paw to the girl. She looked at her worriedly, and put her hand into Kimmie's large paw, but wouldn't get up. "What's the matter?" she asked her.
"The master told me to sit," she said in a small voice.
Tarrin snorted. "I told you not to call me that," he told her. "If you want to get up, you can get up. You can do anything you want to do, as long as you don't wander too far from me or one of the others."
"There, see?" Kimmie said with a gentle grin, pulling on her hand until she was getting up despite wanting to sit down. "Now let's get you into a nice dress. I think brown would be a good color for you, with your skin and hair. And I just happen to have a nice brown dress that won't take much shrinking to fit you." She blinked. "Oh, no! I forgot, I left it on the ship!" she moaned.
Without blinking, Tarrin touched the Weave and wove the complicated spell to summon an Elemental. He charged it with enough energy for it to last several hours, and set it into a form that was small enough to fit through doors. He also set it so it could be visible as a misty gray man-shaped cloud if it so chose. "I need to ask a favor of you," he said as it appeared. "I know it's a menial task, but it's very important to me."
The Elemental told him that no task is menial so long as it was a successful one.
"I'm glad you think that, because this is nothing more than fetching something for me," he said with a rueful look. "I can't go myself. Don't worry, you only have to go a few longspans. It should only take you a minute to get there." Tarrin looked around. "Can I borrow a piece of paper and a quill?" he asked Kimmie.
"Sure, let me get it out of my pack," she said, letting go of the girl's hand. She stood there looking confused, for as far as she could see, her huge savior was standing there talking to nothing.
"I need you to bring back a chest for me," he told the Elemental. "I'm going to give you a note to give to the people watching the chest for me, telling them exactly what I want them to put in the chest. When they're done, you need to bring it back here. Is that alright with you?"
The Elemental assured him that it was quite willing to do as he asked.
Kimmie brought him a quill, ink pot, and a piece of rumpled parchment. Tarrin sat down on the divan and scribbled out his note, in Wikuni. To Jalis, captain of the ship. If you're reading this, you're standing in front of a cloud that just handed you this letter, he wrote. The cloud is an Elemental, and it was sent by Tarrin. It's doing me a favor. Go to the cabin I share with Kimmie and pick up the smallest chest by the bed. Open it, remove the books from inside, and replace them with Kimmie's clothes that you'll find in the larger chest beside it. Make sure to put the brown dress in the smaller chest, but as for the rest of the clothes, use your best judgment. When you finish, put the books you took out of the small chest into the large one and bring the small chest back to the cloud. It will take it and bring it back to me. Oh, and to let you know, Queen Keritanima is doing just fine, he added. He figured that Jalis would want to know that. He signed it with his name and handed it over to the Elemental. "Make sure you become visible when you hand them that," he warned it. "I need you to go to a ship. It's anchored in a shallow cove on the south tip of this island. It's about ten or so longspans south. When you get there, become visible and present this letter to anyone you can find. They'll make sure it gets to the person it's intended for, and he'll take care of everything for you. He'll bring you back a chest. When he gives it to you, bring it back here to me. I'd really appreciate it."
The Elemental assured him that it could handle the task with little difficulty.
"Can you find your way out of this house?"
The Elemental assured him it could.
"Alright. We'll be waiting for you."
The Elemental told him it would return quickly, then zipped away, pausing only to open the door.
If the girl hadn't understood what just happened, she didn't show it. Then again, she was probably used to magical things happening around her. "The Elemental will bring us back some of your clothes, Kimmie," he told his mate. "I told Jalis to put more than just that one dress in the chest. I figured you'd want a dress too."
"You're right," she said, patting her hip, getting his attention on her breeches. "These things need to be cleaned, and besides, I hate pants. I much prefer a dress." She got a serious look. "What are we going to do now?"
"Well, as soon as we get the clothes, we'll give the girl here something proper to wear. Then, if you don't mind, could you take her to Dolanna? I think she won't be very comfortable with me until she gets used to freedom, and Dolanna can help her in ways I can't."
"That's a good idea," she nodded. "What's your name, sweetie?" Kimmie asked the girl.
"Zarina, Mistress," she replied.
"Don't call me mistress, it makes me sound like I run a brothel," she grinned. That put the girl back a little, but then she giggled in spite of herself. "My name is Kimmie. If you didn't notice, me and Tarrin are kind of a couple." She jerked a thumb at him. "Don't let him scare you, girl. He may look big and mean, but he's actually a pussycat when you get to know him. All that blustering is just for show," she winked.
"He's very good at it, Mistress," she offered in a meek tone.
"He's had a lot of practice," she said with a wink at Tarrin.
Kimmie fussed with Zarina's hair after that, taking the girl in paw and trying to make her relax. Kimmie was a chatty soul, but she had a keen mind and understanding of both humans and Were-cats, and knew how to defuse people. She'd been doing it to Mist, and then Tarrin, for years, so she had plenty of practice at it. She managed to calm the girl down as she played with her hair, debating hairstyles with her that would make her look pretty. Zarina fell under Kimmie's spell quickly, and even almost laughed once when Kimmie made a light joke. She didn't completely relax, her conditioning as a slave made that impossible for her so soon, but she did calm down quite a bit, and her body language softened as Kimmie won over her trust.
The girl felt completely comfortable with the fussy Were-cat by the time the Elemental returned with the chest. It carried a letter as well, and as Kimmie opened it and found the brown dress she wanted right on top, Tarrin unfolded it and read it. Good to hear you're doing alright, Jalis wrote back. This is the third one of these letters I've gotten since yesterday morning, but I don't think you know that. You had the same idea her Majesty did in having these magical servants deliver them. You should have been a little more specific about which dress you needed, because there were four brown ones in there. To save myself the trouble of trying to fathom the mind of a woman, I just put them all in there and I'll let Mistress Kimmie sort things out. Tarrin had to chuckle at that, and continued reading. Things here are going a little strangely. The steam engine did break down last night, for real, while Donovan was bringing it up to test an adjustment they were trying. Donovan says it'll take about five days to fix. The part that broke is in the middle, and they have to take the whole thing apart to replace it, then put it all back together, but they can't do that until they manufacture a replacement part. At least Donovan said he can make a replacement part without your help, but it'll take a couple of days. I don't understand all that technical mumbo-jumbo they throw at each other, but I did get the impression that this replacement part has to be very carefully made. I'd rather not lose another five days to shoddy workmanship, so I told Donovan to be damn sure he makes it right the first time. Anyway, I need to keep this short. Hope you got what you wanted. Jalis.
Tarrin folded the letter and nodded his thanks to the Elemental. "Do you want to go back, or would you rather fly around on your own and explore or something until the spell ends?" he asked it.
It seemed very pleased he would ask that, telling him that dismissing it now was what it preferred.
"Alright. Thank you for the help. I appreciate it. You can go now."
Tarrin Dismissed the Elemental, and a short gust of wind heralded its departure.
"Now this dress will look smashing on you," Kimmie said, holding it up to her as she still clutched his vest around her. "But first things first. No girl can get into a new dress without taking a bath," she announced. "Let's get you cleaned up and dressed, and then we'll do something with your hair," she said lightly as she pulled the girl towards the bathing room. "Then I'll introduce you to Dolanna. You'll like her. She's a gentle woman, and she'll take good care of you."
Tarrin let Kimmie work with the girl as he began to ponder what was going on. He still just could not believe what he had seen today. It was the last thing he would have ever believed would happen. What had happened to the Sha'Kar to make them change so drastically? It almost seemed unreal. They acted like they were still katzh-dashi, abiding their return to the outside world, but if the two towers saw them do what he'd seen today, they'd throw them all out. If the Goddess didn't strike them dead on the spot first. She'd be even more outraged than he was, and may very well chastise her wayward children personally, in a most severe manner.
As Tarrin calmed down, slowly uncoiled from around his fury, he began to understand that finding out what had caused this radical change in the Sha'Kar wasn't as important as finding out from them where the Firestaff was. But seeing this made him see that if they would do that to a servant, then he was going to have to be very careful. If they opposed his seeking the Firestaff, they very well may come after him, and they would not be gentle. They wouldn't just defeat Tarrin and his friends, they very well may try to kill them. Tarrin could defend himself against Sha'Kar in small numbers, but if they built a big enough Circle manned with strong enough da'shar, he would be overwhelmed by them. Given how powerful these Sha'Kar seemed to be, he figured it wouldn't take much more than five or six of their strongest, five or six on the Elder Council. It would take several more of the lesser powerful Sha'Kar to overwhelm him without their help.
Things were going to get very tricky, he could see that. Sapphire wasn't with Kimmie, so Tarrin figured that Kimmie had set her loose out in the town and told her to see what she could find out. Keritanima, Dolanna, and Allia… were they going to be any help at all? They seemed completely taken with these Sha'Kar. Keritanima and Dolanna were spending more time getting drunk and partying than working, and Allia—what was he going to do about her? She was acting like a Sha'Kar! When he told her about this, she might turn on Allyn, or may even turn on him! She boasted that she had Allyn well in hand, but it looked to him that Allyn was the one holding her in hand. Allia was going to be a very touchy subject.
He couldn't believe what he was doing. He was doubting his sisters and friends. He actually wasn't sure if they were going to do what needed to be done. Allia only had eyes for Allyn, and Keritanima and Dolanna too seemed entangled in the Sha'Kar's honey coated net. In that moment, he doubted the wisdom of handing the girl over to Dolanna. Dolanna would be best suited to help her, but would she? Or would she ignore the girl to go to the parties and get drunk?
Dar. He seemed not as taken with the Sha'Kar as the others. He could depend on Dar. He could also depend on the others. Camara Tal and Phandebrass, Azakar and Miranda, Binter and Sisska. Miranda was in the best situation to help him find out where Keritanima's mind was, since she slept in the same bed with her.
Tarrin berated himself for going so far with his conjecture. They'd only gotten drunk one time, at one party. And before that, it was the drug that nobody knew was in the wine. That wasn't their fault, and he could forgive them for one night of partying. Everyone needed a break like that from things from time to time, even Dolanna. But Allia… that was another matter. He loved her, but could he trust her now? Had she been pumping Allyn for information, or was it Allyn learning all their secrets from Allia? If they were even thinking like that. Every time Allia looked at him when they came to his room last night, she was looking right through his clothes, undressing him with her eyes. Maybe she did love him, and maybe he did love her, and they were too busy dampening bedsheets to worry about anything else.
It was a grim, unbelievable thought, and it turned Tarrin's world on his ear. Ever since coming to the Tower, Allia was the one person he had trusted utterly. He still loved her, considered her his deepest, closest, best friend, but what was she telling Allyn? Allyn may have worn down her defenses and gotten her to reveal secrets. If he did, he really couldn't blame Allia. Even she wasn't perfect, and love made people do strange things sometimes. But could he trust her? If she had to choose between Allyn and him, who was she going to choose?
Tarrin saw the little rust-colored ball sitting on a bedtable near the bed, a physical reminder of his encounter with that Sha'Kar. He remembered Triana warning him never to leave pieces of himself laying around, and absently Transmuted the dried blood into a rough-surfaced ball of iron to destroy its danger to him. He needed to talk to the others. Preferably without Keritanima, Dolanna, and Allia there. He had to tell them about his suspicions, then talk to each of them alone to find out just what was going on.
Putting a paw to his amulet, he started the process. "Dar," he called. "Put your hand on your amulet and answer. I'll hear it."
"Tarrin?" his voice came from the amulet. "I didn't know you could use your amulet to talk to me. What do you need?"
"Find Azakar, Camara, and Phandebrass and bring them to my room. And swing by Kerri's room and ask Miranda to join us. Keritanima's probably still asleep, so let her sleep. We can fill her in when she wakes up."
"What about Dolanna?"
"Let her sleep."
"Alright. I'll go get them. We'll be there in a few minutes."
He could hear the uncertainty in Dar's voice. He wished he could have explained things a little better, but as Dar said, they were only a few minutes away. Besides, it wasn't safe to—
Tarrin blinked. It wasn't safe to speak using the amulets!
Why hadn't he thought of that sooner!? These Sha'Kar were Ancients, and the weave that allowed that distant communication was a common trick used by the Ancients. They all wore amulets, they probably used that weave to talk to each other all the time! And if Tarrin could figure out a way, he could eavesdrop on those conversations!
All this time, one of the most effective and efficient ways to get an idea of what was really going on with the Sha'Kar had been sitting under his nose!
Well, there was hiding in the Weave, too, and he'd considered that. He could sit in a strand and weave out spells to see and hear what was going on in the real world without being seen. But these Sha'Kar were Ancients, and if he could sense it, then so could they. That's why he hadn't tried it already.
But he hadn't sensed the spell in the girl's tattoo, not until he physically touched it. He rose an eyebrow, wondering if the strong background magic that drowned out his ability to sense weak or distant magic wasn't also interfering with him detecting Sha'Kar doing the very same thing to him. If he thought of it, he was certain that they had. After all, they'd had thousands of years to get accustomed to falling back on tricks he had only learned over the last few months. That was probably the first thing they considered.
Tarrin felt a little stupid. Here he was, thinking of mundane ways to learn things from people that would always fall back on magical means of accomplishing the same goal. Allia said that they were totally dependent on their magic. If they were confronted with a task, the first thing they would do would be to figure out how to solve it with magic.
And then again, their utter dependence on magic, and their arrogant compulsion to automatically assume that Tarrin and his friends would behave as they did, seemed to him to be a hidden advantage. Tarrin would always think of a mundane way to do something, first, then resort to magic if he couldn't find a mundane solution to his problem. If the Sha'Kar couldn't think of any way to do a task aside from using Sorcery, then maybe those mundane ways of doing things would be things they'd never consider. Something as simple and easy as sending Sapphire to spy on them may be something that they'd never even conceive of, and that meant that it would work.
In any case, he realized that now he fully considered the Sha'Kar to be the enemy. He was already considering ways to get around them, and when the time came, to go through them. After seeing that male use Sorcery to torture that poor girl, he couldn't think of them in any other way. Maybe not all Sha'Kar were bad, as not all humans were bad, but he didn't feel that he could trust any of them. Even if he did like Iselde and Auli, he knew that they were Sha'Kar, and if they had to choose sides, they'd side with their own. They were enemies as well, though they were enemies Tarrin rather liked. He'd work around Iselde and Auli and make sure they didn't get hurt, but that was as far as his consideration would go.
Kimmie brought the girl out of the bathing room with wet hair, wearing her dress. It was too big for her, for Kimmie was much taller and had a more generous figure, the garment hanging off the girl like a sack, drooping down so low in front that the girl's breasts threatened to pop out of the neckline at any moment. "Well, it's your turn, Tarrin," she told him with a smile, motioning at the girl, who looked a little anxious.
Tarrin looked at her, then wove a spell of Fire and Earth that infused the fiber of the garment and caused it to shrink. He controlled that shrinkage masterfully, and the girl gasped as the garment suddenly pulled in, contracting to fit her perfectly. She looked quite the little lady in Kimmie's dress, modified to show off Kimmie's cleavage for his benefit. It showed off the girl's pert breasts quite admirably. Dar was going to keep his eyes locked on her, he knew. Dar was Arkisian, progressive in outlook, but he had a certain weakness for girls. It was because of his age. He loved looking at them, but always did it when he thought they weren't looking. He wasn't sure why he did that, but he did. It seemed odd that he was quite willing to undress and bathe with a girl and not be embarrassed at all to look at her every charm, even scrub her back, but looking at a girl's bosom or her butt when they were hidden by a dress was something he didn't want them to know he was doing. Weird. But then again, humans were like that.
The girl looked down at the dress in wonder, picking up her skirts and looking down at herself. "It's beautiful!" she said in a meek yet impressed voice. "I've never worn such a beautiful dress! Thank you, Master, Mistress!"
Kimmie handed Tarrin his vest back, which he shrugged over his shoulders and set in place. Kimmie was still in her vest and trousers, her breeches a little wet from the water in the pool. "I think she's a lot cuter this way," Kimmie said to Tarrin, tapping her cheek with a finger. "When you have it all hanging out like that, it doesn't pique a boy's curiosity and imagination. Not like hinting at what you've got."
The girl blushed rosily. "When a Master wants me, Mistress, I must serve," she told her in that same programmed tone that told him she was reverting to her conditioning.
"Well, not anymore," Kimmie told her. "You'll go to bed with a man only if you want to. He'll have to court you and woo you, and that can be a lot of fun sometimes."
"I've never been courted before, Mistress," she said hesitantly. "I wouldn't know what to do."
"We'll teach you, don't worry," Kimmie said with a smile.
"As you wish, Mistress," she said absently, continuing to admire her dress. "I hope it doesn't mean that I can't serve a Master, though. Sometimes, with the right Master, it can be very sweet."
"That's a healthy way of looking at it," Kimmie told her. "I was afraid that them doing what they did to you would make you frigid. But now you get to decide which man you allow into your bed. You can make sure that only the right man is with you, to make it a sweet experience every time."
"What is frigid, Mistress?"
"A woman afraid to go to bed with a man," she answered. "Some human women get like that if men abuse them. And you were definitely abused."
There was a knock at the door, and Dar opened a moment later. He had the others with him, as well as Sisska. Sisska was the one that commonly accompanied Miranda when she was alone, and Binter stayed with Keritanima. He was probably with her now, watching over her as she slept. "We're here, Tarrin," Dar said. "Everyone you wanted."
"Come in and close the door," Tarrin said in a grim tone, a tone they could tell meant that he was not happy. They filed in as Tarrin set the divan back upright, and beckoned for the girl to sit down. She did so immediately, fussing with her skirts as she sat and waited for her next order. Kimmie sat down beside her, which made her seem to relax a little.
"Everything changed today," Tarrin announced with a grim look at them after they joined him at the divans. Camara Tal and Miranda were sitting on the divan as the others stood behind and around it, forming a semicircle facing the two Were-cats and the unknown girl wearing one of Kimmie's dresses. "I got a good look at the true nature of the Sha'Kar today. And it chilled me."
Grimly, methodically, and thoroughly, he related the story of what happened that morning. He left very little out, even going so far as telling them about the way they'd sexually abused the girl, but he intentionally omitted the fact that her being a Druid was the main reason that made him take the course of action he did. But then again, even if she wasn't a Druid, he probably would have done something about it. Their violation of her had struck a nerve in him, that same nerve left open and raw from his experience at the hands of Jula's collar.
"I can't believe that they would do that!" Dar gasped as Camara Tal shook her head grimly, and Phandebrass had a rather resigned, disappointed expression. The look on Azakar's face was one of barely contained fury, and Miranda looked shocked. "It's against everything they teach us in the Tower!"
"I know," Tarrin growled. "The little fawn is with us now. I couldn't just leave her there to be used like that, and certainly not to be tortured."
"I just can't believe that they did that," Dar said, over and over again. "They seem so nice!"
"They're nice to you because you're a Sorcerer, Dar," Camara Tal grunted. "You don't see the way they look at me or Zak or Phandebrass. To them, it's like we don't exist. When that man used magic against the girl, he probably thought of it along the same lines as punishing a dog for staining the carpet." She snorted. "You may be surprised, but I'm not."
"It's going to cause problems," Tarrin said in a strangely cold tone. "Kerri and Dolanna are quite taken with the Sha'Kar. And Allia—" he closed his eyes and turned his back to them. "I don't know how she's going to react to this."
That made them all quiet for a long time. If even Tarrin wasn't sure what Allia was going to do, then nobody did.
"What do you think we should do?" Dar asked him.
"What we're doing now," he replied, looking over his shoulder at the young man. It wasn't right to call him a boy anymore. He was sixteen now, nearly seventeen, grown tall and with the faint beginnings of a moustache. "But now it's very important to finish here soon. If I stay here too long, I'll kill someone."
"So, we're back to square one," Camara Tal growled. "Find the Firestaff."
"And try to work around the Sha'Kar doing it," Phandebrass added. "I say, there are some things that don't add up about them. I read that book you got from Iselde, Tarrin, I did. Did you know that there are some three hundred or so Sha'Kar who are missing?"
"Missing? Missing how?" Dar asked.
"I say, I'm not sure. The book mentions every death of a Sha'Kar since they arrived. But I sat down and did some math, I did, comparing the numbers of those who arrived and the births in relation to the deaths. There are three hundred and forty-one Sha'Kar who, according to the book, should still be alive. But they're not here, they're not. It's as if the book simply stops mentioning them, and they vanish from the island."
"I didn't notice that, Phandebrass," he admitted. "I didn't think to count the Sha'Kar."
"Trust Phandebrass to do something like that," Dar grinned.
"It took me a little digging, it did, but I found that almost all of the missing Sha'Kar were firstcomers," Phandebrass said, patting his robes meaningfully. He rifled his pockets and his pouches, then his eyes brightened and he pulled a piece of parchment out from under his hat. "Ah, here we are," he said, then he started patting his robe again. "I say, where did I put that parchment?"
"It's in your hand, you old bat!" Camara Tal snapped at him.
"It is? Oh, here it is." Tarrin almost chuckled. His mind was completely preoccupied, and that made him a bit scattered, as usual. "Yes, here it is. Three hundred and ten of them were firstcomers, and most of the disappearances took place between the third and fourth centuries of their exile here. There were thirty-one other disappearances, scattered from the fourth century to fifty years ago."
"That doesn't explain why the Sha'Kar have gotten nasty, old coot," Camara Tal said sourly.
"No, but I say, it's a mystery. I find mysteries to be irresistible."
"The third century. That was the century of the plague, and then the volcano erupted and burned the city fifty years afterward," Tarrin mused.
"It still doesn't mean anything," Camara Tal pressed. "We have more important problems. Like what we're going to do about Kerri, Dolanna, and Allia."
"I say, that's a touchy subject. They're friends with the Sha'Kar, they are."
"I just can't believe that they'd do something like this," Dar sighed, putting his hand over his face and shaking his head.
"You can be disappointed on your own time, Dar," Camara Tal snorted. "Me, I'd rather bust some of their heads open." She looked at him. "Why didn't you gut that miserable excuse for a life?" she demanded of him.
"Strange that you would feel that way, Camara," Azakar said stiffly. "Since you keep slaves of your own."
"My men aren't slaves like this," she snapped, glaring at him while pointing at the very quiet, very unobtrusive girl, who watched them all in a kind of fright-tinged interest. "Men are property on Amazar. Not only is that custom, it's the natural order of things. But men have rights. We don't torture them for fun. What kind of woman do you think I am?" she demanded hotly.
"I say, let's not start bickering," Phandebrass called. "We have enough trouble as it is without you two snapping at each other, we do."
"Put a sock in it, old man," she growled at him.
"All of you shut up," Tarrin hissed at them. "Phandebrass is right. We have a serious problem here, and we can't waste our energy biting at each other's tails. What are we going to do about Kerri and Dolanna?"
"Tell them," Kimmie said simply. "Give them the truth. They're going to find out eventually, so let's just put it all out on the table. If they don't want to believe us, that's their prerogative. If they decide that we're lying, then we go on without them."
It was a chilling statement, but Kimmie was right. Things were too important to stop, even if Kerri, Allia, and Dolanna chose not to continue on with them.
They were quiet and a little reserved. Keritanima and Dolanna were the brains of their group. Without them, much of their ability to plan and organize was lost.
"Miranda, you know Kerri better than anyone," Tarrin said calmly. "What will she do?"
"She's devoted to our cause, Tarrin. Even if she were married to a Sha'Kar, she wouldn't take their side."
"I hope so, Miranda. I really do," Tarrin said grimly. "Everything's all mixed up now. The Sha'Kar showing their true stripes, Kerri and Dolanna, and Allia—it's all just a big mess," he shuddered. "Of course, we may be blowing it all out of proportion."
"But we can't take that chance," Kimmie said calmly.
"We can't," Dar sighed in agreement.
"I say, we have much to do, and it turns out that we don't have much time," Phandebrass said. "I'm going to see if I can't get into the library at the main house. Dar, you should come with me. If I have a Sorcerer with me, they may let us in."
"I'll keep at the servants," Camara Tal said.
"Don't bother. Those tattoos they have are actually spells, and there are Mind weaves tangled up in them. We'll need Dolanna to pick through them and figure out what they do."
"Why can't you do it?" Camara Tal asked.
"Because they were made by a human," he replied. "You may as well ask me to write my name in the sky with the stars, Camara. I can't make out Mind weaves set by and affecting humans. It's a fundamental rule of Sorcery. Only those of similar race can be affected by or fully comprehend a Mind weave woven by another. My mind is too different to understand the nuances involved, because all Mind weaves are very delicate. The slightest shift in them can have a radically different effect in their targets' minds."
"It takes a human to understand a human's weaving," Miranda reasoned.
"Exactly. Dar doesn't have enough experience to do that kind of delicate work. If he makes a mistake, he could do permanent harm to the servant he was probing."
"Let's just hope Dolanna will do it for us," Dar sighed.
"I'm going to go pay a visit to Grand Syllis today," Tarrin said in a flat tone. "It's time me and the ruler of the Sha'Kar had a little talk." He flexed his fingers in a most ominous manner, extending and retracting his claws.
"Don't do anything stupid, Tarrin," Dar warned.
"I know I can't outrage the Sha'Kar yet, Dar," he said grimly. "But they know why we're here, and even if we're having trouble, we can't let them forget about us. I have to remind them I'm still waiting. They're about to find out that a Were-cat has very little patience and an even shorter temper. Maybe a little good old-fashioned intimidation will shake something loose for us."
"I'm, going to go talk to Kerri," Miranda said. "She has to know this. I think it'd be best if it came from me."
"I'll talk to Dolanna," Kimmie said. "She and I are on good terms, and she knows that Were-cats don't lie."
"Let me deal with Allia," Tarrin said with a determined look. "When she finds out the cousins of her lover are monsters, she may take it out of the hide of whoever tells her. I'm best suited for dealing with her if she gets nasty."
"I don't think she'd do that," Dar said somberly.
"I don't know, Dar," Tarrin sighed. "I really don't know. And that scares me more than anything else."
Tarrin was in no mood for games. He stalked across the town, from Iselde's house to the massive central building at the center of town, the estate house of Grand Syllis, from which all official business was done. Everything about him radiated his bad mood, from his aggressive posture to his dark look, and the Sha'Kar in his path that started with flowery greetings trailed off to hesitant murmurs as he moved past them without so much as looking at them. None of them followed him, at least overtly, as Sha'Kar and a few humans in those shimmering robes began to congregate in a group that moved behind him by degrees, frantic whispering and pointing taking place. That the honored one was finally making an appearance among them was one thing, but for him to be so angry! All of them whispered that their hosts had done something to displease him, and he was on his way to the Grand to arrange quarters more suited for his eminence. There were other rumors, that a servant had insulted him, for the servants had gossiped that the honored one had taken one of Thalen Briliani's servants back to his estate, then carried the servant out by the hair some moments later with the entire household watching him leave from the door. But those rumors were unsubstantiated so far. Sha'Kar began to appear at their gates as he passed, word spreading my means of Whispering and amulets ahead of him. The Whispering he heard, a warning to all to stay out of the honored one's way, that he was obviously upset over something. It would be audible to any who was da'shar. The da'shar warned off the youngers among them, heading them off before they moved to greet the honored sui'kun and quite possibly brought shame on themselves. The honored one was obviously on his way to the Grand, so the Sha'Kar simply got out of his way. The Grand was the one who should receive the honored one and help him solve whatever problem that had upset him so.
He kept looking straight. If he lingered his gaze on any one Sha'Kar, he may prematurely lose his temper and do something rash, so he kept his eyes on the building with the Illusions that moved gracing its walls, kept his eyes on his goal. The Grand.
They were waiting for him, of course. He was expecting it. Two Elder Sha'Kar were standing at the door in the shimmering robes, bowing to him before his feet touched the stairs up to that most austere of entrances. They led him into a receiving hall about the size of a noble's manor, stunningly done with chased gold etched the walls like vines of ivy, frozen in their climb to the ceiling. The light glowed from the walls, light that bothered Tarrin in a way, for it never dimmed, even when it was night. The Sha'Kar lived inside their homes in eternal light. He was led between immense staircases with silver plates on the steps, down a cavernous passage with an arched roof that had incredibly detailed paintings along its surface, Sha'Kar after Sha'Kar looking down on them in gentle benediction. Then the Sha'Kar gave way to silvery, web-like lines that crisscrossed the ceiling and the walls, even the floor, an artist's rendering of the Weave and its many strands. Then, at the end of the passage, was a set of double doors, upon them painted a relief of the Tower of Six Spires, in Suld. The detail was exacting and precise, and though the city skyline beyond the seven towers was unknown to him, the towers themselves were quite recognizable. It was the Suld of a thousand years ago, a Suld that had buildings as large as the Tower's main spire surrounding it. Not like the Suld of today, with its slapdash architecture that was a blend of old and new, Sulasian and other architectural styles.
Those doors opened, and he found himself looking in on the council chambers of the Elders. It was even larger than the receiving chamber, but it was completely empty. It only had a single round table in its exact center, sitting atop a raised dais just like the daises upon which the Sha'Kar beds stood. The table had nine chairs, and seven of them were occupied. The two leading him took places at the empty chairs, and then sat down. Eight male and female Sha'Kar wearing those shimmering yellow robes, and the ninth, the Grand Syllis, decked out in his golden splendor. That one, with the serpent-like face and the golden eyes under golden hair, matching his golden robe, stood up and opened his arms. "Honored one, welcome to the Chamber of Wisdom," he said in his nasal voice. "We have awaited you."
Tarrin summoned all his courage, all his will, and used it to push down the irrational, almost uncontrollable urge to go flying across that table and take off the arrogant ass' head. For a long moment, he dared not speak. All he could see was the girl, Zarina, writhing on the floor. All he could hear were here shrieks of mindless agony. His vision even hazed over with red, a clear warning to him he was bout to snap, but tight, controlled breathing and an unshakable knowledge that attacking the Council would get everyone killed kept his fury in check. The key to living with the rage is to learn how not to hurt those you care for while in rage, Triana had told him so long ago. In this case, he had to keep from hurting his friends by not flying into a rage. And so far, that had been enough.
"You know where I am, Syllis," Tarrin said in a cold tone. "If you were so hungry for my company, you should have paid a call."
"We have been busy with your quest, honored one," he said smoothly. "I personally and all of the Council have consulted our books of history and lore. But I regret to tell you that we found nothing of use to you within them. I am sorry we could not help you, honored one."
Syllis was an accomplished liar. Had Tarrin hadn't had prior experience with Allia's scent, he may not have been able to smell the lie in Syllis' own scent. But it was there. His heart's rhythm changed slightly, his breathing shifted, and the faint fear-smell that came with lying appeared briefly in his scent, though it took it a moment to cross the table and reach Tarrin's nose. He was silent during that time, as he waited for the scent to reach him, staring at Syllis like he could kill him with a gaze. That brutal stare made the members of the Council shift a little in their seats, and one of them, the shortest female, pulled at the neck of her shimmering yellow robe uncomfortably.
"I'm sure you did your best," Tarrin said in a tight voice. "We'll be here for five more days, as the ship we came in is repaired to make it seaworthy. When it's ready, we'll be leaving."
"And how many will be leaving with you, honored one?" the Grand asked with a penetrating stare. "From what I've heard, your Lost companion is being courted by the nephew of your host. And I've heard that your da'shar servant and the Wikuni are enjoying our hospitality quite enthusiastically. Will they be leaving with you, or perhaps, will they stay and learn our customs? It would behoove both us and those in the towers for some of their own familiar with us to be there when we return to our ancestral positions within the towers. To smooth over any wrinkles that may arise as the humans readjust to us," he said with an oily smile.
Was the man trying to set him off? The members of the Council seemed a little fearful as Tarrin's clenched fists shook briefly, and his expression became absolutely intense. What did the man know? He knew that Allia was indeed being courted by Allyn. Did he know how much it upset him? Did he know that Tarrin wasn't sure if he could trust his own sisters and the one human that had been his friend from the first day he'd been turned Were? Just what did he know? Whatever it was, it was putting the Sha'Kar at an advantage over him, and he needed to even the playing field. He needed a reply just as shocking to them as that had been to him. "They can stay if they wish. But I'm taking a few of yours back with me," he said. "Two of your human servants."
"Yes, I've been informed. Whatever the servant did, and whatever you intend to do to her, I know you'll be glad to hear that we will bow to your judgment in punishing her."
"That has nothing to do with it," Tarrin said, his eyes narrowing. Perhaps this was a good time to reveal that little bit of information. "I'm sure you'll be glad to get rid of them, Grand."
"Why is that, honored one?"
Tarrin gave him an absolutely monstrous, thoroughly evil little smile. "They're Druids."
That one word sent a barely perceptible but monumental shockwave through the Council. He could see every one of their faces stiffen, every one of their jaws clench.
"H-How do you know that, honored one?" he asked in sincere concern.
"I'm a Were-cat, Syllis," he said with a slightly smug look. "I can sense a Druid. It's part of what I am. It's something you wouldn't understand." He looked at them. "Since I can see that the idea of a Druid among you makes you uncomfortable, I'll be glad to remove them from the island for you."
They stared at him fearfully. Now he was certain that they were feverishly wondering what he knew. If they'd talked to that Sha'Kar he'd nearly killed earlier, they probably knew that he'd been outraged by his actions. If his actions were considered acceptable to all the other Sha'Kar, he knew that now they considered this a troubling problem. Tarrin was sui'kun, an honored one. He was one of the spiritual and political leaders of the katzh-dashi. That the honored one would show such violent outrage at an accepted custom among them could not make them feel very comfortable. He could see it in their faces. What did Tarrin know? Why bring up Druids? What did he know? He remembered them being so relieved when they found out Kimmie wasn't a Druid. That was the one thing they feared, above all others. But why?
Why? That was very simple. Druids could block Sorcery. They feared anyone that had power over them.
And they didn't know that their honored one was also a Druid.
"We, ah appreciate your concern, honored one, but that's not necessary," Syllis said. "We would welcome these Druids with open arms."
"I have a duty as a Were-cat to take them and deliver them to the Druids, Syllis," Tarrin told him calmly. "So they can be properly trained and take their place in our society. Which is much different from yours."
"Ah, yes, Fae-da'Nar. I remember fondly my dealings with them before the Breaking. They were an honorable and actually a quite pleasant group with which to work. You are right, of course. Your duty as a member of Fae-da'Nar would compel you to take the two from here and deliver them to the Druids for training. I completely understand, honored one. You may take them with our blessing."
Tarrin missed something. Syllis was calm again, even if the others at the table were not. Something Tarrin said had bled the worry out of him. What had he said? Nothing that could have relaxed the man, that much was certain. Just that he'd take them back with him because they needed to be trained—
—maybe that was it. If they weren't trained, maybe Syllis wasn't afraid of them. At least not yet. After all, they couldn't do any harm until they were trained in the ways of Druidic magic.
"Would your servants on the ship like our assistance?" Syllis asked. "I'm sure our magic can help them finish their work and return you to your most important task."
"What they're doing is very delicate, and they'd be insulted if you barged in on them, Syllis," Tarrin answered coolly. "They'll finish on time. And it's only five extra days."
"As you wish, honored one," he said with a very relaxed posture. He was completely calm now. "Are you comfortable with your hosts? Would you like us to get you anything special?"
Tarrin looked at him. He was just too calm now. He had to stir him up again. A calm man wasn't apt to blurt things, where an upset man was. He quickly and furiously tried to think of something that may be a little controversial, but not outright damaging, like how he knew about the spells in the tattoos or something that would touch on his outrage. He didn't want to lose control of himself right now. Then he remembered Phandebrass' ramblings. It was something at least, something to buy him some time to think up something good. "Actually, I was wondering about something, and since I'm standing before the pearls of wisdom among the Sha'Kar, this would be a good time to ask."
"We will help in any way we can, honored one," Syllis said grandly.
"Me and the human Wizard read a book on your history since coming to the island, that our hosts gave us. It was an interesting book, but you see, some of its numbers don't add up."
"Excuse me, honored one?"
"Well, by our reckoning, there are three hundred and forty one Sha'Kar that are missing," he said calmly. "Their names appear in the book as arrivals or births, but there's no listing of their names concerning deaths. They're not on the island, and yet there's no record anywhere of them dying or leaving that we can find. I was wondering if you could explain this mystery to us. It has us quite baffled, since your people are such excellent record keepers."
That hit something. All nine of them suddenly went pale beneath their brown skins, and they stared at Tarrin in shock. Tarrin had just thrown it out there because Phandebrass had mentioned it, and it was still very fresh in his mind. He'd needed something to try to stir them up, and it was the first, the only, thing he could think of. But to get a reaction like this? What did it mean? Why were they all so shocked, and now they looked frightened!
"You say you read this in a book, honored one?" the Grand asked, his voice slightly worried.
"A book given to me by Arlan's niece," he answered. "I think she got it from her family library."
"Well, it's not much of a mystery, honored one," he explained, his voice strained in its attempt to stay calm. "Those ones missing from the records died in the ceremony of Ascension. They tried to duplicate the miracle that got us through the Ward, tried to escape outside and let the katzh-dashi know that we are here, and wait for our exile to end. Most of them attempted it when the plague struck us, and again after the volcano erupted and destroyed the city. We don't list them as having died in our records, for it's custom for us to pretend that they still live, trapped in the weaving of the Ward, waiting to be released when it fails. So they were never listed as having died."
Tarrin mulled that over, and found that his dates did more or less match. Phandebrass said most of them disappeared during that time. It was a reasonable explanation… but it wasn't a reasonable excuse for them to react so powerfully to him bringing it up. It was a good excuse… but it was still a lie.
Something else had happened. Something serious.
Whatever it was, it involved Iselde's father. They said that he died in the same ceremony.
"That does coincide with what we found," Tarrin said calmly. "Phandebrass will be very happy you could explain it, Grand Syllis. He's something of a nitpicker. He can't stand it when he finds something that isn't complete."
"Be sure to let him know we were happy to assuage his anxiety, honored one."
Tarrin nodded, realizing that this was a mystery, and a very important one. If he could find out what really happened to the Sha'Kar that disappeared, he would have a weapon so formidable against the Council that they would do anything he wanted. And the best place to start would be Iselde.
When he got back, he was going to kiss Phandebrass. The prattling mage, with his scattered thoughts and his half-baked observations, had struck on something that had put the fear of the Goddess into the Council and the Grand. Phandebrass' uncanny knack for noticing small details, often at the expense of remembering to eat or what continent he happened to be on, had become critical. The disappearances of those Sha'Kar was something very important, judging from the reactions of the Council and the Grand. It was something that he had to find out, and find out quickly.
Tarrin silently thanked the Goddess that it had stuck so freshly in his mind. He'd been looking for something, anything, to throw at the Council to unbalance them. He had struck gold. Absolute gold.
"I won't take up any more of your time, Grand," Tarrin said coolly. "I'll return to my host's estate. If you want to talk, you know where to find me."
"We will continue to search for you, honored one. If we find anything, we'll let you know."
"I'm sure you will," Tarrin said quietly, turning his back to them and walking away.
He had a piece of this puzzle now. Something to do with the disappearances of the Sha'Kar had frightened the Council when he brought it up. It was big, very big, something that he suspected would rock the Council back on its heels. Now he just had to figure out what it was. Once he did, he would have the ultimate weapon to use against them, something that would secure their unswerving cooperation.
But there were other things to consider. There was coming a reckoning with Allia. He could feel it. He wasn't sure how he knew that, but it was almost hanging in the air. Allia was not going to take what he was going to tell her very well, and as strangely as she'd been acting lately, he had no idea how she was going to react. That frightened him. That he didn't know his own sister's mind… it was almost inconceivable. Allia's behavior had completely confused and worried him, because it was so irrational for her, and he didn't know how she was going to react when he broke the news about Zarina to her. He seriously doubted it would come to blows, but as strangely as she'd been acting, he just wasn't sure what was going to happen. She would either calmly accept his information, not believe him, be angry with him for telling her, or become furious with either him or Allyn. He fervently prayed that her reaction was not a violent one. Allia was Selani, and that meant that if she reacted with anger or outrage, if she felt her honor had been violated, she would strike to kill if she lashed out at Allyn. She wouldn't kill Tarrin if her anger was directed at him, because he was as her brother, and Selani did not kill Selani. It was the most sacred law of Fara'Nae, their goddess. That didn't mean that she wouldn't beat him senseless, but she wouldn't kill him.
At least that would be the Selani reaction. If Allia was acting like a Sha'Kar, there was no telling what she would do. She may very well forget her Selani custom and attack Tarrin, and attack him with intent to kill. She was one of the few living things that had a good chance of pulling that off, and that was why he had such a foreboding feeling about this.
His day wasn't over. Not by a longshot.