Honor and Blood

by James Galloway

  "Shiika's helping me?" he said in surprise.

  I certainly hope so, since it's what she told me to do, she said with a bright smile and a wink.

  That bowled him over. Helping him! After everything that happened between them, Shiika was helping him! How amazing! He thought that she was certainly still miffed over his taking the book from her. Shiika certainly seemed to be the kind that held grudges, but he saw that he was wrong. He knew she wasn't lying, because it all made a strange kind of sense. Shiika did send her, Shiika was giving him some help.

  I'm Anayi, she told him with that same smile. And we've met.

  They certainly had. She'd tried to kill him not too long ago.

  He wasn't quite certain what to do. She was a stranger, but the strange circumstances of everything kept him from recoiling from her like other strangers. After all, she wasn't the average stranger.

  "Uh, well, thanks," Tarrin said hesitantly. "What are you going to do now?"

  Oh, I don't know. Mother only told me to follow you as far as the desert. We're here now, so I guess I'll go back. I think she feels that you'll be alright now.

  Tarrin stared at her for a long moment. He still couldn't believe it, that Shiika had sent one of her brood to help him. But he couldn't argue with her reason. It was in Shiika's best interests that Tarrin kept the book. He guessed that she considered that more important than any personal animosity she felt.

  Sighing, gathering his wits, Tarrin rose up to his full height and stared down at the smaller female. He was surprised she was strong enough to carry him like that.

  Panting, Sarraya caught up to them. "You about scared me to death!" she screamed at both of them. "Who are you, and what are you doing?"

  If the female replied to her, Tarrin didn't hear it. But she must have, because Sarraya's angry expression lightened immediately, and then she laughed. "I'm surprised her High And Mightiness bothered to help," she told the female.

  Strange. He hadn't heard anything. Perhaps the halfbreed could choose who she wanted to hear her and who would not.

  You certainly look...taller, Anayi remarked to him. Your face is different. What happened to you?

  "You can thank your mother for that," Tarrin said grimly.

  What do you mean?

  "When your mumsie drained Tarrin, it aged him," Sarraya said lightly. "Actually, we should thank her. Were-cats grow stronger as they age. That Troll back there certainly looked surprised," she laughed.

  I would imagine it would. Goblinoids don't like Lycanthropes, and I've felt Tarrin's sting.

  "Say, you think you could give us a lift to, say, Arkis?" Sarraya asked curiously.

  I would like to, but...I am not welcome here, she replied. Whoever rules this land does not find my presence comforting. Her anger is almost in the air.

  Tarrin didn't feel anything. Then again, he wasn't half Demon. Demons were mystical beings, and their senses worked differently than mortal kin.

  This is as far as I'll go into the desert, and I think I've come too far, she reported. She looked at Tarrin. I hope you realize that there are no hard feelings from my mother, or the other Cambisi, she told him. We were trying to protect the book. We regret losing three of our brothers, but they were starting to get annoying anyway. I honestly believe that the book is in good hands now, so I don't consider losing it to you a failure. You proved you're not going to lose it.

  Her admission and statements surprised him. "Well, I'm sorry I killed your brothers," he said quietly. "And I guess I'm sorry for all the trouble. Did Shiika fix everything? With the Emperor and all?"

  Anayi laughed aloud. Fix? You motivated her to do the one thing I thought I'd never see her do.

  "What?" Sarraya asked curiously.

  She took the throne herself, and she's not hiding what she is, she replied. And do you know what's surprising? The Arakites don't seem to care, she said with a look of slight confusion. They know she's a Demon, yet they don't seem to care about that. It's almost like they think she'll do a better job than the Emperors. I don't think they know that she was controlling all the Emperors.

  "Probably not, but now that she has to take responsibility for her decisions, I think you'll see things get better in Yar Arak," Tarrin told her. "One thing I noticed about Shiika, and that's that she's very smart. Since she has to rule openly, you'll see her start changing things so things are better for the people. If only to keep them happy and not thinking of revolution. Happy people don't rebel."

  I've heard her make similar observations, Anayi agreed. And I think you're right. Mother raised us to think for ourselves, to not be dominated by the taint of our dark heritage. She's a fullblooded demon, yet I think she's more humane than some of her children.

  "That makes me relieved," Tarrin said. "She certainly kept confusing me. Trying to kill me one moment, sparing my life the next."

  She likes you. She is ruthless, Tarrin, she is a Demon and a political power, but she does have softness in her. You're one of those soft spots. She really respects you and admires you, and I think part of her is happy you beat her, if only to justify those feelings.

  Tarrin blushed at her praise. "You should expect chaos from a Demon, Tarrin," Sarraya chuckled.

  Anayi smiled sweetly at him. I think I've worn out my welcome here, Tarrin, she said, pointing towards the west. Tarrin turned and looked, and saw a savage sandstorm approaching them, boiling up from the floor of the desert. It was so big and so close that he couldn't have possibly missed it when he looked earlier. It screamed of magical creation. I think the goddess of this land is coming to toss me out the door, so I must be off before she gets here. She stepped up to him and reached into her belt pouch, then pulled out a small black object. This is from Mother, she told him, holding it out for him.

  "What is it?" Tarrin asked, holding out his paw. Anayi's hand disappeared in the expanse of his paw as she set it into his paw, and her fingers were almost caressing as she slid her hand away.

  It was a small device that looked like an amulet, or charm. It was made of black steel, almost the same metal as the amulet around his neck, and upon it was engraved a woman's face. He turned it over, and saw that it had a dragon in profile on the back. A coin?

  Mother made that, Anayi told him. It's magical. It works just like your amulet. Just hold it in your hand and call Mother's name, and she'll be able to talk to you. But it will only work once, so don't use it unless it's an emergency.

  "Why would I want to talk to her?"

  Mother is a Demon, Tarrin, and she's very powerful, Anayi chided. If you need help or you're in big trouble, call on her, and she'll send something to help you. You may not find what she sends to be very nice to look at, but it will be compelled to aid you in any way possible.

  "Another Demon?"

  Mother is a Succubus, Tarrin. Their strength is manipulation and control. Mother isn't very physically or magically powerful compared to other Demons, but her charms and games have quite a few Demons more powerful than her bound to her service. She can call on them any time to do her bidding.

  Tarrin absorbed that, then he blew out his breath. "Then why didn't she just do that when I was going after the book? Unless--" He looked hard at Anayi. "She let me take the book!"

  You'll have to ask her about that, Anayi replied. If she did, then she must have had a good reason. But I don't think she did. I can't think of any good reason why she would.

  Tarrin couldn't either. It would be illogical to try to kill him one moment, then turn her back and let him take the book the next. Shiika may be a Demoness, but she was also a smart Demoness. She wouldn't do something like that without a very good reason, if she did it at all. Without proof that she allowed him to take the book, he had to assume that she didn't.

  "I, I guess so," he said.

  I have to go now, Tarrin, she said. The goddess of this land is picking up steam. If I don't leave now, I may not get out anytime soon. She stepped up boldly, something that took Tarrin by surprise, then she reach
ed up and put her hand on the back of his neck. Before he knew what was happening, she pulled down his head and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Be well, Tarrin. Know that the Cambisi and Mother will be at your side if you need us.

  With a sweet smile, she stepped back, turned and spread her wings, and then vaulted into the sky. Tarrin stood there for a long moment, staring up at her dwindling form in confusion and wonder, his paw on the cheek she kissed.

  Things just never made any sense in his life.

  He watched her fly away, Sarraya landing on his shoulder, then he turned and looked towards the west, towards the sandstorm. He had made it. They were in the desert. Now, those chasing him could not touch him. The desert was his sanctuary, his protector. The might of the Selani and the wrath of Fara'Nae would keep them out, keep the Book of Ages out of their hands. Now, he figured, they would go to Arkis, to catch him as he came out of the desert. They knew where he was going. But that was a worry for another time. For now, he was safe.

  As safe as he was going to be. The Desert of Swiling Sands was a dangerous place, full of huge reptillian beasts, all sorts of poisonous animals, and brutal weather. Even now, on the very edge of the desert, he could feel the heat of the setting sun, feel the heat in the sand under his feet. Tarrin was very tolerant of heat; the heat of the plains of Saranam had barely registered to him. But this heat could not be denied, and it made him very glad for Sarraya's cloak. He would battle the heat, the Selani, the animals of the desert, and the notorious weather of the desert, for late summer and early autumn were the seasons for savage sandstorms.

  But after what he had endured to get to where he was, he felt that crossing the desert was more of a chore than a life or death struggle. With Sarraya's Druidic magic to help him, they would survive the desert's greatest dangers. The lack of water and food were not issues. Only the physical threats of the wastelands of the Selani could challenge him now.

  For a moment, he allowed himself to feel....safe. If only for a moment. But there was little comfort in that sensation anymore.

  Sighing, pulling up the hood of the cloak and fishing out his visor, he turned towards the setting sun, hidden behind the boiling sandstorm. Now a new challenge awaited him. He had to cross the vastness of the desert, and do it in one piece. He had to solve the mystery of the Goddess' words, to find out if Fara'Nae could--or would--be able to teach him about the lost arts of the Weavespinners.

  More uncertainty. Tarrin felt lost in a sea of confusion, where nothing made any sense anymore. The only light illuminating the dark waters was the mission, the knowledge of what he had to do. But it was little comfort. He clutched at the amulet around his neck, knowing that the comfort of his sisters was only a call away. He feared taking that step, unsure of how he would feel to hear their voices, and not be able to see them or touch them or scent them. To know that he was alone, alone in a violent world that was trying to kill him. It had nearly driven the Cat mad, that feeling of loss, something that he had hidden from himself. Something he was afraid to face.

  "Well, on to the next game," Sarraya remarked absently.

  "Tarrin?"

  Before he really knew what he was doing, he had the amulet out, cradled in his palm gently. Keritanima! That was Keritanima's voice!

  "Tarrin, are you there?"

  "Kerri!" Tarrin said explosively, months of pent-up fear and worry for his silent sister flooding out of him in one exclamation. "Kerri, why haven't you called to me? Where have you been? Are you alright?"

  "I've been busy, I'm still in Wikuna, and I'm fine," she replied with a toothy chuckle. "Miranda, Zak, Binter and Sisska say hello. I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you, but I've been very busy."

  "Kerri, what's going on? Did everything go alright? I was afraid to call to you, I was afraid that I'd interrupt you when he couldn't afford it--"

  "I know, Allia explained it to me. She told me that you have the Book of Ages."

  "You talked to Allia? Stupid question," he grunted. He felt unbelievably relieved, as if the weight of his solitude had been lifted from his shoulders. "I have the book."

  "Allia said you had quite a fun time getting it," Keritanima laughed. "I've been having similar fun over here."

  "What's happened?"

  "Well, I'm the Queen now, but I think you knew that was going to happen," she told him, and the tone of her voice told him she had that toothy grin on her face. "I canned my father two tendays ago. I've barely had the time to think, let alone let you know what was going on. I've been busy changing the government so it can run without me here."

  "Why are you doing that?"

  "So I can come back to you, silly," she laughed. "But this time, I'm going to be coming with a few more titles, and a pretty little headdress and metal stick."

  "I'll be glad to see you again. If you talked to Allia, then you know what's going on."

  "Some of it. I almost had a fit when I heard that Jula was still alive. Really, Tarrin, she's too dangerous to leave around."

  "You're thinking like a Queen, Kerri."

  "I am a queen, deshida," she said in a teasing tone. "At least until I push the nobles over the line. They really don't like my changes, because now they have to pay taxes, and the nobility doesn't hold absolute power anymore. But they'll adapt to it. I have confidence in them."

  "It sounds like you've been very busy."

  "That doesn't even start to describe what's gone on over here," she laughed. "I heard that you've been pretty busy yourself, that you're by yourself."

  "Hey!" Sarraya snapped.

  "Almost. Sarraya is with me."

  "Allia wasn't too keen on that," Keritanima chuckled. "Then again, Allia wouldn't be satisfied unless it was her with you."

  "How is she?"

  "Fine. They're in Tor right now. The ship they're on got damaged in a battle with Zakkites, so they had to put in for repairs. I have a squadron of ships there, and they're going to escort them to Suld."

  "You? You control the Wikuni fleet?"

  "Tarrin, you dip, of course I do!" she laughed. "What part of 'I am the Queen' do you not understand? When I tell the fleet to go somewhere, they go!"

  Tarrin laughed sheepishly. "Well, I guess I just sorta forgot. I'm not used to things like that. It just doesn't seem to fit you."

  "Well, get used to it. I gave up some of my own Queenly powers in this new government, but I still have control of the military. The Parliament can't interfere when I deploy the fleet."

  "Parliament? What is that?"

  "It's part of the power-sharing government I set up, that's going to allow me to leave Wikuna without worrying about being overthrown while I'm away. I've set things up so they can function without me for a while, but I can't leave until everyone gets comfortable with the new system."

  "Wow, you have been busy, sister," Tarrin whistled. "It sounds like you mean to keep the throne."

  "I decided that if I have to be Queen, then I'm going to be the Queen," she told him seriously. "And that means I have to put the needs of my people over any desire of my own for power. My people need a representative government if we're going to be ready for the future. I'm starting to get annoyed by my own handiwork, but I'll get used to it. It was much easier when I could just say 'do this or I'll execute you.' Now I have rules to follow."

  Tarrin laughed richly. "Sister, now you sound like a Queen. And you sound like everything that me and Allia hoped you'd be."

  She was silent a moment. "I've missed you, my brother," she said in a sincere voice, filled with emotion.

  "I've missed you too, Kerri, more than even I realized," he replied.

  "I don't know why, but that makes me feel a little better," she sniffled. "Since I control the fleet, can I send you any help? I can send half the fleet to get you to Suld if you can get to a port."

  Tarrin almost accepted her offer, but then he realized that the Goddess had already told him which way he had to go. Maybe just escaping from his pursuers was only half the reason she sent him into the
desert. Maybe there was something else out here she wanted him to do, something he had to learn. He remembered her telling him about the power of the Weavespinners, and Sarraya's idea that maybe Fara'Nae could teach him that power.

  "I'm sorry, sister, but I have to go this way," he told her. "My path has been set for me, and it doesn't include any ships. I'll get to Suld on my own."

  "Are you sure? Allia told me why you're going the way you are. I can make sure that nothing stops you, and nobody is going to catch you on a Wikuni clipper."

  "I'm sure, Kerri. I think the Goddess means to teach me something out here. I think I have to do it alone."

  "And now even you're forgetting about me!" Sarraya said hotly.

  He had. He totally forgot about Sarraya, he was so wrapped up in the elation of hearing from his dear sister after so long. He blushed slightly, then tapped Sarraya on the top of the head playfully. "Well, not entirely alone," he amended, giving Sarraya a fond smile. "I have Sarraya, and just knowing that I can speak to you and Allia keeps me from feeling too lonely."

  "Allia told me that you probably wouldn't answer if I tried, but I just couldn't help myself," Keritanima confessed. "I've missed you so much, I just couldn't go another day without hearing your voice."

  "I've missed you too, Kerri." The sandstorm was almost on top of them, and it was getting bigger, stronger, and nastier every moment. "Sister, I have to go. There's a huge sandstorm bearing down on me, and I have to get to some shelter before I get buried in sand. I'm in a pretty dangerous place, so please don't contact me first. Let me call you. You may give me away when I'm trying to hide from something I'd rather not face."

  "Well, alright, but I'm not used to taking orders from a commoner," Keritanima teased.

  "Say that again when we're face to face," Tarrin retorted.

  "I'm not that stupid, my brother," she laughed in reply. "Go find someplace safe, and I'll be waiting to hear from you. Be well, my brother, and be safe. I love you."