Honor and Blood

by James Galloway

  He looked down at the world with wonder filling his eyes, wind flowing through his fur, as Ariana began to spiral down from that tremendous height, descending in a slow and easy manner, spiralling down in widening circles that were carrying him to the northwest of the edge of the cloud. The black stone of the city above the clouds fell behind the white mists that concealed it, fell away from his eyesight, and he found that he did not regret coming. He had finally managed to regain a measure of his power, and he had earned the trust of the goddess of the Selani. Those were very important things to him, things that had substance and meaning. The original mission to ascend the spire and find the object had succeeded, but it had failed in that it wasn't what he was looking for.

  But, all in all, it had been a very profitable side trip. Very profitable indeed. He had regained his powers, had found acceptance with Fara'Nae, and what was probably most selfish, he was feeling the wonderment of defying gravity, of flying through the air. It wasn't by his own power, but the feeling was much the same as if it had been, a feeling of boundless freedom that incited the deepest parts of both his human and Cat halves, inspired a sensation that he had the entire world laid out before him for his enjoyment. It was something that he would not trade in, for all the gold in the world.

  Some things were worth more than money, and to a being whose very existence hinged on being free, it was one of the most wonderful feelings in the world.

  Chapter 16

  Down and down and down, until finally the ground was once again where it was supposed to be.

  Tarrin felt bitterly disappointed that it was over. Ariana was on the ground, fluttering her wings slightly for some strange reason, and with a sigh of regret, Tarrin climbed out of the basket and put his paws back on the hot, sandy soil of the desert floor.

  Ariana had done a good job of it. They were some thirty longspans to the northwest of the edge of the cloud. She had spiralled down lazily, taking her time, but moving ever further out to the northwest with each broad circle. It was some time in the afternoon, and they had come down in an area where those stunted desert bushes were starting to regrow after a denuding pass by Selani flocks. The Selani themselves were well southeast of them, well beyond any area where they may be a danger to him, or pose a danger to themselves because of him.

  Sarraya flitted out of the basket as Tarrin stretched, then absently returned to his humanoid form. Ariana blew out her breath and looked at him, then grunted softly. "I take it that you don't have any water, do you?" she asked. "Flying like that makes me thirsty."

  Tarrin just gave her a look, then glanced at Sarraya. "One full waterskin, coming up," she declared. Tarrin held out his paw as Sarraya summoned up her Druidic power, and a full waterskin appeared in his paw.

  "Magic!" Ariana breathed.

  "I'm a Faerie, girl," Sarraya said chidingly. Tarrin handed it to the Aeradalla emotionlessly, and the woman gave it a suspicious look before opening it.

  "This is safe, isn't it?" she asked.

  Sarraya gave her a hard look, and Ariana laughed. "Sorry, stupid question," she apologized, then took a long, deep draw from the skin.

  Tarrin crossed his arms and looked down at the much shorter Aeradalla. The tops of her wings nearly came up to the level of his eyes, though. "Alright, now you can tell me how you ended up as a serving wench."

  Ariana chuckled ruefully. "Well, there's not a whole lot to it," she said. "When I got home, I found out that my house had been annexed by the Ruling Council, as had everything I owned. They had declared me dead. Well, my parents are both dead and my sister is married to a noble and had disowned me--I'm not up to her standards, you see. So I didn't have anyone to turn to for help. I lost all my assets when I was captured by the Arakites, and the Ruling Council took what was left. I was destitute, so I had to get a job. I worked in warehouses and festhalls, trying to get up enough money for a crossbow, so I could at least hunt for my own food. I nearly had enough, when the lackeys from the Palace tracked me down and said that I owed taxes on the house that they took from me while I was gone!" She spat. "Damned greedy bastards," she growled. "Ever since the King was wounded, they've been running roughshod all over us commoners, and we can't do anything about it, because they have magicians and we don't. They've been taxing us into the poorhouse!"

  "What happened to your king?" Sarraya asked.

  "He got a little too close to what he thought was a dead inu," she sighed. "It took a big piece out of him, and what was worse, it tore off one of his wings."

  Sarraya and Tarrin exchanged glances, then Sarraya laughed brightly. "Well, Ariana, I think that your governmental problems should be clearing up right about now," the Faerie said with a broad grin.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "We saw a one-winged Aeradalla in that obelisk at the center of the city," Tarrin told her. "We healed him before we left."

  Ariana gaped at him. "You did? That's wonderful!" she said excitedly. "He went there, hoping that Shaervan would restore him."

  "Shaervan?" Sarraya asked.

  "Our god," Ariana replied. "That place is the holiest of places. It's said that Shaervan rested there after he made our city, that he wrote the Book of Joy there, the holy book of our people, and he left behind an object to ensure that we would always be safe and happy. Only the king and the High Priest can go there." She gave him a quick look. "You were there? What's there?" she asked quickly. "Everyone passes rumors about what's inside the obelisk."

  "I think it would be a dishonor to your god to pass around his secrets, Ariana," Tarrin said calmly. "Let's just say that there is something there, and it does what your people say it does. That's all I'm going to say about it, so leave it be."

  She gave him a slightly disappointed look.

  Sarraya laughed. "I hope your king has some backbone, girl," she told Ariana. "From the sound of it, his Ruling Council won't be very happy that he's coming back. He may have to step on some necks."

  "King Andos is a strong king," Ariana told her calmly. "He's loved by the people, and he's very shrewd. All he'll have to do is hold one of his courts where anyone can state a grievance, and that'll be the end of the Ruling Council." She gave them a sudden anxious look. "I can get my house back!" she declared. "I just have to tell the king what happened!"

  "You can just see the king whenever you want?" Sarraya asked.

  "I can," she said with a little smile. "My father was one of the king's advisors before he retired, and he remembers our name. If I go to the Palace and make it clear it's something very important, he'll see me."

  "He didn't look quite that old," Sarraya told Tarrin. "At least not under all that waste."

  "What are you talking about?" Ariana asked.

  "He didn't look old enough to be friends with your father," Tarrin told her.

  "Well, he was only a boy when he took the throne," she replied. "Men like my father helped guide him while he got used to the throne. I like to think that my father had a hand in making him the king he is today. But I guess that's a little arrogant."

  "Truth isn't arrogance," Tarrin said dismissively.

  "Well, in any event, I really have to get back," she said quickly. "If I hurry, I can be sleeping under my old roof by tonight. I was thinking I'd take you wherever you're going, but I hope you don't mind if I take care of this."

  Tarrin looked away from her. "I wouldn't let you take me anywhere, Ariana," he said grimly. "There's something I need to do yet, and until that's done, I can't leave. You'd be waiting a long time to take me anywhere, so it's best if you just go home."

  Ariana stared at him. "Is there anything I can do to help? First you save me, now you've healed my king. You should be rewarded for that. Can we do anything for you? Anything at all?"

  "I don't need anything," Tarrin told her.

  Give her a shaeram, the voice of the Goddess came to him. It was not a gentle voice. It was a commanding voice. Give her a shaeram, and tell her that if she ever needs you, that she can contact you. />
  Why, Mother? he thought to himself. Why would I ever need to talk to her? I don't understand.

  That was not a suggestion, kitten, she said sharply. You are one of my children, and that gives me the right to tell you to do things you don't understand from time to time.

  As you command, Mother, he said with immediate submission. He would not disobey his goddess. How do I get a shaeram?

  How do you get anything? came her reply, and then he felt her presence retreat back away from him.

  That was that. The Goddess didn't often order him to do anything, and when she did, that meant that it was important enough not to question. Obviously, the Goddess knew something that he didn't, and he would yield to her superior wisdom.

  Getting a shaeram was a very simple affair. Reaching within, Tarrin came into contact with his own Druidic ability, and formed the image of it in his mind. Then he simply willed it to appear. And it did. A shaeram appeared in his paw, one made of quartz crystal, with a sturdy silver chain. Quartz? He wasn't thinking of quartz when he formed the image. Maybe the Goddess was tampering a bit there? It was quite lovely, he had to admit, catching the light and giving off rainbow sparkles and scillinting flashes of light. He wasn't sure how she was going to use it to talk to him, but again, he had the feeling that the Goddess was going to take care of that. He knew that, when necessary, the Goddess could weave her own spells. He had seen them, in his amulet, so he knew that she could do it. He had little doubt that she'd weave whatever spells she thought necessary into the amulet...but probably when he wasn't looking. No doubt he'd see what she'd do, and try to do it hismelf. Considering the vast differences between their abilities, that would probably be a very bad idea on his part.

  At least one part he did understand. She had a shaeram, and he knew her name. That meant that he could use his amulet to talk to her any time he wished. It didn't require any talent in Sorcery to be the receiver of one of those spells. All they needed was the shaeram.

  "Here," he said gruffly, holding out the shaeram. "Take this."

  "It's lovely," she said, holding it up and admiring it. "It's like yours, isn't it? Well, not exactly."

  He nodded. "It's the holy symbol of my goddess," he told her. "It also has some extra abilities. If you need me--and only if you really need me--you can use this to talk to me. No matter where I am."

  "Really? Magic again?"

  He nodded. "But don't play with it," he warned in a strong voice. He decided that a bit of artful deception was required here, and Shiika's own little device gave him a good idea. "It will only work once, and then I'll have to recharge it. So make sure you don't use it unless absolutely necessary."

  "Really? Alright, then. I'll only use it if it's really important. I hope Shaevan won't mind that I'm wearing the symbol of another god," she said worryingly as she slid the chain over her head and settled the amulet in place.

  "It's the only way," Tarrin told her. "It won't work unless it's a shaeram."

  "That's what it's called, isn't it?" He nodded, then she chuckled ruefully. "You just keep helping," she smiled. "I'm going to be in such a big hole of debt to you that I'll never get out of it."

  "No matter," Tarrin shrugged. "I doubt we'll ever see each other again."

  "We will," she promised. "And maybe next time, you won't be coming to my rescue. I owe you a big debt, Tarrin. I'll find some way to repay you for everything you've done for me. For me, and for my people."

  "It's no matter to me, Ariana," he told her calmly.

  "Well, it is to me," she said stubbornly. "I have to go, or I'll miss the afternoon thermals and have to claw my way all the way up to the city."

  "Hold on," Sarraya called. "Can't let you be sleeping in an alley, in case you can't get in to see the king tonight." She flitted up and held out her hands, and he felt her use her Druidic magic. The basket around her waist suddenly dipped slightly as something appeared within it. Ariana opened the flap and looked inside, and her eyes went wide and wild as she drove her hand inside and pulled something out.

  Gems!

  Sarraya had literally filled the basket with all sorts of gems! Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, topaz, onyx, many kinds of jewels. Some were no larger than grains of sand, but a few of them were as big as a child's fist. There was an absolute fortune in that basket!

  "Shaervan's feathers!" Ariana gasped, staring in disbelief at the handful of gems in her hand. "This is a king's ransom!"

  "It very well may be," Sarraya said seriously. "Those Ruling Council bullies may not go out without a fight. This way, someone has the money to fight them on even ground."

  Ariana looked at both of them, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "I can never repay this," she said chokingly.

  "It's nothing but a bunch of little rocks," Sarraya shrugged with a twinkle in her tiny eyes. "No bother."

  Ariana looked at her, then laughed. "I really have to go, before I'm flying up there on the back of a dragon," she said with a mischievious grin.

  "Hold on, let me seal that up so nothing spills," Sarraya said, touching the basket with a finger. "There. The top is lined with soft wax. Nothing's going to spill out, and all you have to do is give it a good tug to open it."

  "I can't ever thank you enough for everything you've done for me," she said with a beautifully grateful look. Tarrin forgot how pretty Ariana was until that moment.

  "You can thank us by getting home and putting everything right," Tarrin told her gruffly. "Now go."

  "I'll see you again, I promise," she said, stepping boldly up to him. She reached up and put her hand on the back of his neck, and it startled him enough to where he didn't resist when she pulled him down. She kissed him on the cheek, then stepped back, gave them one more look, then turned and vaulted into the air.

  Tarrin and Sarraya watched her go, Sarraya sitting on his shoulder, for a few moments. "What was with the amulet?"

  "Orders, from someone that I'm not about to argue with," he replied. "Where did you get those gems? Someone's going to be very angry."

  "I don't steal money from people, Tarrin," she chided. "I created those."

  "I never thought of using it that way before."

  "You're not greedy," Sarraya chuckled. "Maybe now you understand why there's such intensive training for Druids. It protects the global economy."

  "I guess so."

  "So," Sarraya said with a lilting little chuckle. "Where to now?"

  "The same as before," he replied, turning and looking away from Ariana, towards the northwest. "That way."

  "It's going to be boring without Var and Denai. You're not much of a conversationalist, and you can't say anything I haven't heard before."

  "Live with it," he said bluntly, starting to walk just left of the waning sun.

  "I've heard that before," she teased in an accusing tone.

  "Try shut up or die."

  "Heard that too. Really, Tarrin, you have to work harder if you're going to keep me entertained."

  With his tail, he swatted the Faerie off his shoulder. He didn't hit her hard enough to hurt her, but it definitely startled her. So badly that she almost didn't get her wings going before hitting the ground. She began to splutter and stammer after him, obviously at a loss for words.

  "Now you're entertained," he told her as he picked up into a loping run. Leaving the Cloud Spire and the city hidden atop it behind, letting them pass on into his memory. He had done and seen many things there, but now the path ahead beckoned, as did the promised reckoning with the treacherous Doomwalker, Jegojah. That was all that could find its way into his mind now.

  The days blurred together after that, day after day of endless sameness. It was a quiet time of reflection, a time to practice with newly regained powers, a time to prepare for what he knew was coming.

  They travelled northwest over desert terrain that grew steadily more hilly, and the vegetation that had occupied swaths of favorable ground became more common. In some places, the floor of the desert was as green as a manor's
lawn, overrun with those tough, wiry bushes that were the fare of the plant-eating desert denizens. The going was relatively smooth, however, for Tarrin was tall enough to treat the bushes as little more than high grass, and his pads and fur were tough enough to resist the little thorns that armored those stringy plants. He moved in a virtual straight line over that terrain, rarely detouring from his northwest course, stopping only for a respite during the hottest part of the day, for the night and the hidden dangers it possessed, and to eat, rest, and practice.

  That wasn't to say that there weren't a few problems. On six separate occasions, he had spats with some of the more adventurous wildlife common in the desert. Those spats were invariably fatal for the hapless inu and kajat that didn't have the sense to back off, that didn't comprehend that they were dealing with something even worse than they were. They had ruled the desert for such a long time that their superiority had been bred into them, as well as the sense that they had no reason to fear anything in their domain. They had never encountered anything like an implacable Were-cat before, and the few who survived marked Tarrin's passing and his scent as that of an enemy to fear. Tarrin had become utterly focused on his impending visitor, to such a point that he became short with animals that he usually would have allowed to get away.

  Those encounters gave him something of a taste for inu and kajat. Enough to hunt them down for a meal when the situation presented itself.