"I think you have a good idea," Keritanima said, tapping her chin with a finger. "Cause enough chaos with the Dals, and the ki'zadun may start reconsidering attacking. I'd much rather avoid that war if I could."
"Forget it. They've worked for years for this, Kerri. They'll come, no matter how bad it looks."
"That's true enough, I suppose," Keritanima sighed.
The Keeper, who had been sitting in rather nervous silence staring at Tarrin, cleared her throat. "I think it's a very good idea," she agreed. "If we can free the Sulasian army and be sure of it, it will add that much more defense to Suld."
Tarrin glared at her shortly, but said nothing. "Have the Aeradalla arrived?" he asked.
Keritanima nodded. "About five hundred of them," she answered.
"Five hundred?" Tarrin asked in surprise.
Keritanima nodded. "They've caused quite a stir, and it's been hard explaining why they're here. Most of them are flying over the ocean, under the story that they're making sure that no ships attack Suld by sea."
"That's a rather thin excuse, Kerri. The whole world knows that not even a rowboat can get past a Wikuni fleet."
"Sometimes a good reputation can be a liability," Keritanima sighed in agreement. "The rest of them have been scouting the Dals and being very careful to scout the ki'zadun without being seen. Truth be told, they're why the Rangers have suddenly gotten the upper hand against the Dal supply lines. The Aeradalla tell them exactly where to go."
"I only asked for fifty."
"I guess you're a very influential speaker," Keritanima grinned.
"Have one of them come to Aldreth," Tarrin said. "I only need one."
"There are Aeradalla all over western Sulasia, as far east as Marta's Ford," she told him. "I'll make sure one of them gets there by tomorrow."
"Good. I'll need some aerial scouting if I'm going to take Torrian."
"Take Torrian? By yourself?" the Keeper asked in surprise.
"I'll find a way," Tarrin said grimly, flexing the claws on one paw in an ominous manner. "The Dals have killed my friends, innocent villagers. They're going to pay for it."
There was a loud, sudden banging at the door. The three of them looked as Szath leaned against the door more and more, then suddenly cried out as the door opened against him. The massive Vendari, who could have probably picked up a full wagon, was brushed aside like a child as the door split from the stress of being jammed between his immovable object and the irresistable force being applied to it. Tarrin took a step backwards, fearful that his secret was out, but it was Triana standing in the doorway, brushing some dust off her tawny-furred arm. That made Tarrin laugh. Triana wasn't even impressed with a Vendari.
"Cub, I've gotten very short with you for making these visits without coming to see me," she said hotly, striding past the startled Vendari. Szath reached for his battle axe, but a quick gesture from Keritanima stayed him. That probably saved his life. Not even Szath would be a match for the powerful Triana.
It shouldn't have surprised him that Triana knew. Triana seemed to know everything.
"Mother," he said with a nod of his head. "I'm sorry, but I didn't realize you wanted to see me."
"I always want to see my cubs," she said with uncharacteristic gentleness. "I see you took them off. You have no idea how happy I am to see that."
Tarrin looked down at his bare forearm. "I never really had a choice, mother," he said ruefully. "I had a pair of very determined goddesses making sure that I wasn't going to leave the desert with them on."
"The question is, cub, do you need them?" she asked intently.
"No. Not anymore," he said after a moment, which made Keritanima sniffle. "Mother, you have no idea how cross I am with you right now."
"And why is that?"
"I'm in Aldreth," he said bluntly, glaring at her.
"Oh. Ah, well, it was going to happen eventually. Did you kill her?"
"Not yet, but I'm thinking about it," he growled. "Why didn't you tell me!"
"It wasn't my place. It was Jesmind's secret. It wasn't my place to give it away."
"Damn propriety!" he shouted at her. "I nearly had an apoplexy, mother!"
Triana laughed, the stony mask breaking from her face.
"What are you talking about, brother?" Keritanima asked curiously.
"Jesmind left me because she was pregnant!" he said indignantly. "I have a daughter I never knew I had!"
Keritanima looked at him, then at Triana, then she burst out laughing. "That's just too rich!" Keritanima gasped. "I knew you had it in you, Tarrin! Congratulations!"
He ignored that rather base, crude innuendo, continuing to glare at his bond-mother.
"That information doesn't leave this room," Triana said dangerously, looking at the Keeper.
"I wouldn't endanger Tarrin's child, Triana," the Keeper said mildly. "I understand the danger."
"I absolutely have to tell Allia," Keritanima sniffed, recovering herself. "She'll keep it a secret, and she deserves to know. I guess that makes me Auntie Kerri," she giggled.
"She's just like you, Kerri," Tarrin said accusingly. "She's a cunning little devious sneak. At least I can thank you for showing me how to deal with girls like you."
"And what is this little Kerri-to-be's name?" Keritanima grinned.
"Jasana," Tarrin told her.
"Is she cute?"
"She's adorable," Tarrin said with a bit of fatherly pride.
"It's nice to hear this, but let's get back to Torrian," the Keeper said. "You can't just go and attack an armed complement, Tarrin. It's crazy."
"Sometimes crazy works," Tarrin shrugged.
"But you're too important to be risking yourself like that!"
"My importance has nothing to do with you, Keeper!" Tarrin snapped at her. "What I'm doing has nothing to do with the Tower! So don't ever think that I'll even listen to you!"
The Keeper shrank back in her chair, a hand going to where Tarrin had branded her, and fell silent.
"I've done well enough so far without the Tower and without you, so shut up," Tarrin said to her hotly.
"Cub, you're getting too full of yourself," Triana told him. "I'll put some humility back in you when you get here."
"You can try, mother," he said with a challenging glint in his eye. "I'll just add it to settling up with you over not telling me about Jasana."
"Bring it, cub," Triana suddenly grinned. "You won't be the first cub I've spanked, or the last."
"Let's keep the warfare out of the Tower, thank you," Keritanima said primly, standing up between the two towering Were-cats. "It would help us if you break the Dal supply lines, and have the Selani attack the Dals whenever they get there. They don't have to wait. In fact, the sooner they do it, the better."
"Alright. I'll figure out some way to tell Sarraya--"
"No, I'll tell Sarraya," Triana said. "I can get the message there in moments."
"Alright. With the Dals defeated, having the Sulasian army pull back to Suld wouldn't be reaching. It would be the logical thing for them to do--at least a portion of them. The rest would go out and restore order and pick off the Dal stragglers."
"But they won't do that," the Keeper reasoned. "They'll hide close to Suld, then be at hand when we need them."
"Exactly," Keritanima agreed with a nod. "If Tarrin can cause enough chaos in their rear areas, it'll interrupt the flow of information to the ki'zadun, and that will hide the Selani until it's too late."
"I can cause as much chaos as you need, Kerri."
"Good. Go for the throat, brother," Keritanima grinned. "Completely cut the Dal army off from its support."
"I can do that," he said confidently.
He was about to say something more, but he became aware of something powerful touching him. That power sought out his own, sought out a joining, but Tarrin realized almost immediately what was happening. It was Jasana! She had touched him, and somehow, she was trying to Circle with him! Tarrin's Illusory image suddenly dis
torted as Tarrin diverted a great deal of his attention to choking off that attempt. "Tarrin?" Keritanima called in sudden concern. "What's wrong?"
"Quiet!" Tarrin snapped, closing his image's eyes and concentrating all his attention on Jasana. Her power was incredible! And what was worse, she was already able to use her power! She wasn't unrealized, as he thought, she simply didn't have the mental capability to use the power she possessed!
Tarrin reeled as he drew on all his experience, all his knowledge to fend off Jasana's innocent attempt to Circle, but it wasn't easy. Her raw power eclipsed him, but she had no experience and very little control over that power.
How could he have been so wrong! How could he have underestimated his daughter so badly! She didn't have the same sense as himself or Spyder, that sense of impresson on the Weave; he realized it was because she had yet to cross over, to become sui'kun. Hers was a very light touch, a deceptive mask hiding the true extent of magical power that was hidden inside her, because only a portion of that power had been realized.
It was unbelievable! This child, not even two years old, was the most powerful Sorcerer alive!
Tarrin resisted that powerful attempt to join with him, pushing it away from himself, and then his illusory form solidified. "I have to go, now," he said shortly.
"Tarrin, what happened?" Keritanima asked quickly.
"My daughter happened, that's what," he said tersely. "If she was trying to get my attention, she certainly succeeded."
"What did she do, bite you?" Keritanima asked.
"Something like that," he replied, giving her a look that the Keeper couldn't see, a look that told her not to press the issue. "I have to go, before she does something worse."
Keritanima nodded imperceptibly, then chuckled. "You're right. She is as bad as I am," she grinned.
"I'll talk to you in a while, cub," Triana told him. "After you find out what Jasana wants."
"Alright, mother," he said. "I'll talk to you later."
He let his image dissolve as he abandoned it, then sent his consciousness back into his body in the blink of an eye.
He opened his eyes and found Jasana standing in his lap, tugging on his amulet fearfully, tears actually sliding down her cheeks. "Papa!" she cried out, collapsing against him. "I didn't know what was wrong with you!"
Tarrin enfolded the frightened little girl in his arms and comforted her. "Nothing was wrong, kitten," he said quietly, calmly, gently. "I was just talking to someone with magic, that's all. When I do that, I can't see or hear what's going on around me. That's why I wouldn't say anything."
"It was more than that!" she sniffled. "It was like you weren't there! Like you were dead!"
Tarrin was surprised. When he was joined to the Weave, it was apparent that he was breathing, but without his consciousness in his body, he may seem dead to someone sensitive to that kind of thing.
"That's a part of it, Jasana," he assured her. "It's nothing you should be afraid of."
"I wanted to find you," she said, her voice telling him that she was calming down.
"I know. I felt it." He pushed her out to where he could look her in the eye. "Promise me you won't try to do that again unless I tell you that you can, alright? You almost got lost, kitten. If you would have managed to come in to find me like that, I don't know what would have happened."
"Alright," she sniffled, wiping at her nose. "I'm sorry if I scared you, papa."
"Surprised me more than anything else," he smiled gently in reply. "What you did, kitten, it's something that I didn't think you could do. Do you know what it is?"
"No, not really," she replied.
"For now, it's best that it stays that way, kitten," he told her. "I don't think you're ready for that quite yet." He tapped her on the end of her pert little nose, making her giggle. "Are you hungry?"
"No, not really," she said with an adorable smile.
"Well, that's too bad, because you're going to eat anyway," he told her firmly, rising to his feet with his daughter in his arms. She put her arms around his neck, and Tarrin carried her back to the house.
One thing was for certain. He was certainly going to have his paws full trying to handle her if she started trying to touch the Weave. She had awesome power, but she had no training and no control. That was his only advantage. Dolanna had taught him long ago that raw power was only a portion of the true power of Sorcery. Dolanna's exceptional skill at Sorcery made her a stronger all-around Sorcerer than him--at least at that time--because of her many years of her experience. She could even handle his power for limited amounts of time, despite the fact that he was so much stronger than she was.
Jesmind was standing near the fire, a pan of sizzling ham steaks sending their delicious smell through the house. Seeing her like that both incited his anger of her, and reminded him how much he had missed her.
"It's about time," she grunted. "I was about to come out and get you two."
"I need to talk to Garyth," Tarrin said immediately. "Do you know where he is?"
"No, but he shouldn't be too hard to track down," Jesmind replied. "If we should even bother."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because if you killed the Dals, then the people in the village told him about it, and that means he'll probably show up very soon to talk to you. Odds are, he'll be dragging along all the important people in the village with him."
"Probably," he agreed, seeing the broken table still lying in the corner, where Jesmind had pushed it for the moment. Absently reaching within, through the Cat, touching his Druidic power, he Created a new table exactly like the old one, which appeared in the same spot the old table had been.
"Wow!" Jasana said immediately. "Did you do that, papa?"
"Yes, I did that, cub," he told her absently, sitting at the chair that was now in front of the table.
"I told you, cub, your father's a magician. He knows alot of magic."
"Can you teach me!?" she asked quickly and excitedly.
"I'll teach you when you're old enough to handle it, cub," he told her evenly. "You're too young yet."
"When will that be?"
"When you're old enough to know when to use your magic and when not to use your magic," he told her firmly.
"I know that!"
"Riiiight," Tarrin drawled. "And what just happened outside, young lady?"
Jasana blushed slightly, looking at the floor.
"Exactly," Tarrin said with an edge of finality in his voice.
"What did she do?" Jesmind asked curiously.
"Something that almost got her in big trouble," he said with a stern look at her. "Magic is not a toy, Jasana. If you do something wrong, it can hurt you very badly, even kill you. When you're old enough to appreciate that, I'll teach you. But not before."
"Yes, papa," Jasana sighed.
"Go wash up for breakfast, cub," Jesmind said sharply. "Hop."
"Yes, mama," she said obediently, scurrying off towards Jenna's old room.
"What happened out there?" Jesmind asked him in a low tone, coming over to stand before him.
"She tried to use her magic in a way I never dreamed she'd be capable of," he replied in a similar tone. "It's something that you can't do unless you're trained to do it, yet she very nearly pulled it off. She would have, if I hadn't have stopped it."
"Is it something I should worry about?" she asked nervously, concern for her daughter evident in her voice.
"No, I think it scared her, so she won't try it again," he answered, his anger towards her softening just a bit after seeing the worry in her eyes, worry for their daughter. He couldn't fault her for that. "I'm not quite sure what to do about her, Jesmind. Her power--" he shuddered. "She's stronger than me. If she learns how to touch the Weave and starts throwing magic around wildly, she could do some serious damage."
"Oh that's it, Tarrin, make me feel better," she said acidly.
"Truth is better than platitudes, woman," Tarrin said dangerously. "About all I can suggest is that if
you see her starting to do that, knock her out. She can't use Sorcery if she's unconscious."
"I don't like the idea of hurting her like that," she said with a grunt.
"Better a bump on the head then burning herself to ash," Tarrin told her firmly.
"Amen," Jesmind blew out her breath. "Can you stop her?"
"Easily. At least for now."
"Then I guess the only real solution is to keep you near her," she reasoned.
"Are you insane?" Tarrin said immediately, jumping to his feet and staring down at her hotly. "I'm about to go wade headfirst into a war, Jesmind! There is no way in the nine hells I'm going to bring Jasana with me!"
"Well what do you expect me to do!" she almost shouted in reply.
"Keep your voice down!"
"Make me!" Jesmind said indignantly, crossing her arms and glaring at him.
He very nearly did. He would have, if Jasana hadn't rushed out of Jenna's room and firmly interposed herself between her parents. Tarrin glared down at Jesmind, feeling Jasana's paw on his stomach, almost holding him back, but his former mate showed no fear of him, glaring back up at him with the same intensity.
It hung there for a long moment, until Jesmind snorted and looked away from him. Her retreat allowed him to calm down, and he sat back down in the chair and put his chin in his paw pugnaciously.
"Don't yell," Jasana said to them firmly.
"Get back in there and wash!" Jesmind snapped at her.
The little girl understood that she'd better do it and do it quickly, so she darted back into Jenna's old room.
"I'm getting tired of this!" she hissed. "If you want to fight, fine! We'll go outside and beat each other senseless!"
"I can't think of anything else I'd rather do right now," he growled at her, jumping back to his feet and staring down at her with a malicious eagerness.
"If that's what it's going to take to beat all this hostility out of you, then let's do it!" she said in an ugly tone.
And she did. Tarrin never dreamed she's blindside him, so he was totally unprepared for it. She balled up her fist and planted it right in his belly, driving the breath out of him, using all her Were-cat strength to really make it hurt. Had he been a younger Were-cat, he would have doubled over that fist and been left incapacitated. But Tarrin was alot stronger and tougher than he used to be, and was able to shrug off enough of it to not be squirming on the floor. But it had slowed him down, stunned him for a brief moment, and that was all Jesmind needed to grab him by the neck, pull him aside, square him up, then punch him dead in the jaw.
Honor and Blood Page 91
