The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "There's no way you could hurt me, Tarrin," she smiled. "I know that may sound hard to believe, but it's true. When you go back to Jesmind, I'll be just fine. I know I can't keep you, the same way Jesmind can't keep you. I'm not jealous. Well, not too jealous," she admitted. "But it's no different than how she feels. And besides, you'd better get used to it."

  "Why?"

  "Mist, silly," she smiled. "Mist loves you too. You're going to be passed around between the three of us, Tarrin. You'll always have a mate that loves you. Won't that make the mating that much sweeter?"

  He was silent, mulling over that concept.

  "And the three of us will probably be a little happier knowing that you're going to be with females who care about you. We know you're not like most males, that you have special needs. We'll make sure you're always happy." She kissed his paw intimately. "And that's why I'm more than happy, Tarrin. I know you'll always honor my love for you, even if you don't feel the same way, because that's the kind of male you are. You won't use me and then throw me away, and you'll always care about me, even if you don't feel the same way I do. My time with you will always be about me, not about any baggage you bring to the relationship. I'll be sure you're always with a good female who loves you, and that you'll be happy when I'm not the lucky girl being your mate at the moment. That's all that matters to me."

  At that moment, he felt incredibly blessed to have Kimmie with him. He knew she was speaking the truth, and it made him very happy she was there. He put his other paw on her cheek, and she leaned against it with closed eyes.

  "I'll do my best to honor those feelings, Kimmie," he promised. "You'll never get a cold shoulder from me. You'll always feel wanted when I'm with you."

  "Then what more does a girl need?" she asked with a winsome smile, pulling him into a deep, intimate kiss.

  Kimmie's kiss effectively scattered his attention, to the point where he didn't sense the shifting of the magical forces within the room. So it was with a bit of surprise that he opened his eyes and saw a projected image of Jula standing at the foot of the bed. Jula was blushing furiously, though she wasn't looking away.

  "Oh, Goddess, I'm so sorry," she said quickly, hastily. "I'll go back and leave you two alone."

  Tarrin looked at her steadily, but Kimmie was laughing. "At least you got here before we went any further," Kimmie told her. "Ten minutes later, and you'd really have cause to be embarassed."

  Jula turned almost purple. "I'm sorry. I should have called ahead before just showing up."

  "Well, you're here now, so you may as well stay," Tarrin told her. "What did you want to talk about?"

  Jula looked at Kimmie, then sighed. "Well, this concerns Kimmie too, so I should just tell you both."

  "What is it?" Kimmie asked.

  "I heard something from Triana yesterday morning," she said, hedging a bit. "Uh, well, there's no easy way to say it. Kimmie, you're pregnant."

  "I know that, Jula," she said with a glorious smile. "I found out last night."

  "That's a relief," Jula said sincerely. "I wasn't sure if mother was going to tell you, but I thought you should know."

  "She told us yesterday," Tarrin told her.

  "Good, so I'm not really betraying her trust," Jula said with an explosive sigh or relief. "She said it in passing, and I don't think she realized I heard her, but I just couldn't sit on that kind of information. I just had to tell you two."

  "It's nice that you care that much, Jula," Kimmie told her honestly.

  "Tarrin's been good to me, better than he ever had to be, so I want to be good to him," she answered truthfully.

  "I appreciate you looking out for us," Tarrin said. "Does Jesmind know?"

  "Not yet, at least as far as I know. Triana hasn't been here since this morning, and I haven't told her, so there's nobody there to tell her yet."

  "I'm not sure how she's going to react to that news," Tarrin grunted. "She'll either be happy or furious."

  "I don't think she's that mean, Tarrin," Jula said. "Jesmind may talk rough and act rough, but she's a sweetheart once you get past her bark. I think she'll be happy about it, at least after she gets over a bout of intense jealousy."

  "You may be right," Tarrin chuckled. "At least I hope so."

  "If anything, it just gives Jasana and Eron another playmate," Kimmie smiled.

  Sapphire flapped into the room through the open door and landed on the bed, sitting on Tarrin's lap and looking up at him expectantly. It was breakfast time for her, and she wanted food. "Well, another demanding little female is making her presence felt, so I'd better go, Jula," Tarrin told his bond-daughter, scratching the drake between the horns. "Sapphire has her 'I'm hungry' look."

  "Alright. This spell is starting to wear on me, anyway. I'll talk to you later, father. Be well."

  "You too," he nodded, and then her Illusion dissipated.

  "Well, what do you want, Sapphire?" Kimmie asked the drake, picking her up and holding her over her head. "I'm in a good mood, so I'll make Tarrin conjure you a feast that will stuff you so full you won't even be able to fly."

  "Talk about ulterior motives," Tarrin chuckled as he slipped out of bed. He fed Sapphire and refilled her water bowl, then returned to the bed and cuddled up to his mate. "You know, they'll be knocking on the door and telling us we have to get ready to go any minute now," he told her as the sun just began to stain the eastern horizon, visible out the window that faced the bed.

  "Well, that gives us a few minutes then, doesn't it?" Kimmie asked with a hungry smile, dragging him down with her.

  "Pregnancy hasn't done anything to curb your sex drive," Tarrin teased.

  "Some things you do just for fun," she said with a wicked little laugh, then silenced him with a passionate kiss.

  Fortunately, nobody knocked on their door until they were both up, dressed, and Kimmie was nearly finished packing away her magical equipment. But then again, Tarrin realized that Keritanima was a married woman now, and she'd probably used this one and only night with Rallix to have as much intimate fun as she possibly could. That meant that if she had gotten any sleep at all over the night, it was only a few minute's worth. That wouldn't make her too motivated to get out of bed this morning. And that meant that the official order to leave was going to be late. When that knock finally did come, it was Amber who delivered it, stepping just inside the door after Tarrin opened it to see who it was. She curtsied to him deeply. "Lord Tarrin, her Majesty requests that you and your Lady pack your belongings. She's running late, and you don't have much time to reach the ship before it has to sail on the morning tides."

  "We're one step ahead of you, Amber," he told her with a calm look. "We'll be done in a few minutes."

  "Very good, Lord Tarrin. I'll send porters for your things."

  "Are we eating here or on the ship?"

  "I think you'll be taking your breakfast on board, Lord Tarrin," she answered. "Her Majesty ordered her travelling gear packed and sent to the ship immediately, and I didn't see any preparations for breakfast in the kitchen earlier."

  "I figured as much," he grunted. "Kimmie, are you ready yet?" he shouted into the inner parlor.

  "Almost!" she shouted back. "Give me a few more minutes!"

  "Do you know where Queen Keritanima is right now?" Tarrin asked curiously.

  "When I left her, she was in her private rooms," Amber answered. "She was conferring with the king of the Vendari."

  Preparing him for her leaving, Tarrin realized. "Alright, send your porters. We'll be ready by the time they get here."

  "As you wish, my Lord," she said with a curtsy, then she scurried out.

  Tarrin went into the study and helped Kimmie pack away her vials and bottles, seeing that she used a special leather satchel for them that had loops in it to keep them from banging around inside. Kimmie really didn't have very much, only her spellbooks, two satchels and a small box filled her her magical equipment, and a pack for her clothes. Tarrin himself only had a small pack for cloth
es and small personal effects, since he simply Conjured anything he needed and kept his weapons in the elsewhere.

  "What do you do with all this stuff?" he asked curiously, holding up a small vial of strange green liquid.

  "We use them as spell components for the more complicated spells," she answered. "These things have to be there when you cast the spell, or it won't work right."

  "Strange."

  "Be lucky you're a Sorcerer and a Druid, Tarrin. They don't require material components, or chanting, or somatics."

  "What are somatics?"

  "Precise gestures," she replied. "Some spells require you to stand a certain way, or even move your feet in a particular manner. If you don't do it right, the spell either fizzles or goes wild."

  "That sounds like an awful lot to remember."

  "Now you understand why it takes so long to study Wizard magic," she said with a teasing smile. "It's certainly not for the easily confused, that's for sure."

  "I've never seen Phandebrass do any of those things," he noted.

  "You've only seen Phandebrass use battle magic," she told him. "Combat spells are specifically designed to be fast and easy to cast. Most other spells aren't quite that easy."

  "You're probably right," he agreed, closing the satchel. "Is this it?"

  "Yes, that's it," she answered, picking up the small box. "Help me carry it into the receiving room?"

  "Which room is that?"

  "The first one you step in when you get into the apartment, silly," she laughed, waggling her tail at him as she walked away.

  "Well excuse me," he drawled. "I didn't realize it had a fancy name. I've been calling it a parlor."

  By the time they had all their things in the outer parlor--or receiving room, as Kimmie called it--five burly Wikuni arrived with Amber. They looked a little relieved when they saw only two packs, two satchels, and a small box to carry away, and did so with quick, quiet efficiency. "If you'll follow me please," Amber said with a curtsy. "Her Majesty is waiting for us."

  "We can't keep Kerri waiting," Tarrin said absently.

  "You know, I'm going to miss that bathroom," Kimmie sighed as they followed Amber out of the room, Sapphire riding on Tarrin's shoulder. "The first thing I'm going to do when we get back to the West is figure out how to put running water in my house."

  "You're never in it," Tarrin reminded her.

  "True, but it would be there on those rare occasions that I am," she chuckled.

  "Where is your den, anyway?" he asked.

  "Actually, right now, I don't really have one," she said. "I did have a place not far from Mist's territory, but she moved, and I just let my den go back to the forest. Ever since then, I've either stayed with her or been on the move."

  "There's lots of empty territory around Aldreth," he told her.

  "Yes, there is," she smiled. "Quite a bit."

  Amber led them to a large antechamber on the ground floor, where everyone else except Miranda and Phandebrass had arrived. Keritanima and Rallix stood hand in hand with Binter, Sisska, and Szath standing behind them protectively, and Dolanna and Camara Tal were talking about something on the far side of the room. Allia and Dar were talking with Azakar, who for once wasn't wearing his armor, dressed instead in a blue tunic and black trousers, with new half-boots on his large feet.

  "Where is Phandebrass?" Tarrin asked as he reached Keritanima.

  "Fussing with the porters over his stuff," Keritanima growled. "He's being a bit ridiculous about it, telling them not to drop anything and having a hissy fit every time one of his boxes dips even and inch low."

  "Phandebrass isn't playing, your Majesty," Kimmie told her seriously. "If those porters drop the wrong box, what's inside could very well explode. Some of the compounds we work with are very unstable."

  "Well, I need to remodel anyway," Keritanima said absently, glancing towards one of the doorways leading out of the chamber.

  "You look tired, Rallix," Tarrin said to the badger Wikuni.

  Rallix chuckled humorlessly. "Her Majesty kept us up all night," he answered.

  "You knew it was coming," she said to him archly.

  "Yes, but the morning after always makes one wonder if the night was worth it."

  "Excuse me?" Keritanima said in a very dangerous tone.

  "I feel like I have a hangover, your Majesty," Rallix said quickly. "I'm just comparing how I feel now to that, that's all."

  "Oh. Well, if you say it like that, then it's alright," she said to him calmly.

  "You probably do have a hangover," Tarrin told him. "You two drank alot of wine. Where is Miranda?"

  "She went back to the apartment for something. She'll be right back." Keritanima fidgeted a bit with the ring that was now on her finger. It was a surprisingly plain ring, a simple gold band with no stones or adornment. Keritanima was a queen and was used to finery, but deep down inside she was actually someone who very much loved simple things. She could have had any ring she wanted, as expensive as she could make it, but she had chosen something that made a statement for what it represented to her instead of how many diamonds it had on it. The ring was a symbol of her union with Rallix, and it mirrored the simplicity of that state. Keritanima could be very artistic sometimes. "It's going to take me a while to get used to this," she admitted. "After it rubs the fur off my finger, it probably won't itch as much."

  "Is that how you wore your jewelry before you came to Suld?" Tarrin asked.

  "I didn't keep it on long enough for it to rub off the fur," she answered. "I wore alot of jewelry, or the Brat did, but it changed so often that it didn't have a chance for me to get used to it."

  "Married life seems to suit you, sister," Tarrin told her.

  "It'll suit me a bloody lot better when I get back home," she growled. "One night with Rallix seemed like enough when it was ahead of me. Now that it's behind me, I want to postpone the journey another day."

  "We can't do that," Tarrin told her.

  "I know, she groaned.

  "Then take him with you," Kimmie said sagely. "We have to stop in Vendaka anyway. We'll drop him off there, and he can catch another ship back to Wikuna."

  "I'd love to, but Rallix has alot of work to do here," Keritanima sighed. "He's now in charge of my efforts to educate the commoners about the benefits of the new system. Given his talents, they'll be ready for it by the time I come back."

  "Her Majesty is a bit optomistic," Rallix said in a mild tone.

  "We'll see."

  Miranda returned with her shoulder back slung over one shoulder, and Chopstick riding on the other. Turnkey flapped into the room and immediately sought out Allia, and Phandebrass ambled in, his expression rather unfriendly. "I say, your Majesty, those clouts you sent to move my things are about as graceful as a stone golem!" he complained. "They nearly dropped my case of nitrates!"

  "Is that bad?" Keritanima asked Kimmie.

  "That's very bad," Kimmie answered honestly.

  "I say, they should be more careful, if they want to live to get my things to the ship, they do!" he added. "Are we ready to leave?"

  "I think we are," Keritanima said. "We'll be taking my personal ship to Vendaka. The steamship was moved there last month, where they finished getting it ready for us. As far as the reports I'm getting go, it'll be ready to sail when we arrive. I was told that the compartments on the steamship are very cramped, so we may have to double up," she warned. "So enjoy those big cabins on my ship as long as you can."

  "I'm staying with Tarrin now," Kimmie told her calmly. "So if someone wants my cabin, they can have it. Mine had a pretty big window."

  "Ah, so that's why you two have been almost sickeningly happy," Keritanima said with a grin.

  "No, there's another reason for that," Kimmie winked. "We'll tell you about it when we set sail."

  "Ah, a mystery. I adore mysteries," Keritanima said brightly, rubbing her hands together. "Don't tell me now. Let me figure it out on my own."

  "If you want," Kimmie told he
r with a shrug.

  Since everyone was ready to go, they wasted no time. They filed out onto the grounds, and then were driven down to the docks in large, comfortable carriages. After they arrived, the ship in which they'd travelled to Wikuna suddenly bustled with activity, as sailors and workers rushed to prepare the ship to sail as soon as the Queen gave the order. Keritanima led them along the dock, then up the gangplank and onto the ship. All of their gear was sitting in neatly stacked piles on the deck, the morning sun shining down on them, with about twenty uniformed servants standing around it. Tarrin recognized a couple of them; they were the same porters who had collected their belongings.

  With sharp commands, Keritanima ordered the porters to deliver the luggage to specific rooms, telling the porters who was going to stay where. Keritanima gave Tarrin the same cabin he'd used on the journey over, and he found that to be more than satisfactory. It was large enough for both Tarrin and Kimmie. Keritanima kept them on deck until all the porters were done, and then she dismissed them with a kind word for the excellent service. They filed off the ship quickly, and then she ordered the captain to prepare to set sail for Vendaka, that they'd be weighing anchor as soon as Rallix and Szath disembarked. After she said that, she told all of them to go to their cabins and wait, for cooks would deliver a large breakfast to them, since none of them had yet had a chance to eat. "By the time you finish unpacking, breakfast should be waiting for you," Keritanima told them with a smile, albeit a strained one. It was strained because she then turned to Rallix, took his hand, and led him some distance away. Tarrin, and all of them, for that matter, intentionally didn't look in that direction. They gave Keritanima a little privacy to say goodbye to her new husband.

  It was an understandably long time before Keritanima padded over to them, where they were all literally standing with their backs to where she and Rallix had been standing. She sniffled a bit, looked rather sad, but also looked a little annoyed. That was Keritanima, alright. Tarrin turned to look, and saw that Rallix and Szath were already down the gangplank, standing on the dock with the porters and the Royal Guard that had escorted them down from the Palace. Rallix didn't look very pleased that he and Keritanima were being separated either. That said something for how Rallix felt.