The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  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 embarassed 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 alot 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 alot 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 your'e 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, Tarirn, 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 irresistable."

  "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 inobtrusive 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 perogative. 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 hum
an," 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."