The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "For your information, how me and Tarrin feel about each other has nothing to do with Jesmind," Kimmie said primly. "We Were-cats aren't like you Wikuni. Tarrin can love me and love Jesmind at the same time, and neither of us will mind."

  "At least you won't," Keritanima panted with a wide grin, then laughed again.

  "Jesmind won't care, Kerri," Tarrin told her calmly. "As long as I'm all hers when I'm with her, what I do and how I feel when I'm not with her is none of her business. Besides, she likes Kimmie, and she'll probably be happy that Kimmie finally got what she wanted."

  "Did you get what you wanted, Kimmie?" Miranda asked.

  "Everything I ever dreamed and more," she said with an absolutely radiant smile, putting her paw over the paw Tarrin had on her shoulder.

  "Well, congratulations, then," Miranda said with her cheeky grin.

  "We need to marry you off, Miranda," Tarrin told her with a smile. "You need a husband."

  "A husband? Me?" she said, then she laughed. "Why should I limit myself the same old boring man when I can have any man I want?"

  "By the sails, she has a point there," Keritanima mused, then she chuckled. "Not that I'd want any man but Rallix. But if I did, that's the way I'd think of it too."

  "Some men are said to be born bachelors. Well, I was born to be available," Miranda grinned.

  "Flirt," Tarrin chuckled.

  "Naturally," Miranda said with a toss of her hair.

  Tarrin chuckled again. She was quite a character, Miranda was.

  "Well, I'm off. Wish me luck."

  "Have fun, Tarrin," Kimmie smiled after kissing his paw fondly.

  "I hope they play dirty for you!" Keritanima called as he padded across the room.

  All in all, it was a fun day.

  Tarrin got a useless bit of crystal that Phandebrass used as a spell component and hung it on a string, and Phandebrass cast a spell on it that would make it glow different colors depending on how high Tarrin held it off the ground. Phandebrass created the spell--Phandebrass' Amazing Altimeter--and though it seemed useless, it actually came in very handy that day.

  Tarrin and Sapphire started on the south edge of the town, not far from where they arrived, near the meadow where he met Iselde and Allyn. Tarrin silently worked out the system that he would use to follow the crystal, assigning a different direction to each of the eight colors it would glow so as to look like he knew what he was doing, and then set off.

  Sapphire flew around him, leaving for periods to dart across meadows or over the trees to tell him how far he was from the city, and he methodically worked his way up the east side of the island. He pretended to have alot of trouble with his gadget, audibly cursing Phandebrass for making it so loopy, and then banged it on a tree and pretended like it was working correctly now by travelling due north for nearly five longspans, just to the side of the foothills surrounding the volcano.

  He did enjoy himself. He was out in the woods alone, with nothing but him, Sapphire, and the breath of the trees on him. He relaxed tremendously, his relief that Allia was not really against him allowing him to put that out of his mind for the moment and just have fun exploring the forest like a little kid, like he did when he was younger.

  It was well past noon before he saw any signs that he had company in the forest, but it turned out to be two Sha'Kar youths looking for a bit of excitement out in the woods. It reminded him of Walten and Cilia, and or a moment he considered doing what Kimmie said the Centaurs may have done, sneak up on them while they were in the throes of passion and frighten them into running naked back into the city.

  He was about to leave them to their amusements when the male gasped something that made the Were-cat stop dead in his tracks.

  "Auli, we're going to get in trouble!" the male said in a scandalized voice.

  Auli? That was Auli? He hadn't really gotten close enough them to take a look, and they were downwind of him.

  "Oh come on, don't be such a mama's boy," he heard Auli's voice reply.

  "I know you don't care, but my family will punish me if they catch us out here!"

  "The danger is half the fun," she purred to him, and Tarrin, who was stealthily stalking up on them, heard the rattle of a chain. "Now stop being such a willynilly."

  Tarrin slinked up into a position where he could see, and found them in a small hollow, an open space with no underbrush. They had brought a blanket--quite forward-thinking of them--and Julian had Auli as good as undressed, with her bodice pushed down to her waist and the skirts pulled up over her hips. Julian had his robe open in the front, but since enough of his back was to Tarrin, he wasn't sure what was under the robe.

  "Come on," Auli told him impatiently. "The sooner we get started, the sooner we can leave, since you're so afraid. Personally, I think the danger makes it more exciting," she finished with a throaty laugh.

  "This is the forbidden part of the forest, Auli!" he told her in a fearful hiss. "Bad things happen out here!"

  Tarrin considered that. Bad things, eh? Was it forbidden because of some hidden danger, or just because they didn't want anyone out here? He poked around with his senses and found nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, the background magic was so strong that he couldn't even sense the amulet he wore around his neck. He realized that if he wanted to sense anything at all, he'd have to get closer to the Weave. So he Bridged so he could get a better sense of things, and assensed the area around him, looking for a magical signature that might be the Firestaff.

  Instantly he realized that he was not alone. There was a Sorcerer very close to him, joined to the Weave, and Tarrin hadn't noticed him! The background magic that fouled his ability to sense magic was hiding the lurker from him!

  Tarrin furiously debated what to do to this spy. He ran through several options, from leaving him be to killing him, but then decided that to really worry the Council, he had to let them know he found out how they were watching him. He'd have to make them come personally to stop him. He choked off the strand in which the Sorcerer hid on one side, preventing him from going that way, and then began wringing it back to where the Sorcerer was, compressing it and forcing him to move. When the wringing reached him, there was a start of surprise, and Tarrin sensed a spell to look into the real world fixate on him. He could clearly feel the Sorcerer's shock.

  If I catch anyone else spying on me, I'll cut the strand you're hiding in on both sides and let your mind die when the strand unravels, he said nastily into the Weave, directing it at the lurker. I do not like to be spied upon. Take that back to the Council, and warn them that from now on, they spy on me at their own peril. Now go!

  The presence seemed to falter, and then he felt it retreat quickly after Tarrin took hold at the strand at its other end, threatening to trap the lurker within it.

  That dealt with, Tarrin turned his attention back to the lovers. The male still had his back to him, but Auli had talked him out of his fear, giggling as he leaned over her.

  There wasn't much point in watching them mate, so he quietly withdrew himself.

  Tarrin kept a cautious eye on the Weave, Bridging every so often to check for spies and also for a strong source of magic, but he abandoned the trinket and started moving around on his own. He scoured that part of the forest for most of the late morning and early afternoon, but found nothing but an old golden amulet, probably once belonging to a Sha'Kar, stuck under a log about a longspan from shore. The amulet was tarnished a little and fairly dirty, but it seemed to be in good condition. He could sense that it had weaves in it, a few of them that seemed to be utility weaves, like talking to other amulets. That didn't seem to be too unusual; it was only common sense to put a few useful weaves in one's amulet. His own had quite a few handy little spells that helped him a great deal. He pocketed it without really thinking about it and continued searching.

  About an hour after that, Tarrin realized that he had messed up. If they couldn't spy on him, they wouldn't know where he was, and therefore they couldn't send someon
e to stop him from going where they didn't want him to go. It seemed a good idea at the time, but he hadn't thought it all the way through. As usual. He hoped that Keritanima wouldn't get too angry with him, but he wasn't ready to abandon the plan quite yet. If they couldn't spy on him, then this was a good time to try to find the Firestaff, to go right around the Sha'Kar and get at what he was really there for.

  Tarrin worked his way up into the foothills at the base of the steep-sloped, smoking volcano. He came to a small clearing and looked up at it, seeing how steeply it sloped and how hard it was going to be to climb, if it came down to that. He really didn't think they'd hide it on the slopes of the volcano, mainly because it was hidden five thousand years ago. Volcanos had a habit of growing over time. It wouldn't be on the slopes of the volcano, because those slopes weren't there five thousand years ago. The Sha'Kar said the volcano erupted seven hundred years ago, and it was smoking now. That meant it was active. He was pretty sure that when the Ancients arrived and hid the Firestaff, that volcano was about the size of the hill upon which he stood.

  Sapphire landed on his shoulder as he turned from the volcano, debating where to search next. "Did you see anything interesting, little one?"

  "A few birds," she replied. "Not much else. Are we done yet?"

  "Are you tired?"

  "Hungry," she replied.

  "Go catch one of those little rodents."

  "I did. They don't taste very good."

  "You like rabbits," he said. "I know there's some on the island. I scented them."

  "Not here," she said. "The only things I've seen in these hills are those wooly animals the Sha'Kar herd."

  "Sheep," he told her, thinking about it. He knelt down and nearly displaced her as he sniffed at the ground, then stood up again and took in a deep breath, analyzing the various scents on the wind. She was right, there were no rabbits up here. None of those strange rodents or those little cats either. He could smell the sheep, they weren't too far away, and there was a faint brimstone smell from the volcano.

  "Ah, that must be why," he mused aloud. "The volcano. Can't you smell it?"

  "Of course I can."

  "I guess the animals don't like that smell," he said. "Their sheep must not have good senses. That, or they're used to it. Guess we know why they herd the sheep up here now," he chuckled. "No competition from the wildlife."

  "Tarrin!" Keritanima's voice emanated from his amulet. It was very excited.

  "What is it, Kerri?" he asked, putting a paw to his own.

  "You need to come back to the estate," she told him in a breathless voice.

  "Alright. I'll be there in about an hour or so."

  "Alright, but don't take too long!" she demanded.

  Tarrin could tell from her tone that she wanted him back now, but he didn't want to come out of the forest on the north side of the town. He intended to skirt around the town through the forest and come back out just by the estate.

  Tarrin worked his way back towards the estate, following his own scent for a while, since he'd been going straight. His path took him back towards where he'd seen Auli. It was out of his way to go back in that direction, so he veered west and started along a game trail.

  He stopped when he heard a distant sound. He turned his ears that way and closed his eyes, concentrating on it, and realized that it was the sound of someone crying. Sapphire danced between limbs, flying through the trees, and landed on his shoulder. "That female we saw earlier is over there," she said, pointing with her forepaw. "She's crying for some reason."

  "I can hear her. Do me a favor and head back to the estate. Tell Keritanima I'm on the way, and get yourself something to eat."

  "I never thought you'd say that. I'll tell her. See you soon," she said with relief, then vaulted off his shoulder and flapped out of sight quickly.

  Tarrin crept up on her quickly and quietly, getting into a position where he could see what was going on. Auli was there all right, sitting on a fallen log with the blanket she'd brought tossed crumpled on the ground, and she was crying like a spanked child. She had her head in her hands, elbows on her knees, bent over and sobbing like a girl who just lost her mother.

  Tarrin stepped out into the very small clearing and looked at her. She didn't look like she'd been in a fight. Her dress was clean and whole, not ripped. She had her slippers on, and they didn't look very soiled. Only carrying the dirt and loam of the forest floor. So what had upset her?

  "Auli," Tarrin called. Her head whipped up, and she stared at him in shock, her hands snapping up to her chest.

  He realized why she'd been crying immediately. Auli wasn't wearing her amulet.

  "What happened?" he asked gently. "Why are you crying, little one?"

  "I-I was in the woods with Julian," she sniffled, obviously not very effected by the scare he gave her yesterday. "We were walking back to town, and I realized my amulet was gone. The chain must have broke, it breaks all the time. I hid it from him and told him to go on without me, that I wanted to go relieve myself, and came back to look for it. But I can't find it!" she wailed. "I'll be a pariah! Nobody will talk to me ever again!" Then she started crying again.

  "It's just an amulet, Auli," he told her. "Here, I found this one in the woods earlier today. It's not yours, I can tell you that, but it's just as good." He took the amulet out of his pocket and held it up. "See? You'll need to clean it up a little, but now you can go into town without anyone ever knowing you lost yours."

  He held it up a little more. It spun to a slow stop, and Tarrin glanced at the back of the amulet absently. He hadn't looked at the back before.

  He very nearly dropped it.

  Etched into the back of the amulet in elegant Sha'Kar script were the words To Aliani, May the Goddess bless our union and give us happiness. Love, Theran Ai'Shar.

  The amulet bore the name of Iselde's family.

  He snapped his gaze up to Auli. "What was Iselde's mother's name?" he asked her intensely.

  "Aliani," she replied uncertainly. "Whyever would you ask that, honored one?"

  Tarrin looked down at the amulet, and then up at Auli. "This amulet has her name on it."

  "Truly? Can I see it?" she asked, getting up and wiping her eyes. Tarrin held it up to her and let her look, and she turned it over and read the inscription. "It has her name on it alright, honored one. This is the amulet that Iselde's father gave to her when they got married. Auli's mother failed and died in the ceremony of Ascension some fifteen years or so ago. How did her amulet end up out here?"

  "That's a good question, isn't it?" Tarrin said in a very grim, worried tone. How did it end up out here?

  There was one way to look for answers.

  "Come on," he told her quickly, turning and marching back into the forest.

  "Where are we going, honored one? Aren't you going to let me borrow the amulet so I can go home?"

  "In a while," he said. "We're going back to where I found it, Auli, and we're going to look around."

  "Oh. Alright."

  Tarrin quickly tracked his own scent back to the log, and he looked at the place with his eyes this time, instead of only paying enough attention to avoid bumping into trees while he tried to sense the Firestaff. It wasn't a clearing, but there was a very faint trail, or what was once a trail, that went right by the fallen log. It was a very old log, rotted in the center, having been felled a very long time. At least the fifteen years since the amulet found its way out here. Tarrin was facing the ocean, facing east. He knelt down and put his claws into the log's underside, then heaved it up and tossed it over its end as if it were little more than a toothpick.

  "They said you were strong, honored one," Auli said with an impressed look. "I didn't think they were serious."

  "I'm full of surprises, Auli," he said in a quiet tone, putting his paws down on the wet, bug-filled dirt that had been under the log. There was nothing else there, just a little divot where Tarrin had pulled the chain out from under the log. It had settled over the amu
let, or the tree had fallen on it. After fifteen years, nature had done much to hide anything else that may have been there. Just the amulet survived.

  "This area is forbidden, right?" Tarrin asked her.

  "Yes, honored one. Nobody's allowed in here."

  "Why?"

  She seemed a bit startled. "I really don't know," she answered. "There's always been rumors that there's an old monster that lives out here. Some nights we can hear strange sounds from the east edge of town, so the Council made this part of the forest off limits, so we don't disturb whatever it is, and nobody gets hurt. I've never seen it, and I've looked for it, honored one. I don't really think there's a monster out here, I think it's a vent from the volcano that makes moaning sounds when it gives off gases."

  "I see you break the rules as often as I did when I was a young boy," Tarrin told her. "You and me are alot alike, Auli. Free spirits."

  She gave him a beaming smile. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me, honored one," she said with a little curtsy.

  Why was that amulet out here? It didn't just get here by magic, that much was certain. Aliani had to put it here, since the chain wasn't broken, and Sha'Kar never took off their amulets. She had to take it off, or maybe she was hanging upside-down out of a tree or something weird like that and it fell off. Had she lost it? Was it that simple? Had Aliani been wandering around out here, lost her amulet, gotten scared, and then ran out without it? And hadn't had the nerve to break the law again and come back to search for it?

  "How long has this place been forbidden, Auli?" he asked.

  "Since before I was born, honored one," she answered.

  "You made it sound like it was recent," he said sourly.

  "Sorry. I don't know when, but it's been a rule for a long time."

  "You're a Sha'Kar, Auli. Tell me, why would Aliani take off her amulet?"

  "She wouldn't, honored one," she replied emphatically. "We don't take them off. It's the worst scandal if you're seen without your amulet."