The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "I can understand why they left, but why did Kimmie go?"

  "I wanted another Were-cat with Tarrin," Triana told her. "Jesmind couldn't go because of Jasana, and Kimmie had already arranged to take lessons in magic from a human Wizard that travels with Tarrin, so I picked her."

  Mist looked at her, then laughed. "Clever girl!" she said. "Is Tarrin that attached to Jesmind, Triana?"

  "I've not seen two Were-cats closer than those two," she replied. "They're almost as sappy as humans." She snorted. "It can't be good for them. I also picked Kimmie because she has it for Tarrin. I can smell it all over her. I'm hoping that she educates him about the more necessary aspects of our kind."

  "What a thing to say," Mist murmured, though she was happy to hear it.

  "Jesmind can't be hogging Tarrin to herself," Triana grunted. "When she starts getting tired of him, she'll spoil him for all the other females. She keeps forgetting that he was born human, and he still thinks like they do. If he ups and decides to think of Jesmind as a wife, he won't touch another female. And Jesmind would be the sort to lead him on, just so he wouldn't be mated to another female when she decides she wants him again." She blew out her breath. "She's always been a little selfish."

  "Well, Triana, we talked about him, when she was here," she disclosed. "She agreed not to interfere if me or Kimmie went after him."

  "She meant it at the time, Mist," Triana sighed. "But after getting him for mate, she's been acting like they'll never get tired of each other. I think this time apart will be good for her, show her that she will push him away eventually. I just want Tarrin to be ready for when that happens. If I'm lucky, Kimmie will seduce him and show him that there is life after Jesmind." She snorted, then chuckled. "She won't be able to resist. Jesmind will be too far away to do anything about it, and Jesmind knows it's going to happen."

  "I think Tarrin is stronger than you think, Triana," Mist said defensively. "He may have been born human, but he understands his instincts. Better than many Were-cats."

  "I know how strong he is, but you know how humans get when it comes to love. I know my son better than anyone else, but even I'm not sure how he's going to handle it the first time he and Jesmind have a fight, and he tries to kill her. That's about the time any other Were-cat pair would know it's time to separate, but with him, I'm not sure. The way they look at each other, I'm afraid they may try to stay together, and one of them will end up hurting the other."

  Mist hesitated. She remembered the story she'd heard of him from when he was at the Tower, about when he nearly killed his birth mother. That had almost driven him mad. But he'd come so far since then! She had seen it in him during the single night they had been mates, a strength that could rise up and conquer any obstacle. "I think he'll be alright."

  "I think so too," Triana grunted. "I don't want to intefere with this. I want Tarrin to get seduced, I want him to realize that it's alright. It'll help him understand the nature of mates. I know Jesmind didn't tell him that when she let him leave, she gave him up. He thinks he's still mates with her, but he's not. He's a free male, fair game, and I'm confident that Kimmie's going to teach him that." She looked at Mist. "I want him to learn about being mates from someone other than my very selfishly motivated daughter. I want him to learn that it's alright to love Jesmind, so long as it doesn't interfere with his ability to take other mates. Love may be love, but instincts are stronger, and there aren't enough males around for him to only be willing to be mates with one female. Kimmie will show him that it's alright to love Jesmind, yet still be able to mate with other females."

  "He took me for mate."

  "You didn't give him much choice," she said with a very slight smile. "But he did, and that's a good sign. He needs to learn the difference between love and mates. He can love Jesmind and be mates with Kimmie at the same time. He'll have to learn it eventually, so better now than later." She looked at the table absently. "And if he knows he can be mates with a female after he leaves Jesmind, it'll make things easier for him. He does love my daughter, Mist. It'll hurt him when they split up, so it'll be good for him to see that there are other females out there, and it'll be good for him to know that the hurt doesn't last long. He can love her and still be a devoted mate to another female, and when he splits up with that female, he can go back to Jesmind."

  "True," Mist agreed. "If one of us doesn't steal him away from her."

  Triana glanced at her. "I rather doubt that, but don't worry, Mist. He cares for you. If you took him for mate, he'd be a devoted mate to you. Once he realizes how Kimmie feels about him, he'll be a good mate for her as well."

  "That's fine with us. Me and Jesmind and Kimmie, we kind of agreed to share him. As long as we keep him away from the other females, it's alright."

  Triana looked at her, then laughed. "That explains a great deal right there," she said. "I was wondering why Jesmind wasn't so against Kimmie going."

  "She will be in a while."

  "I think her magnanimous mood left her as soon as the ship pulled out and she realized that Tarrin was going to be alone on that ship with Kimmie," Triana agreed.

  "Excuse me if I sound even more biased than you, but I hope Kimmie gets him."

  "She will. A male trapped on a ship with a willing female? Come on, Mist! What do you think is going to happen?"

  Mist laughed. "Kimmie has her prey cornered."

  "That she does. The sooner Tarrin bows to the inevitable, the better it will be for everyone."

  There was a sound at the door, and then to both of their surprise, someone knocked upon it. Mist stood up immediately and moved to grab Eron, but Triana calmed her with a paw and moved to answer the door. She opened it, and Mist saw beyond her a human female, a little tall for a human, lithe and voluptuous. She was a very pretty woman, with a lovely face, a pretty body garbed in a strange garment that looked all shimmery...like stars spun into silk. Her scent was a human one, but there was something strange about it, something unusual that Mist had never scented before...almost like stone. But it was her hair and eyes that got Mist's attention. Her hair was striped, and the colors were absolutely bizarre. Colors like green, and blue, and even purple. And her eyes! She must have been victim to some kind of strange magical accident, for she had no white or pupils, only a strange glowing amber radiance that emanated from her eye sockets. But she seemed perfectly able to see, for she smiled when she looked up at Triana. The Were-cat matron seemed taken aback by this strange visitor, stepping back in surprise and giving the woman enough room to simply invite herself into Mist's house.

  Mist saw that she was barefoot. But it was only one more oddity about this strange woman.

  "Triana," the woman nodded with a rich, strong contralto voice. "You're looking well."

  "What are you doing here?" the matron gasped, staring at the woman in shock.

  "I can go anywhere I want now, Triana," she smiled. "And I wanted to come and see Tarrin's son. Is that so wrong?"

  Mist's son had climbed down from his chair and ran past Mist, towards the woman. Mist had to strangle the impulse to snatch her son away from the strange stripe-haired woman, but something deep inside her told her that this woman was not an enemy. There was just something about her that calmed Mist, and allowed her to kneel down and embrace the child lovingly. "Eron," she said with a radiant smile. "You're getting so big!"

  "Shining lady," he bubbled, looking up at her adoringly. "You came!"

  "Of course I came," she said with a chiding smile. "Did you think I'd forget about you?"

  "How do you know my son?" Mist demanded, the sense of peace she was feeling dissolving away in a wave of fear and anger. How did this woman know her son?

  "Eron and I are very good friends, aren't we, Eron?" she asked him.

  "Yah, Mama. She visits my dreams, and we play games and she tells me stories! And you came!"

  "I promised you I'd come, little one," she reminded him. "I always keep my promises."

  "Who are you?" Mist demanded, su
ddenly confused.

  "Who I am doesn't matter, Mist," she said seriously, standing up. "I am a friend of Tarrin's. That is all you need know. While he's gone, I decided to watch over his family for him, and I take my job seriously. You and Eron are part of his family, so I have come to meet you." She looked at Triana, who paused and then nodded imperceptibly. "I came here to give you a gift, Mist," she announced, reaching into the bodice of her dress, and then withdrawing two strange necklaces. The amulet at the end of the black steel chain was also black, and she recognized it as the symbol that Tarrin wore around his neck. "These are for you. You and Eron."

  "Why should I take them?" she demanded hotly.

  "Because I say you'll take them," Triana ordered flatly. "Trust me, Mist. You won't be disappointed."

  "What are they?"

  "Insurance," the woman with the strange eyes and hair replied cryptically. "These are special necklaces, Mist. They are magical, and Tarrin would want you to have them."

  "Magical?" she asked suspiciously.

  "Yes," she replied. "As long as you wear them, nobody can track you down using magic. And they'll allow you to shapeshift without losing your clothes, just like the way Tarrin's amulet does for him."

  That piqued her curiosity. The annoying part about shapeshifing was that the clothes didn't change with you, and you had to leave them behind. Nudity didn't bother Were-cats, for they were part animal and had little concept of human modesty, but a naked Were-cat walking down the street of a human city did attract attention.

  "These are safe?" Mist asked Triana.

  "Safe enough," she replied with a nod.

  "Just to warn you, Mist. Once you put it on, it won't come off. It won't allow itself to get lost, and it won't allow itself to be stolen. If you want to take it off, you'll need Tarrin to do it for you. Does that bother you?"

  Mist considered it, but she had made care to mention that Tarrin could remove the amulet. She looked at the woman suspiciously. She was a stranger, and Mist feared her if only because of that...but Triana seemed to know her and trust her. And she was a close friend of Tarrin's, from the way she talked. Mist trusted Tarrin, and she found that if she was sure she was close to him, she would trust her if only because she trusted him. "How do I know you're not lying?" she asked.

  "Look into my eyes, Mist, and then ask that question again."

  Mist did indeed look into those strange eyes. She looked deeper, and deeper, and then she saw something. Something...strange. The sense of peace she'd felt when the woman entered her house intensified, and she realized that it came from the woman's love for Tarrin, and her love for his family. Mist simply knew right then and there that this woman was not an enemy, that she had genuine care for and interest in Mist and her son. That she was there as a friend.

  Mist's hostile posture melted away, and she actually blushed slightly. "I, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I'll accept your gift, lady."

  "That will never do," the woman said. "Call me Mother, child. All my closest friends do."

  "Mother," she corrected herself immediately, feeling a strange compulsion to please this strange woman.

  She took the amulets, and felt how warm they were. One of them had a short chain, obviously meant for Eron, and she looked at them. They looked just like Tarrin's amulet.

  "Put it on, Mist," she prompted. "I won't feel safe about leaving until you do."

  Obeying out of impulse, she took the amulet meant for her and put the chain around her neck, then settled it on her chest. It seemed suddenly hot, then cold, and then it got heavy for a split second...and then it simply felt like it belonged there. She wrapped her paw around it for a moment, surprised at what she felt, then she bent down and helped Eron put on his.

  "Aww, you're leaving, shining lady?" Eron pouted.

  "I'll always visit your dreams, little cubling," she smiled sweetly. "But it costs me much to come and visit this way. It's much easier to do it the other way."

  "Who are you?" Mist asked, almost plaintively.

  "You already know that answer, Mist," she replied cryptically, looking at Triana. "How long are you staying?"

  "A few hours," she replied. "I need to get back to Suld. Jesmind needs constant defusing."

  "I've noticed," the woman laughed.

  "How is Tarrin doing?"

  "He's doing fine."

  "Has Kimmie seduced him yet?"

  The woman looked at her, and then laughed. "No, but Tarrin is fully aware that she's interested," she replied. "He's resisting her out of respect for Jesmind, but I doubt it will last long. Tarrin understands his instincts, Triana. He knows when it's not healthy to deny them."

  "Good," she snorted.

  "Well, I hate to come and go, but it's time for me to go back," she sighed. "We'll talk later, Triana?"

  "If you wish," she replied respectfully.

  "I do wish it," she assured with a nod. "Goodbye, Mist. It was nice to meet you."

  And with that, she knelt and gave Eron another hug, kissed him on the cheek, then stood and walked towards the open door.

  "But who are you?" Mist asked a final time, but got no answer. The woman stepped out the door and closed it behind her. "Triana, who is that woman?" she demanded.

  "Mist, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," the matron said seriously. "She's a friend. A very unusual friend. Let's just leave it at that."

  "She's the shining lady, Mama," Eron told her, as if that explained everything.

  The shining lady. Mist looked at the closed door, thoroughly convinced that something very weird, very unique, had just happened. But she had no idea what it was. She just had a feeling.

  She reached up and put her paw around the amulet, felt the strange energy that emanated from it, and then it just hit her. She gasped, her eyes widening in shock, and she turned to Triana with pleading eyes. "It wasn't--"

  "It was," she said with a simple nod. "Feel very lucky, Mist. You were just visited by a Goddess."

  Mist gaped at her.

  Triana laughed. "I told you that you wouldn't believe it if I told you," she chided her. "Now let's eat. I have to get back to Suld by nightfall, or Jesmind may get pecky and kill somebody."

  Chapter 1

  It was a fine day to be out.

  The day was sunny, cloudless, and delightfully warm. The winds blew stiffly over the expanse of open ocean, which was rolling with small waves that barely rocked the ship as its bow cut through them on a westward course. The sails were full of wind, pushing the ship along at a pace that few ships on the seas could match, the speed and grace of the technologically superior Wikuni clippers. Everyone on board the rather large, elaborately painted and decorated clipper ship was busy with work, as sailors minded the sails and rigging to keep them adjusted for maximum speed, and officers stood on the deck studying the sails with hawkish eyes, issuing commands to the sailors above every time the wind so much as fluttered. The Queen had demanded full sail and best speed to Wikuna, and the proud crew of the Royal ship, a ship that did nothing but carry the monarch, would prove to their queen that they were the best sailors on the twenty seas.

  Tarrin looked down at them from the crow's nest, a tiny barrel nailed to the top of the center mast, the highest point on the ship, and marvelled at the skill of the Wikuni sailors to handle a ship with so much rigging. The ship constantly had to slow down to prevent from breaking its formation with the squadron of fully armed military vessels that escorted the Royal clipper, ships that formed a very tight, overlapping defensive ring that kept the Queen's vessel firmly within its center. They had no need for a lookout when they were surrounded by friendly ships, so the crow's nest had been empty and available, and Tarrin couldn't resist climbing up and getting a good look around. He raised his face to the sky, staring up at the cloudless, blue expanse, which was broken in half by the ghostly band of white that ran from the eastern horizon to the western horizon. Those were the Skybands, wearing their ghostly veil during the day, only to cast it away and shine down on the
land with its brilliant bands of color during the night, colored light that, when combined with the light of any of the four moons, was enough even for humans to see well enough to move around. It never truly got dark on Sennadar unless the night sky was covered with thick clouds. They looked just as far away as ever, but they were narrower than what he was used to seeing. The Skybands appeared narrower and narrower as one moved towards the equator. He'd never been on the equator before, but Keritanima said that they looked like a knife's edge in the sky. Where his mother was from, the great northern kingdom of Ungardt, the Skybands took up almost half the sky. Then again, that was so far north that the sun sometimes didn't rise during the winter and didn't set during the summer.

  It was a beautiful day. He looked down at the the deck, absently scratching at the fur on his arm. Tarrin was not human, though he had been born so. He was a Were-cat now, a magically imbued being with the power to shapechange into the form of a common housecat. The circumstances that caused him to be turned were very complicated, and things seemed even more complicated now. The Were-cat who had bitten him, the fiery female Jesmind, was now the mother of his child, and the people who had sent her after him, the katzh-dashi, were now his allies again. He never dreamed he'd go back to the Tower after what they did to him, but he had. Time had mellowed him, had given him a chance to heal those wounds, though not completely. Tarrin had been Were for nearly two years now, and had come to accept it, even desire it. Where most Were-kin were not so obvious, the Were-cats were. Unable to take the full human form without pain, Were-cats took a natural form that was almost human, but not quite. He still looked human, but he had very inhuman features, such as his tail, or his cat ears, or the fur that covered his arms to just above the elbows and his legs to just above the knees, and the fact that he stood head and shoulders over most humans and Wikuni. His hands weren't quite hands, they were hybrids between human hands and cat's paws, and his feet were elongated and thicker than a human foot, forcing him to stand on his toes, with the balls of his feet rather wide. His feet were much more unusual looking than his paws--or his hands, as a human would think of them--but they gave him great balance and stability. Each paw and foot also held very long, very sharp, and extremely wicked claws, the natural weapons of a Were-cat. Tufts of fur grew on the outsides of his wrists and forearms and around his ankles, what were called fetlocks, a visible sign of an age that had been forced upon him.