The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  Then again, he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to drag Keritanima away from her queenly duties to give her a lesson. She'd all but vanished again, whisked away to some other place doing whatever it was that queens did. He couldn't blame her for doing what she needed to do for the country she ruled, but in a way, it made him feel just a little different towards her. The fact that she was a queen had never really impacted him until right then, when he wanted to see Keritanima, but realized that it wasn't as easy as walking into her bedroom anymore. He'd have to wait for her schedule to clear, whenever that would be. He wasn't even sure how to get in touch with her through the normal, proper means.

  But Tarrin never really did things the normal way. Putting a paw to his amulet, he called her name, and then waited patiently. He figured she'd have to chase people away to reply to him. His patience was justified a few minutes later. "What is it, Tarrin? Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine. I need to go talk to Jenna, and I figured we could use it as a lesson, if you have the time. Are you available?"

  There was a rueful laugh from the other side. "Brother dear, I'm not going to be available until sometime next year," she told him. "Of course, I don't have that much time, so in reality, I'm not going to be available until tomorrow morning. I'll make it a point to put some time aside for us tomorrow morning, alright?"

  "That's fine with me, sister."

  "I'm glad you're going to give me some sail here, Tarrin. I know my studies are important, but this is too."

  "I know that, Kerri. You have alot of work to catch up on."

  "You have no idea," she drawled. "Tomorrow after breakfast. Deal?"

  "Deal."

  "See you then. And don't forget Dolanna."

  "I won't," he said, then let go of the amulet. That was easy enough. He still had to go see Jenna, but at least now he could do it quickly.

  There wasn't a strand that ran though his room, so Tarrin had to pause long enough to make one, joining it to two very distant strands and threading it right across his bed. He sat down atop the bed, so the strand passed directly through his chest, and then closed his eyes and started the process to separate his consciousness from his body and send it into the Weave. It only took him a moment, for it was something at which he was experienced, and in a short time he was free of himself and hurtling through the black background and dazzling light that made up the Weave as seen from within.

  As always, he ended up in the Heart. A Weavespinner didn't have to go right to the Heart when they joined the Weave, but Tarrin always felt drawn there, like water flowing downhill. It had to be because of the presence of the Goddess. He looked up into those eyes that loomed over the Heart, the eyes of the Goddess staring down into her domain unblinkingly, and felt a surge of love and faith flow through him at the sight of them. They seemed to shift, to move, and then they smiled down on him in a loving benediction that made him tingle. He basked in that gaze for longer than was entirely necessary, then bent to the task at hand.

  Finding Jenna was a very simple affair. Her star blazed in the Heart, easy to pick out among the others. He used it to track her physical body back to its location relative to the Weave--it was very close to the Heart--and prepared to journey to her.

  There is an easier way, my kitten, the Goddess intoned, showing him an exceptionally complicated spell by placing the images of the flows directly in his mind. Simply touch her star and weave that spell, then speak to her. She will hear it.

  Tarrin didn't answer, for he realized that the Goddess had told him that from afar, and didn't intend to reply. He reached out and put a single finger to Jenna's star, and felt its vitality and warmth. The star was a reflection of the soul it represented, and touching Jenna's star told him much about the inner strength of his sister. He could sense the resolute nature of the star, the stalwart adamance about it that was slightly surprising. Jenna was a Kael, and that meant that she was stubborn and mule-headed, but her star showed that she was dogged and determined, clamping onto a goal and not letting go until she achieved it. It showed her warmth and compassion, traits that Tarrin often lacked, and it showed her gentle nature. Jenna was a nurturer in spirit, giving to those around her and making them better than before she came to know them. That quality would make her an outstanding teacher.

  "Jenna," he called, his voice resonating through the Heart, to race out into the infinite blackness where the strands crossed the black sky.

  There was a shiver through the star, and Tarrin could hear her reply clearly as Jenna bridged into the Weave. "Tarrin?" her voice called from her star, obviously shocked. "Where in the blazes are you? I can hear you inside my head!"

  "I'm using your star to talk to you," he told her. "I'm in the Heart."

  "You have got to show me that trick," she said immediately. "Wait there a minute, I'm coming."

  Tarrin drifted back into the empty area at the center of the Heart, directly beneath the eyes of the Goddess, and he waited. He only had to wait a scant moment, as Jenna's mind-conjured form simply appeared not far from him. The image of self projected in the Heart was not how the body appeared, but how the Sorcerer conceived of his or herself. The image of Jenna he faced was not his sister as he knew her, it was his sister as an adult, with long, dark hair and generous curves garbed in a gown that looked made of spider silk. Jenna was still a young lady, barely more than a girl, but she obviously thought of herself as an adult. Then again, with Jenna, that was probably not far off the mark. The knowledge that Spyder had imparted to her had matured her beyond her years, so it was probably appropriate that her self-image was that of a full adult rather than a child.

  Jenna looked at him, then smiled. "You're consistent, I'll give you that," she told him. "Jula appears in her human form when she projects. You're the shorter you, but it's still you."

  "I've been Were alot longer than she has," he told her.

  "That may be why," she agreed. "Alright, show me how you did it."

  He did so, showing her the spell that the Goddess had taught to him not moments before. "Anything you have to teach me?" he asked curiously.

  "Not yet," she replied. "I'll be done with the book in about another month or so. I'll let you Summon a copy when I'm finished, so you can read it. Have you seen Spyder?"

  "No, have you?"

  "Not since the last time she taught us," Jenna fretted.

  "How is Jula doing?"

  "She's learning fast," she replied. "I'm starting to really reach to teach her new spells. I was kind of hoping you'd have learned more through the echoes in the Weave."

  "Not lately. They usually don't come to me until I need them, and there's not been anything going on that really needs me to use magic."

  "Then go put yourself in danger," she winked. "I need to learn new spells!"

  "Experiment," he told her. "It's not like you can Consume yourself or anything."

  "I could still generate a Wildstrike," she objected.

  "True, but it'll only hurt for a few moments. Sometimes you have to suffer to advance."

  "I'd rather let you do the suffering and me doing the advancing," she laughed.

  "I love you too," he said dryly.

  Jenna was about to say something, but she suddenly whirled around and looked behind her. At about the same time, Tarrin sensed...something. He wasn't sure what it was, where it was, where it came from, or where it went. All he did know was that something had been there just a split-second before.

  "What was that?" they asked one another in unison. Jenna laughed and Tarrin gave a slight face of irritation. "Have you ever sensed anything like that before, Jenna?" he asked.

  "A couple of times," she replied. "I was hoping you could tell me about it."

  "I've never felt it before," he answered her. "Maybe we should ask the Goddess."

  "I did. She won't answer me," she replied. "This is either something she won't tell us about, or something we're supposed to find out on our own."

  "Any idea what it is?"


  "No idea at all," she grunted. "That was only the third time, and it's never here long enough for me to get any kind of a sense of it at all. Well, if you're here, then you're not moving. Are you there yet?"

  "We're there," he told her.

  "What's it like? Wikuna, I mean."

  Tarrin described what he remembered of the city, then told her about the Palace and some of its technolgical luxuries. "I don't like this place, Jenna," he said. "The place is cold. Almost as if all the evil that's been done in here has seeped into the walls. If it were haunted by a thousand ghosts, I wouldn't be surprised."

  "Ghosts aren't evil, Tarrin, they're just confused," Jenna corrected him absently. "I wonder how they make the water flow through the pipes. They have to have some kind of massive wellpump."

  "When did you learn about ghosts?" he asked.

  "It was part of what Spyder taught me," she replied. "There are such things as ghosts, but most of them aren't evil like the stories say. Most of them don't even realize they're dead."

  "You really need to sit down with me and tell me about it all," he told her.

  "You'll be able to read it all when I finish the book," she assured him. "Oh, I should tell you now."

  "What?"

  "The Keeper is ill," she said. "I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, Sorcery can't heal it."

  "Sorcery can't cure disease, Jenna."

  "I know, but it came on too quickly for it to be natural," she said.

  "Get a Priest. They can cure diseases."

  "We've already tried that."

  "Then get a stronger Priest," he amended. "A High Priest can bring someone back from the deathbed."

  "And where do we find one?" Jenna asked, a bit tartly. "Just about all the high-ranking Priests that were in Suld were part of the conspiracy in the Cathedral, so we can't use them. Most of them are dead, and the rest were stripped of their magic by Karas. The ones that still have magic are getting it from another god."

  "Val," Tarrin realized. The Goddess and Spyder said that magic grew stronger with each new Weavespinner. Before, Val couldn't grant magic spells to his Priests, they had to serve another deity while surreptitiously serving Val. If the resurgence of lost magical powers and the strengthening of magic as a whole applied to Val as well, despite the fact that he was a god, then maybe now he could grant magical spells to his followers.

  Tarrin hedged. "I, I think I might be able to do it," he said finally. There was no love lost between him and the Council, and the very memory of the Keeper was still enough to make him snarl in hatred. But the Keeper was the Keeper, and the Tower needed stability at the moment. If that meant swallowing his almost overpowering urge to ram the Keeper's teeth down her throat, then he'd do it to protect his family. "I'm no High Priest, but I may be able to fast-talk the Goddess into granting the spell for me, if there's nobody else available."

  I hope you realize that I can hear every word you say, the Goddess said whimsically. Tarrin flushed slightly. In fact, he had forgotten about that. It was easy to forget about that. It's a good idea, kitten but Priest magic is not Sorcery. You have to be there and make physical contact for the spell to work properly. You're in Wikuna, and the Keeper is in Suld.

  "Then Jenna can do it," he said impulsively. "She's just as strong as I am."

  She's also human, the Goddess answered simply. Where you can bend the rules because of what you are, it would break them if I granted high-order Priest magic to Jenna.

  "Then Jula," he reasoned. "Since it's a one-time deal, I'm sure you can bend the rules for her the way you do for me."

  Jula doesn't have the magical training necessary to cast the spell, kitten. It's a good idea, though, she assured him. If Jula trained with some Priests, she may be able to do it. But it would take too long.

  "Then what should we do?" Jenna asked.

  Nothing. In this, I want the two of you to do nothing. Do you understand me?

  "Yes, Mother," they said in unison.

  "Mother, what was that presence we sensed a few minutes ago?" Tarrin asked bluntly.

  Something you'll have to discover for yourself, my kitten, she answered, and then her sense of nearness retreated away from them.

  "Well, you were right about that," Tarrin grunted to Jenna.

  Jenna looked over her shoulder. "Um, Tarrin, I think Jasana is tugging my hair," she said uncertainly. "She's doing something that's getting my attention, that's for sure."

  "It scares her when we join the Weave," he told her. "I wouldn't do it around her. It upsets her."

  "I'll--ow!--remember that," she said, wincing. "She is pulling my hair!"

  "Then you'd better go back," he said. "I wanted to tell you to stop training Jasana and then just sending her home," he told her. "She keeps trying to use magic at home when she knows she's not supposed to do magic without one of us there. You have to teach her, but start being heavy-handed. If Jesmind tells you she used magic the night before, deny her her lesson for that day. That'll make her get back in line very fast. Jasana's fascinated with magic, and when she finds out that the price of disobedience is losing the chance to learn magic, she should behave."

  "That's pretty underhanded, Tarrin," Jenna chuckled.

  "When you're dealing with Jasana, you have to be as conniving as she is," he told her plainly.

  "No lie there," Jenna laughed, then she winced again. "Is that all you needed to say? If not, then give me the rest before your daughter rips all the hair out of my head."

  "No, that's it," he said. "I'm bringing Kerri to the Heart tomorrow morning. Want to make it a double lesson?"

  "Sure," she replied. "Me and Jula will be here. I'd better go, I think I just lost my bangs," she growled.

  "Remember, be tough," he told her.

  "Tough. Got it," she nodded. "See you tomorrow." Then her image dissolved.

  Tarrin returned to his own body as well, having accomplished Jesmind's request in a timely fashion. And found himself almost immediately bored. He had nothing to do. Yawning, he shifted into his cat form and curled up on the bed. Whenever a cat had nothing else to do, it slept.

  "Absolutely not!" Tarrin roared, throwing the ridiculously gaudy costume aside.

  Keritanima stared at him evenly. She had come to his room not long before sunset, and it was the first time he'd seen her since the throne room. He'd eaten lunch with the others, but Keritanima had not been there, as she did whatever it was that she had to do with her government. But she had found the time to drop by his room before the grand feast and party she'd ordered and give him the most frilly-looking blue doublet and hose--hose, of all things!-- for him to wear. Tarrin did not like such ridiculous looking clothing, and there was no way he was going to wear it. "You are not going to come to the ball and feast wearing that, brother," she warned in a dangerous tone. "You look like a peasant."

  "I am a peasant!" he told her flatly. "Don't forget that, Kerri! I'm a simple village farmboy, no matter what I look like right now. I'm not going to wear that stupid doublet and hose. And that's final."

  "Yes you are," she said in a deadly tone, reaching down and picking up the doublet. "You aren't about to go in there in front of all the noble houses looking like a clodhopper, Tarrin. I know you don't care what people think about you, but your appearance is going to reflect on me." She thrust the doublet back at him imperiously.

  Without blinking, staring right into her eyes, Tarrin sank his claws into the doublet and ripped it in half. He tossed the two remnants of the doublet to each side and glared at the smaller Wikuni, daring her to say a word.

  Just as cooly, Keritanima wove a weave of Air and picked up the pieces, then used the weave of mending that Tarrin had taught her to repair the garment.

  "Don't make me burn it out of your hands, Kerri," Tarrin warned. "I'm not going to wear it, and you should know better than to push me."

  "I don't care what you think, Tarrin," she warned. "If you don't wear something nice, you're not going to attend. That's final!"

>   "Then so be it," he said bluntly, turning his back on her and shifting into his cat form. He heard Keritanima growl furiously as he jumped up onto the bed and curled up atop it. He closed his eyes and ignored Keritanima as she shouted at him, but was honestly surprised when the Wikuni grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him off the bed. Tarrin wasn't a kitten, so her grip on him was decidedly painful as his skin stretched and the Wikuni's short, sharp little claws dug into him. He opened his eyes and glared at her, but her amber eyes didn't waver as she glared right back at him. He couldn't shapeshift while she had hold of a good part of the back of his neck, but he could make his displeasure known with magic. "Why do you always have to be so childish!" she shouted at him as he deepened his connection to the Weave, preparing to weave a pretty unpleasant spell to make her let him go. "I swear, brother, I want to wring your neck!"

  Keritanima's voice got too hostile, and her hold on him was a bit too aggressive. Keritanima yelped in considerable pain as a bright blue flash illuminated the room, and she dropped him from a nerveless hand as Sapphire's magical lightning scoured motor control out of her body. Keritanima flopped over backwards as Tarrin shapeshifted back to his natural form, then let Sapphire land on his shoulder. She chirped softly at him and rubbed her head against his neck, making sure he wasn't hurt. Almost mothering him. Tarrin hadn't seen such a display of protectiveness out of the drake before, at least not on his behalf.

  "I...hate...that...drake," Keritanima slurred, trying without much success to move. She did move, but she had very little control over her actions, moving in erratic, jerky movements. Sapphire had been carrying a full charge, and she had let Keritanima have it with all of it.

  "Be lucky it was her. I would have done something much worse," Tarrin said flatly. "I don't care if you're my sister or not, Kerri. That hurt, and I'm sure you know how I react when people hurt me. Don't ever grab me like that again."