The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  "He shot me," Tarrin said in a hiss.

  "And what reason did you give him to shoot you?" she shouted.

  "I threw him over the rail."

  "Why did you do that?" she snapped.

  "He tried to break my tail, and insulted me."

  "You killed a man over an insult?" she said in fury.

  "I killed him because he shot me. Twice," Tarrin said in a dangerously low tone. "He brought it on himself. He intentionally stomped on my tail and tried to break it. I paid him back in kind for it. He shot me with a musket, so I paid him back in kind for it."

  "You there, what happened?" Keritanima shouted at the guards below in Wikuni.

  "We didn't see it all, my Lady," the guard replied, not recognizing Keritanima as the Queen. "We saw this one laying on the ground, and that one up there watching. We tried to help the man, but he grabbed my musket and shot at that one up there. Then that one up there tore out the rail and threw it down on this one while this one down here got the other musket and took another shot at that one up there."

  Keritanima growled in her throat. "Tarrin, what am I going to do with you?" she asked in frustration. "I asked you to behave! This is how you honor that request?"

  "He started it!" Tarrin shot back.

  "It doesn't matter who started it!" she shouted at him with sudden heat. "Could you, for once in your life, have the wisdom to simply let an insult pass? Did what that man think of you mean so much that you had to kill him over it?"

  "If someone had put a boot on your tail and ground it down into the floor, trying to break it, would you be so forgiving?" he countered.

  "How do you know he did that?" she accused.

  "I'm not stupid, Kerri," he snorted. "When someone raises a foot to step on a tail that's in the air over his knees, he's going out of his way."

  Keritanima glared at him a minute, then sighed. "Go back to your room, Tarrin," she ordered. "I'll straighten this out, somehow."

  "Kerri--"

  "Just go," she ordered, pointing towards one of the open windows.

  Snorting, Tarrin went past her and into the ballroom. Every eye was on him, and they parted before him as he marched deliberately through their ranks, eyes speculative or fearful. Sapphire landed on his shoulder as he passed through the assembled Wikuni, then made his way to the door. He was a little regretful he'd caused Keritanima trouble, but he didn't feel a thing for the man who tried to kill him. He got what he deserved.

  Chapter 6

  Tarrin paced back and forth in his apartments, replaying the events over and over in his mind. Every time he did so, however, it only made him angry. Why did people have to be that way? Why did they have to be so cruel? Tarrin wasn't like that. Surely, he had a mean streak in him, and he was a bit vicious, but he didn't go out of his way to hurt other people like that Wikuni had done. Nobody ever got hurt at the end of Tarrin's claws unless there was a reason for it. The other man was to blame, and yet Tarrin seemed to be the one getting into the trouble.

  Didn't Keritanima warn all of them not to do such things around him? Didn't Keritanima know by now that Tarrin did not tolerate it when people behaved towards him like that? Whatever Keritanima thought, he saw no blame in it on himself. The other man started it, Tarrin responded in kind. The man tried to kill him, so Tarrin simply responded in kind. It was that simple. He hadn't gone looking for a fight, and by all rights the other man should have left well enough alone when he got his leg broken. His pride had caused him to try to kill Tarrin, and it cost him his life.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did people have to be so stupid! Was he not large enough and mean-looking enough to prevent people from doing exactly what the man did? What kind of insanity possessed people like that?

  The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. So angry, in fact, that Sapphire seemed to sense his hostility and decided to spend a little time in the bathing room, away from him. He paced back and forth and back and forth, and kept getting just a little more angry with each step.

  So much for looking forward to his visit to Wikuna. He was ready to leave, and he was sure that Keritanima was busily stepping up her schedule to get him out of her Palace as quickly as possible. He had little doubt that his action was going to cause Keritanima problems. He'd heard all about how cunning and devious the Wikuni nobles were. One of them would figure out some way to turn it to their advantage.

  How did he keep getting into these things? It was frustrating! Tarrin turned just as his anger got the best of him in the outer parlor, bringing his fist down on the back of one of the deep chairs sitting on the carpet, shattering the wood in its back and sending down and bits of fluff flying as the cushioned back was torn open.

  "I'm sure that was an expensive chair," Kimmie's voice called from the outer door. Tarrin whirled around to see her standing there, half in half out, her paw on the door handle. "Should I come back later?"

  "What do you want?" he demanded.

  "Do I need a reason to come to your room now?" she asked pointedly. "Actually, since Kerri sent you to your room, I figured you may want to talk to someone, or at the very least, have someone to yell at. I can do either, you know."

  Tarrin snorted, crossing his arms and turning his back to her. "I wouldn't be good company at the moment."

  "That's a matter of opinion," Kimmie said lightly, stepping inside and closing the door. "I've dealt with Mist in her less than friendly moments. I think I can deal with yours."

  Tarrin glanced at her, but her expression and her scent both were mysterious. He had no idea what she was thinking, what she was feeling. Usually, the scent gave one or both away. "Now then, should we stand here in silence, or would you rather go into the other room and sit down in silence? Shoot, we could even go into your room and lay down on the bed in silence, or hang from the ceiling in silence, or climb the walls in silence, or hover in mid-air in silence, or--"

  "I get the point," Tarrin snapped, interrupting her.

  "There, see, you just spoke. That wasn't hard at all, was it?" she asked with a disarmingly warm smile. "You think you can do it again, or do I need to go fetch some treats from the kitchen and entice you?" She waved a paw. "I've gotten speak. I just need sit up, lay down, fetch, play dead, and heel, and I'll have you completely trained."

  Tarrin glared at her, but she seemed to be oblivious to it. Then again, after so long with Mist, Tarrin realized that he wasn't going to ruffle Kimmie. It would take something pretty spectacular to ruffle Kimmie.

  "You take alot of chances, Kimmie," Tarrin warned.

  "Of course I do," she smiled in reply. "Now, since we've gotten you past the 'I'm not talking' phase, we can talk about it." She looked him up and down. "There's blood on your shirt, you know," she told him.

  "I can smell it," he said shortly.

  "Well, there's half the problem," she snorted. "Let's get that shirt off of you. The blood smell probably isn't doing your temper much good."

  He did try to resist when Kimmie grabbed his paw and started dragging him towards the next room, but her grip was surprisingly strong, and she totally ignored his attempt to pull away. "Why do you always have to be so contrary?" she complained. "I swear, Tarrin, you're as bad as Mist! Do you take the other side just to give yourself an excuse to argue with people or what?"

  "You could leave me alone and save yourself the aggravation," he said.

  "Right, and deal with you stalking around in a tiff for the next three days. Spare me," she said with a drawl. She dragged him through the inner parlor and into the bedroom, then let go of his paw and grabbed the tail of his shirt with both paws. He tried to push his shirt down, so Kimmie decided to opt for the convenience of simply ripping it off him. "You're a complete baby sometimes!" Kimmie accused. "So wrapped up in your temper tantrum that you even refuse help!"

  "I didn't ask for you to come in here, you know!" Tarrin shouted in reply.

  "As a matter of fact, you did," she said with a grin. "You could throw me out if you really wanted
to. I know it, you know it. You're just putting up a fight because you're not sure if I'll really sit here and talk with you. You're thinking that if I stay no matter how much you fight about it, I'm not joking or playing with you. It's a test of trust."

  Tarrin blinked in surprise.

  "You're feral, Tarrin," she chided him. "You and Mist are alot alike. All the things I've seen in her, I see in you. I understand every aspect of it, and I can read you like a book. Right now, you're feeling a bit sheepish because I can read right through you, and not a little nervous about it, thinking that there are things about you too dark for me to see. Well, think about it, Tarrin. Mist is my bond-mother. Do you really think I haven't already seen it all?"

  Tarrin was quite honestly taken aback, because Kimmie had yet to be wrong.

  "Now then, we can stop being silly, sit down, and you can talk about it," she said in a mild voice. "I guarantee you, Tarrin, you'll feel better after you talk it through."

  Tarrin was impressed. It was easy to forget how smart Kimmie was, when comparing her to minds like Keritanima or Phandebrass. She was inobtrusive, quiet, and modest, alot like Allia, now that he thought about it. Rarely if ever bringing attention to herself. Considering the life she must have had with Mist, he completely understood her behaving that way. He knuckled under to her demands, sat down with her on the bed and did just as she asked. He talked. He voiced his frustration and irritation over the whole situation, about how he just didn't understand why some people had to be such jerks, and admitting that he was a little irritated with himself that he had embarassed and disappointed Keritanima. Kimmie simply sat there and listened attentively, letting him talk out the whole problem until he began to repeat himself.

  "Well, the first thing you have to do is not blame yourself," she told him. "Keritanima understands you, no matter what you may think. If you killed the man, you certainly had a good reason for doing it. You don't just go around and kill people for no reason."

  "I know, but I let her down, Kimmie," Tarrin sighed. "She asked me to her big party, introduced us to Rallix, or she would have if I haven't have messed things up, showed us to her friends and court, and I ruined it for her. I really tried to control myself, Kimmie. After he tried to break my tail, I let him go on without doing anything about it, but when that Wikuni insulted Keritanima, insulted Allia, then called me stupid, he just took it too far."

  "As far as I'm concerned, Tarrin, you didn't do anything wrong," Kimmie told him calmly. "Then again, I'm a Were-cat. I'd have probably thrown him over the rail myself if he'd tried to break my tail. You lasted alot longer than I would have."

  "I can't see you throwing anyone over a rail, Kimmie," Tarrin chuckled. "You're too good-natured."

  "You've never seen me angry," she smiled. "I assure you, Tarrin, I have just as vile a temper as any other Were-cat. It just takes a little more to set me off, that's all."

  "I can't imagine you being angry. It's just not you."

  "Well, I'll take that as a compliment," she said with bright eyes. "And I don't think you should worry too much about Keritanima. She knows you pretty well, and she'll get over it. Who knows, maybe it was actually a blessing in disguise."

  "How so?" Tarrin asked.

  "Well, now if any of the nobles annoy her, she can just insinuate you into the conversation. Oh, say, how she may invite you and them to a special private party, in a nice empty room with a stout door."

  Tarrin chuckled. "She'd probably do something like that," he agreed.

  Kimmie leaned back on her paws on the bed, looking up at him. "Feel better now?"

  "I hate to admit it, but yes," he told her.

  "Good." The texture of her scent changed in a most appealing manner. "Well, now that you're not going to stalk around in a tiff for the next three days, I think we could find something else to do for the rest of the night," she said in a purring tone.

  "So, the true motive is revealed," Tarrin said with a laugh.

  "It's just a fringe benefit, since I'm still trying to help you forget about what happened tonight," she said with a teasing smile, but her eyes were hungry. "Now shut up and kiss me."

  Kimmie had done much to improve his mood before, but now she strove to make sure he forgot all about it. And she did a good job. The altercation during the party was the last thing on his mind after just a few moments.

  After a very busy night, the two of them napped until sunrise, when Kimmie's stirring woke him up. Kimmie yawned and sat up, forcing him to roll free of her, and he kept his head on the pillow and looked up at her contentedly. "Morning," she greeted with a smile. "I'm going to have to talk to Kerri about these rooms. I definitely got cheated in the bed department. The bed I have is too soft."

  "This one isn't exactly firm, Kimmie."

  "If you don't tie a board across your back, you sink into my bed and threaten to get suffocated," she complained. "I have to sleep on it in cat form. It's like sleeping on a blanket thrown over quicksand."

  Tarrin chuckled. "You know, this is the first time you've spent the whole night?"

  "I've stayed with you til dawn before," she protested.

  "Only after coming in after midnight," he pointed out. "I forgot how nice it is to sleep a full night with a female."

  "Well, I'll just have to spend nights with you from now on," she offered. "And not just when we're feeling frisky."

  "I don't mind," he assured her. "But Jesmind probably won't like it too much."

  "So, you want me to move in?" she asked pointedly.

  "You may as well," he shrugged. "I didn't understand why you didn't move in at first."

  "You didn't ask," she said bluntly. "I know you love Jesmind, so I wasn't going to impose myself on you any more than necessary. But if you want me to move in, I'll be more than happy to do it."

  "That may be a moot point here," Tarrin said. "I doubt we'll be here in two days."

  "Me too," she said. "The solstice is only twelve days away. And I heard that it'll take us ten to get to Vendaka. We absolutely have to leave by tomorrow, or we'll miss our chance." She looked behind his head. "I don't like your hair like that," she told him. "You looked better with the braid."

  "I was just trying it out," he said defensively. "If it bothers you, I'll grow it back."

  "I don't know why, but it does," she said. "It's almost as if a part of you that's supposed to be there is missing."

  "That's how it felt at first," Tarrin agreed.

  Kimmie yawned, then stretched languidly. Tarrin paused to admire her form, her mixture of sleek Were tautness combined with a curious she-softness common among the humans. Kimmie was alot different from Jesmind, who was definitely muscular, or Mist, who was a powerfully built little Were-cat, but she was still a very beautiful, very desirable Were-cat female. At least to him, anyway, since some males may not appreciate her more human-like body when they were used to seeing muscular definition and washboard stomachs on females. "Enjoying the show?" she asked shamelessly, looking down at him.

  "I'd enjoy it more if you'd turn a little this way," he told her with a leer. "I want to get the full view."

  Kimmie laughed, then turned and shook her chest in a manner that waggled the objects of his attention in his face. "There, are you happy now?" she asked.

  "I will be in a little while," he said in a husky voice, pulling her down into an embrace.

  "Ah, there's nothing better than smelling desire in a male," Kimmie sighed as Tarrin kissed and nibbled lightly at her neck.

  It was well past dawn when Tarrin and Kimmie finally got out of bed, washed up, and dressed. The first thing he did, at Kimmie's behest, was cause his hair to regrow, and Kimmie indulged both of them by taking on her human hands and braiding his hair for him. Afterward, he Conjured a new shirt to wear, someone knocked on the outer door. Tarrin moved into the outer parlor as Kimmie opened it, and he saw the wolf Wikuni Amber standing there, looking a trifle nervous. She now wore a white silk dress, very fancy, very expensive, with the Royal Crest embroi
dered in a much smaller design than the torso-covering one on her last dress, the crest resting right over her heart. This had to be the dress of a Royal Servant, the maids, pages, butlers, and attendants that directly served the Queen herself. Keritanima said she was taking the girl onto her personal staff.

  "What is it?" Kimmie asked her.

  "Is Lord Tarrin here, Mistress?" she asked in broken Sulasian.

  Kimmie moved aside and pointed in his general direction. "Lord Tarrin," she said with a curtsy in Wikuni. "Her Majesty asks that you join her for breakfast."

  "Just me, or is it a general invitation?" he asked.

  "I know that the others that arrived with her Majesty were also invited, so it must be a general invitation, Lord Tarrin," she answered.

  "Don't call me that," he said sharply. "I'm no Lord."

  "Begging your pardon, Lord Tarrin, you're wrong. I personally witnessed her Majesty bestowing the title of Margrave to you earlier today."

  "What's a Margrave?" Tarrin asked curiously.

  "It's something of a honorary title, my Lord," she replied. "It grants the recepient with the title and privileges of the nobility, but without granting lands. You're a landless noble of sorts, but it's a somewhat high rank. Only her Majesty, a Duke, and an Earl outrank you."

  Tarrin snorted. "Alright. Give me a few minutes to finish dressing, and you can take us there."

  "Of course, my Lord," she said with another curtsy, stepping just inside the door and waiting with her hands crossed over her lower stomach.

  "What's going on?" Kimmie asked.

  "She's taking us to a breakfast with Kerri," he replied.

  "I hope it's formal dress," Kimmie said, grabbing the skirts of the dress she had on, the same one from last night.

  "It's your fault for not bringing your clothes."

  "You wouldn't let me out of bed," Kimmie challenged. "It's your fault."

  Without blinking, Tarrin Summoned every single stitch of clothing that Kimmie owned, making them appear in neatly folded piles around Kimmie's feet. "You'll have to get the other things, but I'm sure you can find whatever you want to wear in there somewhere."