The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  That had been the last straw. Keritanima threatened to throw the device over the side if Phandebrass did any more experimenting. She told him he could study it, but no more magic. Phandebrass looked indignant and terrified that his precious captured device would be thrown overboard, so he promised to behave.

  The destruction of nine Zakkite ships had done much to thin out the crowds on the sea. Or more to the point, the nine Zakkite ships had done the thinning, and the Wikuni formation was reaping the rewards of that sweep. They encountered no vessels for a long ten day stretch, but on that tenth day, Allia's eagle eyes had spotted exactly what none of them wanted to see. Another Zakkite Triad had appeared on the northwestern horizon, and they were moving southwest, towards them. But Keritanima seemed unconcerned. Zakkite ships were fearsome in battle, but they didn't fly everywhere they went. And when they were on the sea, they were slower than Wikuni vessels. The common Wikuni tactic for dealing with Zakkites was to flee from them if outnumbered and send out the call, and every Wikuni ship in the vicinity would converge in a central location then turn around and attempt to chase down the Zakkites with superior numbers. The Zakkites were familiar with this tactic, so it turned into a game of cat and mouse on the high seas, as the Zakkites tried to sink lone Wikuni vessels before reinforcements could arrive.

  Though Keritanima said that the Wikuni were faster, those three Zakkite ships did not disappear from the horizon for long. They would reappear at irregular intervals, looking as if they had put on every square finger of sail in an attempt to keep up with their quarry. The Zakkites' ability to keep up unnerved the Wikuni sailors on the steamship, and the lack of space and brutal heat only made them even more short-tempered. The occasional fights that been going on before became more common, and had even spread to the clippers. The famous discipline of the Wikuni Navy was starting to break down.

  The morale of the men got worse and worse as each day passed. Tarrin heard them muttering constantly under their breaths about the insane mission the Queen had pushed on them, mutter about other sailors they didn't like, complain about the steamship's bad conditions, and voice their discontent. The mood got darker and darker as they moved ever southwestward, slowly turning more and more south as they kept the Diamond Crown firmly at the bow.

  The insidious nature of it hadn't been apparent to Tarrin until he began seeing discord among his friends. The sniping between Camara Tal and Phandebrass began to get ugly, and Azakar glared at Tarrin every opportunity he got. Tarrin and the Mahuut hadn't really talked or reconciled since the fight over the Zakkite survivors, and Tarrin's behavior had seemed to rankle the Knight as time went by, festering like an infection. Dar and Keritanima started fighting like siblings, arguing over the least little thing, and their arguments got longer and more vicious every time. Keritanima seemed consumed by her need to wrangle with Dar, but one fact kept Keritanima focused, kept them all focused. They had left Vendaka a month before, and the instructions said that they were supposed to travel for only forty. They were getting very close to their destination, and that knowledge kept all of them rational. They only had about ten days to go, and then they were going to be there. That helped alleviate some of the stress, and the air had even begun to cool as they moved deeper into the southern hemisphere, away from the tropical heat of the equator. It was still hot, but it wasn't as brutally hot as it had been, going from unbearable to merely uncomfortable.

  So it was understandable that there was a tremendous amount of tension on the ship when they sighted their first land in more than thirty days. It was a small island, little more than a volcanic peak jutting out of the water, with smoke issuing forth lazily from the volcanic cone. The whole thing was a mass of black stone, coastlines that rose out of the sea as steeply as the side of a mountain, as waves pounded frothily against the steep black rocks. The disappointment that it wasn't an inhabitable island, that there would be no respite from the diet of hard tack and salted meat that was the staple of a sailor, made the Wikuni even more irritable.

  The night after the island passed by was quite momentous. Tarrin was awakened by Sapphire biting at his ear, but there was also a scraping at the door, very faint, very muffled. Had Tarrin not had his nose buried in Kimmie's hair, he would have smelled the Wikuni outside the door. His keen eyes made out that they had stuck something very thin, like a knifeblade, through the doorframe to try to throw the latch. They were trying to get in. But why? Tarrin crept over Kimmie and slinked up to the door silently, pausing to listen. The similarity of the situation struck him, as he recalled creeping up to a door in the Tower to listen to men that tried to break into his room. Those men had been trying to kill him. What did these men want?

  "Careful, ya clumsy oaf!" one of them hissed. "That beast has ears, ya know!"

  "Why're we doin' this, Clem?" another asked. "Ye've seen that monster, and ye heard the stories!"

  "We can't convince her Majesty to turn us around and take us home unless we got collateral, Vin," a third voice said. "I like her Majesty, but this insanity has gone on long enough. We just had the bad luck to draw these two. You got that silver knife handy?"

  "Aye, but I hope we don't have to use it. Goin' home is good and all, but that big furry one saved us from the Zakkites. It ain't right to pay him back by killin' 'im."

  "Ain't nobody here wants bloodshed, Vin," the one called Clem assured him. "We just want her Majesty to turn us around."

  "We'll be hanged fer sure."

  "Better to hang at home than die out here," the third one whose name was unknown said immediately.

  Tarrin was stunned. They were going to mutiny! He knew that they were unhappy, but to mutiny, it was unbelievable! That one was right, they would be hanged. But they sounded like they'd rather hang than keep going!

  It was irrational! Why would they want to go home, when certain death was waiting for them? Not only were they going to mutiny, they were going to mutiny on the ship that carried their queen. That would be as good as high treason against the Crown! And there were more than these three. they said that they got the bad luck of drawing Tarrin. That meant that other mutineers were going to try to take some of the others hostage, the ones closest to Keritanima. They'd never get anywhere near Miranda, so that left Dar, Allia, Dolanna, and Camara Tal. They'd die quickly trying to take Allia or Camara Tal, and though Dolanna wouldn't kill them, they'd fare just as badly against her. Dar was the only one they'd have a chance of taking, but the young Arkisian's Sorcery was much stronger now. He would be no easy mark either.

  Weaving blindly, Tarrin sent a weave of Air across the door and released it. He felt it collapse around the three mutineers, enfold them in itself, and quite effectively paralyze them by encasing them in sheaths of solid Air that only gave enough for them to breathe. "Kimmie," Tarrin called quickly, then put his paw on his amulet. "Kerri."

  "You woke me up!" came a bleary response.

  "You'd better get up. Three of your men just tried to take me hostage. And from the sound of it, there are more."

  "What?"

  "Just get up and get Binter and Sisska out into the companionway. Allia will kill whoever comes after her, you know that, and we need these men alive to find out what's going on."

  Tarrin ignored any reply, shifting his attention. "Dar."

  "I'm up, Tarrin. I was about to come get you. Do you know that two of Kerri's sailors just broke into my room? They tried to tie me up!"

  "Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine. All those nights sleeping in the same room with you has turned me into a light sleeper," he chuckled.

  "Did you kill them?"

  "No, I just tied them up with Sorcery. We need to tell Kerri about this."

  "Three of them just tried to do the same to me," he informed his young friend. "I think we all need to get out there and break up this little rebellion."

  Tarrin tried raising Allia, but he got no reply. The sudden sound of combat that roared up the companionway explained why. There were shouts of fury, t
hen sudden groans of consternation, then shrieks of agony. Tarrin opened the door to hear sudden confused shouting, and when he looked out, he saw about fifteen of the Wikuni sailors in the companionway, all holding knives or cutlasses or starwheel pistols. They looked shocked and frightened, and Tarrin saw why. Allia was standing in her doorway with her two shortswords in her hands. She was nude, and there was blood spattered all over her. She looked furious. And in all the world, there was nothing worse than an infuriated Selani. The sailors in the companionway saw her, saw that she had caught the men trying to sneak into her cabin, and dealt with them in a manner that was quite final.

  One fellow had enough of a mind to level his pistol at Tarrin's sister. Tarrin's protective instincts roared to the forefront, but the man fired before he could stop him. Allia seemed unphased by that act, and Tarrin saw why when the small lead ball struck something in front of Allia, ricocheted into the wall beside her. Allia has woven a shield of Air to protect her against the pistol. Wise Allia, even prepared in a moment of fury!

  The man may have had the time to fire the pistol, but he didn't have time for anything else. Tarrin was on him a mere heartbeat later, his wicked claws ripping the life out of the dog Wikuni before the loud bang of the pistol had a chance to fade from the cramped passage. The attack on Allia had sent Tarrin right into a blind rage, and his rage caused him to savage his unfortunate victim in exclusion of turning on the others. That moment of fury gave the Wikuni sailors a chance to flee from the Were-cat, whose attention was focused on shredding the body of the one who had fired on his sisters into pieces as small as he could possibly make them.

  It was about to turn into a very ugly slaughter, as Camara Tal came out of her room, this time in a breastplate as well as her tripa, sword drawn and ready. Binter and Sisska stepped out into the passage with Keritanima just behind, and Phandebrass and Azakar too had come out of their rooms ready to do battle. Tarrin roared in fury as he reduced the Wikuni who had attacked Allia to a mangled pile of quivering gore, then turned and moved to attack the fleeing Wikuni, who were running up the passageway towards Keritanima, Binter, and Sisska. Tarrin's room was the first one passed after coming down the stairs, and Allia's was the second. That put Tarrin between the Wikuni sailors and the only way out of the companionway. Only the three Wikuni sailors that Tarrin immobilized with his magic were on the other side of him, the only ones with a chance to survive the Were-cat's fury.

  Then Kimmie was there. She rushed in front of him and put her arms out wide, looking squarely into his eyes. "He's dead, Tarrin," she said softly. "The one that tried to hurt Allia is dead. Let it go. Let it go."

  The Cat looked at her, recognized her as mate and friend, and saw that she was moving to defend the enemies behind. The Cat paused to consider this. The Cat knew that mate was wise and knowing about things that the Cat did not understand, and the Cat deferred to her wisdom. So if mate protected the enemies, perhaps they were not enemies. She had her back to them, and they were not attacking her. That helped the Cat make that decision, and gain more respect for mate. Mate was strong of heart to challenge the Cat when it was angry, when mate knew fully well that she was the weaker of them and could not stop it if it decided not to listen to her. Mate was a good female, and the cub she would bear him would have her strength of heart as well as his physical power. A fine cub.

  Easily and gently, the Cat receeded back into Tarrin's mind, allowing his conscious to regain control over himself.

  Tarrin put a paw to his forehead, shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. As always, he was a little disoriented and unsure what had happened, but he did know that he'd been in a rage, and that he'd only been like that a few quick moments. He looked and saw Kimmie standing between him and the dozen or so terrified Wikuni sailors behind her, arms out and her expression resolute. She was protecting them from him! She didn't protect all of them, for he could smell the blood and flesh of a Wikuni all over him. He'd killed at least one of them.

  It came back to him quickly, because he'd only been in his rage a moment. One had shot at Allia with a pistol, so he had dealt with the man in a suitable manner. He looked at the others, saw them all standing woodenly, turning around to face Keritanima. They turned and just stood there.

  Tarrin sensed it after clearing his head. Keritanima was using Sorcery, a Mind weave, on them. Because Keritanima was Wikuni, she could affect other Wikuni with Mind weaves. She was using one now to control all of them, to keep them from panicking.

  "Just what in the bloody blazes is going on around here!" Camara Tal snapped, brandishing her sword.

  "A mutiny, it seems," Phandebrass answered her.

  "I didn't ask you, you clod!" Camara Tal shouted at him, raising her sword in Phandebrass' direction.

  "Now see here, I've been very nice to you up until now, but I've grown tired of your incessant picking," the mage said grimly, pulling one of the captured wands out of the belt over his nightshirt. "If you don't like me this much, I think we should do something about it, we should."

  "Cease, both of you!" Dolanna said, but it fell on deaf ears. Camara Tal stalked up towards Phandebrass with her sword levelled at him, and Phandebrass pointed his captured wand at her threateningly.

  Then they both simply stopped. Their eyes glazed over as Tarrin felt Dolanna do the same thing to them that Keritanima did to the Wikuni.

  "What is going on around here?" Dar asked, looking at Tarrin fearfully. "Camara and Phandebrass like each other! They just argue because they enjoy it!"

  Tarrin looked at Camara Tal and Phandebrass in surprise, but Dolanna closed her eyes and bade at them. They stiffly obeyed her, coming up to her and kneeling before her, so Dolanna could put her hands on each of their heads without having to strain herself to reach up so far. Dolanna's expression became searching for a long moment, then her eyes snapped open in surprise. "Goddess!" she gasped. "It is magic doing this!"

  "What?" Kimmie asked, turning to face the diminutive Sorceress.

  "It is very faint, very subtle," she said. "But there is a magical influence provoking this animosity."

  Keritanima beckoned to one of the sailors, and he marched up to her and stood stock still. Keritanima put her hands on either side of the ram Wikuni's face, under his horns, her expression one of concentration. Then she opened her eyes. "There is something there," she agreed. "It's affecting his mind, irritating his anger and influencing him."

  "We are close to our goal. Perhaps this is but the first of its defenses," Allia said sagely. "A magic that causes discord in whoever attempts to reach it, so that they turn on one another."

  "I never felt a thing," Tarrin said.

  "Me either," Kimmie agreed.

  "Neither did I, but it must be so," Allia added. "For a while now, I have felt that the tension on the ship was uncharacteristic for the Wikuni. They are just not like this. Not normally."

  "So we have magic that affects humans and Wikuni, but not Were-cats and Selani," Dolanna mused. "There must be something about your races that renders you immune."

  "You haven't shown any changes, Dolanna," Tarrin told her. "Neither have Binter or Sisska."

  "I have felt certain, stirrings," she admitted. "But it was nothing that I could not control."

  "I guess our training makes us resistant," Keritanima said.

  "It didn't make you resistant," Tarrin told her bluntly. "You and Dar have been fighting like two angry hornets for days now."

  "The question is, what are we going to do about it?" Kimmie asked pointedly.

  That made them all silent for a moment. "There's nothing I can do," Tarrin said simply. "If I can't even sense it or see it, then there's not much I can do to stop it."

  "We'll need to discover what this magic is and exactly how it affects us," Dolanna offered to Keritanima.

  "I think we could design a counterspell, but we need to do it quickly, before the sailors on the clippers start firing on one another," Keritanima agreed.

  "Binter, Sisska, have you felt a
nything unusual lately?" Tarrin asked the Vendari.

  "No," he answered. "Only an increased awareness of the hostility around us."

  "What have you been feeling, Dar?" Dolanna asked.

  "Homesick," he replied after a moment. "So strong that all I wanted to do was go home. I thought Tarrin and Kerri were the one keeping us from going home. I know better than to be nasty to Tarrin, so I guess I was taking it out on Kerri."

  "Dar's training as a Sorcerer made him more resistant to the effects of the magic," Dolanna surmised. "Kerri?"

  "Homesick," she agreed. "But I thought it was because I wanted to get home to Rallix."

  "The sailors mutinied because they wanted to go home," Tarrin said. "I heard them talk. They were willing to get hanged, so long as it was done back at Wikuna."

  "I think that is how the magic affects the mind," Dolanna said. "It provokes a sense of homesickness. Actually, that is quite clever. If it was a magic that made one not want to continue forward, that would be much more noticable than a feeling of homesickness."

  "What about you, Miranda?" Dolanna asked. "Have you felt anything unusual?"

  "No, not really," Miranda said. "I guess I feel home is wherever Kerri is," she said with a charming grin.

  Tarrin looked at her, not sure about that. Miranda wasn't entirely a Wikuni, she was an Avatar, and that extra granted to her by her gods was probably insulating her from the magic's effect. Of course, nobody knew that but Tarrin, and he wasn't about to say anything. As long as Miranda had a rational explanation for not being affected by the magic, there was no reason for him to say anything.