The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  Gaping and trembling, the male did just as Tarrin ordered, scrambling out of bed, down the steps, across the room, then out the door. He didn't bother to gather up his clothes beforehand either, rushing naked into the hall.

  "Tarrin, what are you doing?" Dolanna demanded.

  He didn't say a word. He came up the dais and to the bed, then reached down and put his paws on either side of her head, almost completely covering it. He sent tendrils of Mind and Divine into her, a simple weave to assess physical condition, and found that alien substance still flushing through her blood. After two days, it was still there? It had to be quite strong! Changing tacks, he sent flows of Earth, Water, and Divine into her, the flows of healing, and wove them into a spell within her and released it. The weave attacked that drug in her system and destroyed it, making Dolanna gasp and grab his wrists in her small hands as it felt to her like icewater had just been forced into her bloodstream.

  Dolanna's eyes were a bit glassy as she looked up at him after he pulled his paws away, then she put a finger delicately to her forehead. "What did you do, Tarrin?" she asked woozily. "I feel decidedly odd."

  "Those drinks you drank at the feast had a drug in them," Tarrin told her. "It's something the Sha'Kar must drink all the time, so they're used to it. But you and the others don't have the same resistance to it."

  "Indeed," she grunted, rubbing her temples. "I feel as I did when we spoke after the feast."

  "What happened after you left?"

  "Well, I returned to bed. I woke up in the late afternoon, and I felt very good. Almost deleriously happy. I wandered around the estate for a while, had a lovely chat with Master Arlan, and then I met a handsome young farm worker while Arlan and I walked the estate lawn and talked. Arlan saw I fancied him, and sent him to my room--I do not believe I did that!" she gasped, relapsing into Sharadi.

  "It was the drug, not you," Tarrin told her, switching to Sharadi to make her more comfortable. "All the other humans are sleeping with someone else in their beds too. Even Phandebrass."

  "It's a pity we can't isolate the drug and take it back to the West with us," Dolanna laughed. "They're always looking for the perfect aphrodisiac. I think the Sha'Kar have stumbled on one."

  "How do you feel now?"

  "Like I have a hangover," she answered. "But it's already starting to fade."

  "The spell burned out the drug, but you must be feeling some kind of after-effect of when it fades," he reasoned.

  "Most likely. Did you really have to break down my door, Tarrin?" she asked with a slight smile.

  "Actually, yes. I wanted your undivided attention, and I didn't want any arguments. I knew if I used the direct approach, I'd get both."

  She chuckled ruefully. "No doubt. Now then, let me get dressed, and we'll give all the others the same rude awakening you gave me."

  "It couldn't have been that bad," he told her. "And last night couldn't have been that bad either."

  "Why do you say that?"

  Tarrin touched his nose meaningfully.

  Dolanna blushed, which made her look quite lovely. "Knowing that I was drugged makes me feel a little violated, but I won't lie, dear one. I never met the man before, but he gave me a very enjoyable night."

  "That's all that matters, Dolanna," he told her, picking up her robe from where it was laying on the steps of the dais and handing it to her. "You get dressed, and I'll fix your door for you."

  "Thank you," she said, accepting the robe from him.

  Though he wasn't as rough with the others, Tarrin and Dolanna visited all of their human friends one by one, and after ejecting the night's playmate, they took turns using the spell to burn out the drug that had affected them. All of them had the same story to tell, about how they awakened feeling almost euphoric, and all of them had somehow managed to find an attractive member of the opposite sex who seemed interested. One thing led to another, and they all ended up in bed. Camara Tal was rather casual about it, remarking that she may ask Arlan about buying her bedmate for a new concubine, but Azakar and Dar seemed absolutely mortified that it had happened. Phandebrass found it all to be rather interesting, and went off to the kitchens almost immediately to find a bottle of the drugged wine, so he could research its ingredients. He very nearly forgot to put on his robe.

  After waking up all the humans, he brought them along with him as he went to Keritanima's room, and Tarrin and Dolanna used the healing weave to burn out the drug from Keritanima and Miranda. Both of them had been asleep during the process, but they both woke up when it was complete. Keritanima yawned and looked all of them over, all of them in morning robes, and blinked. "What time is it? Did I oversleep?" she asked.

  "You've been sleeping for nearly two days now, Kerri," Tarrin told her. "That wine you drank at the feast had some kind of drug in it. It affected you and Miranda by making you sleepy. It had a, ah, different effect on the humans," he said delicately as both Dar and Azakar turned deep purple.

  "Oh. Well, that explains that much at least," Miranda grunted, rubbing her head. "I knew I couldn't have gotten that drunk off the wine."

  "Well, get a robe on or something and come to my room," he told them. "While you two have been sleeping and the others have been, entertaining friends, I've been busy."

  Azakar continued to blush furiously, but Dar couldn't help but start laughing.

  They convened in Tarrin's room not long after that. Kimmie came out of the bathing room with a towel wrapped around her, and Sapphire perched on her shoulder. The first thing he did was tell them about his long talk with Iselde, relating his observations to them. Then he told them about the book he read in great detail, relating what he'd leaned about the Sha'Kar from it. Keritanima and Dolanna seemed absorbed in Tarrin's look inside the minds of the Sha'Kar. "Simply put, they're a conceited bunch," he summed it up. "But they're not nasty like some people like that are. Actually, they seem rather nice, but only if you're their kind of people. As Zak, Camara, Miranda and Phandebrass have found out," he added. "They just have trouble accepting that everyone doesn't act like they do. We didn't go into the servants, I thought that may be a bit confrontational, but that's the impression I get from them."

  "It's a good start," Keritanima told him. "Dolanna, you and I need to go circulate at these parties and pick up their rumors. Rumors are always a good way to get to know a society."

  "Where is Allia, anyway?" Dar asked.

  "She's with Allyn," Tarrin answered. "She's working on things at a personal level, the same as I've been working on Iselde."

  "Someone should work on Arlan," Camara Tal noted.

  "I haven't even seen Arlan since the feast," Tarrin told her. "I think he's been spending his every waking moment with the Elders. Iselde said he's one of their students. Actually, I haven't seen much of anyone since the feast. I've been very busy with our secret weapon."

  "What secret weapon?" Keritanima asked.

  "Me."

  As one, they all whipped their heads and stared at Kimmie and the drake. Sapphire looked very calm, very sober, regarding them with those staring amber eyes. "Tarrin taught me how to speak," the drake announced. "He's teaching me their language now. When he's done, I'll go spy on the others and report anything important that I hear."

  They were all stunned into silence for a very long moment. Then Keritanima laughed. "That's quite a secret weapon, brother," she admitted. "I didn't know she was capable of speaking!"

  "If you can understand, then you can speak," Tarrin said simply. "I didn't think the shape of her mouth would permit her to speak human language, but I seem to have been mistaken."

  "This is quite an extraordinary drake," Phandebrass said in wonder. "I say, I must--"

  "No, Phandebrass," Tarrin cut him off. "Don't you dare even touch her. I mean it!"

  "Well, there's no need to be rude, there isn't," he grumbled.

  "I won't let him touch me, Tarrin," Sapphire said with steely eyes. "I remember that last time he examined me."

  "Hoisted
by my own petard," Phandebrass chuckled ruefully.

  "Have you read the letters from the ship?" Tarrin asked Keritanima.

  "Not yet," she replied. "Binter gave them to me on one of the rare episodes when I remember waking up, but they're still laying on my bedtable. I'll get to them as soon as I get back to the room."

  "Sapphire delivered our orders to Jalis. I didn't read the response, but I'd guess that his letter tells us he'll be ready to do his part of the plan."

  "I'd expect nothing less from him," Keritanima said proudly.

  "You have a good idea there," Dar said. "It's too bad we don't have Sarraya, though. She could have found out everything we need to know by now."

  "Who is this Sarraya?" Sapphire asked.

  "A Faerie. She's even smaller than you, she can fly, and she can turn invisible. She's the ultimate spy."

  "It sounds so," Sapphire nodded. "I am no Sarraya, but I will do what I can."

  "Well, we've already lost a day, so let's get up and get cracking. The order of the day is still to learn about the Sha'Kar," Keritanima said. "I need to read those letters, and then me and Dolanna will invite ourselves to one of these nightly parties. It's still early enough to get ready, isn't it?"

  "It's only a bit after noon, Kerri. The parties don't happen until sunset."

  "Then we have time to do some other things. I think I'll wander around the town and talk to the Sha'Kar on the streets."

  "Dar, you should talk to the human Sorcerers here," Dolanna told him. "We cannot overlook them."

  "I'll do what I can, Dolanna."

  "Iselde should be at her lesson with Auli's mother right now, but when she comes back, she'll be up in the music conservatory," Tarrin said. "Kerri, when she comes back, talk to her. She tried to invite me to one of those parties yesterday. I'm sure she'll bring you along with her and Auli tonight."

  "Why didn't you go?"

  "Go to a party full of pushy strangers when I'm alone?" he scoffed. "Do you want me to hurt someone, sister?"

  "Oh. Well, I forgot about that," she admitted. "What are you going to do tonight?"

  "Teach Sapphire Sha'Kar," he answered. "One more night should do it. She's a very fast learner."

  "That is fast."

  "It may be one night, but it should take about twelve hours," Tarrin grunted. "Sapphire seems to be very receptive to the memory spell, so she learns even faster than me or Kimmie did. But I still have to go through the teaching."

  "Alright then. Tarrin and Kimmie are going to teach Sapphire. Me and Dolanna are going to crash that party. Dar is going to talk to the human Sorcerers. Azakar, Phandebrass, what are you going to do?"

  "I'm going to talk to the servants," Azakar said.

  "I say, I'm going to see if I can't get someone to show me how they built these buildings," the mage answered.

  "Arlan has a big library here, on the second floor. I think I'll curl up with a few good books today," Miranda announced.

  "That sounds like a good idea. I'll join you, Miranda," Camara Tal told her. "It's better than trying to hold my temper with these arrogant Sha'Kar."

  "Well, it sounds like everyone has a good plan for today. So I think we should get to it." Her stomach growled audibly. She grinned ruefully and put a hand over her belly. "As soon as we eat," she amended.

  It was a plan, and a relatively good one. They broke up and raided the kitchen en masse, then split up to pursue their individual objectives for the day. Tarrin and Kimmie took Sapphire back to their room and started teaching her again, mainly because it was very important, and until Iselde came back and Allia turned up, there wasn't much else to do. He finished teaching her the forms of semi-formal and formal Sha'Kar, and went on to start teaching her the informal forms. There was a better chance she'd hear that if she was listening in on someone talking to himself than high formal Sha'Kar. As she had the two previous sessions, Sapphire, aided by the spell, soaked everything up like a sponge, not forgetting anything that the two of them taught to her. As was usual for Sha'Kar, Tarrin expanded her vocabulary as he moved into the new form, teaching her more and more obscure words as they progressed.

  Allia turned up about three hours after they started with Sapphire. She walked into the room wearing a Sha'Kar robe while Tarrin and Kimmie were sitting on the divans while giving Sapphire a break to relieve herself, a scillinting silver robe that matched her hair, and looking rather lovely in it as well. She had her wild hair combed out to where it was almost straight, and had a strangely content look on her face. "You've gone native, sister," Tarrin told her with an appraising eye. "You look like a Sha'Kar now."

  "I know," she admitted, looking down at herself. "Allyn gave me this. Isn't it nice?"

  "It's very nice," he replied.

  "Would you mind?" Kimmie asked. "It really bothers me when you two do that."

  Tarrin looked at her, and realized they were speaking Selani. "Forgive us, Kimmie. It is a very old habit," Allia apologized. "Tarrin was making note of my dress. Is it not lovely?"

  "It's very pretty," Kimmie agreed. "Did you have fun yesterday?"

  "Oh yes," she smiled. "I wore Allyn out. After he recovered, he took me on a tour of the island. He showed me all the estates and told me the names and reputations of the families that live in them. Then he showed me the forest surrounding the town, where some Sha'Kar walk for seclusion, and a sand beach on the northwest side of the island, on the other side from where we landed. It was black sand. I have never seen that before."

  "Volcanic sand," Kimmie said. "The black lava rock, worn down to sand. It must look pretty weird."

  "Then he showed me a carving that a Sha'Kar who died carved into a cliff face on the west face of the volcano," she continued. "It is of two Sha'Kar standing in beckon to any who see it. It almost looks alive, and the carvings have to be a hundred spans high. It was quite impressive."

  "I guess it would be. I've never seen any statue that big before," Tarrin agreed.

  "I learned much of the Sha'Kar's daily habits, as well," she said. "They use magic almost as often as a Selani uses her feet," she complained. "They will cast a spell to open a door when it is easily within their reach. They are completely dependent on their magic. I do not approve of that."

  "I noticed that at the feast," Kimmie said. "There were plates of food flying all over the place by themselves."

  "I have already started breaking Allyn of that," she told them. "He is taking me to a party tonight. Would you like to come? He asked me to invite you."

  "No, but you'll see Kerri and Dolanna there," Tarrin told her. "They're trying to break into Sha'Kar society as well, but they don't have your inside edge."

  "This is not about breaking in," she said. "This is about Allyn."

  Tarrin looked at her, a bit strangely. She seemed almost...glowing. Had just two days with the Sha'Kar boy had such an impact on her? He knew she liked him, but she was talking like she was making long-term plans. Didn't she realize that they were just too different? Of course she didn't. Allia, if she wanted Allyn, would take him. And if she didn't like some of the things he did, she'd force him at swordpoint to change. In that way, Allia was nearly as arrogant as the Sha'Kar. It was her way or no way. Everyone else thought that Tarrin was the dominant in their relationship, but they had no idea how wrong they were. Allia ruled him as effectively as Keritanima ruled Wikuna. He had been the one that had to conform to her, throughout their entire relationship. But he really hadn't minded, because he loved her, and was willing to do it. Allyn would have to feel the same way if he wanted any kind of long-term relationship with Allia.

  Allia would turn that boy into a Selani, when he was already trying to turn Allia into a Sha'Kar.

  "Oh, we do need to tell you about one thing," Kimmie said. "Sapphire!" she called. Sapphire was in the pool room, using the privy. At least she started doing that after Tarrin explained the concept to her. The Sha'Kar privy, just off the pool room, was alot like Keritanima's running water toilets. They used magic to flush
the waste out of the bowl with water, but Tarrin had no idea where it went after that.

  Sapphire flew into the room a moment later and landed on Tarrin's lap. "Allia," Tarrin said with a smile. "Meet Sapphire."

  "I know your drake, my brother," she said, looking down at the drake with a gentle smile. "How are you today, little one?"

  "Doing well," Sapphire said conversationally. Allia gaped at the drake, then she burst out into surprised laughter.

  "Clever!" she said. "You taught her to speak!"

  "She started, and we decided to finish for her," Tarrin told his sister.

  "You said she was intelligent. I did not think she had become that intelligent!"

  "She's agreed to help us," Tarrin told her. "Since we don't have Sarraya, she'll go try to listen in on the Sha'Kar. We've been teaching her Sha'Kar to get her ready. We think they'll say things around her that they wouldn't say to us. She just has to get in where she can eavesdrop, that's all."

  "The memory spell works on her?"

  Tarrin nodded. "We were going to have Dolanna and Kerri help at first, but she learns so fast that we don't need them. We weren't going to say anything to the others about it yet, but when Sapphire offered to help us, we decided they'd better know." Tarrin scratched Sapphire between the horns with his claw, and the drake pushed up against his paw happily. "Even Sapphire's helping out as she can. With luck, we'll have what we need in a few days."

  "Have the others made any progress?" Allia asked.

  "Not really," Tarrin replied. "The drinks they served at that feast were drugged. It's some kind of drug that the Sha'Kar drink all the time, like alcohol for humans, so it didn't affect them much. It didn't affect the Vendari or us either. But it pretty effectively kicked the Wikuni and the humans in the backside. The Wikuni didn't really even get up until about noon today, and it had a pretty interesting effect on the humans."

  "What kind?"