The Shadow Realm

by James Galloway

  They looked smug. How did they know? They had swept out all the spies. Had they missed someone? Had they managed to get eyes and ears into their war council? They must have, for they had no other reason to be here. Tarrin fought back a wild fury, and also an almost overpowering fear. They had him cut off from the Weave. They had him partially under their control, and the Cat was raging against that. It wanted to attack them, destroy them, do anything it had to do to regain its complete freedom. Tarrin had to fight a desperate, furious battle inside himself to retain control. If he tried to charge the Council, the two not busy holding him powerless would be free to attack him. And besides, he reminded the Cat, he could kill that shield with his Druidic power whenever it pleased him to do so. No, they thought they had him in the corner. He wanted to see what they were going to do with him. If he didn't like what he heard, he'd take them down.

  "So, we meet again, honored one," Grand Syllis said in a light, conversational tone. He was holding a silvered dagger in his hand. "It's fortunate that this will be the last time under these circumstances."

  Tarrin almost went wild at the sight of that dagger, but gritted his teeth and remained calm. If he wanted to talk, then Tarrin would make him talk. He may get them to say something useful. Besides, Syllis would be a maniac for trying to get close enough to use that dagger on him. "If you think your little spell can hold me back, think again," he said in a dangerous tone, his eyes narrowing dangerously as they exploded from within with that unholy greenish radiance that marked his anger. "You were complete fools to come into this room with me alone. I can slaughter the lot of you and nobody will ever know what really happened. As far as they'll be concerned, all nine of you failed the ceremony of Ascension." He glared at them. "I'll even bury you with the others, just so it feels more proper."

  "Oh, we've taken all the necessary precautions, honored one," he said with a smile. They all seemed to step aside, as if on cue, and Tarrin very nearly did go wild at what he saw behind them.

  Kimmie, stripped naked, unconscious, laying limply on the floor with her hands and feet bound by very sturdy-looking chains. He couldn't smell her. Why couldn't he smell her! But it was her. It was no Illusion, he could sense that. She had the Wizard-sense that permeated his mate, and there was no way they could fake that.

  Tarrin took an involuntary step forward, then caught himself. Clenching his fists as Sapphire yowled at them in indignant fury, sparks starting to emanate from her body, Tarrin fought another furious battle to remain calm. Charging over there was only going to get Kimmie killed! That dagger wasn't meant for him, it was meant for Kimmie!

  Grand Syllis made a gesture, and Kimmie raised off the floor as if held by an invisible hand. She floated over to him, her feet dragging the ground as she was lowered to the Grand's level, and he set the dagger against her naked breast lightly. "If only you would have left, honored one," he sighed. Tarrin bit his tongue when Syllis drew the dagger across Kimmie's smooth skin, leaving behind a thin red line of blood as the silver cut her. Proving to him that it could. "We had no intention of doing this, but you left us little choice."

  Now they'd gone too far. It was time to end this! Tarrin reached within, through the Cat, reaching for the endless, boundless energy of the All. All he had to do was kill their shield and then--

  "Don't bother trying to use your Druidic powers," Syllis warned quickly. "That takes time, and we'll sense it through the shield. Not even Druidic power can go unnoticed, honored one. If we sense that rise up in you, your mate will lose her throat."

  Tarrin almost wanted to howl in impotent fury. He knew that Sorcerers couldn't sense Druidic magic in use, but there were too many uncertainties here. These were Ancients, and they already had the shield over him. If it could detect him drawing on the All, Syllis could plunge that dagger into Kimmie's throat before he could release the energy of the spell. He couldn't break their shield, he couldn't use Druidic magic against them, and they were too far away for him to reach them before they could kill his mate.

  With a murderous glare, Tarrin put his paws down at his sides, fists still clenched so tightly that blood was starting to drip from where his claws had punched into his palms. Sapphire still hissed and growled, still had electricity dancing around her, but she too seemed to understand that for the moment, they were at a severe disadvantage.

  "Ah, I see you've accepted the inevitable. I'm sure you're wondering how we came to be in this sticky situation. Would you like to know?"

  Tarrin said nothing. He just glared death at Grand Syllis.

  "Ah, I see you've lost your sense of humor," he said with a wicked grin. He nodded towards one of the other Sha'Kar, and the male--he couldn't remember which one that was--stepped over and opened the door to the chamber.

  Dolanna was standing behind it.

  She walked into the room, not even looking at Tarrin, and then curtsied before Grand Syllis deeply. He nodded to her, and she stood just beside him with her eyes on the floor. "You were on the right trail, honored one, but you checked the wrong woman. The work we did on your Allia was just a diversion. Dolanna was our true eyes and ears. Weren't you, my dear?"

  "Yes, Grand Syllis," she replied in a wooden tone.

  Tarrin was absolutely furious with himself. Damn them! They had read him like a book! With Allia under their control, it consumed all his attention. Dolanna and Keritanima had acted normally after Tarrin confronted the group with what he'd learned about the Sha'Kar, where Allia had not. And that caused all of them to drop their guard. Tarrin had never even considered the possibility that they could control Dolanna, because she was human. Too late he learned that some of the human Sorcerers were working for the Council...and he hadn't pieced those two important clues together!

  "So, as you may realize, we've already rounded up all your companions. The humans, the Selani, and the Wikuni will make fine additions to our happy family here on the island. They are descendants of our race, so we can affect them, make them see reason. But you and those lizard creatures...well, I'm afraid there's little we can do about you."

  "If you kill Kimmie, they won't find enough left of you to put in a thimble," Tarrin warned in a very deadly cold, ominous tone.

  "Yes, yes, we know. Dolanna told us. She's carrying your child, and you have those fairly nasty Were instincts. You may even find the power to break our shield if we enraged you to that degree. But we're not that foolish, honored one. This one will live," he motioned at Kimmie with the dagger, "but the rest of you, I'm afraid, you'll have to sleep until we reawaken you. It won't be long, I can assure you of that. As soon as we get the Firestaff and I use it to take my rightful place among the gods, I'll restore you and the Vendari and all the children we had to put to sleep, and you can worship me for my kindness and generosity."

  That made Tarrin's blood cold. Syllis wanted to use the Firestaff. He wanted to be a god.

  No wonder he killed the Sha'Kar who opposed him. He sounded like he was a Sha'Kar in that regard, sounded like he truly regretted killing, but to him, it was just temporary. As soon as he was a god, he could bring all the Sha'Kar he had murdered back, as if nothing had happened.

  "That's why we saved their bodies," he noted, as if he knew what Tarrin was thinking. "It pained us to have to go to those extremes, but they just didn't understand. I will be the new god of the Sha'Kar. Why was that so hard for them to accept?"

  "You are mad," Tarrin said in a grim voice, a voice full of barely contained fury.

  "One man's madness is another man's genius," he shrugged. "But we digress, honored one. That is my offer. Accept your sleep willingly, and your mate and unborn child will not be forced to sleep with you. The woman will survive the sleep, but the child...I'm afraid it won't be so lucky. You can save both, or certainly lose at least one. The choice is yours."

  "You can't get the Firestaff," Tarrin said in a savage growl. "Your offer lacks backing."

  "Oh, but we can, thanks to you," he grinned. "We had the Wizard and the Priest and the Sorc
erer, but we couldn't find the Druid. But you pointed her out to us. That was very thoughtful of you, honored one."

  "What are you talking about?" Tarrin demanded.

  "The spell blocking entry into the volcano requires that all four orders of magic be there to bring it down. We keep one human Priest and one Wizard trained so they can serve. But we were missing the Druid. Now we have your Zarina and Liza, and we should be able to train one of them enough to serve our purposes. We were afraid we'd have to use you," he admitted with a smile. "That would have been very, very difficult. At first, we were afraid you'd discovered that secret, when you addressed us at the Council. It was before we'd had the time to fully learn about you from Dolanna. But when you told us why the Druids were so important to you, we realized that you hadn't yet figured things out."

  That fit. They'd about had a heart attack when he brought up the Druids, then Syllis calmed right down after Tarrin told him that he was taking them back with him. He'd inadvertantly revealed the last piece of the puzzle that Syllis and the Council needed. They weren't afraid of the Druids, they were afraid of what Tarrin might know! And they'd asked Kimmie if she was a Druid when they first met her, to see if she was the one they needed!

  "So, honored one, now you know that I'm not offering a false bargain. Save both or save one. The choice is yours. I'd appreciate it if you'd make it, for we need to get you to sleep and safe and turn our attentions to finally recovering the Firestaff."

  Tarrin stared at Syllis in barely contained fury. What was he going to do? He couldn't attack Syllis, or he'd kill Kimmie. But there was no way he believed that Syllis really intended to resurrect him from the dead. And yet, he could see no other way but to agree to his demand.

  You must be able to make the decisions that must be made.

  Tarrin cringed at that memory. Not this. No, not this! He wouldn't have to be forced to allow his own mate to die! She was his life, as much as Jesmind was, and his every instinct screamed at him to protect her, to protect his unborn child. He just couldn't abandon them!

  No, he wouldn't. He couldn't kill Kimmie. He would not lose another friend. Faalken would not have company. If he agreed, then maybe one of the others could escape and get the Firestaff first--

  You must be able to make the decisions that must be made.

  Tarrin remembered Jesmind and Jasana, his precious mate and cub. What would become of them if he let Syllis get the Firestaff and then the gods destroyed the world trying to destroy him? What would become of his parents, his sister, his friends, of his little mother? Was Kimmie's life, the life of his unborn child, were they equal to the rest of his family? Were their lives worth destroying the entire world?

  Tarrin struggled in silent agony for a long moment, but in the end, there was only one decision he could make.

  Taking in a deep breath, a single tear escaping the corner of his eye, Tarrin reached within, through the Cat, reaching for the golden power, the boundless energy of the All.

  Forgive me, my sweet mate, Tarrin thought in anguish. Mother, forgive me!

  "Master, he's trying to use his Druidic magic!" one of the Council gasped.

  "I'm sorry you couldn't see things my way," Syllis said sadly, moving to slit Kimmie's throat.

  It happened in a flash, and it startled Tarrin so badly he almost forgot what he was doing. Docile, demure, obedient Dolanna, who had been standing there as still and quiet as one pleased, suddenly clasped her hands together, turned, and struck Syllis in the chest with every ounce of strength her diminutive little body could exert. Dolanna was small, but she was an active, well-travelled woman, and that gave her slender frame some impressive power. Dolanna's physical assault caught Syllis squarely in the chest, knocking the hand with the dagger wide of Kimmie and staggering him back with an explosive release of breath, his eyes agog with shock and dismay.

  Tarrin watched in stunned horror as Kimmie's body dropped lifelessly to the ground, Grand Syllis' concentration broken and the spell holding her up disrupted.

  "Tarrin, NOW!" Dolanna screamed with all her might as lightning crackled around her clasped hands, as she quickly wove a spell together while the Council seemed stunned into momentary paralysis by Dolanna's sudden attack. Dolanna sent that lightning into the Council, raking it across them, but one of the members not in the Circle managed to deflect the lightning with some kind of counterspell.

  The shield around him began to weaken, falter. The Circle was taken aback by the little human Sorceress' gutsy, almost insane attack on them, willing to fight vastly superior numbers of Sorcerers who were vastly stronger than she. Tarrin managed to reach the All after redoubling his efforts, and when it touched him, it saw the image and read the intent in his mind. Tarrin's intent was to disrupt Sorcery, all Sorcery, within the bounds of the room.

  Without their powers, the Council members were nothing more than defensless mice. And the Cat was hungry.

  Just like that, the shield around Tarrin vanished. The lightning raking the defensive shield protecing the Council vanished, as did the shield itself.

  With a howl of utter fury, Tarrin allowed the Cat to take him, and he flew into a rage. Claws out, he threw himself at the suddenly terrified Council, who were turning and trying to flee from him. Blood pounded in his ears, shivered his eyesight as the outraged and utterly infuriated Were-cat displaced his drake companion and covered the distance between him and the Council before the first of them could even reach the door.

  Dolanna flung herself at Grand Syllis and punched him dead in the nose, her weight crashing him to the floor with her as Tarrin reached the scrambling Council. They had all been running for the door, but then scattered in every direction when they realized that Tarrin was going to beat them to it. Two of them tried anyway, and he managed to reach them just as the tall female put her hand on the door. She almost made it. The enraged Were-cat grabbed her by the back of the neck and crushed it, then picked her up and used the body like a club, smashing it into the second one, a short male. He struck the male so hard that he was smashed into the door behind him, leaving a gruesome bloodstain where his head hit the beaten gold. The impact of the blow tore the head off the female's body, the body bouncing to the floor as the head came off in the Were-cat's paw, separated by the grip he had on the neck. He threw that head aside contemptuously and charged off after the next closest fleeing figure as Sapphire unloaded her full charge of lightning on two Council members who were fleeing towards the archway leading to the pool. Both of them shrieked in agony as the lightning blasted into them, and though the heat of it could do no damage, the electric current most certainly did, destroying their nervous systems. The power of her lightning dropped them both stone dead to the floor, twitching and jerking spasmodically. Sapphire's powers had grown much stronger since the birth of the sixth sui'kun.

  Tarrin reached his prey and drove it to the floor, then killed it with a claw slash to the neck as the Sha'Kar screamed in terror and tried to put up his hands in defense. The Were-cat simply swept those hands aside with the fatal blow. He looked up and saw the last three, one of them running into the pool room, another trying to get a closet door open but unable to find the strength of coordination to work the handle, and the third dashing towards the bed. Sapphire was airborne, and he saw her discharge what lightning she had left into the one that was running towards the bed, dropping the female but not killing her. Dolanna was straddling Grand Syllis, a look of utter hatred on her face as she punched the Sha'Kar repeatedly with her little fists. Even in his fury, that image both surprised and amused the Were-cat. Little Dolanna, beating down a man much taller and stronger than she with pure savage hatred boiling in her veins. Dolanna had found her own rage.

  The Were-cat dispatched the one Sapphire had shocked with a kick to the head, more than strong enough to snap the neck, then vaulted into the air just as the one at the closet door managed to get it open. He screamed in terror when Tarrin's paw shut the door on him, then his other paw grabbed him by the back of the ne
ck, picked him up, and slammed him into the door with enough force to punch a hole the polished dark wood. The blow crushed the Sha'Kar's skull, sending a gory spray of blood and brains into the small closet along with the shards of bloody wood. The body hung limply from the hole in the door that his head had made, and Tarrin left it there, vaulted up and then down the platform of the bed, and met Sapphire in the archway as the pair of them went after the last Sha'Kar.

  They found him floating in the bathing pool, face down and not moving, with a clould of pink surrounding him. Tarrin reached in and grabbed the body by the foot and hauled it out of the water, regarding it hanging upside down from his grasp as his rage began to ease. The male was dead, and from the looks of it, he had taken his own life with a dagger to the heart rather than suffer death at Tarrin's paws.

  Tarrin dropped the body back into the water as the Cat retreated from the forefront of his mind, and he came down out of his rage. He blinked and felt a bit scattered, and the actions he took during the rage seemed a little fuzzy and indistinct. He knew that the Council was dead, and he felt a little dark thrill go through him at that wonderful thought. Kimmie was virtually unharmed, with only a shallow nick, as well as whatever they'd done to her to knock her out. Dolanna had taken down Syllis, and was still fighting with him.

  Syllis. He was still alive! Tarrin snarled and felt the Cat rise up in him, but then the rational part of him realized that it would be best to keep him alive, at least for the moment, so the Sha'Kar could hear of his horrible acts from his own mouth.

  "Are you well, friend?" Sapphire asked, panting a little as she landed on his shoulder.

  "Yes, thank you. That was good work. I didn't think you had three in you."

  "I only had two and a half in me," she said breathlessly. "It drained me."

  "Let's go pull Dolanna off the Grand before she kills him," he told her. "We'll need him alive, at least for now."

  Dolanna was still beating on Grand Syllis when Tarrin arrived. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and hauled her off of him. Spitting and screaming, she tried to kick at the senseless Sha'Kar, managing to land a good one right in his side, which drew a gasping "oomph" from the dazed male.