"Mother would kill you," Elke warned.
"Yer mother can't catch me," Anrak grinned.
"I can fix that."
"Ye wouldn't!"
"Try me."
Anrak gave Elke a sour look. "Ye're ruinin' my golden years," he accused.
"I'm making sure you live to enjoy them," she replied bluntly. "Mother would split your skull with a frying pan if she knew you were cheating on her."
"I ain't cheatin' on yer mother, Elke. I ain't that stupid."
"I thought not," she said with a slight smile.
"What brings you back here so soon, Tarrin?" Elke asked.
"I demanded to be let out-legally-and see you," he said. "It was generally just misdirection, because I can get out any time I want, but at least now I don't have to sneak over to see you. My escort is waiting at a tavern while I visit," he chuckled. "At least they were smart enough not try to follow me."
"Escort?"
"I can't leave without a Knight and a Sorcerer accompanying me," he told her. "Lucky for me they gave me a Knight that just got his spurs, someone I can effectively bully. And I get to choose the Sorcerer that comes, so I can always get someone that I can convince to let me go on alone. That reminds me. Have you and father given any thought as to where you're going to live? You can't stay here forever."
"Actually, we have," Elke said. "I haven't been home in years, and Jenna should meet the clan. We were considering travelling with father back to Dusgaard. We could hug the coast to avoid the ice, and be back in Dusgaard before the harbor freezes. After spending a year up there, we were going to go back to Aldreth."
"Ye never said nothin' about that to me," Anrak growled.
"That's because you'd just argue," Elke told her father with a false smile.
"That may be the best thing," Tarrin said. "We have to face facts. Because of me, you're in danger here. It may be best if you get some distance from me."
"Danger? From what?" Anrak demanded. Elke calmly related the story of the attack by the Doomwalker, and the many attempts on Tarrin. "By the ice, daughter, why didn't ye say so? We'll have ye home safe by New Year's Day."
"The only reason we're even considering it is because Jenna has proven she can control her gift," Elke said. "She can wait a year or two before going back to formally training with the Sorcerers."
"There's always room for one or two more, grandson," Anrak told Tarrin seriously. "If ye want protection, the Whiteaxe Clan always looks after its own."
"I appreciate that, Grandfather, but the Tower has a long arm," Tarrin replied. "I've already got somewhere much safer in mind, somewhere even the katzh-dashi won't go to unless invited."
"Allia's clan?" Elke asked.
Tarrin nodded. "Not even the katzh-dashi are stupid enough to come after us if we have the protection of the Selani," he told her. "They'd come over the Sandshield and wipe Sulasia off the map."
"No doubt," Anrak chuckled evilly.
"But we can't leave yet. Not until we have a full idea of what's going on."
"Any luck so far?"
Tarrin shook his head. "Keritanima's run into opposition. Someone keeps killing her informants."
"That's a Wikuni name," Anrak deduced. "By the sound of it, she's someone in a very high station. Nobility."
Tarrin nodded. "She's in this with us," he replied. "That reminds me. We might come visit in the middle of the night, or we might not. Either way, pretend that we were never here."
Elke gave Tarrin a slow grin. "That sounds underhanded."
"We do have some plans along those lines, yes," he agreed with an urbane smile.
"I'll have Deris leave the back door unlocked," Elke said.
"No, just have him not bar the door. Just use the lock. Kerri says there's no lock made that she can't pick. We'll see if she's just bragging tonight."
"The High Princess of the Wikuni can pick locks?" Elke asked in surprise.
"Mother, Kerri is full of surprises," Tarrin chuckled. "And unfortunately, I have to cut this short. It took me longer to get here than I planned, and I have to be back at the Tower by the noon bell."
"This is Keritanima-Chan Eram ye're talkin' about, ain't it?" Anrak asked suddenly. "I heard that she has the brain of a sand shrew."
"She has the brain of a genius, Grandfather," Tarrin said with a laugh. "She just pretends to be an idiot. And that's privilged information," he said sternly. "If I find out you've been blabbing, I'll take out your other eye. Do you understand me?"
"He's gotten aggressive, daughter," Anrak noted to Elke.
"It suits him," Elke said with a shrug. "And it is important you keep it quiet, father. Their safety depends on Keritanima's little game. If you get my son in danger, I'll gut you like a pig and drag you around by your entrails. Do we understand one another?"
"As sweet as ever, eh daughter?" Anrak said with a rueful, gravelly chuckle.
"Just making sure you understand the consequences," she warned.
"In this family, there are always consequences," Anrak said.
Tarrin returned to Dolanna and the others half an hour before the noon bell, and they had him back on the grounds by the determined time. After a quick lunch in the kitchens, Tarrin was summoned to the Chambers of Seven, which was the council chamber used by the Council. Tarrin was not looking forward to it. Just as he suspsected, the Council itself was going to try to correct his problem in using Sorcery, and that made him very nervous. Tarrin didn't trust the Council. He had some friendly feelings towards Koran Dar, because the man seemed calm, wise, and gentle, but he was only one of the seven. Of the others, he only had had contact with Amelyn and Ahiriya, and neither of those meetings had been entirely friendly. He didn't even know the names of all seven.
And now he was going to be forced to put his life in their hands. That didn't set well with him, and by the time he reached the ornate, bronze gilded door that was the entry to the Chambers of Seven, his tail was lashing back and forth like a farmer reaping wheat with a scythe.
For the ruling body of the katzh-dashi, they kept themselves in a humble state. The room wasn't that large, and it was totally devoid of all decoration. The gray stone walls were illuminated by a large glowglobe hovering in midair over a circular table made of white stone. Inlaid on the surface of that round table was a shaeram device, in full color, and around that table stood seven simple padded chairs. Where each triangle that represented a Sphere pointed away, a Council member sat, and Tarrin realized immediately that the Seat of each Sphere sat with their own color pointing towards them. The Keeper, who represented no Sphere, sat in a void between two spheres, and she also faced the door. Seven faces turned to look at him, and Tarrin very nearly turned around and left. They were hard faces, all of them younger than he would have imagined for a ruling body of a world power, a couple of them outright hostile, and their scents were as hard as their expressions, though they were tinged with fear. They were his enemies, he knew that at that moment. They had always been.
"Come in," the Keeper ordered. "We have much to do."
"What are we going to do?" Tarrin asked, staying by the door.
"You will address the Keeper in a term of respect!" Amelyn snapped at him suddenly.
"Amelyn," the Keeper said sternly. "We're going to try to help you," she told him. "We have to understand what's happening to you when you try to touch the Weave, and then we'll try to help you work around the problem."
"What do I have to do?" he asked warily.
"Just come in, and have a seat on the table," the Keeper said. "Right in the middle."