"What broke the circle?"
"I did," he said. "The Cat in me doesn't like the sensation of joining consciousness. It attacked the circle's bonds as soon as they formed, and it broke them before I could really get a handle on what was going on. I think it was an instinctive reaction. With some practice, maybe that part of me could accept a circle."
"We're not going to experiment, Tarrin," she warned. "I have a fondness for my own tail."
"I'm not asking you to, sister," he assured her. "But you're the smartest of us. If anyone could think up a way we could use this information, it's you."
"Not without a better understanding of the subject," she said emphatically. "Maybe a visit to the library is in order. They have to have a couple of books on circles there."
"That's always an idea," Tarrin agreed. "But that'll have to wait."
She nodded. "We have bigger whales to hunt tonight."
"I'll take care of it, Princess," Miranda said demurely. "I know where the library is. I'll find the books you'll need."
"Thank you, Miranda," Keritanima told her sincerely. "You're too good to me."
"Someone has to be, Princess," she said with a disarming smile. Tarrin glanced at Miranda, and he caught a very slight little smile.
"Be careful, Miranda. You don't have appearances on your side here."
"What does that mean?"
"My younger sister, Jenawalani, she's a mink too," Keritanima told him. "That let Miranda get through the palace at home a little easier. They look nothing alike, but from a distance, it's hard to tell them apart."
"My tail is longer than Princess Jenawalani's, and her coloring is more gray than white," Miranda told Tarrin calmly. "And she's shorter than I am."
"And she's ugly, where Miranda always has the eyes of the young men," Keritanima said, which made Miranda's cheek fur ruffle slightly. A Wikuni version of a blush. "Sisska, be a dear and escort Miranda tonight. She's starting to attract attention, and the rather unpleasant deaths of few of my spies means that I have to start protecting the important people."
"It will be as you command, Princess," Sisska said in a deep, rumbling voice. A voice that was not even remotely female. Now that he looked at them, he couldn't easily tell Binter and Sisska apart by anything other than scent. Binter's crest was larger than Sisska's, and she was shorter than him, but they weren't very apparent distinctions. They were equally muscular, and there were no real physiological differences between their genders. No, Sisska was a bit slimmer than Binter, but she was still awesomely muscled.
"Deaths? You mean there were more?" Tarrin asked.
Keritanima nodded. "Three," she replied. "All of them were my spies at court. Someone's trying to undermine my operation, and now I'm not so certain that it's Jervis. Ahiriya has her own people, and I have the feeling that it's her."
"How can you tell?"
"Because wanton killing isn't Jervis' style," she replied. "He prefers to buy off enemy spies and turn them into double agents, because he has such a large budget to work with. Ahiriya is reputed to have a heavy hand. Eliminating the opposition is more in line with her way of doing things. It also makes sense. Jervis doesn't care what I know, because it's not his job to keep me in the dark. He's just here to keep an eye on me, and use his information network to search out and remove threats to my safety. In that respect, Jervis works for me. But Ahiriya has a very real need to keep Miranda from finding out what's going on, and then taking steps to protect me, or passing that information on to Jervis. Right now, Ahiriya is probably doing everything she can to disrupt both my and Jervis' operations, because they both represent a threat to the interests of the Tower. I don't doubt that a few of Jervis' men have also turned up dead. I'm waiting for him to get his daily reports, so I can confirm that."
"Sometimes you scare me, Kerri," Tarrin told her.
"Why?"
"It's almost frightening, how smart you are."
She gave him a shy smile. "I'm glad someone appreciates me," she told him.
There was a knock at the door, and Binter opened it to reveal Allia. "I am sorry I am late," she said in the common tongue, scurrying in. "Alloran would not let me leave until I master multi-flow weaving. I am exhausted."
"It's not easy, is it?" Keritanima asked in Selani.
"Not remotely," Allia agreed. She sat down on the other side of Miranda, who put aside her embroidery and began to listen to them attentatively. Like Tarrin, Allia accepted Miranda and the Vendari without question. They trusted Keritanima's judgement.
"Miranda, I need the plans," Keritanima told her.
"Yes, your Highness," she said calmly, standing up and retreating to the communal closet linking Keritanima's room with hers. She returned as Keritanima moved over to the bed, and helped the fox Wikuni spread them out. On the large rolled parchment were detailed plans of the T shaped building known as the Hammer Cathedral. The hammer and scales were the symbol of Karas, and they had built their main cathredral in that shape and places a huge sculpture of a set of scales at the head of it to honor the god.
"Alright, this is our target," Keritanima said in a brusque, businesslike manner. "There are three rooms that we'll have to check out. Here, here, and here," she said, pointing to rooms within the "heads" of the hammer shape. "These two are linked by this secret passage, but we'll have to cross the cathedral's open passages to get to this one. We'll enter through this servant's door here," she said, pointing to a door in the left branch. "We should be able to reach the secret passage that links to this room easily and without attracting attention. We'll check out these two rooms, then go through these secret tunnels so that we have the smallest amount of open area to cross," she explained, tracing her clawed finger along a series of dashed marks that ran through the cathedral's walls. "That will put us in the third chamber without putting ourselves at too much risk. After we're done, we leave through this servant's entrance," she concluded, pointing to a door that mirrored the one through which they wound enter. "Tarrin will carry our loot. I'll take point, and Allia will bring up the rear. We'll use your little trick to get over the fence, Tarrin, but Binter will be there when we return to help us get our loot onto the grounds quickly."
"You think you can manage landing after I get you over the fence?" Tarrin asked.
"I'm not a china doll, Tarrin," she said with a teasing smile. "I may look like a little slip of a girl, but I know how to land after falling some distance. Trust me. I'll be fine."
"I have worked with her on the field, Tarrin. She is capable," Allia assured him. "She is much stronger than she appears."
"Why thank you, Allia," Keritanima said to her with a grin. "We'll leave on the first bell after sunset. Dress in clothes suitable for sneaking around."
"That's it?" Tarrin asked. "That's the plan?"
"That's the plan."
"I thought it would be more complicated."
"The simpler a plan is, brother, the easier it is for it to succeed," she told him patiently. "Our only real danger is getting caught out in the open in the cathedral. For something like a simple break-in and theft, I hope things will go smoothly and easily. They have priests and acolytes up and moving at all times, so we'll get our share of excitement." She looked at Miranda. "Did you pack my skulking clothes?"
"I'll have them ready for you, Highness," she assured her. "I've also got the sacks you asked for. They're in my clothes chest."