"I sometimes think that war is less complicated than this game you play, sister," Allia said. "It is fighting without fighting."
"The real fighting is probably going on right now, sister," Keritanima told her. "By morning, we'll see who came out on top."
"It will be us," Miranda said confidently. "I estimate we'll have twice the people that Ahiriya will have left, and the attack will put her out of sorts. Between Jervis and myself, she won't be able to keep us away from the information that we want for very long."
"That is very clever, Miranda," Keritanima said approvingly. "I think I'll have to kiss Jervis soundly on the lips after this. He actually came in handy."
"Jervis is a worthy adversary, Highness," Miranda said mildly.
"I know," she replied, then she gave Miranda a strange look. "Exactly when did I lose control of things here?"
"When you started learning Sorcery," Miranda replied with a cheeky smile. "You've been neglecting your operations, because you're so wrapped up in your training. It's a good thing I noticed it, and stepped in to pick things back up."
"I did, didn't I?" she said ruefully, scrubbing the back of her head with her clawed fingers. "That was very unprofessional of me."
"We're all entitled to the occasional mistake, Highness," Miranda told her with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Well, there is one thing for certain," Allia said. "It will make things nervous."
"That's true," Keritanima agreed. "If Miranda's right, it won't take us long to find out what they want from us. I can get that information from Erick, because I know he has it. And with as much as I've learned, we may be able to make it if we run."
"Only if we have reason to run," Allia said.
"True, but I have the feeling that we will," Keritanima agreed. "We'd better get back to our rooms. With the impending chaos coming, we'd best be barred in and safe."
"Yes," Allia agreed. "If there is going to be fighting, as you suspect, then we should keep ourselves clear of it." She stood up. "Let us sneak back in one by one. If there is alot of tension out there, let us not enhance it with our sneaking about."
"Good idea," Keritanima agreed. "Go on, Miranda. I know you want to go see Jervis and see how things are going."
"Yes, the thought did cross my mind," she smiled, placing her needlepoint in a shoulder satchel, then sauntering out calmly.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kerri," Tarrin said, standing up, hunching over, and then flowing into his cat form. "I'll sneak out the back," he added in the unspoken manner of the Cat.
"See you tonight, my brother," Allia said, and he turned and wormed through a small hole in one of the hedges, following a path his cat's paws had tread a hundred times before.
Tarrin had done it many times before, and had never had any trouble. Because they ignored the many cats on the grounds, he was able to pick his way over to the North Tower with very little problem. But this time, he was met by the slim, pretty Sorceress, Jula. She was standing in his room, arms crossed, and she was staring at the door when it opened. "Jula," he said in some surprise. "What are you doing in here?"
"And what were you doing off the grounds?" she demanded. "I saw you in the streets of Suld this morning! They didn't give you permission to leave!"
"I had to see my parents," he replied calmly, stepping in and closing the door. "It was important."
"Tarrin, that Ward is there for your protection more than it's there to stop you from leaving," she said in exasperation. "It stops whoever is sending things after you from getting them onto the grounds."
"Like it stopped that Doomwalker?" he asked, stepping past her, towards the closet. She turned to keep her eyes on him, but he didn't pay her very much attention.
"How Jegojah got onto the grounds is something they're still trying to figure out," she said to him bluntly. "Doomwalkers are very powerful, Tarrin. There's a good chance it was able to breach the Ward with its own magical power."
Tarrin stopped. "How did you know its name?" he demanded.
He turned around, but it was too late. Little Jula, kind Jula who had braided his hair, had healed his father, had been there for his family, had been his friend, one of the few Sorcerers that Tarrin would trust enough to put his back towards, snapped a black metal collar around his neck. The very same collar that had been used on Jesmind. The instant that metal touched him, he felt its alien magic assault his mind, sweeping through it in a black wave of numbness. Tarrin's mind instantly boiled with nameless fury, and his eyes ignited from within with the unholy radiance that betrayed his anger. That rage attacked that mind-numbing magic, pushing at it, grabbing it and trying to tear it asunder, but the raw power of the attack was overwhelming, and the magic had specifically been created to subdue one of his kind. In sudden desperation, the Cat reached out, touching the Weave, but for the first time, the magic was not there to respond to his call. With a strangled cry, his claws snapped out and he lurched at that pretty face, a face etched in stone as it calmly watched the Were-cat struggle against the magic trying to wrest control of his mind.
But if he made it or not, he had no idea. His consciousness lost its footing, and he felt himself spiralling into a vast prison of black emptiness, and he knew no more.
He had been defeated.
Jula swallowed, putting a hand to the pit of her stomach. He almost got her. Had he had one more step, those claws would have found her, and she would have not lived to see if it would work. Tarrin had stopped when he was but a finger's width from her throat, and then slowly stood upright, his face losing its mask of rage, and his eyes draining of that curious inner radiance that marked his anger. He was now docile, and suppliant to commands.
"Tarrin," she called calmly.
His ears picked up, and he looked at her.
"You will accept orders only from me. Do you understand?" He nodded mindlessly. "Follow me. Speak to no one as we walk."
"Tarrin do," his voice replied, but there was nothing in it that even hinted that the voice was alive.
It was a night of chaos, punctuated by shouting, and the occasional clashing of sword on sword. At first, it was very uncommon and erratic, but then it became so obvious that the Keeper was forced to mobilize the Tower Guard to put a stop to the violence. But even that only contained it, for the men that worked for Ahiriya were spurred on by their mistress, to seek out and eliminate the infestation of opposing agents. But what Ahiriya didn't understand until it was too late was that that was exactly what her counterparts wanted her to do.
It got so crazy that Allia didn't make it back to her own room. She stopped at Keritanima's room first to pick up a book she had left there, and Binter had barred her in after a fight started down at the end of the hall. The massive Vendari absolutely refused to open the door after that. With Binter guarding one door and Sisska guarding the other, the life of the Princess, her maid, and her guest were made very secure, but there was no attempt to get at them.
Allia slept fitfully that night, as the occasional sound of shouting disturbed her sleep, and also the nagging feeling that something was not right. As soon as Binter ventured into the hallway and proclaimed it safe, Allia was out of Keritanima's room, and she returned to the coupled rooms that were hers and Tarrin's.
The first indication that something was not right was that Tarrin's door was unlocked. She entered his room, and found everything neat and clean and untouched. The bed had not been slept in-that, or Tarrin had made it so it looked exactly the same as it did the day before. That, she doubted. Tarrin favored sleeping in his cat form, if only to avoid having to make the bed, and that always disturbed the blankets. His staff was standing in the corner, and the books Lilenne had suggested to him were still sitting on the small table in the corner. That too was not normal. Lilenne demanded that the books be returned to the library the first thing every morning, so he had to drop them off before going to his appointments where they studied his power.