he stairs and started creeping about immediately, seeking nothing other than to avoid all contact with others.  But that wasn't easy.  He often had to slide into doors, turn corners before they reached the intersection.  A few times, he simply had to just run, outrun them and blindly hope that another batch of armed opponents wasn't waiting around the next corner.  He couldn't just sit tight and wait.  He had the Book of Ages, and they could use it to find him.  Just as Shiika warned.  So he couldn't stop, he had to get out of the Palace, get out of Dala Yar Arak, and in his condition, he also couldn't afford to fight.
	The place was just so huge.  He never passed a window, never so much as had an idea if he was fleeing into the Palace's depths or towards the outer wall.  He was utterly lost, and there was nothing, no breeze, no scent, no light, to tell him which way to go.
	He felt helpless.  "Goddess, if you want to give me a hand, this would be a very good time," Tarrin grunted under his breath, hiding behind a tapestry as a large force of armed guards raced by.
	You had to but ask, my kitten, came the glowing, glorious response.  She certainly seemed happy about his success.  Turn right at the next intersection, then left, then right.  That hallway will lead to a window.  I think you can manage things from there.
	"I think so."
	You have done well, my kitten, she beamed in his mind.  I can't begin to tell you how proud I am.  You have done well.
	"Save the congratulations for when we're all safe," he breathed, darting out from behind the tapestry and turning right at the intersection.
	"This way!" a voice shouted from behind him.  Tarrin could hear another group of men behind him, armored men.  He looked to and fro for a doorway, a passage, anything to use to hide, but he was trapped in an open area.  And they were close.
	"Ummmmmm," Sarraya said blearily in his paw.  "Tarrin, where are we?"
	"Sarraya, listen to me!" he said in a harsh whisper.  "You have to turn invisible!  Can you do that?"
	"Ummm, yes, I can," she said groggily.  "Where's that big monster at?"
	"Just do it!" he whispered fiercely, carefully setting her down against the wall, then he shapeshifted into cat form and stood right over her, keeping anyone from accidentally stepping on her.  Sarraya gasped in pain when she moved, but her form did fade from view.  Tarrin sighed in relief and remained over her, anxiously awaiting the guard party.
	If they hadn't been warned about what he was, they'd probably pass him right up.  Readying to either fight or run, Tarrin's heart lurched when the men turned the corner, seven human guards being led by a man in yellow robes.  The man looked a bit confused.  "What is it, Watchwizard?" one of the guards asked in Arakite.
	"I thought I saw something," he said.  "No matter.  Let us continue!"
	They rushed right by him, paying him not a single thought.
	Tarrin blew out his breath in relief.  That was close!  But they didn't know he had a cat form, so they hadn't paid the black cat any mind.  He remembered how much he loved the fact that his animal form was something small and inconspicuous.  "Sarraya, are you alright?" he asked quickly, moving away from her.
	"I'll be alright," she said breathlessly, sitting up.  Sarraya grunted audibly as she looked over her shoulder.  "My wings...ah, well," she sighed, then she gave a squeak of pain.  "I'm not going to be flying til they grow back.  And I'm not feeling very well at the moment."
	He moved away slightly, then hunched down on his belly.  "I don't think you'll be too heavy to carry," he offered.  "They won't be looking for a cat, so it'll be safer for us this way.  Just stay invisible."
	"Just don't jostle me, I think my ribs are broken," she replied.  He felt her pull herself up onto his back, very gingerly, and when she stopped fidgeting, he stood back up.  He felt her grab some handfuls of fur for purchase, and he started slinking off in the direction the Goddess had indicated, moving very carefully so Sarraya wasn't needlessly bounced around.
	It worked rather well.  The guards paid the black cat no attention at all as they raced here and there, and Tarrin simply walked to the window, walked slowly and carefully, relieved beyond measure that he wasn't going to be leading a procession off the Palace grounds.  He may get spotted trying to get over the wall, but once he was off the grounds and into the city, it would only take a moment of isolation to shapeshift and hide from them.
	The window was a problem.  It had no ledge, and it was too high for him to see the outside.  To look, he'd have to shapeshift, and if he did that, he'd be exposing himself to the men that he could hear very close to him.
	Again, the guards provided him with the perfect solution.  One of them stopped at the window after he scampered away, and another appeared at the end of the hallway. "We're to form up on the practice field, Vol!" the distant guard shouted.
	"I'm coming!" he replied, moving immediately back the way they came.
	And so Tarrin simply followed the guards, followed them to a set of stairs, followed them down wide passageways, followed them right to a small servant's entrance that led to the outside.  He followed them right outside, and when he got outside, he started across the wide expanse of ground between the Palace and its wall.  Nobody stopped him.  Nobody challenged him.  After all, how silly would it look for a human to accost a cat?
	Tarrin's anxiety only deepened as he made his way across the wide lawn.  He was so close he could see it, so close he could smell success.  Until he got off the grounds--all the way out of the city--Shiika and her Demons were a dangerous threat.  He was totally exposed out on the grass.  Just one of the cambisi, just one that knew he had the power to turn into cat, could ruin everything simply by looking out a window.  He had come too far to be stopped just outside the Palace walls.
	His anxiety reached nearly unbearable proportions when he reached the wall.  Now came the danger.
	"Sarraya," he said in the unspoken manner of the Cat, "get off of me."
	"What are we going to do?" she asked in a whisper, climbing down.
	"I'm going to change, get over this wall, and get out of sight and change back before they can get anyone in a position to follow us," he told her.  "It's going to be fast, and it's going to hurt you.  I just wanted to warn you up front."
	"As long as I know it's coming," she said, fading into view before him.  "Just try not to kill me," she winked.
	"I'm going to put you on my head.  Just don't let go," he warned.  "Ready?"
	"Let's do it," she grinned.
	Tarrin changed, and immediately stuffed the book under one arm, then reached down and scooped up his tiny friend.  He set her on top of his head at the same time as he vaulted up the wall, feeling her grab a good hold on his hair and dig her legs into the tighter areas where it went into his braid even as his claws drove into the stone of the wall.  He scrambled up as fast as he possibly could with only one paw and two feet, nearly falling off three times as his claws slipped, but he reached the top and raced over the wide top, where men patrolled, and started down the other side.  He barely heard the first shouts of alarm from the men on top of the wall, who had seen him race across, but they were too late.  He dropped the twenty spans left to the ground effortlessly, and was racing at full speed away from the wind band of empty space and into the buildings before the first of them reached where he went across.  He ducked into an alley immediately, and after making sure nobody could see him, he changed back before warning Sarraya.  She was suddenly on his head, sagging it nearly to the ground.
	Tarrin's breath exploded from him.  The hardest part was over.  They had escaped from the Palace in one piece.  More or less.  Now another task lay before them, to hide until the searchers gave up, then go and find the others.  He could contact Allia with the amulet, but that would require him to change back, and he couldn't risk that so close to the Palace, with so many of Shiika's men so close to him.  He had to get further away, so they could escape before they could get to him.
	"Warn me next time!" she snapped, sliding down to his shoulders gingerly.
	"Sorry," he replied.  "They know we went in here, so let's get out of here," he said.  "We have to find the others."
	There was a commotion at the end of the alley.  Tarrin and Sarraya both instantly shut up, Sarraya turning invisible and Tarrin hunkering down behind a broken crate.  Two yellow-robed Arakites appeared at the end of the alleyway with nearly twenty guardsmen behind them.  Tarrin hunched down even more as they both looked in, and there was confusion on their faces.
	"Stroka, where did it go?" the shorter robed man asked.
	"I know not, Vadren," he replied.  "The spell was pointing straight to the book, and then it simply vanished.  There is nothing there!"
	"I felt the same.  Did we stray back into that dead-magic area?"
	"No, my spell is still operating.  It just has nothing to find!"
	"Mine as well."
	The taller man growled.  "It cannot be far!" he said.  "Spread out and search, guardsmen!  Turn back and search near the wall, perhaps the thief took it back into the magic-dead area, where our spells cannot locate it!"
	"As you command, Watchwizard!" one guard said sharply, then he turned and barked orders to his men.  They all broke up into pairs and moved back towards the wall enclosing the Palace grounds.
	If Tarrin were human, he'd be jumping up and down in glee.  Of course!  How lucky could he get!  The Demoness said that they could use magic to find the book.  But when he shapeshifted, he placed the book into the elsewhere, a place their magic could not reach!
	So long as he stayed in cat form, they could not find him!
	"What's got you so happy?" Sarraya asked.
	"They couldn't find me, Sarraya!" he said happily.  "Shiika said they could find the Book of Ages with magic, but when I shapeshifted and it went into the elsewhere, they couldn't find it!  They can't track me down!"
	Sarraya chuckled lightly, then winced.  "Tarrin, you have the weirdest luck."
	"I'm not going to complain about it, Sarraya," he said, sitting down.  "You talked to the others?  Are they safe?  Did Shiika let them go?"
	"They're alright, Tarrin," she replied.  "She did let them go.  I think she realized that taking them was only going to make you angrier.  And boy, was she right," she added with a grin.  "You're spectacularly nasty when you're angry."
	"Save it, Sarraya.  We have to find them and get the Abyss out of here."
	"We just have to look in the largest city in the world, with you as a cat, to find them," she said cynically.
	"You're such an optomist," he grunted, slinking deeper into the alley.  He waited as she got more comfortable on his back, after getting moved when he hunkered down to hide from the men.  When she was settled, he turned and started for the other end of the alleyway.  He didn't want to bounce her around, so he moved carefully, but with as much speed as he could manage with her injuries.  "I have a plan, we just need to get some distance from the Palace."
	"You and your plans," she huffed.  "Was tricking me into taking the first hit part of your plan?"
	"Don't start with me, or I'll carry you in my teeth," he warned as they disappeared from sight.
	"At least then you'd shut up!"
	"You weren't supposed to be there!"
	There was a silence.  "Sorry about that.  I saw the Book, and I guess I just lost my head."
	"It happens.  Now get our bony butt out from between my shoulder blades.  It hurts."
	"Don't talk to me about bone, Tarrin!  I must be sitting on a pile of them!"
	"They're yours."
	"Jerk."
	"I love you too," his chuckle echoed silently through the alley, for those capable of hearing it.  "I love you too."
 
Chapter 29

	Sarraya wasn't that heavy, but she got heavier and heavier as they moved.
	Then again, his mind wasn't very involved with her weight on his back, as she rode him like a horse.  He was occupied with everything that had happened, and it caused him to all but be led around by Sarraya as they sought to distance themselves from the Imperial Palace.
	It was over.  He had the Book of Ages.  It had been so long in coming, it almost didn't sound right to him to think it.  He really never looked forward to this moment, and if he had, he certainly wouldn't have imagined it happening the way it did, being where he was right then.  He had the book.  He had had to battle the book's guardian for possession of it, a huge Demonic creature of untold power, but he had defeated it.  And that was what made him think so much.  He had used Druidic power to gain the upper hand, used a type of magic other than Sorcery to bring his sword to him, to give him the advantage.  And it had brought him the victory.
	It went against everything he was taught.  They always told him that no being could wield more than two orders of magic.  It was against the will of Ayise, the Allmother, the greatest of the Elder Gods.  If that were true, then he was an abomination, existing outside the natural order of the world.  But then again, he probably already did.  Him and all the other Were-cats along with him.
	That was a scary thought.  It meant that all the Were-cats were like him.  They all had at least a tiny amount of Druidic talent, but every single one of them could learn to use some other kind of magic.  They could also be Priests, or learn the traditions of arcane Wizard magic.  A race of super-powerful beings, superior to mankind and wielding a magic against which they could not stand, it was frightening.
	But that would never happen.  The Were-cats didn't desire domination.  Only a shady meadow, lots of squirrels to chase, and the occasional pleasure of an old friend coming to visit.  They were a simple breed, a simple people, and their instincts made them curiously humble, despite their exceptional power and potential.
	Maybe that was why they had that potential.  Simply because they wouldn't use it for such evil ends, and that power would be there to defend the land, if it were ever needed.
	And then there was the Goddess.  She seemed...ecstatic.  He could still feel it on the fringes of his consciousness, for she had never broken her connection she used to speak to him.  It was still there.  He could feel her on the other side of it, an overwhelming presence just outside his mind, almost over his shoulder, radiating upon him a sensation of pride, of compassion, and of love.  He understood the enormity of it.  He could use Priest magic as well.  He could call upon the Goddess, and if she so desired, she could respond with gifts of her power.  That depended on her, of course, but the potential was there.  He had the feeling that it wouldn't work quite that easily when it came to her.  After all, she was the Goddess of the Weave, and he was a Sorcerer.  What need did he have to directly ask for her power, when in a roundabout way, he could already use it?  The Weave was the Goddess, and the Goddess was the Weave.  Her power was available to all her children, not just him.
	So.  The katzh-dashi actually were Priests.  Just with different traditions and a slightly different type of magic, that was all.
	It just seemed so strange.  He didn't feel special.  Actually, he felt rather rotten.  He had killed innocents.  It didn't bother him as much as he thought it should, and that bothered him in and of itself.  He had been sliding into the depths of madness, and had caught himself.  But this wasn't madness.  This was something else.  He just didn't care.  Perhaps he was just tired.  Perhaps he had lost that part of his humanity to the Cat.  Whichever it was, it was something with which he would have to cope.  And that would come later.
	At least the others were alright.  Sarraya told him as they scampered away that Triana had come, faster than she ever dreamed she could get here, and that the others were all safe.  They were free of Shiika, and Triana was with them.  His powerful bond-mother would protect them, would help Jula since he was not there, would be there for them until he could find them.  He felt a great deal better knowing that Triana, the most powerful of the Were-cats, was there to watch over them.
	For right now, he had enough problems.  He was carrying something that every mage and two-copper joker with delusions of grandeur wanted, and they wouldn't be squeamish about killing him over it.  The Wizards could use magic to find it any time he left his cat form and brought the book out of the elsewhere.  That kept him trapped in cat form.  It wouldn't be easy to get back to the others in cat form, when it would take him two days to travel through the city.  He'd have to find some way to get to them, as soon as he knew where they were.  He couldn't contact Allia in cat form; he had to change back, restore the amulet to be able to do that.  But doing so would bring the people hunting for the book after him, which meant that it was going to be tricky.  He was still utterly exhausted from the fighting, from the victory, so tired that even Sarraya's slight weight felt like a pile of rocks tied on his back.  He didn't feel up to more fighting.
	"We have to stop," Sarraya wheezed breathlessly, kicking him lightly in the side with a heel.  "Can we stop?"
	Tarrin stopped gently and hunched down so she could get off.  Instead, she sagged onto his back, panting heavily.  Sarraya was hurt, broken ribs and shattered wings.  The riding was hurting her more, and though she wasn't complaining, he could tell that she was starting to really feel the effects of her injuries.  Without his Sorcery, he couldn't help her, and he had the feeling that she didn't feel quite up to using her Druidic power on herself quite yet.
	"Are you alright?" he asked gently.  They shouted at each other a great deal, but Tarrin loved Sarraya, loved her like any of his dear friends.  He was worried about her, and it hurt him to know that she was in pain, and he could do nothing to make it better.
	"I'm starting to appreciate how you've felt sometimes," she wheezed.  "How do you stand it?"
	"I'm a male.  Males are supposed to act tough," he told her with gentle humor.
	She laughed, and that caused her to suck in her breath.  "Don't do that," she jibed at him.  "It hurts when I laugh."
	"We've been walking a while," he noted, though his concept of time while in cat form was never very profound.  The Cat lived entirely in the moment, and concepts such as past and future were alien to it.  He had to labor to keep track of time when in that form, and the longer he stayed in it, the harder it became.  "Do you think we're far enough away to contact Allia?"
	"I think so," she replied.  "It's hard for humans to move around in the streets.  We could be long gone before they get here."
	Tarrin laid completely down for her.  "Alright, go ahead and get off.  Just be careful."
	"I will, believe me," she agreed.  He felt her slowly, gingerly slide off of him, then sit down demurely on her legs in the middle of the dark, cluttered alley, putting a hand to her ribs with the other on the ground to hold her up.  Tarrin got up and moved some distance away, getting ready to change back.
	Not yet, the voice of the Goddess touched him.
	He looked up into the sky curiously.  "Goddess?" he asked in the manner of the Cat.
	Yes, it's me, she answered winsomely.  Tarrin, my sweet kitten, you have done so well.  I am so proud of you I could cry.  You have made me very happy.
	He felt a bit foolish, lowering his head.  "I'm just doing what you told me to do, Goddess," he said meekly.  "I don't need frilly thanks."
	Yes, you do, she replied.  You are entitled to a little basking, my kitten.  Despite everything, you have triumphed, and that is something that you will always have.  But as you've already realized, we have simply won one game to begin another.  And that's why I need to talk to you.
	Tarrin looked to Sarraya, who was looking on soberly.  The pain was evident on her face, but she said nothing, just watching him.  She knew he was speaking to the Goddess, she could understand him perfectly when he spoke in the manner of the cat.
	Because you have won, I am now allowed to give you information that I wouldn't have been able to give you, she began.  It isn't much, but it will help you greatly in many ways.  The first bit of this information concerns the others.  Tarrin, my kitten, you cannot rejoin them.
	"Why not?" he asked immediately, standing up and looking to the sky.
	Because if you do, it will kill them, she replied gently.  What you carry has caused you to become the most sought after being on the world.  By tomorrow, everyone in Dala Yar Arak is going to know that you have the book.  That puts anyone with you in terrible danger.  The others are on Renoit's ship, and intend to sail away with him.  If you are there, Renoit's ship will be attacked, and all of you will perish.  They know of your alliance with him.  The Arakites, the Zakkites, Wikuni, every interest with a ship in the water will come after you.  If you attempt to leave by sea, you will perish, no matter what ship you are on.  Don't ask me why, I'm not going to tell you.  Just trust me on this.  In fact, if you wish to save the others, you must give yourself away.  You must do this, my kitten.  You must let them know where you are, and allow them to chase you.  Only then will they abandon their interest in your friends and come after you.  It will be dangerous, but I already know how you feel about keeping the others out of danger.  Because of that, you must be in an area where you have the advantage.  You must stay on land.  Only then will you have the ability to outrun them.  My kitten, no horse can match you in running a great distance, and once you are far enough away, you can change back to your cat form and simply go west.
	Tarrin bowed his head.  It made sense.  His presence would certainly pose a serious threat to anyone around him.  And on the water, on the sea, there was nowhere to hide, he was at the mercy of the ship on which he rode and the winds that made it move.  On the land, where he could run, he had the advantage.  A horse could sprint faster than him, but he could hold a pace long after any horse that tried to match him literally ran itself to death.  On the land, he could go in any direction, and he could outrun his pursuers.  And when he changed into cat form, there would be no others to be exposed.  There would only be him.  It made sense, but it hurt him.  To be separated from the others, to be separated from Allia, it would be terrible.  He'd feel lost without his sister at his side, giving him her love and her support, gently guiding him with her quiet wisdom.  He had already had Keritanima taken from him, and now he was going to lose Allia as well.  But if the Goddess said that was the way things had to be, then that was the way things had to be.  It was just that simple.  He didn't have to like it, he just had to do it.
	"I understand," he said quietly.
	I knew you would, and I know how it pains you.  But don't worry.  You'll see them again.  I promise you that.
	"What else do I need to know?"
	Only this.  You must return to the Tower, in Suld.  The Book of Ages will be useless to you unless you return it to Suld.  The location of the Firestaff is not within its pages, my kitten, but a means to find that information does exist within it.  That is why you must return to the Tower.  That is the only place where you can find out what you need to know.
	That made his fur stand up. The Tower.  He hoped he'd never see that place again.  It was full of bad memories, and he didn't trust anyone there.  And there was still a ki'zadun spy in the Tower, someone that would make going back there a very dangerous proposition.  But again, he had no choice.  He would have to go back, no matter how much he hated it.
	Sitting down, lowering his head, he reflected on that news a bit, then realized what it meant.  He would have to travel thousands of leagues, either on foot or overland.  The Goddess told him not to get on a boat, and he would not get on a boat, unless it was a ferry crossing a river.  He would have to cross the arid steppes of Arak, the dusty plains of Saranam, even the Desert of Swirling Sands.  He would have to climb the Sandshield Mountains and cross the West.  Suld was on the coast, about as far from Dala Yar Arak as it could get.  It was a journey of mind-shuddering proportions for one to undertake on land.  About as dangerous as a journey could get.  If he made it out of Arak and Saranam alive, he'd have to cross the most inhospitable ground in the entire world, the Desert of Swirling Sands.  Full of Selani, who would see him as an enemy, and the exotic, deadly beasts which called the desert home.
	It would be extremely dangerous.  But facing extreme danger seemed to be what he was meant to do.
	"I will do as you command, Goddess," he said dutifully.
	I think I'd like it better if you did as I asked, my kitten, she replied sharply.  You know that I care for you.  I would feel much better if you would admit that you obey me because you wish to, not because you have to.  I know your heart, my kitten.
	He lowered his head.  That was exactly why he obeyed.  He loved her, she was his Goddess, and he would do anything she asked.  Because he loved her.
	"I love you, Goddess," he said simply, sincerely, straight from his heart.
	He felt that same glory through the link to her, the sensation that her own power flared to life in some strange way.
	Tarrin, if anything, what you have just given to me is better than any act of faith or deed of bravery, she said with strange power.  You are my champion, Tarrin Kael, and you have done my will better than I could have ever hoped.  I am proud of you.  We all are.
	"Goddess...Mother, what I did today.  Was it possible?"
	Your Druidic magic?  My dear kitten, it is not only possible, it is what you were meant to be from the beginning.  You are the Mi'Shara.  In time, you will understand its true meaning.
	"It means I could be a priest too, right?"
	You already are, she said winsomely.  As you realized before, my children are my priests.  They tend my flock, which happens to be the very priests among them, and they do my will.  I just don't grant them my power like other gods grant to their priests.  You summed it up nicely, kitten.  You already have my power.  I just give it to you in a different way.
	"I figured as much."
	You are much wiser than you give yourself credit for, my kitten.  When you want to be.  Now call me that again.
	"What?"
	Mother.
	Tarrin would have smiled sheepishly.  "You're just like Triana, Mother.  All bluster and pretend.  You make a big deal out of establishing your dominance, then you tell me to forget all that and treat you like my own mother."
	If I were mortal, she and I would be very close friends, the Goddess laughed.  Now go, my champion.  Your time is running out.  You must be off, to lead your pursuers away and keep the others safe.  They need you right now.
	"Can I say goodbye?" he asked quietly.
	Just be brief, she said.  They are very close to you.  You will only have a moment, and when you finish, you must run.
	"Alright.  Mother--"
	I know, Tarrin.  I will always be here to watch over you.  You will never be alone so long as your love for me remains strong.  I must go now.  Be careful, and know that my light shines upon you.  You are my champion, and that makes me the luckiest god in the world.  A girl can't go wrong when you fight for her honor.
	Make me proud, my dear kitten.  Make me proud.
	And then the sense of her was gone, making him feel strangely empty inside.  As if she had taken a little part of him with her when she left.
	"I will, Mother," he said in a quiet voice, staring at the ground, a voice full of determination.  "I'll make you proud of me."
	With scarcely a thought, Tarrin shapeshifted into his humanoid form, and his paw went immediately to his amulet.  "Allia," he called calmly, quietly.  "Allia, respond, and speak as I do," he said in Sha'Kar.
	"Tarrin!" came the instant response.  "It's about time!  I was about to break your mother over my knee and come after you!"
	"I wouldn't be surprised," he said calmly.  "Now listen carefully.  I only have a moment, and I'm risking alot to do this.  I have the book."
	"I knew that was you!" she said with a laugh.  "The entire Weave lit up and began to move.  We knew it was you!  But why didn't you respond to me before?  I called to you!"
	Tarrin considered that, and realized that the Ward had been too effective.  It blocked out all magic, even Allia's attempts to contact him.  "I didn't hear it, sister, things have been nuts.  But I can't talk about this.  Sister, I can't rejoin you right now."
	"What?  Tarrin--"
	"I said listen!" Tarrin barked, cutting her off.  "They can find the book with magic, and that means that every two-copper mage and apprentice with any ability is going to know exactly where to find me. I'm not going to expose you to that, sister!  Anyone with me will be in too much danger, and to be honest, the others will only slow me down!  I'm going to lead them all off, inland, and I want you to get that fat circus master and his troupe on that ship any way you can and make them cast off immediately!  I don't care what they have to leave behind!  Just get them on that ship and get out of Arak!"
	There was a short pause.  "It will be as you ask, my brother," she replied.
	"Good.  Now listen.  I have to take the book back to Suld.  The Goddess told me to do it.  So I want you to go to Suld and wait for me.  Don't try to contact me, sister.  I'm going to have to spend a great deal of time in cat form, and I can't hear you when you try.  Let me contact you.  Just get to Suld, sister, go back to the Tower.  I'll be there as soon as I can manage."
	"Tarrin, please, reconsider.  You will be alone--"
	"Allia!" he snapped.  "Give me more credit than that!  On the open plains, they'll never catch me!  I was trained by the best, sister.  Just trust me."
	"I have dishonored you, my brother," she said in chagrin.
	"Save the sucking up til when we're together again," he told her shortly.  "Just get out of Dala Yar Arak, and don't worry about me.  Remember, go back to Suld.  Back to the Tower.  I'll be there as soon as I