e," she reported in a serene tone, holding up one of her hands.  Tarrin looked at it, and his heart moved about two spans behind him when he saw what she was holding.
	A small shard of something that looked like thin stained glass.  Tarrin recognized it immediately as a piece of a Faerie's wing.
	The woman looked directly at him, and then those cold blue eyes turned hungry, and she gave him an evil smile.
	They couldn't find him, so they were magically tracking Sarraya!
	That Troll behind her told him everything he needed to know in one quick moment of lucidity.  They had set up before coming in.  They knew Sarraya was inside, and they knew she travelled with him, so that told them that he was also inside.  And he didn't doubt that the building was surrounded by Trolls, to stop him when he tried to run.
	There wasn't really any fear, just a relief that he didn't have to wait in suspense any longer.  If they wanted a fight, he'd be glad to give them one.
	He did it so quickly that it took the armed men by surprise.  He stood even as he changed form, shedding his darkened Arakite skin and expanding to his full height.  Before they could register that, register that he was acting, Tarrin grabbed the top of the square table before him and hefted it like it was a stick.  By the time the first scream of surprise was issued, he turned and swept the table around his body, throwing it like a dinner plate at the group of soldiers and the magician they were protecting.  It hit the lead man squarely, blasting him back and impacting those behind, knocking all five of them to the floor by the doorway in a spray of blood and a cacophony of shocked and pained cries.
	Conscious thought yielded to the animalistic power of the Cat.  Tarrin jumped up on another table and extended his claws as the Troll outside smashed its way through the door, breaking away the frame and a good portion of the wall to make a hole big enough to fit its massive bulk.  Crouching, Tarrin roared at the Troll in challenge, claws out and held low, eyes blazing with their unholy greenish fire.  The display made the Troll hesitate, then it brought up a huge wooden club and advanced on the ready Were-cat.  Tarrin darted aside just as the club shattered the table, landing on the side of his foot and immediately turning on the Troll.  But Trolls were deceptively fast and agile despite their bulk, and it managed to turn its club to meet the charge.  It raised it and tried to smash the Were-cat into the floor--
	--but a loud smack heralded the impact of the club on Tarrin's open palms.  The Were-cat caught the club and held it back, pushing it away as he rose up to his full height, a height that put his eyes at the Troll's collarbones.  In that fleeting moment, despite the fact that he was engaged in a life and death battle with a Troll, he finally understood just how tall he had become.
	The Troll looked genuinely shocked.  It pushed down on the club, grabbing it with both hands and using its height as leverage, but it could not bring it down.  Tarrin's strength, an awesome strength that was not apparent to the onlooker, held the club at bay, kept it from getting any closer.  They pushed against one another as Tarrin's claws sank into the club, sank into the dirt floor beneath him.  He bowed his back slightly, coming onto the heels of his feet, and it made the Troll growl in expectation and put everything it had into driving the club down, to bend the Were-cat's back and put him on his back.
	It did not understand.  It could not see, until it was too late.
	Tarrin's tail whipped up in the blink of an eye, and the tip of it wrapped around the hilt of the sword strapped under the pack holding the Book of Ages.  The member was more than twice as long as his arm, nearly as long as his body.  The tail pulled up on the hilt, then snaked around the blade in a manner that allowed his tail to draw the weapon.  It slithered down through the coil in Tarrin's tail, until the tip again wrapped around the hilt.
	The Troll's eyes widened in shock and sudden terror as Tarrin shifted under its relentless press, shifted so the tail could come around his body and hit the Troll without obstacle.  It tried to pull away, but the claws dug into the club prevented it from withdrawing the weapon when Tarrin shifted from pushing to pulling, and it stubbornly, dimly refused to let go.  The shift allowed him to turn sideways, and the sword sliced around his body, sweeping up from the floor and digging into the underside of both of the Troll's forearms.	The Troll released the club with a howl of agony, blood spraying from the bone-deep slashes in both forearms.  It staggered back a step, and focused on the Were-cat just in time to see its own club driving towards its head.  It saw a white flash, and then it saw no more.
	Tarrin threw the club aside and pulled his sword from his tail, thanking everyone available that his tail was so flexible.  He became aware of the frightened screams and chaos of the humans around him, then tuned it out as his conscious mind reasserted itself and dealt with the situation.  The ki'zadun soldidrs and mage were either dead or unconscious.  Blood pooled around the soldiers, and the mage, who had been behind them and not struck by the table, laid on her stomach and did not move.  They were not a threat to him at the moment.  They probably had the building surrounded, so he couldn't go out.  He had to either get above them or below them, out of the reach of the Trolls.  Below was out of the question with a dirt floor, so above was the only option.  The inn had two floors, and it was a pattern Arakite structure, with a flat stone roof and most likely a trap door or staircase that led to it.
	The buildings were not that far apart.  He could easily jump from building to building, until he was close enough to the wall to come down to the ground, and race the Trolls to the escarpment.  Tarrin claw's snapped out, and he picked up the closest human, a dirty-faced young woman too terrified to run.  "Where are the stairs to the roof?" he demanded in a hot voice, glaring at the woman in a manner that told her that her life depended on her ability to answer.
	She pointed dumbly to a door on the back wall.
	Tarrin dropped her, let her fall the nearly two spans to the floor, and was out that door before her rump hit the ground.
	He could hear them.  He could smell them.  Troll voices were suddenly barking, calling, outside the inn, as well as excited shouts and calls from others.  But the others didn't concern him, it was the Trolls he had to worry about.  Beyond the door was a kitchen, a kitchen almost stripped bare of anything edible.  In the near corner was a steep staircase leading upstairs.
	"Tarrin, what are you doing?" Sarraya demanded.  He'd completely forgotten about her.  He could hear her wings come up behind him; she must have gotten dislodged in his short exchange with the people in the common room.
	"The roof," he replied in a hasty voice, moving towards the stairs.  "I can get to the edge of the compound from the roof."
	"Good idea," she agreed.
	It took him a very short time to go up the stairs, see another set of stairs at the end of the hallway at the top, and then climb up onto the roof.  The setting sun was just on the edge of the horizon of the desert, and there were Trolls everywhere.  Trolls, men in black hauberks, men screamin and shouting and staying out from under the feet of the Trolls as they moved to encircle the compound.  There were several shouts from them when Tarrin appeared a the top, looking towards the west, to see how far away the next roof was, and the Were-cat had to duck when a few arrows came after him, but not before he saw that the roof of the warehouse beside the inn was very close.  It was just higher than the inn, making the jump a tricky one.
	"I think they want us to stay for dinner," Sarraya said archly as she zipped down under the ledge of the roof.  The angry buzzing of several more arrows followed.
	"The roof's in my range, but I need a running start," he told her, sheathing his sword, then scampering back to the center of the roof on all fours.  He rose up and accelerated nearly to full speed in two steps, and his foot hit the ledge and pushed off as he suddenly appeared over the rooftop.  Tarrin sailed through the air as if flying, paws leading as he rose up and moved over the heads of Trolls and men, until his paws hit the outer ledge of the warehouse's roof.  He used his inhuman strength to literally haul himself up and over before the archers could draw a bead on him, sliding over the ledge seconds before several arrows struck the space where he had been.
	"I think they like you," Sarraya teased as she zipped over herself, her form hidden from sight by her veil of magical invisibility.
	"Think you could stop making jokes and give me some help here?" Tarrin demanded hotly, swatting an arrow down that had come over the far side of the roof, fired at a trajectory.  He got up as Sarraya held her arms out, something she tended to do when using Druidic magic, and a glimmering field of soft glowing light appeared around his body, then winked out of sight.
	"There, arrows can't get through that," she told him.  "And since they can't see it, it'll give you several hits before they realize it's not working."
	Tarrin growled in his throat.  He'd been hoping for something a bit more substantial, but it was better than nothing.
	A quick glance over the far side of the roof showed that the Trolls were swarming out onto the rocky flat between the post and the escarpment, blocking his escape route.  Trolls, and more importantly, wizards, were rushing towards the warehouse, trying to surround it.  There were also men running into the warehouse on the far side of the alley, the warehouse to which he needed to jump to get to the edge of the compound.
	They were cutting him off!
	Swearing, Tarrin leaned back from sight of the archers and considered his options.  And just about every option he could think of involved Sorcery in one way or another.
	"Sarraya, I need some ideas here!" Tarrin said urgently.  "I'm going to have to use Sorcery!"
	"Tarrin, look out!" Sarraya suddenly screamed.
	But it was too late.  Something struck him in the back, struck him like a Giant's hammer, bowing him and knocking the breath from his lungs.  The sky blurred slightly, and he could feel himself hurtling forward, over the ledge of the roof and out into empty space.
	But there was no stomach-lifting sense of falling.  The force was still behind him, around him.  Something had hold of him!  And whatever it was, it was either thirty spans tall or able to walk on air!
	Greetings, came a highly amused voice, a voice that spoke directly inside his mind.
	It was feminine.
	Tarrin recovered his breath and his wits enough to look around and above him.  What he saw was the sleek outline of a female torso, and a large bat-like wing appeared over her back, swept down, and then rose back out of sight.
	Shiika!
	For a moment, he panicked.  Shiika probably wanted to take his head off and mount it on her wall.  He grabbed the hands locked around his chest and tried to pry them apart, writhing and struggling to get free of her.
	Stop, or you'll fall! she protested.
	Tarrin got a sense of that voice, and he realized that it didn't sound like Shiika.  He managed to get her scent, and was sure of it.  She was one of the Cambisi, one of Shiika's half-Demon offspring.  One of the females.  He looked down, and saw them soaring over the startled Trolls, out over the rocky flat towards the escarpment.  The Cambisi had him in a powerful grip around the chest, carrying him towards the desert.
	She was helping him!
	"What are you doing?" Tarrin demanded in confusion.
	What does it look like, you silly Were-cat? she replied mentally, her amusement obvious in her tone.  It looked like you needed a wing.  Just be glad I was in the neighborhood.
	Tarrin's mind raced as she crossed over the escarpment, then started descending towards the sandy ground.  Why was she helping him?  Shiika probably wanted him dead for what he did to her.  And Shiika's offspring didn't do anything without their mother ordering them to do it.  So Shiika had sent this one, but to help him?  That didn't make any sense!
	Her wings catching the air gently, the halfbreed carried him well out of arrow range from the escarpment, and for a moment Tarrin got caught up in the sensation of flight.  To see the ground flow underneath him so quickly, to feel the pull of gravity, yet not be a slave to it.  It was a feeling of exhilaration that overwhelmed his shock and confusion, caused him to look down with wide eyes and feel like a child again.
	And then it was over.  The Demoness pulled up, and then she set him gently on the sand of the desert.  They were nearly two longspans away from the escarpment, so far that no foot party could ever catch up to him.
	With a calm sigh, he realized that he made it.  He was now beyond their reach.  They weren't insane enough to come into the desert after him.
	I think that little bug will catch up in a few minutes, the halfbreed remarked mentally.  Tarrin turned around and got a good look at her.  It was the blond one, the tallest of the females.  She had her mother's beautiful face, but her features were a bit narrower, and she wasn't quite so busty as Shiika.  She wore a half-shirt that left her midriff bare, that was tied onto her so it didn't foul her wings, and a pair of undyed leather breeches tucked into soft doeskin knee-boots.  She carried one of those black-bladed swords in a scabbard on her belt, and three daggers were sheathed on the other side.  Surprised to see me? she asked with a disarming smile.
	"What do you want?" Tarrin demanded instantly, backing away from her.  "I'm not giving up the Book."
	I'm not here for it, she replied.  Mother was a bit put out with you over the damage you caused, but she likes you.  I'm sure you already know that.  She's more or less gotten over everything, and she sent me to watch over you.  And if you needed help, to put a hand in.  You and her are trying to do the same thing, you know.  Keep that book out of the wrong hands.  Since you took it from her, she decided that it was in her best interest to make sure it stays with you.
	"Shiika's helping me?" he said in surprise.
	I certainly hope so, since it's what she told me to do, she said with a bright smile and a wink.
	That bowled him over.  Helping him!  After everything that happened between them, Shiika was helping him!  How amazing!  He thought that she was certainly still miffed over his taking the book from her.  Shiika certainly seemed to be the kind that held grudges, but he saw that he was wrong.  He knew she wasn't lying, because it all made a strange kind of sense.  Shiika did send her, Shiika was giving him some help.
	I'm Anayi, she told him with that same smile.  And we've met.
	They certainly had.  She'd tried to kill him not too long ago.
	He wasn't quite certain what to do.  She was a stranger, but the strange circumstances of everything kept him from recoiling from her like other strangers.  After all, she wasn't the average stranger.
	"Uh, well, thanks," Tarrin said hesitantly.  "What are you going to do now?"
	Oh, I don't know.  Mother only told me to follow you as far as the desert.  We're here now, so I guess I'll go back.  I think she feels that you'll be alright now.
	Tarrin stared at her for a long moment.  He still couldn't believe it, that Shiika had sent one of her brood to help him.  But he couldn't argue with her reason.  It was in Shiika's best interests that Tarrin kept the book.  He guessed that she considered that more important than any personal animosity she felt.
	Sighing, gathering his wits, Tarrin rose up to his full height and stared down at the smaller female.  He was surprised she was strong enough to carry him like that.
	Panting, Sarraya caught up to them.  "You about scared me to death!" she screamed at both of them.  "Who are you, and what are you doing?"
	If the female replied to her, Tarrin didn't hear it.  But she must have, because Sarraya's angry expression lightened immediately, and then she laughed.  "I'm surprised her High And Mightiness bothered to help," she told the female.
	Strange.  He hadn't heard anything.  Perhaps the halfbreed could choose who she wanted to hear her and who would not.
	You certainly look...taller, Anayi remarked to him.  Your face is different.  What happened to you?
	"You can thank your mother for that," Tarrin said grimly.
	What do you mean?
	"When your mumsie drained Tarrin, it aged him," Sarraya said lightly.  "Actually, we should thank her.  Were-cats grow stronger as they age.  That Troll back there certainly looked surprised," she laughed.
	I would imagine it would.  Goblinoids don't like Lycanthropes, and I've felt Tarrin's sting.
	"Say, you think you could give us a lift to, say, Arkis?" Sarraya asked curiously.
	I would like to, but...I am not welcome here, she replied.  Whoever rules this land does not find my presence comforting.  Her anger is almost in the air.
	Tarrin didn't feel anything.  Then again, he wasn't half Demon.  Demons were mystical beings, and their senses worked differently than mortal kin.
	This is as far as I'll go into the desert, and I think I've come too far, she reported.  She looked at Tarrin.  I hope you realize that there are no hard feelings from my mother, or the other Cambisi, she told him.  We were trying to protect the book.  We regret losing three of our brothers, but they were starting to get annoying anyway.  I honestly believe that the book is in good hands now, so I don't consider losing it to you a failure.  You proved you're not going to lose it.
	Her admission and statements surprised him.  "Well, I'm sorry I killed your brothers," he said quietly.  "And I guess I'm sorry for all the trouble.  Did Shiika fix everything?  With the Emperor and all?"
	Anayi laughed aloud.  Fix?  You motivated her to do the one thing I thought I'd never see her do.
	"What?" Sarraya asked curiously.
	She took the throne herself, and she's not hiding what she is, she replied.  And do you know what's surprising?  The Arakites don't seem to care, she said with a look of slight confusion.  They know she's a Demon, yet they don't seem to care about that.  It's almost like they think she'll do a better job than the Emperors.  I don't think they know that she was controlling all the Emperors.
	"Probably not, but now that she has to take responsibility for her decisions, I think you'll see things get better in Yar Arak," Tarrin told her.  "One thing I noticed about Shiika, and that's that she's very smart.  Since she has to rule openly, you'll see her start changing things so things are better for the people.  If only to keep them happy and not thinking of revolution.  Happy people don't rebel."
	I've heard her make similar observations, Anayi agreed.  And I think you're right.  Mother raised us to think for ourselves, to not be dominated by the taint of our dark heritage.  She's a fullblooded demon, yet I think she's more humane than some of her children.
	"That makes me relieved," Tarrin said.  "She certainly kept confusing me.  Trying to kill me one moment, sparing my life the next."
	She likes you.  She is ruthless, Tarrin, she is a Demon and a political power, but she does have softness in her.  You're one of those soft spots.  She really respects you and admires you, and I think part of her is happy you beat her, if only to justify those feelings.
	Tarrin blushed at her praise.  "You should expect chaos from a Demon, Tarrin," Sarraya chuckled.
	Anayi smiled sweetly at him.  I think I've worn out my welcome here, Tarrin, she said, pointing towards the west.  Tarrin turned and looked, and saw a savage sandstorm approaching them, boiling up from the floor of the desert.  It was so big and so close that he couldn't have possibly missed it when he looked earlier.  It screamed of magical creation.  I think the goddess of this land is coming to toss me out the door, so I must be off before she gets here.  She stepped up to him and reached into her belt pouch, then pulled out a small black object.  This is from Mother, she told him, holding it out for him.
	"What is it?" Tarrin asked, holding out his paw.  Anayi's hand disappeared in the expanse of his paw as she set it into his paw, and her fingers were almost caressing as she slid her hand away.
	It was a small device that looked like an amulet, or charm.  It was made of black steel, almost the same metal as the amulet around his neck, and upon it was engraved a woman's face.  He turned it over, and saw that it had a dragon in profile on the back.  A coin?
	Mother made that, Anayi told him.  It's magical.  It works just like your amulet.  Just hold it in your hand and call Mother's name, and she'll be able to talk to you.  But it will only work once, so don't use it unless it's an emergency.
	"Why would I want to talk to her?"
	Mother is a Demon, Tarrin, and she's very powerful, Anayi chided.  If you need help or you're in big trouble, call on her, and she'll send something to help you.  You may not find what she sends to be very nice to look at, but it will be compelled to aid you in any way possible.
	"Another Demon?"
	Mother is a Succubus, Tarrin.  Their strength is manipulation and control.  Mother isn't very physically or magically powerful compared to other Demons, but her charms and games have quite a few Demons more powerful than her bound to her service.  She can call on them any time to do her bidding.
	Tarrin absorbed that, then he blew out his breath.  "Then why didn't she just do that when I was going after the book?  Unless--"  He looked hard at Anayi.  "She let me take the book!"
	You'll have to ask her about that, Anayi replied.  If she did, then she must have had a good reason.  But I don't think she did.  I can't think of any good reason why she would.
	Tarrin couldn't either.  It would be illogical to try to kill him one moment, then turn her back and let him take the book the next.  Shiika may be a Demoness, but she was also a smart Demoness.  She wouldn't do something like that without a very good reason, if she did it at all.  Without proof that she allowed him to take the book, he had to assume that she didn't.
	"I, I guess so," he said.
	I have to go now, Tarrin, she said.  The goddess of this land is picking up steam.  If I don't leave now, I may not get out anytime soon.  She stepped up boldly, something that took Tarrin by surprise, then she reached up and put her hand on the back of his neck.  Before he knew what was happening, she pulled down his head and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.  Be well, Tarrin.  Know that the Cambisi and Mother will be at your side if you need us.
	With a sweet smile, she stepped back, turned and spread her wings, and then vaulted into the sky.  Tarrin stood there for a long moment, staring up at her dwindling form in confusion and wonder, his paw on the cheek she kissed.
	Things just never made any sense in his life.
	He watched her fly away, Sarraya landing on his shoulder, then he turned and looked towards the west, towards the sandstorm.  He had made it.  They were in the desert.  Now, those chasing him could not touch him.  The desert was his sanctuary, his protector.  The might of the Selani and the wrath of Fara'Nae would keep them out, keep the Book of Ages out of their hands.  Now, he figured, they would go to Arkis, to catch him as he came out of the desert.  They knew where he was going.  But that was a worry for another time.  For now, he was safe.
	As safe as he was going to be.  The Desert of Swiling Sands was a dangerous place, full of huge reptillian beasts, all sorts of poisonous animals, and brutal weather.  Even now, on the very edge of the desert, he could feel the heat of the setting sun, feel the heat in the sand under his feet.  Tarrin was very tolerant of heat; the heat of the plains of Saranam had barely registered to him.  But this heat could not be denied, and it made him very glad for Sarraya's cloak.  He would battle the heat, the Selani, the animals of the desert, and the notorious weather of the desert, for late summer and early autumn were the seasons for savage sandstorms.
	But after what he had endured to get to where he was, he felt that crossing the desert was more of a chore than a life or death struggle.  With Sarraya's Druidic magic to help him, they would survive the desert's greatest dangers.  The lack of water and food were not issues.  Only the physical threats of the wastelands of the Selani could challenge him now.
	For a moment, he allowed himself to feel....safe.  If only for a moment.  But there was little comfort in that sensation anymore.
	Sighing, pulling up the hood of the cloak and fishing out his visor, he turned towards the setting sun, hidden behind the boiling sandstorm.  Now a new challenge awaited him.  He had to cross the vastness of the desert, and do it in one piece.  He had to solve the mystery of the Goddess' words, to find out if Fara'Nae could--or would--be able to teach him about the lost arts of the Weavespinners.
	More uncertainty.  Tarrin felt lost in a sea of confusion, where nothing made any sense anymore.  The only light illuminating the dark waters was the mission, the knowledge of what he had to do.  But it was little comfort.  He clutched at the amulet around his neck, knowing that the comfort of his sisters was only a call away.  He feared taking that step, unsure of how he would feel to hear their voices, and not be able to see them or touch them or scent them.  To know that he was alone, alone in a violent world that was trying to kill him.  It had nearly driven the Cat mad, that feeling of loss, something that he had hidden from himself.  Something he was afraid to face.
	"Well, on to the next game," Sarraya remarked absently.
	"Tarrin?"
	Before he really knew what he was doing, he had the amulet out, cradled in his palm gently.  Keritanima!  That was Keritanima's voice!
	"Tarrin, are you there?"
	"Kerri!" Tarrin said explosively, months of pent-up fear and worry for his silent sister flooding out of him in one exclamation.  "Kerri, why haven't you called to me?  Where have you been?  Are you alright?"
	"I've been busy, I'm still in Wikuna, and I'm fine," she replied with a toothy chuckle.  "Miranda, Zak, Binter and Sisska say hello.  I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you, but I've been very busy."
	"Kerri, what's going on?  Did everything go alright?  I was afraid to call to you, I was afraid that I'd interrupt you when he couldn't afford it--"
	"I know, Allia explained it to me.  She told me that you have the Book of Ages."
	"You talked to Allia?  Stupid question," he grunted.  He felt unbelievably relieved, as if the weight of his solitude had been lifted from his shoulders.  "I have the book."
	"Allia said you had quite a fun time getting it," Keritanima laughed.  "I've been having similar fun over here."
	"What's happened?"
	"Well, I'm the Queen now, but I think you knew that was going to happen," she told him, and the tone of her voice told him she had that toothy grin on her face.  "I canned my father two tendays ago.  I've barely had the time to think, let alone let you know what was going on.  I've been busy changing the government so it can run without me here."
	"Why are you doing that?"
	"So I can come back to you, silly," she laughed.  "But this time, I'm going to be coming with a few more titles, and a pretty little headdress and metal stick."
	"I'll be glad to see you again.  If you talked to Allia, then you know what's going on."
	"Some of it.  I almost had a fit when I heard that Jula was still alive.  Really, Tarrin, she's too dangerous to leave around."
	"You're thinking like a Queen, Kerri."
	"I am a queen, deshida," she said in a teasing tone.  "At least until I push the nobles over the line.  They really don't like my changes, because now they have to pay taxes, and the nobility doesn't hold absolute power anymore.  But they'll adapt to it.  I have confidence in them."
	"It sounds like you've been very busy."
	"That doesn't even start to describe what's gone on over here," she laughed.  "I heard that you've been pretty busy yourself, that you're by yourself."
	"Hey!" Sarraya snapped.
	"Almost.  Sarraya is with me."
	"Allia wasn't too keen on that," Keritanima chuckled.  "Then again, Allia wouldn't be satisfied unless it was her with you."
	"How is she?"
	"Fine.  They're in Tor right now.  The ship they're on got damaged in a battle with Zakkites, so they had to put in for repairs.  I have a squadron of ships there, and they're going to escort them to Suld."
	"You?  You control the Wikuni fleet?"
	"Tarrin, you dip, of course I do!" she laughed.  "What part of 'I am the Queen' do you not understand?  When I tell the fleet to go somewhere, they go!"
	Tarrin laughed sheepishly.  "Well, I guess I just sorta forgot.  I'm not used to things like that.  It just doesn't seem to fit you."
	"Well, get used to it.  I gave up some of my own Queenly powers in this new government, but I still have control of the military.  The Parliament can't interfere when I deploy the fleet."
	"Parliament?  What is that?"
	"It's part of the power-sharing government I set up, that's going to allow me to leave Wikuna without worrying about being overthrown while I'm away.  I've set things up so they can function without me for a while, but I can't leave until everyone gets comfortable with the new system."
	"Wow, you have been busy, sister," Tarrin whistled.  "It sounds like you mean to keep the throne."
	"I decided that if I have to be Queen, then I'm going to be the Queen," she told him seriously.  "And that means I have to put the needs of my people over any desire of my own for power.  My people need a representative government if we're going to be ready for the future.  I'm starting to get annoyed by my own handiwork, but I'll get used to it.  It was much easier when I could just say 'do this or I'll execute you.'  Now I have rules to follow."
	Tarrin laughed richly.  "Sister, now you sound like a Queen.  And you sound like everything that me and Allia hoped you'd be."
	She was silent a moment.  "I've missed you,  my brother," she said in a sincere voice, filled with emotion.
	"I've missed you too, Kerri, more than even I realized," he replied.
	"I don't know why, but that makes me fe