o a fight with a Sha'Kar over her?
	"Because to me, you're more than just a human," he told her with gentle eyes.  She reminded him so much of Jula.  So confused and afraid, so desperately needing guidance and love.  Tarrin couldn't give her love any more than he could have given Jula love, but he could give her guidance and support.  Dolanna would be best suited for fanning the embers that had once been the fire of her independence, a fire the Sha'Kar had thoroughly squelched with their magical control and their horrific torture.  She had done a wondeful job keeping a terrifed turned Were-cat from going insane, teaching him how to cope with his new life.  He felt she'd be just as good at taking a terrified former slave and teaching her to be her own woman.
	She cried a little longer, and Tarrin even collected her in his arms and let her cry it all out on his shoulder.  He could have shown Jula this kind of support, but he hadn't.  He wouldn't make that mistake again.  Then again, he had hated Jula, where he had no reason to hate this young, tormented girl.
	She sniffled a little, and Tarrin pushed her back out to his arm's length.  "Feel better now?" he asked with a gentle smile.
	"Yes, Ma--uh, Tarrin," she managed to say with a meek smile, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand.
	"I'm sorry if I frightened you, but my kind are very high strung, and when we get angry, it can take us hours to calm down," he apologized.
	"It's alright, Master," she said.  He could tell that that master was an automatic thing for her, so he didn't berate her for it.  She probably didn't even realize she said it.  She had to consciously stop herself from saying it, and even then, she couldn't stop herself entirely.
	"The first thing we need to do is get you some clothes," he said, looking down at her.  "Then I'll take you to Dolanna.  You'll be best off with her.  Like I said, I may be too intense for you right now.  I know this all must be traumatic.  Like your whole life was just turned on its ear."
	She nodded with a sniffle.
	"Well, living with me wouldn't make that go away," he admitted.   "I'd be very bad for your state of mind right now.  Especially right now, given how angry I still am over all this.  I think you'll be good for Dolanna too," Tarrin said with a grim smile.  "She's been getting very strange lately.  A project like you will get her focused again."
	"Why would you be angry, honored one?" she asked.
	"Because what that Sha'Kar did to you is against everything he claims he believes in," he said with a snort, his ears flicking in irritation.  "He outraged me so completely with that act that it was all I could do not to kill him.  I'm still thinking of going back over there and tearing his head off," he admitted with a flat look that made the girl flinch.  "Sorcerers are never supposed to use their magic against the innocent.  Only in self defense," he told her with a rising voice.
	"It was his right," she said, speaking like a slave.  "He is the Master."
	"He had no right to do that to you!" Tarrin hissed in sudden fury, laying his ears back as his eyes exploded from within into the unholy greenish aura that marked his anger.  The girl flinched away from him again, looking to want to fall backwards off the divan and crawl across the floor, but something kept her absolutely rooted to the spot.  He gave her a chagrined look and quickly calmed down, his eyes returning to normal as he put a paw on her trembling shoulder.  "I didn't mean to frighten you," he said ruefully.  "Now maybe you see why it's best you stay with Dolanna.  My temper is going to get the best of me for at least a few days, until I completely calm down and get all this out of my head.  I don't want to terrorize you, even by accident."
	Standing up with the girl looking up at him with a mixture of fear, surprise, and the first hints of elation at having been taken from that horrible place, Tarrin closed his paw into a fist and debated the wisdom of going out of the room.  He was still broiling inside, and the scents of the Sha'Kar all over the hallways and chambers were going to make it worse.  But he needed to get the girl some clothes, and he needed to go find Dolanna.  It would be best for her to get her into Dolanna's care as quickly as possible.  He was obviously making her afraid, and he didn't want to continue tormenting her like that.
	The door opened again, and Tarrin's reaction was swift and immediate.  Kimmie found herself staring at an incensed Were-cat, eyes glowing, ears back, fangs bared, feet wide, back coiled, and claws ready to rend her apart.  "Tarrin!" she said in surprise, stopping in the doorframe.  "What's gotten into you!?"
	Tarrin realized it was his mate, then blew out his breath and calmed down, standing fully erect again.  Kimmie looked at him in surprise, then noticed the human with his vest over her sitting on the divan.  And the other divan knocked over.  "Uh oh," she breathed as she closed the door and entered the room.  "What happened?"
	In a tightly controlled voice, Tarrin told her what had transpired.  About meeting her on the street and scenting the way they used her, and then delicately going around revealing she was a Druid.  He only told her that he sensed potential in her.  Then about the confrontation with her master.  His voice became filled with rage when he told her about how the Sha'Kar had tortured her with magic.
	"You didn't kill him, did you?" Kimmie asked fearfully.
	"I almost did," he seethed.  "I don't know how I managed to stop myself.  I put the fear of the Goddess into him, though.  He won't set a foot out his house until a month after we're gone."
	"He deserves it," Kimmie said vindictively.  She sat down beside the girl, who started trembling again.  She flinched a bit when Kimmie put a paw on her shoulder, keeping her eyes closed.  "It's alright, little girl," she said in a soothing tone.  "I'm not going to hurt you.  Such a pretty little thing," Kimmie said, picking up the wealth of the girl's dark hair.  "Could you fit one of my dresses for her?  She needs something other than that towel and your vest."
	"It wouldn't be too hard."
	Kimmie stood up and offered her paw to the girl.  She looked at her worriedly, and put her hand into Kimmie's large paw, but wouldn't get up.  "What's the matter?" she asked her.
	"The master told me to sit," she said in a small voice.
	Tarrin snorted.  "I told you not to call me that," he told her.  "If you want to get up, you can get up.  You can do anything you want to do, as long as you don't wander too far from me or one of the others."
	"There, see?" Kimmie said with a gentle grin, pulling on her hand until she was getting up despite wanting to sit down.  "Now let's get you into a nice dress.  I think brown would be a good color for you, with your skin and hair.  And I just happen to have a nice brown dress that won't take much shrinking to fit you."  She blinked.  "Oh, no!  I forgot, I left it on the ship!" she moaned.
	Without blinking, Tarrin touched the Weave and wove the complicated spell to summon an Elemental.  He charged it with enough energy for it to last several hours, and set it into a form that was small enough to fit through doors.  He also set it so it could be visible as a misty gray man-shaped cloud if it so chose.  "I need to ask a favor of you," he said as it appeared.  "I know it's a menial task, but it's very important to me."
	The Elemental told him that no task is menial so long as it was a successful one.
	"I'm glad you think that, because this is nothing more than fetching something for me," he said with a rueful look.  "I can't go myself.  Don't worry, you only have to go a few longspans.  It should only take you a minute to get there."  Tarrin looked around.  "Can I borrow a piece of paper and a quill?" he asked Kimmie.
	"Sure, let me get it out of my pack," she said, letting go of the girl's hand.  She stood there looking confused, for as far as she could see, her huge savior was standing there talking to nothing.
	"I need you to bring back a chest for me," he told the Elemental.  "I'm going to give you a note to give to the people watching the chest for me, telling them exactly what I want them to put in the chest.  When they're done, you need to bring it back here.  Is that alright with you?"
	The Elemental assured him that it was quite willing to do as he asked.
	Kimmie brought him a quill, ink pot, and a piece of rumpled parchment.  Tarrin sat down on the divan and scribbled out his note, in Wikuni.  To Jalis, captain of the ship.  If you're reading this, you're standing in front of a cloud that just handed you this letter, he wrote.  The cloud is an Elemental, and it was sent by  Tarrin.  It's doing me a favor.  Go to the cabin I share with Kimmie and pick up the smallest chest by the bed.  Open it, remove the books from inside, and replace them with Kimmie's clothes that you'll find in the larger chest beside it.  Make sure to put the brown dress in the smaller chest, but as for the rest of the clothes, use your best judgement.  When you finish, put the books you took out of the small chest into the large one and bring the small chest back to the cloud.  It will take it and bring it back to me.  Oh, and to let you know, Queen Keritanima is doing just fine, he added.  He figured that Jalis would want to know that.  He signed it with his name and handed it over to the Elemental.  "Make sure you become visible when you hand them that," he warned it.  "I need you to go to a ship.  It's anchored in a shallow cove on the south tip of this island.  It's about ten or so longspans south.  When you get there, become visible and present this letter to anyone you can find.  They'll make sure it gets to the person it's intended for, and he'll take care of everything for you.  He'll bring you back a chest.  When he gives it to you, bring it back here to me.  I'd really appreciate it."
	The Elemental assured him that it could handle the task with little difficulty.
	"Can you find your way out of this house?"
	The Elemental assured him it could.
	"Alright.  We'll be waiting for you."
	The Elemental told him it would return quickly, then zipped away, pausing only to open the door.
	If the girl hadn't understood what just happened, she didn't show it.  Then again, she was probably  used to magical things happening around her.  "The Elemental will bring us back some of your clothes, Kimmie," he told his mate.  "I told Jalis to put more than just that one dress in the chest.  I figured you'd want a dress too."
	"You're right," she said, patting her hip, getting his attention on her breeches.  "These things need to be cleaned, and besides, I hate pants.  I much prefer a dress."  She got a serious look.  "What are we going to do now?"
	"Well, as soon as we get the clothes, we'll give the girl here something proper to wear. Then, if you don't mind, could you take her to Dolanna?  I think she won't be very comfortable with me until she gets used to freedom, and Dolanna can help her in ways I can't."
	"That's a good idea," she nodded.  "What's your name, sweetie?" Kimmie asked the girl.
	"Zarina, Mistress," she replied.
	"Don't call me mistress, it makes me sound like I run a brothel," she grinned.  That put the girl back a little, but then she giggled in spite of herself.  "My name is Kimmie.  If you didn't notice, me and Tarrin are kind of a couple."  She jerked a thumb at him.  "Don't let him scare you, girl.  He may look big and mean, but he's actually a pussycat when you get to know him.  All that blustering is just for show," she winked.
	"He's very good at it, Mistress," she offered in a meek tone.
	"He's had alot of practice," she said with a wink at Tarrin.
	Kimmie fussed with Zarina's hair after that, taking the girl in paw and trying to make her relax.  Kimmie was a chatty soul, but she had a keen mind and understanding of both humans and Were-cats, and knew how to defuse people.  She'd been doing it to Mist, and then Tarrin, for years, so she had plenty of practice at it.  She managed to calm the girl down as she played with her hair, debating hairstyles with her that would make her look pretty.  Zarina fell under Kimime's spell quickly, and even almost laughed once when Kimmie made a light joke.  She didn't completely relax, her conditioning as a slave made that impossible for her so soon, but she did calm down quite a bit, and her body language softened as Kimmie won over her trust.
	The girl felt completely comfortable with the fussy Were-cat by the time the Elemental returned with the chest.  It carried a letter as well, and as Kimmie opened it and found the brown dress she wanted right on top, Tarrin unfolded it and read it.  Good to hear you're doing alright, Jalis wrote back.  This is the third one of these letters I've gotten since yesterday morning, but I don't think you know that.  You had the same idea her Majesty did in having these magical servants deliver them.  You should have been a little more specific about which dress you needed, because there were four brown ones in there.  To save myself the trouble of trying to fathom the mind of a woman, I just put them all in there and I'll let Mistress Kimmie sort things out.  Tarrin had to chuckle at that, and continued reading.  Things here are going a little strangely.  The steam engine did break down last night, for real, while Donovan was bringing it up to test an adjustment they were trying.  Donovan says it'll take about five days to fix.  The part that broke is in the middle, and they have to take the whole thing apart to replace it, then put it all back together, but they can't do that until they manufacture a replacement part.  At least Donovan said he can make a replacement part without your help, but it'll take a couple of days.  I don't understand all that technical mumbo-jumbo they throw at each other, but I did get the impression that this replacement part has to be very carefully made.  I'd rather not lose another five days to shoddy workmanship, so I told Donovan to be damn sure he makes it right the first time.  Anyway, I need to keep this short.  Hope you got what you wanted.  Jalis.
	Tarrin folded the letter and nodded his thanks to the Elemental.  "Do you want to go back, or would you rather fly around on your own and explore or something until the spell ends?" he asked it.
	It seemed very pleased he would ask that, telling him that dismissing it now was what it preferred.
	"Alright.  Thank you for the help.  I appreciate it.  You can go now."
	Tarrin Dismissed the Elemental, and a short gust of wind heralded its departure.
	"Now this dress will look smashing on you," Kimmie said, holding it up to her as she still clutched his vest around her.  "But first things first.  No girl can get into a new dress without taking a bath," she announced.  "Let's get you cleaned up and dressed, and then we'll do something with your hair," she said lightly as she pulled the girl towards the bathing room.  "Then I'll introduce you to Dolanna.  You'll like her.  She's a gentle woman, and she'll take good care of you."
	Tarrin let Kimmie work with the girl as he began to ponder what was going on.  He still just could not believe what he had seen today.  It was the last thing he would have ever believed would happen.  What had happened to the Sha'Kar to make them change so drastically?  It almost seemed unreal.  They acted like they were still katzh-dashi, abiding their return to the outside world, but if the two towers saw them do what he'd seen today, they'd throw them all out.  If the Goddess didn't strike them dead on the spot first.  She'd be even more outraged than he was, and may very well chastise her wayward children personally, in a most severe manner.
	As Tarrin calmed down, slowly uncoiled from around his fury, he began to understand that finding out what had caused this radical change in the Sha'Kar wasn't as important as finding out from them where the Firestaff was.  But seeing this made him see that if they would do that to a servant, then he was going to have to be very careful.  If they opposed his seeking the Firestaff, they very well may come after him, and they would not be gentle.  They wouldn't just defeat Tarrin and his friends, they very well may try to kill them.  Tarrin could defend himself against Sha'Kar in small numbers, but if they built a big enough Circle manned with strong enough da'shar, he would be overwhelmed by them.  Given how powerful these Sha'Kar seemed to be, he figured it wouldn't take much more than five or six of their strongest, five or six on the Elder Council.  It would take several more of the lesser powerful Sha'Kar to overwhelm him without their help.
	Things were going to get very tricky, he could see that.  Sapphire wasn't with Kimmie, so Tarrin figured that Kimmie had set her loose out in the town and told her to see what she could find out.  Keritanima, Dolanna, and Allia...were they going to be any help at all?  They seemed completely taken with these Sha'Kar.  Keritanima and Dolanna were spending more time getting drunk and partying than working, and Allia--what was he going to do about her?  She was acting like a Sha'Kar!  When he told her about this, she might turn on Allyn, or may even turn on him!  She boasted that she had Allyn well in hand, but it looked to him that Allyn was the one holding her in hand.  Allia was going to be a very touchy subject.
	He couldn't believe what he was doing.  He was doubting his sisters and friends.  He actually wasn't sure if they were going to do what needed to be done.  Allia only had eyes for Allyn, and Keritanima and Dolanna too seemed entangled in the Sha'Kar's honey coated net.  In that moment, he doubted the wisdom of handing the girl over to Dolanna.  Dolanna would be best suited to help her, but would she?  Or would she ignore the girl to go to the parties and get drunk?
	Dar.  He seemed not as taken with the Sha'Kar as the others.  He could depend on Dar.  He could also depend on the others.  Camara Tal and Phandebrass, Azakar and Miranda, Binter and Sisska.  Miranda was in the best situation to help him find out where Keritamina's mind was, since she slept in the same bed with her.
	Tarrin berated himself for going so far with his conjecture.  They'd only gotten drunk one time, at one party.  And before that, it was the drug that nobody knew was in the wine.  That wasn't their fault, and he could forgive them for one night of partying.  Everyone needed a break like that from things from time to time, even Dolanna.  But Allia...that was another matter.  He loved her, but could he trust her now?  Had she been pumping Allyn for information, or was it Allyn learning all their secrets from Allia?  If they were even thinking like that.  Every time Allia looked at him when they came to his room last night, she was looking right through his clothes, undressing him with her eyes.  Maybe she did love him, and maybe he did love her, and they were too busy dampening bedsheets to worry about anything else.
	It was a grim, unbelievable thought, and it turned Tarrin's world on his ear.  Ever since coming to the Tower, Allia was the one person he had trusted utterly.  He still loved her, considered her his deepest, closest, best friend, but what was she telling Allyn?  Allyn may have worn down her defenses and gotten her to reveal secrets.  If he did, he really couldn't blame Allia.  Even she wasn't perfect, and love made people do strange things sometimes.  But could he trust her?  If she had to choose between Allyn and him, who was she going to choose?
	Tarrin saw the little rust-colored ball sitting on a bedtable near the bed, a physical reminder of his encounter with that Sha'Kar.  He remembered Triana warning him never to leave pieces of himself laying around, and absently Transmuted the dried blood into a rough-surfaced ball of iron to destroy its danger to him.  He needed to talk to the others.  Preferably without Keritanima, Dolanna, and Allia there.  He had to tell them about his suspicions, then talk to each of them alone to find out just what was going on.
	Putting a paw to his amulet, he started the process.  "Dar," he called.  "Put your hand on your amulet and answer.  I'll hear it."
	"Tarrin?" his voice came from the amulet.  "I didn't know you could use your amulet to talk to me.  What do you need?"
	"Find Azakar, Camara, and Phandebrass and bring them to my room.  And swing by Kerri's room and ask Miranda to join us.  Keritanima's probably still asleep, so let her sleep.  We can fill her in when she wakes up."
	"What about Dolanna?"
	"Let her sleep."
	"Alright.  I'll go get them.  We'll be there in a few minutes."
	He could hear the uncertainty in Dar's voice.  He wished he could have explained things a little better, but as Dar said, they were only a few minutes away.  Besides, it wasn't safe to--
	Tarrin blinked.  It wasn't safe to speak using the amulets!
	Why hadn't he thought of that sooner!?  These Sha'Kar were Ancients, and the weave that allowed that distant communication was a common trick used by the Ancients.  They all wore amulets, they probably used that weave to talk to each other all the time!  And if Tarrin could figure out a way, he could eavesdrop on those conversations!
	All this time, one of the most effective and efficient ways to get an idea of what was really going on with the Sha'Kar had been sitting under his nose!
	Well, there was hiding in the Weave, too, and he'd considered that.  He could sit in a strand and weave out spells to see and hear what was going on in the real world without being seen.  But these Sha'Kar were Ancients, and if he could sense it, then so could they.  That's why he hadn't tried it already.
	But he hadn't sensed the spell in the girl's tattoo, not until he physically touched it.  He rose an eyebrow, wondering if the strong background magic that drowned out his ability to sense weak or distant magic wasn't also interfering with him detecting Sha'Kar doing the very same thing to him.  If he thought of it, he was certain that they had.  After all, they'd had thousands of years to get accustomed to falling back on tricks he had only learned over the last few months.  That was probably the first thing they considered.
	Tarrin felt a little stupid.  Here he was, thinking of mundane ways to learn things from people that would always fall back on magical means of accomplishing the same goal.  Allia said that they were totally dependent on their magic.  If they were confronted with a task, the first thing they would do would be to figure out how to solve it with magic.
	And then again, their utter dependence on magic, and their arrogant compulsion to automatically assume that Tarrin and his friends would behave as they did, seemed to him to be a hidden advantage.  Tarrin would always think of a mundane way to do something, first, then resort to magic if he couldn't find a mundane solution to his problem.  If the Sha'Kar couldn't think of any way to do a task aside from using Sorcery, then maybe those mundane ways of doing things would be things they'd never consider.  Something as simple and easy as sending Sapphire to spy on them may be something that they'd never even conceive of, and that meant that it would work.
	In any case, he realized that now he fully considered the Sha'Kar to be the enemy.  He was already considering ways to get around them, and when the time came, to go through them.  After seeing that male use Sorcery to torture that poor girl, he couldn't think of them in any other way.  Maybe not all Sha'Kar were bad, as not all humans were bad, but he didn't feel that he could trust any of them.  Even if he did like Iselde and Auli, he knew that they were Sha'Kar, and if they had to choose sides, they'd side with their own.  They were enemies as well, though they were enemies Tarrin rather liked.  He'd work around Iselde and Auli and make sure they didn't get hurt, but that was as far as his consideration would go.
	Kimmie brought the girl out of the bathing room with wet hair, wearing her dress.  It was too big for her, for Kimmie was much taller and had a more generous figure, the garment hanging off the girl like a sack, drooping down so low in front that the girl's breasts threatened to pop out of the neckline at any moment.  "Well, it's your turn, Tarrin," she told him with a smile, motioning at the girl, who looked a little anxious.
	Tarrin looked at her, then wove a spell of Fire and Earth that infused the fiber of the garment and caused it to shrink.  He controlled that shrinkage masterfully, and the girl gasped as the garment suddenly pulled in, contracting to fit her perfectly.  She looked quite the little lady in Kimmie's dress, modified to show off Kimmie's cleavage for his benefit.  It showed off the girl's pert breasts quite admirably.  Dar was going to keep his eyes locked on her, he knew.  Dar was Arkisian, progressive in outlook, but he had a certain weakness for girls.  It was because of his age.  He loved looking at them, but always did it when he thought they weren't looking.  He wasn't sure why he did that, but he did.  It seemed odd that he was quite willing to undress and bathe with a girl and not be embarassed at all to look at her every charm, even scrub her back, but looking at a girl's bosom or her butt when they were hidden by a dress was something he didn't want them to know he was doing.  Weird.  But then again, humans were like that.
	The girl looked down at the dress in wonder, picking up her skirts and looking down at herself.  "It's beautiful!" she said in a meek yet impressed voice.  "I've never worn such a beautiful dress!  Thank you, Master, Mistress!"
	Kimmie handed Tarrin his vest back, which he shrugged over his shoulders and set in place.  Kimmie was still in her vest and trousers, her breeches a little wet from the water in the pool.  "I think she's alot cuter this way," Kimmie said to Tarrin, tapping her cheek with a finger.  "When you have it all hanging out like that, it doesn't pique a boy's curiosity and imagination.  Not like hinting at what you've got."
	The girl blushed rosily.  "When a Master wants me, Mistress, I must serve," she told her in that same programmed tone that told him she was reverting to her conditioning.
	"Well, not anymore," Kimmie told her.  "You'll go to bed with a man only if you want to.  He'll have to court you and woo you, and that can be alot of fun sometimes."
	"I've never been courted before, Mistress," she said hesitantly.  "I wouldn't know what to do."
	"We'll teach you, don't worry," Kimmie said with a smile.
	"As you wish, Mistress," she said absently, continuing to admire her dress.  "I hope it doesn't mean that I can't serve a Master, though.  Sometimes, with the right Master, it can be very sweet."
	"That's a healthy way of looking at it," Kimmie told her.  "I was afraid that them doing what they did to you would make you frigid.  But now you get to decide which man you allow into your bed.  You can make sure that only the right man is with you, to make it a sweet experience every time."
	"What is frigid, Mistress?"
	"A woman afraid to go to bed with a man," she answered.  "Some human women get like that if men abuse them.  And you were definitely abused."
	There was a knock at the door,and Dar opened a moment later.  He had the others with him, as well as Sisska.  Sisska was the one that commonly accompanied Miranda when she was alone, and Binter stayed with Keritanima.  He was probably with her now, watching over her as she slept.  "We're here, Tarrin," Dar said.  "Everyone you wanted."
	"Come in and close the door," Tarrin said in a grim tone, a tone they could tell meant that he was not happy.  They filed in as Tarrin set the divan back upright, and beckoned for the girl to sit down.  She did so immediately, fussing with her skirts as she sat and waited for her next order.  Kimmie sat down beside her, which made her seem to relax a little.
	"Everything changed today," Tarrin announced with a grim look at them after they joined him at the divans.  Camara Tal and Miranda were sitting on the divan as the others stood behind and around it, forming a semicircle facing the two Were-cats and the unknown girl wearing one of Kimmie's dresses.  "I got a good look at the true nature of the Sha'Kar today.  And it chilled me."
	Grimly, methodically, and thoroughly, he related the story of what happened that morning.  He left very little out, even going so far as telling them about the way they'd sexually abused the girl, but he intentionally omitted the fact that her being a Druid was the main reason that made him take the course of action he did.  But then again, even if she wasn't a Druid, he probably would have done something about it.  Their violation of her had struck a nerve in him, that same nerve left open and raw from his experience at the hands of Jula's collar.
	"I can't believe that they would do that!" Dar gasped as Camara Tal shook her head grimly, and Phandebrass had a rather resigned, disappointed expression.  The look on Azakar's face was one of barely contained fury, and Miranda looked shocked.  "It's against everything they teach us in the Tower!"
	"I know," Tarrin growled.  "The little fawn is with us now.  I couldn't just leave her there to be used like that, and certainly not to be tortured."
	"I just can't believe that they did that," Dar said, over and over again.  "They seem so nice!"
	"They're nice to you because your'e a Sorcerer, Dar," Camara Tal grunted.  "You don't see the way they look at me or Zak or Phandebrass.  To them, it's like we don't exist.  When that man used magic against the girl, he probably thought of it along the same lines as punishing a dog for staining the carpet."  She snorted. "You may be surprised, but I'm not."
	"It's going to cause problems," Tarrin said in a strangely cold tone.  "Kerri and Dolanna are quite taken with the Sha'Kar.  And Allia--" he closed his eyes and turned his back to them.  "I don't know how she's going to react to this."
	That made them all quiet for a long time.  If even Tarrin wasn't sure what Allia was going to do, then nobody did.
	"What do you think we should do?" Dar asked him.
	"What we're doing now," he replied, looking over his shoulder at the young man.  It wasn't right to call him a boy anymore.  He was sixteen now, nearly seventeen, grown tall and with the faint beginnings of a moustache.  "But now it's very important to finish here soon.  If I stay here too long, 