ing.  Though he was fully aware that she was a god, there had always been a kind of unusual informality between the two of them.  She knew his heart and knew that he would obey her without question.  She knew that he loved her and was devoted to her more strongly than any of her other mortal followers.  But he knew that she didnt want him to treat her like a god.  She was comfortable with him treating her like a friend, so long as the simple fact that she was the god didnt leave his mind.  Niami, the goddess of magic, was quite unusual as far as gods went concerning how they expected their worshippers to act towards them.  Since she had so few followers, each one was more than a vassal or a subject, he or she was a friend, and her connection to each of her children was as personal as it was powerful.  To Niami, her Sorcerers were literally her children, young, raw, wild forces which she would take under her gentle wing and nurture, and teach, and love, and make them better than they were before they came to her.
	But the relationship between Tarrin and Niami was quite a bit more complex than that.  Tarrin had once been a god--for about five minutes, anyway--and ever since then she had treated him slightly different.  Less like a child, and more like, like a teenager.  That was the only way he could really explain it.  Her relationship to him was different than it was with all her other children, and he had to admit that it had been so ever since the first time she had spoken to him.  She afforded him a great deal more leeway than any of her other children, more autonomy, and unlike all the others, she would personally answer him every single time he called on her.   He knew that with her, she was literally only a call away.  She didnt do that with any other Sorcerer, not even Jenna.  Tarrin had died after becoming a god, having destroyed himself along with Val, and Niami had made the body he now occupied, literally forming it from the hair that he had left Kimmie as a farewell.  It was the first documented instance, Tarrin believed, of hair growing a body instead of a body growing hair.  He had a feeling that that was another reason she treated him differently.  When hed first awakened after she had placed his soul into this new body, she had told him that she was now his mother, just as much as Elke Kael was his mother.  She had borne him, after a fashion, and even if wasnt technically correct, it was as good as correct for her.  And since she was a goddess, there wasnt anyone around who would dare tell her that she was wrong.
	Where is she? he asked immediately.
	Shes not in the city, she answered, pointing south.  Shes about two days that way, at least on horseback.  Theyve been taking her south as fast as they can since they took her.
	Tarrin quickly made an important connection.  Kerris wrong, he said with a frown.  She said that Miranda would be in the city, and that it was part of their plan.  If shes wrong about this, she might be wrong about their plan.
	Right again, she said with an approving nod.  Mirandas only a decoy, kitten.  Their real target is the sashka.
	Tarrin raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
	Theyre going to have Kalina try to kill the sashka, she explained.  They know that Keritanima is untouchable so long as the Vendari support her.  Theyre trying to drive a wedge between them.  They took Miranda for no reason other than to make her bite on the misinformation they gave to her spies.
	How did you find out about this, mother?  You dont nose into Wikuni politics.
	True, but I got this from someone very close to the source, she answered.  Kikkalli.
	Kikkalli was the leader of the Wikuni pantheon of gods, and was the god who was responsible for Miranda.  If anyone would know where Miranda was, she would.  Being an Avatar of her own creation, Kikkalli had a link to Miranda that no mortal magic could break.
	If theyre after the sashka, then wed better warn Kerri, Tarrin grunted.
	Ive already done that, but you have something to do, kitten, she told him.  Kikkalli wants you to get Miranda and bring her back before the sashka arrives.
	Why?
	Youre allowed to question me, but you dont get to question the orders of other gods, she warned in an authoritative voice.  And it makes me look bad when my kitten backtalks my brothers and sisters.  Especially where they can see it.
	Sorry, Mother, he said contritely.
	Kikkalli has reasons, and its not your place or mine to gainsay them.  This is her land and her people.  Shes allowing me to help, but I am a guest here, not a host.  Ill do things the way she wants them done, and that means so will you.
	Yes, Mother, he said in a submissive tone, his ears wilting a little.  Just tell me where to go, and Ill have Miranda back here before the sashka gets here.  I promise.
	Good.  Kerri has to round up all the leaders of the noble houses and the high priests of the nine Wikuni gods and have an audience in her throne room.  Youre to bring Miranda to the throne room as soon as you reach her.
	Do I have to be gentle? he asked with narrowing eyes.
	Niami looked at him and chuckled, then seemed to be distant for a split second.  No, she answered, obviously relaying the answer.  You can recover Miranda any way you want.  Just please try not to kill everything within a league.
	I hate it when they take away my toys, Tarrin growled, which made the Goddess laugh with a wicked kind of delight.  Where am I going, Mother?
	A small seaside village about thirty leagues south.  When you get close to it, youll know, kitten.  I think Kikkalli is going to give you a sign.
	Thirty leagues?  I can be there in fifteen minutes, he snorted.
	Dont go too fast, kitten, she warned.  Kikkalli has some kind of plan, and part of it is that she doesnt want Miranda to show up until after Keritanima starts her audience.  Give her some time to summon all the people who are supposed to be there.
	Im not leaving her in their hands, Mother, he said adamantly.  Ill recover her and then well wait until its time for her to show up before we move.  I wont leave Miranda in the hands of enemies a second longer than I have to.
	She was distant again.  Thats fine, she relayed.
	Tarrin set his will against the Weave and wove a spell of Air and Divine, the spell to Summon his Elemental.  He needed speed, and that meant that he needed his Air Elemental.  His Fire Elemental could fly if he created a winged form for it, but it wasnt as fast as an Air Elemental.  He finished the shell, the first stage of the spell, then wove the second stage, which would allow the spirit that would animate the shell to enter his world and take up residence within it.
	With a sudden burst of wind, the Air Elemental fully manifested and animated the construct, and the mental connection formed between him and his companion creation--one of the very rare instances when the Cat did not object to a mental link to an alien mind.  The Elemental was invisible to everyone else, but Tarrin and the Goddess could see it by seeing the patterns of magical energy which made up its body.  Unlike other Sorcerers, suikun were so attuned to the power of the Weave that they saw it all the time, even when they werent actively using their power.  Tarrin usually ignored the strands of the Weave, a trick that they had to learn or else theyd forever find their vision obstructed, but it was nothing to shift his attention to the magic that was usually ignored.
	Good luck, and be careful, the Goddess said, stepping away as the Elemental surged forth and enveloped him, so that it could carry him south.
	The people on the street missed either one half or the other of a wondrous sight.  Those whose eyes were pinned to the Were-cats seeming newfound ability to fly, as he lifted from the ground and then darted to the south, missed the tall stripe-haired woman simply vanish in a shimmering flash.

	A trip of thirty leagues was little more than a short jump when one employed an Air Elemental.
	In a half of an hour, Tarrin found himself over a small seaside village, with thatched roofs and buildings made out of red bricks.  He may have just passed it by were it not for the massive albatross that seemed to be circling over the village, a bird twice the size of an average albatross, and just seeing it gave Tarrin a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.  That was his sign, he was sure of it, because that bird was either an Avatar or some kind of image or special animal sent just to get his attention.  If he was right, Miranda was down there, probably in one of those buildings.
	Tarrin reached out with his senses, and nodded to himself.  She was there, alright.  That same sense he felt around her was present, the faint yet distinct aura of someone connected to the moons.  He wasnt quite sure why he could feel it from so far away, but he could.  She was in the largish building close to the sea, facing a very small wharf which was probably used to load and unload very small boats.  Probably nothing larger than a raker.
	But he wasnt here to sightsee.  Feeling his anger rise up in him, not sure what condition he was going to find his dear friend in, Tarrin leaned down on the back of his Elemental and informed the creature which building was their target, even pointing to it.  The Elemental communicated its understanding, and asked him how he wanted it to go about helping him recover Miranda.
	Actually, you can be helpful, he told it aloud.  Think you can rip that roof off without dropping me?
	The Elemental replied with light amusement that such a chore was childs play.
	Good.  Get us closer and let me get ready, then tear off the roof.  Ill kill anything inside thats not Miranda, then we can pick her up and get her back to Wikuna.
	The Elemental registered an immediate objection as it moved them into a position about fifty spans over the target rooftop.
	Alright, you can kill a few of them too, he acceded in a growling tone, his eyes igniting from within with the unholy greenish radiance that marked his anger, quickly turning an incandescent, blazing white as the suikun opened himself to the core of his power, and the Weave flooded him with its majestic might.  Magelight exploded from his body, sheathing him in a pulsing aura of ghostly light, coalescing and shimmering around him like disturbed fog.  That wispy aura suddenly shuddered, then expanded into the blazing four-pointed star which marked a suikun expressing the full potential of his ability, the sign of one of the most powerful magic-users on Sennadar gathering that full, terrible might and preparing to unleash it upon the world.  That power became an entity unto itself, to the point where it lifted Tarrin from the back of his Elemental, holding him aloft of its own volition.
	Freed of its burden, the Elemental darted down and enveloped the thatched frame of the roof, and then quite easily grabbed hold of it like a massive, invisible hand and pulled.  The sound of tearing wood and a sudden explosion of dust and chaff heralded the removal of the roof as the Elemental peeled it off the structure like the rind of an orange, then cast it almost a half a longspan out over the open sea.
	The dust cleared to show a four-roomed abode below, now without a roof, where two Wikuni sat at a small table in the first room, by the door, playing cards.  Two more Wikuni sat at a similar table in the back room, where a trussed-up mink Wikuni was bound to a rickety old chair, a rag tied around her head and between her jaws to keep her from making sound.  Five sets of eyes looked up at the sudden daylight pouring into the house, all of them curiously clean and quite startled by the quick and thorough removal of the roof.  The Elemental had quite considerately pulled the dust upwards and out of the way, so they could see Tarrin, and Tarrin could see them.
	Four sets of eyes widened in surprise, then gaped in terror at the blazing star of furious vengeance that had taken residence over the building, shining the light of impending doom upon them.  The last set of eyes brightened in abject joy, as a dirty, bloody Miranda suddenly squirmed against her bonds and tried to get Tarrins attention.  To make him see her and prevent from getting annihilated in the impending explosion as much to try to get his attention to have him free her.
	The Elemental roared forward, condensing water vapor within itself to become visible as a misty cloud, a cloud that suddenly grew multiple tentacle-like limbs as it descended into the forward room.  With a sound like a raging tornado, the Elemental proceeded to thrash the two Wikuni standing guard in that forward room with whip-like cracks of those many tentacles, flailing about like a maddened animal as the Elemental expressed the fury and outrage of the Sorcerer who had summoned it from the nether.  The other two guards didnt see the demise of their companions, who were quite literally torn apart by the thrashing Elemental, its misty body turning pink as flying blood was absorbed into the mist making it visible, sending chunks of bloody gore and shards of bloodstained wood and cloth flying in all directions, to splatter the walls and spray out from the open roof like some kind of grisly fountain.
	The other two guards didnt see the destruction of their comrades, for their eyes were locked on the painfully bright star which silhouetted the Were-cat suikun, making his body a dark shadow within a blazing concentration of light ten times brighter than the sun.  They saw one of the arms move, to point an opened palm at them, but it was the sound that made them blankly realize that they were dead.  It was a single word, screamed with such incredible force and fury that it caused waves to rush away from the little village and out to sea, pushed forth by the power of that sound.
	DIE!!!!
	A shaft of pure light, so bright it would strike blind the eye that stared into its depths, blasted from that bright star, unleashed by the power of the Sorcerer within.  It tore the air as it raged from the suikun, a sound that almost defied explanation, lancing down into the structure to envelop the two Wikuni who sat at the small table with their plate of cheese and wine so casually laid out upon it.
	Miranda saw it quite clearly.  The figures of the two Wikuni and their table and their chairs became a sudden shadow, much like how Tarrin appeared within his star, and then they simply evaporated, consumed by the brilliant light which surrounded them.  But it did not happen instantaneously.  Each of them screamed horribly as the blazing column of light enveloped them, and that screaming turned into hysterical shrieks of mindless agony as the light ate away at them bit by bit, peeling them away by layers, but neither of them so much as twitched.  There was only that horrid screaming, which lasted but a moment, but was almost like an eternity to the mink Wikunis shuddering ears.  They screamed in that eternal moment until there was nothing but a skeletal silhouette, and then that too simply melted away like snow before the springtime sun.
	Miranda did not even want to think about how painfully those two had died.  Tarrin was a sweet and loving person, but he had absolutely no mercy towards those who did his loved ones harm, and he had an evil need to inflict pain whenever he was outraged or infuriated.  It was part of the dichotomous existence of the Were-cats, who could be so gentle, even tender, one moment, only to turn and inflict malicious pain and injury against others the next.  Good and evil wrapped into one unpredictable package, that was as good a description of a Were-cat as any other.
	Miranda blinked as the light simply stopped, and then peered through a jagged afterimage in her vision at the ground under where the two Wikuni had been.  Much to her curious surprise, there wasnt so much as a scorch mark.  Not even a mote of ash.  Just the bare stones that were the floor of the dwelling.  Whatever Tarrin had done, it affected nothing more than the Wikuni and their furniture, leaving everything else untouched.
	Tarrin descended into the abode, still shrouded in the blazing light of the Sorcerers Star, and even Miranda was totally overwhelmed and awed by the sight of it.  Such power!  She fully knew what he was and what kind of power he possessed, but he so rarely ever displayed it in such a terrible manner!  She gaped at him through her gag, seeing the shadow of his eclipsed by the white light surrounding it, seeing nothing but those glowing white eyes that could be made out beyond the silhouette of his form.  The air around him smelled of ozone, and there was a strange shimmering sound emanating from him, coming from the energy that he was giving off, the power of the Sorcerers Star disturbing the air and creating sound.  Those eyes were narrowed, displaying his anger, and in that moment even Miranda was afraid of him.
	And then it stopped.  The shimmering light simply broke up around him, evaporating away like fog before the morning sun.  The light bled out of his eyes, until there was only the green eyes that she knew so well, vertically slitted pupils narrowed, and then widened as they fixed on her.  He made no motion, but Mirandas bonds simply separated, and the gag fell from her sharp little maw.  The emotion of days of imprisonment suddenly overwhelmed her, and she rushed out of the chair and buried herself in the utter security of Tarrins gentle embrace, weeping out all her fear and worry and relief and elation all at once.
	Its alright, Miranda, Tarrin told her gently, his huge paw resting on her back, nearly taking up the entirety of it down to her shoulder blades.  Im sorry I didnt get here sooner, but I was chasing my tail in Wikuna.
	She gasped.  Kerri--
	Relax, he told her.  Kerris alright.  And I have to get you back to Wikuna.
	She looked up at him curiously.  Kerri has a plan?
	He shook his head.  This is someone elses, he told her.  Are you alright?  Did they hurt you?
	Nothing permanent, aside from a permanently wounded pride, she admitted.  I never saw it coming.
	We all cant be perfect all of the time, he told her.  A rush of air that could only be an Elemental suddenly enveloped them.  At first, Miranda though that Tarrin meant to have the creature take them back to Wikuna, but a sudden blurring of everything around them, replacing the roofless dwelling with the lushly appointed bedchambers of Keritanimas private apartment, told her that he merely recalled the summoned creature so it could return with them.
	I--
	Get cleaned up, he told her, cutting her off.  I dont know how much time we have, but you have to be ready.
	Ready for what?
	I have no idea, he answered.  All I know is that as soon as all the leaders of the noble houses finish gathering in Kerris throne room, you have to go there.  Dont you want to look presentable, or do you want to go looking like a street urchin?
	She gave him a look, then laughed.  Though his words were blunt, brusque, the emotion behind his eyes told her how worried he was, how concerned he was, and how protective he was feeling at that moment.  Im fine, Tarrin, she told him with a light pat on his furred forearm.  You forget, Im a big girl.  Ive been in messy situations before.  Its not the first time Ive been tied up in a dark room.
	Itll be the last time, he bristled.
	She chuckled, then grabbed him by the vest and pulled on it until he leaned down.  Once his head was low enough, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and gave him a sweet, playful kiss.  Which, for a Wikuni, meant a lick.  Why do you think I wasnt that worried? she asked.  When your best friends are the most powerful magicians in the world, it gives a girl a feeling of security.
	Tarrin narrowed his eyes, then blew out his breath in a gruff manner, trying to hide his emotions.  He was like that sometimes, shed noticed.  Go, he told her.  And dont leave the apartment, he added as he turned and looked out the window.
	The air swirled around her as the Elemental creature, again invisible, slid around and between them, then gathered around the Were-cat like some kind of loving child.  She could tell because the air continually moved around him, pulling at his braid and his bangs, tugging at his vest, and ruffling the curtains by the window.  Odd that a magician of such power like him would call on something like an Elemental for help, but that was a matter to ponder at some other time.  She was indeed a mess; fur matted with dirt and dried blood, dress torn and filthy, and she smelled like the bootsole of a sewer cleaner.  A little cleaning up was definitely in order.
	Uh, Tarrin, love, would you be a dear and give me a hand? she asked sweetly.  Kerri does this trick where she cleans herself completely up--
	Without a gesture, without even looking at her, a sudden cold rush washed over her fur.  It felt like a hundred cold, wet hands crawling all over her, touching her all the way down to her skin.  She gasped in surprise as her dress billowed out from her, as air blew under it and through it, pulling free every single speck of dust and every whiff of foul odor.  In the blink of an eye, Miranda was immaculately clean, her fur soft and silky and groomed, and her dress as pristine as the day the material came off the loom.  It was still torn, but it was clean.
	You are such a dear, she said with a winsome, cheeky grin, then rushed towards the closet to change into a dress suitable for an appearance in the throne room during a formal audience.
	Miranda quickly changed clothes, aware the entire time that Tarrins eyes did not leave that window.  He was watching for any sign of another attack, despite knowing that they were both perfectly safe within the confines of Keritanimas bedchamber.  She was more concerned with this audience that Keritanima was holding.  Miranda had no idea what Keritanima was going to do, but it did not sound good.  Every time she called a full audience like this, entire noble houses tended to disappear.  Had she ferreted out who was to blame, and intended to punish the perpetrator in full view of the noble houses?  She smoothed the skirts of a simple gray dress with a laced neckline, which clung to her curves appealingly, and fretted over it.  The noble houses may get too nervous if Keritanima destroyed a handful of them in retaliation, and desperate men and women did desperate things.  Desperate things were not easy to counter.  She ran her fingers through her blond hair, poofing up the side part that hung over her eyes, tucking it up over her round mink ear to lock it into place.  Something told her that she wasnt going to look forward to this audience.
	With abrupt speed, Tarrin turned and faced her.  They want us to go, he announced.
	They?  Who were they?  Keritanima would have Whispered to him to tell him to come, and he would have said that she wanted them.
	She got suspicious as Tarrin led them through the halls of the palace, the shortest route to the throne room.  He had been to the palace many, many times, and knew the twists and turns of its passages as well as any resident.  They were met at one intersection by Triana and Jula, who took one look at Miranda and seemed to sigh in relief.  Tarrin must have Whispered or used Druidic magic to summon them.  If she felt safe before, she felt all but invulnerable now.
	Youre looking alright, Miranda, Jula smiled.
	Of course I am, she replied with a cheeky grin.  With a big, strong protector like Tarrin around, how could a girl be anything else?
	They escorted her to the throne room, along with that air Elemental ghosting around as a surprising extra layer of defense, and Tarrin threw the door open and marched in without waiting to be announced by the Chamberlain.  Beyond him, in the cavernous chamber that housed the throne of Wikuna, stood the entirety of the noble houses.  Not just the leaders, Miranda saw.  Anyone in position of authority in the noble houses was in attendance.  Not only did they stand waiting, but several of the commoner members of the House of Commons also had been summoned, as had the mayor of Wikuna.  If that wasnt enough, the High Priests of all nine Wikuni gods were also attending, eyeing one another and trying to look smugly superior to the rest of the population of the room.
	Now Miranda was curious.  The nobles, the commoner leaders in Parliament, and the ruling clergy of the churches?  Keritanima must have something spectacular up her sleeve.
	Miranda, Keritanima called in both relief and Royal authority, a command for her to attend smothered in joy at seeing her safely returned.  She remained seated, garbed in her purple robes, wearing her elegant crown, and with her sceptre laid lightly in her lap with one hand holding its end to keep it from sliding off.  To her immediate right stood the Prince Consort, her husband Rallix, resplendent in a deep blue doublet lined with ermine and a simple gold crown over his banded face.  To her left, beyond an empty area reserved for Miranda, stood Jervis, the floppy-eared, deceptively mild-looking rabbit Wikuni who served as one of Keritanimas closest advisors along with being the head of her spy network.  To their sides, and to the sides of the front of the dais, stood both the Royal Guard, resplendent in their gleaming armor, and the Vendari who served to aid the Royal Guard, including Binter and Sisska.
	All eyes werent on Miranda, however.  They were all glued to Tarrin, Triana, and Jula, who drew themselves up with every bit of arrogant posturing a Were-cat could muster and dominated the entire throne room with their presence.  The dark scowls on all three faces told everyone in the room that they were not happy, and since the Questing Game had ended with Tarrins victory, his reputation for destructive retaliation was widely known and feared.  That allowed her to cross the room without attacting much attention, moving quickly and regally towards the dais holding the throne.  One of the Royal Guard stepped forward and offered Miranda his hand, and she took it with a cheeky smile and let him help her up onto the dais.
	But as soon as she let go of the helpful guards hand and stood upon the dais, it was as if she was pushed aside within her own mind and body.  She found herself replaced by another, another whose power terrified the Wikuni nearly into insensibility.
	The power of a god.

	The change in Miranda was dramatic and shocking.  In an instant, her expression changed from that winsome, carefree look she often had to a look of solemn determination, and she drew herself up to stand as if she were the queen instead of Keritanima.  But there was much more to it than that, Tarrin could sense.  A sudden rush of power erupted from the slender Wikuni, power that anyone with any kind of magical aptitude whatsoever could immediately sense, could not help but notice, a power that easily eclipsed anything that Tarrin or Jula or Triana or Keritanima could ever manage.  But it was not a visible power, it was a power of presence and potential, as if that vast power were held back, but not hidden.
	That sudden shift was not lost on some in the room.  All nine High Priests eyes instantly snapped from the Were-cats to Miranda, and all of them gaped like a deer staring into the maw of a hungry rock lion, and then immediately sank to their knees.
	Then came the inevitable attention-getting display.  Mirandas body exploded with sudden light, startling everyone in the room, even Keritanima, and she was suddenly picked up by the very light that surrounded her.  That light shimmered and writhed, and then took form, expanding into the shape of a bipedal creature with triangular ears on top of its head.  Miranda was easily visible within that light-shape, but it was obvious to all that she was no longer the focus of sentience.  Her eyes were wide open and blazing with white light, almost like a Sorcerer, and her expression was blank, as if she were no more than a doll.  The light shimmered and contracted, until a fifteen span tall fox Wikuni stood with Miranda enclosed within its torso, wearing a simple sailors shirt and trousers with a ragged sash tied about the waist.  It was a female Wikuni with flowing hair that billowed as if in a breeze, waving in time with the snapping of the tails of her sash.
	This was the chosen form of Kikkalli, the Wikuni goddess of the sea, sailing, and the sky, and ruler of the Wikuni pantheon.  This was the full expression of Mirandas power as an Avatar, the ability to serve as a vessel for the spirit of her godly mother.
	ENOUGH! the form suddenly boomed at the stunned gathering, who gaped at the apparition.  Some looked a little suspicious, probably thinking it no more than another trick of the Sorcerer Queen, but there was a terrible sense of power that surrounded the vision that made anyone who gazed upon it know beyond any doubt that it was not an Illusion.  Just like his Mother, the Elder Goddess Niami, Kikkallis voice vibrated in a choral effect, as if no one voice could contain the power behind it.  An arm of light swept out in an accusing point that swept across the room.  It was not Keritanima that called you here, my disappointing, children, it was me, she raged.  You have tried my patience for the last time!
	Why should we listen to another of her Majestys Illusions? a stout female bear Wikuni called confidently.  Vora Plantan, one of the more dangerous noble leaders.
	YOU DOUBT ME? the figures voice blasted through the room, knocking down anyone standing before her out to fifteen spans away.  Her head snapped to the nine High Priests who stood to the side of the dais, who all looked upon the image as if it were Death Himself come to claim them.  Speak! she snapped at them.
	Y-You stand before the glory of the Wavemistress, M-Mother Moon, the G-Goddess Kikkalli, one of them said in a quavering voice, bowing his head and putting a hand on the floor in supplication.  Goddess of goddesses and queen of all.
	That got everyones attention.  The speaker was the High Priest of Kikkalli himself, and everyone in the room knew that he would never in his right mind make such a statement if it were not true.  A ripple of consternation swept through the assembled audience, and then they started dropping to their