"On schedule, more or less. I'm about two days from a place called Cloud Spire, and the Selani clans are gathering there for their yearly meeting."
"I didn't ask where you were, I asked how you were doing," she said archly.
"I'm alright, sister," he replied calmly. "I'm well and whole, at least right now."
"You're being evasive, Tarrin," she accused.
"I know. Things have happened to me here that I don't want spread around. They'll see it soon enough in a while."
"You won't even tell me?"
"I'd love to, sister, but unfortunately I have no idea how many other people I'm talking to at the moment."
"Alright, I get the point," she sighed. "I take it that it's going to apply to where you've been and what you've done?"
"More or less. I can tell you that I'm travelling with a pair of Selani, but I'll be leaving them behind once we reach the Cloud Spire. That's half the reason I'm going that way."
"What are they like?"
"Nothing like Allia," Tarrin chuckled. "Var is reserved, but he's a little stiff. That's because I still don't really like him, so he won't be himself around me. Denai is another matter."
"Uh oh," Keritnaima giggled. "I take it she's a handful?"
"Imagine Sarraya with no reservations."
Keritanima laughed. "She can't be that bad."
"She intentionally threw herself off a longspan-high cliff just to impress Var," he told her. "She's worse than Sarraya. She has absolutely no fear. Not of the desert, not of me, and not of just about anything. She's old enough to be an adult, but young enough to be stupid."
Keritanima was howling with laughter, and it took her a moment to get back under control. "Well then, I imagine that your nerves are pretty much well shot."
"Not really. I finally found a threat gruesome enough for her to believe. She's been pretty tame the last few days."
"Sounds like you like her."
"Why do you think that?"
"You have a soft spot for fearless little girls. Besides, if she's not afraid of you, if she's like you say she is, she probably flaunts the fact that she's not afraid of you in your face."
"She's done it a few times," he admitted. "Not lately, though. I frightened her pretty well after that stunt at the cliff."
"What's she like other than that?"
"She's a typical teenager. She talks too much, she's combative, competitive, devious, manipulative, and she thinks she knows everything."
"Sounds like a typical teen to me," Keritanima chuckled. "It's good to see that certain age qualities are universal across races. I guess it gives us all common ground."
"Maybe. Have you talked to Allia?"
"Yesterday. They're doing alright. Allia's getting a little restless, sitting in the Tower. Dolanna, Camara Tal, and Sevren are trying to find the traitor in the Tower, and Dar is getting a little aggravated with Allia, because she follows him everywhere he goes. Phandebrass hasn't come out of the library yet, and Triana is still here, training Jula."
"Did Allia tell you why Jula attacked the Keeper?"
"She did. It seemed that they were having a discussion, it turned into an argument, the Keeper tried to take Jula's amulet, and that set her off. From the sound of it, Jula and the Keeper never really got along, and it's alot worse now. Jula is a pariah in the Tower. None of the Sorcerers want anything to do with her, because she betrayed the order. There have been a few attempts to have the Council and the Keeper throw her out. None of them are crazy enough to attack Jula directly, though, so they have little choice but to try to go through Tower politics."
"I can imagine."
"It's more than that. It turns out that being a Were-cat makes Sorcery stronger. Jula's power has increased significantly since she got to the Tower. She's more than a match for anyone in the Tower. Add in those claws and her Were gifts, and she's nearly as dangerous as you."
"Huh. I didn't know that."
"Some of the Lorefinders are studying Jula to try to find out why," Keritanima told him. "So far, it's been a mystery."
"I can't think of why," he mused to himself, thinking about it. And he really couldn't. "That happened to me too?"
"They can't tell, because you got there after you were turned. They never got to see your power when you were human. Jula's abilities were well known before, so they have something to gauge her against now." There was a pause. "Jervis just came in, Tarrin, and he's carrying a sheaf of documents. I guess it's time to go to work."
"Work? I thought that you had someone doing that for you."
" Sashka handles running the day-to-day operation of the kingdom, but he always sends the important issues to me through the priests. I've been getting a steady stream of documents since I left Wikuna. I've been managing the kingdom from my stateroom since we left. I make the decisions, and Sashka makes sure they're carried out. Anyway, I have to go now, Tarrin. Work calls. Don't be a stranger, alright? Try to contact both of us at least every few days. We worry about you."
"I'll try, sister. Go on and do your Queen thing. It's about time for us to move anyway."
"Do the Queen Thing," Keritanima chuckled. "I like the sound of it. Bye Tarrin. Safe journey."
"Be well, sister," he replied, then he let go of his amulet.
Well, that explained some things. He'd been wondering what happened to Jula, when Triana didn't contact him again. Triana was like that sometimes. If she didn't deem it important, she didn't pass it on. The problem was that she thought it trivial, where he did not. It sounded like things in the Tower were under control, and Keritanima would soon be there as well. All he needed to do now was get there himself.
He happened to glance up in time to see three winged figures pass overhead, high in the sky. Their form and shape reminded him instantly of Ariana, and he was positive that they were the same race. Aeradalla. Their large wings cutting the air, they soared high overhead, moving back towards the canyon some ten days behind. At least on foot. For them, it was probably a day's flight. Even running at full speed, he could never hope to keep up with them. They were the first Aeradalla he'd seen so far, and he wondered why. Var and Denai said that they were a common sight in this region. Perhaps the Gathering had upset them a little, and they all decided to stay at the top of the Cloud Spire instead of being seen by the gathered Selani.
If they were flying towards the canyon, he guessed that they were out for food. There was certainly enough of it down there. He was certain that their flight down through those winds would be challenging.
Sarraya flitted up and landed on the stone in front of him. "You look all happy. Talk to someone?"
"Kerri," he replied. "Look at that."
"I saw them," Sarraya said. "It looks silly for them to have wings like that. They must be cumbersome."
"Wings are wings."
"Really," Sarraya scoffed. "Different wings mean different flying styles. Those Aeradalla are slow and ungainly in the air. They can't hover, they can't change directions quickly, and it takes them forever to get up to speed. My wings are far superior."
"And your wings wouldn't be able to lift that much weight, even if you were their size," he told her pointedly. "Dragonfly wings are suited for little people."
"Since I'm not that size, that's not an issue, is it?"
"No, but you'll always have to live with the fact that they can fly much further than you, much faster than you. You can't glide, and those little bee's wings can't muster up much speed."
"You take all the fun out of being superior," Sarraya said sourly.