Tarrin reeled as he drew on all his experience, all his knowledge to fend off Jasana's innocent attempt to Circle, but it wasn't easy. Her raw power eclipsed him, but she had no experience and very little control over that power.
How could he have been so wrong! How could he have underestimated his daughter so badly! She didn't have the same sense as himself or Spyder, that sense of impresson on the Weave; he realized it was because she had yet to cross over, to become sui'kun. Hers was a very light touch, a deceptive mask hiding the true extent of magical power that was hidden inside her, because only a portion of that power had been realized.
It was unbelievable! This child, not even two years old, was the most powerful Sorcerer alive!
Tarrin resisted that powerful attempt to join with him, pushing it away from himself, and then his illusory form solidified. "I have to go, now," he said shortly.
"Tarrin, what happened?" Keritanima asked quickly.
"My daughter happened, that's what," he said tersely. "If she was trying to get my attention, she certainly succeeded."
"What did she do, bite you?" Keritanima asked.
"Something like that," he replied, giving her a look that the Keeper couldn't see, a look that told her not to press the issue. "I have to go, before she does something worse."
Keritanima nodded imperceptibly, then chuckled. "You're right. She is as bad as I am," she grinned.
"I'll talk to you in a while, cub," Triana told him. "After you find out what Jasana wants."
"Alright, mother," he said. "I'll talk to you later."
He let his image dissolve as he abandoned it, then sent his consciousness back into his body in the blink of an eye.
He opened his eyes and found Jasana standing in his lap, tugging on his amulet fearfully, tears actually sliding down her cheeks. "Papa!" she cried out, collapsing against him. "I didn't know what was wrong with you!"
Tarrin enfolded the frightened little girl in his arms and comforted her. "Nothing was wrong, kitten," he said quietly, calmly, gently. "I was just talking to someone with magic, that's all. When I do that, I can't see or hear what's going on around me. That's why I wouldn't say anything."
"It was more than that!" she sniffled. "It was like you weren't there! Like you were dead!"
Tarrin was surprised. When he was joined to the Weave, it was apparent that he was breathing, but without his consciousness in his body, he may seem dead to someone sensitive to that kind of thing.
"That's a part of it, Jasana," he assured her. "It's nothing you should be afraid of."
"I wanted to find you," she said, her voice telling him that she was calming down.
"I know. I felt it." He pushed her out to where he could look her in the eye. "Promise me you won't try to do that again unless I tell you that you can, alright? You almost got lost, kitten. If you would have managed to come in to find me like that, I don't know what would have happened."
"Alright," she sniffled, wiping at her nose. "I'm sorry if I scared you, papa."
"Surprised me more than anything else," he smiled gently in reply. "What you did, kitten, it's something that I didn't think you could do. Do you know what it is?"
"No, not really," she replied.
"For now, it's best that it stays that way, kitten," he told her. "I don't think you're ready for that quite yet." He tapped her on the end of her pert little nose, making her giggle. "Are you hungry?"
"No, not really," she said with an adorable smile.
"Well, that's too bad, because you're going to eat anyway," he told her firmly, rising to his feet with his daughter in his arms. She put her arms around his neck, and Tarrin carried her back to the house.
One thing was for certain. He was certainly going to have his paws full trying to handle her if she started trying to touch the Weave. She had awesome power, but she had no training and no control. That was his only advantage. Dolanna had taught him long ago that raw power was only a portion of the true power of Sorcery. Dolanna's exceptional skill at Sorcery made her a stronger all-around Sorcerer than him-at least at that time-because of her many years of her experience. She could even handle his power for limited amounts of time, despite the fact that he was so much stronger than she was.
Jesmind was standing near the fire, a pan of sizzling ham steaks sending their delicious smell through the house. Seeing her like that both incited his anger of her, and reminded him how much he had missed her.
"It's about time," she grunted. "I was about to come out and get you two."
"I need to talk to Garyth," Tarrin said immediately. "Do you know where he is?"
"No, but he shouldn't be too hard to track down," Jesmind replied. "If we should even bother."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because if you killed the Dals, then the people in the village told him about it, and that means he'll probably show up very soon to talk to you. Odds are, he'll be dragging along all the important people in the village with him."
"Probably," he agreed, seeing the broken table still lying in the corner, where Jesmind had pushed it for the moment. Absently reaching within, through the Cat, touching his Druidic power, he Created a new table exactly like the old one, which appeared in the same spot the old table had been.
"Wow!" Jasana said immediately. "Did you do that, papa?"
"Yes, I did that, cub," he told her absently, sitting at the chair that was now in front of the table.
"I told you, cub, your father's a magician. He knows alot of magic."
"Can you teach me!?" she asked quickly and excitedly.
"I'll teach you when you're old enough to handle it, cub," he told her evenly. "You're too young yet."
"When will that be?"
"When you're old enough to know when to use your magic and when not to use your magic," he told her firmly.
"I know that!"
"Riiiight," Tarrin drawled. "And what just happened outside, young lady?"
Jasana blushed slightly, looking at the floor.
"Exactly," Tarrin said with an edge of finality in his voice.
"What did she do?" Jesmind asked curiously.
"Something that almost got her in big trouble," he said with a stern look at her. "Magic is not a toy, Jasana. If you do something wrong, it can hurt you very badly, even kill you. When you're old enough to appreciate that, I'll teach you. But not before."
"Yes, papa," Jasana sighed.
"Go wash up for breakfast, cub," Jesmind said sharply. "Hop."
"Yes, mama," she said obediently, scurrying off towards Jenna's old room.
"What happened out there?" Jesmind asked him in a low tone, coming over to stand before him.
"She tried to use her magic in a way I never dreamed she'd be capable of," he replied in a similar tone. "It's something that you can't do unless you're trained to do it, yet she very nearly pulled it off. She would have, if I hadn't have stopped it."
"Is it something I should worry about?" she asked nervously, concern for her daughter evident in her voice.
"No, I think it scared her, so she won't try it again," he answered, his anger towards her softening just a bit after seeing the worry in her eyes, worry for their daughter. He couldn't fault her for that. "I'm not quite sure what to do about her, Jesmind. Her power-" he shuddered. "She's stronger than me. If she learns how to touch the Weave and starts throwing magic around wildly, she could do some serious damage."