There was no time. The Weave was reacting to her, and if he didn't move quickly- now -she was going to succeed in what she was trying to do. Flooding himself with the power, causing his paws to explode into Magelight, he diverted that energy away from his daughter by draining it into himself. She opened her eyes with an almost exultant look on her face, Jasana reached out towards him with those tiny paws-
– -and he felt her power reach out to him, exactly as it had done the day before. But he was joined with the Weave this time, joined in power, and he was too busy managing that power to attempt to deflect his daughter a second time. Before he could conceive of a way to use the power he held to stop her, she managed to form that bond between them, managed to lock herself to him in a manner that he had only experienced a rare few times before.
Jasana had formed a Circle with him.
The shift in the Weave was dramatic and unmistakable. Their two separate powers combined into a whole that was stronger than the sum of its parts, and a tenuous link materialized inside him, a tiny piece of his daughter's mind that had joined to his own. That link of minds was something that the Cat violently rejected every time he had tried to Circle before, but this time, it saw in the link something that did not seem alien to it. The Cat welcomed this link where it had rejected all others, because the one at the other side of the link was another Were-cat.
Jasana's child mind had formed the Circle with Tarrin leading it, acceding to the authority of her father, and he could feel her through that mental bond. She had no fear of what was happening, what she had done, more satisfied that she had done something she thought she could do rather than fearing this strange new sensation.
What else he could feel was their power. Incredible! Even untrained, Jasana's power was monstrous, and that power had joined with his to become something greater than what they were alone. Tarrin found himself in command of that might, the might to rearrange the world, the might to nearly feel like they could challenge the gods themselves. It was almost intoxicating!
Too intoxicating. No mortal was meant to experience that, meant to command such incredible magical power. He realized that quickly, that the power was a trap unto itself, tempting him to use it. And in that use, he would become its slave. The combined might of their united powers was his to command, and he realized quickly that that meant that it was also his to disburse.
Instinctively knowing what to do, Tarrin severed the link with his daughter, causing their united whole to split back into its component parts. The draining feeling of that was formidable, making him drop to his knees, but it had little effect on his daughter, making her merely sag her shoulders. It was because she was the stronger of them, he knew it. That's why it didn't affect her as hard as it did him.
"Are you alright, papa?" Jasana asked in concern.
"Cub, never do that again!" he managed to shout. "You nearly killed yourself!"
"Killed?" she asked with suddenly wide eyes.
"Yes, killed!" he shouted angrily. "What you almost touched, cub, it's not for those who don't know what they're doing! If you'd have managed to do what you were trying to do, it would have killed you!"
"I'm sorry," she said with sudden fright. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to make you angry, papa, honest!"
Tarrin blew out his breath as Garyth's hands rested on his shoulder, under his arm, helping him to his feet. Amazing! Jasana had Circled with him, without knowing what she was doing!
And what was much, much worse, she had managed to consciously touch the Weave. Done once, it could then be done again and again. Tarrin's worst nightmare had become a reality, because now his daughter could, at any time, incinerate herself with High Sorcery.
"Tarrin, lad, what happened?" Garyth said in fright. "You and Jasana were glowing! Are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine, Garyth, just a little drained," he said shortly, regaining his feet and glaring down at his daughter. He was at a loss now. Jasana had consciously used her power, and now she could do it again. No matter how much he warned her or scared her, her childish curiosity would eventually make her do it again. And if he wasn't there to stop her-
He shivered. What was he going to do now?
Jasana hugged his leg tightly. It was apparent she was either terrified or trying to divert his anger. Either way, he felt that standing in the middle of a pack of gawking humans was not helping. He reached down and scooped her up into his arm, then looked down at Garyth. "Come for dinner, Garyth. We'll talk about when we're leaving then. Right now, I have to get Jasana home."
"I understand, lad," Garyth nodded. "I'll be there."
Without another word, Tarrin carried his daughter out of Aldreth, moving swiftly towards home, his mind racing. Jasana was active now! He couldn't leave her alone, but he had no choice, he had to leave! He was stuck between duty to the Goddess and duty to his mate and daughter. He wasn't about to sacrifice Jasana to find the Firestaff. The entire world could go to hell first! He could not leave her alone now. There was absolutely no choice in the matter.
I wouldn't ask that of you, kitten, the Goddess called in his mind. I feel your confusion and your indecision, my kitten, so allow me to solve it for you.
"How?" he asked aloud.
Take her with you, she told him. That is not a suggestion, Tarrin. That's an order. She goes with you.
"Are you crazy?" he demanded hotly.
"What, papa?" Jasana asked fearfully.
"Nevermind, cub," he muttered under his breath, shifting his mode of communication. Are you crazy, Mother? I'm going to war! I'm not about to take my daughter into a battle!
You don't have to take her into a battle, but she does need to go with you, kitten, she said firmly. If you don't stay near her, she's going to end up killing herself. We both know that.
He couldn't argue that point.
So the only option is to bring her with you, she continued. Jesmind can watch her when you have to leave to take care of your fighting. Besides, I want you to consider one thing.
"What?"
What you could do if you and Jasana were linked, she said in a nearly seducing tone. Together, your combined power is formidable. When it comes time to defend Suld, don't you think that that power would be best served protecting my icon?
Tarrin stopped dead in his tracks. He remembered too well what it had felt like to hold that kind of power, but to use it… It made him shudder. The damage he could cause commanding magic of that power would be mind-numbing. The bodies of the innocent dead would pile up by the thousands around them. With that kind of power, he could shatter the walls of Suld, tear the earth a new Scar…
He could kill a sizable chunk of a massive enemy army.
Yes, that's right, kitten, she said reasonably. It's not a sin to use the power I gave you, because I trust you to use it responsibly. And if you do use it, you'll be saving many more lives than you may take defending Suld, saving the lives of those men who would have had to fight and die to defend my icon, and the lives of the innocents that would be caught in the middle, should the invaders breach the walls and get into the city.
He slumped his shoulders. The thought of using that power both thrilled and sickened him, and he knew that he would have to kill, kill on a scale upon which he had never killed before. The old eyeless face suddenly ghosted up from where it had been hiding all these months, and it made him fear that it would have many, many more for company very soon. He would personally be responsible for the deaths of thousands, but he saw no other way. Better to be responsible for the deaths of ten thousand enemies than a single innocent, if they managed to break into Suld and attack the civilians in the city.
But in the end, no matter what he thought about it, he had no choice. The Goddess had ordered him to do it, and he could not-would not-disobey.