"But she worships a different god."
"That doesn't matter," she replied immediately. "A long time ago, when the Younger Gods began to appear and we decided to allow them to give power to mortals, we all gathered together and debated the issue. I won't go into the details, but the result of that was a stricture stating that no god could grant any power that another god couldn't also grant, or conversely, a special power granted to a Priest could not exceed the power other gods granted to their Priests. The short of it, since it's a rather long-winded explanation and story about how we argued about the meaning of that rule, was that the ways in which a god can grant spells to a priest were standardized. That means that the spells that Camara Tal knows to seek power from her goddess are the same spells you would use to seek power from me. You just direct them to me instead of some other god, that's all."
"I didn't know that."
"You would have if you studied anything," she said sharply. "Priests do have one other power not related to spells, and that's that they can use our power to affect the undead and creatures of darkness."
"Like Demons?"
"No Demon could be affected by a power as weak as turning, kitten," she corrected him. "What you used was a spell, a very strong Priest spell."
"Oh. Why did they make up that rule, anyway?"
"To make sure that all Priests were equal," the Goddess told him. "Very early on, the Younger Gods realized that an effective way to reduce the power of a rival Younger God was to kill off his worshippers, so they tried to super-charge the Priests to turn them into war machines. The stricture was placed to give a Priest of one god a fighting chance against a Priest of another god. A Priest of higher rank, naturally, does gain more powers than an acolyte, but his power is equal to a Priest of comparable rank in another god's order. That keeps the Priests balanced and the gods they serve from getting any nasty ideas."
"I never dreamed being a god was so, political," he mused.
She laughed loudly, and for a long moment. "It's a very overrated profession, kitten," she beamed at him. "Sometimes I almost think I'd have preferred being a mortal."
"That explains why you like me to treat you like one," he reasoned.
"Not as a mortal, kitten. As a friend. I value your love more when it's given to me as more than just your god. Your love for me is deep and sincere, because you love me as a friend as much as you do as a god."
There wasn't much he could say to that. He bowed his head and let the moment pass. "When do you want us to leave?"
"As soon as possible,"she replied. "Even if you have to carry Keritanima to a ship on a stretcher. I'd like you to be on your way in two days at the most."
"I think that's workable for us, Mother. We knew we'd have to get to Wikuna before the summer solstice, and with the battle slowing us down, we knew it was going to be close. That we may have to jump on a ship as soon as the war was over. I guess we were right," he said with a rueful chuckle.
"You should think about how you're going to handle leaving," she told him. "You know that you can't take Jesmind and Jasana."
"I wouldn't be able to get Jesmind on the ship," he sighed. "Jenna can keep Jasana throttled, so I've already made those plans. They're staying here, in the Tower, until I get back. They have to stay near Jenna, and Jenna needs to be here."
"What about Jula?"
"I don't know yet," he replied. "That's going to be her decision. If she wants to come with me, she's welcome. I'll have to train Kerri in Weavespinner magic. One more pupil won't be too much of a burden."
"I see. What about the others?"
"Well, you said when we started that Allia, Kerri, Dolanna, Azakar, and Dar had to come, so they're going whether they want to or not," he said. "The others, well, I guess it's their decisions as to whether they come or not."
"I'll tell you now, kitten, Sarraya won't be going with you."
"Why not?" he asked in surprise. The idea of going without Sarraya seemed very daunting. The little bug was a pest, but she was one of his closer friends, and she was very dependable when things got serious. It was just all the other times that one had to put up with her.
"How long has she been with you, kitten?"
"About a year or so," he replied after thinking about it a moment.
"And before that, she was off on her own doing work for the katzh-dashi. She's been out on her own for nearly three years, and she's starting to weaken. She's reached the point where she has to return to her colony and be with her own kind, or she'll get weaker and weaker, and eventually die."
Tarrin remembered Sarraya telling him about that, that Faeries didn't live very long if they were separated from their colonies. Being a Druid, Sarraya was capable of living away from her colony for a very long time, but he didn't realize that she'd been out on her own for so long. If that were the case, then he wouldn't let her come with him. Sarraya's health was more important than his need for her to come along.
"I'm going to miss her," he sighed. "And I don't believe I just said that."
"She's annoying, but she's lovable," the Goddess chuckled. "Are you ready, kitten?"
Despite it being cryptic, he seemed to understand her meaning. "Not really, but I don't have much choice," he sighed. "Now that I've experienced a little domestic tranquility, it's going to kill me to leave Jesmind and Jasana behind."
"I wouldn't call a day in the Kael house very tranquil," the Goddess laughed.
"Well, tranquil for us," he said with a sheepish smile. "If we didn't fight every day, I'd think that Jesmind didn't love me anymore."
"They'll be here waiting for you when you come home, kitten," the Goddess assured him. "Think of it as motivation to come back soon."
"I'll have enough of that," he grunted. "Did we do well, Mother?" he asked quietly.
"Kitten, I haven't been this proud of my children since the Blood War," she said emphatically. "You were wonderful. All of you were."
Tarrin flushed slightly at the praise, then she stood up. "It's getting late, and Jesmind is waiting for you," she told him. "She's still nervous about what happened, and Jasana hasn't quite recovered yet. They need you right now, kitten."
"Alright, Mother," he said, standing himself. They stepped over to the fountain, and he dutifully helped her step up to again stand on the water's surface like it was solid ground. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and the touch of her lips against his skin sent a shockwave through him, scouring away his exhaustion and leaving him feeling refreshed and well. "That was for being my savior today," she smiled down at him, then she kissed him on the other cheek. It too sent a shockwave through him, but didn't change his physical state as the first had. "And that is for being so loyal. And this is for being my friend," she added, then she leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. He bowed his head humbly, feeling beyond blessed, feeling like he was the luckiest Were-cat alive. She put a finger under his chin and lifted his face up so she could look into his eyes. "And this is because I love you," she said with a gentle voice, putting her hands on his shoulders, leaning down, and then kissing him ever-so-lightly on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but the power within her struck him when her lips touched his, and he felt his knees wobble from it. She looked down at him, then laughed lightly. "Even a goddess likes to see that a kiss from her makes a man's knees weak," she teased, then she actually winked at him. "You get yourself home, young man, and think about what I've said. I'll talk to you later, alright?"