"Jenna did the right thing," he admonished in a grim tone. "What happened after I went out?"
Jenna stepped forward with Dolanna and Allia. Sarraya, who was sitting on Jenna's shoulder, had to buzz her wings a little to keep from sliding off the young woman's narrow shoulder. "The Demon got off the grounds," she answered. "I'm sorry, Tarrin, but she had a sword to Jasana's throat. Nobody dared challenge her, so they had to let her go. They had no choice. She disappeared into thin air the instant she got on the other side of the fence."
"She's a Demon, Jenna," he said woodenly. "She can Teleport. She had to get off the grounds before she could do it. Now tell me how that Demon got inside the Tower. Didn't anyone notice something like that moving around?"
"We found how she did it," she said, holding up a strange hat. "This is magical. It changes the appearance of anyone who wears it. She got in hiding under an Illusion."
"How did it work on the grounds?" he asked quickly. "Wizard magic won't work here."
"This isn't Wizard magic, brother," she said. "It's a relic left behind from the Age of Power, like the cold metal in our cellar back home, and this one has weaves in it. It's an object of Sorcery."
Tarrin snorted, kicking himself. Of course it was Sorcery. Only Sorcerers could create Illusions. He fixed his eyes on the hat, and he could feel the weaves inside it.
"They found it in Jesmind's apartment," Jenna said. "It must have come off when she attacked."
"What's happened while I was asleep? And where were you, Jenna?" he demanded.
"I was up to my eyeballs in Demons," she snapped in reply. "I had to go out and stop another riot, but when I got there, I was suddenly swarmed over by a horde of Demons. It was all I could do to protect myself and as many as the rioters as I could. And we found that instigator," she said with a growl. "It was a cambisi!"
Almost immediately, the depth of the plan locked in his mind. "And I'll bet a Demon set the fire in the palace," he concluded emotionlessly.
"If they did, I couldn't find any evidence of it," Jenna answered. "They may have just taken advantage of the situation."
Still holding Eron, he patted Jesmind's shoulder comfortingly. "I need your strength right now, my mate," he told her in a calm, icy tone. "We can both fall apart after we get Jasana back."
Jesmind sniffled a few times, then pulled off his shoulder, her eyes haunted, but her expresson stony. "I'm sorry," she apologized in an emotionless manner, much like his own. "You're right. We'll have plenty of time for getting emotional after we get our daughter back."
He took her paw in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. She gave him a wan smile, and he looked to Mist. "Where is Triana?"
"On the way here," Sarraya answered, flexing her wings a little and shifting in her seat on Jenna's shoulder. "She'll be here within the hour, I think. We weren't the only ones attacked, Tarrin," she reported, a little hesitantly. "Keritanima and the rest had to put down their own Demonic incursion."
Tarrin sensed her reluctance. "What happened? Was someone hurt?"
Sarraya lowered her eyes, her expression pensive. "I don't think you're ready to hear this, Tarrin," she warned.
"If you don't tell me now, while I'm too numb to react, you may not like what happens when you do," he warned her bluntly.
"Your grandfather is dead, Tarrin," she blurted. "They killed him when he tried to stop them from getting Jula. They all came after Jula like she was the only thing that mattered."
That was like a knife twisting in him, but it was lost in the weariness and emotional turmoil of knowing his daughter was in the clutches of a Demon. It was just one more on a growing list of reasons to avenge himself against that six-armed Demoness. More fuel for her funeral pyre.
"If Triana hadn't have been there, they would have gotten her," Sarraya said. "Triana found a way to hurt Demons with Druidic magic. I never thought that possible," she added thoughtfully. "It took her a while to recover from using it, and as soon as she did, she started back to the Tower."
"Where are Kerri and the others?"
"Still in Ungardt," she answered. "Kerri's Teleported back here a few times already to check on you, but the rest are holding firm there."
"Bring them back," he said emotionlessly. "There's no reason for them to continue with the charade, especially since it didn't do any bloody good." He snorted shortly. "Let's get everyone in one place, and this is the safest place for them to be right now." He looked at Sarraya. "Why didn't Triana have Kerri Teleport her here?"
"Kerri was out," she answered. "She, Dolanna, and Jula did something to repel the Demons, but it wiped all three of them out. By the time Kerri woke up, Triana was already gone. And nobody can contact Triana while she's travelling, Tarrin. Not even me. When she's doing what she does, it's like she's outside the boundaries of this universe. Nothing can reach her."
Tarrin thought a moment, still holding his son close to him with one paw. It was all very carefully planned and executed. Had it not been executed against him, he would have been impressed by it. Whoever had planned it had identified all their strengths and weaknesses, carefully prepared their plan, then executed it with flawless precision. They had done everything they needed to do to get Jasana. They had lured Jenna off the grounds and then pinned her in one place long enough to keep her from interfering. They had eliminated the danger he posed when they forced the Sorcerers to recall him and burn off all his power defending the grounds against the horde of Demons who were nothing more than a means to deplete him and occupy his attention. They had trapped Keritanima and Dolanna in Ungardt to keep them from stopping what was happening here, and they had cleverly also targeted Jula, his other daughter, in case the attempt to kidnap Jasana failed. That way, they'd have at least one of his daughters to use as leverage to make him hand over the Firestaff. This was a broad, intricate plan, and somehow he just knew that it was the brainchild of that six-armed Demoness. The marilith were supposedly the brains of the Demons, their planners and generals. This was a plan that reeked of her supernatural touch.
"Where is Kimmie?"
"She and Phandebrass are setting down a Wizard barrier around the Tower grounds, just outside the fence," Jenna said stonily. "I have about fifty Wizards and Priests working on it."
"Where did you find them?"
"Some are the Priests of Karas. The rest are Wizards who happened to be in Suld at the moment. After the Demon attack, they agreed to give us some help. Phandebrass is in command down there, believe it or not. I'm not sure how Wizards rank themselves, but Phandebrass seems to be at the top of the pecking order."
"When it's Demons, it concerns everyone," Sarraya said grimly. "There are no groups. It's them and us."
"Well said," Jenna said with a nod.
"It's not a surprise to me," Tarrin said shortly. "He may be a little scattered, but you won't find a better Wizard than Phandebrass."
"What now?" Allia asked him in a calm yet steely voice.
"Now? Now I find out where they have Jasana. Then I go there and destroy everything standing between me and her," he said in an ugly tone, sweeping Mist and Jesmind out of the way as he swung his legs out of the bed. They'd undressed him, but his unclad condition meant absolutely nothing to him as he got out of bed, still holding Eron in his arms. His son was picking absently at the black fur on Tarrin's arm, seemingly content to be held by his father.
"I've tried searching for her, but I can't find a trace of her," Jenna frowned. "She crossed over, Tarrin. As strong as she is, I should be able to sense her anywhere on the planet, but there's nothing. It's like she dropped off the face of the world."