"And that," Jenna said with a smile, "is why they're called the Cat's Claws."
Tarrin stared at the weapon merged with his hand in awe. He had full flexibility in his hand, as the liquid-seeming metal moved with his hand. It didn't even pull at the hairs on his fingers. The metal was like a part of his skin, moving just as easily, and was not uncomfortable in the slightest. The metal only covered the back of his hand, leaving his palm clear. The four individual claws reaching out over his fingers seemed attached to the tips, moving with them. He turned his hand over and very slowly and carefull closed his hand, watching the claws fold over with his fingertips until the four inside edges were just barely touching the heel of his hand.
"Don't worry about these," she told him. "They won't ever cut you. If you close your fist, they'll simply bend around your skin. You can even make them release from your fingers and stick straight out from the top of your fist if that's what you want. These are Adamantite too, so I don't think anyone's going to manage to cut your hand off while the claws are active."
Tarrin looked down at it, amazed by it. What amazing things! And they were his! To own even one magical object was something the richest man could only dream of, but to own three! It was almost unreal! His amulet, the sword, and these amazing bracers! How much luck could one family have?
"Do you like them?" Jenna asked with a smile.
"Like them? Jenna, I don't know what to say!" he exclaimed. "They're incredible! How can I ever match gifts like these?"
"It's very simple, brother," she said soberly. "You can live. I made these specifically to help you. Don't forget what's out there. I think these will help you stay alive, and so I made them for you. I'll do whatever I can to help keep you alive, because you're my brother, and I love you."
It was said in a calm voice, but he could see the emotion behind her eyes. She meant every word of it, and for the first time, he saw how worried she was about him. He couldn't remember what had happened to him or what he was doing, but that one statement rammed home the fact that it was very dangerous more effectively than anything else ever could have. He had seen the waiting as a chore, something of an obstacle, but he saw that to Jenna it meant precious time to arm her brother as best she could so when he did leave the safety of the Tower, he would be as safe as he could be. He remembered someone saying that the only reason they'd come back to the Tower was because it was the safest place to take him, but even its sanctuary wouldn't last. As the time of the staff's activation grew nearer, those desperate to gain its power would be willing to risk assaulting the Tower itself in order to somehow achieve the nearly impossible, to take the staff from him. He realized what kind of a terrible risk that Jenna had taken bringing him out of the Tower, and with only two Knights, but he could also see that as his sister, she had done what she thought would be most comfortable for him. He had been very upset by Jesmind destroying his room, and she had done this, taken this risk, because she had wanted to cheer him up and not terrify him with the realities of his situation. Bringing him out into the city with only two Knights let him feel normal, if only for a little while, and for the first time he understood that. It had felt nice to be able to walk out into a crowd, even if the crowd was trying to mob Jenna with kindness and good intentions.
She had told him that she was two people where he was concerned. She was the Keeper, responsible for the success of his mission, but she was also his sister, and she had known just what to do to cheer him up. He felt a tremendous wave of love, trust, and gratitude for his all grown-up little sister in that moment. He reached out and took her hand with the hand not armed with the almost living claws and let his eyes and expression tell her what he'd be too embarassed to say in front of the two Knights. She gave him the softest look of gentle love and held his hand tightly, then a slow smile graced her pretty face. "Let me put those back for you. When we get home, I'll teach you how they work. I don't want you accidentally skewering Ulger in the carriage. It'll destroy the upholstery."
"Not to mention my good mood," he added with a smirk and a wink.
"As if your mood mattered," Darvon told him with a stern voice but a twinkle in his eye.
Despite the destruction of his room, the event had done much to open his eyes as to the nature of things, and he had to admit to himself that on the whole it had been a good thing.
The time with Jenna had shown him that he should take what was going on alot more seriously than he had been. It was very easy to forget what he was doing when all he had were the stories from the others to tell him what was going on. They didn't have the same impact or weight as the memories of it would have, and so it was much easier for him to dismiss them in the safe confines of the Tower, where everyone watched out for him and he never really felt unsafe. He had left Jenna vowing to be more careful, to pay more attention to what was going on around him, and to try to get a better understanding of the risks and dangers involved with what he had left to do. He wasn't done yet, because the Firestaff was still a potential disaster waiting to happen. Only after Gods day would its threat end, and so it would be his duty to defend it until that day came and went. And as that day got closer, people were going to try to come into the Tower to get him. He understood that now better than ever before. The only safe thing he could do for everyone involved was to disappear with the Firestaff. If nobody knew where he was, nobody could find him, then they wouldn't know where to bring their armies and their magicians and their unnatural magical beasts to try to subdue him. They had put everyone he cared about under a watchful eye so nobody could be taken hostage to try to blackmail him into giving over the Firestaff, and if he was nowhere to be found, then doing something like that would be useless anyway. If nobody could find him, then how would they even deliver a ransom demand? It would be a useless exercise, and beside that point, everyone Tarrin knew and loved were themselves exceptionally formidable individuals. Tarrin very nearly laughed himself hoarse just at the thought of a band of brigands trying to take someone like Allia or Keritanima or Jesmind or Jenna or one of his parents hostage. They'd get slaughtered trying. All his friends and family were every bit as dangerous as he was, and that made taking them literally more trouble than it was worth.
And now he had two new magical objects! Just the thought of that gave him a thrill. He owned a magic sword and the magic bracers! He just couldn't help putting his hands on the bracers sometimes, or touching his amulet, or looking at his new sword, knowing that they were magic. Magical objects were things of exceeding rarity. The richest man could not buy one, and the most powerful king could not use all his power to get one. It was a matter of the wildest luck to even find one, and if one did find one, keeping it an absolute secret was the only way to avoid an armada of thieves lining up for a chance to steal it. The metal plate that father had found when he was younger was a good example of that. He hadn't told a soul he found it, just wrapped it up as best he could and endured the numbing magical cold it radiated as he literally deserted from the Rangers to hide it in the forest. He had to talk very fast when he came back, but managed to avoid getting in trouble. He then took leave, came back and got it in the dead of night, and hid it again in a place he was sure nobody would find it. He retrieved it when he married Tarrin's mother and settled down, and it had turned into a means for the Kael family to keep food stored. That his family owned a magical object was a matter of tremendous prestige, but it was the kind of prestige that was kept an absolute secret. Even in Aldreth, if people knew about that cold-radiating metal plate, there would have been thieves in the cellar trying to steal it. It made Tarrin both wildly proud and almost neurotically paranoid that he owned three. Three! But then again, only one was really in any danger of being stolen. Jenna had made him absolute swear never to take off the bracers, since they had been made to protect him.