James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

And it perfectly concealed her conversations with Miranda when she needed to speak to the pretty little mink Wikuni about things she didn't want Jervis to know. She had no doubt that Jervis had his pet priests using spells to eavesdrop on them. After several ear-shattering explosions, however, she doubted that he'd be listening for long.

Miranda was sitting on the bed behind the Princess, brushing out her hair with smooth, even strokes. Miranda was a cutie, by any race's standards. With high, wide, impish cheeks and a pink button-nose, her animal features enhanced a more humanoid face than normal Wikuni. Miranda's muzzle was very short, and her mouth was much more humanlike. Her white fur almost passed as skin, and she had a very thick head of blond hair that cascaded down her back like a fur cape. She parted it to the side, and a huge plump of blond hair stood over her eyes and face, which bobbed and swayed every time she moved her head. Her round mink ears popped out from that thick head of hair, just making her look cuter. Miranda was very cute, very sweet, and she seemed very innocent. And she was a very good actress. Miranda had been personally trained by Keritanima in all things underhanded, and Miranda was as smart as she was pretty. She was very good.

After giving any eavesdroppers an earful, Keritanima sat calmly as Miranda gave her the daily report. Rumors and innuendos passed from Miranda's lips as often as things brought in by the wide network of spies that Miranda had helped set up, workers and servants as well as people specifically hired from the city and brought in to root out information. Keritanima had a very comprehensive list of all the freelancers that worked in Suld, and several of them were now on her payroll. She had agents at court, in the King's bedchamber, and three of them in the Cathedral of Karas. She had several more scattered through the noble villas, and the whisperings of the nobles found their way onto her desk, in triplicate. If she really wanted to know, she could find out what the Duchess of Ultern had for breakfast that morning.

And by now, Jervis had just as extensive an operation. Jervis had a larger budget, and he didn't have to work while keeping his identity a secret. She had no doubt that Jervis was receiving all the information she was, and perhaps a little bit more. Jervis had access to the communications of the priests of the Wikuni, something that Keritanima didn't enjoy.

So she managed to buy off a member of Jervis' staff. Now a copy of everything that crossed the rabbit Wikuni's desk ended up on her own as well.

Keritanima listened calmly as the mink Wikuni brushed her hair. Even Miranda's voice was cute, a high yet rich voice that seemed to go perfectly with her deceptive appearance. The focus of her report was the meeting, or more to the point, the shouting match, between the Keeper and King Erick Alaron. "My sources tell me that they really got after one another," she continued to her employer. "Erick threatened to use his army to overrun the Tower, and the Keeper threatened to bury Suld in a blizzard. And all of it was over Tarrin."

"Did you find out why?"

"Not yet," she replied. "All I know right now is that Erick knows something about Tarrin, and that it makes him very, very important. Erick demanded that the Keeper hand him over to the Crown. It's not something that Erick's talked about in open court, and it's been hard information to come by. I bought one of Erick's mistresses last week, and I arranged it so she's spending tonight with him. She'll drag it out of him. She's very good at that. I'll have a detailed report for you tomorrow at lunchtime."

"Very good," Keritanima replied calmly.

"You know, you should think of starting to wear your hair up," Miranda told her, grabbing two handfuls and lifting it up from her shoulders. "It's getting long. Maybe swept over to one side, with a gold chain woven into it. Yes, that would look pretty."

"You think so?"

"Yes, it would make you look more mature," Miranda told her.

"Why don't we try it?" she asked. "Didn't we bring some chains?"

"I have some in my room," she assured her.

Something told him that today was going to be rather eventful.

Tarrin pulled his red Inititate shirt over his head, flexing his paws absently after pulling the tail down to his trousers, listening to the sounds of activity coming from Allia's room. He knew that it would be eventful because the Council had had almost a full day to mull over Tarrin's demands, and he was positive that they'd return with an answer for him. It would have to come before class, he knew. Tarrin's instincts told him that time was starting to become a precious commodity, and they wouldn't wait around. He wasn't quite sure how he knew that, but he did.

Alot of things had been weird to him since yesterday. Tarrin had finally calmed down over the achievement of his childhood dream, and it also allowed him to explore the strange feelings he had towards the Goddess. She had been right, he had never been an overly religious person. The concept of loving a deity was indeed new and strange to him, but it was something that he couldn't deny in himself. Something about the Goddess had touched him on a very deep level, on top of the genuine affection and trust he felt in her. She had always spoken plainly to him. She didn't treat him like a child, and she had made it clear from the beginning what she expected of him and what she wanted from him. Tarrin's Were-cat nature seemed to accept that kind of treatment willingly. Better an honest enemy than a dishonest friend. It was why Jesmind had gone off the deep end after he left her, because she thought that he lied to her, and that shocked her values to the core. Tarrin was more cynical and, in his own way, more worldly than his fiery bond-mother. Jesmind was born Were, and her preconceptions of the world had been set for her. She lived in a very small world full of others that shared those values, and no matter what she said, her ability to function in the human world wasn't as good as she thought. Jesmind would accept whatever anyone said to her as the truth, until it was obvious that he lied. And then she would punish the liar, if she could catch him. Tarrin wasn't quite as trusting as Jesmind.

That made him approach the Goddess from a defensive standpoint, and she had managed to worm her way through his defense and into his heart. But, being a Goddess, Tarrin realized that she knew exactly what to say to manage to pull that off. But his trust in her, his faith, wouldn't let him believe that she was using him. He could tell that she wanted something from him, something that she hadn't said yet, but she had also made that clear, nearly from the beginning. If he asked her straight out if she wanted him to do something for her, she would answer honestly. Tarrin could respect that.

But over it all, the towering love that he felt in her presence, both from her and from him towards her, told him beyond anything that his heart had been won over. She had indeed got herself another follower. But the strange thing was that he had no idea quite how to take it. He understood what gods were, but the Goddess seemed to break all the molds. She wasn't a distant, all-powerful voice that was to be obeyed blindly. She was more like a person than a god, with her own personality, and even a quirky sense of humor. Senses of humor weren't often associated with divine beings, and that sense of humor made her seem more real than if she were to manifest her true power before his eyes. Tarrin felt a very powerful personal connection to the Goddess, and he wasn't sure if that was how she wanted him to feel towards her or not. But that was tough. That was the way he felt, and he wasn't about to change it.

And something told him that that suited the Goddess just fine.

She'd captured him the very first time she talked to him, he realized. When she gave him permission to lie, when she explained what she expected from him, she had him. That planted a deep seed of trust in him that had bloomed into love and sincere faith. She could very well have demanded him to obey her every command, and he would have been bound by both honor and his Were need for honesty to obey. But she allowed him to make his own choices, even allowed him to lie. That had been it. Everything else had just been waiting around for him to make that one simple conclusion.