She was positive that that was the one reason why they hadn't accused her of the killings. Her father's sages probably knew all about Sorcery, so they knew that a Sorcerer could only affect targets that he or she could see. Keritanima had learned how to transcend that restriction, but they probably wouldn't think of that for a while, thinking it was more likely that she simply had an agent or spy go around and wipe out the opposition. That had probably been one reason why her father had chosen the throne room as his meeting place. The distance between him and her would make weaving a spell against him less likely to work if she had so much distance between them. If she was irrational, he probably felt that she would make her attempt the instant he was in sight, so he arranged it so there was alot of real estate between them to make that more difficult.

Her father wasn't stupid. In that respect, and only that respect, she could give him a little credit.

"Kerri?" Azakar asked again, giving her an odd look when she clapped her hands in excitement that her experiment had worked.

"Nothing, Zak, just proving something to myself," she grinned roguishly. "I have to amuse myself somehow until Miranda and Binter get back." They were in the city. Miranda was making contact with Ulfan, and Binter was along to protect her. Keritanima felt that Binter would be better for that task, since Ulfan didn't know Azakar, and Binter was more familiar with the city. Keritanima felt more than safe enough with Azakar. Binter and Sisska had trained him in all the things the Knights didn't, and he was a handful for ten men if it came to a fight. That Binter would leave her in his care said everything about the Vendari's opinion of Azakar's competence.

"We could play stones, or chess."

"True, but you're too easy to beat," she winked.

Azakar gave her a flat look. "That sounds like a challenge," he said pugnaciously.

"Go get the board then," she replied.

Keritanima brushed out the fur in her tail as they played chess. Azakar had been suffering under the martial skill of his Vendari tutors in chess as well as in training, and he proved that he learned quickly. He was a dangerous opponent in a chess game. Nothing Keritanima couldn't handle, but he made her pay attention to the game, or he would beat her.

"You know, you didn't seem very disappointed when they took away all your money," he mentioned as he made a move.

Keritanima paused to touch the Weave and weave together a Ward that stopped all sound from passing out of it. It didn't, however, stop sound from entering it, allowing them to hear outside while preventing their words from being heard. "They didn't even scratch my worth, Zak," she grinned.

"I sorta figured that," he noted. "I'm sure they did too."

"I wanted them to," she said. "I want them to know that I have the money to stir up trouble."

"That seems like a bad idea, since you are going to cause trouble. They'll be expecting it. You're giving yourself away."

"Zak, trust me. I want them to look for it, because that will let me do what I need to do under their noses, without them seeing a thing."

"Oh. So, they'll be looking for sheep, while you dress in wolf's clothing and walk right past them."

"More or less," she agreed with a toothy grin.

"I'm glad it makes sense to you," he grunted.

"Of course it does," she replied. "I won't go into details, but let's just say that my father will be very unsettled knowing that I can still stir up the hornet's nest."

"Ahh," he mused. "Keeping him off balance."

"Exactly," she affirmed with a smile and a nod. "Right now, he's probably issuing a series of decrees to repeal certain laws," she said. "Laws that restrict his own power with respect to me."

"That's bad."

"No, that's good," she winked. "That's what I want him to do."

"Why? You want to be flogged?"

"I'd be flogged no matter what," she said calmly. "The important thing is to get those laws repealed."

"Why?"

She winked at him. "Because they're getting in my way a great deal more than they're getting in his," she replied. "Knowing my father, he's repealing the entire decrees those laws are taken from. He'll be charging into it, because he's still angry over what I did to him. There are other laws in those decrees, laws that restrict my power a great deal more than they restrict my father's. Those other laws within those decrees are what I need removed."

"That's why you mentioned specific laws?"

She grinned. "The laws I need removed aren't in the decrees I mentioned, but my father will have the law reseached, so he'll find them and include them in his repeal. My father is anything but thorough."

"You mean that entire scene was just a set-up?"

She grinned even more.

"Kerri, that's evil!" he laughed.

"You're dealing with a professional, Zak," she said lightly. "I don't play around."

"I'll say."

"It's a calculated risk," she admitted. "If my father's smart, he'll only repeal parts of it. But I got him worked up, and when my father is angry, he sometimes gets rash. I'm counting on that."

"How do you pull off these things?" he asked.

"Planning, my friend, planning," she smiled. "Playing politics requires three things. That you understand your opponents, that you have clear and precise objectives, and that you have a good plan to reach them. I understand my father, as well as the general behavior of most of the noble houses. I can use that to my advantage in my plan, a plan with specific objectives. The better your plan, the better chance you'll succeed."

"You make it sound like a war."

"It is a war, Zak," she said seriously. "We don't fight it with armies and siege engines, we fight it with words and assassins. The only thing that makes our war different than yours is that there are no defined battle lines or territory."

The door opened, and Miranda and Binter entered. Binter had a deep gash on his lower bicep, and Miranda's dress was torn. Blood stained the head of the Vendari's warhammer.

"I see they didn't waste any time," Keritanima grunted, standing up with Azakar to tend their companions. "Are you two alright?"

"Nothing Binter couldn't handle, Keritanima," Miranda said easily as Keritanima put her hands on her maid and touched the Weave. Miranda was unharmed aside from some minor bruises, which the Princess healed easily. Binter's gash was a bit more of a challenge. The Vendari didn't move at all while Keritanima used Sorcery to mend the wound, sealing the slash mark and even urging his scales to regrow over it. "How many, Binter?"

"Ten," he replied as Azakar took his hammer and set it in the corner. "They attacked us not five blocks from the Palace, in an alleyway."

"Who's were they, Miranda?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "They could be from your father, but he would have sent more. It may have been Jenawalani, or some noble that still holds a grudge against you."

"That's half of Wikuna, Miranda."

"Then we don't have to look far to find a suspect," she replied calmly.

"Aside from that entertainment, how did it go?"

"Ulfan is still more or less in control of the underworld," Miranda announced. "He assured me that he'd have as many men as we can afford to pay, whenever we needed them."

"That's good. Kalina?"

"He's tracking her down. She got caught pickpocketing and just got out of prison, so that means that she's prostituting. She can't afford another conviction. She could be in any number of brothels."

"This Kalina is a prostitute?" Azakar asked.

"I told you that before, Zak. You should've known that I'd have some rather shady friends," she added with a wink. "Kalina is a thief and a whore, and she doesn't make any excuses about it. Here in Wikuna, being a harlot isn't necessarily a bad thing. She'll never be high society, but it's a decent way to make a good living if you're a single girl with no family or friends. Did you tell Ulfan how to get Kalina here?" she asked Miranda.