Tarrin couldn't help but find that funny. "Come on, let's go find the others before Jesmind and Triana come looking for us. We can come back tomorrow, and I'll let you look around all you want."

"How are we going to find them?" Jenna asked curiously as they turned around and started out.

Tarrin touched his nose with a finger. "I'll take care of it," he chuckled.

"I keep forgetting about that," Jenna said as they slipped back into the overgrowth that concealed the entrance to the courtyard. "I really want to look around in there, Tarrin. It feels so, peaceful."

"You will, trust me," he assured as the brush stopped rustling, and the courtyard fell silent once again.

To: Title EoF

Chapter 30

They were both rather quiet as Tarrin tracked the scents of his family back through the halls of the Tower, circular halls that surrounded the central Heart with other hallways that served as spokes in a wheel, connecting the circular hallways together. They both had alot to think about. Meeting Spyder again had startled him, nearly as much as her revelation that she was going to teach them the secrets of Sorcery. That made him feel daunted. Spyder was probably the oldest living thing on Sennadar, and she'd forgotten more about Sorcery than he'd ever known. To be trained by a living legend, a being from the mists of antiquity, it made him feel both very intimidated and extremely honored. He would learn from her, learn everything she would teach him. He would not disappoint her.

He could see that Jenna was similarly shaken by the Urzani's declaration. She was a little pale, and her fingers trembled in his paw. It was alot for such a young girl to be expected to absorb. Not only would she learn Weavespinner ways from the greatest Sorcerer that ever lived, she'd also learned that she would be the one to pass those secrets on to the other Sorcerers. That was a serious task, a very involved one, and it would place Jenna in a position of tremendous power. He realized at that moment that Jenna was going to be the next Keeper. She would have to be in order to accomplish what she had to accomplish. Only from a position of power could she be the great teacher that Spyder made her out to be, the new light to guide the katzh-dashi back to the power they once held in the world.

His little sister, the Keeper. And not just the Keeper of the Tower of Suld. She would be the Keeper of the Tower in Sharadar as well, the new leader of the katzh-dashi of both continents. He realized that Jenna would unify the two Towers, bring them back into intimate communication with one another, join the fractured order of the Sorcerers back into a unified whole. A grand destiny for a little girl whose hair he used to pull and dolls he used to strip of their clothes and hang by their ankles from the ceiling of her room.

Tarrin stopped them at the foot of a set of stairs, then knelt in front of his sister so they could see eye to eye without her breaking her neck to look up at him. "Jenna, you have to calm down," he told her gently, holding both of her hands in a single paw. "If you show up in front of mother like this, she's going to grill us until we tell her what happened. You know how she gets."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't stop shaking for some reason," she said with a nervous laugh.

"It's not every day you meet someone right out of a fairy tale," he smiled at her.

"You seem to be taking it well," she accused.

"Jenna, I've had so many shocks, I really can't be surprised anymore, by about anything," he said with a rueful smile. "Ever since I left home, it's just been one shock after another. I'm numb now."

She looked at him, then laughed. She pulled on one of his thick fingers, a finger nearly as long as her hand, until the claw at the tip slid out from its hiding place. "I think I can understand that," she grinned, looking down at the claw curiously. "How in the world did you end up with Jesmind? Last time I remember, you wanted to kill her."

Tarrin chuckled. "It's a long story. I'll tell it to you sometime."

"Do you love her? I can tell by looking at how she watches you that she loves you."

"Yes, brat, I love her," he said seriously. "And yes, I've told her. She and I, we're mates. I guess we always have been."

"That's good. You know, Jasana is adorable. What's she like?"

"She's shy around strangers, but she'll get very talkative and bubbly once she gets used to you. You'd better watch her," Tarrin chuckled. "She's the most devious little thing I've ever seen. She's almost ruthless when she's trying to get something she wants."

"Then she's just like we used to be," Jenna grinned.

"Who says I've changed?" he challenged.

Jenna laughed, patting him on the arm. "Who says I have either?"

"You did."

"Well, I guess I'm just as capable of lying now as I was back when I was a girl," she teased. "Is she really as powerful as she feels?" she asked seriously.

"She'll be able to spank both of us together when she comes into her power," Tarrin told her with a bit of fatherly pride. "I think she could even give her a run for her money."

There was no need for him to explain who her was. Jenna nodded knowingly and chuckled. "I'd pay to see that little contest."

"I think I would too," he agreed. "Until then, I'm keeping a handle on her. I need to start training her, because she's already used her power. You can help me with that. You're strong enough to choke her off if she starts doing things I've told her not to do."

"I think I could. She's strong, but she doesn't have any idea what she's doing, does she?"

He shook his head in agreement. "At least not yet. It's going to be a bit dangerous when we start teaching her, because then she will know what she's doing. She's so powerful, if she tries to resist, I don't know if I can control her."

"Experience matters alot more than power, Tarrin," she told him. "Mother taught us that."

"I know. Let's both hope that she's right."

"Since when have you ever known mother to be wrong?" she asked with a grin.

Tarrin chuckled. "There, feel better now?" Tarrin asked, patting her on the shoulder.

"Actually, I do," she admitted, holding up a hand that was no longer trembling. "I guess if I think about something else, it doesn't sneak up and smack me."

"Try to keep that in mind. Ready to go on now?"

"I think so," she replied as he stood back up.

They continued. Tarrin followed the scent trail left behind by the other Were-cats, which was very easy for him to track because they were so fresh and so unique. They went high up into the Tower, near the top, into hallways no Novice or Initiate was usually allowed to enter. Hallways with plush carpeting and glowglobes almost every twenty paces, even with tapestries and artworks hanging from the wood-panelled walls. These were the luxury accommodations for the elite of the Tower's political power structure, and visiting dignitaries and other high-station visitors. They spent half their time staring at the lavish decorations, and Tarrin could feel that the carpet under his feet was very plush and soft, feeling almost new.

He was a little uncertain of this. Tarrin wasn't used to this kind of… grandeur. It didn't suit him. He was a simple Were-cat, and wasn't sure if he'd feel comfortable in such lavish surroundings. His worst suspicions were confirmed when the trail led to the end of a hallway at the terminus of a spoke passage, ending in a pair of large double doors. Doors made of a burnished mahogany wood, inlaid with what looked like mother-of-pearl in a swirling, symmmetrical design.

"Nice. The doors to our rooms aren't half that grand," Jenna said, in a slightly accusing tone.

"Blame Triana," he told her as he put a paw on the door, hearing the voices of the others inside. He turned the doorknob resolutely, then pushed the door open.