"I'm so sorry to disrupt your schedule," Tarrin said dryly.

The Goddess laughed, a sound that vibrated in his soul, and in the strangest way, pleased him greatly. You are a treaure, my kitten, she told him. We will talk again soon. Until then, be well, and remember that I love you.

And then the sensation of her was gone, leaving inside him an emptiness, and even more questions. And one certainty.

The Goddess had planted that information, just as deftly as Keritanima directed her spies. She was salting him with information he would need for those future choices, information that would allow him to make those choices.

The Goddess also had a hand to play, and she was playing it through him.

Tarrin realized that he was an instrument of the Goddess of the Sorcerers, but he also knew, in his soul, that she cared for him. She wouldn't do something horrible to him. It was a complex relationship, that was true, but he trusted her.

He had faith in her.

Changing form, Tarrin waded through the fountain and carefully, gently slipped the amulet's silver chain off the statue's neck. The smell of the silver rose his hackles, and his pads burned where it touched him, clear warnings to him that the metal posed a danger to him. He stared at the statue for a long moment, taking in its flawless beauty, but his attention was focused on the gentle, loving expression on its face.

He had no idea what mire of intrigue he was thrown into, but he had the feeling that the Goddess would provide, even as he was certain that she was also a player in the game. Tarrin was her trump card, and he realized that he would do what she asked, if only because he trusted her, he believed in her.

She was his Goddess, and he had a duty to obey.

"I do believe," he said to the statue, cupping its lovely face with his paw's palm. "I do have faith. And I don't think I'll ever be alone." He leaned in and, ever-so-gently, kissed the statue on the cheek.

Then he was gone, to find Keritanima, to come to terms with the stirrings of religious contentment he felt inside.

In the empty courtyard, where not even the wind reached, the elegant, beautiful statue was smiling, and its eyes blazed with incandescent white light. The grass and flowers rippled from the power emanating from the statue in cascading waves, invisible bands of pure power that shivered the air itself.

The incandescent blazing eyes of the statue dimmed, and the expression on its stone face was one of joy.

Tarrin caught up with Keritanima just as she broke class for lunch. Tarrin himself was still a bit dazed after accepting the Goddess. It was a strange feeling, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant. Keritanima looked distracted, no doubt because her mind was still engulfed in the teaching of Sorcery. The Wikuni was indeed a natural, he realized. After only days of training she could conjure up very effective illusions. Allia, on the other hand, was still struggling just to pull flows from the strands. After the individual training, then they would all be put back into a class, where they would learn standard weaves, and also learn more about the Tower, the Goddess, and other things that only concerned those who could become katzh-dashi.

"Tarrin," she said in a nasal voice that told him that he was addressing the Brat Princess. "Want to come eat lunch with me?"

"I guess so," he replied after a slight hesitation.

"You forgot something," she flared, her amber eyes flashing.

"Your Highness," he added absently.

"That's better," she said calmly.

"What did you learn today?"

"Oh, I learned lots of things!" she said brightly. The Brat Princess shared Keritanima's enthusiasm for Sorcery. "Lula's such a good teacher. She taught me a weave that chills my milk, and a weave that makes stone become soft like clay, and another weave that warms the air around me if I'm cold."

"It sounds like you're doing very well."

"I love Sorcery!" she beamed. "It's so fun!" She patted him on the arm. "I'll never have to worry about getting dresses the right color, or freezing my tail off in that drafty old castle my father makes us live in, and I'll be able to do all those little things that nobody can ever get right. I can finally make everything just perfect!"

"I'm so happy for you," he said absently. She punched him in the arm. "Your Highness."

They stepped out into the cool autumn air, and Keritanima winced against the bright sunshine briefly. She imperiously glared at him until he offered his arm to her, and she placed her hand within it. He escorted her across the grounds, towards the main Tower. "What did you do today?" she asked idly.

"Not much," he said. "Just read, napped, and almost killed Amelyn."

She gave him a direct, penetrating stare. "What happened?"

"She got on my nerves," he said in a blunt voice. "I told her that I wouldn't do anything until they let me out of this damned prison to see my parents. My father was injured, and I want to see him and make sure he's alright. So I told them that I wasn't going to do anything until they let me out of here to see my father."

"You tell them, Tarrin," she giggled. "Don't let them push you around."

"Not anymore," he grated.

She squeezed his arm gently. He took that as a blessing as to what he had done. That was a relief. If he accidentally screwed up Keritanima's plans, it could create a big mess.

"Oh, and I have a present for you," he said suddenly.

"A present? For me? How sweet," she beamed. "Can I see it?"

He fished the silver amulet and chain out of his trousers. The amulet itself was too bit to put in his pocket, so he'd had to cinch the amulet between the waist of his trousers and his skin and put the chain in the pocket, and it had been creating a burning itch on his hip ever since.

"Isn't this one of those Sorcerer necklaces? Those shay-rams?

He nodded. "I was told to give this to you," he told her in Selani. "It's very special."

"Who told you?" she asked in Selani.

"Her," he said, tapping the amulet device before placing it in her waiting hand.

"You're serious," she said suspiciously, her eyes widening a bit.

"Would I lie to you, shaida?"

"No, but you may believe something that's not true," she said. "You mean she talked to you?"

He nodded.

"She. Her."

"Yes, shaida," he said patiently. "She did."

"What did she say?"

"We'll talk about that later. She just told me to give this to you, and I'm not about to disobey. It's a gift from her."

"You're positive-"

"Shaida, I'm absolutely positive," he interrupted.

Keritanima took the shaeram and held it up, inspecting it meticulously. "It really is lovely," she said in the common tongue. "And I love silver. It's prettier than gold. I won't get in trouble for wearing this, will I?"

"Does Allia for wearing hers?" Tarrin replied calmly. "They know she wears it."

"You're right, I guess," she said with a vapid smile. She pulled the chain wide, then slipped it over her head and settled it under her red Initiate dress. "Thank you, Tarrin. I love presents, and this one is very pretty."

"I'm glad you approve." She glared at him. "Your Highness."

Keritanima snapped their way through the main Tower's corridors, bullying other Initiates and Novices out of her way with sharp comments and ugly stares. Tarrin walked along with her, silently amused as he watched the Brat Princess in action. She really did have being a pain down to an artform. She could irritate almost anyone. They reached the kitchens, and after fixing plates for themselves, they went back outside to sit on a stone bench at the edge of the gardens to eat.