A/N: I know, I know, another short chapter. However, it does have a purpose within the story, which I'm sure you'll agree once you've read it. I don't know when I'll have the next bit up, so I'm making no promises, but I intend to finish this before the end of the summer. Also, what was originally intended to be five or six chapters has now turned into seven or eight with an epilogue, so don't worry that it's going to be over too soon.
Finally, I'd like to address a question posed by one of my reviewers, elfin2. I'm aware that what Dairine does isn't the most ethical, but if you look at the Oath, it calls upon wizards to "guard growth and ease pain." In my opinion, what Dairine does is a necessary evil. Nita needs to recognize her feelings for Kit, and Dairine is kindly helping her. What would happen if Nita didn't realize what Kit means to her until it's too late? I think that certainly counts as pain, something that Dairine, as a wizard, is charged to ease. It doesn't mean it will be painless, just less painful than the alternative. Actually, I just kind of came up with that on the spot; I wasn't really considering ethics when I wrote this. But I think my reasoning makes sense, and if it still doesn't, I ask you to suspend disbelief. As usual, thanks for reading and reviewing, and on to the story!
Chapter 4: Claws and Effects
Having been a wizard for some time, Nita was accustomed to the sound of a spell in progress: the noise of the workday world slowly tuning out, being replaced with the heavy silence that pressed in on the listeners as the universe took note of what it was being instructed to do, all of this bound into a whole by voices reciting the words in the Speech that would make it happen. The air around Nita pressed in, willing her away from her backyard and to her destination. The last glimpse of the backyard blinked out, and Nita appeared with a slight pop! in a deserted section of the station feeling oddly disoriented. She made a mental note to tweak the parameters of the spell later, then looked around. The place the had appeared was technically within the terminal proper, but no longer in use. This was convenient, because it meant that there was minimal security, nothing more than a few locked doors, and those intended to keep people from coming in, not from going out.
Piece of cake, Nita thought as she emerged into the bustle of the main concourse. With familiarity born of nearly three years' wizardly travel through the station, she made her way towards the platform for track thirty, managing to look like another part of the crowd. This wasn't hard, as a train was due to arrive at any minute, so people were thronging along the platform.
In the crowd of people, Nita caught sight of a boy of about fourteen with dark hair and eyes wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He looks pretty good, Nita thought before she could realize what she was thinking. Her mind immediately clamped down on that thought. What in the worlds has happened to me? Nita thought, shaking her head. It must have been the sleeping in, she decided. There was no way that particular thought had been voluntary.
Nita turned her attention back to the present. Kit was standing and talking to what would seem like the ground to a non-wizard. To Nita's eyes, it was obvious that he was conversing with a small black cat with a spot of white under her chin. Kit turned around as she approached, and the black cat turned as well.
"Dai stihó," Nita said to the cat.
"May you go well too, cousin," Rhiow responded. "I was just telling Khi-t the basics of what we're going to do today."
"We're just on watch and redirect duty, right?" Nita asked.
"Exactly," Rhiow said. "This is a minor repair; we shouldn't be gone too long. We'll actually be fixing the gate by track three, so once we're safely through, you should head over there to redirect any wizards who don't check the data in their manuals. Tell them to use this gate. We'll come back through the number three gate, to make sure it's working properly. And here you are," she said, this directed at a grey tabby cat and smaller white cat with black patches. "I thought you were just checking on the gate by track three!"
"We got a little…sidetracked," the grey tabby, Urruah, said. "It was his fault!" he quickly added, flicking his tail in the direction of the other cat who was barely out of kittenhood.
The patched cat, who Nita recognized as Arhu, shrunk into the ground a bit as Rhiow looked to him with a gaze that clearly asked for an explanation. Looking down at his paws, he said, "The man who owns the sandwich store was back. He'd been gone. I missed the pastrami." His big eyes were enough to make Nita feel sorry for him.
"And I had to waste time reminding Arhu that we had a schedule to keep to," Urruah said.
Rhiow surveyed them both coolly before speaking. "You're lucky this time. We can't do anything until the track is free." She indicated the train that had just pulled in. "But I expect more punctuality from members of my team," she continued. "What if you had kept our help waiting?"
"I'm sorry," Arhu muttered, looking so adorable that Nita wanted to pick him up and cuddle him to her chest to hear him purr. But Arhu would most definitely not have appreciated such attention, and so Nita restrained herself.
"It's alright," she said instead, glad to see Arhu removed from Rhiow's scathing glare. "We're here to help for as long as we're needed."
"Thank you for your kindness, cousin," Rhiow said amiably enough, though the end of her tail twitched slightly, a sign that Nita knew meant trouble for Urruah and Arhu at some time in the future, if not at this moment.
There was a loud burst of sound as the train departed. "What did you say?" Kit asked, looking at Rhiow once the noise was over and the train had proceeded far enough down the track that he could be heard.
"We'll be leaving now," Rhiow repeated. "Arhu, open the gate."
With a bit of nervousness—Arhu must not have had too much practice performing in front of others—he walked to the edge of the platform, rearing up on his hind legs and sinking his front claws into what appeared as air that shimmered slightly. He tugged, and all of a sudden a worldgate was visible in front of Nita and Kit, its surface shimmering like a soap bubble. Nita could just catch a glimpse of a green field beyond, with large trees in the distance.
Rhiow approved of Arhu's work with a less harsh flick of her tail, motioning for him to jump through. After him went Urruah, and Rhiow followed behind, closing the wordgate from the other side.
Which left Nita and Kit alone on the platform, Kit standing barely a foot from Nita. Why am I noticing that? Nita thought angrily. What has taken me over?
Kit's voice interrupted her confused thoughts. "We'd better head over to the other gate. Rhiow and the rest will give us a little time before they start work on the gate, but I don't want to take the chance that someone will try to use it for transit while they're messing around with its structure." Kit grimaced, and began to walk back into the main concourse. Nita followed, trying not to think about Kit and failing.
What has gotten into me? she thought, giving herself a mental shake. It's Kit, for crying out loud. Just Kit! But this did nothing to help Nita sort out the thoughts that meandered dangerously through her head. When I find out who's responsible for this, she vowed silently, I will make them wish that they had never been born, spawned, or engendered!
Just then, a frightening thought surfaced, and Nita almost stopped walking, shocked.
What if the person responsible for this is me?