The plan was hatched. Ty would risk everything she had to get Sabi back. The others were right behind her. They would all go down trying to get her back or live to regret it, but Mithros willing they were going to try.
The boys were stationed where they'd be most useful. Kehel was spymaster: all information was given to him, digested and processed, then passed on to the Tehea. Ty, armed with this knowledge, sent Mel to look for the right weapons to protect them from each possible assault and trained the pack in their use. Leej, as teacher's pet, raided their libraries and listened in and spied on the many gang's names, members, and organized a list of crimes against each, passing the reports later to Kehel, who filed them and passed them on to Ty. He was, of them all, the one shouldering the most work, for though Ty organized the pack, its movement and actions, he was the one keeping them afloat. 'On matters of book, to Kehel we look' was the pack saying.
'What of Terry?' say you. Terry has, with Ty, a risky job but for different reasons. Should Ty be caught and forced magically to talk, the pack's secrets and information would be exposed, and in a matter of minutes the gangs would be on them, but not soon enough to kill her—the King would charge her with treason of a low kind and send her off to prison. For Terry, being caught by the gangs meant not the King's Mercy or lack thereof, but certain death. As the Stallion, he was the most skilled in fighting, as Ty figured out who were members of the gangs that meant them harm and passed the names and addresses to Terry along with the times of the Hunt in which Ty was not busy, 'missing' reports landed on the desk of the Lord Provost.
Yet in the middle of that same week came a real threat to their quiet plans—or rather, a pair of threats, both called many things, but one in common.
Lady Knight.
Indeed, Kel and Alanna had at last arrived to Corus. Kel was a greater threat than Alanna—as King's Champion, Alanna had to worry if this was on attempt on the king's life, but Kel was furious, having spoken to the Provost about the missing people. Thinking that someone of high position was having the weak murdered—which was not without truth, seeing as to be a page one must be noble—was driving the knight practically insane. Naturally, long training taught her not to show it, but inside she fumed, and Ty knew it—the Panther could smell it.
One night, however, Kel noticed how quiet Ty was.
"Tykel," she said, taking hold of Ty's arm as she was about to enter a classroom. "A word, please."
She had been expecting this. Her impatient mind told her to give the knight a piece of her mind and tell her to get lost, common sense made it shut up. Ty walked with the Lady Knight around a corner and faced her. "Lady Knight," she greeted her.
"Tykel, I have noticed your secrecy, and have seen your group. Most are older yourself, and though there is no law against it…you are often rather crude with all authority figures, and I recognize a secret keeper when I see one." At this she paused, then leaned against the wall. "Do you hide something?"
Curse her, the Panther spat. She knows too much. Call Terry. He'll trap her and you can slit her throat.
She works for the King, she replied. If I do that, we're busted.
Human politics?
Indeed.
What a waste of time.
I know.
Ty thought over her being a girl, a Panther, an assassin—at this rate she was becoming one—and the leader of a pack that broke the King's laws daily. The question seemed ridiculous.
"Doesn't everyone?" she asked mildly.
"Do you work against the King?" Kel asked, her face passive. Ty knew better than to think her that stupid, however.
This was harder a question. Against the King? For the King? Really, she worked in neither direction. The King's protection was not yet a concern of hers. She worked mainly against the gangs that were making of Corus their playground, and working tirelessly trying to find out who all those immigrating people were, for day by day more and more immigrants came to Corus, all in some unrecognized pilgrimage. Most even formed part in the gangs that worked against her. Really, her concern was Corus. It was foolish of the King to think himself so high on her priority list.
"If by keeping the people of Corus safe I work for him," she replied, "then I am not against him."
Kel's brows snapped together. Bingo. Confusion on the horizon! Warn the boatmen to flee to the coast; this could get pretty personal pretty quickly.
"You seek to help the people of Corus?"
Ty kept from rolling her eyes with extreme difficulty.
Duh.
"Yes," Ty replied. "I work for them and against them. I make sure the Lower City sleeps at night and does not reek of blood and death."
Kel's expression was carefully blank. "You know what befalls Corus," she said. It was not a question. She put a hand on Ty's shoulder.
"Then I will try to help you," she said quietly. "If you can trust me with your secret, I will help you."
"I am honored, Lady Knight," said Ty. Then she frowned. She must not put down her pack, or place them in any dangers. The first rule of the Tehea was to protect her own, monarchy be damned. Kelandry replied to orders of her king.
"I ask you, Lady," Ty proceeded with utmost care, slowly, firmly, emotionlessly and harshly, "can you be trusted to act for the good of Corus, should that go against the wishes of your king?"
Kel's face remained blank. "I protect the people whose shouts for help I hear," she replied. "Let Alanna look after the King. She can bare him more than I can anyway."
Ty nodded. "Left Squire's Wing, third room to the far left, second bell after dinner, wait until I arrive," she said, then rounded the corner and walking into her class, whispering apologies to Tkaa and signaling to the pack with her head, then telling them what they needed to know by ways of good hand signals.
"Why my room?" read Terry's hands.
Ty made a rude masturbatory gesture that got a chuckle out of him, then signaled, "Because if I hadn't, you great big bag of sperm, you'd have berated me about it for weeks."
Terry smirked.
"Glad you noticed," he signaled.