The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (15 page)

Before the wave cleared the island, a cloud of black ash rose from the ground and began swirling. The roar of the wind drowned out the sound of the ocean as the dense black cloud threatened to suffocate them. But a couple of seconds later, another wind swept in from the north and blew the cloud out to sea.

As the remaining bits of ash settled to the ground, the flash of energy bolts flying back and forth lit up the sky. Then a big shark leapt out of the ocean and headed straight for Landis’s head. Right before it reached her, the shark stopped, spun around, and headed back out to sea.

Before the shark could dive back into the sea, smoke from the top of the mountain poured down the sides, blocking the light and throwing everyone into a deep darkness broken only by the flashes of light that marked the constant barrage of energy bolts going back and forth between Kevin and Jonquin.

Then, just as a strong breath of wind wiped the smoke from the sky, a waterspout formed and headed straight for the island. As it drew closer, they could see small fish swirling around in the funnel and being tossed out of the top. The fish seemed to land on a cushion of air that lowered them back to the sea, even as the waterspout approached the beach.

As Landis watched with her mouth hanging open, the residue of all the energy being tossed around made her skin crawl. This was what a duel was like? How could she ever hope to go up against something like this? Did she even want to?

Glendymere kept an eye on both Landis and Rhianna as he watched the match. He started to tell Landis she’d never face anything like this from a human sorcerer, but decided it might be best if she thought she might. Myron had become such a strong sorcerer because no one told him he was already strong enough. He was never satisfied, so he kept pushing, getting more powerful every day. Landis didn’t have the advantage of elven blood, but maybe if she thought she’d have to go up against something like this someday she’d push herself, too. And then, maybe she’d survive.

After forty-five minutes of constant battle, Glendymere called a halt. Kevin collapsed where he was as Jonquin flew in from the other end of the island to join Glendymere.

“That was fun,”
Jonquin said.
“And he did well today. Not as well as I’ve seen him work, but still, he did well.”

Glendymere nodded.
“Not bad. He’s been distracted lately. I wanted to make sure he could focus when he needed to. I feel better about that now. Thanks for helping out.”

“Anytime,”
Jonquin said as he stretched his wings and leapt into the sky.

By the time Kevin got up and walked over to where Glendymere was waiting with Landis and Rhianna, Jonquin was a small dot on the horizon.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank him,” Kevin said as he joined them near the beach.

“You know where he lives,”
Glendymere said.
“And it would be a nice gesture, although not one he expects.”

“I know. He did it for you, not me.”

“True.”

“So, what did you think?” Kevin asked as he turned towards Landis.

She winced. “I don’t know how to answer that. So much was going on.” She tilted her head towards Glendymere. “I knew I was safe, but the idea of being involved in something like that … Those flashes of light were energy bolts, weren’t they?”

Kevin nodded.

“Just the thought of all of that headed in my direction …” Landis shook her head and took a deep breath. “I don’t think I could do it. Even if I had the skill, I don’t think I could do it. I’d freeze up out of sheer panic.”

Kevin nodded. “I know what you mean. And the first time, I did. If it hadn’t been for Glendymere, I’d have been a pile of ashes. But somewhere along the way, you get past the fear, and then you can deal with it. It’ll come, but it takes a lot of time and training to get there.”

Landis shook her head. “I don’t see myself ever getting there.” Then she walked down the beach and stood facing the ocean, watching the waves roll in and out.

Rhianna watched Landis stand alone on the beach and pictured her on the receiving end of all that energy. “You’ll see to it she has the training she needs?” she asked Kevin. “That she’ll be ready for whatever comes her way?”

Kevin met Rhianna’s eyes and nodded.

“I’m going to hold you to that. If she gets hurt, it’s on your head.”

Again, Kevin nodded.

Glendymere snorted.
“Rhianna, she’s got a long way to go before we consider training her to spar. Not every sorcerer makes it that far. After all, only the ones who intend to sit on the council need to learn how to duel. The rest just need to know basic self-defense, and that’s a lot easier. We’ll have to see how far Landis wants to take this before we think about sparring.”
Then he stood up and stretched his wings.
“Now, it’s time to get back. We need to help Landis figure out how to get some energy stored in that ball of hers or she’s not going to be able to light a candle, much less throw an energy bolt.”
Glendymere extended his leg and told Landis to come back.
“I’m in the mood to fly. Climb up and have a seat. Kevin will help you buckle up.”

Kevin waited until Landis and Rhianna were settled on Glendymere’s shoulders. Then he flew up and showed them how to put the harness around themselves for the flight home. After making sure they were secure, he lowered himself to the ground and pulled out his key. “See you Thursday? At the canyon lands?”

Glendymere nodded as he leapt into the sky. Kevin watched as the dragon soared higher and higher. When he could no longer see them, he turned his key and left for home.

~ ~ ~ ~

It was still morning when Kevin got back to his office, but he felt like it should be evening. When he sat down at his desk to go through the messages Chris had left for him, he noticed the sweet buns were gone. With a grin, he got up, opened his door, and asked Chris to step inside for a minute.

Once Chris was in his office, Kevin told him about dueling with Jonquin and asked if he had any idea what had happened to the apple buns he’d left on his desk. “I was planning to eat them after my workout with Glendymere, and I need them even more now.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris said, his face turning red. “I thought you left those for me.” Then he turned towards the door. “I’ll go find you something in the kitchen. I’m sure Miranda has something stashed away.”

Kevin laughed and reached out to stop him. “I’m kidding. Brena sent those for you. But a snack does sound good.” Before Chris could answer, Kevin heard hammering. “Is Darrell at it again?”

Chris nodded. “You need to see what he’s planning.”

Kevin glanced at his desk. “I didn’t want to tackle this stuff right now anyway. I’ll do it after lunch.” Then he and Chris headed for the dining hall.

When Kevin turned towards the doors that led to the backyard, Chris asked, “What kind of snack do you want? Sweet or savory?”

“Sweet. I need sugar after that workout. And get enough for everyone.”

While Chris was wheedling snacks out of Miranda, Kevin cut across the backyard to where Darrell and Serra were huddled over something on a make-shift table. Serra was a few inches shorter than Darrell and had nice feminine curves in all the right places. Kevin wasn’t sure how old she was, but she was about the same age as Theresa and Darrell.

“What are you building back here?” Kevin asked as he approached them.

Darrell glanced up from the papers he had spread out on the planks. “I thought you were upstairs sleeping.”

Kevin frowned. “What gave you that idea?”

“Well, you dropped Alek off before breakfast this morning, and you haven’t been seen anywhere around here since. So either you were upstairs sleeping or you weren’t in the castle. But that couldn’t be the case since you’ve promised to take a bodyguard with you whenever you leave, and both of your bodyguards were here, waiting for word that you needed one of them.”

“I don’t take a bodyguard when I meet Glendymere and you know it.”

“And that’s the only place you went after Glenarbour today?”

“Well, I had a couple of errands to run first, but they were quick, in and out. It would have taken me longer to find a bodyguard than it did to go and get back.”

“Then I better speak to Alek and Rigel about being more available.”

“No. Don’t blame them, Darrell. It’s not their fault. Sometimes I just want to go by myself.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute,” Darrell said, looking hard at Kevin. “But you’ve got to let them go with you. You’re putting all of us in a bad spot. If something happens to you, we’ve all got problems, big problems.”

Chris walked up in time to hear Darrell’s last comment. As he set a basket of muffins on the table, he said, “Not the first time you’ve heard that lately, is it?”

Kevin glared at Chris then looked back at Darrell. “All right, all right. I’ll try to remember to pick them up before I leave. Now, tell me what you’re building out here.”

Darrell pointed to the plans and explained the design he and Serra had come up with. There would be three main areas, one for toddlers, one for young children, and then the last area, with more challenging equipment, for the older children.

“When do you expect to have this finished?” Kevin asked.

“The playground for younger children will be done by this weekend, but the area for the older ones will take several weeks. I’m not done with the design yet, but I want to put up a few ropes, horizontal bars, maybe even a climbing wall, things that will build confidence as well as strength.” Darrell paused and looked at Kevin. “The kids who live at the castle don’t get that much exercise. Look at your pages. It wouldn’t hurt any of them to work out some, and they could use some self-defense lessons, too. I’d like to start basic self-defense training for everyone on staff, and after we get that going, I’d like to offer it to anyone in town who’s interested.”

“Hand-to-hand combat?”

Darrell nodded. “It wouldn’t require much as far as space or equipment goes, but it would take time. And eventually I’d like to offer other things as well, for those who want to learn.”

“When do you plan to start that?”

“I don’t know. I want the playground for the kids finished first.” Then he nodded towards Serra. “She wants to set up a day care for the castle staff. She’s already watching Caitlyn and Corey. And two women on the housekeeping staff have offered to take over her cleaning duties if she’ll watch their children. Right now, they share one position. One works during the morning while the other watches the children and then they switch at lunch. A day care program would work out better for everyone involved, but it gives Serra five children to watch. Fortunately, they’re all fairly close in age. Corey’s the oldest and Caitlyn’s the youngest.”

Kevin looked at Serra. “You could end up with a lot of children by the time this is all said and done. How are we going to limit it?”

“Cryslyn and I talked about that last night,” Serra said. “Most of the women who have young children only work half a day. If they want me to watch their children, they’ll have to help out, either by helping out here with the children, or by taking over some of the duties for women who are willing to help out here. Cryslyn will organize that part. And we’re only watching the younger ones. Cpt. Darrell has offered to have the guards take over the area for the older children and teach them how to climb the ropes and the wall and stuff like that.”

Kevin nodded. “If you need any help, let us know.”

Serra nodded. Then she tilted her head towards the sandbox. “Have you seen the toys Neiven made?”

Kevin shook his head and walked over to look at them. There were three small buckets, two small shovels, a small trowel, two hand rakes, and two miniature wheelbarrows lying in the sand.

“I guess he figured one of each wouldn’t be enough,” Serra said with a smile.

Darrell laughed. “One toy means arguments and tears, something we’re trying to avoid.” Then he looked at Kevin. “Have you got a few minutes? There are a few things I need a sorcerer for, and Marcus is in Ashmont.”

“I don’t know.” Kevin looked at Chris. “Do I?”

Chris nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll head back inside and check on things.”

After Chris left, Darrell had Kevin sink a few poles to use as anchors for the swing sets and monkey bars. Then the guards took over the construction and Kevin headed back inside to his office.

He only had a few minutes until lunchtime, so he sat down at his desk, leaned forward, and rested his head on his arms. It had been a busy day, but other than having to deal with Janine that morning, it hadn’t been a bad one. In fact, it had turned out pretty good. He’d found out that when it mattered, when he had to take care of business, he could push Rhianna right out of his head. He sat up and grinned.

And as he sat there, grinning at his success in dismissing all thoughts of her and concentrating on the moment at hand, an image of the two of them walking through the woods came out of nowhere and hijacked his thoughts.

Chapter 12

Dinner at Kyle's

The sky had just enough wisps of cloud over the mountains for a beautiful sunrise Wednesday morning, but Kevin didn’t see it. He didn’t make it to breakfast either. And he might not have made it to lunch if Chris hadn’t brought him a cup of coffee at 10:00.

“Why did you let me sleep so long?” Kevin asked as he stumbled out of bed and over to the couch. “The morning’s nearly gone.”

“You had plans for this morning?” Chris asked.

“No, but I’m sure there’s stuff I need to do. I’ve been out of the office more than I’ve been in it since last Friday.”

“It’ll still be there this afternoon. There’s nothing on your schedule until 4:00.”

“Remind me.”

“Dinner at Kyle’s with Laryn and Steve.”

“Right. Anything I need to know about that?”

“I’ll wait until you’re awake before we get into all of that. Why don’t you get dressed, run through your routine, and then we’ll talk,” Chris said as he made his way towards the door. “I’ll meet you in your office.”