The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (16 page)

Kevin raised his coffee cup. “With more coffee, and something to eat.”

~ ~ ~ ~

After his workout, Kevin went to his office. The pages were all seated around the conference table, writing, and Chris was busy at his desk. No one even looked up when he walked in.

“Guess I should have stopped by the dining hall, huh?” Kevin asked when he didn’t see any sign of coffee.

“No, I was waiting for you to get here,” Chris said. “Ariel? Someone needs to go to the dining hall for coffee and something to eat.”

Ariel stood up and stretched. “I’ll do it. I could use the break.”

While Ariel was gone, Kevin and Chris settled in Kevin’s office. There was a small stack of messages on Kevin’s desk next to a long list in Chris’s writing. Kevin held up the list. “What’s this?”

“A summary of the messages I sent out in your name. Some were routine, but a couple needed quick responses, and since you haven’t been around much lately, I took care of them. Most of the messages on your desk are personal notes, but there are a couple of requests I wasn’t sure how you wanted to handle, so I left them for you.”

Kevin nodded. “I’ll try to get through those today. Now, what do I need to know about this dinner tonight?”

A quiet knock on Kevin’s door interrupted them. When Chris opened it, Ariel handed him a tray with two cups of coffee and a small plate of pastries. When Chris frowned, Ariel held up his hands. “Don’t blame me. I’m just the delivery man. Miranda said you’ve already had breakfast a couple of times, and the plate’s for Myron. Take it up with her,” Ariel said as he backed out of the office and pulled the door to.

Kevin laughed. “I only want one. You can have the others.”

Chris grumbled about women deciding when and how much he should eat as he handed Kevin one of the cups and the plate of pastries. “She’ll ask you if I ate one, and if you say yes, she’ll get back at me later.”

Kevin sipped his coffee and picked up a pastry. “Fill me in on tonight’s meeting. And what are the pages working on?”

“It’s all tied in together,” Chris explained. “Cryslyn took over planning Laryn’s wedding. You know that, right?”

Kevin nodded.

“Well, Joan and Jana have been working with her, so it’s not all her fault.”

“Fault? What do you mean?”

“The pages are sending invitations to all of the district ministers, but the invitations are open to any district officer who would like to attend the festivities.”

“Festivities?”

“I don’t think anything’s been planned for Friday evening, but there’s a brunch Saturday morning, reception and bridal shower at Joan’s house Saturday afternoon, and a formal banquet here Saturday evening.”

Kevin frowned. “The ministers are going to a bridal shower?”

Chris shook his head. “The reception and shower are for the wives. I’m not sure about the brunch, and I have no idea what the men will be doing Saturday. Everyone figures that Laryn’s brothers will take care of that.

“When’s all of this taking place?”

“The fourth Saturday in November.”

“And these people are arriving?”

“Friday afternoon. They’ll leave after breakfast on Sunday.”

Kevin ate a bit more of his pastry and sipped his coffee. “Now for the question I don’t want to ask. How are they getting here?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with it, but from what I was told, you and I are going to provide transportation.”

“You and me?”

Chris nodded. “Joan said there was no reason for you to do it all yourself since you have two keys.”

Kevin leaned back in his chair. “I don’t think that’s what they had in mind when they gave the Master Sorcerer a key to the Gate Between the Worlds.”

“At least you’ve done this before. You can go straight to the houses but the best I can do is end up somewhere in the area. I’ll have to ask directions and then walk heaven only knows how far to get there. It’ll take forever, but they said it shouldn’t take more than an hour for the two of us to pick everyone up.”

Kevin shook his head. “It took me a lot longer than that last summer, and I picked up several ministers at a central location.” He shook his head again. “I don’t see any way we can get this done in an hour.”

“Well, that’s how long they’ve allowed for it in their master plan.”

“Do we know how many people they’re inviting?”

“The ministers, their wives, any sorcerers who would like to come, their wives, the army captains, and their wives. The invitation isn’t specific, it just says district officers and wives. But we won’t know how many are coming until we get the replies back.”

“I can’t see that many sorcerers coming. At least I hope not. All that energy in one place?” Kevin shook his head. “Too volatile. It’ll be bad enough with all of Laryn’s family here.”

“Just for the record, they’re your family, too. You need to get used to that idea.”

“It’s hard to think of them that way. Never had any aunts or uncles before.”

“Anyway, I feel sure some of this will come up tonight while you’re at Kyle’s.”

Kevin nodded. “Wonder what Laryn’s brothers will come up with for the men to do that weekend.”

“And how much you’ll be involved in that.”

Again Kevin nodded.

“Well, keep reminding yourself this is all for Laryn and Steve, both of whom would do anything for you.”

“And I owe both of them. I know. Besides, I like them. So, we’ll do everything we can to make this whole thing go as smoothly as possible. But keep your fingers crossed that no emergencies come up that weekend.” Kevin tapped the stack of messages on his desk. “And now, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get started on these.”

~ ~ ~ ~

At 4:00, Laryn, Steve, and Kevin stood on a small road in the middle of a forest. It was Steve’s first trip through the energy field, so Laryn had taken them to an isolated area near Kyle’s house to let him recover in private, which in principle was a good idea, but Kevin was having second thoughts about it as he waited and shivered. It had to be at least twenty degrees cooler here than it was in Milhaven. Maybe he should have listened to Laryn when she suggested he wear a cloak.

Before they’d left, he’d asked Laryn to show him where Kyle lived on the map. When she pointed to a spot in Lochland, a district that covered the northern half of the area Kevin knew as Maine, he figured it would be a little cooler, but what the map didn’t show was Kyle lived halfway up a mountain. Definitely winter up here.

Fortunately Steve recovered from the trip quickly. As soon as Steve was steady on his feet, Kevin asked, “Which way?”

Laryn pointed east. “It’s just around that bend.”

Before they cleared the bend, Kevin heard barking, lots of barking, and not from just one dog. It sounded like a large pack. He raised his eyebrows and looked at Laryn.

Laryn laughed. “Those are Kyle’s dogs. He trains them. Come on.”

Then she led the way around the bend. At that point, the road continued around the mountain, but a path led into a short tunnel. “Kyle made the tunnel so he wouldn’t have to take the long way around every time he went to town. It’s too small for a wagon, but fine for a sled. He stores his sled in here during the winter.”

“Sled? As in snow?” Kevin asked.

Laryn nodded. “In good weather, Kyle takes the wagon and the road, but there’s snow on the ground at least six months out of the year up here. Wagons are useless then. People use sleds pulled by dogs.”

“And Kyle trains dogs,” Kevin said with a nod. “Does he sell them?”

“Not exactly. People bring him their dogs and he trains them. He has a knack with animals, just like Shadron. Part of our elven heritage. I imagine the rest of us have it too, but they’re the only ones who’ve done something with it.”

“Does he just train sled dogs? Or does he train for other things, too?”

“I’ll let Kyle explain it to you,” Laryn said as they emerged from the tunnel. “There he is now.”

Kyle’s house was off to the side of a small mountain hollow. He’d cleared the area in front of his house to make a work and play area for the dogs, and his dogs were everywhere. Kevin counted fifteen, mostly between fifty and seventy-five pounds, although a couple were decidedly larger, and four were young pups. The pups were running around nipping at the dogs’ feet, jumping on their sides, biting their tails, and in general making nuisances of themselves, but the adult dogs seemed to take it all in stride.

A man who looked a lot like Laryn, only taller, walked through the pack, petting them, handing out bits of what looked like jerky, and laughing at the antics of the puppies.

Kevin was riveted. He’d always wanted a dog, but had never been allowed to have one. Too messy his foster mother had said. Too much trouble. Funny enough, most of the kids he knew had parents who felt the same way. Their houses were show places, places to entertain, places for business, places that were used to impress, and animals did not belong there.

Kyle walked over to join them, followed by half the dogs. He kissed Laryn on the cheek and shook Steve’s hand. Then he turned to Kevin and asked, “See one you like?”

Kevin nodded. “All of them. To tell you the truth, I’m jealous. You get to spend your day with dogs. Want to trade places with me?”

Kyle laughed and shook his head. “I’ll keep my life just as it is.”

Then he led them into his house. There were only four rooms, but the rooms were huge. The kitchen was an eat-in kitchen, for the dogs as well as humans. Dog bowls lined one wall, with large buckets of water on each end and in the middle. The living room had a couple of couches and several chairs, and lots of big pillows scattered about on the floor. The other two rooms were bedrooms, one for Kyle, and one for guests, but from the looks of the guest room, most of Kyle’s guests had four legs.

During dinner, Kevin asked Kyle how he trained his dogs, how he taught them what to do.

“I listen to them,” Kyle answered. “Like most animals, they know what they’re meant to do. Some are meant to herd, some to pull sleds, some to track, and some are meant to be nannies or companions. Training’s easy when you let them do what they’re meant to do. The hard part is convincing the human who wants me to train his dog to herd that he doesn’t have a herder, he has a tracker. I can usually work out trades so people end up with what they need, but sometimes the humans can be a bit of a pain.” Then he grinned and added, “But they don’t want to push me too far. After all, I am a sorcerer.”

“Well, someday, when you find a dog who wants to be a companion, keep me in mind,” Kevin said.

“Will do,” Kyle said with a nod. Then, after a moment, he added, “Might have one now, but I want her to get a little older before I say for sure. Let’s see what she says in another month.”

“Just be sure she’s housebroken,” Laryn said. “Remember what happened the last time you brought one of your pups with you. I thought Cryslyn was going to kill you.”

Kyle shook his head. “I don’t know what her problem was. I cleaned it up. But yes, I’ll be sure she’s housebroken.” Then he stood up from the table and looked at Steve. “You two go on in the living room and have a seat. Myron, you can help me feed the dogs.”

After Steve and Laryn left the kitchen, Kyle started filling up the dogs’ bowls. “After we get the dogs fed, you can take them outside and play with them. They’ve got lots of toys out there, and they’ll be more than willing to share. I’m going into the living room and find out everything I can about Steve.”

“Thanks, but I have to meet Marcus in Ashmont,” Kevin said as he set out the filled bowls. “I should be back in an hour, provided nothing’s happened that I need to take care of.”

Kyle nodded. “Well, if you get back before dark, make yourself at home with the dogs. We’ll find you when Laryn and Steve are ready to go. And feel free to drop by anytime you like. You don’t have to wait for Laryn to visit. The dogs and I are here most of the time, and if I’m not, some of them will be.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Marcus was sitting on the front porch of Lt. Martyn’s house cleaning his fishing gear when Kevin got there. Kevin sat down beside him and asked, “Did you find out anything?”

“I don’t know,” Marcus answered. “I talked to everyone I could find between here and the Kivee and then for several miles each way. Almost everyone I talked to remembered the boat I told you about, the one that everyone says could not have been used to transport that many people, but no one remembers seeing any other unknown boats. All the rest belonged to people who’ve lived here for years.”

Kevin nodded. “Did anyone notice which way the boat went Saturday morning?”

“Three different people said it headed south, but all three are positive there was no way that boat had even a dozen people on board. It’s like the captives just vanished.”

“Do you think it would do any good to talk to people farther down the river?”

Marcus shook his head. “I think we’ve found out everything we’re going to.”

“At least we know it headed towards the Agrenon Bay, not Glenarbour. That’s one thing.”

“Provided the slavers were on that boat. We don’t know anything for sure.”

Kevin shook his head. “If the slavers were on a boat, and we pretty much have to assume they were, then it must have been that one. It’s the only one that didn’t belong here.”

“I know, but everyone who saw it said that there couldn’t have been that many people on board.”

“How could they tell?”

“Fishermen who’ve been around boats all their lives can tell,” Marcus said. “But if the captives weren’t on that boat, where did they go?”

After a few minutes, Kevin said, “I want you to tell Gen. Crandal everything you’ve found out. Maybe he can make sense of it. Now, do you know if anyone around here knew all the people who lived in Syrando?”

“Several did. Why?”

“I want to bring Sister Janine back tomorrow. I don’t think the captives are going to show up there, but just in case they do, I want someone there on the day of the auction who can let us know if any of the residents of Syrando are there.”

“Sgt. Nance knew all of them. I think a couple of the other men did, too.”

“I need someone who won’t tell anyone anything about the auction or what happens there. Would he be discreet?”