The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (35 page)

“And that’s why you wanted us to come straight here.”

Robyn nodded. “Now, what can I do for you?”

Kevin frowned. “Well, I had come to ask a favor of you, but now I’m afraid it might not be such a good idea. You know Landis is my apprentice.”

Robyn nodded.

“She would like to talk to you.”

“Little Landis.” Robyn smiled. “Hard to believe she’s all grown up. I’d love to see her, but not here. Not anywhere in Brendolanth. It’s not safe for her.”

“That’s one of the things she wants to talk to you about. She’s heard about Rolan from Taelor and from me, and for a while, she hated him, but now she’s questioning what she’s heard. She’s not sure she believes he’s really that bad, or that he would hurt her. She’s considered going to see him so she can talk to him herself and get his side of things.”

Robyn shook his head vigorously. “You can’t let her do that!”

“I know.” Kevin paused a moment before continuing. “Landis is confused. She’s not sure what she wants. She’s known for years that everyone expects her to be a sorcerer, and that was fine. She figured she’d study for a couple of years, join the rest of you at the castle, and play around with magic whenever the mood hit her. I don’t think she ever thought being a sorcerer would be a major focus in her life. Then Taelor told her Rolan killed Tsareth, and everything changed. She wanted to avenge her father’s death by fighting Rolan, which meant she’d have to be more than a casual student of magic. She’d have to become a skilled sorcerer. And now, after just a couple of months, it’s sinking in that this is a major commitment. She’s figured out that she’s looking at a long rough road, and she’s not at all sure she wants to travel it. At the same time, we’re telling her she needs to work hard to learn enough magic to be able to defend herself because Rolan’s coming after her.”

“And if she can convince herself he’s not, she can quit,” Robyn said.

Kevin nodded.

“Why doesn’t she want to be a sorcerer?” Robyn asked with a frown. “Her magic’s strong, much stronger than mine.”

“I don’t think she’s ever thought about it that much. Keep in mind she’s spent her whole life living with elves. I imagine she’d be perfectly happy to live the rest of her life there. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s an option for her, at least not as long as Rolan’s alive,” Kevin answered. “She’s at the point where she has to make a decision. If she wants to quit, fine. But if she does, I’ve got to find someplace far away from here where she can lead the quiet life she seems to want, and hope Rolan never finds her. If she decides to train, she needs to give it her all, and she hasn’t been doing that up to this point. But either way, she has to decide, and she thinks talking to you will help her figure it out, at least according to Rhianna.”

Robyn’s frown deepened. “Rhianna?”

“Her assistant.”

Robyn nodded. “How would we do this? And when?”

“Both of those are up to you. I can take you anywhere. You can talk to her in my office, on a deserted island, on a mountain top, anywhere.”

“What’s your opinion?”

“I think we should use someplace that’s not familiar to either one of you, preferably someplace that’s deserted. I’m going to have Landis follow one of my sorcerers around for a day so she can see some of the things magic can do. I’ll pick her up after dinner one evening, let her spend the night at the castle, follow a sorcerer the next day, and take her home around dinnertime. I’d like to use that as a cover for the two of you to meet. That way I wouldn’t have to tell anyone about it in advance. I could take her to meet you either before I take her to the castle, later that evening, midnight, early the next morning, lunchtime, whenever it would work best for you.”

“Will her assistant know about the meeting?” Robyn asked.

“I don’t see any way around it, but she won’t be there while you and Landis talk. I’ll see to it you have complete privacy for that.”

Robyn frowned. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for the assistant to know anything about it. I don’t want word of this getting back to Rolan.”

“It won’t, at least not from Rhianna,” Chris assured him.

“Are you sure?”

Chris nodded. “Rhianna’s her best friend, her sister for all practical purposes. There’s no way she’ll say or do anything to jeopardize Landis.”

“Wait a minute.” Robyn frowned. “Rhianna. I’ve heard that name before. Is she also known as Rhee? Are you talking about Hayden’s daughter?”

Again, Kevin nodded.

“An elf. Landis has an elf as an assistant. Is that legal?”

“Well, as of now no one’s had any objections. Of course, no one knows either,” Kevin answered. “Are you thinking in terms of Landis being on the council?”

“If she goes up against Rolan and defeats him, she will be.”

“To be honest, I haven’t given it any thought. Guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, but first Landis has to decide whether or not she wants to be a sorcerer.”

“Right.” Robyn sighed. “One thing at a time.”

“So, when would you like to meet with her? What works best for you? It makes no difference to me.”

“Sunday night’s the best for me right now. And I can be gone for an hour without raising any questions. Glenice has the aides clean the chapel rooms after dinner before we play Octuro. How soon do you want to do this?”

“As soon as possible. She needs to make a decision, one way or the other.”

“Next Sunday?”

“What time should I pick you up?”

“Dinner’s usually at 5:30 on Sunday, so I’ll try to be in here by 6:00, 6:15 at the latest. As long as I’m back before 8:00, no one will notice.”

Kevin nodded as he took out his key. “I’ll meet you in here at 6:15.”

Robyn nodded. “If for any reason I can’t make it, I’ll have Sister Glenice leave a note on her desk about giving Chanz some kind of herb for something or other. That wouldn’t raise any questions if someone happened to see it.”

Again, Kevin nodded as Chris placed his hand on his arm. “See you Sunday evening. Stay safe.” And with a turn of the key, he and Chris left the office.

~ ~ ~ ~

Tuesday morning, after Kevin dropped Theresa and Hayley off in Rainbow Valley, he flew to the top of Wildcat Mountain to talk to Ashni. She was seated at her loom in the living room.

“What are you making?” he asked as he stepped behind her to look at the cloth. It was pale yellow with dark green and orange geometric designs.

“This cloth is for Sister Evelyne in Abernon.” Ashni stopped working and turned to Kevin. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to let you know I’m picking Landis and Rhianna up Sunday evening. I want her to follow Marcus around Monday and watch him work. It may help her figure out what she wants to do.”

Ashni nodded. “Maybe she will find some peace after she makes a decision. What time do you plan to pick them up?”

“Would 6:00 be all right?”

Ashni nodded. “I can serve dinner at 5:00 if you would like for them to eat here.”

“That would be great.”

“When will you bring them back?”

“Monday evening, probably around 7:00.”

Ashni nodded. “Have you told the girls?”

Kevin shook his head. “I wanted to tell you first. I’m going to tell them now.” Kevin headed for the door. “See you Sunday.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin found Landis in the same small room he used to use. Her back was to the door and she was standing with one bare foot on the ground and one in a large tub of water. Kevin had no idea what she was doing, but she was concentrating so hard she didn’t hear him come in. Rhianna did though. After holding out her hand for Kevin to stop, Rhianna stepped around the table straight into Landis’s line of sight.

“Nooo!” Landis muttered as she stomped her foot and splashed water on the cave floor. “Can’t you stay put? I just lost all of the magic I had stored in that ball. I’m going to have to start all over again.”

“Sorry.” Rhianna pointed behind Landis. “You have a visitor.”

“Here?” Landis swirled around. “Myron. If you’re looking for Glendymere, I have no idea where he is. He wasn’t here when we got here this morning.”

“Actually, I’m meeting him when I leave here, but I was looking for you. I would like for both of you to come to the castle in Milhaven Sunday evening.”

Landis frowned. “Why?”

“So you can follow Marcus around Monday. I want you to see some of the things a sorcerer does on a daily basis.”

“Why?” Landis asked again.

“Well, you seem to be having trouble deciding whether or not you want to be a sorcerer, so I thought it might help if you knew a little about what a sorcerer does.” Kevin sat down on the edge of the table. “Look, both of us grew up in relatively isolated areas. I had never seen magic used for anything until I came here. I had no clue what being a sorcerer was all about. All I knew was I was supposed to prevent a magic war, and there were a lot of people who wanted to see me dead. When I started, I was learning how to use magic just so I could stay alive, but after a while, that wasn’t enough. I needed to know how I could use what I was learning for something other than fighting. It helped when I found some practical, everyday uses for what I could do.”

“So why can’t you just show me here? Why go to Milhaven?” Landis argued.

“A demonstration’s not the same. You need to see it being used. And Marcus is a good sorcerer for you to observe. He’s strong, but he’s also careful.”

“Sounds like fun,” Rhianna said. “The other day you were asking what the purpose of all this is. Now you can find out.”

Landis looked hard at Rhianna. Then she sighed. “Oh, all right. What time are you picking us up?”

“I’ll be here at 6:00. I’ve already spoken with Ashni. She’ll have dinner ready by 5:00, so you’ll have time to eat before we go.”

Kevin turned to Rhianna. “I’ve got some stuff I need to take care of Sunday morning, so I have to cancel our trip to the canyon lands. We’ll go the next weekend.”

Rhianna nodded, but Landis frowned. “If you’re going to be so busy Sunday, why not pick us up early Monday? Is there a reason we need to spend the night?”

Kevin shrugged. “Sunday evening’s better for me.” Kevin stood up and took out his key. “Any other questions?”

When both Rhianna and Landis shook their heads, Kevin nodded and left for the canyon lands.

~ ~ ~ ~

Chris was working in Kevin’s office when Kevin returned. “Any problems come up while I was gone?” Kevin asked as he sat down.

“There’s been another raid on the Kivee.”

“When?”

“A week ago.”

Kevin frowned. “Does Gen. Crandal think it’s the same crew?”

Chris shrugged. “He said if it isn’t, it’s quite a coincidence.”

“Where was it?”

“About halfway between Syrando and the Agrenon Bay. The people lived on an island near the town of Rochdale.”

“So if it’s the same crew, they’re moving south. Makes sense. Do we know how many were taken? Were any killed?”

“No deaths as far as we know, but a lot of captives. Gen. Crandal said it was another family settlement: seven women, eight men, and fifteen children between toddler and mid-teens.”

“That’s thirty people. Any sign of them?”

Chris shook his head. “Vanished. Just like Syrando.”

“Has Gen. Crandal heard anything about the captives from the Syrando raid?”

“No, and that one was two and a half weeks ago. You’d think they’d have surfaced somewhere by now.”

“I wonder just how much this raid was like the one in Syrando. Do we have any specifics about the settlement? Was anything destroyed? Was there any fighting?”

“I don’t know, and I doubt Gen. Crandal does either, which may have something to do with his request. He wants to go to Rochdale and talk to the local sergeant, and he’d like to examine the area for himself. He thought you might want to go, too. Maybe one of you will see something that’ll either say this is the same crew or it isn’t. He’d also like for Marcus to go and ask the people in that area about any boats or strangers they’ve noticed and compare the answers he gets with the answers he got near Syrando. He thinks Marcus may hear something that, when combined with what he heard the first time, will give us some clue as to what’s going on.”

Kevin nodded. “When does he want to go?”

“Thursday, if you can. He wants to let the sergeant know he’s coming so any witnesses will be available. And he’s going to ask the sergeant to arrange for a boat to take you to the island.”

“I could take Gen. Crandal and Marcus over to the island. We don’t need a boat for that, but if Marcus is going to stick around and ask questions, he’ll want one. Tell Gen. Crandal Thursday will be fine.”

Chris nodded. “When do you want to talk to Marcus?”

“As soon as possible. He may have something planned that he’ll have to reschedule.”

“I’ll have one of the pages find him,” Chris said. He gathered the papers he’d been working on and left Kevin’s office.

Kevin glanced at the messages on his desk and sighed. Might as well get started on those. He picked up the first one and started reading.

Before he could make a serious dent in the stack, Marcus knocked on his open door.

“Come on in,” Kevin said as he set the letter he was reading aside. “Do you have anything major planned for Thursday?”

Marcus slowly shook his head. “A couple of little jobs, but nothing I can’t handle either tomorrow or Friday. Why? What’s up?”

Kevin told him about the raid and Gen. Crandal’s request. “Would you be willing to go see what you can find out?”

“Sure, but if you want me to look around and ask questions, I’ll need more than one day. Will I be able to stay until Friday night?”

Kevin nodded. “What time do you want me to pick you up Friday?”

“Would 7:00 or so be all right?”

“As far as I know,” Kevin said. “While you’re here, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

Marcus nodded.

“You know I’ve accepted an apprentice.”

Again, Marcus nodded.

“How much do you know about her?”

Marcus shrugged. “Not much. I’ve heard she’s Rolan’s sister, and since she isn’t here, I assume he’s not happy about you working with her.”