The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (38 page)

“Taelor won’t be here, right?”

“Right.”

“No problem then. Hayley wouldn’t recognize either one of them. And they wouldn’t recognize her,” Theresa said. “What makes you think they might run into each other anyway?”

“I’ve asked Marcus to set up some typical sorcerer tasks so Landis can get an idea how she’ll be able to use her magic. She grew up around elves. She has no idea what sorcerers can do.”

“And if she’s with Marcus, they’ll probably run into Hayley at some point.”

“Right. And even though the chances of the wrong person being there at that precise moment are slim, that’s a chance I don’t want to take. If you think it might be a problem, I can take you and Hayley somewhere for the day, maybe Timera Valley, or up to Drisden to visit Drusilla.”

Theresa shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. I don’t think either of them would recognize me, but I can make sure I stay in the chapel Monday just in case. And like I said, Hayley won’t be a problem. But tell them not to talk about Taelor or the giants while they’re here.”

“I will, or maybe I’ll tell Rhianna and let her deal with Landis.”

Theresa laughed. “I take it Rhianna is Landis’s Chris.”

“That’s what Glendymere says,” Kevin said with a grin. “Well, I guess we can go back now.” Kevin held his arm out to Theresa and a couple of moments later, they were back at the chapel.

~ ~ ~ ~

While Theresa and Kevin were walking along the beach, Hayley and Marcus were wandering around town, talking. Hayley wanted to know everything that had happened while she’d been gone, but Marcus wasn’t much help along the gossip line since he’d been gone, too.

“Where did you go?” Hayley asked.

“Rochdale.”

“And where is Rochdale?”

“It’s on the Kivee, about halfway between Ashmont and the Agrenon Bay.”

“Did they have a flood or something?”

Marcus shook his head. “There was another raid.”

“Oh, no. How many this time?”

“Thirty in all. Fifteen children.”

“Do you think it’s the same group of slavers?”

“Hard to say.” Marcus shrugged. “The main thing the two raids have in common is a lack of leads. People in the area noticed a new boat about a week before the raid, and it’s gone now. That part’s similar to Syrando. And there’s no sign of the captives. It’s like they just vanished, just like the people from Syrando.”

“Well, people do that when a key’s involved.”

“Key?” Marcus stopped and turned towards Hayley. “What makes you think a key’s involved?”

“Don’t you remember what Caitlyn said?”

Marcus frowned. “As far as I know, no one ever talked to her.”

“Are you serious?” Hayley put her hands on her hips. “I told Myron and Gen. Crandal to talk to her. I can’t believe they didn’t do it.” Hayley paused and thought for a moment. “Or at least I meant to. I think I told them she might know more than they thought she did. I really thought that would be enough to get them to question her. I couldn’t tell them what to do with Myron being the Master Sorcerer and the general being the general, but they should have listened to me, and to her.”

Marcus put his hands on Hayley’s shoulders. “What are you talking about? What did Caitlyn see?”

“She saw two men leave the deck of the ship and then a couple of minutes later, one of them came back, but it’s the way she described it. They were both there, one man’s hand on the other man’s arm, then they weren’t. And a few minutes later the first man was back. I asked her if he came up from below deck but she said no, she didn’t see his head first and then the rest of him like he climbed up a ladder. He was just there, standing up, all at once.” Hayley sighed. “Look, I know it’s not much, but Caitlyn knew what she saw. When she described it to me there wasn’t any hesitation, no thinking about it, she just said it. It had to be the way she saw it.”

“But it may not be the way it happened. She’s a child, and a young one at that.”

“Talk to her. See what you think.”

“She doesn’t know me, so she might not be comfortable talking to me, but I will talk to Myron.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Later that afternoon, after Marcus told Kevin about his conversation with Hayley, Kevin stopped by the general’s office and asked, “Did you talk to Caitlyn at any point?”

“No. Why?”

Kevin told him what Hayley had said to Marcus. “Hayley’s convinced the child saw someone using a key.”

“It makes more sense than anything else we’ve found. Think the child will still remember anything?”

“It’s only been four weeks.”

“But that experience was so traumatic it may be buried by now.”

“Well, we won’t know until we try,” Kevin said. “I thought I’d ask Joan to see what she can find out.”

Gen. Crandal nodded. “The child will be more comfortable talking to her. Then, if necessary, we can follow up.”

“I doubt Joan’ll talk to her tonight though. It’s not something she’ll want Caitlyn thinking about at bedtime.”

“There’s no rush. Let her pick the time and place. She knows the children best. Just let me know what you find out.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin and Chris went up to their rooms around 9:00, waited an hour, and then used the key to go to the storeroom in the basement where Chris had stashed three bed frames, mattresses, pillows, and linens for them to take out to the island. Kevin scooped up two of the frames and mattresses in his outstretched hand while Chris picked up the bag of pillows and linens. Then they left for the island.

They’d explored several caves while they were there Tuesday night, some that would be good for a couple of people and a few that would work for a family. The one they’d chosen for themselves had a lot of rooms, most of which were fairly small. The advantage it had over the other caves they’d looked at was its close proximity to the one Landis and Rhianna would be in. For their purposes, it was perfect.

After they set up their beds, they made their way over to the cave that had been set up for Gaynor. Chris waited at the entrance while Kevin made a quick trip back to the storeroom to pick up the bed Chris had chosen for Rhianna. Fifteen minutes later, Rhianna’s bed was set up and everything was ready.

As they walked back towards the cave entrance, Chris said, “I still think this would be a good place for someone to live, and this island could easily support a small village.”

As they walked out on the ledge in front of the cave, Kevin looked around. “I was dreading coming back here, seeing the spot where Gaynor died, but it hasn’t bothered me like I thought it would. I don’t ever want to forget what it felt like though, the horror of watching him disintegrate like that. It’s not something to be taken lightly.”

“Just as long as it doesn’t make you hesitate should the situation come up again.”

Kevin didn’t answer immediately. “That’s why I keep meeting Glendymere in the canyon lands. I don’t want that pile of ashes to be me, and I don’t want you or someone else to end up collateral damage because I had a moment of indecision.”

“Yeah, I’m not keen on that collateral damage bit either, so keep practicing.”

“Are you ready to go?” Kevin took his key out. “I’ve got one of those practices in the morning, and I need some sleep.”

Chapter 35

Landis Meets with Robyn

It had taken Kevin forever to fall asleep after he and Chris got back from the island. When he did finally doze off, his sleep was fitful, and it didn’t help that he woke up to a gloomy day. The sky was heavy with dark clouds and the north wind had a nasty bite to it. He was irritable and completely out of sorts, and his morning workout showed it.

When he got back to his room, Chris was waiting with two cups of coffee.

“What’s wrong?” Chris asked as he handed him a cup.

“I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Why not?”

“I must be more worried about Landis’s meeting with Robyn than I thought.”

“Why? What’s bothering you?”

“I can’t help but wonder if that island’s still deserted. We didn’t find any sign of anyone else, but we didn’t search it either.”

“According to Yara, it’s never been inhabited. What are the chances someone’s stumbled across it since she took us there? Besides, Landis won’t be there by herself. You’ll be there.”

“I know, and that should be enough, but for some reason, it isn’t.”

“So ask Glendymere to check it out. If there’s anyone around, human or not, he’ll know.”

“Good idea. I’ll get him to go with me this morning,” Kevin said as he drank his coffee. “Think I’ll get ready and go.”

“He may not be there yet. You don’t usually go quite this early.”

“I’m not going to the canyon lands. I’m going to Willow Canyon. If he wants to work out today, we can do that after we check out the island.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Half an hour later, Kevin stepped out of the energy flow in front of Glendymere’s cave. Just as he was picking up one of the mallets to hit a gong, a shadow fell across the doorway. A couple of moments later, Glendymere landed in the canyon.

“Good morning,”
Glendymere said.
“I thought we were meeting in the canyon lands around nine.”

“I need your help with something first. Do you have time?”

“It depends on what you need.”

“Landis wants to talk to her oldest brother, Robyn.”

Glendymere nodded.

“And you know I’m picking them up this evening to take them to Milhaven.”

Again Glendymere nodded.

“Only I’m not taking them straight to Milhaven. I’m taking them to an island. After I get them there, I’ll go get Robyn.”

“Does Landis know this?”

“No, and I don’t want her to until she’s on the island. I don’t want anyone to know about this. I’m afraid of what might happen to Robyn if Rolan ever finds out. I trust Blalick and his family completely, but if Rolan does happen to find out, I don’t want anyone wondering if one of them said something.”

“I understand.”
Glendymere waited, but when Kevin didn’t continue, he prompted,
“So?”

“I want you to check out the island. I think it’s deserted, but I can’t be sure.”

“You want me to see if there are any minds on the island.”

“Yes,” Kevin answered.

“Where is this island located?”

“I’m not sure. Yara took me there last summer. It’s the island I was going to use for Gaynor. I can get there with my key, but I have no idea where it is. According to her, no one’s discovered it yet, or at least they hadn’t when she showed it to me last summer. I want to make sure that’s still true. Will you check it out?”

Glendymere nodded.
“We’ll have to use your key.”

A few minutes later, Glendymere and Kevin were on the bluffs on the northern end of the island. There was just enough moonlight to make out the island features.

“There are a lot of caves in those mountains.” Kevin pointed towards the dark shadows of the mountains on the southern end of the island. “Chris and I checked out a few of them, but we were looking for a place to put a couple of beds. We weren’t looking for people.”

“Is someone going to live here?”

“No, but we already had one cave set up. I’ll let Landis and Robyn talk in there, and she and Rhianna can sleep in there tonight. Chris and I will sleep in another cave, close by, but separate.”

“You’re concerned someone might harm her at the castle?”

“I don’t know. I can’t believe any of the people who work there would harm anyone, but at the same time, my father’s tea was poisoned.”

Glendymere nodded.

“So, can you check it out?”

“I already have. There are no intelligent minds here, no humans, no brownies, gnomes, elves, no one. This island is deserted. I wonder why.”

“I have no idea. I’m just glad it is.”

“So, where do you want to go from here? Back to Willow Canyon? Or the canyon lands?”

“The canyon lands is fine with me, unless you have something else you need to do.”

Glendymere shook his head.
“Let’s go work on your reflexes. You may need them over the next day or so and I’d hate for them to be slow.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Rhianna and Landis were in the living room with their overnight bags when Kevin got to Wildcat Mountain that afternoon. After a quick goodbye and the customary basket of goodies from Ashni, they left.

Moments later, the three of them were on the island, standing on the ledge in front of the cave. The sun had been low in the western sky when they left Wildcat Mountain, but it was just clearing the mountain tops to the east when they arrived on the island.

“Exactly where is this castle of yours?” Rhianna asked.

“Well, we’re not in Milhaven,” Kevin explained.

“Or anywhere in Camden if the maps I’ve seen are right.”

Kevin nodded. “We’re on an island on the other side of Terah, in the Trynordic Ocean.”

Landis turned towards Kevin with a glare. “Why are we here?”

“Because you wanted to talk to Robyn, and I thought this would be the safest place for the two of you to meet. And now, if you’ll come with me, I’ll leave the two of you with Chris while I go get Robyn.”

Landis’s mouth had dropped open at the mention of her brother. “Robyn’s here?”

“Not yet. I’ve got to go get him,” Kevin said as he walked into the cave.

“Wait a minute,” Landis said. “I’m not going anywhere until you explain why we’re here.”

“I told you. You’re here to talk to Robyn,” Kevin answered. “I found this island several months ago. I was going to let someone live here, but it didn’t work out. I thought it would be a good place for you and Robyn to meet because it’s completely deserted. No one will ever know you were here. Now, come on, let’s get inside.”

“How do I know this isn’t a trap of some kind?” Landis asked with her hands on her hips. “After all, you said we were going to the castle and we’re obviously not there.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “You saw me spar with Jonquin, right?”