The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (7 page)

“Fine. A squad of men should arrive around lunchtime. Cpt. Lawrence has arranged for them to use a boat that’s docked about two hundred miles from the mouth of the Kivee. If we have the squad on it by nightfall, they’ll be set up long before the slavers can get that far. Will you be able to take them down this afternoon?”

Kevin nodded. “Is Lt. Martyn joining them here or there?”

“I’d like for him to be here when they get here. After I talk to the boy, we’ll see if he’s ready to leave.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to listen to that interview.”

“All right, but it’ll be easier on the boy if he only has to talk to one person. Would you mind staying in the background?”

“Not at all,” Kevin said as he stood up. “Are you ready to go?”

Gen. Crandal nodded, picked up his pack, and put his hand on Kevin’s arm.

~ ~ ~ ~

When Kevin and Gen. Crandal arrived at the chapel in Ashmont, the town was too quiet, even for a Sunday morning. Gen. Crandal’s knock on the front door echoed in the stillness. A couple of minutes later, Hayley opened the door.

“Good morning, General, Myron. You’re here to talk to the children, right?” she asked with a smile as she waved them in.

Gen. Crandal nodded. “Well, to the boy. I won’t know if I’ll need to speak with his sister until after I talk to him. She’s a little young to have noticed much.”

“She might know more than you think. Where do you want to talk to them? The parlor? Or would you prefer to go outside?”

“The parlor’s fine if you don’t mind if I move some of the furniture back,” Gen. Crandal answered. “I have some miniature houses and people I’d like to set up for him to use to show me what happened.”

Hayley led them into the parlor. While Gen. Crandal unpacked his props, she had Kevin move a couple of the chairs out of the way.

“What little boy did you borrow those from?” Hayley asked.

“Actually, they’re mine. I’ve had them for years.”

Kevin watched as Gen. Crandal set up the houses. “You’ve had to do this before, haven’t you?”

Gen. Crandal nodded as he stood up. “Young children can show me what happened better than they can tell me. They have trouble putting it in words.”

“It’s like trying to describe a nightmare,” Hayley said. “I’ll get Corey. Good luck.”

Kevin sat down in one of the chairs off in a corner of the room while Gen. Crandal sat on the floor in front of his little village to wait. When Corey came in, he plopped down beside the general and began moving things around. Gen. Crandal let him play with the pieces for a while and then prompted him to show him what had happened during the raid.

Unfortunately, Corey didn’t know much. His father had dug an escape tunnel from their house to a cellar twenty feet away, inside the edge of the woods. Every couple of months they’d practice what to do in case of a raid. Corey was supposed to get Caitlyn, pull up the trap door under his bed, drop down into the tunnel, and crawl to the cellar in the woods. They were to wait there until either their mother or father came for them.

Corey hung his head. “But we didn’t. We came out anyway. We had been in there for so long, and it was quiet outside.”

“Was it light when you climbed out?”

Corey nodded. “Light enough to see, but not bright.”

“Did you see anything?”

“There was a big boat out in the river, bigger than any of ours, with some men walking around on the deck.”

“How many men?”

Corey thought for a moment. “I think there were six, and then another one popped up. I guess there was a room under the deck.”

“What did you do then, Corey?”

“We hid until the boat left, and then we walked over towards the river.” Corey looked down and fiddled with his shoe. “That’s when I saw our father lying beside Uncle Curad and Aunt Anna. They were all dead.” Corey’s voice choked. He swallowed hard and whispered, “I didn’t let Caitlyn see though. I turned her around and told her we needed to stay in the woods.” A tear worked its way down his cheek.

“That’s fine, Corey. Would you like to go find Sister Janine for me now?”

Corey wiped at the tear as he stood up. “Are you going to find our mother?”

Gen. Crandal hesitated. “We’re going to try, but I can’t promise you we’ll be able to.”

Corey nodded and left the room.

While Gen. Crandal packed up his little houses and men, Kevin put the furniture back in place. By the time Sister Janine joined them, the room was in order.

“When would you like to leave for Glenarbour?” Kevin asked her.

“In about an hour.”

Kevin nodded and turned to the general. “Are you ready to head back to the castle?”

“I’d like to take Lt. Martyn with me when I go.” He asked the sister if she had any idea where he was.

“As far as I know, he’s at his house.” She gave them directions, then put her hands on her hips, and asked, “Do I need to have Alma show you the way?”

Gen. Crandal shook his head. “I’ll find it.” He turned towards Kevin. “Want to walk with me? We can leave from there.”

Kevin nodded and followed him out of the chapel. As soon as they were on the road, the general asked Kevin what he thought of Corey’s story.

“I think he had a very smart father. Wish more of our border families had plans like that.”

“There are some areas along the coast where it wouldn’t be practical, but it would work in most places. We’ll have to spread the word on that one.”

“It surprised me when he said the boat was still there after daybreak. Why didn’t anyone notice it?”

“I don’t know. According to Lt. Martyn, the men from Ashmont were there before lunch. I imagine word about the raid spread pretty quickly after that. Seems like they should have heard something from someone about a strange boat in the area.”

“Has anyone asked the people downstream if they saw anything?”

“I’m not sure. I assumed the boat slipped out under the cover of darkness, and I feel sure Lt. Martyn did, too.”

“Maybe Marcus’ll be able to find out something. I told him he could use one of the boats from Syrando while he’s here.”

The general nodded. “I’ll let Sgt. Nance know.”

When they reached the lieutenant’s house, Gen. Crandal knocked on the door.

“Good morning, sir,” Lt. Martyn said when he opened it.

“Good morning. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, sir. Sgt. Nance is here if you have any instructions for him.”

“Good. Would you ask him to step out here for a moment?”

After Sgt. Nance stepped out on the porch, the general explained what Marcus was going to do and asked Sgt. Nance to make sure everyone in the area cooperated with him. “He’s a sorcerer, so if for any reason you need help, he’ll be here, but I’m talking about help defending the town. He’s not here to build barns or dig wells. Be sure everyone understands that.”

“Yes, sir,” Sgt. Nance said.

“Thank you. Now, do you have any questions?”

“Well, just one. Who’s our lieutenant now?”

“You don’t have one. If you need anything, contact Cpt. Forman in Blackhurst. And send him your reports, too. I expect Lt. Martyn will be back home soon, but if we need someone to fill in later, I’ll send someone from Milhaven.”

“Thank you, sir,” Sgt. Nance said.

Lt. Martyn came out with his bag and asked Sgt. Nance to keep an eye on his place. Then he turned to the general. “I’m ready when you are, sir.”

“Have you ever traveled by key before?” Kevin asked.

Lt. Martyn shook his head.

“The first few times can be a bit rough, but if you give yourself a few minutes to recover, it won’t be that bad. When we come out of the energy field, you’ll feel dizzy and sick on your stomach. Don’t try to do anything until that passes. Stand still and take slow, deep breaths and you’ll be fine. Try to show what a big strong man you are, and you’ll probably find yourself on the ground covered in your own vomit. Understand?”

Lt. Martyn’s eyes opened wide. He nodded, took a deep breath, and slowly put his hand on Kevin’s arm.

~ ~ ~ ~

Gen. Crandal put his arm on Lt. Martyn’s back as the lieutenant bent forward and concentrated on breathing. When Lt. Martyn was steady enough to stand by himself, Gen. Crandal stepped over to Kevin and whispered, “Sort of rough with that description, weren’t you?”

Kevin whispered back, “I know how it hit me the first time, and I was with Laryn, one person I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of. Figured he felt the same way about you. Just trying to save him some embarrassment.”

Lt. Martyn slowly straightened up and took a few more deep breaths. After he felt a little steadier, he turned towards Kevin and Gen. Crandal. “It does take the wind out of you. Thanks for the warning.”

Kevin nodded. “Guess I’d better get back to Ashmont. I’m sure Sister Janine’s ready to go by now. See you later.”

~ ~ ~ ~

When Kevin knocked on the front door of the chapel this time, Theresa opened it, stepped out on the porch, and shut the door behind her. “We need to talk.”

“Okay. What’s up?”

“How do you plan to rescue the captives if Janine finds them in Glenarbour?”

“To be honest, I don’t know yet.”

“I was afraid of that. Kevin, you’ve got to have a plan, and I mean today.”

“It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours since I heard about the raid. I haven’t had time to catch my breath, much less come up with a rescue plan. What’s the rush?”

“Janine’s the rush. She doesn’t know you and she’s not at all convinced you’ll do anything. She’s not even sure you care.”

“Well, if I didn’t care, I wouldn’t be here, would I?”

“I tried that one. She said the only reason you’re here is because it’s your job.” She looked away from Kevin and chewed on her lips.

“Okay, what’s bothering you? Out with it.”

Theresa paused and then shook her head. “You can’t ever let anyone know I said anything. What’s said between sisters, stays between sisters, but this time … She figures she’s got to come up with a plan on her own, that if she finds the captives, it’ll be up to her to rescue them, and you can’t let her do that. The damage it would do to the relationship the Sisterhood has with the owners of that slave house would be irreparable. You’ve got to convince her you’ll handle it, and that you know how you’re going to do it.”

“All right,” Kevin said with a nod. “I’ll take care of it.”

“But you can’t say anything about what I told you.”

“I won’t let her know you said one word, and I won’t even pretend Marcus or Alek overheard her. By the way, did they?”

Theresa sighed. “Marcus did and he wanted to tell her what he thought of her and her attitude. Took Hayley and me both to talk him down. I’m not sure she wouldn’t have burned him for impertinence.”

Kevin frowned. “You can do that? I thought those pendants were for self-defense.”

Theresa shrugged. “I don’t think I could, but someone with Janine’s experience and temperament? I wouldn’t want to risk it, and I didn’t want Marcus to risk it either.”

“I’ll speak with him,” Kevin said, secretly pleased. “And I’ll check in with her while she’s in Glenarbour so she won’t think I’ve forgotten about her or the captives. Think that’ll do it?”

“I hope so, but you really do need a plan.”

“Okay. Now let’s go in before someone notices us out here.”

“It’s okay. I told her I wanted to talk to you about finding homes in Milhaven for the children, which we do need to do. These people are nervous enough about slavers right now without being reminded about it every time they see Caitlyn or Corey. I think the children will be better off in a new environment, too. It would be different if they had family around here, but they don’t. We can talk about that later though. Just let Joan know we’re bringing them back with us. She’ll figure something out.”

Kevin nodded, as Theresa led him back into the chapel. They walked past the parlor and down the long hall that led to the living quarters. When they reached the kitchen, Alek was seated at the table with a large cup in front of him.

“Want some coffee?” Alek asked as he started to get up.

“No, I’m fine,” Kevin answered. “Have you had any sleep?”

“Not yet. I told Marcus to get some after the sisters got up. I’ll sleep this afternoon, after we get back to the castle.”

Kevin nodded. “Is Sister Janine ready to go?”

“She said she was, but that was half an hour ago. I’m not sure where she took off to after that.”

Kevin glanced at Theresa, who shrugged and said, “I’ll see if I can find her.”

Alek finished his coffee, rinsed out his cup, and set it in the sink. His bag was on the floor next to the back door. “I’ll come back and stand guard with Marcus tonight if you want me to.”

“I was just thinking about that. Until the other families come back, it might be a good idea to have one or two guards around. Let me speak with Darrell and Gen. Crandal first though. I’ll let you know this evening. Just be sure you get plenty of sleep once we get back home.”

Alek nodded. “I will. I’m looking forward to my bed.”

Sister Janine walked in as Alek finished talking. She cut her eyes at him and said, “I offered you a bed this morning.”

“I know, Sister. It was my choice to wait up for Myron. No problem.”

Sister Janine looked at Kevin. “Can you take me straight to the chapel? I don’t want to go parading all over town with you. That would draw just the kind of attention I want to avoid.”

“Alek knows where the chapel is. He’ll take us straight there.”

Sister Janine frowned at Alek. “You know how to operate the key?”

Alek nodded.

Sister Janine looked back at Kevin, her frown still in place. “Then why do I need you? You can just stay here. With my luck, if you go, someone will see you and recognize you, and I won’t be able to go anywhere without being followed.”

Kevin shook his head. His sorcerer’s pendant was tucked inside his tunic, and he was dressed in what he referred to as his off-duty clothes, the ones he had worn in Rainbow Valley. Nothing about him said Seated Sorcerer, much less Master Sorcerer. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem, Sister. I don’t know anyone in Glenarbour, and no one will figure out who I am the way I’m dressed.”