The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (76 page)

“I do, too,” Marcus said under his breath.

Once the children were out of the room, Marcus told his sister and Hayley about Landis, the assassins Rolan had sent after her, and that someone had told the assassins where she’d be and that she’d have a sorcerer with her.

When he explained he’d been shot first so they’d have a better chance of getting Landis, Hayley nodded, but Marcie was furious. “Why didn’t you get him before he had a chance to shoot? Why did you let him shoot you?”

“I didn’t know he was there! Do you honestly think I just stood there and let him shoot?” Marcus asked. “He might have hit Hayley!”

“Why didn’t you throw up a shield? Isn’t that what sorcerers do when they’re attacked?”

Marcus felt a blush creep up his cheeks. “And I would have if I’d know we were going to be shot at. The first clue I had we were in danger was when the arrow hit my shoulder.”

“So what’s going to happen next time? Is another arrow going to be sticking out of your body? What if it’s not your shoulder? What if it hits something vital?”

“I hope there’s not going to be a next time, but just in case, I’ve been training with some of the guards. I’m a lot quicker with a shield now than I was, and I’ve gotten pretty good at stopping arrows before they hit me.”

Marcie frowned. “The only way you’d know that is if someone’s shooting at you.”

Marcus wished he’d kept his mouth shut. “That’s how we practice. They shoot arrows at me and I grab them out of the air and stack them up.”

“They shoot arrows at you,” she said slowly, “and you think this is a good thing?”

“How else will I get good enough to defend myself and anyone who happens to be with me?”

“By practicing with your shields? Or maybe you could start paying attention to who’s around you?”

“Throwing shields was the first exercise we did when I started training with the guards. Besides, you wouldn’t believe how careful they are. I had to wear a padded vest and they used blunted arrows for a long time.” Marcus sighed. “Look, I need the practice, I need to get better, and if I weren’t working for Myron, I’d have to figure out some way to get better on my own.”

“If you weren’t working for Myron, no one would be shooting at you.”

“Maybe, maybe not. But for now, I’m where I want to be, and I’m a better sorcerer now than I was six months ago.”

“Well, at least tell me the man who shot you is dead.”

“He is.”

“Good. Glad you threw a bolt before he finished what he started.”

“I’m not the one who killed him, Sis. It’s kinda hard to question a dead man, and we needed answers.”

Marcie frowned. “But I thought you said he was dead.”

“He is. He was killed in his jail cell that night, but not by me.”

Marcie didn’t say anything for a moment. “If you get yourself killed, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Sis, I’ll be fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”

Marcie looked at Hayley. “Would you please let me know the next time my brother gets shot? Apparently I can’t trust him to tell me what’s going on.”

Hayley bit her lip to keep from laughing as she nodded.

Marcie exhaled a deep sigh and looked at Marcus. “Try to stay alive, all right?”

“Will do.” Then Marcus grinned and asked, “Now, can I go outside and play in the snow?”

~ ~ ~ ~

A couple of hours later, Caleb and Marcus burst through the back door two steps ahead of a barrage of snowballs. Their hair, clothes, and boots were all caked with snow.

“Stop!” Marcie yelled as soon as she saw them. “Hold it right there. You’re not dripping snow all over my house! Back out on the porch until you get that snow off of you.”

She turned her head and called, “Rayne! Bring me some towels.”

“We can’t go back out there,” Caleb explained through his giggles. “They’ll kill us!”

Marcus cracked the back door open to glance out and narrowly missed being hit in the face by a snowball. He ducked, slammed the door, and laughed. “He has a point.”

Hayley came into the kitchen with an armload of towels. “Rayne can’t hear you. She’s outside, on the other team.”

Marcie frowned. “What other team?”

“The one pelting us with snowballs,” Marcus answered with a big grin on his face.

Marcie looked back and forth between her brother and her son. “Do I want to know how this got started?”

“Probably not.” Marcus reached for a towel and started drying his hair.

“But we got them good!” Caleb said as he dissolved into more giggles.

“Looks like they got you good, too,” Marcie teased as she wrapped her son in a big towel.

Hayley handed Marcus a second towel. “What happened to the sledding?”

“Snow’s too soft. The sleds were bogging down too much. We’ll try again tomorrow morning, while there’s still a good coat of ice on top, before the sun turns it to mush.”

“And everyone’s coming,” Caleb added. “Even Thom and Marissa.”

“Marissa’s going sledding?” Marcie asked, looking at Marcus.

“That’s what she said.”

Marcie turned to Hayley. “You’d better go with them.” At Hayley’s questioning look, she added, “Marissa’s only got a couple of weeks to go, and sledding could throw her into labor.”

Marcus laughed. “I could be wrong, but I think that’s what she’s hoping.”

Hayley shook her head, slowly at first, and then faster. “No, no, no, no, no! I’ve delivered my baby for this month. No!”

“Lysette was last month. It’s January now,” Marcus said with a grin.

“It was last week!” Hayley argued. “I’m not over that one yet! No, she can’t go into labor, not now, not with me, not while I’m here. Make her stay home!”

Marcie burst out laughing. “You don’t know Marissa. No one makes her do anything, not her parents, not Thom, and certainly not Marcus. If she wants to go sledding, she’ll go sledding. All we can do is be ready.”

Hayley sank into one of the kitchen chairs and looked miserable.

Caleb stepped out of his wet boots, walked over to her, and put his arm around her. “It’ll be all right. Shel says she’s coming. She can help. She knows all about babies. She had one last year.”

As Hayley hugged him, Marcie grinned and said, “I’ll be there too, and I know a little about babies, too.”

Caleb broke away from Hayley and looked at his mother, eyes big as saucers. “You do? How?”

Marcus roared with laughter as Marcie rolled her eyes. “Where do you think you came from? Or your sister?”

Caleb frowned in concentration for a moment, and then his eyes grew round. “Euuu. From in there?” He pointed at his mother’s stomach.

Marcie nodded. “And who do you think helped Shel deliver Evan last year?”

“You did?”

Marcie nodded again.

Caleb turned back to Hayley and patted her shoulder. “See? It’s going to be fine.”

Marcie swallowed a laugh as she gathered up the wet towels and handed them to Caleb. “Hang these on the drying rack and go wash up. It’s almost time for dinner.”

Then she looked at Marcus. “Put those wet boots on the hearth.”

As Marcus picked up the boots, Marcie turned to Hayley. “Would you call Rayne? When she gets here, tell her to set the table. Dinner will be in half an hour.”

~ ~ ~ ~

By bedtime, Marcie’s house was full. Thom and Marissa had come for supper and stayed until nearly midnight. When Thom said something about heading home, Marcie told him not to even think about taking Marissa out in that cold, that Hayley could sleep in Rayne’s room and they could have Caleb’s room.

Since Caleb had already fallen asleep on the couch, the only person left without a bed was Marcus. Marcie handed him several quilts and blankets, a couple of pillows, pointed towards the living room, and told him to make himself comfortable.

Marcus considered moving Caleb to the floor and taking the couch, but he figured the guilt would keep him from sleeping, so he settled down on the floor for the night. He’d been asleep for two hours when Caleb grabbed his shoulder and shook him, begging him to wake up. Tears were running down the boy’s cheeks.

“What’s wrong? What is it?” Marcus gathered Caleb in his arms. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Caleb shook his head. “Do something!” Caleb was crying so hard he could barely get the words out. “Those men, they’re going to throw Evan in the fire. Stop them!”

“What men? Where?” Marcus got up and looked out the window. All he could see between Marcie’s and Shel’s houses were a couple of trees and a shed. “Are you sure you weren’t dreaming? I don’t see anyone out there.”

“It wasn’t a dream. I know it wasn’t!” Caleb struggled to speak between sobs. “Look again! The man I heard is going to light a big fire and the other man is going to get Evan. They’re going to kill him if you don’t do something!”

Marcus looked outside again. This time he used his seeing eye to get a closer look around Shel’s house. While he was scanning the area, the moon slipped out from behind a cloud and Marcus saw a shadow move next to Shel’s back door. Then he spotted a man out front, near the center of the little settlement, kneeling beside a huge bundle of firewood. As Marcus watched, the man lit the fire, and a split second later, a woman’s scream shattered the night.

Marcus didn’t hesitate. He grabbed Caleb’s shoulders and leaned down to look him in the eye. “Get your father and Thom. Tell them to grab their weapons and go out the back door. You stay with your mother. Tell Hayley I may need her in a few minutes, but I want the rest of you to stay in this house.” He shook the boy’s shoulders. “Do you understand me, Caleb? I want you, your mother, Marissa, and Rayne to stay upstairs, no matter what happens. Do not come down.”

Caleb nodded as Shel’s screams sent shivers up his spine. “Hurry,” he yelled as he ran up the stairs.

Marcus opened the front door and ran down the steps. As his feet hit the ice and snow, he realized he’d forgotten his boots. They were sitting on the hearth, nice and warm, while his feet were stinging from the cold. With a few choice words about his own stupidity, Marcus ran towards the fire.

As he ran, he saw Shel struggling for all she was worth against the huge bear of a man who was restraining her. He heard her scream and cry out, “No, not my baby! Don’t you hurt my baby!” while in the background, a very unhappy baby wailed.

Marcus slowed to a stop and crouched down to see what was happening. Flames had engulfed the stack of wood and were dancing around, leaping waist high, but the man who’d lit it was no longer there. A moment later, Marcus spotted him, heading back towards the fire with a squirming baby in his arms.

As he and the baby neared the flames, the man yelled back over his shoulder. “If you don’t want to see your son burn, get your neighbors out here with their hands over their heads. One weapon, one person with their hands down, one person hanging back, and into the flames he goes. Now move. You’ve got a lot of people to wake up.”

Shel screamed again and struggled even harder.

A harsh voice said, “I’m going to let you go now, little lady, but keep in mind there’s no way you can get to your baby before Sanju can toss him in that fire. If you want to hold your baby again, do what you’re told. Get everyone out here and lined up in front of the fire.”

“What do you want from me?” Shel whimpered, terrified.

“I told you,” the man snarled. “You and all of your neighbors, out here, lined up in front of the fire. Now go!” The man shoved her towards Marcie’s house.

Before Shel could take more than one step, Marcus used an outstretched hand to pluck Evan out of Sanju’s hands and lift him out of harm’s way. He used a second hand to pick Sanju up and dangle him over the fire.

The man who had been restraining Shel grabbed her by the hair, jerked her back in front of him, tilted her head back, and held a knife to her throat. “Let him down, sorcerer, or the little lady here loses her head.”

“You want me to let him down?” Marcus bounced Sanju up and down over the flames while the man screamed for help. Marcus formed a third outstretched hand, snatched the knife out of the man’s hand, and turned it so the tip was pointed at the man’s throat. “Unless you want me to ram this blade through your throat, let her go.” The man released Shel and raised his hands in surrender.

Shel didn’t even look back as she ran towards her son. Marcus lowered Evan until the baby was in his mother’s arms. Shel sank to the ground, cradling her son close and sobbing.

Meanwhile, Lance and Thom had made it downstairs and out the back door, where they had split up. Thom moved around one side of the house while Lance skirted the other. Both men had swords on their belts, quivers on their backs, and bows in their hands.

Lance called out to Marcus, “Need any help?”

“If you’ll take care of these two, I’ll see if I can find the others,” Marcus answered.

“What others?” Thom called out.

“The rest of the gang.” Marcus jiggled Sanju over the flames. “You still awake up there?”

Sanju growled something unintelligible.

“Answer my questions and I’ll let you down. If you want to play games, you can stay up there until you’re well done,” Marcus said loudly enough to be heard throughout the settlement. “Now, how many are hiding in the woods?”

“Don’t tell him a thing,” the man who had been holding Shel yelled out.

Marcus jiggled Sanju again. “How many more?”

“Two more, four of us in all.”

Marcus moved Sanju away from the fire and dumped him in the snow.

Thom put the tip of his sword to the man’s back. “Sit. And put your hands on your head.”

As Sanju did as he was told, Marcie darted out from the shadow of a big bush near her porch and ran towards Thom and Sanju, a long rope dangling from her hand.

“What are you doing out here?” Marcus hissed at his sister. “I told Caleb to tell you to stay upstairs.”

“Yeah, well,” Marcie said as she wrapped the rope around Sanju’s hands, “when did that ever work? Besides, someone had to bring the rope.”

Marcus shook his head. “When you’re done there, how about getting the other guy?”

“I’ve got him,” a voice from near Shel’s house called out, and a moment later, Hayley emerged from the shadows, a second rope dangling from her hands.