The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (83 page)

“Nice to see you insist on proper protocol.” Gwendolyn tilted her head towards Devron. “You may stand.”

Devron slowly stood up, but he kept his eyes down and his hands clasped. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“What’s all this?” Gwendolyn pointed to the crates.

“Some things I’d like to use as cargo if you don’t mind taking them through the field,” Mikos answered.

Gwendolyn raised her eyebrows and looked at him.

“We could steal what we need in Camden, but I’d rather not alert the locals to our presence.”

“But so much?”

“I chose things for their bulk, not their worth. Most of the stuff in those crates belonged to the slaves.”

Gwendolyn frowned at her son. “Why are you dressed like that? Whose tunics are you two wearing? They certainly weren’t made for either of you.”

“I never wear mine when I go to another province,” Mikos answered. “I didn’t think you wanted me to advertise where I was from.”

“Couldn’t you have found some that fit you better?”

“We’re using tunics that used to belong to the slaves. That way they didn’t cost us anything.”

“Very well. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Gwendolyn took off her key and handed it to her son. “You know where we’re going, but don’t you dare leave without me.” She used her outstretched hand to pick up two of the crates. As she put her hand on Mikos’s arm, she looked at Devron. “I’ll be back in a minute to get you and the other crate. Be here.”

Mikos turned the key and they left for Camden.

Chapter 69

News from Wyndsor

The first time Nikki had spent the night at the castle, she’d sniffed every corner of Kevin’s bedroom, every piece of furniture, and every window sill. She’d even wiggled under the bed to check out any scents lingering there. The only thing she’d ignored was the quilt-covered cushion Cryslyn had made for her bed. She wanted nothing to do with it and no amount of coaxing could change her mind. When Kevin had gone to bed, Nikki had sat down beside him and whimpered, pawing the side of the bed. Kevin had ignored her, and eventually she’d settled down on the floor and gone to sleep.

The same thing happened every time Nikki came for an overnight visit. She’d check out the room meticulously, everything except the cushion that was supposed to be her bed. When bedtime came, she’d sit beside his bed and put her paw on the edge. When Kevin told her no, she’d sleep on the floor beside him.

Kevin went through the same routine the first night after Nikki came to stay, but the second night she gave a little whine as she put her paw on the edge of his bed. Kevin leaned up on his elbows and looked at his dog.

The only reason he was so determined not to let her on his bed was Kyle had warned him it might cause a problem if he got married. With the way his social life was going, he was going to be a bachelor for a long time, and if he did happen to come across someone he wanted to marry, he could always get a bigger bed. If his wife had a problem with it, she could sleep somewhere else. With a chuckle, he patted the other side of the bed. “Come on, girl. You can sleep up here.”

Nikki didn’t wait for a second invitation. She leapt over him and with a deep sigh settled down to sleep beside him, her head on the extra pillow.

During the first few days Nikki was there, she and Kevin roamed around the adjoining woods, Milhaven, and the surrounding farms. By mid-week, everyone in the area knew the yellow dog who brought a twinkle to the Master Sorcerer’s eye.

Eventually Kevin had to face the fact he had work to do and hand her over to Marshall, so after lunch on Wednesday, he and Nikki walked out to the stable. “Do you have time to keep an eye on Nikki this afternoon?”

Marshall’s eyes lit up as Nikki nosed his hand. “We’ll exercise a couple of the horses this afternoon. Nikki likes that. Do you want to pick her up? Or do you want me to bring her to your office?”

“Could you bring her to the office right before dinner? I should be done by then.”

Marshall nodded as he rubbed Nikki’s ears. “We’ll see you then.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Shortly after Kevin returned to his office, Joan knocked on his door. “Got a minute?”

“Sure. Come on in.”

“Chris, you, too,” Joan said as she motioned for him to follow her. After Chris walked in, Joan shut the door and sat down. “I got a couple of letters today I thought you might be interested in. The first is from Yani.”

“Yani? I thought things went well when Serra was up there over Christmas.”

“Her letter’s not about Serra. Yani really warmed up to Tonnie while she was here, and wants to get to know her better. She asked if you’d pick her up and let her visit for a couple of days.”

“Why didn’t she send the letter to me? Why the runaround?”

“She was afraid you’d think it was a ploy to spend more time with Serra. While Serra was up there, she said Debra was only keeping Tonnie until she adjusted to not being a slave. Yani wants to see if she and Tonnie get along as well as she thinks they will, and if they do, she wants to offer her a permanent home. Her children are grown, and she misses being a mother.”

“Two questions come to mind,” Chris said. “First, do you believe her? Or is she trying to win Serra over?”

“I don’t know Yani that well, but I think she’s smart enough to know Serra would see through it and resent it.”

“I agree on the resenting part. Not so sure Yani’s smart enough to know it though,” Chris said. “Second question. Does Debra want to give her up? Or is she thinking Tonnie’s got a permanent home there?”

“I haven’t come right out and asked, but I don’t think Debra intended to raise Tonnie when she offered to see if she could find out what was making her act the way she was. If no one else offers to take her, I’m sure Debra will keep her there until she’s grown, but I think she’s perfectly happy to have already raised her children.” After a moment, Joan added, “I know she’s looking forward to being a grandmother one day, but I’m not sure who’s going to supply the babies. I don’t see Serra getting married any time soon. Maybe Tonnie’s a substitute for grandchildren.”

“So what do you suggest?” Kevin asked.

“First, I need to find out what Debra wants to do. If she says she’d like for someone else to raise Tonnie, are you willing to let the child move that far away?”

“No place is far away with a key, but I know what you mean. She’d be where we couldn’t keep an eye on how she’s doing. But Serra could. And it would give her a reason to go up there every couple of weeks or so for lunch. That would please Thanzer and Yani too, and keep them off my back,” Kevin said.

“Have they been giving you any trouble about Serra not visiting?” Joan asked.

“No, not yet, but Serra’s been up there twice since the reception, once for a couple of days. As time goes on and Serra gets more involved in working with Cryslyn, she’s probably going to start coming up with excuses for why she can’t visit. Better to head it off by sending her up there to check on something for us. She can’t refuse that.”

“Okay. I’ll find out how Debra feels. Then, if she wants us to find a home for Tonnie, I’ll set up a visit with Yani. Can she stay here for a couple of days to give them a little time together?”

“As far as I’m concerned, unless you want to invite her to stay with you and Karl.”

Joan shook her head. “That might start something. If another minister’s wife found out I played hostess for Yani for a couple of days, they might expect the same.”

“But it wouldn’t start something if she stayed here?” Chris frowned. “What’s the difference?”

“Serra works here. Serra lives here. Yani’s visiting her niece,” Joan answered. “Nothing to do with you or me. Just a family visit.”

“You’ve given this a bit of thought,” Kevin said.

Joan laughed. “Maybe two minutes worth. The letter came after lunch. Now, do you want to hear about the other one? The one from Gov. Shardin?”

Kevin nodded.

“I haven’t shown it to Karl yet. He’s not in the office right now. He’s with Gen. Crandal talking about slaver raids and going over maps.” Joan handed Kevin the message.

Governor Karl,

I think I may be able to offer you some assistance with the problem we discussed last fall if you still wish some help. Please let me know if you’d like to meet to discuss terms.

Governor Shardin

After Kevin read the note, he passed it to Chris, who scanned it and passed it back to Joan.

“Do you know what he’s talking about?” Kevin asked.

“I assume it’s the slavery issue. As far as I know, he and Karl didn’t discuss anything else. I think something’s happened that might shed some light either on where the captives are or who’s behind the raids.”

“Does Gov. Shardin know about the raids?” Chris asked.

Joan shook her head. “Only Syrando as far as I know. The last time he and Karl spoke was the day of the auction, and I don’t think we’d heard about any others at that point.”

“So whatever he’s found out probably concerns Syrando.” Chris looked at Kevin.

Kevin shrugged. “Only one way to find out. Tell Gov. Shardin Karl will meet with him at his earliest convenience.”

Joan nodded. “Here or there?”

“Leave that to Gov. Shardin. He knows what’s going on. We don’t. He may not want anyone to know he’s meeting with Karl, which would be pretty hard to do if Karl shows up there.”

Joan stood up to go. “I’ll send an answer this afternoon. We should hear back from him before the end of the week.”

After Joan left, Chris looked over at Kevin and asked, “What do you think?”

Kevin shrugged. “Time will tell.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Karl and Gov. Shardin didn’t meet until the following Wednesday, a week after the first letter had arrived. During that week, several letters traveled back and forth, arranging time and place. Gov. Shardin arrived in Karl’s office at 7:00 in the evening. Petri had been dismissed before dinner, so the only witnesses to the meeting were Karl, Joan, and Gov. Shardin.

After a brief general conversation and refreshments, Gov. Shardin got down to business. “I’m here on behalf of Trivera. She considered coming herself, but she was afraid that might cause more problems than it solved.”

Karl nodded.

“We had a visitor a week and a half ago,” Gov. Shardin said. “Gwendolyn.”

Karl’s eyes widened a bit, but he didn’t say anything.

“She showed up unannounced and said she wanted to present Trivera with a gift symbolizing their long history of peaceful relations.” Gov. Shardin paused. “She brought Trivera slaves. Seven slaves. Four women and three young children.”

Karl looked at Joan, but remained silent.

“Trivera told me she was stunned, that she didn’t know what to say or do. If she’d refused them, which is what she wanted to do, she would have insulted Gwendolyn and there’s no telling what kind of consequences might have resulted from that. So she accepted them. After Gwendolyn left, Trivera had our cook fix them some food, and while they ate, she asked them some questions.”

Karl nodded. “They were from Camden.”

“Each and every one of them.”

“Any from Syrando?”

Gov. Shardin shook his head. “I asked them that myself, but no. From what they said, none of them lived along the Kivee.” He took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Karl. “We had the women write down their names and where they were from. We thought you might be able to let their families know they’re safe. Three of the women were married and their husbands were captured too, but they don’t know what happened to them. They were split up as soon as they were captured.”

Karl glanced at the list. Three of the places he’d heard of. One he hadn’t. Of course some of the settlements had names only the locals knew. He’d give the list to Gen. Crandal. Maybe he could figure out where the last one was. “Thank you.”

“How do you want to handle this? Would you like for us to house them for a while and give Myron time to figure out what’s going on?” Gov. Shardin asked. “That’s what Trivera suggested. She thinks Gwendolyn’s up to something, but she has no idea what. To be honest, she wasn’t too pleased about Gwendolyn showing up at her door. I think Trivera felt a bit threatened.”

Karl nodded. “We’d appreciate it if you could take care of them for a while. Do you know if Gwendolyn has done this before? Giving slaves as gifts, I mean.”

“I don’t know much about Landoryn, but I’ve heard she gives slaves to some of her more ardent supporters, and to some people she’d like to win favor with, which probably explains the gift to Trivera, although why Gwendolyn would feel it necessary to win Trivera’s favor I have no idea.” Gov. Shardin stood up. “I hope Myron can get to the bottom of this, if there’s anything to get to the bottom of. Personally I wouldn’t put it past Gwendolyn to do this just to make everyone think she’s up to something. Anyway, if there’s anything we can do, let us know, in a roundabout way, of course.”

“Of course.” Karl stood up and held his hand out to Gov. Shardin. “Thanks for letting us know.”

Gov. Shardin shook Karl’s hand and nodded. Then he turned the key, and went back home.

~ ~ ~ ~

After Gov. Shardin left, Karl told Kevin and Chris what Gov. Shardin had said. Then he and Joan left for home.

Chris shut the office door and looked at Kevin. “Is this what she’s been planning? To give slaves as gifts?”

“Could be.”

“But what’s the point?”

“Maybe she’s trying to rally support among the seated sorcerers.”

“Support for what?”

“I’m not sure,” Kevin answered. “Maybe she wants to be the Master Sorcerer.”

“She can’t do it that way. She’d have to challenge you to get that seat.”

“Not if I end up dead some other way. Then the first step towards a new Master Sorcerer is a vote by the council, remember?”

“I guess.” Chris thought for a moment and shook his head. “I think she’s trying to embarrass you, to weaken your position with the other sorcerers.”

“How?”

“By giving them slaves from Camden. Remember your first meeting? You said you’d rescue captives from Camden no matter where they ended up, and now they’re ending up in the seated sorcerers’ castles. She’s trying to force your hand.”