The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (95 page)

Kevin walked into Glendymere’s reception chamber and picked up a mallet. Before he could hit the gong, Glendymere walked out of the tunnel.
“Good to see you, Chris. From what Laryn and Steve said, I was afraid I’d have to rescue you myself. Glad to see Kevin took care of it.”

“Good to see you, too,” Chris said. “For a while there, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again.”

Glendymere shook his head and told Chris privately.
“I wouldn’t let that happen, but keep that between us. No one else needs to know.”

“I’ve been challenged,” Kevin blurted out.

Glendymere cut his eyes over to Kevin.
“Who?”

“Gwendolyn.”

“Ahh,”
the dragon said.
“Can’t say I’m surprised. It’s about time someone put an end to her. She gave your father all kinds of headaches over the years, but she never tried anything like this with him. He kept hoping she’d challenge him, but it didn’t happen.”

“She probably thinks Kevin won’t go through with it, won’t actually kill her,” Chris said, purposefully not looking at Kevin.

“She’s wrong.”

“I hope so,” Chris said.

“Okay. I’m right here,” Kevin said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve never fought anyone for real.”

“Yes, you have,” Chris said, “Gaynor.”

“That wasn’t a fight. He threw a bolt at me and I answered. Pure reflex. No thought involved. This is different. This would be intentional, and I’m not sure I can do it. Defend myself? Yes, and I can keep going as long as she wants. I’ll keep those shields up and I’ll throw bolts at her, but throw a killing bolt after she runs out of power? When she has nothing left to defend with? I don’t know if I can do that.”

Glendymere didn’t say anything for a moment.
“No one can make that decision but you. The only thing I can do is make sure you’re in the best possible shape for this duel. I want you here, every day this week. I’ll get Jonquin to help us. That will let me concentrate on you, your moves, and any weaknesses in your defense. Jonquin won’t exploit them. Gwendolyn will. I want you here tomorrow morning by 9:00.”

Kevin nodded. “When is the duel, anyway?”

“Next Saturday at noon, your time. It’s always the next week if the challenge is issued at a council meeting.”

“Why?” Chris asked. “That seems a little fast.”

“And it needs to be. By next Saturday night, there’s going to be a new seated sorcerer somewhere. The new sorcerer will have to get new people in place and take care of any unfinished business the other sorcerer left behind before he or she takes a seat on the council. Three weeks isn’t long, especially if the one taking over hasn’t had any preparation. And speaking of that, who are you going to get to stand in for you?”

Kevin frowned. “I have no idea. I don’t have an heir. By the rules we set up, there would have to be a competition for the seat.”

“True, but someone has to be here to accept the key for Camden should you lose. And it can’t be Chris. I have to hold the keys during the duel, that’s one of the rules, and I can only return them to sorcerers or seconds. He’s an assistant.”

“Okay,” Kevin said, frowning. “I’ll name him as my second.”

Glendymere shook his head.
“You can’t name a second until you have an heir, and the second’s only a second until the heir’s old enough to take the seat. Laryn was Badec’s assistant until the night of your birth. That’s when she became his second. If Badec had lived, you would have apprenticed at the age of 25. She could have served as his second for one more year, but at that point, the seat would be yours if something happened to him. A second would no longer be needed, so she would have become an assistant again. You can’t have a second without an underage heir.”

“I didn’t know that. All right. I guess I could get one of my aunts or uncles, but none of them are the least bit interested in taking over the seat.”

“It doesn’t matter who, but you need a sorcerer to stand beside Chris. So find someone, preferably tomorrow.
”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Get plenty of rest.”
Glendymere looked at Chris.
“I’m counting on you to take care of that one.”

Chris nodded. “And plenty of food.”

“Right. He needs to be in top form.”

“I’ve got a question. If something happens to me, can a competition be set up fast enough for the new seated sorcerer to be ready for the council meeting the next month?”

“Probably not, but that shouldn’t be an issue. Gwendolyn’s heir is the one who’ll need some time to get things settled. He or she will need to hold some kind of ceremony for Gwendolyn, put new people in office, everything you had to do when you got to Milhaven. You had three weeks. Did it feel like enough time to you?”

Kevin shook his head. “It felt like I was caught up in a whirlwind.”

“Right, which is why we’re trying to give her replacement as much time as we can. So, the duel is next Saturday. Let the other sorcerers know.”
Glendymere paused.
“They are coming, aren’t they?”

Chris nodded as Kevin said, “About that. We may have a problem.” Then he told Glendymere what Damien had said.

“Can’t say I blame him. The same thought crossed my mind. We don’t need that woman in the Master’s Chair.”

“But you won’t, I know that, and you can’t let him. If he kills her, you’ll have to kill him, and he’s the best one on the council. Don’t let it happen.”

Glendymere didn’t say anything.

“Don’t let him do something you’ll have to kill him for!”

Glendymere still didn’t say a word.

“Glendymere, promise me you won’t let him do it. I’ll talk to him this week and try to convince him to wait and challenge her. I know he can beat her. But don’t let him do anything foolish next Saturday.”

Glendymere glared at Kevin and snorted smoke.
“You want to keep Damien from killing Gwendolyn? Then kill her yourself! It’s up to you to protect your sorcerers, not me. Do your job and he won’t have to kill her!”
And with that, Glendymere spread his wings and leapt into the sky.

~ ~ ~ ~

Gwendolyn’s first stop on her way home from the council meeting was the same strip of land where she’d gone when she realized Mikos had lost her key. She threw energy bolts at anything and everything for the first hour. Then she spent the next hour clearing up the damage.

When she arrived at her castle, she sent for her son and heir, Alastar. After he joined her, she told him Myron had raided the dungeon in the basement and stolen all their slaves.

Alastar showed no reaction. “What are you going to do about it?”

Gwendolyn smiled. She was pleased. He’d make a good Master Sorcerer one day. He didn’t waste time on needless emotion. He cut straight to the heart of the matter. “I’ve already done it.”

Alastar tilted his head to one side and met her gaze, waiting for her to continue.

“I exposed him as a thief in front of the whole council and then I challenged him to a duel.”

Alastar’s eyes widened at the news. “When?”

“Probably next Saturday. It’s usually the first Saturday after a challenge.”

“That doesn’t give us much time.”

Gwendolyn frowned. “For what?”

“To destroy his concentration,” Alastar said matter-of-factly. “You’ve always said a battle was won before the first blow was struck, that the key to success was to give your opponent something else to worry about so he couldn’t adequately prepare.”

Gwendolyn smiled as she leaned back in her chair. He’d learned his lessons well. “I’ve already taken care of that. I grabbed his assistant right out of his office last week. Myron might have his assistant back, but he’ll spend the last week of his life worrying about who else I might grab, what else I might do before the duel. He’ll spend the week trying to outsmart me, to anticipate what I might come up with. It’ll ruin his days and keep him up at night. He’s soft, like his father. He worries more about his people than himself. That’s his weakness.”

Alastar nodded. “What do you have planned for the duel?”

Gwendolyn frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to set a trap? Is there anything you want me to do?”

Gwendolyn shook her head. “It’s not necessary, and besides, Glendymere will be there. That old dragon has always favored the House of Nordin. He’ll be looking for any excuse he can find to destroy me before I can put an end to that house. We have to stick to the rules, no tricks, no hostages, no threats, just the duel.”

“But you have to do something to make sure you win.”

“I’ll win,” Gwendolyn said coldly.

“He’s part elf,” Alastar pointed out. “Between that and his human magic, no one on Terah can match his power except the dragons.”

“Power isn’t worth a whole lot unless you know how to use it, and he’s young. He just started training a year and a half ago. You’ve got more experience than he does. There’s no way he has the skill to duel.”

“I’ve heard he’s dueled against dragons, Mother.”

Gwendolyn shook her head. “He may have played with dragons, or rather, they may have toyed with him, but if he’d dueled with a dragon, he’d be dead. Besides, even if he has sparred with dragons, it won’t help. He doesn’t have what it takes to throw a killing bolt. I do.”

Chapter 81

Loose Ends

Chris slumped down on the couch in Kevin’s room when they got back from Willow Canyon. “He’s right, you know. It’s your job to take Gwendolyn out, not his and not Damien’s.”

“I’m not sure I can do it, not if she runs out of power.”

“Well, you’ve got one week to get sure,” Chris grumbled. “Look, I’m beat. I need some sleep. Is there anything we need to do right now?”

Kevin shook his head. “I’m going to check with Joan to see how things went this morning, and I want to thank Cryslyn and Miranda.”

“They’re going to ask about Gwendolyn’s reaction. What are you going to say?”

“That she blew up in front of the whole council and admitted kidnapping you and Elin.”

“You’re not going to mention the challenge?”

Kevin shook his head. “I need a little time to get used to the idea myself before I tell anyone else.”

“Okay,” Chris said, standing up. “I’m going to bed.”

“Don’t be surprised if you wake up and I’m not here. I’ll probably take Nikki for a walk this afternoon.”

Chris nodded as he walked towards his room. “If I don’t wake up in time for dinner, get me up.”

~ ~ ~ ~

By the time Kevin and Nikki made it back to the castle, Chris was in the dining room. Miranda had made all of his favorite dishes and was personally making sure he got some of each. When he pleaded fatigue so he could leave, she fixed a tray with a plate of food, a stack of cookies, two small tarts, and a huge slice of cake.

Kevin came in as Miranda set the tray on the table. Chris caught him before he sat down and whispered, “Miranda fixed that tray for me, but I’ve already eaten too much. I don’t want to hurt her feelings, so if you go on upstairs, you can eat it and she’ll never know the difference.”

Kevin nodded, poured himself a mug of scog, and left the dining room.

Chris carried the tray upstairs, set it down on the coffee table, and motioned for Kevin to sit down and eat.

“Where are the pages?” Chris asked as he sat down across from Kevin.

“At Shadron’s, with Marcus.”

Chris nodded. “All of them?”

Kevin shook his head as he finished the mouthful of food he was eating. “Elin and Cameryn are with Allisandra.”

“When are you going to bring them back?”

“I want to leave them where they are until this mess is settled, one way or the other. I thought I’d go by Shadron’s on my way back from Willow Canyon tomorrow and talk to him.”

“Are you going to ask him to stand for you?”

Kevin nodded and took a swallow of scog. “And I’m going to ask him if he’ll take care of the pages if something happens to me. Marcus will find a job as a sorcerer easy enough. I’m not worried about him. Gwendolyn doesn’t know what he looks like. And he’s not her target anyway. I am. I doubt she’ll give him a second thought if I’m gone.” He stopped talking long enough to eat a bit more. “Ariel’s old enough to go out on his own, but all he knows how to do is run an office. He’s really good at it, but there aren’t a whole lot of jobs out there for office managers.”

“But there are some,” Chris said. “Shadron can probably help him find one.”

“I agree. Isak and Petri are too young to be on their own. They’ll need some sort of apprenticeship. But again, Shadron will know how to handle that.”

“What about the girls?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin admitted. “Actually, whether I win or lose, they need to figure out what they’re going to do after they age out of being pages. Maybe Allisandra will have some ideas.”

“Laryn knows them pretty well. She might have some ideas on that, too.”

“I’ll talk to her sometime this week and see what she says.”

“You realize all of this sounds like you’re not going to make it back.”

“Well, I have to plan for all contingencies.”

“But the way you’ve thought all of this out makes it sound like you think it’s a done deal, and that’s the wrong attitude for you to have. You can’t go into this thing expecting to lose.”

“Chris, I don’t know what’s going to happen next Saturday, but I know me. If I don’t have everyone I feel responsible for taken care of, I’ll be worrying about them when I should be focusing on her. I need everything handled so I can concentrate on not getting killed.”

“Just don’t lose sight of the ‘not getting killed’ part.” Chris stood up and stretched. “I’m going to get some sleep. See you in the morning.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Sunday morning, Chris was waiting with coffee and pastries when Kevin got back from his morning workout.

“I want you to stay away from the office while I’m gone,” Kevin said, picking up a pastry.