Danyelle lived in a two-story frame house surrounded by wide porches and situated a hundred yards from the nearest road. An overgrown wagon path led from the road past the house to the barn out back. A couple of large dogs lounged on the porch, but as soon as they saw strangers approaching, they jumped up, blocked the door, and barked.
A boy about six years old opened the front door, yelled, “Mother, they’re here,” back into the house, and then stepped outside with the dogs.
“Hello, Teron,” Laryn said. “Do you remember me?”
The boy shook his head. “Mother told me her sister was coming to dinner tonight. Are you Laryn?”
Laryn nodded. “This is your cousin, Myron, and my friend, Steve.”
Teron nodded at both Myron and Steve and then looked at Laryn again. “Mother’s in the kitchen. Do you want me to show you the way?”
“If you want to,” Laryn said, “but I’m sure we can find it if you need to do something else.”
Teron nodded. “I need to feed my dogs.”
After Laryn led Myron and Steve inside, she called out, “Danyelle?”
“In here,” a voice said from the back of the house.
Laryn led the way down a hall towards the back door.
There were two rooms at the back of the house, one on each side of the hall. The kitchen was on the left, and a dining room was on the right. A little girl who looked to be about three was setting the table for seven places, which was quite an accomplishment since she had to stand on her tiptoes to do it.
Laryn stepped into the dining room and said, “Hi, Norrie. I’m Laryn, your mother’s sister. Remember me?”
Norrie shook her head, nodded, and then shook her head again. “But Momma told me you were coming.”
Norrie looked towards Steve and Kevin, so Laryn pointed at Steve. “I’m going to marry Steve, and that will make him your uncle.” When Norrie nodded, Laryn pointed to Kevin. “And Myron is your cousin. He’s your Uncle Badec’s son. Do you remember Badec?”
Norrie frowned and then slowly shook her head.
“That’s all right,” Laryn said, stroking Norrie’s hair. “The last time you saw him you were barely walking. He said you were the prettiest little thing he’d ever seen.”
Norrie giggled and hid her face behind her hands.
“We’re going to go find your mother now,” Laryn said. “See you in a little while.”
Norrie nodded and turned back to the table.
Kevin did a quick count. Unless someone was coming to dinner he didn’t know about, there were five adults, which meant Danyelle’s two children would be eating with them. Kevin grinned, remembering Chris’s description of meals at his house.
After Laryn introduced Steve, and Danyelle had said hello to both him and Kevin, she turned back to the stove and continued with dinner. “So,” she said as she stirred a pot of corn. “Tell me about this reception.
Laryn gave her a quick summary of Cryslyn’s plans.
“Is Allisandra doing the flowers?”
Laryn nodded. “We saw her Sunday evening. She said something about writing you. Have you heard from her yet?”
“No. Was there something in particular?” Danyelle asked, but before Laryn had to come up with an answer, Norrie walked in.
“I’m done with the table, Momma,” she said. “What do you want me to do now?”
“Thank you,” Danyelle answered. “We’re about finished. Why don’t you have a seat?”
Norrie pulled a chair out from the small kitchen table and climbed up on it.
After her daughter was settled, Danyelle turned to Laryn. “What would you like for me to do?”
“Well, Cryslyn wants me to ask you to provide the music for the party at Joan’s house.”
Danyelle frowned. “What kind of party? And what kind of music?”
“I’m not sure. I’m not really in on the plans, which is fine with me, but it’s for the women. From the little bit I’ve been told, some of the women will probably bring me little things for the house and everything will be set out on display so everyone can see the gifts.”
Danyelle grinned. “Like a housewarming.”
“I guess so,” Laryn said hesitantly. “I’m so confused about all of this, Danyelle. I’ve never been to any women’s parties. I don’t know what to expect or what I’m supposed to do.”
“Yeah, while the rest of us were going to parties, you were working. You haven’t had a lot of time for a social life. But if you could chair the council for a year while Myron learned to control his magic, I’m sure you can fake your way through a couple of hours with a group of women who want to wish you luck with your marriage.”
Laryn had to admit her sister had a point. Chances were pretty good only her sisters, Joan, and a few others like Cryslyn and Jana would notice how uncomfortable she was with the whole thing. “Well, back to the music. I don’t know what Cryslyn wants, but I know Joan has a harp, and I think Karl has a fiddle.”
Danyelle nodded. “Then if I bring my flute, we’re covered. You said Joan plays the harp?”
Laryn nodded.
“Do you think she’d be interested in playing the harp while I accompany her on my flute?”
“She’s the hostess, so she may not have time.”
“We’ll see,” Danyelle said as her attention turned back to dinner. “Norrie, call your father and brother to dinner.”
“Good! I’m hungry,” Norrie said as she jumped down and slammed out the back door, yelling for her father and Teron as she ran.
After everyone gathered in the kitchen, Norrie grabbed Kevin’s hand and led him to a chair at one end of the table in the dining room. As she pointed to it, she said, “This is your seat, right here, between me and Teron.” She stepped around the corner of the table, pulled out the first chair, and climbed up. Teron had followed behind Kevin, so he made his way to the chair opposite his sister and sat down, too. Kevin wasn’t sure whether to sit or not, so he looked over at Danyelle with raised eyebrows.
“Go ahead,” Danyelle said with a grin. “Looks like Norrie’s already decided who sits where.”
Norrie shook her head. “I don’t care where the rest of you sit, Momma. I just wanted Myron here, with us, so we can talk to him. He’s a sorcerer, like you. Daddy told me.”
Danyelle nodded at her daughter. “And you know what else? He lives in a castle.”
“A real castle?” Norrie asked with big eyes, looking back and forth between her mother and Kevin. When Kevin nodded, Norrie’s mouth formed a big “O” and her eyes got even wider than they already were. “What’s it like?”
While Kevin tried to answer her questions, Laryn and Steve joined Danyelle and Sedwin at the other end of the table. Before anyone had taken one bite of food, two distinct conversations were underway. Kevin and the children talked about castles, magic, sorcery, dragons, dogs, and the baby animals on the farm, while Danyelle and the other adults talked about marriage, plans for the reception, and the farm.
To an outsider the meal would have seemed loud and chaotic. To most of the people around that table, it was a family dinner. To Kevin, it was an eye-opener. This is what he’d missed growing up as an only child in a formal household. He might have been well prepared for his destiny, but he certainly had missed out on a lot of fun.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin didn’t get upstairs until 10:30 that evening. When Chris asked how his evening had gone, Kevin said, “I had a really good time. Her daughter arranged the table so that I was between her and her brother. They’re terrific kids.”
“How old are they?”
“Teron, the boy, is 6, and Norrie’s 3. When she set the table, she put three plates at our end, four at the other, and left a big space in between. I have no idea what they talked about at the other end of the table, but we talked about magic, castles, dragons, and I don’t know what else. I don’t know when I’ve had so much fun.”
Chris grinned. “Sounds like the dinners at my house.”
/> Kevin nodded. “The only thing that would have made that dinner any better would have been seafood.”
“What did you have?”
“Chicken and vegetables,” Kevin said with a sigh. “According to Teron, the chicken was quite a treat. They usually have seafood.”
Chris laughed. “Just your luck. She goes out of her way to fix something special when what you wanted was the stuff she serves her family on a daily basis.”
“You go ahead and laugh. One day you’ll show up at Ashni’s or Torrey’s and they’ll serve you fruit instead of cookies because they wanted to do something special for you.”
Chris shuddered. “Perish the thought.” Then he added, “Miranda’s trying to get me to eat more fruit for dessert. Maybe you could mention to her that all she’d have to do to get me to eat fruit is cook it in a pastry.”
Kevin shook his head. “You’re on your own there.”
“You know, if you really want seafood, you could go to a fish market and buy some. You’ve got a key. Wouldn’t take you a minute to get there.”
Kevin cut his eyes over at Chris. “Even if I could find a fish market, how am I supposed to buy anything? Do you have any money? I don’t!”
Chris frowned. “Come to think of it, no. How are we supposed to buy anything?”
“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “I have a feeling everyone thinks our needs are taken care of so we don’t need any money.”
“May be worth looking into. You never know when one of us might want to buy something, something personal, that we’d rather not have to go through Cryslyn to get.”
“Yeah, like seafood,” Kevin mumbled.
Chapter 21
Landis and the Sea
When Landis and Rhianna made it down to the canyon floor Thursday morning, Glendymere was waiting for them.
“I thought we’d spend this morning at the coast so Landis can find her connection with water,” he said as he knelt down. “Once you’ve found your connection, you can draw energy from any body of water, but it’s easier to get it from moving water to start with, so after the sea, we’ll use waterfalls and rivers. By the time we’re done, you’ll be able to absorb energy from a mud puddle.”
“If you say so,” Landis mumbled as she climbed up the dragon’s leg.
As Rhianna secured her harness, she asked, “Where are you planning to take us?”
“To the sea.”
“Which sea?”
“The one due west. Why?”
“Well, if you want Landis to concentrate on connecting with water, she’ll need to be someplace where the water’s warm. If it’s cold, all she’ll be able to think about is how cold she is.”
“I hadn’t thought about that,” Glendymere said. “Dragon’s don’t get cold, but I suppose it would be unpleasant. I know several islands that are quite warm right now, and the sea around them is never cold. It won’t take much longer to get there.”
A little while later, Glendymere landed on a tropical island, complete with palm trees, coconuts, and beautiful flowers. “How’s this?”
Rhianna walked down to the surf and felt the water. “This will work.”
“Good. Now, Landis, you’ll probably need to stand in the surf at first. Then, after you find your connection, you should be able to draw the energy from back here. So, in you go. Let me know when you find your connection.” Glendymere settled down on the sand to take a nap.
Several hours later, Landis let out a little yell, startling Rhianna out of the dreamlike trance she’d slipped into as she watched the ocean roll in and out. Rhianna stood up and started towards Landis at the same time that Landis started running through the surf towards the shore.
“I did it,” Landis yelled again. “I did it. First day out and I found it. And I know I found it because I know what it feels like! I can’t believe it!”
Glendymere lifted his head and looked towards Landis. As he watched her, he could feel the energy she’d drawn into herself slowly seep back into the sea. Not bad for a first day out. “See if you can do it again, but this time try to store it instead of letting it flow back into the sea.”
Landis glared at the dragon for a moment and then turned back towards the surf. “I thought I did pretty well for the first day,” she mumbled as she waded back into the warm water. “We’ll be here all day if I have to fill that ball.”
“That’s fine. I don’t have any other plans,” Glendymere said, “and I’ll make sure we’re back in time for you to meet Myron.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Thursday was a hectic day in Milhaven. Nothing major happened, but every time Kevin thought he was done, something else popped up. He hadn’t managed to get out of the office all day, and if Chris hadn’t come in to remind him to pick up Landis and Rhianna, he’d still be at his desk. As it was, he’d made it to Wildcat Mountain with less than five minutes to spare.
Just as he raised his hand to knock on the door, Ashni opened it. “I saw the light change out my window and figured it was you.” She stood back for him to enter. “Landis and Rhianna are not back from Willow Canyon yet. Come on in the kitchen. I baked some cookies for you to take back with you. Be sure the others get a couple before you give them to Chris though.”
Kevin shook his head. “You do know that everywhere I go people send cookies and cakes back for Chris, right?”
“Ah, but he is so much fun to bake for. He does enjoy the sweets, and he makes sure you know how much he appreciates it.”
They heard the front door open and shut, and a moment later Blalick and Macin walked into the kitchen. “Good afternoon, Myron,” Blalick said in his deep and formal voice. “Are you here to take the girls to Crinsor Run?”
Kevin nodded.
Macin reached around his father to swipe a cookie, but Ashni deftly moved the tray out of reach. “These are for Myron to take back to Milhaven. Yours are in the cookie jar.”
Macin grinned at Kevin as he picked up the cookie jar and headed back to the living room.
“Save some for your sister and Taelor,” Ashni called after him. The front door opened and shut again as Macin headed outside with the cookies.
“While we have a moment,” Blalick said, “I am concerned about Landis.”
“How so?” asked Kevin.
“She is not content. Something bothers her, but she has not spoken to any of us about it.”
“I think she’s having second thoughts about becoming a sorcerer,” Kevin said.
“That could be. She does not seem to find much joy in anything. Rhianna seems worried about her too, although she has said nothing about it to either of us,” Blalick said, with a quick look at his wife.
Ashni nodded. “I agree something is not right. Several times I have asked Landis if she is all right, and she always says yes. She is not telling the truth though.”
“That’s one of the reasons I’m taking them home this weekend,” Kevin said. “Landis needs to figure out whether or not she wants to be a sorcerer. She’d heard that it took me less than a year, so she figured that since she’s not part elf, it might take her two, and she was willing to do that. Now that she’s found out it’s going to take a lot longer than that, she’s not sure it’s worth it.”
“For her, it may not be,” Blalick said.
“Landis talked to you then?” Ashni asked.
Kevin shook his head. “The only reason I know anything at all is that Rhianna talked to Chris, and from what Chris said, Rhianna’s guessing. Landis isn’t talking to her either.”
Ashni nodded, but didn’t say anything.
The front door opened and closed again, but this time, the voices that drifted in were female. Ashni wiped her hands and headed towards the living room to greet Landis and Rhianna. “Myron is in the kitchen. He will be ready to go whenever you are, but I am sure he would wait for you to have some refreshments. I have some cookies that just came out of the oven.”
Landis shook her head. “No, thank you. We need to get our bags.”
“Mother will have a big dinner tonight,” Rhianna said, “but thanks just the same.”
Ashni nodded. “I will tell Myron that you are here.”
When Ashni walked back into the kitchen, Kevin said, “I heard. I’ll wait for them in the living room. And thanks for the cookies, Ashni. They don’t know what they’re missing.”
As soon as Landis and Rhianna joined him, Kevin took out his key, gave it a quick turn, and they were gone from Wildcat Mountain.
Chapter 22
The Glenarbour Slave Auction
Kevin woke up to overcast skies and drizzle Saturday morning, the kind of morning that was made for sleeping in. Unfortunately, that was not an option, so he dragged himself out of bed and got dressed. Today was auction day, the day when they would either find the captives from Syrando or have to give up the search.
Last night, after dinner, Kevin had asked Gen. Crandal if he’d heard anything from the soldiers on the Kivee. Gen. Crandal said he’d gotten an update that afternoon. Things had been quiet along that stretch of the river and the only boats they’d seen were local. Lt. Martyn had sent a couple of men ashore for a few days to hang around the tavern and listen, but they didn’t hear one word about slavers, captives, or large boats.
Kevin picked up his cloak and headed outside for his morning exercises. His routine took a little longer than usual because he had so much other stuff on his mind. For once he was going to have to sit back and wait, and he didn’t like it. He’d never thought about how the ones left at home felt before because ever since they’d arrived on Terah, he’d been in the middle of it all. But today he had to hand the reins over to Karl and trust that if things fell apart, he could handle it. There was a part of him that knew Karl could, but there was another part that felt responsible for Karl’s safety, and that part was frustrated.
While he was working out, he realized he’d become accustomed to being in charge. He’d never been in charge of anything before coming to Terah. He’d barely been in charge of his own life. Now he was the one out in front, the one making the decisions, the one with the final say. The realization of how much he liked being in control hit him so hard he just stopped, right in the middle of his routine, and let the magic go. How had this happened? Was he just doing his job, or was he becoming a control freak? Where was the line between doing what needs to be done and running over everyone else? Had he been doing that?
The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) Page 19