The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3)

by Mackenzie Morgan

  Serra considered what Darrell had said. “It feels like I do though, and I don’t know how to do it.”

  Darrell shook his head. “It’s the same thing as when you get married. You’ll have your family, his family, and the family the two of you make together. You won’t have to choose then and you don’t have to choose now.”

  Serra looked at Darrell like he was one of the children in the playground. “It’s not that simple. It’s more complicated than that. I have to figure out where I belong.”

  “Where do you want to belong?”

  “Here, at this castle. I had my life all planned out. I was going to be the next Cryslyn, but that life’s gone now. I can’t just do whatever I want. I have to do the right thing but I’m not sure what that is.”

  “You want to honor your birth parents, right?”

  “It’s more than that. I need to figure out who I am, who they made me, who I’m supposed to be.”

  Darrell sighed and tried again. “Okay. Say you’re your birth mother’s daughter. She would have raised you to be the same type of woman she is. What would she do in your place?”

  Serra frowned, but this time she didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s look at what you know about her. She and your birth father left the family home in, where did you say they were from? Ridgeville? They left looking for a new place to live, for a new home. I doubt her mother wanted her to leave, but she went anyway. She wanted a new life, somewhere else. And they found their spot, built a house, had a baby girl, and settled into their new life. Then, when slavers came along and threatened that life, she and your father both fought to the death to protect it. When your father fell, she kept fighting. She fought for the right to live as she wanted. She gave up her life rather than let someone else tell her where to live and what to do. Do you honestly think she’d want you to be some meek little mouse and let other people decide what you should do with your life?”

  Serra didn’t say anything, but her eyes looked lighter. She turned and walked a couple of hundred feet down the river, stopped, looked out over the water for a while, and then walked back.

  When she got back, she stopped in front of Darrell and studied his face for a minute. “Maybe you’re not so dumb after all.” Then she smiled. “Now we need to go back. You’ve got a sorcerer to train.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Darrell didn’t make it back to his office until nearly 5:00. When he couldn’t find Marcus that morning, he’d worked out with Chris until Marcus came back for lunch. Then, after a long session with Marcus, he’d sparred with each of the pages, including Petri, who was turning out to be quite a fighter.

  As Darrell collapsed into his chair, he wiped his face with his hands and reminded himself he didn’t have to spar with everyone himself. He could delegate some of the training to the guards.

  When Kort, who was at the main desk, reminded him of his 5:00 meeting with Cpt. Lawrence, he was tempted to postpone the meeting, but he didn’t. They needed to identify the spy, and since that wasn’t going to happen without a plan, he sent Kort to the kitchen for coffee, hoping that would revive him.

  When Kort returned, he brought in a tray with a pot of coffee, two cups, and a plate of cheese, meat, and bread. “Thought you and Cpt. Lawrence might like some refreshments too, sir,” Kort said as he set the tray down on a small table near Darrell’s desk.

  “Thanks.” Darrell poured a cup of coffee and picked up a piece of bread. “Good idea.”

  Kort nodded and went back to his desk. When the captain arrived, Kort stood up, said, “Think I’ll stretch my legs a bit,” left the office, and pulled the door shut behind him.

  “He’s good,” Darrell said. “Thanks for hiring him.”

  Cpt. Lawrence laughed. “You’re the one who assigned him to that desk. I had him on patrol.” He poured a cup of coffee and sat down. “Have you figured out how we’re going to catch our spy?”

  Darrell shook his head. “I’ve got a general idea but that’s all. We have six suspects. I think we need six different plans, one for each suspect. And, if Myron will agree to it, we need to get Landis here for another visit.”

  Cpt. Lawrence frowned. “Isn’t that a bit risky?”

  “Not if she doesn’t leave the castle.”

  Cpt. Lawrence leaned back in his chair. “I’m listening.”

  “We’ll need some input from Myron, but if we could come up with six places Landis might need to go while she’s here, we could send six messages out.”

  “And have our suspects deliver them.”

  Darrell nodded.

  “And have someone at each of those places to watch for an assassin. That might work.”

  “Well, that’s the easy part,” Darrell said. “Coming up with six errands is going to take some thought.”

  Cpt. Lawrence pulled his chair up to the desk and picked up a pen. “Let’s get started.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Thursday morning when he met Glendymere at the canyon lands, Kevin reminded the dragon he wouldn’t be able to make it Sunday. Big mistake. Within minutes Kevin was dripping with sweat as energy bolts bombarded him from all directions. He felt like he was fighting half a dozen dragons instead of one.

  Usually he thought of dodging and blocking Glendymere’s energy bolts as a game, but that morning he was haunted by the thought that one little slip, one moment’s lapse, and he’d be dead. Those energy bolts were real, and it would only take one to reduce him to a pile of ashes.

  After half an hour, Glendymere stopped. “What’s wrong with you today?”

  “Huh?” Kevin answered as he wiped sweat off his face and slowly rose to the top of the butte where Glendymere was standing. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m picking up fear.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I’m not sure why, but it hit me this morning those bolts are real. If I slip just one time, I could get killed.”

  “Don’t ever forget that. I’m not doing this just to sharpen your reflexes. It’s also to remind you one moment’s distraction could be fatal.”

  “Well, you have to admit people aren’t chunking energy bolts at me on a regular basis.”

  “Only takes one. Now, let’s get back to it.”

  As soon as Kevin was back on the canyon floor, the bolts started flying again.

  Half an hour later, when Kevin felt like he was ready to drop, Glendymere stopped again. “Enough for today. Come on up here and have a seat.”

  Kevin floated to the ledge beside Glendymere and collapsed on the ground. “What?”

  “How’s Rhianna coming?”

  “Pretty well, especially considering how little time we’ve had to work.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  “I know. She’s pretty good with the wind, but she hasn’t been able to get a storm going yet. She loses her concentration before it’s completely formed, but we’ll work on it after the wedding’s over. Why?”

  “I wanted to know when I can count on her for Landis. We need wind if I’m going to teach your apprentice to draw energy from it, and when she first starts, she’ll need lots of wind, the kind you get in thunderstorms.”

  “If you need a tornado, we’re nowhere near that.”

  Glendymere shook his head. “That wind’s too complicated. Thunderstorms work better. So, I shouldn’t count on her until towards the end of December?”

  “Probably. Is that going to cause a problem?”

  “No. Landis is about ready to move on, but we can work with fire next and pick up wind later.”

  Kevin nodded. “So she’s still coming along pretty well?”

  “Quite well. She can draw from the ground and water at the same time, and fill two balls. I know that doesn’t mean much to you, but a lot of sorcerers never learn to work with two sources at one time, and some are barely strong enough to fill one ball. She’s doing very well now that she wants to learn.”

  “Do you think she’ll be able to hold her own against Rolan?”

 
; “You know there’s no way I can answer that. I have no idea how strong Rolan is. If you wanted my assessment of his strength, you should have let me go get my pendant.”

  “If you had, he might not have survived the encounter.”

  “And that would be a bad thing? Seems to me it would have saved us all a lot of hassle, but it was your decision. Hope you don’t end up regretting it. Now, are you ready to call it a day? I have a young sorcerer waiting for me.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Serra had made up her mind to give the woman who claimed to be her aunt a chance, but she already knew she wasn’t going to leave Milhaven. This was her home, and her true family lived in the house behind the blacksmith shop. Nothing the woman could say or do was going to change that.

  Fortunately Saturday was sunny and not too cool because Serra didn’t want an audience while they were eating lunch. She had no idea what might get said, and the only way she could avoid a potential scene was for them to eat outside at one of the patio tables.

  She wiped off the table she wanted to use and then made her way to Myron’s reception area. When she got there, she asked Isak if Myron had left to go pick up the minister of Lochland’s wife.

  Isak nodded. “Thanzer and his wife are in Myron’s office.”

  “He picked up both of them?” Serra asked in near panic. She felt capable of handling one supposed relative, but two?

  “You weren’t expecting Thanzer?” Isak asked.

  Serra shook her head, straightened her shoulders, and took a couple of deep breaths. “It’s all right. I thought I was only meeting with his wife.”

  “And so you are,” Kevin said from his doorway. “Serra, I’d like to introduce Thanzer, the minister of Lochland, and his wife, Yani. Thanzer is going to have lunch with Karl while you and Yani get to know each other.”

  Serra nodded and stepped forward to shake hands with the older couple. “Nice to meet you.”

  Yani grabbed Serra’s hand and held on. “And very nice to meet you, Serra. I’ve been waiting for this day all of your life.” She patted Serra’s hand and then slowly released it, smiling the softest of smiles the whole time.

  “Well, if you’ll come with me, we’ll get some lunch,” Serra said, taking a step back.

  “When you’re done, come back here,” Kevin said.

  Serra nodded and turned to Yani. “I thought it would be nice if we had a little privacy, so I’ve arranged for us to eat on the patio. Will that be all right?”

  “Of course,” Yani said.

  Serra led Yani out of Kevin’s office and down the hall towards the dining room. When they got there, Serra handed Yani a plate. After they fixed their plates and carried them outside, Yani shook her head and laughed.

  “What?” Serra asked as they sat down.

  “You’re a lot like your mother.”

  “Tell me about her.”

  “She was wonderful and a trial at the same time, but I loved her dearly,” Yani said with a smile. “I don’t know where to start. I was her older sister, and as I was quite a bit older, I was more patient with her than I would have been if we’d been closer in age.” Yani ate a few bites and drank a little scog. “Elayne was always an independent child. She was fine off on her own. She didn’t like it when other people told her what to do, and she’d ignore it as often as she’d do it. You’d think she’d have grown out of it and become a proper young lady, especially if you knew my mother and grandmother, but she didn’t.”

  “So she was a bit rebellious?”

  “To say the least,” Yani said, laughing. “Mother had picked out the man she thought would be the perfect husband for Elayne. Preston was a nice, settled, mild-mannered farmer. Mother thought Elayne would liven up Preston’s life, and he would calm hers down. But Elayne wasn’t interested. Allan had caught her eye when they were children, and neither of them ever looked at anyone else. It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone when they wanted to marry, but both of their mothers were determined to prevent it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Allan was just like Elayne. Mother figured if they got married they’d be off to who knows where and do who knows what.” Yani paused a moment. “And that’s exactly what happened. They hadn’t been married two years when they decided Ridgeville wasn’t for them. But getting away from Ridgeville wasn’t enough for those two. They left Lochland, even Camden, and ended up on the coast of Dresland. I have no idea how they got there, but that’s the thing about those two. There was no adventure too outlandish, no risk they weren’t willing to take. I hate you didn’t get to know them. You’d have had lots of fun growing up with them.”

  Serra wasn’t sure how to take that last comment at first, but after thinking about it, she decided Yani hadn’t intended to belittle Debra. “Well, growing up around here wasn’t exactly dull.”

  “No, I don’t imagine it was. Tell me about your life.”

  For the next fifteen minutes, Serra told Yani about life in the castle, both as a child and as a grown woman.

  “You really like working here, don’t you?” Yani asked.

  Serra nodded. “I love it here. I’m comfortable here. This is home.”

  “Serra, I’m not trying to take you away from this,” Yani said. “I have to admit, when I was here last weekend, all I wanted to do was grab you and make you come back with us. But that was just reaction to finding you. I know better. After all, you are your mother’s daughter.”

  “I’m also Debra’s daughter,” Serra said quietly.

  “Yes, you are,” Yani said, smiling again. “And from what I’ve seen, she’s done a wonderful job raising you. Elayne would be really proud of the woman you’ve become. What I meant when I said you’re your mother’s daughter is you’re your own person. You’re not going to let other people decide what you’re going to do with your life or where you’re going to live. I want you to know I realize that. I’m your aunt, but I’d also like to be your friend.”

  Serra exhaled a long sigh. “That would be nice.” She leaned back and relaxed a bit. “Tell me about my grandparents, and Ridgeville.”

  For the next hour the two women talked and laughed. When Carrie walked out of the dining room, Serra jumped up and started gathering up their plates. “Oh, Carrie, I’m so sorry. I lost track of time. Have you been waiting for these?”

  Carrie shook her head. “No, I just finished up with the others. You didn’t hold me up at all. Now sit back down and enjoy your visit.” While she’d been talking, Carrie had loaded everything on her tray. “If I don’t see you again before I leave, have a nice day tomorrow.”

  “You, too,” Serra replied.

  When Carrie had gone back inside, Yani asked, “Doesn’t she work tomorrow? Won’t you see her then?”

  Serra shook her head. “She has tomorrow off. So do I.”

  “What do you do on your days off?”

  “I usually spend the day in Milhaven, with my family.”

  “Would you mind terribly if Thanzer and I joined you next Sunday? I’d like to meet Debra, and I’d like for him to get to know you.”

  Serra hesitated.

  “Ask Debra how she feels about it and send me a note. I’m sure Myron will pick us up, but I’ll check with him when we get back to the office.”

  Serra nodded and stood up. “Speaking of the office, we’d better go. I imagine your husband’s been back quite a while by now.”

  “Very well.” Yani stood up and straightened her skirt. “I’ve enjoyed talking with you Serra, and I’m already looking forward to next Sunday.”

  As they turned to go inside, Serra said, “I’ve enjoyed meeting you too, and we’ll see how things work out concerning next week. Debra may already have plans. I’ll let you know.”

  Chapter 56

  The Wedding

  Sunday morning after Kevin picked up Kyle, he left for Danyelle’s. The rest of the family was already at the castle.

  Shadron had come back Thursday, the day Dayed had asked Kevin to pick up the
wardrobes, cabinets, and furniture for Laryn and Steve’s house. Dayed, Shadron, and Kyle had worked until dark Thursday evening, and all day Friday and Saturday getting everything ready for Laryn and Steve to move in Sunday night.

  Allisandra had asked Kevin to pick her and her flowers up early Saturday morning. She and Craven worked on the gardens all day. By the time they were done, Laryn had small flower beds on both sides of the front steps, a flower box on her porch, and a garden complete with pebbled walkways out back. The only thing left was to line the front gardens with rocks, but Neiven told her he’d take care of it later.

  Picking up Danyelle and her family took two trips. Six people, a couple of bags of linens, a crate of kitchen supplies, quilts, knitted afghans, and a handmade rug all had to be transported. As soon as Danyelle settled her two youngest children in the playground with Serra, she and Sedwin went out to Laryn’s house to put away the stuff she’d brought.

  First, Danyelle moved the bedroom furniture around enough to get the rug down. Then she made the bed and covered it with a thick bedspread. She stored the extra sheets, quilts, and afghans she’d brought in the chest Dayed had made for the foot of the bed.

  Next, she moved to the kitchen. It was the first time she’d seen the cabinets Dayed had made for their sister, and as she looked at them, she felt a twinge of jealousy. They were gorgeous. He’d carved designs in all the doors and drawers, and the handles seemed to grow out of the design. While she examined Dayed’s work, she stored the pots, pans, dishes, utensils, tablecloths, and kitchen towels she’d brought in cabinets and drawers throughout the room.

  Once the kitchen was set up, Danyelle moved to the living room. She draped the lap rugs she’d made over the backs of the couch and chairs, and put doilies under the glowstone lamps on the end tables.

  She hadn’t made anything for the spare bedroom because she wasn’t sure what they were going to do with it. When she opened the door to the extra room, she saw a couple of tables and two large desks. Papers were scattered on the tables, so she walked over to take a look at them.