The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3)

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “I’m sure I can come up with something. When do you need it?”

  “In an hour,” Marcus said. “We won’t get to Cira’s until this afternoon, but once we leave the castle, we won’t be back until dinner.”

  “Where are you headed now?”

  “Myron’s office. He wants to talk to us before we head out,” Marcus said.

  “It won’t take me more than half an hour to fix something up. Why don’t I drop it off by Myron’s office when I’m done? I’m leaving soon myself.”

  “That would be great,” Landis said with a big smile. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Darius said. “Enjoy your day.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Marcus and Landis were seated in Kevin’s office.

  “So, how did it go?” Kevin asked.

  Marcus grinned. “Just fine. Shana’s making the basket for Bekka and Darius is making a cat carrier.”

  “And they both know Landis’s plans?”

  Marcus nodded. “And both are headed into town as soon as they’re done.”

  “Now all we have to do is get the two of you out of here. Landis, are you ready to go?”

  She nodded and stood up.

  Kevin looked at Marcus and said, “Be back in a minute.” Then he turned the key and he and Landis went back to Ashni’s living room on Wildcat Mountain. When they emerged from the energy stream, the first thing Kevin saw was Rhianna, pacing back and forth across the room.

  “Here she is, safe and sound, just like I promised,” he said as Landis stepped away from him.

  “It’s about time,” Rhianna snapped, folding her arms across her chest.

  Landis shook her head. “Sorry if it took me longer to eat than you thought it should, but I was enjoying myself.” She turned her back towards Rhianna and faced Kevin. “Don’t forget to find me tomorrow and let me know what happened.”

  Kevin grinned at her. “Will do,” as he turned the key and left.

  When he got back to the office, Kevin asked Marcus if he’d like to spend the day with his sister. Marcus grinned, so Kevin said, “I’ll pick you up around 5:30. Would you like to join us at Shadron’s this evening to find out what happened? At last count I think there’s going to be something like sixteen or seventeen people there. There will be plenty of food and plenty of room if you can stand the noise. It’s not exactly a quiet group.”

  Marcus’s grin spread from ear to ear. “I’d love to.”

  A few minutes later, Marcus was in Bridgeport and Kevin was back in his office. He sat down behind his desk and leaned back. His part in this charade was done. All six suspects were on their way. Now to see who, if anyone, took the bait.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The first couple of hours passed fairly quickly for the spotters as they assessed the surrounding area. By the time they were done, each of them knew the location, shape, and size of every tree, rock, dirt mound, bush, ditch, or creek large enough to conceal an assassin. Now all they had to do was look for the anomaly, for what did not belong.

  The next few hours began to drag as they scanned their areas. Each of them found his or her own way of dealing with the boredom. Kyle planned training drills for his dogs while Shadron’s thoughts centered on his horses. Danyelle planned new patterns for her quilts as Dayed designed a new dining room set for his wife. Warren wondered if he should hand the reins over to Colin, but if he did, what would he do? He enjoyed playing around with magic too much to retire.

  The only one who wasn’t left to her own thoughts was Allisandra. After her initial scan, she and Theresa settled down in Theresa’s room to chat. While Allisandra surveyed the surrounding area with her seeing eye, she pumped Theresa for everything she could about her nephew. She’d heard Theresa had arrived at the castle with Myron and Chris, but she knew there was more to it than that.

  Theresa figured it was safe to talk about their time with Glendymere and the giants since Laryn said the whole family knew Kevin had trained there, but she stuck to her story about joining the group in Drisden after training with Drusilla. While Theresa was telling Allisandra about their run-ins with the bandit from Billows, Allisandra tensed and put her hand on Theresa’s arm.

  “See something?” Theresa asked.

  Allisandra nodded. “We have our assassin. He’s behind one of the cedars near the driveway. I’m not sure how long he’ll wait, but if you need to do anything before we head out to follow him, you might want to do it now.”

  “Let me get some stuff together so it’ll look like we’re going out to make deliveries,” Theresa said as she stood up. “I could have done this earlier, but I really didn’t think we’d need it. I can’t believe they’d try it again here. They must be desperate.”

  Allisandra laughed. “You aren’t the only one who figured there was no way an assassin would show up here. Otherwise, Myron and Shadron would never have left me here.”

  Theresa frowned. “What do you mean?”

  Allisandra waved towards her belly. “They knew better than try to leave me out, but they put me here, with you, in a chapel to keep me out of the action. And I get the assassin! I love it!”

  Theresa laughed. “I’ll get our stuff ready. Can you keep an eye on things from here, or do we need to move to the kitchen?”

  “No, this is fine. I’ve got a good view of his hideout from here. And I’ve spotted his horse now. It’s tethered on the other side of the woods.”

  “Maybe we should go to Debra’s. She lives over there and we can visit with her until he’s ready to leave.”

  “That might not be a bad idea, but later, after lunch. For now, let’s stay put. I’m sure he will.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  While Allisandra was watching her assassin, Shadron spotted a man lurking around the left side of Bekka’s house trying to get a peek inside. After a few minutes, he slipped between Bekka’s house and the barn and headed back towards the road. He crept from bush to bush until he found one he could use for cover.

  As the assassin settled down to wait for Landis, Shadron settled down to watch the assassin. He’d picked the perfect spot. From his little cave, he could watch the assassin without his seeing eye. He wasn’t more than fifty feet from the man. Shadron grinned. He’d be the one following the assassin back to his hideout. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. This could turn out to be entertaining yet.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Meanwhile, over at Cira’s, Kyle was scanning the area with his seeing eye when he noticed a man jumping from one skinny beech tree to the next. As Kyle watched, the man worked his way closer and closer to the house, finally stopping a hundred feet away. As the man searched for a hiding place, Kyle slipped around to the other side of the loft, where he would have a good view of the man without the aid of his seeing eye.

  The assassin selected a thick fir tree a few feet from the road. A few minutes later, he’d scampered up into the tree until he was fifteen feet off the ground. Once he was in position, he set his bow on the branch next to him, ready to grab and load as soon as he saw Landis riding towards Cira’s.

  Kyle smiled as he settled down to watch. This time he’d be the one in the thick of it. Shadron was going to be so jealous.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Laryn and Steve opted to spend the evening at home that night, so Chris went with Kevin to pick up Marcus in Bridgeport. When Marcus was ready to go, Kevin took them both to Shadron’s front yard.

  “Go on in and see if there’s anything you can do to help Kayla,” Kevin said as soon as they got there. “I’m going to pick up Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence, and then I’ll start rounding up the spotters.”

  As the two men headed towards the house, Kevin turned his key and went back to his office.

  When he got there, he opened his door and asked Ariel to join him for a moment. Once Ariel was inside, Kevin shut the door. “Chris and I will be out of the castle this evening. Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence will be with us, so you can’t count on them if something comes up. You’ll need to go to Gen. Cran
dal if you need any help.”

  “What about Marcus? Will he be around?”

  Kevin shook his head. “He’s with his sister in Bridgeport.”

  “So there’s no sorcerer around?”

  “Not this evening.”

  Ariel nodded. “If anything comes up, I’ll notify Gen. Crandal, and if we need a sorcerer, I’ll send a message to Dylan in Fall Creek.”

  “Okay, but we’ll be back before midnight. Things should be okay for six hours.”

  “Are you leaving now?”

  Kevin nodded. “If you want to, you can close the office. Kort’s on duty in Darrell’s office. He’ll keep an eye on things.”

  “I’ll stay until you get back,” Ariel said. “I have plenty of work I can do, but I’ll let Elin leave at dinner.”

  “That’s fine, but if you decide to go home, let Kort know, okay?”

  Ariel nodded. “Is that all?”

  “That’s it,” Kevin said. “Now, as soon as I can find Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence, I’ll be on my way.”

  Kevin found them in Cpt. Lawrence’s office. “Are you two ready?”

  As Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence stepped over beside Kevin, Darrell asked, “Is everyone else there?”

  “Chris and Marcus are, but I haven’t picked up any of the spotters yet. I’ll get them next.”

  After Kevin took them to Shadron’s, he started rounding up the spotters. Warren, Dayed, and Danyelle were right where he’d left them, but he couldn’t find Shadron or Kyle so he went to the chapel. When he got there, Hayley was in the kitchen fixing dinner for the staff.

  “Hi,” Kevin said as he walked in the door. “I was supposed to meet Theresa and Allisandra here around 6:00. Do you know where they are?”

  Hayley shook her head. “They left in the buggy this afternoon, but I have no idea where they were headed. Did you check the castle? If they’re running late, Theresa may take Allisandra up there to meet you.”

  “No, I haven’t been by there. Thanks.”

  Hayley nodded without looking up from what she was doing.

  Kevin shook his head as he walked out the door. The only reason Allisandra would have left the chapel was to track the assassin. He set up his seeing eye and gave the surrounding area a good scan. No sign of the buggy anywhere. A finger of dread ran down Kevin’s back as he pictured his very pregnant aunt going up against a determined assassin. The only consoling thought was that Theresa and her pendant were along for the ride.

  Kevin headed back towards Cira’s to see if he could find Kyle. Again, no luck. So he used the key to check on Shadron. Still missing.

  The only explanation Kevin could come up with was somehow both Kyle and Shadron had seen Allisandra on the trail of the assassin and had followed her. And if that was what had happened, Allisandra must have passed somewhere between Cira’s and Bekka’s, so he went back to Fall Creek Road and set up his seeing eye. He scoured the roads all around the area. As he scanned empty road after empty road, he widened his search. Finally, five miles away, he saw a buggy, but it was empty. The horse was tethered to a tree beside the road.

  He used his key to go to a spot in the woods about fifty feet from the buggy. He set up his seeing eye again and started searching the area. The only person he spotted was Kyle, slipping through the woods, gliding from one shadow to the next. When Kyle got close enough, Kevin stepped out of the woods and stood at the side of the road.

  A few minutes later, Kyle joined him with a big grin on his face.

  “What’s going on?” Kevin whispered.

  Kyle shushed him, put his hand on Kevin’s arm, and made the motion of turning a key. Kevin took the hint and used the key to take Kyle back to Shadron’s.

  As soon as they were in Shadron’s front yard, Kyle started laughing. “You won’t believe it. There I was, tracking an assassin who’d waited outside Cira’s for hours when I spotted Shadron. He was tracking someone else. And then, here comes Allisandra, dragging Theresa through the tree tops with her. Oh, and by the way, she can still fly. I knew if I watched any longer I was going to start laughing and give the whole thing away, so I turned around and headed back.”

  “Did you find the hideout?”

  “Oh, yeah, forgot to mention that, didn’t I? The assassins are living in a cave maybe half a mile from where you were waiting. I can draw you a map from the road to the cave. There were some pretty good landmarks along the way. Of course, Shadron and Allisandra can draw you one too, or one of us can lead you right to it if you’d rather do that.”

  “You mean there were three assassins?”

  “Apparently. Anyway, why don’t you head back and pick up the others so they don’t have to go all the way back to their starting points.”

  Kevin nodded. “Would you mind keeping this to yourself until I pick up the other two? I’d like to be there when Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence find out we have three spies.”

  “Bet they won’t find it very funny,” Kyle said. “Neither will Chris.”

  “I know.”

  Kyle nodded. “I’ll wait out here for you.”

  Kevin turned his key and went back to the road near the assassins’ hideout, but by the time he got back, Allisandra and Theresa had made it back to the buggy. Kevin asked Theresa if she felt okay about driving back to town by herself.

  “Sure. I’ll be fine. Go on. Allisandra needs to put her feet up and relax for a while. And when you want to know where the assassins are living, just find me and I’ll show you where it is. It’s easy to find once you know where to look.”

  “I may take you up on that tomorrow,” Kevin said as he helped his aunt out of the buggy. He put his arm around her and turned the key.

  A few moments later, they were in the front yard with Kyle. Allisandra started laughing as soon as she saw Kyle. “I couldn’t believe it when I spotted you and Shadron. Can’t wait to see what he has to say.” She looked at Kevin. “Go on. Find him and bring him here. We’ll make a grand entrance together. But don’t take too long. I really do want to put my feet up for a while. I’d forgotten how tiring flying can be.”

  Kevin didn’t say a word. He just turned the key and headed back to Fall Creek Road. There wasn’t any sign of Shadron when he got there, so once again he set up a seeing eye and scoured the woods. He was about to give up and head back to Bekka’s when he remember Allisandra’s comment about flying. He looked up. A dark shape was drifting across the sky. The more he watched, the more he felt certain it was a man, and the only man anywhere nearby who could be up there was his uncle. Kevin slowly lifted himself straight up in the air.

  “Took your time getting up here,” Shadron said. “Hope you’re faster than that when you need to be.”

  “I am, but not when I’m afraid I’ll startle a sorcerer who might turn me into a pile of ashes before he realizes who I am.”

  Shadron snorted. “Want me to show you where your assassins are?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Not right now. I don’t want to spook them. Now that we know where they are, I want them to stay put.”

  “I wasn’t talking about knocking on their front door,” Shadron said. “See that little ledge there, halfway down the mountain. The one with the moon shining on it.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “There’s a stream flowing over the side. It’s not much of a stream, so you’ll probably need your seeing eye to see it.”

  “Got it.”

  “Follow the stream down the side of the hill. See the waterfall near the base?”

  Again, Kevin nodded.

  “Their cave’s behind the waterfall. They’re camped back in there maybe forty, fifty feet. From what I could tell, I’d say there are at least five of them, maybe six. They’ve hung glowstone torches along the walls of their main room and they’ve found a natural chimney for their fire circle. Nice and homey in there.”

  “I lived in a cave once, while I was working with Glendymere. It was nice.”

  “I bet you had real beds and everything.”

>   Kevin nodded.

  “They don’t. They’re sleeping on the ground, but they’ve made a table and some chairs, so it’s not bad. Anyway, that’s where they are.”

  “Thanks,” Kevin said. “Now, let’s get back to your house. Bet you’re ready for dinner.”

  “That I am,” Shadron said as he put his hand on Kevin’s arm.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Shortly after Kevin brought the last three spotters in, Kayla sent everyone out to the bunk house for dinner. Craven had set out the kegs of scog Shadron had picked up earlier in the week, and soon everyone was seated around the table with a mug of scog and a plate full of food. And that’s when the spotters started talking.

  All of them were natural story tellers, and even the ones who hadn’t been visited by an assassin told funny stories about things they’d seen while waiting for trouble to arrive. But when the three who had spotted assassins told their stories, everyone was in stitches over their descriptions of the men creeping around, picking out hiding places, and waiting, and waiting, and finally giving up.

  When they got to the part about following them back to the hideout, Allisandra took over. She said from the moment she’d first spotted the assassin, she’d been looking forward to teasing Shadron. She said her assassin must have been the most determined because he was the last to give up and head home. By the time she and Theresa reached the trail that led to the hideout, Shadron and Kyle were already there. Allisandra said she’d felt crushed when she saw them.

  As the stories unfolded, Kevin kept an eye on Darrell, Cpt. Lawrence, Chris, and Marcus. They’d laughed along with the others, but the laughter never reached their eyes. He had a feeling this night was going to get even longer once they were back at the castle.

  After dinner was over, Shadron motioned Kevin away from the group. “What are you planning to do about the assassins?”

  “Nothing. If we do anything, Rolan will just send more.”

  Shadron agreed. “What about your spies?”

  “Nothing right now.”

  “Watch and see?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Know Rolan pretty well?”

  Kevin thought about how to answer that. “Not really. It’s more I know what he’s capable of. He kills as easily as most men put on a tunic, and he thinks nothing of holding people hostage to get what he wants.”