The Dragon's Flame (The Chronicles of Terah # 2)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Gerry stood on her toes and began kissing him in earnest. He hoped that his last comment had registered, but he didn’t dare repeat it. As they sank down on the rug in front of the small fire, he closed his eyes and pretended that she was one of the girls he’d enjoyed on that little island near Wyndsor. He had really had a good time there last Sunday. Too bad he wasn’t there now.

  Chapter 5

  The Last Days of April

  Monday morning Darrell was in Kevin’s office when he and Chris came in from the dining room.

  “Are you looking for me?” Kevin asked.

  Darrell nodded. “If you have a few minutes, there’s something I’d like to talk to the two of you about.”

  “Sure, come on in,” Kevin said as he opened the door to his private office.

  After everyone was settled, Kevin asked, “What’s up?”

  “I’ve got a few concerns about your safety,” Darrell began. “I want you to have someone with you whenever you leave the castle grounds.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean guards.”

  Kevin knitted his eyebrows and looked hard at Darrell. “Like bodyguards?”

  “Exactly like bodyguards,” Darrell said, meeting Kevin’s gaze.

  “Darrell, remember me? The sorcerer? Remember the war games we were in last winter? I can take care of myself.”

  Darrell nodded. “I agree, provided you’re paying attention. But you’re usually oblivious to what’s going on around you. Most of the time, you have no idea how many people are behind you, much less what they’re doing or how they’re moving around. You’re just not paranoid enough to notice.”

  “Chris is paranoid enough for both of us and he’s usually with me. He’s pretty good at keeping an eye on things.”

  “I know,” Darrell said, “but that shouldn’t be his primary responsibility.”

  Chris nodded. “Kevin, a lot of the time I’m busy with other things. I can’t always watch your back, and I agree with Darrell, someone needs to.”

  Darrell nodded at Chris and then looked hard at Kevin. “You need at least one person with you at all times whose only job is to watch for trouble, and who knows what it looks like.”

  Kevin’s frown deepened. “But bodyguards?”

  “Think of them as secret service agents if it makes you feel better, but yeah.”

  “Do I get a say in this?” Kevin asked, still frowning.

  “Not really,” Darrell said with more confidence than he was feeling. “I’ve talked it over with Captain Lawrence, and he suggested we talk it over with General Crandal. All three of us agree. You need bodyguards with you when you leave the castle.”

  “It’s a good idea, Kevin,” Chris said.

  Kevin drummed his fingers on the desk. “If I decide to go along with this, how many bodyguards are you talking about?”

  “Well, as you pointed out, once you’re aware of a problem, you’re perfectly capable of defending yourself. Most of the time, all you’ll need is one person with you who’s used to watching for trouble.”

  “So you’re only talking about one bodyguard?”

  Darrell nodded.

  “There’s no way a bodyguard can go with me to the council meetings, or the federation meetings,” Kevin pointed out.

  “I know that. But you’re watching out for trouble yourself while you’re there, aren’t you?”

  “Well, more at the council meetings than the federation meetings, but yeah, I guess so,” Kevin agreed. “And I’m not willing to take a bodyguard with me to Willow Canyon.”

  “No need. No one’s going to try to ambush you in Glendymere’s backyard. I don’t care how bad they want you dead.”

  “I don’t want to take one to Crinsor Run either.”

  “I can go along with that. The elves are already watching out for Taelor and Landis, so I doubt you’ll find any assassins lurking about in the bushes out there.”

  “If I decide to go along with this, how would you decide who goes with me?”

  “Actually, two of the guards came to see me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I was going to assign bodyguards to you. That’s what made me start thinking about it. Anyway, they volunteered, so I thought we’d use them.”

  Chris frowned. “Are you sure about them? Can we trust them?”

  Darrell grinned. “I had the same reaction, which is one of the reasons I went to Captain Lawrence. He gave them glowing recommendations. They’ve both worked as bodyguards before, for Badec.”

  “Do you mean my father had bodyguards when he traveled?” Kevin asked.

  “According to Captain Lawrence, Badec agreed to it mainly for Laryn’s peace of mind and to keep her safe when she was with him, but his reasons didn’t matter as long as he allowed a bodyguard to go with him.”

  “If my father had a bodyguard, and Laryn thinks it’s such a good idea, why hasn’t she ever mentioned it to me?” Kevin asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe because there’s been so much other stuff going on that she just hasn’t had time to get to it yet. Why don’t you ask her what she thinks about the idea?” Darrell suggested.

  “You’ve already talked to her about it, haven’t you?”

  Darrell nodded. “And she agrees that you need one and that Alek and Rigel are perfect. She said that they know what they’re doing, they don’t ask a lot of questions, and they know how to keep their mouths shut. But feel free to ask her yourself.”

  “Give it up, Kevin,” Chris said. “You’re outvoted.”

  “All right,” Kevin said with a deep sigh. “Bring them by this afternoon so I can meet them.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Kevin returned from lunch, Darrell was waiting for him with two really big men. They were both around six feet tall and quite muscular, but one was blond and the other dark. Darrell introduced the man with blond hair as Alek and the dark-haired man as Rigel.

  Kevin shook hands with each of them and then said, “Why don’t we step into my office for a minute?”

  Once they were all settled, Kevin asked, “How do we work this out? I mean, do I give you a schedule of my activities for the week?”

  Alek shook his head. “No, sir. That’s not necessary. Whenever you need to go somewhere, just let one of us know. We’ll be around.”

  “Twenty-four hours a day?”

  Rigel nodded. “We’ll work out a schedule, but yes, one of us will be available at all times. If you need to leave and don’t see either of us in your office, just send a note to the guard office. They’ll know where we are.”

  Kevin looked at Darrell. “Don’t you need them on your duty roster?”

  “We’ve already worked it out. That won’t be a problem.”

  “Have you explained that there are certain places that I’ll go without them?”

  “That’s been covered.”

  Rigel cleared his throat to get Kevin’s attention and said, “Sir, we understand that you don’t really want bodyguards, and if I were in your position, I wouldn’t either, but it really is for the best. We won’t get in the way.”

  Alek nodded.

  “Well, then, I guess that’s that,” Kevin said.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Wednesday morning, Rigel was waiting in the reception area when Kevin and Chris got there. Kevin motioned for Rigel to follow him into his office.

  After the door was shut, Kevin said, “I’ve got to go to Walnut Springs to see Warren. Do you want to go with me?”

  “Yes, sir,” Rigel said with a grin. He licked his lips as he laid his hand on Kevin’s arm. “Wonder what Torrey has in the oven this morning.”

  Kevin looked over at Rigel and started laughing. He was still chuckling when they vanished from the room.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  An hour later, Kevin and Rigel returned to Kevin’s office. Shortly after Rigel went back out into the reception area, Chris opened Kevin’s door to find him standing in the middle of his office in deep concentration.

  “What are you doing?�
�� Chris asked.

  Kevin started and said, “What? Uh … nothing.”

  “Right,” Chris said sarcastically. “I know that look. What were you trying to do?”

  “I was just trying to translocate.”

  “Why?”

  “Because,” Kevin said with a shrug. “I know I can do it. I did it once, remember?”

  “Yeah, I remember. The grandfather of all rattlers was coiled and ready to bite your ankle,” Chris said. “I don’t see any rattlers in here though.”

  “I want to figure out some way to do it when I want to, to control it, not just be able to do it when something scares me.”

  “Maybe you should talk to Glendymere about it.”

  “I did,” Kevin said with a frown. “But he’s not sure how it happens. Believe it or not, he can’t do it. It’s an elf thing.”

  “So talk to an elf.”

  Kevin thought for a moment, and then nodded. “You may be right. I have to go to Crinsor Run before long to see Taelor anyway. Maybe I can talk to Duane while I’m there.” Kevin walked around his desk to his chair and sat down. “Now, was there something you wanted, or did you come in here just to hassle me?”

  “How did things go with Warren?”

  “He offered to take Gaynor as his assistant. In fact, he and Torrey convinced the townspeople to build and furnish a small house for him a little ways outside of town. They hope to have it finished in a couple of weeks.”

  “Did he say when he wanted Gaynor to come?”

  Kevin shook his head. “He said it didn’t matter to him as long as he has a couple of days notice.”

  “Okay. So have you decided when you want to hold the competition for the position in Zander?”

  “Probably some time around the first week of June. That should give us enough time to get everything set up.”

  “Okay,” Chris said with a nod. “We have several of the up-dated applications back and Elin has written to the mentors asking for evaluations and recommendations. By the middle of May, we should have a lot of the files completed.”

  Kevin glanced at his calendar. “We’ve got the council meeting on the first, so let’s set it for Saturday, June 8.”

  Chris jotted it down on his calendar. “When are you planning to talk to the minister of Zander?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to leave them without a sorcerer, but I don’t want Gaynor to find out that he’s being replaced until I’m ready to move him. There’s no telling what havoc he might create,” Kevin said. “Who is the minister, anyway?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” Chris stood up to go.

  Kevin nodded, and then he said, “When you do, send him a note saying that we’re looking into the situation in Zander and will be in touch with him soon. I don’t want him to think we’re just ignoring his problem.”

  “Will do. Anything else?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The rest of the week was fairly quiet and the office settled down into a quiet routine. By Thursday, most of the backlog of correspondence had been taken care of and the pages found themselves with extra time on their hands and nothing to do. They wandered around the room, stared out the window, and at least one of them went down to the aviary every hour to check for mail. Cameryn got so bored she even polished the furniture without being asked.

  Friday morning Laryn dropped by Kevin’s office to tell him that she and Steve were going to ride out to the family burial cave that afternoon. They were going to take gifts for the brownies who tended the area.

  When she opened his office door to leave, Ariel stepped up and asked, “Myron, if you have a moment, could I speak with you?”

  “Of course,” Kevin answered.

  Laryn stood behind Ariel, waiting to see if what he needed to speak with Kevin about would alter her plans for the afternoon.

  “We’re caught up on the correspondence, and Elin has done all that she can do with the applications until more letters come in. Is there anything else you would like for us to take care of?” Ariel asked.

  “No, not at the moment. Why? Is there something that you would like to do?”

  “Well, we were wondering if you would mind if we set up our Octuro board and played when we have time. We won’t let it get in the way of our work.”

  Laryn gave a discreet nod when she caught Kevin’s eye.

  “I see nothing wrong with that,” Kevin said. “It’s fine with me.”

  “Thank you, sir. We were thinking of setting it up along the back wall, out of the way. Would that be all right?”

  “That’s fine,” Kevin answered with a smile.

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll go get the board out of storage,” Ariel said with a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye.

  After he left, Laryn followed Kevin back into his office and closed the door. “It’s fine for them to play, but at some point, one of you should remind them that they are not allowed to bet on the outcome. They used to play all the time, but Badec and I watched them pretty closely to make sure they didn’t gamble. That’s a bad habit to get into so young.”

  “Is this a game that’s well known on Terah?” Chris asked.

  Laryn laughed. “It’s more like the only game on Terah. You really do need to learn how to play. Tyree and I have already taught everyone else except Theresa, and I imagine she’s learned how to play at the chapel. There’s always a game going on in the guards’ quarters. Players come and go as the shift changes, but the game continues. Now that’s a game you don’t want to get into. Those guys are serious and they play for high stakes.”

  “We saw men sitting around tables playing something in the taverns while we were traveling here, but we never got close enough to see what was going on. There was usually a crowd standing around behind them, watching,” Kevin said. “Would that have been Octuro?”

  “I’m sure it was. Local taverns have tournaments all the time, but especially in the winters, when the days are short and the evenings are long. And sometimes two or more towns will have tournaments where the winners from the local taverns can play each other. Why don’t you two come up to the guest quarters this evening? I’ll set up my board in one of the empty rooms and Steve and I will teach you how to play. Everyone on Terah knows how, even the children. You’re lucky it hasn’t tripped you up already.”

  “How many people play at a time?” Kevin asked.

  “It can be played by two or four, but it’s better with four. Steve says that it’s sort of like four-handed backgammon. Does that help?”

  “I’ve played backgammon, but it’s hard to imagine it with four players,” Chris said with a slight frown. “Could be interesting.”

  Kevin nodded. “Okay, we’ll join you right after dinner. We haven’t taken a night off since we got here. I guess it’s about time.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Later that afternoon, Chris walked over to watch the pages play for a few moments. He didn’t understand what everything meant, but the playing board was beautiful. It was made out of cedar with sculpted inlays. In one corner, there was a picture of a dragon sleeping in a cave, in another a dwarf was working in his forge, in the third an elf was hunting beside a stream, and in the fourth a unicorn was resting in the woods. Along each side of the board there were sixteen spikes made up of four alternating icons: a sword, an arrow, a unicorn’s horn, and a flame. Different colored stones that were obviously the playing pieces were scattered all around the board. While he was watching, Elin picked up a pair of eight-sided dice from the center of the board and shook them in her hand.

  Chris smiled at the pages when they looked up to see what he wanted and said, “Just remember, this game is for fun only. No gambling.”

  Three of the pages simply nodded, but Elin gazed up at Chris and fluttered her eyelashes a couple of times. However, since he was looking at the board, he missed it, so she sighed and said, “We would never break your rules, Chris.”

  Isak rolled his eyes w
hile Cameryn tried to swallow a giggle. Ariel’s face turned red. Chris raised his eyebrows at their reactions, but since he had no idea what had caused them, he just shrugged and walked away.

  Once Chris was out of earshot, Elin whispered to Cameryn, “Isn’t he absolutely wonderful? He’s so good looking, and he’s so smart! I bet he wins Octuro every time he plays.”

  Cameryn laughed and said, “Just roll the dice, Elin. Roll the dice.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  While things were settling down at the castle, they were picking up at the Chapel of Light in Milhaven. Sister Agnes was still on vacation, but the people in and around town were getting used to seeing Sister Theresa, and those who had gotten to know her liked her attitude and openness. Over the past few weeks, they had gone from avoiding the chapel and treating their problems at home to flocking to it with every little ailment or injury.

  Theresa had become quite busy, and she loved it. She thoroughly enjoyed tending to patients, supervising the staff, preparing the herbal medicines, making house calls, and in general looking after everyone in the area.

  Theresa was dreading handing the chapel back over to Sister Agnes. She didn’t want to give it up. More than ever, she wanted a chapel of her own, but the chapel in Milhaven wasn’t hers, and Sister Agnes was due back the first weekend in May. Every night when Theresa went to her room, she counted the days she had left and secretly hoped that Agnes would decide to extend her vacation.

  But on the last Saturday in April, she received a note from Sister Agnes saying that she would return the following Saturday. As she read the note a second time, it dawned on her that Sister Agnes was as eager to get back to her chapel as Theresa was depressed at the thought of handing over the reigns. After thinking about it, she realized that she needed to leave Milhaven for a while so that there would be no confusion about who was in charge. She decided to cover her absence by taking a trip into the nearby mountains to gather herbs.

  On the Friday before Sister Agnes was due back, Theresa rode out to the castle to tell Kevin about her plans and to pick up her wagon and some supplies for the trip. On the way to Kevin’s office, she stopped by the governor’s office.