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

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  During the first round of competition, each of the sorcerers would have won one of the events, if anyone had been keeping score. It took Lynda a little longer to clear her section than it did the two men, but in this event, the end product mattered more than speed. All three had piled the debris near the center of the area, incinerated the pile with energy bolts, and spread it back out over the field, but Lynda’s area was just that bit neater than the other two. It was ready for seed. Colin would have won the seeing eye event because he found his quarry quicker than either of the other two, but all three of the children were found in less than the allotted fifteen minutes and all three came out of the woods eating cookies. Marcus would have won the wagon event, mainly because he opted to hold the wagon and change the wheel himself rather than have the men do it, but Kevin had no idea whether the other two might have been able to do that, too.

  While they were waiting for the second round of events, Kevin used his key to go to three different spots on the road near the field. At one point, the road curved through a particularly dense section of woods. Kevin picked up a tree that had fallen in the woods and laid it across the road in such a way that it was almost hidden in shadows. At another point, next to a stream, Kevin created a small washout along the edge of the road. His third obstacle was a landslide that covered half the road at a point where the road ran between a steep hillside and the creek.

  When he got back to the field, he looked around to see what the sorcerers were doing. Marcus was playing ball with a group of children, Colin was deep in conversation with a group of men, and Lynda was seated with some women holding someone’s baby.

  Chris and Joan were circulating among the spectators gauging their reaction to the competition. Karl, Wilhem, and the men who were serving as judges were standing near the platform, talking.

  After a couple of minutes, Kevin walked over to Wilhelm and asked if he was ready to start the next round.

  As soon as Wilhem stepped up on the platform, Kevin sent up a few sparks to get everyone’s attention. The three competitors quickly made their way back to the platform while everyone else settled down to hear what Wilhem had to say.

  “For one of our events in the next round, the sorcerers will be asked to set up protection wards,” Wilhem said as he pointed to a spot on the field where Kevin had set up some boulders to resemble a rock wall around a small cave entrance.

  “Our second event will take place in the air as our competitors support Annie in flight.” Wilhem pointed to the scarecrow that his wife had dressed up as a woman.

  After the quick burst of laughter died down, he continued, “For our third event, Myron has set up some obstacles on the road leading to the field. Now, before any of you start worrying about getting back home, he’s promised to have them out of the way before our competition is over. But the sorcerers will be asked to use their seeing eyes to map out the road, marking any and all obstacles that they find.” He turned and looked towards the back of the platform where one of the judges set some paper, pens, and ink on the edge of the platform.

  Then Wilhem held his hat above his head again and asked the sorcerers to draw, once again wishing them luck.

  Kevin took an active role in the protection ward event. He asked Colin to make a mild ward, one that would discourage small animals without harming them, so Colin made one that would give an intruder a mild zap. He asked Lynda for a stronger ward, but not fatal. She made one that would probably knock a person back a couple of feet and leave them tingling for a few seconds, but would do no permanent damage. Kevin asked Marcus to make a strong ward, and when Kevin tested it by tossing a small rock at the cave entrance, the rock was reduced to dust.

  Wilhem and his judges were impressed with the maps, as were the few spectators who wandered by to look at them, but Kevin was the only one who could really judge them because he was the only one who knew exactly what the obstructions looked like. All three were basically accurate, but Colin would have won that event purely on artistic grounds.

  The hit of round two was the flying event. Lynda went first. She held the scarecrow in her outstretched hand so that it appeared to be standing beside her and the two of them soared, looped, dove, and twirled together. Colin went next. He held the scarecrow upright and then situated his body so that he appeared to be sitting in her arms. He and the scarecrow rose slowly and majestically straight up in the air. Once they reached a height of about fifty feet, Colin waved at the crowd while he and the scarecrow made a slow circle around the field. Marcus held the scarecrow facing him and put his arm around the scarecrow’s waist. Then he lifted the two of them into the air and proceeded to dance across the sky, twisting and twirling to the beat of a tune only he could hear.

  During the second intermission, Kevin cleared the obstacles he’d set up on the road, took down the rock wall and set the boulders up on the newly cleared section of the field, and moved the wagon that had been used for changing the wheel off the field. He wanted the section that was going to be used for the mock battle to be completely clear so that he could be sure no spectators got too close. Once he had the area cleared out, he marked a circle about twenty feet in diameter at the center. While he was doing all of that, the competitors once more circulated through the crowd, talking to first one group, then another.

  When Kevin sent up the sparks to get everyone’s attention for the final round, it didn’t take more than a minute for everyone to settle down and for the competitors to get back up to the platform.

  “Our last round will feature a mock battle on the southern end of the field. Even though the sorcerers will be using non-lethal magic, the arrows that our soldiers will be using are real. Myron has asked me to ask all spectators to stay off that end of the field. You’ll be able to see just fine from the wagons, so don’t try to get any closer to the action, and parents, keep a close eye on your children.”

  Then he pointed towards the northern end of the field, and said, “On the other end of the field, the sorcerers will be using those boulders to test their energy bolts. Once again, please stay off the field. You really don’t want to get hit by any bits of flying rock. Stay behind the sorcerers if you’d like to watch that one.”

  Wilhem paused a moment and then continued, “Our last event will involve the soft touch. The sorcerers will be asked to light a candle from fifty paces without melting the wax surrounding the wick.”

  Then he picked up his hat again and said, “If you would please draw your tasks, you may begin,” and the final round was underway.

  Fortunately, round two had been a fairly easy one to supervise, so Kevin was relatively rested by the time the third round began. The candle lighting was fairly safe, and it was easy enough to use his seeing eye to do a quick check to see whether or not any of the wax had been melted, but the other two events were the most potentially dangerous events of the day. While the energy bolt event was quick, he had to be ready to put a shield between any stray bits of hot rock and the bystanders. And although the spectators weren’t in danger of being injured by magic during the mock battle, they were in danger of being shot, as were the sorcerers. Kevin didn’t dare break his focus on that end of the field for even a moment. By the end of round three, Kevin was about ready to call it a day. He felt worn out.

  While the judges met to discuss the results, Kevin sparred with each of the sorcerers. Most of the spectators watched, and although they couldn’t really tell much about what was going on, they enjoyed the magical glow that settled over the field.

  After a few minutes of sparring with them, Kevin knew that there was no way any of them would survive a surprise attack. They had the basic idea, but they were slow to get their nets up. If they were caught off guard, none of them would have it up in time. Kevin made a mental note to find some time to coach them.

  Karl, Joan, and Chris were standing with Wilhem when Kevin finished sparring, so he headed over to join them.

  “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I really can’t say that
one was better than the others, and neither can the judges,” Wilhem said, more to Kevin than to anyone else. “They were all good.”

  Karl nodded. “The men were a little quicker at a couple of things, but Lynda’s work was every bit as good as theirs, and in some cases, a little neater. I would be hard pressed to choose one above the others. What did you think, Kevin? Did we miss something?”

  “No, I don’t think so. They’re all at about the same level magically,” Kevin answered. Then he turned towards Joan and Chris. “You two were circulating a lot. Did you hear anything from the crowd?”

  “From what we gathered, they didn’t seem to have a clear preference either,” Chris said.

  “All right, so how do we choose?” Wilhem asked.

  “I may be speaking out of turn,” Joan said, “but I’m leaning towards Lynda, mainly because I think she has a better chance of winning over the people of Zander. First of all, she’s from the south. She even has relatives in Zander. Secondly, she’s a woman. I think she’ll be more approachable, and after Gaynor, you’re going to need someone that the people are going to feel comfortable with.”

  “And it doesn’t hurt that she’s on the small side, not as intimidating as the other two,” Chris added. “After some of the things I heard about Gaynor today, these people don’t need anyone who could be seen as the least bit threatening. I mean, Colin has to be close to six and a half feet tall, and although Marcus isn’t particularly tall, he’s as muscular as a blacksmith.”

  “What do you think, Wilhem?” Kevin asked. “Do you want a female sorcerer or would you be more comfortable with a man?”

  “Personally, it makes no difference to me, but I think Joan may be right about the people who live around here feeling more comfortable with her,” Wilhem said. “Shall we offer her the contract?”

  “It’s your decision.”

  “Then I think I’d like to go with her.”

  Kevin nodded. “Karl, why don’t you go get Lynda and bring her over here.” Then he turned to Wilhem and said, “While you’re talking to Lynda, I’m going to take Colin and Marcus back to Milhaven. I’ll be back by the time you’ve agreed on the contract.”

  “Wait a minute. Before you go, did you fix the road back?” Wilhem asked. Then he realized that Kevin could take that question as an insult. “I mean, we’ve been so busy for the past couple of hours …”

  Kevin laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not that easily offended. Yes, I cleared the fallen tree away, cleaned up the landslide, and fixed the washout. But if I were you, I’d have Lynda look at that section before long. I did make it worse, but part of the road had already eroded away.”

  Wilhem nodded. “I knew that bank was weakening. It’s already on my list, once I get a sorcerer I can work with.”

  Kevin reached the three sorcerers about the same time that Karl did. After Karl and Lynda left, Kevin turned to the other two and said, “I want to thank you for coming down here today. You really put on a good show for these people, one that they won’t forget any time soon. All of you did quite well. Wilhem asked me to let you know that it wasn’t an easy decision, but in the end they chose Lynda because she’s from this area. She has family living in Zander. Now, if you’re ready to go, I’ll take you back to the castle.” Both men nodded and placed a hand on Kevin’s arm. Kevin took out his key, turned it, and a few seconds later, they were all back in Kevin’s office.

  After Colin and Marcus recovered, Kevin said, “I’d like to invite you to stay at the castle tonight, and if you have the time, please accept our hospitality for a few days. I’d like the chance to get to know you better.”

  When they both agreed, Kevin opened the door and asked Ariel to have housekeeping prepare a couple of guest rooms. “Elin, I’ve got to go back to Zander for a few minutes. While Ariel’s arranging rooms for our guests, will you see that they get something to eat?”

  Elin nodded.

  Then he turned back to Colin and Marcus. “I know you must be exhausted. By the time you finish eating, your rooms should be ready. If you need anything, anything at all, just tell Elin. She’ll take care of it. Enjoy your evening and we’ll talk in the morning.”

  Elin stepped over towards the hallway door, looked at Colin and Marcus and said, “If you’ll come with me, we’ll see what we can find in the kitchen.”

  By the time Kevin returned to Zander, Wilhem and Lynda had agreed on the terms and were in the process of drawing up the final contract. While they were doing that, Kevin took Karl and Joan back to the castle.

  When he returned, the contract was done and Chris was skimming over it. After Chris finished, he handed it to Kevin. Then Kevin read it, signed it, and asked Wilhem to make a copy for him to take back to his office.

  While they were waiting, Kevin took Lynda off to the side and said, “I’d like to congratulate you, and to offer you my sympathy. You’re going to have a hard time winning these people over. They’re going to be suspicious of everything you do, of everything you say. You’ll eventually prove yourself, but it’s going to be tough for a while, and probably pretty lonely. I’ll send someone down in the next couple of days with your horse, and I’ll try to get back down here before long to check on you, but in the meantime, if you need anything, even if it’s just to talk, contact us. If you even think about sending me a note, send it. Don’t second guess yourself about it.”

  “Thank you,” Lynda said softly as a light blush touched her cheeks. “And thank you for inviting me to compete. I’m scared, but I’m also thrilled. I can’t wait to get started.”

  “Well, it’s all yours now. We’re going to head back as soon as I have a copy of your contract. Take care, and good luck.”

  Chapter 15

  Verna Sounds the Alarm

  Laryn was waiting in the reception area when Kevin, Chris, and Rigel returned from Zander. She smiled as soon as she saw her nephew and said, “From what Joan told me, your first public function as Sorcerer of Camden was quite a success. Congratulations!”

  Kevin made a deep sweeping motion with his arm as he bowed from his waist. The only thing missing was a plumed hat. “We thank you for your kind words, my lady.”

  Rigel laughed. “If there’s nothing else, sir, I’ll let Captain Darrell know we’re back.”

  “That’s fine,” Kevin said, standing back up. “As far as I know, I’m not leaving the castle again today. Thanks for going.”

  Rigel nodded and left.

  As soon as Rigel had gone, Kevin said, “I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I’m starved. What about you Chris?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it until you mentioned it, but I am feeling a bit empty.”

  “Laryn, do you want anything?” Kevin asked.

  “Some scog would be nice.”

  Kevin asked Ariel and Elin to scrounge up some scog and sandwiches for them. After they left, he said, “Care to hear all about it? And about Gaynor? I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone about that part yet.”

  Laryn and Chris both nodded and followed Kevin into his office. They talked about the competition until the pages returned with the refreshments, and then Kevin closed his door and filled them in on his conversation with Gaynor.

  “I’m glad you mentioned taking any harm to Warren and Torrey personally,” Chris said. “After you left this morning, the thought that Gaynor might decide it was time for Warren to have a fatal accident crossed my mind.”

  Before Kevin or Laryn could say anything, there was a quick, insistent knock on the door. Ariel didn’t wait for an answer before he opened it. “I hate to disturb you, Myron,” he said in a breathless rush, “but we just received a note from Timera Valley. Verna said that there’s been a break-in at the chapel and Brena’s been hurt.”

  “Did Verna say how badly she’s hurt?” Laryn asked as she stood up.

  “No, just that she’s unconscious.”

  “How did she get hurt?” Chris asked with a frown. “She has a pendant. Did she fall or something?”


  Laryn looked at Chris and said, “She must have. But if she’s unconscious, it must have been quite a fall.”

  “There’s no use sitting here trying to figure it out. Let’s go find out what’s going on,” Kevin said as he leaned forward in his chair. “Laryn, do you want to go?”

  “Yes, and you need to take one of the bodyguards.”

  Kevin nodded. “Ariel, go see if Alek’s available. Rigel’s had a long enough day already.”

  “Yes, sir.” Ariel backed out of the office, shutting the door behind him.

  “Why would anyone bother to break into a chapel? What could they possibly have that would be worth stealing?” Chris asked no one in particular. Then he looked at Kevin and asked, “Should we send for Theresa? If Brena’s out of commission, won’t Verna need some help?”

  Kevin nodded. Then he picked up a pen and wrote a short note to Theresa. When he was done, he folded it and handed it to Chris. “Send one of the castle guards into Milhaven with this. Tell him to wait for Theresa and escort her back to the castle.”

  Chris took the note and left. Once it was just the two of them, Kevin looked up at Laryn and said, “Okay, what are you thinking? Something hit you a minute ago.”

  “The dragon’s flame lamp is kept in Brena’s workroom,” Laryn said quietly.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  By the time Ariel returned with Alek, Chris had dispatched a guard to Milhaven and was waiting in the office with Kevin and Laryn.

  “I’m going to take Alek first,” Kevin said, looking at Laryn. “Then I’ll come back for you and Chris.”

  “Why don’t we all go together?” Laryn asked. “That way, you’d only have to make one trip.”

  Kevin shook his head. “We don’t know what we may be walking into. Whoever broke into the chapel may still be in the area. I want you right here, safe, until I find out more. If no one jumps us when we get there, I’ll come right back for you.”