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

by Morgan, Mackenzie

~ ~ ~ ~

  As soon as Kevin and Alek got back to the castle, Kevin asked Ariel to find him a map of Prosidian. Then he asked Elin to see if she could locate Laryn. “I need to talk to her, but she doesn’t need to come here. Just let me know where she is, and I’ll go to her.”

  Chris stepped into Kevin’s office and asked him what was going on. Before Kevin could answer, Ariel handed him a map. As Kevin spread the map out on his desk, he explained everything to Chris. By the time he finally located Glenco near the eastern edge of the mountains, Elin was back.

  She knocked on his open door to get his attention, and said, “Laryn said that she’d be here in a couple of minutes.”

  Kevin shook his head. Then he said, “Thank you, Elin.”

  Chris chuckled. “You knew that would happen, Kevin.”

  “Knew what would happen?” Laryn asked from the doorway.

  “Knew that Elin would tell you I wanted to see you, when all I wanted her to do was find out where you were,” Kevin said with a sigh. “I was going to go to you this time rather than interrupt your plans.”

  “No problem,” Laryn said. Then she glanced over at his desk. “So what’s going on?”

  Once again, Kevin explained about Gerry. “What I wanted to talk to you about is Jason. Is there some kind of protocol I should observe here?”

  “Sending Theresa and Hayley to cover the chapel until she can make permanent arrangements is definitely Brena’s prerogative, and no one would think twice about your taking them down there for her, but taking Marcus could be interpreted as an insult. You don’t want Jason to get the idea that you don’t think he’s capable of handling things himself. Maybe you could use the same cover story you used in Drisden.”

  “I was thinking of that, with a slight twist,” Kevin said. “According to Theresa, it looks like things might be developing between Hayley and Marcus.”

  Laryn laughed. “Well, cover your bases with Jason so he won’t take it wrong when he hears that you’ve delivered a sorcerer into the heart of his province, because believe me, he’ll hear.”

  “That’s sort of what I thought. So how do I go about doing this? Do I send him a letter?”

  “No, not for something like this. You need to talk to him face to face, and you need to go to him.”

  “So what do I do? Just show up at his door?”

  “No, that would make it threatening. The best way to handle a situation like this is through Chris. You send your assistant to talk to his assistant and request a meeting. Then once they compare schedules, they set up a time and place and you and Jason meet somewhere, probably in Prosidian.”

  “Should I wait for Monday morning? Or could Chris show up this afternoon?”

  “This afternoon would probably be all right,” Laryn said. Then she turned to Chris. “The castle’s on the west side of town. There’s a westbound road leading out from the center of Wellbourne. If you follow that, it’ll lead you straight to the castle. When you get there, go up to the front door and knock. Tell the guard who you are and that you’re Myron’s assistant. Then ask if you could please speak with Chevron for a moment. They’ll probably take you straight to his office. Then all you have to do is tell Chevron that Myron would like to speak with Jason for a few minutes at his earliest convenience.”

  Chris didn’t look happy, but he nodded. Then he asked, “Will I have to do things like this very often?”

  Laryn shrugged. “A bit, but don’t worry. You’ll have the key in your pocket. You can leave any time you want to.”

  Chris nodded, but he still didn’t look happy.

  “Chris, I probably don’t need to say this,” Layrn said hesitantly, “but be careful about what you say and do while you’re there. You don’t want any of them to get the idea that you feel superior in any way just because you work here.”

  Chris nodded again.

  “Are you ready to go?” Kevin asked as he took off the chain that held the keys and handed it to Chris. “Here, this one is the key to Terah,” Kevin said, pointing to the darker of the two keys.

  “I guess,” Chris mumbled. Then he held the key in his hand, looked at the map again, concentrated on Wellbourne, turned the key, and vanished.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Chris materialized, he was on a small hilltop overlooking a large city. Wellbourne was built around a natural harbor a few miles inland from the ocean, and the air carried a whiff of salt water and fish. The city fanned out from the harbor in concentric arcs with houses on the outermost rings. Chris couldn’t see the castle, but he did spot the westbound road, so he headed in that direction.

  By the time Chris reached the castle, it was mid-afternoon and he was hot, tired, and thirsty, but most of all he was nervous.

  When he stepped up to the front door, the door opened before he could knock, and a rough-looking guard blocked the entrance and asked, “What can I do for you?” in a tight voice.

  “My name’s Chris. I’m assistant to Myron, the Master Sorcerer of Terah. If possible, I’d like to speak with Chevron,” Chris said evenly, although his knees felt weak.

  “This way, sir,” the guard said as he led Chris inside the castle and shut the door behind him. “His office is down this hall.” The guard opened a door towards the back of the entrance hall and led Chris through a dark, narrow hallway. After a few minutes, they turned a corner and came to an open area with three doors. The guard knocked on one of the doors and waited until it was opened.

  “A visitor for Chevron,” the guard said to the young girl standing in the doorway. Then he nodded towards Chris, turned, and went back the way they had come.

  “Your name, sir?” the young girl asked.

  “Chris, assistant to Myron, the Master Sorcerer of Terah,” Chris said, a little more confident this time.

  The girl nodded and motioned for him to come in. “If you’ll have a seat, I’ll see if Chevron can see you.”

  “Thank you,” Chris said as he entered the office. Before Chris could sit down, a man he recognized from the council meetings stepped through an open door.

  “Chris? What are you doing here?” Chevron asked as he walked over towards Chris with his hand out.

  Chris shook his hand and said, “If we could talk for a moment?”

  “Certainly, come this way,” Chevron said. Then he turned to the young girl and said, “Run down to the kitchen and get a pitcher of scog, another mug, and a couple of those tarts we had for lunch today.”

  While they waited for the refreshments to arrive, Chevron asked Chris about Myron and Laryn, and then they chatted about the unseasonably warm weather that they were having in Wellbourne. After they were both settled with a mug of scog and a plate of tarts, Chevron looked at Chris and asked, “Now, what brings you down to our little province?”

  “Myron would like to speak with Jason at his earliest convenience.”

  “Can I tell him what this is in reference to?”

  “Myron has been asked to help out the Sisterhood with a little problem, and it involves bringing someone into Prosidian. He wants to talk to Jason about it before he does it,” Chris said. “He just wants to be sure that Jason doesn’t have any objections.”

  Chevron nodded and picked up a piece of paper. “Jason’s schedule this weekend is pretty light. He has a luncheon tomorrow with some family members, but it’s nothing that can’t be canceled if necessary.”

  “No, don’t do that. Myron only needs a few minutes of his time, and we can schedule it so that it won’t interfere with any of Jason’s plans.”

  “Did Myron say where he wanted to meet?”

  “No, he left that up to us. Is there somewhere that Jason would prefer?”

  “Not really. Chris, Jason’s pretty easy to get along with. He’ll go to Milhaven if Myron wants him to. It won’t make any difference to him. After all, one place is as good as another once you get in the energy flow,” Chevron said as he sat back in his chair.

  “Really, that’s not necessary. Myron would be perfectl
y willing to come here,” Chris offered, trying to be as accommodating as Chevron.

  Chevron shook his head and laughed, “No, please no. Do you have any idea how much cleaning the housekeeping staff would do between now and then if they found out that Myron was coming here? And the kitchen staff would throw us bread and water for dinner so that they could start preparing a feast for him. The grounds men would work all night to make sure the gardens were perfect, and the people of Wellbourne would insist on a big procession in his honor. No, please. Let Jason go to Milhaven. I’m sure Myron’s staff is used to visitors and will take it in stride. Around here a visit from the Master Sorcerer would cause all kinds of headaches.”

  “I had no idea,” Chris said quietly. “When would Jason like to come to Milhaven?”

  “How about this evening, around nine? Things should be fairly quiet in both places by then, and with a little luck, Jason and I can slip out of here without anyone noticing.”

  “That’ll be fine. We look forward to seeing you,” Chris said as he stood up to go. “Please tell your staff thank you for the refreshments. Those tarts were delicious.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed them,” Chevron said as he stood up, too.

  “Thank you for seeing me. I’ll be on my way now,” Chris said as he took out the key. “Would you prefer that I go back out the way I came in, or would it be all right for me to just leave from here?”

  Chevron smiled. “I’m sure the guard realizes that you travel with a key. He won’t tear the building apart looking for you.”

  Chris nodded, turned his key, and went back to Kevin’s office.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When he got back, Kevin was pacing. “I forgot that I promised to take Theresa out to Timera Valley for tea this afternoon. I got ready to go, reached for my chain, and no keys.”

  Chris laughed and handed him his keys back. “We’re having guests this evening at nine, so be sure you’re back by eight.”

  “They’re coming here?”

  Chris nodded. “At Chevron’s request. Apparently your going there would throw their staff into a frenzy of preparations, so Jason’s coming here. I’ll take care of getting things ready.”

  Kevin nodded. Then he opened the door and motioned for Alek to join him. As soon as Alek touched his arm, Kevin turned the key and they left for Milhaven to pick up Theresa.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Kevin and Alek didn’t get back from Timera Valley until time for dinner that evening.

  After Alek left to go let Darrell know that they were back, Chris asked, “Are you going to introduce Theresa to Jason tonight?”

  “I didn’t even think about that,” Kevin answered. “I guess I could go get her if Jason asks to meet her, but she’s still in Timera Valley. She and Brena wanted to discuss the situation in Glenco.”

  Chris frowned. “How much could there be to discuss?”

  Kevin shrugged. “Probably which herbs are local, which ones Theresa needs to take with her, things like that. And since Brena knew Gerry personally, she’s probably got some thoughts on what might have happened down there. But I’m guessing here. All I know is that they told me to come back tomorrow afternoon to pick her up.”

  “Okay. Do Hayley and Marcus know they’re going away again?”

  Kevin nodded. “Theresa told them. Has Marcus arrived yet? He’s going to be staying here until they leave.”

  “Not as far as I know. Does Cryslyn know he’s staying?”

  “Not yet. I thought I’d stop by her office on the way to the dining room. Are you ready to eat?”

  Chris nodded. “I just hope Miranda remembered to fix dinner for us.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, when I told her that Jason was coming to see you this evening and asked her to fix some refreshments, she started pulling out bowls and mumbling. I don’t know if she’s given any thought to dinner.”

  “Oh well. I’m sure there are enough leftovers in the kitchen to feed an army. Let’s go.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Shortly after dinner, Kevin and Chris went back to the office. Ariel and Elin had polished all of the furniture, set fresh flowers out on the tables, cleared all the desks, and changed into their best tunics. About a half an hour before Jason was due to arrive, Kevin and Chris went upstairs to change into fresh clothes, too.

  By the time they got back downstairs, refreshments had been set out on the conference table. Chris wandered over to inspect the dessert tray. Miranda had prepared strawberry crepes, cheesecake topped with slivers of almond, and chocolate bonbons. Chris’s mouth began to water in anticipation.

  A little before 9:00, Chris went down to the front door of the castle so that he could personally welcome Jason and Chevron. He got there right as they knocked on the front door.

  He led them back to the office and the four men sat down around the conference table and chatted while they drank scog and enjoyed Miranda’s goodies. After a while, Kevin excused the pages.

  “I’m sure you’re wondering what I wanted to see you about,” Kevin said.

  “Chris told Chevron that it had something to do with the Sisterhood,” Jason answered.

  Kevin nodded. Then he told them about Sister Gerry’s disappearance. “Brena asked one of the sisters from here, Theresa, to go down to Glenco and cover the chapel until she can make some permanent arrangements. Theresa’s done this type of thing for Brena before.”

  “She doesn’t have a chapel herself then?” Jason asked.

  “No. She works out of Milhaven when she’s not on an errand for Brena,” Kevin explained. “I’m planning to take her down Monday.”

  “I don’t see any problem with that. Do you have any idea what might have happened to Sister Gerry?”

  “Not at all,” Kevin answered. “Her pendant would protect her from attack, but she could have gone out to gather herbs and gotten hurt. From what I understand, it’s a fairly mountainous area.”

  “That’s possible. In fact, I’d say probable.” Then Jason looked at Kevin for a moment and asked, “So why did you need to talk to me?”

  Kevin smiled. “Well, we have a little problem. Theresa has an aide, Hayley, who always goes with her on these errands. The problem is that Hayley is seeing someone and Theresa wants to give the romance a chance. She’s afraid that if Hayley goes off for several weeks right now, it might mess things up.”

  Jason and Chevron looked at each other and grinned. “Women. Always trying to tie some poor man down,” Jason said with a chuckle. “I don’t have a problem with that if the young man doesn’t.”

  “Would it make a difference if I told you that the young man’s a sorcerer?” Kevin asked. “He’s just finished his apprenticeship. He hasn’t ever held a district or town position, but he is a sorcerer.”

  Jason looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t see that it would be any harm, but I would want to let the district sorcerer know.” Then he turned to Chevron. “Is there a resident sorcerer in Glenco?”

  Chevron shook his head. “I don’t think so. I know they aren’t paying anyone.”

  “Do you think he’d be willing to do a little work while he’s there?” Jason asked.

  “I’m sure he’d be happy to. Like I said, he’s never had a position, so he’s eager for any opportunity to use his skills.”

  “Good,” Jason said. “I’ll let them know to expect him in Glenco, and I’ll make sure that they know he’s a novice. Tell him that if he’s asked to do anything that’s beyond his ability, just say so. I’m sure they’ll understand. Was there anything else?”

  “No, that was all I wanted to ask.”

  Jason stood up and took out his key. “Thank you for letting us know about the young man. You didn’t have to, and I do appreciate the courtesy.”

  “And I appreciate your understanding,” Kevin said as he stood up to shake Jason’s hand. “Thank you for coming.”

  Jason nodded as Chevron touched his arm. Then he turned the key and they vanished.

  �
�Well, that went well,” Chris said.

  Kevin nodded. “I think I’ll go find Marcus and tell him that he might have to do a little work while he’s in Glenco, and that his cover story has changed a little, that he’s with Hayley now.”

  “How are you going to explain that?”

  “Theresa thinks that the townspeople will be more likely to gossip with Hayley since she’s just an aide, so since she’ll be the one asking questions, she’s the one I want Marcus keeping a close eye on. Frankly, I doubt if any of them will be in any danger at all, but it sounds good.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Later that evening, while Chris and Kevin were relaxing in Kevin’s room, Chris asked, “How did Marcus take the news?”

  “He didn’t say much about the change in cover stories, but his smile did. I think Theresa’s right. As to requests for his services from the locals, he said it would be nice to have something to do besides hang around the chapel all day. I think he got a little bored in Drisden,” Kevin said. “He did ask if he was supposed to charge. I told him to charge a nominal fee and let anyone who hires him pay the chapel since that’s where he’ll be living.”

  “Good idea. That way no one can say he’s trying to take advantage of the situation.”

  “And no one will be taking advantage of him.”

  “Are you going to introduce him to the town director?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I’ll let Theresa handle that. I want to be as inconspicuous as I can. Transportation only. Drop them off and come back later to pick them up. I don’t want anyone to get the impression that any of them are working for me.”

  Chapter 19

  Crinsor Run

  A falcon landed on the window ledge at Hayden’s house in Crinsor Run shortly after daybreak Sunday morning. Gwynn set out some birdseed and a small bowl of water for him before she unhooked the message from his leg. The falcon began to eat while she read the note.

  Dear Hayden,

  Glendymere requests that Landis come to Wildcat Mountain before the first of September. Please let us know when to expect her, and whether or not anyone will accompany her.