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

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “A couple of dozen I guess. I do know that everyone who got sick died,” Niklas said, shaking his head.

  “Did the people around here blame Gerry?”

  “No. She said that the illness had started a couple of weeks before she arrived, that it takes a month or so for the symptoms to develop, and that by the time the symptoms show up, it’s too late. She gave all the rest of us some tea to drink every night for a month, just in case we had it too, so I guess most of the people in the valley figured she saved their lives.”

  “But even so, she wasn’t friendly with anyone?”

  “No, but that was her choosing. People around here tried to make her welcome. She just wasn’t interested.”

  “Was she seeing anyone romantically?”

  Niklas laughed. “No. I’m sure I’d have heard about that.”

  “There weren’t many herbs at the chapel. Did she usually go out on herb-gathering trips by herself?”

  “I don’t think so. Most of what she used, Dora grows in the courtyard.”

  “Oh. I was thinking that maybe she had gone out to get herbs, gotten hurt, and just hadn’t been found yet.”

  “Actually, we thought of that. When Dora told me Saturday morning that Gerry was missing, we didn’t do anything about it. We figured she’d show up before the day was out, but when she was still missing Sunday morning, all the men around here spread out and we combed these woods. A couple of men even followed the river about ten miles to see if she had gone that way. We didn’t find any sign of her,” Niklas said. “Of course, there are a lot of caves around here, and if she wandered off in one of those, she could have gotten hurt or lost, but there’s no way we can check all of them.”

  “I see,” Theresa said. Then she stood up and offered her hand. “Well, thanks for your time, and I’ll bring Marcus around later today.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  After Theresa got back to the chapel, she wrote a letter to Brena asking about the mushrooms and telling her about her conversation with Niklas. Then she folded the letter and went out in search of Dora. She found her in the workroom with Hayley.

  As soon as Theresa stepped through the door, all conversation stopped. After a moment, Theresa said, “Dora, I need to send this letter to Brena. How do I do that?”

  “Give it to me, ma’am,” Dora said as she reached out for the letter. “I’ll see to it.”

  Theresa handed the note over to Dora and thanked her. “I’m going to unpack the herbs I brought and then I’m going to finish going through your notes. If you need me for anything, I’ll be in the office.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Later that afternoon, Hayley slipped into Theresa’s office and quietly closed the door. “I thought you might be wondering what we were talking about when you came into the workroom earlier,” Hayley said as she sat down across the desk from Theresa.

  “I noticed that you both looked sort of embarrassed.”

  “More because we stopped talking than because of what we were talking about,” Hayley admitted. “Dora was telling me a little about Gerry and the schedule here at the chapel. Gerry took one Sunday off a month, the third Sunday, and that was it. But she took that day no matter what. About a year ago, one of the women was having twins, and she delivered a couple of weeks early. She had been in labor since early Saturday morning, but when Sunday morning came, Gerry handed it over to Dora and left. Dora said it was the first time she’d ever delivered a baby. Fortunately, the babies and the mother survived, but it scared Dora to death.”

  “I bet.” Theresa sat back in her chair. “I wonder what was so important.”

  “Dora thinks she was meeting someone, probably a lover. That’s what she was telling me when you walked in.”

  “Does she have any idea who?”

  “No. And she kept telling me that it was just a feeling she had. She said sometimes Gerry just glowed when she came back from her day off. She would walk around in a sort of daze for a couple of days, humming to herself, picking flowers, and in general acting like she had a happy secret. Other times, she would come back like a banshee, fuming about everything, refusing to see patients, and throwing things around in the chapel.”

  “Like maybe she’d been stood up?”

  “That’s what Dora was thinking.”

  “I asked Niklas if she was seeing anyone romantically, and he laughed,” Theresa said. “That sort of rules out anyone from around here.”

  “Well, it’s nothing definite. Just a hunch on Dora’s part.”

  “From the sound of it, I’d say it was a pretty good hunch.” Theresa thought about it for a few minutes. “Maybe he was from somewhere else. Maybe that’s why she could only see him once a month. And maybe she’s gone to wherever he lives.”

  “Or maybe he’s married and she left because it’s hopeless.”

  Theresa nodded. “There’s one thing that bothers me about both of those scenarios. She didn’t take anything with her. None of her clothes seem to be gone except what she was wearing.”

  “Which makes it look like she didn’t intend to leave.”

  “Or at least not right away. The mess in her workroom makes me think that she wasn’t planning to be here much longer though. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have let it get in such bad shape.”

  “Well, I can tell you one thing for sure. Dora’s not sorry to see her go. Gerry treated her like a slave.”

  “I’ve sort of gathered that, the way Dora jumps every time I say anything. Why did she stay? I understand her husband died in an epidemic of some sort right after Gerry got here, but surely she could have gone somewhere else.”

  “I think she stayed because Gerry expected her to. When Dora’s husband got sick, she stayed here to help nurse him. Then, when he died a couple of weeks later, there were still a dozen patients sick with whatever it was that killed her husband, so she stayed on to help out. One thing led to another, and she’s still here. Her parents have a farm on the other end of the valley. She goes out there on Friday afternoon and spends the night, but other than that, she stays here.”

  “What about her house?” Theresa asked.

  “She has a niece who got married a few months after the outbreak was over, so she told her niece that she and her husband could use the house for a while. They’re still there.”

  “Do you think she’ll stay on to help the next sister?”

  “She says she will for a while, but if the new sister’s as hateful as Gerry, Dora plans to go back to her parent’s house,” Hayley said.

  “Do you think she knows more than she’s telling you?”

  Hayley hesitated, and then said, “I think she’s told me everything that she thinks is important, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows more than she thinks she does.”

  Chapter 21

  Back in Camden

  Tuesday morning, when Kevin got to Willow Canyon for his workout, Glendymere said, “I need to talk to you for a moment before we begin.”

  “Okay. What’s up?”

  “I sent Hayden a note over the weekend asking him to have Landis here by the beginning of September. I’d like to get her here even earlier, but I don’t see any way to do that without having to give Hayden some kind of reason.”

  “Why do you want her here so soon?”

  “I’m concerned about that missing pendant.”

  “Do you think it has anything to do with her?”

  “No more than I think it has something to do with you, but at least you know it’s out there. She doesn’t.”

  “I see. Well, will that make any difference in our workout schedule?”

  “No, but I thought you needed to be aware of it. She’s bringing Hayden’s daughter, Rhianna, with her as her assistant, and I understand that her half brother, Taelor, is coming, too. I guess they’ll both go to Milhaven with her after she finishes here.”

  Kevin’s heart jumped a beat, but he covered it with a cough. He had really been hoping that Hayden would stop Rhianna from coming. He took a deep breat
h to steady himself, and then said, “No one’s told me anything for certain, but she won’t arrive in Milhaven until next year.”

  “Or later.”

  “Do you think it’ll take more than a year to teach her to gather and store magical energy?”

  “No, but I might drag it out. I want her to stay here until we get that pendant back. Now, let’s get to work.”

  Then Glendymere flew to the cliff over the east side of the canyon and began tossing energy bolts at Kevin from different directions. If the bolts had really been aimed at Kevin, he’d have been reduced to ashes half a dozen times. Try as he might, he just couldn’t focus. The image of Rhianna’s smile kept knocking every other thought out of his head.

  After half an hour, Glendymere stopped and swooped back down to the canyon floor. “What’s wrong with you today? You aren’t concentrating. Is something on your mind?”

  “Just the pendant,” Kevin lied. “I keep thinking I know more than I realize, like I’m overlooking some vital clue.”

  Glendymere tilted his head, looked at Kevin sideways, and said, “If you say so.” Then he turned away and headed towards his cave. “Maybe Thursday will be better. See you then.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Kevin got back to his office, he left his door shut and sat down at his desk. Rhianna was going to be a complication, especially if he kept choking up every time he thought about her. Maybe he should get Glendymere to meet him somewhere else to practice with the energy bolts while she and Landis were at Willow Canyon.

  He tried to think of some way to discourage Rhianna from coming to Milhaven with Landis, but instead, he ended up daydreaming of long walks and quiet talks. Finally he gave up and started going through the messages that had accumulated on his desk that morning.

  Shortly before lunch, Chris knocked on his door to see if he had come back from Willow Canyon. When Kevin opened it, Chris said, “There was an interesting letter in the mail this morning. I thought you might want to take a look at it.”

  Kevin took the letter and asked, “Does it have anything to do with Timera Valley or Glenco?” as he unfolded it.

  “No. This one’s addressed to Myron, Master Sorcerer.”

  Kevin raised his eyebrows and looked at the letter.

  Myron,

  Edwin, Seated Sorcerer of Farragon, is quite old and does not have any heirs. How will his seat be filled when he dies? Is there an application that I could file, or a competition I could enter? I am interested in the position, but I have no wish to challenge Edwin for it. He’s a good man, and he’s been kind to me. I couldn’t kill him.

  Please advise me as to what I need to do.

  Sincerely,

  Ilian, District Sorcerer of Pendor

  Farragon

  Kevin frowned as he handed the letter back to Chris. “I have no idea how his seat will be filled. Let’s show this to Laryn and see if she knows.”

  Chris nodded. “Shall I go see if she’s busy now?”

  “Okay. But tell her it’s not urgent. If she has plans, this can wait.”

  Half an hour later, Chris and Laryn entered Kevin’s office. Kevin handed her Ilian’s letter. After she finished reading it, she said, “I don’t know. We didn’t have this come up, and I don’t remember seeing anything like this in my father’s notes either. If there’s no heir, someone always challenges for the seat before the sorcerer dies.”

  “But this time no one has,” Kevin said. “What would happen in Brendolanth if Rolan were to die?”

  “I don’t know,” Laryn answered. “Maybe you could talk one of his brothers or sisters into taking over, but they’d never be able to hold it. None of them are strong enough.”

  “So it would be like a death sentence to whichever one took over?” Chris asked.

  Laryn nodded.

  “There’s got to be a better way,” Kevin murmured. “What would happen here? I’m not talking about the Master’s Chair. What would happen in Camden? Who would become the Seated Sorcerer here?”

  Laryn shrugged. “To be honest, I’ve been so concerned about the Master’s Chair that I haven’t given the Camden seat much thought. I really don’t know.”

  “We need some kind of procedure in place before it happens,” Kevin said.

  “Delegate it,” Chris said.

  “What do you mean?” Kevin asked.

  “You need a solution, but that doesn’t mean you have to come up with it,” Chris pointed out. “Present the problem to the full council and ask for volunteers to come up with a plan, better yet, several plans, at least three. Then have them present their plans to the full council, hold an open discussion of the pros and cons, and put it to a vote.”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” Laryn said. “But you’ll need a good chairman, one who’s not belligerent, but who’s strong enough to control the others, or nothing will get done.”

  Chris chuckled. “You just eliminated half the sorcerers on the council.”

  “I know, but that still leaves the other half,” Laryn said. “Damien could handle it. So could Bianca, or Trivera. Jason would be good on the committee, but he’s not strong enough to chair it.”

  “I could talk to one of them, explain what I want to do, and ask them to volunteer,” Kevin suggested.

  Laryn shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s bound to leak out.”

  Kevin sighed. “Should I let them choose their own chairman then?”

  “No, I wouldn’t go that far either. It’s all right for you to appoint a chair as long as you do it openly, in front of the entire council.”

  “Any ideas on how I can bring this up without pointing a finger at Edwin? Or mentioning Ilian?”

  “Well, there are several seated sorcerers in the same position right now. Bianca doesn’t have any heirs. Regan’s the youngest, other than you. He’s married, but he doesn’t have any children yet, although I imagine he will before long. And then, of course, there’s you, but you really don’t want to mention that or they’ll all start seeing a vacancy in the Master’s Chair and forget about everything else.”

  “So, counting Edwin, that makes five. I’d say that’s enough to warrant some discussion.” Kevin said.

  “The committee might suggest that the sorcerer simply name his own successor,” Chris said.

  “That’s one option,” Kevin agreed.

  “Are you going to put any restrictions on their options?” Laryn asked.

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  Laryn nodded. “If they suggest using the closest magical relative, you might want to mention that the relatives went on with their own lives once the present sorcerer took his seat. Maybe they could be asked if they want the seat, but personally I don’t think they should be forced to give up their life and put themselves in harm’s way if they don’t want to.”

  Kevin nodded. “I agree, but if we do this by committee, we’ll have to accept the vote of the council. I can’t hold out for the option I like best.”

  “What would you personally like to see?” Laryn asked.

  “I’d like an open competition, with anyone who’s interested in holding the seat eligible to compete. But I can’t go along with a competition to the death. If they present one like that, I’ll argue against it in open council.”

  Laryn nodded. “This might work. I’m not sure anyone’s ever tried a committee approach with the council before, but it should be interesting to see what they come up with.”

  “I’d be willing to bet that they come up with the same three options we just mentioned,” Chris said.

  “Probably,” Kevin agreed. “But you never know. Someone else may have some other ideas. Anyway, we’ll bring it up at the July meeting and see how it goes.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Wrenn, who had been the Governor of Camden under Badec, had spent the last month working with Karl on the agenda for the ministers’ conference that was going to be held at the castle during the first week of July. Meanwhile, his wife, Jana, had been w
orking with Joan on the details involved in housing and feeding eighty guests for a week. Karl had invited everyone to dinner Wednesday evening to go over the plans and get their input.

  Wednesday morning, Chris reminded Kevin that they were supposed to have dinner with Karl that evening.

  Kevin nodded. “Has he mentioned anything that I have to do at this conference?”

  Chris shook his head no. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to me, but maybe that’s what this meeting is for, to let you know what you have to do.”

  “Is it going to be held here in the castle?” Kevin asked.

  Chris just looked at Kevin for a few minutes. “The conference or the dinner?”

  Kevin laughed. “The dinner tonight.”

  “It’s going to be at the governor’s house in Milhaven. We’re supposed to be there at six, so don’t take off anywhere this afternoon,” Chris said as he walked out of Kevin’s office.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  After they finished dinner, Karl and Joan quickly cleared the table except for the mugs, the pitcher of scog, and the coffee pot.

  “I thought it would be easier to work in here than in the sitting room,” Karl said as he handed out paper and pencils. “You might want to make a few notes.”

  Darrell frowned. “That sounds ominous. I thought I was invited just as a courtesy.”

  “You are,” Joan said in a teasing tone. “We’re being courteous enough to let you know that you have to move all your men and their belongings out of their barracks, and set up extra patrols along the outer perimeter.”

  “What?” Darrell asked with a frown.

  “All of the soldiers and guards will have to move out of their barracks by Saturday afternoon to make room for the ministers,” Karl said.

  “Is this normal?” Darrell asked. “Do my men know about this?”

  Karl nodded. “General Crandal’s men do, too. The ministers always stay in the barracks. The soldiers camp out in the meadow on the other side of the river.”

  “Where do the guards stay?”

  “They usually set up camp in groups of four and string their campsites out in a semi-circle just off the castle grounds, two men on one shift, two on the other,” Karl said. “They probably already know where to set up their campsites, but be sure they’re far enough out that they’ll be able to have some peace and quiet. The ministers will be all over the place, and the guards will need to be able to sleep when they’re not on duty.”