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

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Kevin nodded. “But only pack up his clothes. Leave the kitchen stuff for Colin. Chris is getting cookware, dishes, bedding, and things like that together this afternoon at the castle. We’re going to take a crate of food out there too, but ours will mostly be things he’ll have to cook.”

  “What about furniture? He’ll need a chair and a lamp.”

  “We’ll take care of that from the castle.”

  Warren nodded. “When do you want to take his clothes out there? And the things that Torrey wants to send?”

  “We’ll go out to the island before we go get Gaynor tomorrow afternoon. I’ll want to do a last minute check anyway.”

  “I’ll have everything ready by lunch.”

  “Good. Now, how are things going around here?”

  “Pretty good. We’re basically done. I’d like for Marcus to stay until we get back tomorrow afternoon if you can spare him, just in case something comes up that Colin would like some help with.”

  “That’s fine.”

  “I’ll tell him tonight that he’s going back to the castle tomorrow afternoon. I’m also planning to tell Colin that he can move into the assistant’s house tomorrow evening. Torrey and I’ll clean it up tonight after we get Gaynor’s things together. Knowing him, I bet it’s a mess.”

  “A bit. But don’t worry about doing anything with Gaynor’s clothes. Just throw them in a bag and we’ll let him deal with washing them. Get Colin and Marcus to help you clean the house. They won’t mind.”

  “They might not, but I do,” Warren said. “That place was clean and neat when Gaynor moved in. I want it to be in the same shape for Colin. Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of help. Torrey will see to that.”

  “All right,” Kevin said as they stopped at the foot of Warren’s steps. “I’m going to go find Theresa and Hayley and head back to Milhaven. See you tomorrow.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  An hour later, Kevin, Theresa, Hayley, and their bags materialized in the backyard of the chapel in Milhaven. After he put their bags on the back porch, Kevin said, “Theresa, I need to speak with you for a few minutes, if you have time.”

  Theresa nodded at Hayley. Then she and Kevin walked a short ways away.

  “First, I talked to Ashni this morning. She agrees that it sounds like Sari wants to be your hostess, so they’re going to freshen up some of the cave rooms for the two of you and Sari. I told Ashni I’d bring you out Saturday morning. Is that all right?”

  Theresa nodded. “I’m really looking forward to getting there. We’ll be working, but it’ll feel like a vacation, and I need one.”

  “Yes, well, there’s something else I need to ask you to do, and unfortunately, it needs to be done tonight.”

  Theresa moaned. “What now?”

  “I’m going to have to put a sorcerer on a deserted island, and I need to leave him some herbs and instructions on what he should use them for and how he should prepare them.”

  “What kind of herbs?”

  “I don’t know. Just the standard everyday ones. The ones that all of the farm wives have on hand. Woundwort for one. Something for an upset stomach, headache, things like that. And if you have any herbs that’ll help with spider bites or snake bites, include those.”

  Theresa nodded. “That’s easy enough. Hayley can prepare them while I write up the directions. When do you need them?”

  “I’m moving him to the island tomorrow around lunchtime, so I’d like to have everything out there before then,” Kevin said with an apologetic smile.

  Theresa sighed. “Would right after breakfast be all right?”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ll send someone to pick them up around nine. Okay?”

  “Okay. Anything else?”

  “No, that’s it.”

  “Good. Now go away. I want a bath. Then I want food,” Theresa said as she turned and started walking back towards the chapel.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Kevin popped back into his office, it was full of crates. Chris was in the process of packing food into one of them.

  “Want to lend a hand here?” Chris asked without pausing. He was trying to get the food crate closed. “I thought I had everything in here, and then Miranda sent down a couple more things. Now it’s almost too full.”

  Kevin used his outstretched hand to push the door closed and hold it shut while Chris latched it. Then he glanced around his office and asked, “What’s all this?”

  In addition to the crate of food, there was a crate of kitchen equipment, a storage crate for Gaynor’s clothes, and a fourth crate loaded with bed linens, pillows, washcloths, towels, soap, blankets, a tarp, and several rugs. Scattered around his office were several water pails, a couple of large water barrels, a big washbasin, a broom, several large knives, a machete, and some rope.

  “I thought of a few more things once I got started,” Chris said with a shrug. “I had the pages put the furniture out in the reception area. And Neiven got the machete made. It doesn’t look exactly like the ones we had at home, but it’ll get the job done.” Chris picked up the machete and gave it a gentle swing.

  Kevin opened his office door and looked at the reception area. There were three large tables, half a dozen glowstone lamps and lamp tables, a couple of glowstone torches, a straight back chair, two easy chairs, a bed frame, and a thick mattress.

  “I don’t think we’re going to get all this out there in one trip,” Kevin said softly.

  “I don’t think you should even try,” Chris answered. “Did you talk to Theresa about the herbs?”

  Kevin nodded. “She said that she’ll write the instructions tonight while Hayley gets them together. I’m going to send someone down to the chapel to pick up the herbs around nine tomorrow morning.”

  “We’re going to need something that he can put them in, preferably air tight.”

  “I’ll go see Neiven again after we eat dinner. Maybe he can think of something.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  After dinner that night, Kevin and Chris took everything out to the island and set things up for Gaynor. By the time they finished, they had used three rooms in the cave system: one for the kitchen, one for a sitting room, and one deeper inside the mountain for a bedroom. They left one of the glowstone torches in the bedroom and put the other one near the cave entrance. When they were finally ready to head back home for the night, the sun was hanging low over the water and they were both wiped out. Kevin took them directly to his bedroom instead of the office.

  “What time are you planning to pick up Gaynor?” Chris asked.

  “A couple of hours after lunch. I want it to be light when we get to the island.”

  Chris nodded. “Is Warren going with you?”

  “As far as I know.”

  “Good. Just be careful around Gaynor. Don’t turn your back on him, Kevin.”

  “I won’t. Don’t worry. I don’t want anything to happen to Warren.”

  Chris yawned and opened the door to his room. “See you in the morning.”

  Chapter 36

  Gaynor

  By the time Kevin got to his office Friday morning, Isak had already gone to Milhaven, picked up the herbs from Theresa, and made it back to the castle.

  A few minutes later, Neiven knocked on Kevin’s door and held up a metal bucket with a lid. “I thought this might be all right for the herbs. I put a couple of hooks on the bucket and grooves for them to fit in on the lid, so you have to twist the lid a little to get it on and off. I wouldn’t dip it in water, I doubt it’s that air tight, but I think it should keep the herbs dry.”

  Kevin took the bucket, set it on the table beside the herbs, and gave the lid a little twist. It turned about a quarter turn and then popped off. “Thanks, Neiven,” he said with a smile. “This will work just fine.”

  “Anything else, sir?”

  “No, not right now. But thanks again.”

  Neiven nodded and quietly left the room.

  Chris stepped into Kevin’s office and asked, “Have you thought
of anything else we need to take, or is this it?”

  “I think this is it. If we think of anything else, I’ll take it out there later.”

  “When are you going to take the herbs out to the island?”

  “When Warren and I take Gaynor’s clothes. I don’t see any reason to make two trips.”

  “Then we have the rest of the morning to try to get a little work done?”

  “I guess so. Why?”

  “Because you have some letters to write,” Chris said as he handed Kevin a stack of messages. Then Chris went back out the door and pulled it to behind him.

  Kevin sighed as he sat down at his desk.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Kevin and Chris arrived at Warren’s house, Warren and Torrey had just finished eating lunch.

  “You’re going to stay here with me, aren’t you?” Torrey asked Chris as she set a plate of brownies down on the table.

  “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” Chris said with a grin.

  “Good. I’ll be glad to have some company.” Then she turned to her husband, took his face in her hands, and said, “You be careful, now.” She pulled his face down towards hers and kissed him.

  “Don’t worry, honey,” Warren said, as he glanced over at Kevin and winked. “After all, I’ll be with the Master Sorcerer of Terah. I couldn’t be any safer.”

  Kevin and Chris burst out laughing. Then Kevin turned to Chris and said, “Don’t worry about me; I’ll be with the Sorcerer of Ragenon. I couldn’t be any safer.”

  Torrey chuckled and kissed Kevin’s cheek. “You be careful, too. I want both of you back here in one piece.” Then she handed Warren a big basket of baked goods for Gaynor.

  “Thanks for fixing all of that for him, Torrey. We’ll take it out to the island where he’s going to be living before we pick him up,” Kevin said. “I want to take these herbs out there, too.” He held up the bucket of herbs.

  “I guess we’d better get going then,” Warren said. Then he turned to Torrey and gave her a big hug. “Don’t worry if this takes us a little while,” he said as his eyes took on a cold, hard cast, and his voice hardened. “I’ve got a few things I want to say to that guy before I tell him goodbye.”

  “Just be careful. He’s already tried to kill you once,” Torrey whispered.

  Warren nodded and picked up the bag of Gaynor’s clothes that he and Torrey had packed the night before. Then Kevin laid a hand on Warren’s arm, took out his key, and they left.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When Kevin and Warren arrived at the little clearing in front of the cave, the sun was just coming up over the mountains to the east and long shadows fell over the valley.

  Kevin picked up the glowstone torch that he and Chris had left at the entrance and took the glowstone out of its sack. “Come on. I’ll show you around.” Then he led Warren to the room that they had set up as a kitchen. Kevin set the bucket of herbs next to the crate of food and Warren put the basket of baked goods on the table. After they left the kitchen, Kevin led Warren deeper into the mountain, to the sitting room and then on to the bedroom. Warren dumped the bag of clothes on the floor next to the crate that Kevin had brought for Gaynor to use as a chest of drawers.

  “This is nice,” Warren said as he looked around. “I’d never thought about living in a cave before, but I could get used to this.”

  “We lived in one while I was studying with Glendymere. I liked it.”

  Warren nodded. “I wouldn’t mind retiring to a place like this, provided there were other people around.”

  Kevin chuckled. “As long as Gaynor isn’t one of those people.”

  “Right!”

  When they got back outside, Kevin asked, “Want to get a look at the island from above?”

  Warren nodded and the two sorcerers began to rise. After they cleared the mountaintops, they floated over towards the beach. “Nice beaches,” Warren said, “and the water’s not too rough out there. Looks like it would be good for swimming.”

  Kevin shook his head. “Might not be a good idea. There are a lot of sharks in this area.”

  “Might better mention that.”

  They floated around the northern end of the island near the cliffs. Then they landed on the edge of one of them and gazed out to sea.

  “This is a nice little island,” Warren said wistfully. “Wonder why no one lives here.”

  “I don’t know. Guess no one’s found it yet.”

  After a few more minutes of peering out to sea, Warren sighed. “I just hope he doesn’t do anything to ruin it.”

  Kevin looked at Warren for a minute. “I hadn’t thought about that. Surely he wouldn’t want to spoil it. He’s going to have to live here!”

  Warren shook his head. “You never know. He’s a weird one.” Then Warren shrugged. “Are you about ready to get this over with?”

  “Any time you are.”

  “Before we go, I don’t mean to try to tell you what to do, but I don’t think it would be a very good idea for us to stand very close to each other unless he’s in an energy sphere.”

  Kevin chuckled. “Sounds like you trust him about as much as Chris does. The last thing he told me before we left the castle was to be sure I didn’t turn my back on him.”

  “Humph,” Warren said with a frown. “I know him better than you do and I don’t trust him when I’m looking straight at him. There’s no way I would ever turn my back on that man. Treat him like he’s the deadliest snake you can imagine, poised and ready to strike.”

  Kevin’s jaw dropped. Then he slowly shut it, held out his arm, and as soon as Warren’s hand touched his arm, he turned the key.

  They materialized on the little island that was about half an hour’s flying time away from the island where Gaynor was staying. As soon as they were completely out of the energy flow, Warren immediately backed away from Kevin.

  “Where is he?” Warren whispered as he quickly looked around the small rock that they were standing on.

  “I’m sorry,” Kevin said. “I should have told you. We’re not on the island with Gaynor. It’s about half an hour away.”

  Warren visibly relaxed. “Good. I was worried that he might try to take us out before we were ready.”

  Kevin nodded. “That thought crossed my mind, too. That’s why we came here first.” Then he began to rise slowly through the air. “Come on.”

  “I’m not too sure about flying over the ocean. I can manage lakes and rivers, but I’ve never tried to fly over waves,” Warren said as he rose through the air beside Kevin.

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not much different from still water, but I’ve flown from here to the island with Chris, so I can support you if you start feeling uncomfortable about it.”

  Warren nodded and slowly began drifting out over the water. After a few tense minutes, he began to relax. “Not too bad. How do you know Gaynor didn’t fly away?”

  “This is the only other place he could have gone. There isn’t anything else around here for a hundred miles.”

  “Actually, I doubt he’s good enough to fly over water. He didn’t like to fly, so I don’t think he practiced it very much.”

  After a little while, the island where Gaynor was staying came in sight. “Where are we going to land?” Warren asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. When we get a little closer, we’ll take a good look at the island and see where he is and what he’s doing. Then we’ll decide how to approach him.”

  Warren nodded.

  Kevin set up his seeing eye, and a few minutes later, he said, “I found him. He’s asleep near the cave on the western side of the island. Let’s come in over the ledge and land in front of him.”

  Warren used his seeing eye to get a good look at the island, too. He found Gaynor right where Kevin said he was. “Looks good to me. We’ll be on the ground before he knows we’re in the area.”

  Gaynor didn’t move as Kevin landed in front of him and Warren landed off to the side. Finally, Kevin said, “Gaynor? Gay
nor! You need to wake up now. It’s time to go to your new home.”

  Gaynor woke up with a start and jumped up. The first thing that registered with him was that Warren was there. He glared at Warren and said, “What are you doing here, old man? This is none of your concern.”

  “I came to tell you that I’m sorry it didn’t work out, but I can’t help you, and I can no longer entrust my people to your care,” Warren said with deliberation.

  Gaynor snarled. “It’s not your place to entrust anyone to anyone’s care, old man. You didn’t hire me, the minister did, and he’s the only one who can dismiss me.” Gaynor folded his arms across his chest and drew himself up to his full height.

  “Actually, you were hired by me, on the sole condition that Warren was satisfied with your work,” Kevin said in a voice dripping with ice. “Well, he isn’t, and neither am I, so you’re done in Camden. And since you see other people as nuisances, I’ve found a place where you can live without them.”

  “What are you talking about? Some kind of prison?” Gaynor said in a huff. “Do you honestly think a prison can hold me?”

  “No, not in the traditional sense anyway,” Kevin said coolly. “I’ve found an island where you can live in relative comfort. It’s a very nice prison, but a prison it is. There isn’t another island within flying distance, and since there are no natural harbors and the island is surrounded by treacherous reefs, ships don’t land there.”

  “How am I going to live??” Gaynor gasped. “You can’t put me someplace where I’ll die!”

  “You won’t die there unless you do something stupid. The only weather problems you can expect are gales in the fall, but there are caves that you can use for shelter. I haven’t seen any sign of dangerous animals, but you do need to stay out of the water. Sharks love those reefs.”

  “Caves? You expect me to live in a cave?!”

  “I would if I were you, but you’re welcome to build a house. No one’s going to build it for you, but …” Kevin shrugged.