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

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Theresa shook her head and then frowned. “She’s a little upset with me for going without her, but I thought she’d want to hang around Milhaven for a while and spend some time with Marcus. After all, we were gone for nearly two weeks, and we’ve only been back for a couple of days.”

  Kevin laughed. “Can’t win for losing, huh?”

  Theresa shook her head.

  “Do you want me to come back for her? I have to meet Landis at 8:00, but I could come back for Hayley after that.”

  “No, that’s all right. She can go next time.”

  A few minutes later, Kevin and Theresa were standing in front of Blalick’s house. Kevin stepped up to knock on the door, but it opened before he got the chance.

  “I saw you when you got here. Come on in,” Ashni said as she stepped back out of the doorway. “Theresa, I am so glad you came. Sari is in the kitchen with Taelor. Go on in and help yourself. The coffee is on the stove.”

  After Theresa left for the kitchen, Ashni lowered her voice and said, “The girls are a little nervous this morning. It is funny, but Rhianna seems to be more nervous than Landis. Elves do not usually have a problem with dragons.”

  Color crept up Kevin’s cheeks. “Maybe she’s just concerned for her friend.”

  “Maybe,” Ashni said, as she looked again at Kevin, noticing the blush and his discomfort. And then again, maybe not, she thought to herself. Maybe it was something entirely different. “Well, they are out back waiting for you.”

  Kevin nodded and walked back outside. As he started around the house, he overheard them talking.

  “I don’t see why Myron has to come out here just to introduce you to Glendymere,” Rhianna said in an antagonistic voice. “Seems to me that any of the giants could have done that.”

  “Because I’m his apprentice, not Glendymere’s,” Landis said with a long-suffering sigh. “What’s your problem with Myron anyway? You always tense up whenever he’s around.”

  “I don’t know. He just makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Well, you need to get over it, whatever it is,” Landis said harshly.

  Rhianna grunted.

  Kevin decided that it was time to let them know he was around. He stepped back to the front of the house and called out for Landis. A few seconds later, he heard the two girls coming around the side of the house.

  “We’re right here,” Landis said as she walked towards Kevin.

  Rhianna followed behind her, but didn’t say anything.

  “Are you ready to go?” Kevin asked.

  Landis nodded.

  “Where’s your lunch?”

  Landis looked first at Rhianna and then back at Kevin. “I thought we were just going to meet Glendymere today.”

  Kevin chuckled. “I’d take some lunch if I were you. The first day I met him, we worked until dinnertime.”

  “I didn’t realize …,” Landis said as she started to head for the house.

  Rhianna reached out and touched her arm. “You stay here. I’ll go fix something for us to take with us.” She stepped up to the front door, opened it, and went directly to the kitchen. When she got there, she saw a sister sitting at the table, laughing with Sari and Taelor.

  “Hello, I’m Theresa,” Theresa said as she stood up to greet Rhianna. “And you must be Rhianna.”

  Rhianna shook her hand and nodded. “Theresa. Are you the same Sister Theresa who saved Taelor’s life?”

  “Well, I don’t think I can take credit for that, but I was with the group of minstrels who found him in the Badlands.”

  Rhianna frowned. “Badlands?”

  “That was our name for the area. It was dry and barren. Nothing growing but rock formations. That’s why we called it the Badlands.”

  “Oh,” Rhianna said with a small nod. “Well, guess I need to throw a few things together for our lunch and get back outside. I’m sure Myron’s ready to leave.” Rhianna started looking around for something she could fix.

  Sari jumped up, grabbed a bag off the kitchen counter, and handed it to Rhianna. “Here. This is your lunch. Mother fixed it while you were out back.”

  Rhianna looked a bit embarrassed. “Thanks, and please tell your mother we really appreciate all the trouble she’s gone to for us.”

  Sari smiled. “It was no trouble. We are glad you are here. Hope you have a good day in Willow Canyon.”

  Rhianna nodded, told them all to have a nice day too, and quickly left the house.

  When she got back outside, Landis and Kevin were waiting near the beginning of a fairly wide trail. As soon as she joined them, Kevin and Landis started down the side of the mountain. Although it was wide enough that all three of them could have walked side-by-side, Rhianna hung back and walked several paces behind.

  About halfway down the mountain, Kevin realized that no one had spoken the whole time that they had been on the trail. He remembered the first day he and Chris had gone to meet Glendymere, how nervous they were, and how each step seemed to intensify the jitters.

  “You do know why you’re with Glendymere for a while before you join me in Milhaven, don’t you?” Kevin asked Landis, trying to distract her a little.

  “No, not really.”

  “There are a few things I can’t teach you, and unfortunately, they’re the very first things you need to learn how to do.”

  “I don’t understand,” Landis said with a frown. “What can’t you teach me?

  “I’m part elf, so I have a natural connection with magical energy. You don’t. No pure human does. You’ll need to learn how to gather the energy from sources around you and store it inside. I don’t have to do that so I don’t know how.”

  “Oh,” Landis said thoughtfully. “And Glendymere can? I wouldn’t have thought he’d have to do it either.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t,” Kevin admitted. “But since he offered to teach you how to do it, I assume he knows how it’s done. I do know that he’s had other human apprentices.”

  “I know he trained your father, but Badec was part elf too, wasn’t he?”

  “Yes.”

  “Has he ever worked with anyone who was pure human?”

  “Yes, but it was a long time ago, long before any of us were born.”

  “What’s it like, working with a dragon?” Landis asked quietly.

  Kevin thought about his answer for a minute. “A little scary at first, but you get over that pretty quickly, and before long you stop thinking about the fact that he’s a dragon. I don’t really know how to describe it. He becomes your teacher, your coach, and he’s everything a coach should be. He’s demanding, supportive, and full of advice, whether you want to hear it or not.”

  Landis laughed a little at that. “Sounds just like Hayden.”

  “Yeah, he’s a lot like a father,” Kevin agreed.

  “Do you come out here often?”

  “A couple of times a week. I’m still training with him.”

  Landis looked at Kevin in surprised. “You? Seriously? From what I’ve heard you’re the most powerful sorcerer in all of Terah. Why are you still training?”

  “To get better, quicker, stronger. You never stop training, Landis.” Then Kevin took a deep breath and said, “In fact, I’d be dead right now if I hadn’t spent the whole summer working on my reflexes.”

  Landis looked at Kevin hard. “Are you serious?”

  Kevin nodded. “Not something I like to think about, but a couple of weeks ago, a sorcerer threw an energy bolt at me while I was distracted. If my reflexes hadn’t taken over, I’d have been a pile of ashes before I knew what was happening, and so would the man who was standing beside me.”

  “What happened to the sorcerer?”

  Kevin shook his head.

  “That was close.”

  “Yeah, too close,” Kevin said with a sigh. “When Glendymere told me last spring that I needed to work on my reflexes, I argued with him. I was afraid that I would end up killing someone by accident. But he was really insistent, and Chris backe
d him up. I was outnumbered, so I reluctantly agreed to do it. Now I thank my lucky stars that I have friends who are wiser than I am and who look out for me.”

  Landis didn’t say anything for a moment. Then she asked. “Was it one of the seated sorcerers? The one who tried to kill you?”

  Kevin shook his head. “No, just an ambitious and greedy man.”

  They walked on in silence for a little while. Then Landis asked, “Do you have to kill people often?”

  “I sincerely hope not,” Kevin said fervently. “Gaynor was the first, and with a lot of luck, maybe he’ll be the last.”

  Landis nodded. “From what Taelor said, my brother killed my father.”

  “I know,” Kevin said softly.

  “Isn’t there anything you can do about it?”

  “I’m sorry, but no. It would have to be brought up before the council and it would be Rolan’s word against Taelor’s. There would have to be mountains of proof before the seated sorcerers would rule against one of their own. One man’s testimony just wouldn’t be enough. They would all be picturing themselves up on similar charges just because someone had a grudge against them.”

  “But surely there are other people who know what happened.”

  “I’m sure there are. Probably half the castle staff knows what happened, but no one else can say that they were there, that they actually saw it.”

  Landis nodded and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Then she confided, “I want to avenge my father. I want to challenge Rolan and kill him. That’s the only reason I want to become a sorcerer.”

  Kevin was surprised by the determination he heard in her voice, and taken a little aback by what she had said. He shook his head and said, “That’s the wrong reason, Landis. If that’s how you really feel, you need to go back to Crinsor Run and forget the whole thing.”

  Landis didn’t say anything, but she straightened her back and held her head up high. Kevin could almost feel anger radiating from her.

  “Landis, I’m serious. You don’t become a sorcerer just so that you can go out and kill. It’s no good,” Kevin argued.

  “I don’t want to just go out and kill. I only want to kill Rolan,” Landis said through clenched teeth. “He killed my father and caused my mother’s death. He sent bounty hunters after my brother. He threatened my other brothers and sisters with death if they ever returned home. I think that gives me the right to want to kill him.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but being a sorcerer is about helping people, using your skills to make lives a little better, a little safer,” Kevin argued.

  “And that’s exactly what I want to do,” Landis said decisively. “I want to make Brendolanth a safer place for me and my family by getting rid of Rolan.”

  Kevin didn’t know what else to say, but since they had arrived at the entrance to Glendymere’s cave, he was spared having to come up with any more arguments. He stepped over to one of the gongs, picked up the mallet hanging beside it, and swung the mallet at the gong. The sound vibrated through the huge reception chamber.

  Landis looked at the different sized gongs and mallets and frowned. “I don’t understand,” she said as she pointed to the gongs.

  Kevin laughed. “Well, from what I understand, an elf came to see Glendymere one day and walked into his chamber while he was asleep. Right after the elf stepped into the chamber, Glendymere yawned and caught the elf’s clothes on fire. The elf wasn’t hurt, but it scared him half to death. After that, Glendymere had the giants install these gongs. When you get here, ring the gong and wait for Glendymere to tell you it’s safe to come in.”

  Rhianna laughed at the story, startling Kevin. He had been so absorbed in his conversation with Landis that he had actually forgotten that Rhianna was behind them. Her laughter sounded like tiny bells. He thought it was the loveliest sound he had ever heard.

  “You should hear my brother, Duane, tell that story” Rhianna said with a smile that lit up her eyes. “He was the elf.”

  “You’re kidding,” Kevin said.

  Rhianna shook her head. “It happened a long time ago, when he was just a boy. He and Xantha had flown down with a message from my father. Duane wouldn’t come back here by himself for years.”

  Before anyone else could say anything, Glendymere said, “Welcome to my home, ladies. Come on in. Myron, bring them to my sleeping chamber, please.”

  Kevin nodded and turned towards Landis. She had a puzzled expression on her face.

  “Was that him?” she asked, almost in a whisper.

  Kevin nodded. “Yes, that’s the way he talks to you. Telepathy. You’re used to that, aren’t you?”

  Landis nodded. “It’s just his voice. It was so gentle, so soft. Not at all like what I thought a dragon would sound like.”

  Rhianna laughed and put her arm around Landis’s shoulders. Then she turned to Kevin and tilted her head towards the back of the cave.

  Kevin stepped in front of them and led them through the reception chamber. The room was huge, large enough that two dragons could curl up comfortably on its floor with room left over. “This is where Glendymere meets most of his guests. Only his closest friends are ever invited back into his caves.” He pointed to the little alcove near the entrance and said, “He has a lot of different sized chairs in there so that whoever comes can find a comfortable seat.”

  “Like the gongs,” Landis said. “Different sizes for different-sized people.”

  Kevin nodded. Then he started down the long tunnel that led to the sleeping chamber. The tunnel was large enough for Glendymere to walk through it comfortably, so it seemed more like a long room than a tunnel to the trio. They passed through a couple of wide areas that were actually large rooms along the way, and then they came to a fork in the tunnel. The tunnel leading to the left was quite a bit smaller, large enough for a giant, but too small for Glendymere.

  Kevin pointed to the left fork and said, “Someone will show you that way before too long. That tunnel winds around inside the mountain, and if you know the way, you can use it to get to the top of Wildcat Mountain. You can also use it to get to Rainbow Valley from here, or you could end up just wandering around for miles and miles inside the mountain. It wouldn’t be a very good idea to take off exploring until someone takes you through there.”

  Landis nodded, but Rhianna looked down the tunnel with a little too much enthusiasm to suit Kevin, so he added, “Seriously, this is Glendymere’s home, and he likes to open it to his friends in stages. He would be offended if you tried to explore it on your own.”

  Rhianna glanced at Kevin for a moment and then she nodded.

  “The right-hand fork takes us into his sleeping chamber,” Kevin said as he continued down the tunnel.

  After about fifty feet, they stepped into a chamber that was even larger than the reception area. As soon as Landis saw Glendymere, her eyes opened wide and the color slowly drained out of her face.

  Glendymere was in his usual position, curled up along the opposite wall, like a cat, with his enormous head resting on his front paws and his tail wrapped around his body. His golden scales caught a few of the rays of sunlight from the shaft that opened over the center of his chamber and his green eyes were sparkling. He slowly raised his head.

  Kevin stepped forward and said, “Glendymere, may I present Landis, of the House of Gergin.”

  Glendymere slowly nodded his head once in Landis’s direction. “I’m pleased to meet you, my dear. I didn’t know your father, but everything I’ve heard about him has been complimentary. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Landis stammered out a thank you.

  “I understand that you would like to become a sorcerer.”

  Landis nodded her head in jerky movements.

  “Good. It will take a lot of work over a period of several years, but it’s an honorable profession.”

  Landis cleared her throat and said, “Thank you.”

  Then Kevin said, “And I would also like to present Rhianna, Hayd
en’s daughter, who will serve as Landis’s assistant.”

  Glendymere looked at Rhianna and nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I think I’ve met all of your brothers and sisters over the years. I look forward to working with you.”

  Rhianna’s eyes were shining with delight. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for years, Glendymere. My family speaks of you with so much affection I feel like I know you already.”

  Glendymere chuckled. “I’m not sure you should believe all that you’ve been told. A few of your siblings are inclined to exaggerate.”

  Rhianna laughed and said, “I know what you mean.”

  “Well, then. Before we can get down to work, you’ll need to get a room set up where you can work comfortably. Myron, would you please show them the storeroom and the room where they will be working? They can choose whatever furnishings they like and set the room up any way they wish.”

  Kevin nodded and led Landis and Rhianna into the little room off to the side of Glendymere’s chamber where he and Chris had set up their room while they were there. Then he led them into the storeroom. “Fix the room up anyway you like. I know you’ll need at least one table, a couple of chairs, and if I were you, I’d put in a couple of beds. There will probably be times when you’ll end up staying overnight. We didn’t do it often, but we did every once in a while. Also, Blalick put a stove down here for us so that we could make coffee. He probably still has it around here somewhere. Mention it to him and ask him to put it back down here for you.”

  Landis shook her head. “I have no idea what you just said.”

  Rhianna grinned at her. “Don’t worry about it. I got it.”

  “You’ll be fine by this evening,” Kevin said. “And you’ll never have to go through that reaction again. Once you get past it, it’s past. Even when you meet other dragons, you won’t react with dragon-fear. You’re doing fine.” Kevin put his arm around Landis’s shoulders and gave her a brotherly hug. Then he said, “Well, I’ll leave you two to get your room straightened out. Good luck, Landis, and I’ll check back in with you before long.”

  Landis nodded and slowly sat down on one of the chairs.

  Kevin smiled and said, “Rhianna, you might want to get her some water. It usually helps.”