“So you’re the only surviving witness to the fact that Rolan murdered his father.”
Taelor nodded.
“I never met Rolan, but I knew that Tsareth was worried about him. Seems he had good reason,” Hayden said sadly.
“I didn’t know what to do after Tsareth died. I couldn’t leave Trendon while my mother was still alive. Rolan would have killed her for spite, but after she passed away last winter, I decided that the time had come for me to do something. My plan was to go to Camden and talk to Badec. I knew that Tsareth trusted him, and I was hoping that after he heard what I had to say he might be able to do something. If nothing else, he could take care of making arrangements for Landis, provided I could find her. But before I could make my break, I heard that Badec was in a coma.” Taelor shrugged.
“Badec would have been my first choice, too,” Hayden said as he continued to walk.
After a few moments, Taelor said, “The only other thing I could think of was to try to find Landis and see if there was any way that I could help her myself. I know I can’t do much. I’m not a trained soldier. In fact, I might be more of a liability than anything else, especially with bounty hunters on my trail, but I felt like I had to try to do something.”
“I understand,” Hayden said quietly. Then he turned and faced Taelor. “There’s something I need to tell you. Are you aware that you and Landis are related?”
“Related? I don’t see how. My mother and I weren’t from Trendon. We were from a land across the ocean, and I think Tsareth’s father was the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth before him, so his ancestors would not have had a chance to mingle with mine. You must be mistaken.”
“What you said is true enough, as far as it goes. Taelor, do you know anything about what happened to your father?”
“No. All I know is what Mother told me. She said that he was a fisherman. He had already left our house and gone out to the docks when the slavers raided the village. Mother didn’t see him during the raid so she chose to believe that he had already cast off and was out of sight when the raid took place. Otherwise, he must have been killed, and she didn’t want to think that he was dead,” Taelor sighed. “Not that it really mattered. There was no way he could have found us.”
“Keep in mind that she had no way to find out, no way of knowing what happened to him, or where he was.”
“Where are you going with this?” Taelor asked in confusion.
“Your mother was a very special woman. Not just to you, but to others, too. She and Tsareth were very close.”
“I know. He loved to spend his evenings with her, listening to her sing and play the harp,” Taelor said with a smile, remembering how Tsareth doted on his mother.
“Well, they were a little more than just friends. She was Landis’s mother.” Hayden paused for a moment to let his words sink in. When Taelor didn’t react, he continued. “Tsareth wanted to marry her, but your mother wouldn’t agree to it. She said that she had no way of knowing that she was a widow, so she wasn’t free to marry anyone. It was her decision that neither you nor Landis were to be told that she was Landis’s mother.”
Taelor frowned. “I don’t understand. Why not? What was she worried about?”
“The future. Look at the way things worked out,” Hayden said. “Your mother was a very wise woman. Just think how Rolan could have used the information that he had Landis’s mother and half-brother right there in the castle.”
Taelor shuddered at that thought. “I can’t believe he doesn’t know. Everyone who lived at the castle when Landis was born must have known. Surely someone would have told him.”
“That’s a possibility. He may just consider Landis to be no threat to him. In fact, I hope he is underestimating her,” Hayden replied. “But it could also be that everyone who was there at the time feels more loyalty to Tsareth than to Rolan. Who knows?”
“Should we tell Landis about all of this? How will she feel about the fact that her mother was a slave?”
“Oh, I don’t think she’ll mind that. I think she’ll be thrilled that you’re her brother. And she saw the way Tsareth treated your mother. He never treated her like a slave. He didn’t treat you like one either.”
“No, he didn’t,” Taelor said with a wistful sigh. “But things changed after his death. Rolan made me his personal slave and he assigned my mother to the kitchens. I think she died of exhaustion as much as anything else. If I could have figured out a way to kill Rolan when she died, I would have, but I couldn’t, so I just left.”
“It was probably for the best that you didn’t try to kill him. Even if you had been successful, you’d probably have died in the attempt and you wouldn’t have been able to help anyone then.”
“No, but at least he’d be out of her way.”
“True, but she’s not ready yet. And you never know, that might have opened the door for someone even worse. Better the devil that you know …” Hayden shrugged.
“I guess. Anyway, how much of this do you think we should tell Landis?”
“All of it. Everything. Including how Rolan killed her father. I wish I could keep her here as an innocent child forever, but I can’t. She’s a grown woman now, and next year she’ll begin to train as a sorcerer. She has to understand what she’s up against.” Hayden put his arm around Taelor’s shoulder and said, “You did the right thing, coming here to try to help her. A very unselfish thing. Tsareth would have been proud of you.”
“Thank you. That means more than you know.”
“Let’s get back to the house. I think we should tell Landis before dinner tonight. And we might as well tell Gwynn and Rhianna at the same time. Otherwise I’ll have to go through it all over again later.”
“Is Rhianna your daughter? I remember Landis mentioning a Rhee when she was younger.”
Hayden nodded. “She’s a little younger than Landis, but they’re inseparable. I don’t know what’s going to happen when it comes time for Landis to leave here. Oh well, let’s handle one crisis at a time,” Hayden said with a laugh.
As they turned back towards the house, Taelor asked who else lived in Crinsor Run, so Hayden filled him in on the rest of his family. In addition to Rhianna, Hayden and Gwynn had another daughter, Serena, and two sons, Duane and Mickel. The other three were married and lived with their families in three of the houses along the arc. The fifth house belonged to his nephew, Pallor, who was away about eleven months out of the year, but who had dreams of one day finding the right elf and settling down, so he had built a house next to Duane’s.
When they reached the house, Gwynn, Landis, and Rhianna were all in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the food for the evening meal. Hayden asked them to join him and Taelor in the sitting room for a few minutes.
Hayden talked first, explaining that Taelor and Landis were blood relatives.
When he finished, Landis put her arm around Taelor and beamed. “I can’t think of anyone that I would rather have as a brother. How long have you known that we have the same mother?”
“About an hour,” Taelor answer. “I had no idea until Hayden told me, although I really should have figured it out a long time ago.”
“I’d love to see Mother again,” Landis said wistfully. Then she frowned and asked, “Why isn’t she with you? Is she all right?”
Taelor looked a little pained. Then he took a deep breath and told Landis that their mother had passed away the previous winter.
Tears filled Landis’s eyes. “Why didn’t she come to see me after my father died? Or at least send for me? Didn’t she want to see me?”
“Landis, that’s not it at all. She couldn’t. She wasn’t free to do what she wanted to do. We were slaves. Tsareth bought us both when I was a baby,” Taelor explained. “After he died, Rolan sent my mother to work in the kitchens and made me his personal slave.”
“What?! Why didn’t someone tell me? I could have explained the situation to Rolan. Both of you could have come here to live,” Landis proteste
d.
“No. You don’t know Rolan. And that brings me around to some of the other things I have to tell you.” Then Taelor told her how Rolan had murdered her father and banished all of Tsareth’s other children from Trendon. “I don’t know if Rolan even knows that you exist, but he would probably kill you if you were to show up in Trendon. As soon as he realized how strong your magic is, he would see you as a threat, and he deals with anyone he perceives as a threat quickly and decisively. He kills them.”
“Then what am I going to do? How will I train?” Landis asked. “If I ask someone to let me train with them, won’t I make them a target for Rolan?”
“Probably,” Hayden answered her. “But there are still some sorcerers out there who are powerful enough that Rolan’s anger wouldn’t concern them. Let’s not worry about that yet, Landis. You can’t begin training for nearly a year anyway, and there’s no law that states that you have to begin training as soon as you turn twenty-five. We’ll figure something out. Don’t worry.” Then Hayden turned to Taelor and said, “Taelor, I’d like for you to stay with us, for as long as you like.”
“I appreciate that, but I hate to impose,” Taelor said.
“It’s no imposition. You’re the only family that Landis has left that she can rely on. I don’t know what your plans are, and I can certainly understand if you want to put as many miles between yourself and Rolan as possible, but let me assure you that he cannot reach you here unless he’s willing to declare war on the elves, and I doubt if even he is that foolish.”
“I hadn’t made any plans other than to find Landis and tell her about Rolan. I would love to stay here for a while, but I don’t want to put any of you in danger,” Taelor answered.
“Don’t worry, you won’t,” Hayden said as he stood up. “It’s settled then.” Hayden turned to his wife, stretched and asked, “What’s for dinner anyway, and when are the others going to get here? I’m hungry!”
Chapter 36
Fall Settles Over the Valley
During the month of August, Kevin’s skills progressed faster than he had dared to hope. He could boil a cup of water for tea, or he could heat a large tub of water for a bath. He could pick up anything from a feather to a boulder and move it two feet or two hundred. Not only could he catch eggs on a cushion of air, but he could also catch boulders, and his energy bolts were strong enough to crumble small rocks.
He could soar through the sky beside Glendymere, dive for the ground, catch himself, and land so gently that he left no footprints in the sand. With his ability to catch himself came the confidence to try other tasks while flying. He could move objects, stir air currents, light a candle, ignite a bonfire, or use his seeing eye to peek in on the activities in another valley, all while flying a hundred feet above the ground. And he was getting better with each passing day.
One morning near the middle of September, Kevin and Chris were outside practicing some of Kevin’s skills when Glendymere walked up. “Mind taking a break for a little while? I’d like to talk to you.”
“Fine with me,” Kevin said as he sat down on the nearest boulder. “What’s up?”
“I’ve asked some elves and dwarves to join us in about six weeks for some mock battles. You need to learn how to defend yourself against all kinds of attack, so I thought we would start with the basics: arrows, knives and swords.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Kevin said slowly. “Are you thinking that I’m going to defend myself with a sword?”
“No. Most sorcerers don’t even carry a sword. You’ll have to use non-lethal magic to defend yourself.”
“Are they going to be using non-lethal weapons?” Chris asked.
“No, they’ll be using the same ones they always use. They know that they’re going to be fighting a sorcerer and his guards, so they’ll come prepared.”
“Guards?” Kevin asked. “What guards?”
“You know, the ones you travel with, your friends.”
“Are they going to be involved in this, too?” Kevin asked.
“They’ll have to be if you’re going to learn to fight as a team.”
“Are you going to be there?” Chris asked.
“Of course.”
Chris and Kevin looked at each other.
“Maybe they should get to know you before the battle,” Kevin said.
“That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.”
“How do you want to do this? Are you going to come to Rainbow Valley, or do you want us to bring them here?” Kevin asked.
“I think it’ll be best if they come over here. You can bring them through the tunnels.”
“When do you want us to bring them over?” Kevin asked.
“How about tomorrow morning? They can stay until about lunchtime. That should be enough for the first day. And have them bring their swords, bows, and arrows.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. “We’ll tell them after dinner tonight.”
“Good. Now you can go back to what you were doing. I’m going to take a nap,” Glendymere said as he turned and went back to his chamber.
~ ~ ~ ~
After dinner, when everyone had gathered in the sitting room, Kevin said that he had something he needed to tell them. “Glendymere has set up some mock battles so that we can get some experience fighting together. He’s invited some elves and dwarves to make up the opposing team. They’re supposed to be here in about six weeks.”
Darrell nodded. “Good idea. We need to practice our combat skills. Sparring against each other isn’t going to help us improve that much.”
“I’m assuming that no one is actually going to be trying to kill anyone else, right?” Karl asked.
“It’s a mock battle, but the weapons will be real,” Chris answered.
“What weapons?” Joan asked.
“From what Glendymere said, we can expect to be attacked with arrows, swords, knives, anything and everything except magic,” Kevin answered.
“How do we defend against arrows?” Joan asked. “What if one of us gets hit?”
Chris shook his head. “Glendymere won’t let that happen.”
Joan looked at Chris for a moment, frowned and said, “Huh? What do you mean?”
“Glendymere set this up so that I can learn how to use non-lethal magic to defend us during an attack. I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but I do know that he’ll be there in case I mess up, so everyone will be okay,” Kevin answered.
“Wait a minute,” Darrell said with a deep frown. “What do you mean, he’ll be there?”
“He’ll be watching, from the sidelines,” Chris said.
“Glendymere will be there? Where we are? We’re going to have to fight a battle while he’s close by?” Darrell asked. “Kevin, I don’t know if I can do that.”
Chris said, “I know what you mean, Darrell, but you’ll get past it.”
“No, no, I don’t think so,” Darrell said shaking his head. “I could end up being perfectly useless during the battle.” Then he looked at Kevin. “I don’t think this is going to work. Maybe you better count me out.”
“That’s why Glendymere wants us to bring all of you over to Willow Canyon tomorrow morning,” Kevin said slowly, trying to engage Darrell’s eyes. “He wants you to get comfortable being around him so that he won’t be a distraction during the battle.”
“Tomorrow morning? I’ve got to meet a dragon tomorrow?” Darrell squeaked.
“Darrell, think of it this way, by this time tomorrow you’ll be over your fear of dragons,” Chris said.
Darrell stared at Chris like he was looking at a ghost.
Kevin looked around the group and said, “Glendymere said that he wants to start working on battle skills tomorrow, so take your swords, and your bows and arrows, too.”
“Are we going to be sparring?” Karl asked. “Is he going to coach us?”
Chris shook his head no. “I think he was talking about Kevin’s battle skills. I got the distinct impression that we’re goi
ng to be the enemy.”
“You mean we’re going to attack Kevin?” Steve asked with a frown.
Kevin nodded. “I wasn’t too thrilled about that part either.”
Karl stood and stretched. “Well, it’s been a long day. Think I’ll head towards bed. I have a feeling we’re all going to need to be well-rested tomorrow.”
Darrell shook himself a little and then mumbled, “I won’t sleep a wink all night.”
“I can fix some tea that will help you sleep if you want me to,” Theresa offered.
Darrell shook his head no. “I need to psych myself up for this.”
“Do we need to take lunch with us?” Joan asked.
“I don’t think so,” Chris said. “Glendymere said something about working with us until lunchtime. I think he’s planning to send you back around noon.”
“Come on, Karl. Help me gather up the mugs.” Joan held out her hand for Karl to help her up.
Darrell reached for the pitcher and poured himself another mug of scog. “Don’t bother. Go on to bed. I’ll clear up later.”
~ ~ ~ ~
The next morning, everyone except Kevin was in the kitchen by the time Chris walked in. There was hot coffee but there was no sign of breakfast.
“Have you already eaten?” Chris asked.
“No, I think everyone’s too nervous to be hungry,” Joan said.
“I felt the same way the first time I met Glendymere,” Chris said as he picked up a loaf of bread and began slicing it, “but today I need something to eat,”
“Cut enough for everyone,” Joan said. “I’ll slice some cheese. Theresa, get out some jam. Maybe once the food’s on the table we’ll be able to eat a little something.”
When Kevin walked in, Chris handed him a cup of coffee and motioned towards the table. “Have a seat. Breakfast will be on the table in less than five minutes. Come on, everyone grab a plate and sit down.”
The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah) Page 45