The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “Nothing yet. I’m not the Master Sorcerer until the sixth of April. We’ll put it to the side for now, but I’m not going to forget about it.”

  By dinner, they had sorted all of the letters into stacks, tied them up into bundles, and stored them back in the drawer, ready to be tackled first thing Tuesday morning.

  Most of the extra tables and chairs had been removed from the dining room so that one side was once again organized into informal sitting areas, and after dinner most of the residents and guests moved over to the couches and chairs to relax before heading upstairs to bed.

  No one noticed that Steve drifted out one door a few minutes before Laryn slipped out another.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Late Wednesday evening, Kevin was in his room reviewing the notes that he and Chris had made about the various provinces and their seated sorcerers when he heard Xantha’s voice in his head. “I’m back. Meet me outside the stable in ten minutes.”

  Kevin rushed down to the stable, filled a bucket with oats, and set it beside a water trough. When Xantha landed, he headed straight for the oats. “Ah, you remembered. We’ll talk in just a minute.” A few minutes later, Xantha raised his head. “Much better. Conversation always goes best with a full stomach.”

  “I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Did you find Taelor?” Kevin asked mentally.

  “Of course.”

  “So quickly? I can’t believe it!”

  “What can I say? I’m good.”

  “So …”

  “Oh. Taelor found Landis last fall. The two of them are staying with her foster parents in a small valley along the west coast of Brendolanth. I asked if he remembered the minstrels he met last May. He didn’t answer, but his thoughts were full of worry and fear that Rolan was trying to connect all of you with him. I told him to relax, that I was bringing a message from the one he knew as Kevin,” Xantha paused while he drank some water. “Somehow he had the idea that Karl and Darrell were in charge of the group, and that you were a servant. When I told him who you really were, he didn’t believe me. I explained that you were on your way to Willow Canyon to train with Glendymere when he met you, but I don’t think he ever did believe me.”

  “What did he say about coming here?”

  “He said to tell you thank you and that he would like to accept your hospitality, but that he needed to talk with Landis and her foster parents before making any plans. I think he wants to check all of this out. Anyway, I’ll get back in touch with him in a couple of weeks and see what he says then.”

  “Good. And if they decide to come?”

  “I’ll bring them. Wouldn’t do to have the two of them traveling across Brendolanth with a price on his head. Now, I’m going over to Duane’s camp and get some sleep. Anything else before I go?”

  “No, and thanks,” Kevin said as Xantha took off.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Badec’s brothers, sisters, and their families packed up and left on Thursday. At breakfast Friday morning, Duane asked Kevin if he and his father could have a few minutes of Kevin’s time. “We’re going to pack up and head out later today, but there’s something that we’d like to discuss with you before we go.”

  “Sure, just come by the office whenever you’re ready. I’ll tell Ariel to let me know as soon as you get there.”

  While the others told the elves good-bye and wished them a safe trip, Kevin and Chris left the dining room.

  “Wonder what that’s about,” Chris said. “Should I stay or go when they get there?”

  “Maybe you should hang around the outer office while I’m talking to them. That way you’ll be close by if I decide I want you in there,” Kevin answered. “While I’m busy with Duane, why don’t you get the pages started on the letters we drafted yesterday?”

  Chris nodded.

  Kevin had just settled down behind his desk when Ariel knocked on his door to let him know that the elves had arrived.

  After Duane and Hayden were seated, Hayden said, “I would like to ask you to consider accepting an apprentice. She’s twenty-four now, but she’ll turn twenty-five this summer.”

  “An elf?” Kevin asked in surprise.

  “No, she’s human. She’s Tsareth’s youngest daughter, Landis. My wife and I are her foster parents. I don’t know how much you know about her half-brother Rolan, but he’s a dangerous and evil man. If he finds Landis before she learns to protect herself, I fear her life would be forfeit. I hate to ask you to do this. I know how busy you’re going to be, especially for the first few years, and I have to warn you that anyone who accepts her will be risking Rolan’s wrath.”

  Kevin’s jaw had dropped while Hayden was talking. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  Hayden paused for a second because of the look on Kevin’s face. He waited to see if Kevin had something he wanted to say. When he didn’t, Hayden continued, “Duane and I have discussed this at length, and he feels strongly that you’re powerful enough to protect yourself, Landis, and her other half-brother, Taelor, who will probably accompany her. I wasn’t going to talk to you about this yet, but I was afraid to wait. As word of your exploits in Willow Canyon spread, I’m sure you’ll have quite a few fathers approach you about accepting their sons or daughters as apprentices.”

  Finally Kevin spoke. “Tell me about Taelor. I think you said he is her half-brother? Does he have magical power, too?”

  “No, he’s not Tsareth’s son. He and Landis share the same mother. When she died last winter, Taelor decided to try to find Landis. He’s been with us in Crinsor Run since late last summer.”

  Kevin nodded. “Back to your request, I’ll be happy to accept Landis as an apprentice when she’s ready, but there is one problem. As you know, I’m part elf.”

  Duane held up his hand as a signal for Kevin to stop. “We know. I’ve already talked to Glendymere. He said that if you’d agree to let her apprentice with you afterwards, he’ll take her next fall and teach her to gather and store energy.”

  Kevin nodded. Then he looked at Hayden and asked, “Have you discussed any of this with her?”

  “Not really. I’ve told her that we were in the process of making arrangements for her to begin her studies next fall but we haven’t given her any details.

  “Do you think this is going to be acceptable to her?”

  “Which part?” Hayden asked with a twinkle in his eye. “Studying magic with the most respected dragon on Terah, or serving as apprentice to the Master Sorcerer? I really don’t think she could ask for any better tutors.”

  “I just hope I can live up to the title,” Kevin said. “Fine then. Unless I hear something different, I’ll expect Landis, Taelor, and anyone else she wants to bring in about a year or so.”

  “Probably not that soon. I imagine she’ll be with Glendymere at least a year before she comes here. Anyway, we’ll keep you informed,” Hayden said as he stood up to go. Then he shook Kevin’s hand and left the office.

  Duane hung back for a couple of minutes. “Is everything all right? You looked almost in shock when he first told you about Landis. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “I was just taken by surprise. That’s all. Tell me, do you know both Landis and Taelor?”

  “Of course,” Duane answered. “I watched Landis grow up with my baby sister, Rhianna, but I didn’t realize she was Tsareth’s daughter until Taelor showed up. I always thought of her simply as Rhee’s friend.”

  “And Xantha knows them, too?”

  Duane nodded and asked, “What is it?” puzzled by Kevin’s questions.

  “Nothing. It just explains a few things,” Kevin said as he shook his head. “It’s a long story, but last Saturday night I asked Xantha to try to find Taelor and offer him and Landis my protection. Anyway, Xantha never let on that he already knew them, or that he had any idea where they were, but when he got back Wednesday night he told me that he had talked to Taelor. I imagine you’ll hear of my offer when you get home. Maybe you should warn your father. I guess I sho
uld have mentioned it to him myself.”

  “So that’s where Xantha disappeared to. He told me that he was off on a secret mission for you,” Duane grinned. Then he got serious again. “How do you know Taelor?”

  “Have you heard about the reward that Rolan was offering for the group of minstrels? The ones that he thought had helped Taelor escape his bounty hunters?”

  “Yes. He was determined to find them, but … you? The Tellurians were the ones who helped Taelor?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “But the minstrels were killed last winter, by a freak tornado.”

  “Let’s just say that that’s the second time a tornado has been used to imply that we were all dead,” Kevin said with a grin.

  Duane’s eyebrows arched nearly up to his hairline. “You stirred up that storm?”

  Kevin nodded again and said, “Ask Taelor about us when you get home, especially about Theresa. He’s had some training as a chapel aide. They made quite a good team.”

  Duane left Kevin’s office, shaking his head and grinning.

  After Duane and Hayden left the main office, Chris went into Kevin’s office, shut the door, and asked, “What was that all about?”

  Kevin filled him in on Xantha’s mission as well as Hayden’s request.

  “Are you going to tell the others that Taelor and Landis are coming?”

  “Not yet. Maybe in a few months, provided we survive that long.”

  “Okay. Now, what do you want me to do about these?” Chris had a stack of letters in his hand.

  “Which ones are those?”

  “These are complaints of over-charging that were submitted by the district minister on behalf of the victims. I’ve pulled Laryn’s notes on the individual contracts, and the minister’s right in all of these.”

  “Send a letter to the sorcerer and a copy to the minister. Tell the sorcerer that he has one month to reimburse those people or else submit his resignation. Add a note to the minister’s copy asking him to let us know one way or the other.”

  “You do realize that you’re going to have some really angry sorcerers out there.”

  “I know, but do you see any way around it?”

  “No, not really,” Chris said. Then he pointed to another stack still on the desk. “What about these? These letters are complaints from individual citizens.”

  “Send a letter to the district minister asking him to try to find out what happened and mediate a settlement, but be sure you ask him to send us a complete report. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we can stay out of those.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  By late Saturday afternoon, they were all tired from another long and busy week. Dinner was subdued, and soon after they finished eating, everyone drifted out of the dining room heading towards their bedrooms for a quiet evening.

  Kevin decided to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep, but right after he stretched out on his bed, he noticed a faint glow near the balcony door. As he watched, the light grew stronger until he could make out Yvonne and a man standing beside her. The man was muscular and robust, and his hand rested on her waist in a proprietary manner. Kevin got up and sat on the edge of his bed, facing them.

  “Myron. It’s so nice to meet you at last,” Badec said. “I’ve longed for this day ever since Duane took you away.”

  “You look much better than you did the last time I saw you,” Kevin replied.

  “I imagine I do,” Badec said with a hint of a smile. “I remember you sitting with me and telling me all about your life on Earth and your adventures on Terah. I wish I could have been at the Gate House to welcome you, and that I could have been the one to introduce you to Glendymere.”

  “I do, too,” Kevin agreed. When Badec didn’t say anything else, Kevin said, “Mother, can I ask you something?”

  “Certainly.”

  “I had a strange dream the other night,” Kevin began. Then he told them about seeing Rolan and the woman fight each other. “What I need to know is … well … was that a vision?”

  “From what you’ve told me, I’d say it was,” Yvonne answered. “You’re my son as much as you are your father’s. You could have received the gift of sight from me.”

  “But nothing like that has ever happened to me before.”

  “A lot of seers don’t begin having visions until they reach adulthood. I happened to start as a child, but there’s no real pattern to it, and you may never have another one, or you may have them often. There’s no way to predict the gift.”

  “What about the fact that I couldn’t see what happened once the battle began?”

  “That means that the end isn’t written yet. As things stand now, the woman you saw in your vision will fight Rolan, but it remains to be seen as to which one will walk away. If the outcome had already been determined, you would have seen it, whether you wanted to or not.”

  “That’s sort of what I thought,” Kevin answered. “Shortly after I had the vision, I was asked to accept Rolan’s half-sister, Landis, as an apprentice. I don’t know for sure that she’s the woman I saw, but I have a feeling that she is.”

  “I feel sure she must be. That’s why you saw the battle. Her fate is basically in your hands,” Yvonne said. “Teach her well.”

  “And beware of Rolan,” Badec said. “He’s the most treacherous of all the council sorcerers, although his magical abilities are not that great. He loves to stir up trouble and create tensions among the other members. He won’t come at you directly, but watch your back whenever he’s around. Gwendolyn is as bad as Rolan, but she’s more direct, probably because her magic is a lot stronger. She’ll come at you head on. And she has Malcolm in the palm of her hand. He’ll go along with anything she wants. Damien is probably the strongest one as far as magical ability is concerned, and one of the most levelheaded, but you can’t really look to him for much support. He’ll do just about anything to avoid a confrontation. Overall, the best you can hope for out of any of the council sorcerers is respect, and you’ll have to earn that, but don’t expect loyalty or friendship from any of them, and do not ever drop your guard when any of them are around.”

  Kevin nodded and waited to see if his father had anything else to say. When he didn’t, Kevin said, “There was a letter in your desk drawer from Rolan’s brother, Robyn, asking you to look into Tsareth’s death. Did you open it before you got sick?”

  “Yes, I do remember something about that. I had some questions about Tsareth’s death myself. Then, six years later, I received that letter from Robyn. I don’t know if Robyn had just found out something that made him suspicious, or if he had questions all along. I didn’t have a chance to talk to him before I got sick.”

  “Do you have any idea how you got sick?”

  “Not for certain, and I had a long time to lie there and think about it. It had to be some kind of poison, but it wasn’t one I’m familiar with. All I know for sure is that I felt fine when I went to sleep. Be very careful, Myron. Whoever murdered me will probably try for you, too.”

  Yvonne took Badec’s hand as their images began to fade. “We must go now. We’ll be back when we can. Take care, son, and good luck.”

  After they left, Kevin walked out on the balcony and looked at the stars for a while, replaying the conversation over in his head. Finally he went back inside, got into bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Tyree arrived Thursday afternoon, and after stopping by Kevin’s office for a brief hello, went off to the guest quarters to get settled in. He joined the Tellurians for dinner and distributed the pictures Steve had left with him, as well as the presents Ashni had sent everyone, including some of her jams and preserves for Kevin, cookies for Chris, and the bedspread from their room in Rainbow Valley for Joan. Blalick had sent Karl some new woodworking tools, and Sari and Macin had sent letters to Theresa and Darrell.

  After dinner, everyone lingered over scog for a bit, but then began to drift away. Steve clapped his hand on Tyree’s shoulder, and sai
d, “Let’s go down to the court office and I’ll show you what I’ve come up with so far.”

  Tyree gave Steve a questioning look, but followed him out of the dining room. Once they reached the court office, he said, “Steve, what are you doing? We aren’t under any deadline here. There’s plenty of time for us to review your notes. This isn’t where you want to be, or what you want to be doing this evening.”

  “Of course it is. I’ve been looking forward to discussing these cases with you and getting your perspective.”

  “I don’t doubt that old friend, but it still isn’t what you want to do this evening. I saw the way you and Laryn were looking at each other. You need to spend the soft light of evening with her, not with me,” Tyree said with a chuckle.

  Steve sighed, sat down, and said, “Is it that obvious?”

  “Oh, yeah. Only a blind man could spend five minutes around you two and not see that there’s something happening there,” Tyree said, “and that it goes both ways.”

  “You think so?”

  “No doubt about it. I’ve known her most of her life and I’ve never seen her look at anyone the way she looks at you.”

  “I never expected to find someone else that I could care for like that. I thought after Cathy died …”

  “I know,” Tyree said. After a couple of minutes of companionable silence, he asked, “Have you told her how you feel?”

  “No. I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

  “Why not? Aren’t you sure how you feel?”

  “That’s not it. I know I’m falling in love with her; that’s not the problem. I just feel like it’s not fair to her.” Steve sighed.

  “Why? Has she implied that there’s someone else? Well, I don’t believe it. I saw the way she looked at you.”

  “No, nothing like that, but Tyree, I’m fifty-seven years old. What can I offer her? Maybe twenty, twenty-five years if I’m lucky? She’s part elf. She’ll probably live another hundred years. She needs to find someone who can be there for her to the end.”

  “You can’t make that decision for her. Badec should have lived another hundred years, too. No one has any guarantees about tomorrow; all we have is today, right now.”