“You know you can leave her in Rainbow Valley if you want to,” Laryn said. “Between the giants and Glendymere, no one would be able to get to her there.”
“I know, and it’s a possibility,” Kevin said. “But so is this island. It’s completely deserted. There’s no sign any humans have ever been here, or any of the other races. I had Glendymere check it out in case there were some brownies or gnomes around, but he said there was no one, not even any large animals.”
“How did you find it?”
“Yara.”
Laryn nodded. “Of course.” Then she asked, “Is that all you wanted to talk to us about? Going out to Rainbow Valley?”
“That was just the first part. The other part has to do with Saryn’s attack on Marcus.” Then Kevin explained how that led to humans all over North Amden and Weldon’s letter to Hayden. As he went through the plan Hayden had come up with, Laryn and Steve started laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Kevin said.
“Yes, it is,” Laryn said, “and simple enough it just might work. Although it sounds more like something Xantha would come up with than Hayden.”
“You’re right,” Chris said. “From what Rhianna told me, it was Xantha’s idea, but Hayden adopted it and told her in no uncertain terms to implement it.”
“And the implementation is what I need help with,” Kevin said. “To be honest, I didn’t do much dating back on Earth, and I have no idea how to go about it on Terah. What do I need to do to sell this?”
“Well, for one thing, romance her a little,” Steve said.
“How do I do that?” Kevin asked. “I need specifics here.”
“A walk in the moonlight’s always nice,” Laryn said.
“And be sure to hold her hand,” Steve added. “It’s the little things that get noticed.”
Laryn laughed. “Yes, they do. Cryslyn spotted us one evening and started planning our wedding the next day.”
“Okay, walk in the evening. I can do that,” Kevin said. “Can I take Nikki?”
“Sure, as long as you pay more attention to the girl than your dog,” Steve said.
“You ride, don’t you?” Laryn asked. “I mean, I know you rode a horse when you led the funeral procession, but I don’t think I’ve seen you on one since. Do you ride?”
“I can,” Kevin said. “Xantha insisted I learn. But I don’t jump fences or do anything fancy.”
“That’s fine. You and Rhianna need to be seen around Milhaven, a lot, and going to and from will let you be seen spending time together by yourselves, but it’s a long walk.”
“I don’t know if Rhianna rides,” Kevin said thoughtfully.
Laryn grinned. “She’s an elf, and a warrior elf at that. She rides, probably bareback.” Then after a moment, she added, “I wonder if she’d like to ride Corin. What a picture they’d make.”
“I thought Corin wouldn’t let anyone other than you ride him. Don’t unicorns form a bond with one woman for life?” Chris asked.
“Yes and no,” Laryn explained. “One human woman, for the life of the human, but elves are different. Corin would probably let Duane ride him. Elves have a mystical bond with all animals, unicorns included. Anyway, I’ll ask him how he feels about it. If he’s willing, that would also provide a little extra protection for her if she decides to go out on her own.”
“Protection?” Chris asked. “From what?”
“I don’t know,” Laryn said. “If Rolan’s interested in her, someone might be fool enough to try to capture her, or he might have put out a kill order on her. You never know.”
Kevin thought for a moment. “Okay, one of the ground rules. She doesn’t go out by herself.”
Laryn laughed while Steve shook his head and said, “Even I know that’s not going to work, Kevin. She’s a grown woman. One thing you do not want to do is insult her by trying to tell her what she can and cannot do. That would lead to some serious fireworks. If you want people to think you two are in love, you need to avoid that fight.”
“I do not want to have to tell her mother some idiot assassin killed her daughter,” Kevin argued.
“I hope you never have to, but Gwynn would be the first one to tell you Rhianna’s going to do what she wants to do,” Laryn said, “No one’s going to believe you would ask her to protect your apprentice if they think you’re afraid for her to go out on her own. You have to show her and everyone else you respect her and have complete faith in her ability to protect herself. Otherwise this is not going to work.”
Kevin sighed. “Anything else?”
“Yes,” Laryn said. “Take her to Milhaven, often. Buy her little things at Tolliver’s. Notice when her gaze lingers on something, when she picks something up and fingers it, maybe a pretty belt, but with Rhianna, it’ll probably be a nice dagger. Whatever. Notice. Then later, go back and get it, and tell them to let Cryslyn know it’s a personal purchase. That’ll get their attention. Go to Fenway’s, sit out back and have a mug of scog. And sit beside her, not across from her. And when you introduce her to people, let your gaze linger on her. Look at her eyes when she talks to you, pay attention to what she says. You may think there’s no way anyone will notice these things, but women will. Men? You’d have to hit them over the head to get them to notice, but a woman will spot it from a block away, and they’ll talk. And that’s what you want.”
For a moment, no one spoke. Then Kevin asked, “Do you really think this will work?”
“Do I think you and Rhianna can convince people you’re interested in each other? Yes, especially if the right people notice. Do I think it will lead to Rolan pulling his men out of North Amden? That I’m not so sure about.” Laryn paused for a moment. “But if his spies believe it, it might work. Be sure you bring her to my house. On second thought, I’ll invite the two of you for dinner, and have Shana serve it. Then, after you leave, I’ll tell Steve I think you two might be getting serious and I’ll make sure she hears me say it. Oh, and you’ll have to take her to meet the rest of the family.”
“What?” Kevin asked with a deep frown. “Why?”
“Well, people at the castle and in Milhaven are going to talk to her, and if they’re wondering how serious the two of you are, they’re going to ask her about your aunts and uncles. If you’re serious, she’ll have met them.” Then Laryn grinned. “And, as an added bonus, if Dara thinks you’ve found someone, she’ll stop looking.”
“She’s only introduced me to one woman,” Kevin said.
“Because you’ve only been there once. She’s sent me three more dinner invitations since then, each with a side note about a young lady she feels sure you’ll enjoy meeting. I’ve found reasons to decline the invitations so far, but I’m running out of excuses. You need to introduce her to Rhianna, soon.”
Kevin nodded. “Nice to know one good thing may come out of this ruse.”
“Maybe more than one,” Chris mumbled, barely loud enough for Laryn and Steve to hear.
Laryn raised her eyebrows, but let it go.
Kevin stood up. “Well, that gives me a starting point. If any other ideas hit you, please share. But now I need to get out to the canyon lands to spar with Glendymere.” He took off the key to Terah and handed it to Chris. “You use this one. I’ll use the other. See you back at the office.”
~ ~ ~ ~
By the time Kevin got back to his office, he felt like he’d already put in a full day and it wasn’t quite lunchtime. He sat down at his desk and leaned his head back. Rhianna would be there in a few hours. He still wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole thing. At least he wasn’t as panicked as he’d been when he first heard about it. The idea of having her around every day was scary, but oddly enough, it was also intriguing. Part of him was looking forward to spending time with her, to walking through the woods and talking with her. He’d been daydreaming about doing that since he’d first seen her, but he’d be playing with fire. He already liked her more than he should. How was he going to keep from sliding over the edge from like to somethin
g deeper?
Before he could dwell on that, Chris opened the door and walked in with two cups of coffee. He set one on Kevin’s desk and then sat down with his. “Thought I heard you in here.”
“Just got back. Is everything ready for Rhianna and Duane?”
Chris nodded. “Cryslyn made up two rooms, but she said Duane would probably sleep in the woods like he did when he was hanging around Shelandra.”
“Duane mentioned that the other day. That was before I was born. Was Cryslyn here then?”
“Apparently.”
“How old is she? I thought she was about Joan’s age.”
“If she is, she’d have been around eighteen or twenty when you were born. That’s old enough to have been working here. Or maybe she lived here as a kid. I don’t know. I’ve never asked her when she came or how long she’s worked here. Have you?”
Kevin shook his head. “Never crossed my mind until now.”
“Well, anyway, everything’s ready. If he wants to sleep here, he has a room. And I asked Neiven to set out a bucket of oats for Xantha.”
“Thanks. I want to talk to him later this evening and I don’t want to listen to him complain about not getting his oats.”
“You aren’t planning to duck out on Rhianna her first evening here, are you?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’ll talk to Xantha after everyone’s gone to bed.”
“Okay.” Chris sipped his coffee. “Are you still taking Warren out to Willow Canyon this afternoon?”
“Right after lunch. And speaking of lunch...”
“It’s about that time. Let’s go.”
~ ~ ~ ~
After lunch, Kevin went to Walnut Springs. He got there as Warren was finishing a piece of cake. Torrey cut a slice for Kevin, set it and a cup of coffee on the table, and motioned for him to sit.
“Thanks, Torrey,” Kevin said as he sat down. Then he looked at Warren. “Are you ready to go?”
Warren nodded.
“He’s been as excited as a child all day long,” Torrey said. “Tossed and turned all night, too. I don’t think either one of us got more than a couple of hours of sleep.”
“Nervous?” Kevin asked.
“Not really,” Warren answered. “I’m just looking forward to this. I’ve wanted to meet him for years.”
“Have you ever met a dragon?”
Warren shook his head.
“Some people experience dragon fear when they first meet him. It can be a bit scary. He’s big, and he looks ferocious.”
Warren smiled. “I know, but from everything I’ve heard about him over the years, he’s kind and gentle, wouldn’t harm a fly.”
Kevin chuckled. “Don’t count on it. I’ve never seen him hurt anyone, but I’ve seen him angry enough to do it.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No, but he could.” Kevin ate some of his cake. “And then there’s the accidental stuff.” Kevin took a swallow of coffee. “When he’s asleep, he snores, only his snores can involve flames. You do have to be careful and remember he’s a dragon.”
“Well, I doubt that’ll be an issue this afternoon,” Warren said. “Now, are you about finished? I’m ready to go.”
Kevin grinned and quickly finished off his cake and coffee. “All right. Let’s do it.”
A few minutes later, Kevin and Warren were outside Glendymere’s reception cave in Willow Canyon. The dragon was curled up against the far wall with his tail wrapped around his body and his head resting on his front feet.
Warren tilted his head back and forth trying to take it all in. His mouth formed an “O” as a small sigh escaped. “He’s beautiful. I expected big, but it never crossed my mind he’d be so majestic. Like a large, proud cat.”
Kevin smiled. “Let’s go inside and I’ll introduce you.”
Glendymere waited until the men were well inside the cave before lifting his head. “Good afternoon.”
“Glendymere, I’d like to introduce Warren, the sorcerer of Ragenon,” Kevin said rather formally. “And Warren, I’d like to introduce Glendymere, grandfather of the dragons.”
Warren nodded at Glendymere. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard about you all my life and it’s always been a dream of mine to meet you.”
“The honor’s all mine,” Glendymere answered. “I’ve heard wonderful things about you from many sources. It’s a pleasure to meet the man who has won the respect and admiration of so many.” Glendymere paused as he mentally moved a couple of chairs out of the storeroom and set them behind Kevin and Warren. “Please, have a seat.” After the men sat down, Glendymere continued. “I understand you’ve agreed to work with Myron’s apprentice.”
Warren nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Glendymere looked at Kevin. “We’re going to work on an instructional plan for the next couple of months. As you’re not going to be involved on a daily basis, it’s not necessary for you to be here if you have other things you need to see to.”
“If you’re sure you don’t mind, I do have a few things I need to take care of.”
“By the way, your guests should be arriving within the hour. They left here before I got back from the canyon lands.”
Kevin stood up and took out his key. “Then I do need to go. When do you want me to come back?”
“Give us a couple of hours. That’ll be enough for now. Once Warren begins working with Landis we’ll meet regularly to revise our plans.”
Kevin nodded. “See you in a couple of hours then.”
Chapter 10
Rhianna Arrives
Things were quiet when Kevin got back to his office, too quiet. When he opened his door, the reception area was abandoned. Not one person in sight. He opened the door to the hall, but he couldn’t hear anything out there either, not even the footsteps of the guards. Just as he stepped into the hall, a voice said, “Good afternoon, sir.” Kevin jerked back and glanced around.
At Kevin’s reaction, Kort, who was on duty in the guard’s office, jumped up. “Is everything all right, sir?”
Kevin shook his head and laughed. “It’s fine. You startled me. I was beginning to think I was the only one around. Do you have any idea where everyone’s gone?”
“Duane and his sister are arriving in a few minutes, and everyone’s gone outside to greet them. Most of the staff knows Duane, and from what I understand both Cpt. Darrell and Chris knew him before any of you arrived in Milhaven. Governor Karl, too. He and Joan came in a few minutes ago, but I think they’ve gone out back now.”
Kevin nodded. “Guess I’ll go join them. Should anyone come to my office looking for any of us, point them out back.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kevin walked down the deserted hallway and into the dining room. There was noise in the kitchen, so he stuck his head in to say hello.
Miranda was hustling around supervising three different women. “Don’t let those cakes get overdone,” she told Carrie. Then she leaned over Krista’s shoulder. “Knead that bread a bit more. It’s not ready yet.” Next she took the spoon out of Emma’s hand and slowly stirred the stew. “See? Slow circles. Keep it circulating. If you don’t, some of the vegetables will stick to the bottom and burn. The last thing I want to do is serve burnt food, especially to Duane. His wife’s an excellent cook and I don’t want him taking any complaints back home.”
Kevin laughed. “Has anyone ever complained about anything from this kitchen, Miranda?”
She turned around and said, “No, and it’s not going to happen today either.” Then she wiped her hands and poured Kevin a cup of coffee. “What are you doing in here?” she asked as she handed him the cup. “Why aren’t you outside with everyone else?”
Kevin lifted the cup and nodded towards it. “I’ll head out in a minute.”
“Are those cake crumbs I see on your tunic?” Miranda brushed a couple of crumbs off Kevin’s shirt. “We didn’t have cake today.”
Kevin grinned. “No, but Torrey did, and since I was
in Walnut Springs around lunchtime, she gave me a slice.”
“Humm,” Miranda said with her lips pursed. “Was it good?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“What kind?”
“I’m not sure, but it had a lot of nuts and spices in it, and it sure was tasty.”
“Ask her for a recipe,” Miranda said. “We’ll see if it’s as good as you think it was.” Then she pointed to Kevin’s cup. “Drink up. You need to head outside. You’re the host. You should be there to greet your company.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Kevin drank the last couple of swallows of coffee and handed her the empty cup.
“And be sure you bring them in after they tell everyone hello. I’ll have some refreshments set up in a few minutes.”
With a nod, Kevin left the kitchen. Quite a crowd had gathered near the stable. He’d asked Marshall to take Nikki on a long ride to keep her out of the way when Xantha landed. He wanted Duane and Rhianna to be able to dismount and get inside without a puppy nipping at their heels. Nikki and Xantha would have plenty of time to get reacquainted after the others got out of the way. Maybe he could convince Xantha to mind her for a while and give Marshall a break.
“Might do that if you sweeten the deal a bit.” Xantha’s voice chimed in Kevin’s head. Kevin looked up but he couldn’t spot the pegasus. “We’re not in sight yet, but we’ll be landing in ten minutes.”
“Good,” Kevin said mentally. “There’s a crowd out here. Everyone here’s excited to see Duane again. Hope you can find a spot to land.”
“What do you want to bet they’ll move out of my way?”
Kevin chuckled. “See you in a minute.” Then Kevin walked over towards the crowd, looking for Chris, but Chris spotted him first.
“You’re back early,” Chris said. “I thought Warren and Glendymere would talk at least an hour. You’ve been gone, what? Maybe half an hour?”
“And most of that was at Warren’s house having dessert in Torrey’s kitchen,” Kevin said. “I’ve got to go back out to Willow Canyon in a couple of hours to pick him up. Glendymere knew Xantha would be landing soon so he told me they’d be fine without me.”
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