The Warrior Elf

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Kevin nodded. “I think they’re looking forward to it.”

  “Good.” Chris picked up a cookie. “Have you decided what you want to say tomorrow?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Let’s work on that. Tell me what you’re thinking.”

  Chapter 40

  May 7

  While Kevin was talking to King Merdin and Dani, Rolan was pacing back and forth in the tiny shed outside Milhaven. Trevor was late. No one dared be late for a meeting with Rolan. He kept people waiting, not the other way around, and the more he paced, the more his resentment grew.

  Right as Rolan was considering leaving, the door opened and Trevor walked in. Rolan glared at him, waiting for an apology, an explanation, anything that showed proper respect. Instead, Trevor plopped down on top of a barrel and just looked at him.

  Rolan’s glare intensified. “Where were you? I’ve been here for half an hour!”

  Trevor shrugged. “I had things to do. I got here when I could.”

  “You know I could turn you into a pile of ashes right where you sit, don’t you?”

  “Sure.” Trevor picked up a piece of hay and played with it. “But you won’t. You don’t want Myron to know you’re anywhere near here.”

  Rolan snorted. “How would he know?”

  “He’d find out when they packed up my stuff. I left a note under my pillow addressed to him explaining where I was going and who I was meeting.” When Rolan’s eyes narrowed, Trevor shrugged again. “I’m not fool enough to meet you without taking precautions.”

  “So, what have you got for me?” Rolan snapped

  “Nothing until you pay me for last time, the time in December.”

  “Your information wasn’t any good. Landis is still alive.”

  “That’s not my problem. You pay me to pass on information. I don’t know if she didn’t show up or if your men couldn’t get the job done, but that has nothing to do with me. I did my part and I expect to be paid.”

  Rolan took three coins out of his pocket and threw them on the ground near Trevor’s feet.

  Trevor looked at the money and shook his head. “You’re a little short.”

  With a grunt, Rolan pulled two more coins out and flung them into the dirt.

  “That’s better,” Trevor said. “Now, what did you want to know?”

  “What do you know about Landis?”

  “Nothing. She hasn’t been around here since December and no one’s talking about her, at least not where I can hear them.”

  “What about the elf?”

  Trevor frowned. “Which elf? There have been several around the castle lately.”

  “The woman, the warrior elf who was with Landis when she was here in November!”

  “Rhianna?”

  “If Rhianna’s the one who was with her, yes!” Rolan’s face had turned beet red.

  “She’s living in town with a woman named Doreen. She and Myron have been seeing a lot of each other lately, but I don’t know anything about her in relation to Landis. I think Myron’s the only connection between them.”

  Rolan scowled. “Keep an eye on her, and let me know if she leaves.”

  Trevor held out his hand. “You asked. I answered.”

  “What?” Rolan growled. “You expect to be paid for meeting me and answering a couple of questions?”

  Trevor nodded. “That was our agreement. I tell you or your men what I know and you pay for the information, so you need to pay up.”

  With a grunt, Rolan threw three more coins at Trevor’s feet. “That piddling bit of information was hardly worth the effort of telling it.”

  Trevor shrugged. “You wanted to know what I knew and I told you. Not my fault it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. But as I didn’t have to dig out one of your men to pass it on, I’ll settle for that amount this time. But if you want any more information out of me, you better live up to our arrangement next time. Keep in mind I don’t have to tell you a thing.”

  Without a word, Rolan took out his key, but before he could turn it, Trevor said, “I do have another piece of information you may find interesting, but it’s going to cost you.”

  Rolan’s top lip curled as he stared at the man. “How much?”

  “Five more coins.” Trevor played with the piece of hay. “I think you’ll agree it’s worth it.”

  Rolan dug in his pocket and pulled out the coins. “Information first. Coins after.”

  Trevor hesitated. “All right, but if you don’t pay me, we’re done. When Landis was here in December, she was planning to drop by the Chapel of Light to pick up some tea Sister Theresa made for her.”

  “What tea? What was it for?”

  “One that could make her power stronger,” Trevor said slowly. “Thought you might want to know about that. I don’t know if she went by the chapel or not, but I feel sure Myron saw to it she got the tea.”

  “What was in it?” Rolan asked as he handed Trevor the coins.

  Trevor shook his head.

  “I’d be willing to pay double for that.”

  “I’m not messing with the sisters. If you want to know what was in that tea, you’ll have to ask them yourself.”

  Chapter 41

  Back in Milhaven

  Early Thursday morning, before the sun peeked over the mountains, there was a faint knock on Kevin’s door. If Nikki hadn’t nudged him, Kevin wouldn’t have known it.

  “What is it, girl?” Kevin sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his hand over his face. “You need something?”

  Nikki faced the door and whimpered as there was another knock.

  Kevin leaned down to pet her as he said, “Come in.”

  Rupert cracked the door. “I hate to bother you, but Freddy wants to see you.”

  “Freddy?”

  Rupert nodded. “He didn’t say it was urgent, but he seldom speaks to any of the guards, much less asks them to deliver a message. I thought you might want to know.”

  Kevin nodded. “Thank you.”

  As Rupert went back to his post at the bottom of the steps, Kevin got dressed and knocked on Chris’s door. Before Chris could wake up enough to answer, Kevin opened the door and took Nikki in.

  “You don’t have to get up,” Kevin said. “Just let Nikki stay with you until I get back.”

  Fighting through the fog of sleep, Chris mumbled, “What’s happened? Where are you going?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I’m not sure. Freddy sent for me.”

  Chris sat up in bed. “Freddy?”

  Kevin nodded.

  Chris yawned as he swung his legs off the bed. “I’ll get coffee. Meet you in your room.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Freddy’s roost was in the turret over the family wing of the castle. Most of the time he had little if any contact with the humans who lived there and as long as they left him alone, he was content to remain.

  Freddy was three feet tall with a blue-black beak and feathers that were a mix of violet, crimson, and scarlet, all with flaming orange tips. When he opened them to greet Kevin, there was an explosion of color. As Kevin walked into the turret, Freddy’s large ruby eyes followed his every move.

  Kevin bowed his head in Freddy’s direction. “You’ve been gone a while. Welcome back.”

  Freddy tilted his head in response. “I was returning last night when I sensed the evil heart that was here last year.”

  “Rolan?”

  “Aye, that’s the one.”

  “Here, at the castle?”

  Freddy shook his head. “Towards the north, in a shed.”

  “Can you tell me where it is?”

  “I’ll show you. The sun’s not fully up yet. You should be able to follow me,” Freddy said as he leapt into the sky.

  Kevin quickly rose up to join him. As Freddy flew, Kevin concentrated on keeping his eyes on the phoenix. If they didn’t get there before the sun hit Freddy’s feathers, Kevin would lose him in the light.

  Before long, Freddy slowed and hovered. “Do
wn there, hidden in those trees.”

  Kevin used his seeing eye to focus on the building. “I’ve got it.”

  “Meet me back at the castle.” And with a flash of color, Freddy was gone.

  Rather than fly back, Kevin took out his key and used it to go back to the roost.

  “Was he alone?” Kevin asked.

  Freddy shook his head. “He met another man.”

  “Do you know who it was?”

  “Aye. He calls himself Trevor.”

  “Thank you, Freddy.”

  “I sense that what I told you is more a confirmation than a surprise. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I can tell you the heart of the man called Trevor is not as dark as the evil one’s, but it is filled with greed. The evil one pays him for information.”

  Kevin nodded. “That’s good to know.”

  “The evil one still means you harm, but he’s more interested in harming someone else now, a young woman. I don’t think she’s here though.”

  “She isn’t, at least not now. She was last fall and he tried to have her killed then.”

  “Be aware that he has others helping him, not all by their choice. Do not underestimate him. Evil has no rules.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Chris was waiting with coffee when Kevin got back. “What’s going on?” he asked as he handed Kevin a cup.

  Kevin told Chris what Freddy had said.

  “What do you want to do?” Chris asked.

  “Nothing at the moment.”

  “Since he’s in it for the money, why don’t we use that and turn him into a double agent?”

  Kevin shook his head. “We’d never trust him, or anything he said. What would be the point?”

  Chris shrugged. “I don’t know, but we might find a use for him one day. At any rate, you don’t have to worry about protecting him or any of his family.”

  “True. He’s on his own with Rolan.” Kevin finished his coffee. “I’m going to run through my routine. It’s still a little early to drop Nikki off. Mind keeping her a little bit longer?”

  Chris shook his head. “We’ll be in my room when you get back. Knock gently though. We may be asleep.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Shortly after lunch Kevin went upstairs to change from the green tunic everyone at the castle wore to one of his old ones. The men he was going to see knew who he was, but if anyone else happened to be around, he didn’t want them wondering what the Master Sorcerer of Terah was doing in a small settlement in Nandelia.

  After he changed clothes, he thought about what he wanted to say. No matter how many different ways he looked at it, it all boiled down to if you decide to go, you’ll be stuck there for six or seven years. He figured if he talked for any length of time he’d end up repeating himself so his best bet was to keep it short and open it up to questions.

  The air shimmered as King Merdin and Dani arrived.

  “Ready to go?” King Merdin asked as he looked up at Kevin. His gaze traveled down to Kevin’s old scuffed up boots. “Not your usual look.”

  “If there are any extra people around I’d rather they not figure out who I am.”

  “I think you’ve got that taken care of. I’m not sure I’d have recognized you if I’d seen you somewhere else. Where’s your pendant?”

  “Inside my tunic.”

  “As large as that shirt is you could hide an army under it. Wonder what the guy who used to wear it looked like.”

  Kevin laughed. “It belonged to a ten-year-old boy.” When King Merdin frowned, Kevin added, “One of Blalick’s children.”

  “Blalick the giant?”

  Kevin nodded.

  King Merdin put his hand on one of Kevin’s legs as Dani put his paw on the other.

  When Kevin turned the key they went to the settlement in Nandelia. Several children were playing in the clearing between the river and the houses, but none of the adults were in sight.

  Kevin quietly asked, “Everyone make it all right?”

  “We’re fine,” Dani said.

  As Kevin started across the clearing, one of the boys jumped up and ran inside the nearest house. A few moments later, Cpt. Garen walked out. “Myron, I was hoping you’d come by today.”

  Kevin shook the captain’s hand. “I’d like to talk to you and your men if you have time.”

  Cpt. Garen nodded. “Come with me. We’ll use the dining room table. Would you care for something to drink while we’re waiting for the men to get here? Maybe some coffee or tea? I’m afraid I can’t offer you scog. We don’t have any and there’s not a tavern for ten miles.”

  Kevin smiled. “Coffee would be nice. Thank you.”

  While Cpt. Garen got Kevin a cup of coffee, one of the men left to round up the other men while the women herded the children outside. Fifteen minutes later only the men remained, and all of them were seated around the table waiting to hear what Kevin had to say.

  “I’ve talked to several people, some who were at the castle in Trendon when Tsareth was alive, and some who were there after he died.”

  “He was murdered,” one of the men mumbled.

  “There’s no way to prove it,” Kevin said quietly. “Anyway, from all reports, you’re honorable men and competent guards. I’ve discussed your offer with Landis and her foster family, and they agree she’ll need protection while she’s training as well as afterwards, so she’d like to accept your offer.”

  Smiles broke out around the table and the men started talking amongst themselves. Kevin gave them a few moments and then said, “However, there are some conditions, serious conditions, things you need to think about and discuss with your families.”

  When Kevin had everyone’s attention, he continued. “It’s my responsibility to see to it Landis has a safe place in which to learn how to control and use her magic. She’s in such a place now, but she can’t stay there indefinitely. I’ve found another place where she’ll be safe and she can stay there until she’s completely trained, but that’s not a fast process. It could take anywhere from four to ten years.”

  Most of the men nodded like this wasn’t news to them.

  “The reason this matters to you is once you join her, you can’t leave until she does. You’ll be there for the duration. The only way to get there is by key. There are no towns, no stores, no taverns, nothing except what you choose to build.” Kevin paused and looked slowly around the table. “This isn’t and shouldn’t be a quick or easy decision. Some of you have children. If your family goes, your children won’t have any friends except the ones in this little group. They’ll grow up while you’re there and come back as much older children, teens, or even adults. Some of you have teenagers now. They’ll need to think about apprenticeships soon, and there won’t be anyone there who can teach them any skills that you yourselves don’t possess. You’ll be it. You need to consider how moving there will affect them.”

  Kevin paused. “Please believe me when I say if you go you won’t be able to come back until she’s ready to come with you. You can’t change your mind once you’re there. If you go, you’re staying. Period. I’ll completely understand if some or all of you decide it’s too big a commitment. Landis will, too. No one will hold it against you and no one will come after you to make sure you don’t talk. If you don’t go, you won’t know where she is, so there’s nothing you can say that will endanger her. But at the same time, if you do talk about it, word could get back to Rolan, and I can’t guarantee how he’ll feel about your offering to protect the sister he’s vowed to kill. And if he comes looking for you, you’ll be on your own. I won’t be involved.”

  As the men looked at each other, Kevin decided he’d said enough. “There’s not really anything else I can tell you, but I imagine some of you have questions. I may not be able to answer all of them but I’ll answer what I can.”

  Tyler cleared his throat and said, “If this place is as isolated as you say it is, how will we be able to take care of ourselves? I mean will the soil grow food? Are there any ani
mals we can hunt? Are there any trees we can cut down to make houses? What kind of place is it? Most of the places where people can live already have people living there.”

  Kevin nodded. “The area is isolated, but only because it’s next to impossible to reach. It’s warm, about like it is here. There are woods, and the ground is fertile, but I haven’t seen any signs of large animals. As far as feeding your families is concerned, I’ll be out there at least once a week with fresh supplies as long as you’re living there. As to housing, there are trees, but there are also caves. I would suggest the caves as they are a better shelter in all kinds of weather. I’ve lived in a cave before and it was one of my favorite places. Warm in winter, cool in summer, and you don’t have to deal with your roof leaking when it rains.”

  “I’ve got two teenage girls,” Raker said. “They’ll insist on having their own room if we go. Are the caves one big common room?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I haven’t been through all of them, but I have checked out a dozen or so. All of the ones I went in had several rooms, some more than others of course, but I didn’t find any that were just one room.”

  Raker nodded.

  “What about cooking?” Giamen asked. “Can we cook in the caves? Or would we need to build shelters outside for cooking?”

  “You can cook in the caves, but you’ll need to find a room with a natural chimney and set it up as your kitchen.”

  “What about furniture? We won’t have a sawmill. How are we supposed to make chairs and tables? We can sleep on pallets if we need to, but we’ll need to have some furniture,” Jano said.

  Sean looked at him and shook his head. “Think about it. We had a couple of tables and several chairs at the camp, and we didn’t get any lumber from anywhere. We can make do.”

  Jano shook his head. “What we had at the camp was fine for us, but I can tell you now it won’t be fine with our wives.”

  Synead nodded. “My wife will only put up with so much. Not having any tables or chairs would be enough to make her say no.”

  “I can’t promise you’ll have everything you want,” Kevin said, “but I can say you’ll have what you need, and yes, tables, chairs, lamps, and beds are needs. If you decide to go, you can take anything from here you want to. And if there’s something else you need later, all you have to do is let me know. Some of you have young children who are sleeping in small beds right now. They’ll outgrow those. When that happens, let me know and I’ll bring you another one.”