Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
Chris shook his head. “Just a feeling.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin and Chris were the first to arrive for the council meeting. A little while later, Bianca arrived, so Kevin asked if he could speak with her for a moment. She told Myler to go on inside and turned her attention to Kevin.
“I’d like to bring the women from Camden home before long,” Kevin began. “Have you given any thought as to how you want to handle this?”
“I guess I could bring them to you,” Bianca said hesitantly.
“You could, or we could let our governors handle it as a regular trade,” Kevin suggested. “But that means Gov. Cranson would have to know what’s going on.”
“He does,” Bianca said, relieved. “Should I have him contact your governor?”
“That would be fine, and we’ll let them work out all the details.”
“What’s your governor’s name?”
“Karl.”
“He’ll hear from Cranson next week.” Bianca glanced around as more sorcerers arrived. “Guess I’ll head inside.”
As Bianca turned to go, Kevin spotted Judith near the edge of the clearing, talking to Chris. After a few minutes, Judith nodded and the two of them headed towards the door.
After Judith went inside, Kevin turned to Chris and raised his eyebrows.
“Later.” Chris tilted his head towards the clearing behind Kevin.
Kevin stepped to the side so he could look back without being too obvious. Rolan and Malcolm were standing nearby, not moving, not talking, just standing there.
“Let’s go in,” Kevin said as he walked through the door.
After they sat down, Kevin leaned back in the hard seat and waited for the rest of the sorcerers to get settled. He wasn’t surprised to see Rolan and Malcolm flanking Alastar as the newest seated sorcerer made his way to his seat, but he wasn’t pleased either.
When Kevin asked if there was any old business, no one had any, but when he asked for new business, several sorcerers raised a finger.
Kevin nodded towards Regan, who grinned. “I’d like to announce the birth of a son, Ryder. He’s only three weeks old, so I don’t know if he’s my heir yet, but I’d like his name recorded in the official register.”
Chris nodded and made a note while the other sorcerers offered their congratulations.
After things settled back down, Kevin nodded to one of the others sorcerers who had raised a finger, and the trading session began. An hour later, after several deals had been struck, Kevin asked if there was any more new business. When no one had anything else to say, he adjourned the meeting.
While the sorcerers were getting ready to leave, Kevin watched Alastar and Franco. He couldn’t be sure, but the newcomers seemed to be trying to get out of there before anyone joined them. They didn’t make it. Malcolm was at Alastar’s elbow before he could stand up, and Rolan latched on to his other side. Once again, Alastar went through the door sandwiched between the two sorcerers. Franco followed with a frown on his face.
“Wonder what’s up,” Kevin said under his breath.
“Who knows?” Chris stood up and put his paper and pen in his pocket. “Hate to see him align himself with those two, but I guess it’s to be expected. After all, his mother was the glue in that group.”
“I was hoping he might be different,” Kevin said as he stood up.
“Time will tell.” Chris put his hand on Kevin’s arm. “Let’s go home. I’m hungry.”
Chapter 24
April 5
When Cpt. Yardner got to his office Saturday morning, there were several messages on his desk, including one from the assassins in Milhaven. As he’d expected, they had nothing to report, and Rolan was not going to be happy about it. With a shrug, he walked down the hall to the sorcerer’s office and asked the pages to let him know when Rolan returned from the council meeting.
An hour later one of the pages knocked on the captain’s open door. “Sir,” the page whispered. “He’s back.”
Before Cpt. Yardner could thank him, the page ran back to his post.
Cpt. Yardner waited a few minutes, then stood up and straightened his uniform. “Might as well get this over with,” he mumbled to himself as he headed out of his office.
When he knocked on Rolan’s door, the sorcerer bellowed, “Can’t I have a moment’s peace?”
Cpt. Yardner opened the door. “I can come back later if you’d prefer.”
Rolan was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. He shook his head but didn’t bother to look up. “You’re already here. What do you want?”
“We received a letter from your men in Milhaven.”
Rolan sat up and leaned back in his chair. “Do I want to know what they said?”
Cpt. Yardner hesitated. “Probably not. They didn’t have any news.”
“Why not? They’re right there in Milhaven. How could they not have any news? Doesn’t anyone in that town talk to anyone else? Don’t they ask questions about the sorcerer’s apprentice? Wonder where she is? Tell each other what they’ve heard? My staff gossips all the time. I know they do, I hear them. Doesn’t his staff gossip with the townspeople?”
“I really don’t know. I imagine they do, but maybe your sister isn’t the main topic of conversation.”
“She is not my sister! We have the same father. That’s all. Her mother was nothing but a slave. Don’t ever call her my sister again!”
“No, sir.”
“So where do we go from here?” Rolan asked. “Have you heard from the men in North Amden?”
“We’ve heard from a few of them. Since they’re traveling as they search for Landis, some of them may not have gotten my letter yet. We did get an interesting response from Gildan.”
“Gildan? Gildan? Why does that name sound familiar?”
“He used to guard your room. When you were looking for men to go to North Amden, he volunteered.”
“Does he know where she is?”
Cpt. Yardner shook his head. “No, but he did talk to Weldon, the chairman of the Council of Elders. When the council met recently, Weldon asked the members if they knew anything about her. None of them did.”
“Or none of them would tell him.”
“With the explanation Gildan gave for why he was looking for her, I think they would have said something if they’d known anything.”
“Why? What did he say?”
“He told Weldon the last time Landis was seen, she was in the company of a warrior elf, and that her family was afraid she’d been abducted. Gildan said all her family wanted was to know where she was and if she was safe.”
“Sounds good. I like that one. Tell the others to use it,” Rolan said. “Where’s Gildan now?”
“I’m not sure. He was staying in South Port while he waited for the council to meet, but after the meeting there wasn’t much reason to hang around any longer.”
“Any news from any of the others?”
“They listed where they’d been and what they’d been doing, but none of them have found a trace of her. They’re still searching though.”
“Tell them to keep at it. She has to be somewhere and someone’s bound to know where she is.”
After Cpt. Yardner left, Rolan started pacing. He was tired of hearing no one knew anything. He had three spies in Myron’s castle. Surely they’d heard something. Why hadn’t they reported what they’d heard to the assassins?
As Rolan paced, he decided the problem might not be the lack of information. It might be a case of not asking the right questions.
Rolan sat back down and thought about each of his spies. Which one would be most likely to have the information he needed? He decided to talk to Darius first, so he picked up a pen and wrote a quick letter to his contact person in that area to set up a meeting and get back to him with a date and time. Then he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a special seal, one that was not associated with the House of Gergin, one that he used on letters he wrote himself, on letters he never signed.
Chapter 25
Meanwhile at Doreen's
Blair had spent Friday evening at the chapel preparing enough food to last the sisters and aides until Sunday morning. When she got up at first light Saturday morning, she put on a fresh pot of coffee, packed her few belongings, and went to Doreen’s.
Nan had moved in Friday evening after she closed up the store. She’d arranged to work the early shift on Saturday so she could help with party preparations after lunch. She was leaving for the store when Blair got there.
Blair only had time to put her few possessions away before the food Cryslyn had ordered arrived. Rhianna had offered to help so she spent the morning peeling, dicing, and chopping whatever Blair put in front of her. A couple of hours later the oven and stove top were full.
By mid-afternoon the bulk of the preparations were done. The kitchen table was full of platters of meats, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables. A few pots of stew simmered on the stove while cakes, pies, and cookies were cooling in the dining room. The only thing left to cook was the bread.
Doreen had spent the morning outside building tables and bench seats out of leftover lumber. Shortly after lunch, Rigel and Brandon helped her set them around the backyard. After they had everything set up, they left to pick up the scog from Fenway’s. From the moment the first guests arrived, the party took on a momentum of its own and all Doreen could do was hang on for the ride.
While the preparations were underway at Doreen’s house, preparations of a different kind were in progress at Joan’s. All morning long the sole topic of conversation around the castle was Doreen’s party, and during lunch, Joan overheard someone say it was a shame there weren’t any minstrels in town, that a show would top things off nicely.
After she got back to her office, Joan sent Petri out to round up all the Tellurians and tell them to meet at her house with their instruments. The only one he had trouble finding was Theresa. She was out on rounds, but after trailing behind her for half an hour, he finally caught up with her. She said she’d be there as soon as she could, but for Joan to count her in.
After a few false starts during rehearsal, things started to click, and by the time they went to the party, it was like they’d never stopped performing. After everyone finished eating, Karl and Darrell cleared a small section of the backyard so the Tellurians could get set up. When they were ready, Steve made the introductions, and the performance began.
Blair had left the kitchen and slipped around to the back of the crowd as soon as the concert had begun. She overheard some of the townspeople wondering whether or not the performers had worked as traveling minstrels at some point in the past, but she didn’t say anything. The only thing she wondered about was how Theresa’s minstrel group had met up with Myron.
Kevin spent the evening with Rhianna. Rumors about their argument had spread like wildfire through Milhaven and the surrounding farms. Now that she was back, everyone was looking for some sign they were at least talking to each other again. That evening put any questions about that to rest.
Toward the end of the concert, Doreen joined Rhianna and Kevin. “Did you know they were going to do this?” she asked Rhianna.
Rhianna shook her head and looked at Kevin. “Did you?”
Kevin nodded. “But not until late this afternoon when I couldn’t find anyone around the castle.” After Rhianna and Doreen laughed, Kevin said, “Doreen, if you’ve got a minute, I’d like to ask you something. We’ve found some more captives, four women and three children. Three of the women have husbands who ended up at the mines and are now back in Camden, so they can join their husbands when they get here. But we have one woman I need to find housing for, at least until she can figure out where she wants to go. I could let her stay at the castle, but I think she’d feel more comfortable in a smaller setting. I was wondering if you’d be willing to let her stay here.”
Doreen nodded. “We’ll take her.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Kevin asked.
Doreen shook her head. “Not at all. It’ll make things easier on her to be around people who’ve been through that nightmare.”
“Thank you,” Kevin said. “And we’ll pay you.” When Doreen drew up to argue, Kevin shook his head. “No, listen. We’ll help with things like food, sheets, a quilt, maybe a few more lamps in exchange for her being able to live here. We did that for the host families when I brought all of you to Milhaven.”
“I didn’t know that,” Doreen said.
“Well, Jana and Wrenn wouldn’t take anything, but most of the families around here don’t have enough food for four or five extra mouths. And we provided mats and blankets for the children who gave up their beds. We always do that when we ask people to house guests. You wouldn’t believe the amount of food we sent out to take care of the guests for Laryn’s reception. Anyway, if you’ll let her stay here for a while, we’ll see to it you have whatever you need for her.”
Doreen nodded. “When’s she coming?”
“Monday afternoon.”
“One of us will be up at the castle to meet her,” Rhianna said.
“That’s fine, or we can bring her out here if you want us to.” Kevin looked at Doreen. “We’re still trying to rescue the others who were captured. I may want you to house someone again. Would that be all right?”
“We’ll be glad to do whatever we can,” Doreen said as she stood up. “Guess I should walk around and be sure everything’s all right.”
It was after ten before things started breaking up. The men dismantled the tables and benches and stored the wood near the shed while the women helped gather the dishes and leftovers and carry them to the kitchen. Jana and Joan insisted on helping wash up, but most of the other women were happy to leave it to them and head home.
As the men were leaving, one of the guards told Doreen they’d had a really good time and asked her when she was going to throw another party.
“As soon as the barn’s up, the stable’s built, and a pasture has been fenced,” she answered with a laugh.
He nodded. “Let us know when you’re ready to work and we’ll get it done.”
After everyone was gone, the four women who were now living at the house sat around the kitchen table with mugs of scog.
“I’m surprised there was any scog left,” Nan mentioned as she sipped hers.