“Now would be good.” Rhianna turned to look out over the canyon once more. “I could do this all day.”
They didn’t spend the whole day playing in thunderstorms, but Kevin did build a few more before calling an end to that morning’s session.
“We’ll come back next Sunday and do this again,” he said as he stepped back from the edge of the butte. “Practice joining with the wind this week, and next week, after I build a couple, you can try to build one. But we’ve got to head back home now.”
Rhianna’s eyes sparkled as she put her hand on his arm. As soon as Chris touched his other arm, Kevin turned the key and they left the canyon lands.
~ ~ ~ ~
When Rhianna got up Monday morning, she found a note slipped under her door. Landis had already packed their lunch, and headed down. All Rhianna had to do was grab a bite to eat and join her.
Landis had come to a decision during her walk Saturday afternoon, but she wanted to sleep on it to be sure it was the right one. When she woke up Sunday, she knew it was, but she wanted to give it one more day before she told anyone.
As she walked down the path to the canyon Monday morning, she felt lighter than she had in weeks, like a heavy load had been lifted off her shoulders. When she reached the cave, she picked up one of the hammers to hit a gong to let Glendymere know she was on her way in, but before she could raise the hammer, she heard Glendymere’s voice in her head.
“Come on in,” he said. “I’m awake. I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve got some errands to run this morning.”
When Landis reached his sleeping chamber, she sat down on the stone basin and looked at him.
Glendymere resisted the temptation to peek and waited somewhat impatiently to hear what was on her mind.
“I’ve reached a decision,” Landis said, “a decision that will affect the rest of my life, and probably the lives of those I love.”
Glendymere waited for her to continue, but she just sat there. Finally he said, “And …”
“And I’d like for you to teach me what I need to know in order to become a sorcerer,” Landis said. The ends of Glendymere’s eyebrows dipped down to a point over his snout, but before he could say anything, Landis continued. “I know you’ve already agreed to teach me, but I wasn’t the one asking. Since my life is in danger and consequently the lives of those around me, I want to learn how to protect myself and them.”
Her eyes took on a faraway look. “While we were in Milhaven, before we got there, there was this big storm. Trees were down all over the place, causing all kinds of problems. I watched a sorcerer move huge trees off barns and houses. He even picked one up so we could rescue a tiny kitten. We could hear the kitten crying, but we couldn’t find it, not until he moved that tree. And a rock slide blocked one of the roads out in the country. He blasted the boulders down to tiny rocks, almost like pebbles, and scattered them along the road. And I floated through the air.” The last sentence was so soft, it was almost a whisper. Landis blinked her eyes and looked at Glendymere. “I floated through the air! From one side of the ravine to the other. I acted like I didn’t like it, but I did. I want to be able to do that. All of it. Will you help me get ready to be Myron’s apprentice?”
Glendymere smiled. “It will be my pleasure.”
At that point, Rhianna walked into the chamber. Sensing that something major had happened, she stopped, tilted her head, looked at Landis, and asked, “What?”
“Oh, nothing. We were just talking.” Landis stood up. “Time to get to work.” Then she walked into their room, closed her eyes, and concentrated on filling two balls with magical energy.
Rhianna looked at Glendymere. He nodded and, speaking only to Rhianna, said, “She’s decided she wants to be a sorcerer.”
A smile spread across Rhianna’s face. “It’s about time.”
Chapter 46
Narrowing Down the Suspect List
Wednesday morning, Gen. Crandal was waiting when Kevin and Chris got back from breakfast.
When he asked Kevin if he could speak with him for a minute, Kevin opened the door to his office, motioned Gen. Crandal in, and shut the door behind him.
“I’ve had two new raid reports come in,” Gen. Crandal said.
“Do you think it’s our same gang?”
“I’m not sure how many gangs are involved, but I think a key was used in both of them,” Gen. Crandal answered. “Highland Cove, a small community near the West River, was hit a week and a half ago, on Saturday night. The best thing I can say about it is no one was killed. But they got six men, six women, and twelve children, ranging in ages from two to sixteen.”
“Why do you think a key was used there?”
“Highland Cove’s half a mile from the river. There’s no way the slavers could have marched that many people through the woods without someone noticing, and the dock is at an actual fishing village, with a dozen or more families. They didn’t see or hear anything.”
Kevin nodded. “With a key they wouldn’t.”
Gen. Crandal walked over to the map of Camden. “The other raid was here, on Shallowford Bay.” He pointed to an area Kevin recognized as the Albemarle Sound. “See this waterway?” He pointed to one of the many creeks. “It’s called Garnett’s Inlet. Anyway, there was a small fishing village along there, just a few families. The slavers attacked a couple of hours after daybreak, after the men had gone out on the boats. They killed two elderly men and took five women and seven children. Three of the children were girls in their early teens, and two of the women were young and unmarried.”
“Isn’t that unusual? To time it so the men are gone.”
Gen. Crandal nodded. “First I’ve ever heard of slavers doing that.”
“When did it happen?”
“Last Thursday.”
Kevin walked over to the map and looked at the waterways. “What makes you think they used a key on this one? It’s close to the ocean.”
“It was a slow fishing day, so the men came home mid-morning. When they saw what had happened, they sounded the alarm, and I mean that literally. There are big gongs all over that area and they ring them whenever there are slavers around. Every settlement, village, port, any place where people live, has a gong, and when one group hears a gong, they hit theirs, and before long everyone in the area knows what to be on the lookout for. Before lunch men were out on boats all over the bay stopping and searching any and all boats they didn’t recognize. People in that area are used to it. They don’t mind having their boat searched because they understand why it’s happening. They’ve got the best record for catching slavers of any place in Camden.”
Gen. Crandal pointed to a narrow waterway that was the only exit from the bay. “A group of soldiers live near here. As soon as they hear a gong, they set up a string of boats across that waterway. There’s no way anyone can get out of that bay without a fight as long as the soldiers find out in time, and last Thursday they did. They were out on the water a couple of hours before lunch according to the report I got. There’s no way the slavers could have gotten through there, and none of the fishermen searching the bay found any strangers, much less a boat loaded with women and children.”
“Could they have hidden up one of those streams?”
“They could have, but the fishermen search every last one of those nooks when they’re looking for slavers. Those fishermen live with the threat of their families being captured and sold. They don’t sleep until they’re sure the slavers are gone, one way or another.”
“As in dead?”
Gen. Crandal nodded. “Dead or captured, and slavers don’t want to be captured. When they fight, it’s always to the death.” Gen. Crandal paused. “Sometimes the slavers do make it out of the area. When that happens, unless the fishermen somehow know for sure they’re gone, they’ll go weeks on end sleeping in shifts, someone on guard every hour of every day. Sometimes I wonder why anyone in his right mind would ever choose to be a fisherman and live that close to the sea. But
the men who do it say they can’t imagine any other life, that the sea’s in their blood.”
“I hate to say it, but I don’t see anything we can do about these raids. Do you?”
Gen. Crandal shook his head. “Even if we find out who’s behind them, I’m not sure we can do anything. If they’re using a key, there’s a seated sorcerer involved.”
Kevin nodded. “Twelve suspects.”
“And even if we figure out which one it is, unless things have changed since Badec was going to those meetings, I don’t see them stopping just because you ask them to.”
“Things haven’t changed at all in that respect, but if we find out who has our people, I just might go get them. I told everyone on the council I’d do that the first time I met with them.”
Gen. Crandal raised his eyebrows at Kevin. “You didn’t.”
Kevin nodded. “I told them if I found out any of them were holding any citizens of Camden against their will, I’d go get them, no matter where I had to go to rescue them. I’m not sure they believed me, but they’ve all been warned.”
“You’d really go marching into another sorcerer’s castle to rescue some captives?”
When Kevin nodded, Gen. Crandal laughed. “If you do, I’m going with you. I want to see this.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Friday morning Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence met in Darrell’s office to discuss the results of their investigations into who could have passed the information about Landis to the assassins.
“How many possibilities did you end up with?” Cpt. Lawrence asked.
Darrell sighed. “Twelve, but I’m hoping you can help me narrow it down a bit. You know these people better than I do.”
“All right. Who’s on your list?”
“Well, first of all, Brandon. He wasn’t at breakfast, but when Marcus gave him the note for Hayley, he told him what it was about, so Brandon knew they were going to eat lunch at the chapel. Trent was with Brandon at that point, so he knew too, but neither of them saw Rhianna, so they didn’t know she was an elf.” Darrell glanced at his notes. “When they got to Milhaven, they separated. Brandon went to the chapel and then he says he stayed around town for a while helping out where he could. He wasn’t with any of the squads, but some of the other guards said they either saw him or spoke to him that morning, and several of the townspeople who thanked me for sending the guards down mentioned Brandon by name, but he didn’t get back to the castle until lunchtime. I guess he could have met with Saryn, but I don’t think so.”
Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “I doubt he’s involved. He hasn’t been here but three years, but I got to know him pretty well. He didn’t work inside when he first came. He wouldn’t have known Badec had a cup of tea every night, so we can rule him out there, too.”
Darrell drew a line through Brandon’s name.
“What did Trent say?”
“He says he was working in town too, but no one in town mentioned him when they talked about the guards who helped out. None of the other guards mentioned seeing him either.”
“Did you ask if they saw him?”
“No, I asked each guard to name the people from the castle they saw or spoke to between breakfast and mid-afternoon and tell me where and when they saw them. I imagine most of the guards forgot one or two people, but if he’d been in town, someone would have mentioned him.”
Cpt. Lawrence thought for a minute. “Do you know where Kira was during that time by any chance?”
“Kira? Miranda’s Kira? From the kitchen staff?”
Cpt. Lawrence nodded.
“She’s on my list, too. She said she’d been with Shana, but Shana said she went to town by herself. And Shana’s on the list too, by the way. She said she went to the dry goods store but it was closed so she came back to the castle. But several of the guards mentioned that Tolliver had his shop open by mid-morning. She could be telling the truth, but when I talked to her I got the impression she was lying. I got that feeling with Kira, too.”
“I can’t help you with Shana, but I bet I know why Kira lied, and I’d be willing to bet Trent lied, too.”
Darrell frowned. “Is there something I should know about?”
“Something’s going on between those two, and I mean that in the romantic sense, not the spy sense. Trent’s only been here a little over a year. I have no idea how long Kira’s been here, but I became aware of her about this time last year. I spotted the two of them kissing out behind the barracks and I’ve seen them back there several times since. I bet they were together that morning.”
“Why didn’t they tell me that?”
“Because it’s frowned on for any of the guards to take up with any of the castle staff. I’m not sure how Miranda feels about it, but if it’d been reported to me, I’d have had to follow up on it, and it could have cost Trent his job. Miranda may have the same policy.”
“So they just keep sneaking around? What if they decide they want to get married?”
“Then one of them needs to find another job. But anyway, that probably explains the two of them. You might want to check with Miranda and see how long Kira’s been here though. Trent didn’t come until after Badec had been poisoned, so he wasn’t involved in that, but if one of them is involved, they both are.”
Darrell nodded and made a note. “Next, Rupert, but only because no one can alibi him. He was on duty all night, even though Myron wasn’t here. He was around the office when Landis and Rhianna were in there, and he was in the dining hall while they were eating breakfast, so I imagine he knew their plans. And that’s the last place anyone remembers seeing him. He said he went back to his room and went to sleep, which I believe, but can’t prove.”
“I think we can take Rupert off the list. If he saw Rhianna, he knew she was an elf, and he knows how dangerous they are. If he was the spy, Saryn would have known about Rhianna.”
“That’s what I thought, too.” Darrell drew a heavy line through Rupert’s name. “Next we have Josef and Aaron. Both of them were with squads in Milhaven, so I got my information from their squad leaders. Josef left his group to go get some wood. He did come back with wood and nails, but he was gone nearly an hour, a little longer than Cantor thought was necessary.”
“Did he have his horse nearby?”
Darrell shook his head. “No. He drove the wagon down. That’s why he knew Marcus was taking the girls to the chapel for lunch. Brandon and Trent were talking about it while they were saddling their horses. Josef was in the stable loading tools and supplies into the wagon while they were there. He did take the wagon when he went to get more wood though, so he had transportation.”
“But he came back with the supplies he went for, right?”
Darrell nodded. “The only problem was the time.”
Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “There’s no way he could have met someone, told him about Landis, got back to Milhaven, picked up more supplies, and got back to his group in an hour, not unless he met Saryn in town.”
“If that were the case, I think Saryn would have said so. I got the feeling whoever gave him the information went out to their camp, and I don’t think it’s that close to town or someone would have spotted it by now,” Darrell said as he drew a line through Josef’s name. “I think they’re camped somewhere to the east. We’re the last town before the mountains, so there’s less chance of being spotted out that way.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Next we have Aaron,” Darrell said. “According to Meech, shortly after they got to town, Aaron said he needed something to eat, that he’d missed breakfast. And from what I’ve been able to find out, that much is true, but he was gone for more than two hours.”
“Put him on the suspect list. Two hours is an hour and a half longer than he would have needed to get something to eat. He was already in town, and according to Fenway, he was open bright and early that morning.”
Darrell circled his name. “That does it for the guards. Next we come to the kitchen staff. Carri
e was serving that morning and overheard Marcus say they’d eat at the chapel. Almost everyone in the dining room was talking about heading into Milhaven, so she told Miranda about it when she got back to the kitchen. Miranda gave her whole staff three hours off that morning since there weren’t going to be that many people in the castle for lunch. Carrie said she went home for a while and then came back to get started on lunch, but there’s no one to verify that she went home.”
“Hazards of living alone.” Cpt. Lawrence frowned. “She’s lived in Milhaven all her life. The house she lives in belonged to her parents. They left a couple of years ago to go back to her mother’s hometown. Carrie stayed. I don’t see any way she’d have come in contact with Rolan or anyone representing him. She keeps to herself and leads a quiet life. To the best of my knowledge there hasn’t been a love interest at any point either, so no one could have gotten to her that way. I think we can leave her off the final list.”
“Good. We’ve already put Shana on there, right?”
Cpt. Lawrence nodded.
“That only leaves Miranda. She says she was in the kitchen the whole time and I don’t doubt it for one minute, but no one came in until Carrie got back, so no one can vouch for her. I only put her on the list to be thorough, but I don’t think she’s a suspect, do you?”
Cpt. Lawrence shook his head.
Darrell circled Shana’s name and drew a line through Miranda’s. “The only other household staff that’s got any time unaccounted for is Serra. She said she went to Joan’s to see if she was needed there, and when she wasn’t, she went to see if her mother needed her. Both of those visits were checked out. The only problem is she wasn’t either place but a few minutes, and she was gone nearly three hours. She rode her horse into town, so she had transportation.
“What does she say she did after she left her mother’s?”
“That she went for a ride out in the country, but she didn’t run into anyone on any of the roads she took, so no one can say where she was or when she was there.”
The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) Page 41
