The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3)

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “Let’s go get a cup of coffee and talk in the kitchen,” Shadron said.

  When they reached the front steps, Shadron paused. “Unless it’s something we need to discuss in private?”

  Kevin shook his head. “It’s not for public knowledge, but Kayla’s fine.”

  Shadron nodded as he opened the front door and waved Kevin through. “Kayla?”

  “In here,” she answered from the kitchen. “It’s not time for lunch yet.”

  “Coffee, for two.”

  “Oh?” Kayla turned towards the door, still stirring the pot on the stove. “Myron! How nice. Are you going to be able to stay for lunch? There’s plenty.”

  Kevin smiled and shook his head. “No one knows I’m here. If I’m not back soon, Chris will have half the guard out looking for me.”

  “And you wondered why I didn’t want that job.” Shadron pulled out a chair and sat down.

  Kayla took the pot of stew off the stove, poured two cups of coffee, and set them down on the table. “I’ll be out back if you need me,” she said as she left the kitchen.

  “She’s smart like that,” Shadron said with a nod towards the back door. When Kevin frowned, he explained. “You show up, unannounced, in a bit of a hurry …” Shadron shrugged, “She figures something’s up. And she’s right, isn’t she?”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ve got a few questions I need to ask.”

  Shadron nodded for him to continue.

  “I know all of you are sorcerers, but I also know the lives you’ve made for yourselves don’t involve magic. I don’t mean to insult you or any of the others, but how strong are you?”

  Shadron frowned. “I don’t know how to answer that. Can you give me a little more information, like what you want us to do?”

  Kevin told Shadron about the attack on Landis and Darrell’s plan to identify both the spy and the assassin. “I need six spotters. Darrell thinks I need to be at the castle, going about my regular business, so I can’t be one of them. And Marcus can’t since he’s supposed to be escorting Landis. So I need six sorcerers who can hide out from before daybreak until this thing is over, probably around sunset. You’d need to watch a house, a yard, or a trail from a distance, and if one of the assassins shows up, follow him back to his camp.”

  “Do you expect the assassin to be a sorcerer?”

  Kevin shook his head no. “I’m expecting an archer, but with Rolan, you never know. It could be a sorcerer, but it’s not likely.”

  “Well, all five of us are definitely strong enough for that,” Shadron said, frowning.

  “But something’s bothering you.”

  “Allisandra,” Shadron said. “If we leave her out, she’ll never forgive any of us, but she’s so close to delivery …”

  “Is she good enough to keep an eye on the yard and surrounding woods from inside a building?”

  “Of course. Why?”

  “I could put her at the chapel with Theresa. Then, if she spots an assassin, she and Theresa can follow him in the chapel buggy. No one would look twice at Theresa taking the buggy out.”

  “Riding in a buggy would have to be easier than trying to fly with that extra cargo,” Shadron said with a slight chuckle. “You know she’s got to be off balance these days, but don’t you dare tell her I said that.”

  Kevin laughed. “Let’s hope she’s not the one who gets the assassin.”

  “Do you want me to notify the others?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I’ll do it.” Kevin finished his coffee and stood up to leave.

  “Before you go, you said you need six. Who’s the sixth?”

  “I thought about asking Warren.”

  Shadron nodded. “He’s a good sorcerer, strong enough to be seated if he weren’t in Camden.”

  Kevin agreed. “And he’d make a better one than half the ones on the council.”

  Shadron nodded again. “Why don’t you bring everybody back here afterwards for dinner. We’re all going to want to know what happened.”

  “Including Warren? And his wife, Torrey?”

  “Sure. Bring Torrey out when you pick us up. She can wait here with Kayla.”

  “Thanks. I will,” Kevin said, taking out his key. “See you soon.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  As soon as Kevin left Shadron’s, he made a quick trip to Ridgeville to pick up Yani and Thanzer. When they got back to the castle, Kevin said, “I’ve got a full schedule today, so I’ll have one of the pages escort you to Debra’s house. Serra should already be there.”

  “How long can we stay?” Yani asked.

  “I have an appointment this afternoon, and I’m not sure how long it will last. If you’re not here when I get done, I’ll come to Debra’s to pick you up. But if you decide you’ve stayed long enough, I’m sure Korman will run you back up here. Snacks will be set out in here as well as in the dining room, so feel free to have some refreshments while you’re waiting for me. Now, do you have any other questions?”

  Thanzer shook his head and put his arm around his wife. “Thank you for setting this up. We do appreciate it.”

  Yani nodded. “And don’t worry. I’m not upset with Debra. You were right, and after I got over the shock, I knew it. She’s not to blame for any of this.”

  Kevin nodded. “Serra will be pleased you feel that way. She’s a bit protective of the family she has here.”

  Yani smiled. “I picked up on that last week.” Then she tilted her head a bit towards the door and said, “Now, if it’s all right, we’d like to be on our way.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Kevin had received a note from Kyle earlier in the week suggesting he and Nikki spend a few hours at the castle Sunday afternoon to see how Nikki reacted to the place. He was supposed to be at Kyle’s house at 2:00, and he didn’t plan to be late.

  Lunch on Sunday was served at 1:00, and Kevin had something he needed to do while plenty of people were in the dining room. He hadn’t mentioned Nikki’s impending visit to any of the castle staff, and he needed to let both Cryslyn and Miranda know before he picked her up. He planned to tell them during lunch, in the dining room, with other people around. He didn’t want them to yell at him about bringing a dog into the castle and he figured neither woman would be willing to make a scene in front of an audience.

  When he reached the dining room, Cryslyn had just sat down to eat, and for the moment, she was by herself. Kevin sat down across from her and explained Nikki would be arriving soon for a visit. When he finished, she did fuss, but she fussed at him for not letting her know earlier so she could get some cushions made.

  Miranda’s reaction was similar. She was irritated with him for not telling her in time for her to have treats ready, and she told him to give her a list of Nikki’s favorite foods so she could have some ready for the next visit. Kevin had no idea what Nikki liked, but he said he’d have a list for her by the end of the day.

  The way those two women acted made him grin all the way back to his office. He hoped they really felt that way. The more time he spent around Nikki, the more he liked her, and if he had to make a choice between her and any of the staff members, he knew which one he’d choose. He could always find new staff members.

  Kevin dropped by his office to be sure everything was ready for Nikki. He’d asked Cryslyn for an extra blanket a couple of weeks ago, and she’d sent him a nice thick quilt. He wasn’t sure how she’d feel if she knew it was folded up on the floor next to his desk, but he knew Nikki would like it. After he made sure the water bowl he’d put next to the blanket was filled, he ran up to his room to grab the warmest cloak he had and his heaviest boots.

  When he’d dropped by to see Nikki last week, he hadn’t bothered to change clothes before he went. He’d stepped out of the energy flow into the middle of a blizzard. As soon as he was dressed for frigid conditions, he turned the key and went to Lochland.

  It was cold when he arrived in Kyle’s yard, but nothing like it had been the previous week. He glanced around to see if he could spot
Nikki, but by the time he spotted her, she was bounding across the yard at a mad dash. He prepared for a full body tackle, but when she reached him, she danced around him, wagging her tail so hard it shook her whole body, but she didn’t jump. She rubbed against his legs and licked his hands, and as soon as he bent down to pet her, licked his face, but at no point did she put her paws on him. Kevin was impressed. He rubbed her ears and said, “I could get used to this.”

  Kyle walked out of his house in time to hear Kevin’s comment. He laughed. “She’ll calm down some as she grows up, but she’s always going to be excited when she sees you.”

  As Kevin walked over towards Kyle, Nikki fell in step beside him and matched his pace. After a moment, Kevin asked, “Have you trained her to walk beside me like this?”

  Kyle shook his head. “No, but I can. I’ve worked on how to behave inside more than anything else, like using an inside voice, letting someone know she needs to go out, eating only out of her bowl, things like that. And she knows sit, down, off, and come. Do you want her to walk beside you?”

  Kevin thought about it. “There may be times when it would be best, but I don’t want to make her do it all the time. Can she be taught to do it on command?”

  Kyle nodded. “We’ll work on it. What command do you want to use?”

  “How about ‘heel’?”

  Kyle nodded as he reached down and scratched Nikki’s head. “Where are you planning to bring us in?”

  “I thought we’d go to my office.”

  Kyle frowned. “She might be a little upset by the energy field, and if she is, she may have an accident. How about someplace outside, but not right in the middle of a bunch of people?”

  Kevin nodded. “Down near the river?”

  “That should be all right. I’ve got a collar on her, and we can put a lead on her if you want to, but when you go through the energy flow, you need to be touching her to take her with you.”

  “How do you suggest I do this? I don’t want to hurt her, or scare her.”

  “When I take little dogs through the field, I carry them in my arms, but even though you could pick her up now, she’s going to be too big for that soon. You could put your hand on her head, but if you do, be sure you don’t lose contact with her. You could put your arm around her body, but I’m not sure how she’ll react to that. Some dogs don’t have a problem with it, but others don’t like it.”

  Kevin frowned. “Could I put an energy sphere around her? Would that scare her?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never tried that,” Kyle said. “I’ve never tried to make a sphere, never thought about it. Can you do that?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Put one around her and let’s see how she reacts.”

  Kevin slowly brought an energy shield up under Nikki and then closed the top. Since the energy shield was on the ground, Nikki didn’t have much reaction. She looked around, but didn’t move.

  “Now try to raise her off the ground, just a little, to see how she does,” Kyle suggested.

  Kevin raised the ball a couple of inches up, but Nikki didn’t like it, so he set the sphere down on the ground and released it. “Maybe if she wasn’t standing it would be better. Did you say she understands down?”

  Kyle stepped in front of her to get her attention. “Nikki, down.”

  Nikki sank to the ground and settled down to wait for her release.

  Kevin formed another energy sphere around Nikki and raised it until she was about six inches off the ground. She looked around like something felt a little strange, but she didn’t move. Kevin nodded and said, “That might work.”

  “Let’s go,” Kyle said as he put his hand on Kevin’s arm.

  Kevin turned the key.

  As soon as they’d cleared the energy field, he lowered Nikki to the ground and released the sphere. Nikki didn’t appear to have any bad side effects, but she also didn’t seem to be all that pleased. She looked confused.

  “Is she all right?” Kevin asked, frowning. “She doesn’t look happy.”

  “Look at it from her perspective,” Kyle said as he knelt down beside her and stroked her head. “A minute ago, she was in her own yard, with her friends all around her. Now she’s in an unfamiliar place and her friends are gone. She’s not hurt, but she doesn’t understand what happened either.” Then Kyle stood up. “After she goes through the field a few times, she’ll be fine with it. Go ahead and release her.”

  Kevin stepped in front of Nikki. “Nikki, okay.”

  Nikki jumped up and started walking around, sniffing the ground as she went and glancing back at Kyle every few steps.

  “Now tell her to sit,” Kyle said. “Be sure you have her attention. Call her first.”

  “Nikki,” Kevin said. He waited a moment for her to look at him. “Sit.”

  Nikki plopped her hind quarters down on the ground and grinned at him.

  “She’s waiting for a treat.” Kyle pulled a small bit of jerky out of his pocket and handed it to Kevin. “Always have treats ready. Every time she obeys a command, give her one. Helps make sure she’ll do it right the next time. If she doesn’t do what you say, don’t give it to her. Make her earn them.”

  “Miranda said she’d make some for her. She wanted to know what flavors Nikki liked, but I didn’t know what to tell her.”

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  “I thought you said Miranda and Cryslyn didn’t like having dogs at the castle. They seemed fine with it when I told them she was coming for a visit,” Kevin said as they walked towards the castle.

  “I said they act like they don’t like having dogs at the castle, but I think it’s all for show. They’ll treat yours like royalty.” When Kevin frowned, Kyle laughed. “Just be glad she’ll be treated well and don’t worry about it. Now, let’s go inside and let her start meeting people.”

  For the next couple of hours, Kevin introduced Nikki to everyone he could find, with Kyle following close behind. Nikki didn’t have any problems at all. Everyone she met was a friend, and everyone who met her treated her like she was the most wonderful dog they’d ever seen and made a fuss over her. But the biggest fuss was in his office. The pages fell in love with the golden puppy with the big feet and floppy ears.

  After he and Kyle let the pages play with her for a while, Kevin told Nikki to come with them and they went outside towards the stable area. He looked around for Marshall but couldn’t find him. Finally he stepped inside Neiven’s shop and asked if he had any idea where Marshall was.

  “He took a couple of the horses down to the lower pasture for the night. Should be back any minute.”

  “Thanks,” Kevin said.

  Kevin went back outside and told Kyle what Neiven had said. “Want to head down that way?” Kyle nodded, so they started down the road. Fifteen minutes later, Kevin spotted Marshall. “There,” he said pointing towards a group of trees. “He’s coming this way.”

  When Marshall got closer, he knelt down on one knee to let Nikki come to him. Nikki took it as an invitation and took off running. The two greeted each other like long lost friends and by the time Kevin and Kyle caught up, they were friends for life.

  “Good afternoon, Myron,” Marshall said as he stood up. “Is this Nikki?”

  Kevin laughed and nodded.

  Marshall bent back over to pet her some more.

  Kyle eyed the young man carefully. “I take it Chris has talked to you?”

  Marshall nodded, still paying more attention to Nikki than anyone else. “Yes, sir, he said Myron would need someone to exercise and take care of Nikki when he was away from the castle and asked if I’d be interested in doing it.”

  “And you said?”

  “That I’d be happy to.” Marshall straightened up and looked at Kyle. “I like dogs, sir. I’m more comfortable with dogs and horses than I am with people.”

  “Would you be willing to come spend some time with me in Lochland before Nikki comes here to live?” Kyle asked. “I’d like to go over her feeding
, care, and training with you in detail if you’re going to help look after her.”

  Marshall looked at Kevin. “If it’s all right with Neiven and Myron.”

  Kyle nodded. “I’m coming back in a couple of weeks for another visit. You could go back with us then and stay for a week. Would that work?”

  Marshall looked at Kevin with his eyebrows raised. At Kevin’s nod, he said, “It’s fine with me.”

  “Be sure you bring some warm clothes,” Kyle said.

  When Nikki walked over and sat down beside him, Kyle rested his hand on her head and looked at Kevin. “I think Nikki’s been here long enough for her first visit. She’s getting tired. Let’s take her home.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  When they got back to Kyle’s, Kevin petted Nikki while he explained Darrell’s plan to Kyle and asked him to be a spotter. It was almost dinnertime when Kevin got back to the castle. Thanzer and Yani were waiting in the reception area.

  “Did you have a nice visit?” he asked as he ushered them into his office.

  Yani nodded. “Debra’s a sweet lady. You don’t have to be around her family very long to see how much they adore her. And you were right. Serra’s very much a part of that family.”

  “Did you meet Debra’s other children? Serra’s brother and sister?”

  “Yes, and the youngest one, too,” Thanzer said. “Serra said something about the child being a slave? That Gov. Karl bought her in Glenarbour?”

  Kevin nodded. “Her name is Tonnie.”

  “Why didn’t he buy the rest of her family?”

  “She was by herself. There was no family.”

  “Oh, poor thing.” Yani put her hand up to her throat. “Just think, if it hadn’t been for Debra, the same thing might have happened to our Serra. But what will happen to the child now? Will she be sold again when she gets older?”

  Kevin shook his head. “We don’t sell slaves, but she’s not a slave anyway. She’s a child, pure and simple. Right now we think she’s an orphan, but we don’t really know. Debra’s going to see what she can find out.”

  “So, will she continue living with Debra and Korman?”

  “I don’t know,” Kevin said. “If she has parents out there somewhere and we can find them, we’d like to get her back with them, but if not, we’ll see to it she has a good home.”