To Be Victorious: The Maestro Chronicles Book 6

by John Buttrick

  His vat of life-force energy was low. He was thirsty and exhausted. Those conditions were not conducive to improving his mood. “I am going to drink a cask of water and go to bed,” he told his listeners, and then cast the spell, Conveyance.

  He appeared in the bedroom below the Benhannon Estate. The Department of Design and Development finished repairing the damage done to the upper portion of the mansion and it looked the way it had before Tarin Conn’s attack. Franklin and the Accomplisheds working under him had been carrying out their duties in a professional manner and never questioned the decision making ability of their Maestro. Daniel thought about that while removing his clothes and slipping under the covers. The cask could come later. For the time being, he decided the water in the spelled-silver pitcher would do. After drinking the contents he rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes.

  Yes, Franklin, Jerremy, and the rest at Development worked tirelessly to support their Maestro, as did Jennel and the Healers. No need to worry about them keeping critical information to themselves, too bad not everyone followed their examples, Daniel pondered.

  The snap-crack of displaced air announced the arrival of Sherree. Telling her where he had gone was not necessary, since she could sense his general direction, and was bright enough to figure out the rest. “I knew you would be here. If you had gone to Shantear, I imagine Queen Cleona, Bella, and a few others would be pestering you for a report” she knew him well. “Leah over stepped her authority in the orders she gave to Carlos, yet it seems, given the viewing, she made the same decision you would have. Although, she and Silvia would have done better if they had informed us ahead of time,” she said while removing her clothes. His eyes were closed but he knew she was stripping down by the soft sounds the silks made as she took them off. Soon she was crawling in bed. “I thought the communication problem was a thing of the past,” she added.

  So she did not know about the plan cooked up by his parents, Tim, Silvia, Leah, and Carlos, Daniel thought and the knowledge made him feel better. “What they did was more than a failure to communicate, but our chores are done for now, and I think we both need to sleep,” he replied, preferring to put off the discussion about the problem for a while. “Sherree, I love you.”

  She snuggled beside him. “Our chores are done,” she agreed, and then added, “Daniel, I love you and don’t ever forget it.”

  He drifted off to sleep doubting he would ever forget their love for each other. His dreams were violent and some frustrating. In one he was on the verge of victory, about to strike down Tarin Conn once and for all, when Leah appeared and snatched him away, saying, “This is for your own good.”

  That dream ended and he was suddenly in a ventilation shaft. His nose twitched as he caught the scent of humans. His tiny feet slapped against the surface as he ran closer to a bright light ahead. He slowed and moved silently towards the grating. In the room below sat Tarin Conn and Serena, before them stood Vance Cummin. Daniel realized he was in the mind of Slinky the mouse and receiving a current view of the Dark Maestro in his throne-room at Filia.

  “Supreme Maestro, the Atlantan Guild’s multiple raids this morning cost our allies more than they did us,” Vance was in the middle of saying.

  “Continent wide, we lost nearly seven thousand Accomplisheds,” Serena interrupted him. “Their lives were far more valuable than all the commoners and the warships that were lost.”

  “We are in agreement,” Vance replied smoothly. “But the loss to our allies was a mighty blow. Ninety percent of the warships and Anacondas based along the southeast coast and the southern coast of Aczencopa have been destroyed as well as three quarters of the vessels that were based in the sea. Tens of thousands died and the commoners do not have the resources to replace so many ships and war-boats any time soon, unless we assist them,” he paused as if gaging the effect his words were having on the one figure in the room whose opinion really mattered. “Most of the damage was done by those Wager-class patrol-boats and scores of mantas. The Atlantan teleportation teams came in after our teleportation circles arrived to back up our allies. It seems the focus was mostly aimed at the naval resources of those kingdoms with only a few exceptions.”

  “The attack that took place in the Aczen Sea was carried out by some new type of vessels, vessels that must have been piloted by Aakacarns,” Serena continued to do the speaking while her ancient husband watched and listened to the report. “Teleportation-boats, why have we not heard of these before this morning?”

  Vance swallowed and cleared his throat; no doubt the lapse worried him. “We only recently learned about the manta ray vehicles,” he said and began to sweat. “Daniel Benhannon created the underwater vessels and it is safe to assume he created these new boats. The rays had been responsible for a great deal of damage before we learned of their existence. Their creator likes to surprise us and clearly the new teleportation-boats were no exception. I doubt anyone outside of the Atlantan Guild has ever seen one before today.”

  Mentioning the name of his greatest enemy in front of his leader clearly made him uncomfortable. Daniel enjoyed seeing the man squirm and was pleased to know Franklin’s Pondhoppers came as an unpleasant surprise to the Serpents.

  Tarin Conn leaned forward. “Yes, my tricky young nemeses. He was at Serpent South, which is one of those exceptions you failed to mention, but he teleported away before I could lower my shield and burn him out of existence.”

  So Carlos had been right about the shield, Daniel realized, and the emotions stirred up by the bodyguard’s action were transmitted through the link and caused Slinky’s tail to twitch. While the confirmation helped to justify conveying his Maestro out of the battle zone, it did not mend the breach of trust. If Silvia had told her viewing to Daniel, the incident would not have occurred; not being forewarned nearly resulted in disaster.

  “He has often made me regret teaching him that spell,” Conn said with a flicker of irritation sparking in his eyes. “If it had not been for seeing him and noting the high level of combat that had obviously taken place in Port Joppa, I would have believed Daniel was dead and Jeremiah Lassiter was playing a trick.”

  “Lassiter was reportedly involved with the attack on the east coast,” Vance stated, perhaps hoping to make up for his ignorance concerning the existence of the Pondhoppers.

  “Yes, and my information gatherers told me the patrol-boats and mantas sent against the ships along Aczencopa’s southern coast were under the command of Leah Barryn, someone else who should be dead. The only one who might actually be dead is Sherree Jenna, unless she was involved with what happened in the Aczen Sea,” Serena interrupted again. “But what really concerns me is that Benhannon appeared at a major Nest, the existence of which was a secret. My operative spent a great deal of time and effort organizing that hub.”

  Daniel reckoned it was the swirling of events that allowed him to discover the hub. Too bad he had no control over whose swirl would be in effect at any given time, his or that of Tarin Conn.

  Vance drew back the hood of his cloak, perhaps to show he was hiding nothing. “The matter is of great concern to me as well. Operations Commander Zanner survived the attack and assured me that every one of his remaining Accomplisheds will be questioned thoroughly. We will find the one who betrayed the location.”

  It was nice to know the Serpents would be chasing their tails in an effort to find a non-existent traitor among them.

  “Thirty-six hundred associates under his command are dead and fifteen hundred more are missing, that figure does not include the loss of Condemneds and Aakademneds,” Tarin Conn spoke in a deep voice.

  Daniel was happy to learn his assessment of the Serpents’ losses at Port Joppa had been low. He/Slinky pressed his nose closer to the grill as the Dark Maestro continued to speak. “Go ahead and question the remaining few hundred surviving members of the Nest for the sake of being thorough. However, it is probable the traitor went with the Atlantans when they retreated. Have you noted the retr
eat came shortly after Ecoplis fell to the forces of Aakadon? That was another exception in your theory about the destruction of the naval forces being the focus of the raids.”

  “Yes, Supreme Maestro, I am aware of the fact and believe what we experienced was a coordinated attack. It was reported to me by Rex Badger that members of the Atlantan Guild teleported King Jaime and his forces into Ecoppia along with Accomplisheds of the Sun, Zephyr, and Eagle Guilds. The Willows have created boats that float over land and transported thousands of Accomplisheds to the capitol city. All of them are still there, which is why we have ceased sending in teams for the time being. I cannot say as of yet whether putting Jaime back on his throne was the goal or the destruction of the navies. Both happened and we must deal with the outcome,” Vance replied.

  Tarin Conn smiled, but it seemed more wicked than jovial. “I placed a Da Capo on my conjuration in the Taltin Sea. Soon I will go back and strengthen it more. As sure as the wind blows, the victory our opponents enjoyed this morning will be forgotten when I finish what I started. We will see how well the two societies and their allies cope with what I am about to throw at them. In the meantime, bring Serpent South back up to strength, and give Leo Zanner a second chance to prove himself. His excellent record up until this morning warrants another opportunity, but if he fails again, he will be summoned here where I will shake his hand.”

  Vance Cummin’s Serinian complexion paled and he stood up straighter. “It will be as you say, Supreme Maestro.”

  Evidently shaking hands with the ancient Aakasear was a horrifying experience, Daniel concluded.

  “Of course,” Tarin Conn replied. “My will shall be done. Now, go prepare the guild and the commoners who serve us for what is to come. The destruction will be widespread.”

  As the Maestro of the Serpent Guild headed out of the throne-room, Serena leaned closer to her husband. “Van Joppa died in the attack or Benhannon found a way to sever my link to him.”

  The rebellious lord was dead, that was news; Daniel thought the man had been captured. Evidently the pounding given by the Rover was a little too rigorous.

  The ancient Spell-caster brought his attention back to his wife after watching the door close. “The young Aakasear probably knows the spell or has composed one, but he would need your potential in order to sever the link,” he replied and glanced at the crescendo at her belt. “Unless he has acquired one of your batons or instruments to focus the spell through, the only way he could have severed the link was to kill the person.”

  Serena nodded her understanding. “I still have links to a few distant heirs and leading individuals, but it might be best if I …,”

  A deep warm tingle flowed into Daniel, causing him to lose his concentration on Slinky. He opened his eyes to find Sherree standing beside the bed and focusing her amber energy into him. “Your vat is full, but you are still dehydrated,” she informed him and ceased the potential for the spell.

  A quick glance at the side table revealed the pitcher to be full and a cask of water right next to it. He sat up, grabbed the pitcher, and started drinking. She was fully dressed in her silks and he caught the impression she had been up for a while.

  “Nobody wanted to disturb your sleep and man did you sleep.” Her statement nearly caused him to swallow water down his windpipe.

  He brought the pitcher away from his mouth. “How long was I asleep?”

  She turned, went over to his wardrobe, and began pulling out his silks, the old ones, not the shirt and pants he had created on the front of the Lavistra. “Just over twelve marks.”

  “Twelve marks,” Daniel repeated and flung the covers off and swung his legs out of the bed, setting his feet on the floor. He was about to rise when she put up hand, halting him.

  “I’ll bring them over to you. Don’t be so alarmed, I slept for nine marks. We were both exhausted and as I said, no one dared disturb you. Particularly knowing how angry you were after what happened,” she paused, briefly stared him in the eyes, and then added, “You seem to be in a much better mood, although, I do see signs of stress on your brow and just there where the area between your eyebrows has pinched together.”

  She tossed him his under clothes and he set aside the pitcher and he put them on. “I was receiving a report from Slinky, my scout at Filia. Tarin Conn is conjuring something in the Taltin Sea and expects it to result in widespread destruction. We need to find out what it is. Every scout I have has fled the area so I cannot see what is happening,” he replied and reached for his shirt.

  Sherree closed her eyes while handing him the garment, no doubt she was consulting her own swirl of animals. He had his shirt on by the time her eyes opened. “Mine have fled the area as well. How much time do we have to prepare for whatever it is?”

  Daniel accepted his pants from her hand and put them on. “I have the impression he was in the middle of the chore when our raids began and left the task when word got to him that I was alive. He intends to go back to the sea and strengthen his creation. I don’t know how long it will take him to complete the task.”

  Sherree nodded and handed him his cloak. He could feel the added weight of the contents of his inner pockets, but gave it little mind as she ran his belt through the loops around his waist. She had never helped him dress before, other than making suggestions, and he began to wonder if it was her way of hurrying him along in the process. “Is there some place I need to be?”

  She nodded. “Shantear, three marks ago, but as I said, nobody wanted to disturb you.”

  “They are being too sensitive,” Daniel said while putting on his boots, which someone had polished, seeing as they were no longer scuffed.

  “I cleaned and polished your boots,” Sherree admitted, which meant she cast the appropriate spell, not that she actually did the task by hand. “The First Accomplished and all of the department heads are waiting to report the information you required of them. Commander Herling and both Admirals are there and so is Bella Sander. Wilma and Simon are also in the conference room. Even though all of the raids were successful and Talmon’s plan worked to perfection, everyone is grim-faced and tense. They are nervous about facing you.”

  “Good,” he replied. “Because I will do more than raise my voice if such a thing happens again. There will be actual consequences and very real reasons for them to be nervous.”

  The beautiful Lobenian grabbed hold of her diamond-bladed knife. “Keep that determination. Now, drink another pitcher full and then we can go,” she said and after he complied, cast her spell.

  During the brief time between locations he thought of how quickly he had obeyed her, and arrived outside the door of the conference-room laughing. “Your mood has brightened,” she commented.

  “You have that effect on me,” he replied and then opened the door.

  Everyone Sherree had mentioned was seated around the table and likely was there shortly before she had been sent to fetch him. None of them had been sitting there for twelve marks or even three, half a mark at best he reckoned. But she was right about them being grim. He took his seat and Sherree sat next to him. Wilma walked over to stand behind the First Lady.

  Bella stood up. “Maestro Reese has asked me to express his congratulations on a job well done and on the amount of destruction your guild managed to inflict upon our common enemies,” he spoke and then sat down.

  “Our Maestro went to bed shortly after completion of the operation and has not as yet been informed of the details,” Leah spoke calmly and sounded professional. Her many years as a Senior Soarer prepared her well for stressful situations. “We are proud of the many members, both Aakacarn and non-Aakacarn who worked to their fullest to achieve the goals given them.”

  She managed to convey what Daniel would have said, had he been given the chance, except she phrased it better than he would have. He glanced at her, but addressed the Scholar. “What the First Accomplished has said concerning the performance of the people of my guild is true. However, it is only true about me t
o an extent. I have been given some details on what happened. Please, Bella, extend my congratulations to Maestro Reese on the successful taking of Ecoplis,” he said and went on to speak of the numbers of Serpents killed and captured, the death of Van Joppa, along with the percentages of naval vessels destroyed on the coasts and in the sea, then ended with, “Maestro Cummin has decided to hold off trying to wrestle back control of Ecoplis, but that does not mean your people can afford to be lax in security.”

  Leah’s mouth was open and so were those of Gina, Jeremiah, and Sandra. Samuel winked his eye, him having experienced hearing Daniel reveal more than people suspected he knew, the rest simply nodded their heads, and Simon’s lips had formed into a slight smile as if, like Sam, he was not surprised his Maestro knew so much.

  “I will relay your sentiments to my Maestro,” Bella replied. He stroked his white beard but showed no signs of being surprised.

  Daniel started with Sherree, who gave her report, and then heard from each of the Conductors on down the table. Jennel’s report on the casualties, hundreds wounded, and scores killed, was sad but in truth, for a military operation of the size and scope carried out, the numbers were small. He still mourned those who had died, but was grateful so many had lived. When Leah finished giving her report, Daniel focused his attention on Tim. “Have you any idea what is brewing in the Taltin Sea?”