The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “Let’s just see how the rock goes for now,” Chris mumbled.

  “Chicken,” Kevin teased.

  “You got that right!”

  After Kevin flew around for half an hour with the rock by his side, Chris pointed to a log about six feet long and asked Kevin to try flying with that next. After Kevin circled the canyon with the log a few times, Chris could come up with no more valid objections, so he reluctantly agreed to let Kevin fly him over the valley, provided Glendymere would come back outside to back Kevin up.

  Glendymere quickly chimed in that he was on his way. Then he said, “Chris, I haven’t been able to get you to fly with me and now you’re going up with Kevin. Should I be insulted?”

  “No, I still don’t want to fly, but you said that sorcerers need to be able to support someone else in flight, and I don’t see a whole lot of volunteers standing in line out here.”

  “Guess you have a point there,” Glendymere said with a bit of a snort. “But don’t worry. Between the two of us, I feel sure we can take care of you.”

  “Yeah, well …”

  “What is it about flying anyway? Are you afraid of heights?”

  “Yes and no. I’m not really afraid of heights, I’m afraid of falling from heights. And floating through the air seems like a mighty good way to fall,” Chris answered.

  “I won’t drop you. Just relax and don’t start fighting me when we lift off,” Kevin said as he stepped over beside Chris. “Okay, we’re going to lift off now. Let me do all the work.”

  They began to slowly rise. When they were about twenty feet off the ground, Kevin said, “Now we’re going to start going sideways. Don’t try to do anything, just let me do it,” and they began to float over towards the stream.

  Chris had closed his eyes as soon as he felt himself lifting off the ground. He slowly opened one eye and sort of peeked out to see where he was. There was no reassuring pressure on the bottom of his feet, but it wasn’t as bad as he had expected. Finally he worked up enough courage to look around. “Hey, this is sort of neat. I guess this is what’s known as a ‘bird’s eye view,’ huh?”

  “Not exactly. If you’d really like a bird’s eye view of this canyon, I can take you up higher,” Kevin said with a grin.

  “No, no. This is high enough. But it is sort of nice. I could get used to this.”

  “Good. I need the practice and you need to get over your aversion to flying with me. You never know when you might need to do it for real. Let’s plan to fly around the canyon after lunch everyday for a while, and when you’re comfortable with it, we’ll go up higher,” Kevin said. “But for now, I guess we need to land and get back to work.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  A couple of weeks later, Glendymere and Kevin flew to a nearby valley where a local farmer had begun clearing the land in hopes of tilling the area before the snows set in. He was having trouble with some old tree trunks and large boulders, so he had offered Blalick a fourth of next year’s harvest if he’d help him. When Blalick mentioned it in passing, Glendymere saw an opportunity for Kevin to get a little experience in the more mundane tasks that sorcerers are expected to handle, as well as a little practice throwing energy bolts. He told Blalick that he and Kevin would take care of it.

  They reached the valley shortly after dawn. Glendymere pointed out the boulders and stumps that needed to be removed. “Any sorcerer could clear this field, but a good sorcerer would leave it ready for the plow. When you blow up a boulder or a tree trunk, don’t leave chunks of it scattered around for the farmer to have to clear. Hit them again and again, until they’re dust. That’s how you build a reputation, by taking care of the little things, the details.”

  Then Glendymere flew back up to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to take a nap while Kevin cleared the field.

  Around lunchtime Kevin flew up to join him. He sat down beside the dragon and opened the bag that contained his lunch and a jug of water.

  “Glendymere, can I ask you a question?” Kevin said quietly.

  “Sure.”

  “Why did you agree to tutor me? Do you do that a lot?”

  “No. You’re only the fifth human sorcerer that I’ve agreed to help, and the first three were on Earth. After I came to Terah, I decided not to do it anymore,” Glendymere said. “About forty years ago, a young man about your age sent me a letter requesting an audience. It was Badec. In the letter he said that he had something very important that he needed to discuss with me. I was intrigued, so I agreed to see him. When he came to my cave, he asked me to train him as a sorcerer. Usually the father makes apprenticeship arrangements, so I asked him why he was doing this himself. He said that when he had approached his father with the idea, Nolan had told him that if he wanted me, he’d have to arrange it himself.”

  “Why didn’t my grandfather want you to tutor him?”

  “Nolan and I had been friends for years and he would have been embarrassed to ask me to tutor his son. With a human sorcerer, he could strike a bargain, pay him in some way for his time and trouble, but what can a human offer a dragon? He would have felt like he was taking advantage of our friendship and putting me in an awkward position if I didn’t want to do it. Anyway, I told Badec that I’d have to think about it. He said he’d wait for my decision, no matter how long it took. I’m still not sure why I said yes, but about a year later I sent word that I would accept him as a student when he reached his twenty-fifth birthday.” Glendymere stood up and stretched his huge wings. “I could hardly refuse Badec’s request that I also tutor his son when he came to see me right after Yvonne’s death. I could see how devastated he was. I figured it was the least I could do, so I agreed. Now, are you ready to go back to Willow Canyon? Or are you just taking a break?”

  “No, I’m done. Let’s go,” Kevin said as he tied his lunch bag to his sash and rose in the air to fly home beside Glendymere.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Later that week, Glendymere told Kevin and Chris that he had a job for Kevin to do in another canyon. There had been a rockslide during a sudden downpour the day before, and one of the few roads in the area was blocked.

  “This is another typical job for a sorcerer, and I thought you could use the experience. Come on, climb on board, Chris. It’s time you flew with me.” Glendymere knelt down and extended one of his forearms so that Chris could climb up on his back. When Chris was settled, Glendymere said, “Don’t worry. Just hold onto my chain. You’ll be fine,” and gently rose into the air.

  When they reached the canyon, Glendymere and Chris landed on top of the cliff on the opposite side of the canyon from the rockslide. The rocks had formed a six-foot high barrier across the narrow road that ran between the small river and the canyon wall. A few of the boulders had rolled into the river, but not enough to obstruct the flow of water.

  As soon as Kevin landed on the road, he heard the unmistakable sound of a rattlesnake. He quickly looked around to his left where the sound seemed to be coming from, and right there in the rocks, not more than five feet away from him, was the grandfather of all rattlers, a monstrous snake, coiled and ready to strike.

  “Yikes!” Kevin screeched, and he was suddenly fifty feet down the road, heart pounding and feeling faint, but well out of reach of the snake.

  “I see you’ve figured out how to translocate,” Glendymere observed. “Very good. That might come in handy later.”

  “What are you talking about?” Kevin asked, gasping for breath.

  “The way you just jumped away from that snake. That’s translocation.”

  “Are you under the impression that I did that on purpose? All I know is that when I saw that snake, I thought I was dead.”

  “That’s all right. Now that we know you can do it, you’ve just got to figure out how to control it.”

  “You make it sound so easy,” Kevin said as he crept up the road towards the rock pile. “Where’d that snake go?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about him. You scared that poor rattler so bad he won�
��t come out of his lair for days. Just try not to hurt him while you’re cleaning up this mess,” Glendymere said as he stretched out in the sun.

  “Right, my biggest worry right now is going to be hurting that poor rattler!”

  “As it should be.”

  Kevin shook his head and carefully began floating the boulders away to clear the road.

  Chris quietly asked Glendymere, “You knew the snake was there, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you warn Kevin? He really could have gotten hurt.”

  Glendymere shook his head and said, “That snake wasn’t going to bite. He’s a friend of mine. My only worry was that Kevin might hurt him.”

  “Did you set it up?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “I wanted to see if Kevin could translocate, and I found out that he can. Right now it only works when he’s scared, but at least that’s something.”

  Chris slowly nodded his head. Then he settled down beside Glendymere to wait for Kevin to finish clearing the rockslide. A little more than two hours later, Kevin joined them on top of the cliff wall.

  Glendymere stood up to get a good view of the canyon so he could check Kevin’s work. The road was cleared and smoothed out. The boulders had been broken up into gravel and scattered along the road. There was no sign that a rockslide had ever blocked it.

  “Now that’s the way to build a reputation, Kevin,” Glendymere said. “The gravel is a nice touch, good use of the boulders. Couldn’t have done it any better myself.” Glendymere stretched out his foreleg and said, “Come on then, Chris. Climb on up. Time to head for home.”

  Chapter 39

  Looking Ahead

  They returned to Willow Canyon around lunchtime, so Kevin and Glendymere followed Chris as he headed inside for lunch. Chris stopped as soon as he stepped into Glendymere’s chamber, and a few seconds later, Kevin plowed into him. Glendymere peeked around the corner to get a look at what had startled the guys.

  A magnificent bird at least three feet tall was perched on Glendymere’s water basin. His chest and topknot were the color of wheat, his beak and claws were blue-black, and his eyes sparkled like two huge rubies. When he fluttered his six-foot wings, there was an explosion of color. His feathers were a mixture of violet, crimson, and scarlet, all with flaming orange tips. His piercing shriek shattered the silence of the cavern.

  “Good morning, Freddy. Do you have a message for me?” Glendymere said, including Kevin and Chris in the conversation.

  “Aye, that I do,” the phoenix answered. “But my message is for your ears only.” The phoenix lowered his wings and glared at the two humans.

  “Open you eyes Freddy and you’ll know who this is,” Glendymere said as he nodded towards Kevin.

  The phoenix turned his cold stare on Kevin for a few moments. “Sure, and it’s his heir, isn’t it? But that changes nothing. My message is still for your ears only.”

  “Very well,” Glendymere nodded.

  In a private telepathic conversation, Freddy said that Laryn thought Tyree would be a good tutor for Glendymere’s guests. She had already asked him if he would be willing to go to Nandelia for a couple of months as her emissary, and he had replied that he’d be honored.

  Glendymere nodded and continued their private conversation. “Please ask Laryn to let Tyree know that I’ll pick him up on the last Monday in October, and tell him to plan to remain here until the middle of January, maybe longer.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No, I think that’s all. You don’t need to rush off though. Why don’t you stay awhile and get to know Myron and Chris?”

  “No need. I know all I need to know. I scanned them both when they came in.”

  “And?”

  “Aye, they are both good men. I found no hint of evil lurking in their souls.”

  “I thought so, but it’s always nice to be sure,” Glendymere replied.

  “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way,” Freddy said, this time including Kevin and Chris in the conversation. Then with a bone-chilling screech, he circled the chamber and rose towards the opening in the ceiling. As the sunlight caught his wings, the colors shimmered and Freddy seemed to vanish.

  “What happened? Did he turn invisible?” Chris asked.

  “No, you just can’t see a phoenix in flight. They fade into the sky.”

  “I wish Steve could have been here,” Kevin said.

  “Why? Oh, I see. So that he could sketch Freddy. Steve will have plenty of chances once you get to Camden. Freddy’s roost is in the castle tower.”

  “He lives at the castle?” Chris asked.

  “Yes. He’s lived in Camden ever since he came to Terah over a thousand years ago, but he didn’t take up residence at the castle until Nolan became the Master Sorcerer. When Nolan died, Freddy stayed. It may just be that the tower suits him, I don’t know, but I hope he’ll stay at the castle while you’re there.”

  “Any particular reason, other than sending messages?” Kevin asked.

  “A phoenix has the ability to sense whether a soul is good or evil. A lot of people would love to have a phoenix in residence, but the phoenix chooses you, you can’t choose him. However, if Freddy should happen to leave, you can always reach me by sending a falcon to Blalick. The message will get here. It just won’t be as quick.”

  “Speaking of messages, if that message was from Camden …” Kevin said a little warily. He didn’t want to pry into Glendymere’s business, but if Freddy’s message had come from Camden, it was probably as much his business as it was Glendymere’s.

  “Yes, yes. I nearly forgot. The message was from Badec’s sister, Laryn. She and I both think Tyree would be a good choice as a government tutor for all of you. She’s already asked him if he would be willing to travel to Nandelia for a few months on her behalf. He’s agreed to come, but he has no idea where or why.”

  “Who’s Tyree?” Chris asked. “How do you know him?”

  Glendymere explained that he had first met Tyree years ago, back when Badec’s father, Nolan, had been the Master Sorcerer. Tyree’s father had been the Governor of Camden during the last twenty-five years of Nolan’s tenure, and Tyree had been his father’s assistant for the last eight of those years. He had an excellent understanding of how the government worked, and was completely loyal to the House of Nordin. “I asked Freddy to tell Laryn to let Tyree know that I’ll pick him up on the last Monday in October.”

  “Does Tyree know you?” Kevin asked.

  “Yes, but he’s never flown with me before. Maybe I should ask Blalick to make some kind of safety harness so that Tyree will feel more secure and comfortable. Think I’ll do that now, before I forget. I also need to ask him to prepare a room for Tyree,” Glendymere said.

  “I don’t think there’s another room near us. At least, I haven’t come across one,” Chris said.

  “No there isn’t, but he won’t be staying with you. Blalick has a couple of spare rooms in his house for visiting dignitaries. Tyree will be fine up there.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  After dinner that evening, Chris told the others about Freddy and Tyree. “Glendymere’s expecting Tyree to stay with Blalick, but if he’s going to talk to all of us about life on Terah, it’ll have to be in the evenings, so that means we only have two weeks to come up with our cover story for the trip to Camden.”

  “What do you mean?” Theresa asked.

  “Well, we don’t know this guy, and Glendymere hasn’t seen him in thirty years. Laryn knows him, but he’s not part of Badec’s government, so she probably hasn’t spent a lot of time around him lately either. Just how far are we willing to trust him?” Chris asked.

  Darrell nodded. “I don’t think we should discuss any of our plans while he’s in the area.”

  “You and Chris are being paranoid again,” Kevin told Darrell, with a chuckle.

  “Maybe so,” Chris answered, “but I’m of the opinion that a little paran
oia once in a while might be the secret to a long life in this world.”

  Joan laughed and said, “He may be right, Kevin. After all, this guy is going to realize that you’re Myron, and your plans would probably bring a pretty penny.”

  “Okay, okay, I agree. I just said it’s paranoid.” Kevin grinned and held his hands up, palms out, as if to fend off an attack.

  “So, does anyone have any ideas about our cover story?” Karl asked.

  When no one answered, Theresa said, “If any of you are interested, I have a lotion that should help your hair grow a little faster and thicker. I sent a message to Evelyne right after you first mentioned growing beards to see if she knew of anything that might help, and she sent me a recipe that her mother had used for her father. I’ve made up a little of it. Does anyone want to volunteer to try it?”

  “I will,” Kevin said. “And then, if it does anything weird, like turn my hair green or make it all fall out, I’ll use that as my disguise.” He grinned at Theresa. “I’ll try it for a couple of weeks and see if there are any bad side-effects. Then, if it works, you can make up some for all of us.”

  Theresa nodded. “I’ll bring it to your room tonight. You need to apply it morning and night, especially at first.”

  “Ashni and I have altered some of the old tunics she had in her attic and we’ve made some new ones. They’re larger and heavier than our old ones,” Joan said.

  “How many new tunics are we going to be taking with us?” Chris asked.

  “Right now we have enough for each of us to have three,” Joan answered.

  Darrell frowned and asked, “Will we have enough room to take our old ones, too?”

  “We should,” Karl answered.

  “I’m also planning for each of us to have two sweaters,” Joan said. “I’ve got enough yarn to start making them and I’m thinking about crocheting them with a double strand of yarn to make them bulkier and warmer. Ashni also suggested that we might want to try on some of the cloaks that Sari and Macin have outgrown. They’re already made, lined, and are waterproof. Plus, they’ve been worn, so they won’t look new. I’m going to bring them down this week so we can all go through them. Then I’ll know if I need to make any more.”