The Warrior Elf

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  Rhianna paused and then started with her arrival and took Landis through everything that had happened, at least as far as she could remember. When she got to finding a box tied up with a bow sitting on her dresser Tuesday evening, Landis’s grin spread from ear to ear.

  “Myron bought you a present?” Landis asked, eyes shining. “That’s so romantic!”

  Rhianna nodded and took the dagger Kevin gave her off her belt and handed it to Landis.

  Landis fingered the dagger, tracing the intricate carvings in the metal. “It’s beautiful. Did he have it made for you?”

  Rhianna shook her head. “It was in Tolliver’s, the dry goods store. I was looking at it Monday while we were there.”

  “So he knew you wanted it?”

  “I don’t think so, at least not from me. He was talking to the owner of the store while I wandered around looking at the different sections. When I saw the dagger, I did stop and pick it up to look at it more closely, but I doubt he noticed.”

  “Did you pick up any others?”

  Rhianna shook her head. “No, I looked at several but this was the only one that interested me enough to check out its balance.”

  “He noticed. There’s no way he went back and got the exact one you were looking at by chance.”

  “Unless the lady who was helping out in the store noticed,” Rhianna said thoughtfully, “although I think by the time I got to the knives, she’d figured out I wasn’t going to buy anything and was straightening up some shelves.” Rhianna shrugged. “Not that it matters how he ended up getting it. The point is he made the effort to go back and get me something. I’m sure whoever was in there spread the word, which is why he did it.”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Landis said. “Maybe he got it for you because he likes you.”

  Rhianna shook her head. “We’re just playing our roles.”

  “Well, did you at least thank him for it?”

  Rhianna laughed. “Did I! The next morning when I went to breakfast, I stopped by his chair, kissed him, and told him thank you.”

  “You kissed him?” Landis asked, her eyes wide. “In the middle of the dining room?”

  Rhianna nodded. “Sure did, in front of everybody, including Duane.”

  “Oh no,” Landis said with a laugh. “What did he say?”

  “Nothing right then, though he did glare at Myron, but he had plenty to say later.”

  Landis put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. “What did he say?”

  “He said if I want people to believe I’m interested in Myron, I need to kiss him like I mean it, not like he’s my brother.”

  Landis burst out laughing. “Tell me you didn’t kiss him on the cheek.”

  Rhianna grinned. “I did.” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “We were in the middle of the dining room! What was I supposed to do?”

  “Kiss him like you meant it!”

  “Not in public,” Rhianna said, still shaking her head. “I’d have embarrassed both of us. As it was, he turned a nice shade of red.”

  “He blushed when you kissed him?”

  Rhianna nodded.

  “I can hear it now, everyone saying you’re the woman who stole the Master Sorcerer’s heart.” Landis broke into giggles. “Have they started planning the wedding yet?”

  Rhianna slapped at Landis’s knee. “Stop it. Do you want to hear about the rest of my week or not?”

  “Sure, but tell me, did Myron kiss you back?”

  Rhianna shook her head. “But he got me back the next night when we had dinner at Laryn’s.”

  Rhianna described the show Kevin had put on for Shana’s benefit and then went on to their lunch at Dara’s. They were having so much fun Rhianna didn’t want to spoil it by mentioning the Council of Elders. She figured if Landis knew about it, she’d worry, so Rhianna decided to wait. She’d tell her when it was over and done with.

  All too soon, Ashni called them to lunch, which was a quick meal as the only ones there were Ashni, Rhianna, and Landis. Sari and Taelor were in Rainbow Valley with Theresa, and Blalick and Macin were moving a herd of cattle from one pasture to another.

  After lunch, Rhianna asked Ashni to tell Kevin she’d gone to see Glendymere. Then she and Landis walked down the trail to Willow Canyon. As soon as Rhianna rang the gong, Glendymere told her he was awake so she could come on in.

  “Are you enjoying your visit at the castle?” Glendymere asked.

  “It’s been interesting, and mostly fun,” Rhianna said, “but I miss being here.”

  “Sure you do,” Landis teased.

  “I do, and I worry about you, about the little things, like are you taking enough breaks, are you working too hard, or worse, are you slacking off.” Rhianna turned to Glendymere. “That’s why I wanted to see you. Is she doing all right? Do I need to get back here and take care of her?”

  Glendymere studied Rhianna for a moment, and then shook his head. “No, she’s doing fine. She’s making good progress, but she’s not overdoing it.” Kevin had told him what was going on and he could see it was worrying her, but if she chose not to mention it, he wouldn’t either. “So, tell me about Milhaven. How’s the plan going? Have you and Myron been able to convince everyone there’s something going on between the two of you?”

  Rhianna laughed, and spent the next hour telling Glendymere some of the things that had happened during her week at the castle, including her lunch with Dara and her suspicion that she was a matchmaker.

  “It makes sense, but I don’t know her, so I can’t say one way or the other,” Glendymere said. “What did Myron say when you broached the subject with him.”

  “It caught him by surprise, and to be honest, I don’t think he even wants to consider it. Chris thought it was possible though. When she was there last fall, Dara asked a lot of the men around the castle whether or not they were married. But since Myron’s a likely candidate if she is a matchmaker, I can’t say I blame him for not wanting to believe it.” Rhianna laughed. “Could be interesting to watch though.”

  Glendymere snorted and a puff of smoke drifted up above his head. “Wonder who she has lined up for Myron.”

  “I’d say Katrin, but if so, she’s way off base. There’s no way Myron would ever be interested in someone like her.”

  Landis raised her eyebrows. “You must have gotten to know him pretty well to know that.”

  “Not really,” Rhianna said. “Sometimes you just know. Katrin’s the type of woman who clings, who wants attention all the time. The only female who’s going to get that kind of attention from Myron is Nikki.”

  Landis frowned. “Who’s Nikki?”

  Glendymere snorted again. “His dog.”

  “Myron has a dog? What kind? How old is she?” Landis asked.

  While Rhianna was describing Nikki, Kevin walked into the cave.

  “Speaking of Nikki, she wants to go visit some of her friends and wanted me to ask you if you’d like to go with us.”

  Rhianna turned towards Kevin and said, “Sure. When?”

  “As soon as we take Theresa back to Milhaven, unless you’ve got something else you need to do.”

  Rhianna told Landis and Glendymere goodbye and said she’d see them soon. Then she took Kevin’s arm. “Guess we need to go. Can’t keep Nikki waiting.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Half an hour later, Kevin, Chris, Rhianna, and Nikki were in the middle of Kyle’s front yard surrounded by dogs, some small, some large, and some huge. Although the barks were more excited than warning, the noise was deafening.

  Nikki ran off to join in the fun as Rhianna fell to one knee and cuddled the little ones, rubbed ears and bellies of the large ones, and exchanged bear hugs with the huge ones. She was so preoccupied with the dogs she didn’t notice Kevin and Chris slip away to join Kyle near his front door.

  “Figured it was friends when I heard the racket,” Kyle said. “They weren’t loud enough for strangers or vicious enough for enemies.”

  “You have enemies
?” Kevin asked, his eyes on Rhianna.

  “We all have enemies, Myron, but I was referring to threats to the dogs. We have a few mountain lions in these hills, but most of them are too smart to tangle with a pack of dogs. Skunks are a different story. They’ll march right up to them, turn their tail, and spray. Nothing will scatter dogs faster than seeing that tail go up. Once they’ve been sprayed they don’t want any part of it again. Horrible odor, and it takes forever to get it out of their coats. Closest I’ve ever come to killing an animal was a skunk who got a bunch of puppies too young to know better. Really hated that guy by the time I got those pups calmed down.”

  Chris couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of one lone skunk scattering a whole pack of dogs.

  “Not funny, Chris,” Kyle said. “You try getting that stink out of the house after a dog gets sprayed. I’ll come get you next time it happens.” Kyle nodded towards Rhianna. “One of Hayden’s?”

  “You know Hayden?” Kevin asked without taking his eyes off Rhianna.

  “And Gwynn, and Duane, and Shelandra, and a few of the others. Even met Pallor a couple of times. I think he’s Hayden’s nephew though, Weldon’s son.” Kyle tilted his head towards Rhianna again. “Isn’t she the baby of the family? Rhianna? Or something like that?”

  Kevin nodded.

  Kyle watched Kevin watch Rhianna and a slow smile spread across his face. He glanced at Chris and raised his eyebrows. When Chris gave a slight nod, one corner of Kyle’s mouth curved up and he turned his attention back to the elf. “Makes a pretty sight, doesn’t it? A good-looking woman surrounded by loving dogs. I could stand here all day watching them.” He cut his eyes over at Kevin.

  Kevin nodded. “Sure could.” Then Kevin frowned.

  “What?” Kyle asked.

  “She’s got a rough day coming up tomorrow. She’s been summoned to appear before the Council of Elders,” Kevin said softly. Then he explained the situation.

  “So you’re going with her?” Kyle asked.

  “Along with everyone who can vouch for her, except Landis.”

  “It’ll be fine.” Kyle put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “Weldon’s a reasonable man. Most elves are. They’ll listen to her.”

  “If they don’t, they’ll listen to me,” Kevin said with an edge in his voice.

  “Don’t go looking for a fight,” Kyle said as he glanced at Chris.

  “I’m not looking for one,” Kevin said, “but I’m not running from one either. They’re not going to punish her for protecting my people. I won’t allow it.”

  Half an hour later, Rhianna made her way over to the men. “Yours?” she asked Kyle as she motioned towards the dogs.

  Kyle nodded. “I’ve got more, but they’re the ones living here right now.”

  “Where are the rest of them?” Rhianna asked.

  “Scattered about.” Kyle opened the door for them to go inside. “Some are working on nearby farms and a few live in nearby towns. Most are within easy riding distance, but one’s living at the castle in Milhaven.”

  Rhianna smiled. “Nikki?”

  As Kyle nodded, Kevin shook his head. “No, Nikki’s mine.”

  “On loan, nephew, on loan.” As he led them towards the kitchen, he heard a scratch at the front door. “And speaking of Nikki, do you want to let her in? She hasn’t said hello yet.”

  Kevin stepped back to the front door and opened it. Nikki flew through the door followed by half a dozen dogs, all headed for Kyle. After a thorough greeting, Kyle said, “It’s not time for dinner yet. Go on back outside and play. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

  The dogs drifted back towards the door and stood there waiting for someone to let them out.

  “How do you do that?” Chris asked. “How do they know what you’re saying?”

  Kyle laughed. “They recognize certain words, like outside and play, but tone of voice plays a role, too. As to dinner, they could see it wasn’t down yet, so outside made sense.” Kyle picked up a kettle and set it on the stove to heat. “Tea?”

  Everyone nodded, so he pulled out four cups and set them on the counter. Then he looked at Rhianna. “So, what do you think of my dogs?”

  “They’re lovely, and I envy you being able to spend so much time with them. You’ve got a couple of good trackers in the making out there, and one of those pups is going to herd sheep one day.”

  “Bit your heels, huh?” Kyle asked with a grin.

  Rhianna laughed and nodded. “Sharp little teeth, too. What is she, maybe four months old?”

  “That’s about right,” Kyle said as the kettle started whistling.

  “That was fast,” Chris said with a frown.

  “I am a sorcerer, you know,” Kyle said.

  “I keep forgetting you can do stuff like that,” Chris said. “When I think of you, I think of dogs.”

  After Kyle poured the tea, they sat around the table and talked for a while. Then, when the tea was gone, Kyle got up and started pulling out dog bowls. “Here, take these and start filling them. Time to feed my crew.”

  Before the dogs came in to eat, Kevin said, “Guess we’d better go. We’ve missed a lot of meals at the castle lately and Miranda’s beginning to think we don’t like her food. If I let Nikki eat somewhere else too...”

  Kyle laughed. “Glad you came by, and Rhianna, it was nice to see you again.” At her puzzled look, he grinned. “I met you once before, but you were only a toddler. I was in Crinsor Run with Badec a couple of years after Yvonne died. You were maybe two. Anyway, it was nice to see you again, and feel free to come back anytime you want to play with the dogs. They’re always more than willing to play. And you don’t have to wait for Kevin either. Chris can bring you.”

  Rhianna smiled and held out her hand. “Thanks. I may take you up on that.”

  After Kyle shook her hand, they went back outside. While Rhianna was corralling Nikki so they could leave, Kyle put his arm around Kevin’s shoulders and whispered, “You’ve got a good one there. Don’t let her get away.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Sunday evening before Rhianna went upstairs, she told Kevin she couldn’t remember when she’d had more fun than she’d had that day. Nothing she could have said would have pleased him more, and he headed down to his office with a light step. After a quick check to see if anything urgent had come in while he was out, Kevin went up to his room. He was brushing Nikki when Chris came in with a couple of mugs of scog and some cake. He set the tray down on the coffee table.

  “Did you make it to Warren’s today?” Chris picked up one of the two slices of cake and sat down.

  Kevin nodded. “He’s talked to everyone, not just Colin and Ryan. He wanted to make sure everyone knows he’s leaving because he’s on a special mission for me and that he’ll be back, but since he’s going to be gone a couple of years, he told them not to put things off until he gets back, to let Colin handle them.”

  “Makes it sound like Colin’s just filling in while he’s gone.”

  “Warren said Colin’s afraid everyone will resent him if they think he’s taking over Warren’s job.”

  “Think Colin can handle it?”

  Kevin shrugged. “Warren thinks so, and he should know. He’s worked with him for over six months now. But I had to promise to check in with both Colin and Ryan at least once a week to see how things are going, so be sure you put it down on a calendar somewhere. Otherwise I’ll forget.”

  “Public or private?”

  “I don’t care as long as I go, but I hate to tie up a bodyguard with something that trivial.”

  “Might not be trivial if you go on a regular basis. How long do you think you’ll have to do this?”

  Kevin shook his head. “I have no idea, but I hope it’ll only be for a couple of months. After Colin and Ryan get used to Warren being gone, they should relax a bit. Then maybe we can back off to once a month or so.”

  “When do you need to start?”

  “A week after I take Warren out to Rainbow Vall
ey.”

  “And when’s that?”

  “This Thursday.”

  Chris frowned. “Why Thursday?”

  “I want them to have a few days to adjust before Warren starts working with Landis. I was thinking Friday would be good, but we have the federation meeting on Friday, so I moved it to Thursday.”

  “So we need to be sure you drop by Walnut Springs before the end of the day the following Thursday.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “I’ll put it on the public calendar, at least for a while. It’ll give your bodyguards something to do. They’ve been getting bored lately with you spending all your time with Rhianna.”

  “I hadn’t thought about it, but they have been leaving me alone this week. Wonder why?”

  Chris rolled his eyes. “You have a warrior elf with you! Do you think for one minute either one of them wants to insult her by suggesting you need another bodyguard when she’s with you? Remember who took Saryn down? I imagine Alek’s still a little embarrassed about it even though she is a warrior elf.”

  “You might be right,” Kevin said, “but I don’t think of her as a warrior or a bodyguard. To me she’s a regular woman.”

  “Yeah, well I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but not many of the women on Terah walk around in leggings and wear daggers on their belts.”

  Kevin frowned. “They do around here. Joan does, so does Laryn. Elin and Cameryn do, too.”

  “But that’s here. This place is hardly typical. Let me ask you something. How were the women dressed at Dara’s yesterday?”

  Kevin thought for a moment. “Okay, you’ve got a point. They were in dresses, dressy ones at that, with low necklines and long skirts. Lots of lace and bows, too. And you’re right, no daggers. No belts either, although Katrin did have a ribbon thingy around her waist.”