The Warrior Elf

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “Good morning, Neiven,” Kevin said. “Are you looking for me?”

  Neiven nodded. “I want to talk to you about that fire yesterday. Ainsley was lucky Marcus was nearby. If he hadn’t gotten there when he did, she might have been hurt bad. As it was, only the back wall got damaged.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “But if Marcus had been up here, by the time someone ran all the way up here to let him know, the whole building would have burned and there’s no telling what would have happened to Ainsley.”

  Kevin nodded again.

  “So I went to see Korman yesterday. We decided to do something about it now, before anything else happens. We’re going to make these bells and put one in every building around here, stores, homes, barns, everywhere. That way when someone needs help, all they’ll have to do is ring their bell and someone will come.”

  “That’s a good idea and I’m sure someone would show up to help, but if Marcus and I are up here, we won’t hear it.”

  “We thought about that, too.” Neiven raised the bell and swung it back down. The clang was so loud Kevin jumped even though he was expecting it. Ariel nearly fell off his chair, Cameryn dropped the papers she had in her hand, and Elin let out a yelp. A couple of seconds later, guards poured into the room, closely followed by Darrel, Gen. Crandal, Joan, Karl, and Petri. Chris and Isak had been outside, so they came charging through the door a little after the others.

  “It’s definitely loud,” Kevin said through his laughter. He turned to the horde of people crowding into his office. “It’s all right. Just a new alarm system.”

  “Alarm system?” Darrell asked.

  “I want everyone to hear this, so find a place to sit or stand and listen to Neiven. He and Korman have worked up a plan for people to get help when they need it, like with Fenway’s fire.” Kevin gave Neiven a nod.

  “We want to put these bells in all the buildings around Milhaven. When someone has an emergency, all they’ll have to do is ring the bell and someone will come. Probably their neighbors will get there first, but if more help is needed, all they’ll need to do is keep ringing the bell.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Gen. Crandal said, “but there’s no guarantee the sisters will hear it, much less anyone up here.”

  “That’s true, especially if it’s someone who lives outside of town, or on the edge, but there’s a good chance Korman will hear it.” A couple of the guards started to argue, but Neiven shook his head. “We tried it. He stayed in his shop with the fire in his forge roaring while I went out past Doreen’s house, and rang this bell.” Neiven grinned. “And let me tell you, Korman wasn’t the only one who heard it. All of the people in town heard it, too. They were out in the street trying to find out what was going on when I was coming back. Sister Agnes flagged me down to find out if I knew what had happened.”

  “What did you tell them?” Karl asked.

  “That I was experimenting with something and if it worked I’d fill them in later,” Neiven said.

  “It may work well in town, but if Marcus and Myron are up here they won’t hear it, and they’re probably the ones who’ll be needed,” Rigel said, “especially if it’s something like what happened at Fenway’s.”

  Neiven nodded. “I know, so we tried a second experiment. I came back to the castle and went up on the roof. I had to wait a few minutes. Korman wanted to give me enough time to get in place, but I heard his bell just fine from the roof.” He glanced around and spotted Bryce, one of the guards who had been on duty on the roof at the time. “You were up there, Bryce. You heard it.”

  Bryce nodded. “But Giamo didn’t. He was in the yard talking to a couple of the children. I asked him later, and he said he didn’t hear a thing.”

  “Marshall didn’t hear it either,” Neiven said. “I think the castle blocked it, or maybe all the trees between here and town, but the sound made it to the roof loud and clear.” Neiven looked at Darrell. “Don’t you have guards posted on the roof all the time?”

  Darrell nodded. “Twenty-four hours a day.”

  “Then there’ll be someone up there to hear Korman’s bell.”

  “And the guard can let me or Marcus know we might be needed,” Kevin said. “It’ll work as long as one of us is here, and if by some chance we’re both gone, at least someone will show up to help. I like it.”

  Neiven nodded. “We’ll make enough bells for everyone in the area to have one in each of their buildings. We should have enough for everyone in town by Monday and everyone who lives close by within a week, but I don’t think the two of us should be the ones to take them around.”

  “Why not?” Chris asked. “It’s your idea. People should know that.”

  Neiven shook his head. “It’s not about whose idea it is. It’s about people taking it seriously. If we take them around, people will smile and say thank you and toss them in a cabinet somewhere.”

  When Kevin started to object, Neiven shook his head again. “I know these people. They will not take two blacksmiths seriously.” Neiven looked at Darrell. “But they’ll take guards seriously, especially if the guards making the deliveries are Myron’s bodyguards. They’ll assume it’s on Myron’s orders if Rigel and Alek take the bells around, and if they think Myron sent them a bell to use in an emergency, it’ll be put in a prominent spot, definitely not in the bottom of some cabinet.”

  Kevin nodded. “If Rigel and Alek don’t mind, it’s fine with me.”

  “And me,” Darrell said, glancing towards the bodyguards. “How do you two feel about it?”

  Rigel glanced at Alek, who nodded. “We’ll be glad to do it,” Rigel said, “as long as one of us stays here in case Myron has to go somewhere. It might take us longer that way, but Myron’s our first responsibility.”

  “Unless, of course, Rhianna would be willing to take bodyguard duty for a day or so while we deliver bells,” Alek suggested with a grin.

  “Someone needs to let Marcus know about this,” Neiven said. “I don’t see him very much or I’d tell him myself.”

  “I’ll handle it,” Kevin said. He looked at Darrell. “Can you make sure all of your guards know what the bells mean?”

  Darrell nodded. “And I’ll tell them if they’re off duty and hear a bell, they need to find out where it’s coming from and do anything they can to help. Anyone on duty will let both of our offices know about it.”

  “I’ll make sure our soldiers know, too,” Gen. Crandal said.

  “Thank you,” Kevin said.

  “Then, if there’s nothing else,” Neiven said as he glanced around the room. When no one said anything, he nodded. “I’ll be in my shop, making bells.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Even though both Marcus and Sister Agnes thought Hayley should accept Morris’s offer, she didn’t make up her mind to do it until she got up Saturday morning. But once her mind was made up, it moved into high gear.

  Most of the girls she’d grown up with drew sketches of the houses they wanted, planned out their kitchens, and pictured their gardens. Hayley had dreamed about the chapel she’d run one day, and since the chapel hadn’t been built yet, there was a good chance she could have it done the way she wanted.

  When Kevin took her to Marcie’s Saturday morning, she asked him to pick her up around dinnertime Sunday instead of lunchtime. Then, while she was making her rounds Saturday afternoon, she asked Thom to tell his father she’d like to meet with him after lunch on Sunday.

  Hayley arrived at Morris’s house shortly after he finished lunch. She thanked him for asking her to be the resident sister of Bridgeport and told him she’d love to have the assignment. Then she asked if she could see the plans for the chapel.

  “I haven’t drawn anything up yet,” Morris said. “The lumber won’t be here until next week, but we’ve picked out a nice spot for it. It’ll be on the other side of Thom’s shop and there’s plenty of room for your gardens out there, too.”

  “Could we look at it?” Hayley asked.

  “Sure
, if you want to.”

  While they were walking to the site, Morris asked about the layout of the chapel in Milhaven. “I’ve lived here all my life and we’ve never had a chapel. I’m not sure how to build one.”

  “They’re not all the same,” Hayley said. “Some are like an army barracks with a bunch of beds in one big room and a few smaller rooms for the staff. To be honest, I don’t much like those.” Hayley paused. She wasn’t sure how much she should say, but after a moment she shrugged and went on. “Over the past year as Sister Theresa’s assistant, I’ve worked in several different chapels. Some worked better than others, but the ones that worked best had private rooms for examination and small wards with only three or four beds in each one.”

  Morris nodded. “Do you know how many other rooms you’ll need? Staff rooms? Storerooms? Things like that?”

  “It’s hard to say,” Hayley answered. She knew how many of each she wanted, but she didn’t know how large a chapel they could afford to build. “Let’s look around the site first and let me think about it for a minute.”

  As they walked around the site he’d chosen, Morris pointed out the area he had picked out for her gardens, the place where he was going to build a shed, and then showed her where he was planning to put the four corners of the building. As soon as she saw the outline, her mind started filling in the rest. As they walked the area, Hayley showed him where she wanted her kitchen, the storeroom, the workroom, the staff rooms, the waiting rooms, the examination rooms, and the wards. By the time they were done, she had the image of the finished chapel in her head. Unfortunately things weren’t quite so clear to Morris.

  When they got back to his house, he sat down with Hayley and between the two of them, they sketched the complete layout. Then he asked, “How many buggies and horses do you think you’ll need?”

  “I imagine one buggy will be enough,” Hayley answered. “I hope to have one aide, but if one of us is gone, the other will be at the chapel. I doubt we’d both need a buggy at the same time.”

  “Unless someone goes into labor early like Marissa did.” Morris chuckled. “Of course, if something like that happens, I’m sure someone’ll let you have a buggy. So you think one will be enough. One or two horses?”

  Hayley shrugged. “As far as I know, the only time we’d use a horse would be with the buggy, so I guess it depends on the size of the buggy. You’d know more about that than I do.”

  Morris nodded. “Do you want your own stable? Or do you want to keep your buggy and horse at Thom’s?”

  “As long as we can get to it in the middle of the night if we need to, I’d prefer someone else take care of the horse. I don’t know much about them. If I have to do it, someone will need to teach me what to do.”

  Morris shook his head. “No need for you to worry about that. We’ll board it with Thom. It’s not like you’d have a long way to go to get it.” Morris folded the plans and his notes and put them away in his desk drawer. “I’m glad you’ll be joining us, Sister Hayley. We’ve grown rather fond of you over the past few months. And you never know, maybe with you here, Marcus will visit a little more often, could end up moving back.” As he stood up to show her out, he said, “I’ll write to Sister Brena after I have a better idea when the chapel will be finished. But if you can get up here before we’re done, you can stay with us, with Marcie, or in Marcus’s house. Don’t worry about a thing. We’ll take good care of you. See you soon.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Neiven and Korman worked all weekend, and true to their word, by Monday morning they had enough bells for everyone in Milhaven. Since it wouldn’t take long to make the rounds in town, Alex and Rigel went while Rhianna was working with the pages.

  The second round of deliveries began Wednesday morning, but as those bells were going to farmers in the area, Alek and Rigel would be gone all day. The only way they both agreed to go was if Chris promised not to let Kevin out of his sight unless Rhianna was with him.

  Kevin was working in his office after lunch when there was a knock on his door. “Come on in,” he said without looking up.

  “Hi,” Rhianna said as she walked in. “I’m done with everything I need to do up here, but Alek and Rigel asked me to hang around until one of them gets back. Anything you want me to do? I’m getting bored sitting out there.”

  “Life of a bodyguard. Incredibly boring ninety-nine percent of the time, and way too exciting the other one percent.”

  Rhianna laughed. “Which is why I’ll never hire out as a bodyguard. So, do you have anything you want me to do?”

  Kevin shook his head. “But I’m not planning to go anywhere either, so you don’t need to hang around here.”

  “Except I gave them my word,” Rhianna said. “That’s all right. I’ll find something to do, just don’t you dare leave here without me.”

  “I won’t,” Kevin said. “But while you’re here, I’ve got a question. What do you think about these bells?”

  “I think it’s a good idea, especially after what happened at Fenway’s.”

  “I do, too. In fact I’m thinking about suggesting that the ministers start something along those lines for everyone, whether there’s a sorcerer nearby or not.”

  Rhianna nodded. “At least the bells can be heard for a good distance. Better chance of summoning help with those than yelling for someone to come.”

  “And it doesn’t have to be a bell. A gong works, too. Down at the coast, along one of the inland waterways, every group of fishermen has a big gong. If anyone spots any slavers, they ring their gong, and as soon as one group hears a gong, they ring theirs. Within minutes the whole area is alert for slavers. According to Gen. Crandal, that area has the highest rate for capturing slavers and freeing captives of any other place in Camden.”

  “We have an alarm system, too,” Rhianna said, “although with all the mountains in our area, sound doesn’t travel far. We use puffs of smoke.”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ve heard of people using smoke, but I didn’t realize the elves did.”

  “I don’t know if they all do, but it works for us.” Rhianna stood up. “I’m going to get out of here and let you get back to work. See you later.”

  Chapter 47

  June 4

  As the sun was setting Wednesday evening, Shana stepped out of the woods and made her way to the side of the shed for her meeting with Rolan. He wasn’t going to be happy with her report. She’d tried everything she could think of to find out what Rhianna knew about Landis’s whereabouts, but if Rhianna knew anything, she wasn’t saying.

  Shana shook her head. She was ready for this to be over, and she figured the only way it would end was if she was dead, so if he killed her because she didn’t have the information he wanted, that was fine with her. Her only regret was that after he killed her, he’d kill her parents, if he hadn’t already.

  When he showed up, she felt surprisingly calm. She opened the door, then stood back and waved for him to go inside.

  Rolan frowned. Something had changed. His mouse wasn’t as terrified as she usually was. “Go on, girl, get inside, and there better not be anyone else in there or I’ll kill you both.”

  Shana rolled her eyes and walked into the shed in front of Rolan.

  Rolan glanced around the empty shed. “So, what news do you have for me?”

  Shana shook her head. “No news, but I did try. I started taking her self-defense training, and after a couple of sessions I started staying afterwards to talk to her. She talked about being a warrior elf, about growing up in North Amden, even about the attack at the chapel. But all she would say about Landis was Myron asked her to provide protection until he could get her to a secure location where she could work on her magic undisturbed. I did ask her where that was, but she said she didn’t know, that after the attack, Myron took her home, dropped her off, and he and Landis left by key. She has no idea where he took her and she never asked since she wasn’t responsible for Landis’s safety anymore.”

  Rolan stared
at Shana for a couple of minutes trying to decide if she was telling the truth. “So, do you still think Myron’s interested in the elf?”

  Shana nodded. “They spend a lot of time together. They go for a walk nearly every evening. They eat together whenever they’re both at the castle, and I know she spent most of the afternoon in his office today.”

  Rolan paused. “Show me where the men I sent down here to kill Landis are camped.” When Shana frowned, Rolan grabbed her arm. “I know you know where their camp is, so don’t try pretending you don’t.”

  “I wasn’t going to.” Shana stared at his hand on her arm. When he didn’t remove it, she shook her head. “It’s a long walk from here. I usually go by horse.”

  “Then find us some horses,” he growled as he swung his arm and threw her halfway across the shed. “And don’t make me come looking for you either. You’ll regret it if you do!”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  An hour later Shana was back with two horses and a small glowstone torch. One of the horses was hers, but the second belonged to her neighbor. Fortunately, he and his wife were out, probably at Fenway’s since it was open again, so no one was home to see her borrow it.

  As soon as Shana rode up, Rolan grabbed the reins to the second horse and mounted. “Well? Where’s the camp?”

  “Follow me.” Shana headed back towards the road. They had to switch roads several times before they reached the wooded area in front of the waterfall that marked the entrance to the assassins’ cave. Shana reined her horse in. When Rolan rode up beside her, she pointed in the direction of the cave entrance. “Hear the waterfall?”

  Rolan listened for a moment but he didn’t hear a thing. He glared at Shana. “I told you to take me to their camp.”

  Shana sighed. “We’ll have to walk from here.” She dismounted and tied the reins around a small tree.

  While she was securing her horse, Rolan jumped off of his and tossed the reins in her direction. “Hurry up! I haven’t got all night!”