The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) Read online

  A quick glance through the other houses left Kevin with the same impression. The people were the only things the slavers had been interested in. The attack was focused. Get in, get the people, get out. Anything in the way was destroyed, but that was it. The blood splatters implied they’d met at least some resistance, but other than the three bodies lying under the sheets on the dock, it didn’t appear that they went out of their way to hurt people. But that was just good business. It would be harder to sell injured captives.

  Gen. Crandal was waiting for him as Kevin stepped outside.

  “Five houses, five families,” Kevin said. “Do we know how many people lived here?”

  “Ten adults and twelve children, all related. The men were brothers.”

  “Twenty-two people. Were there any survivors?” Kevin asked. “I mean anyone who wasn’t captured.”

  Gen. Crandal nodded. “Lt. Martyn said two young children survived. The men from Ashmont found them hiding in the woods.”

  “Where are they?”

  “Sister Janine came out with Lt. Martyn. She took them back to the chapel in Ashmont. Lt. Martyn will have someone pack up their clothes and toys.” Gen. Crandal tilted his head towards the dock. “One of those bodies is their father.”

  Kevin groaned. “Hope they didn’t see that.”

  Gen. Crandal shrugged. “We won’t know until I can question them. And if I know sisters, Janine will give them something to make them sleep as soon as she gets them to the chapel and gets some food in them. Tomorrow morning will be the earliest she’ll let me talk to them.”

  “Do you know anything about the other two bodies?”

  “They were man and wife. From what I was told, they’d been married about a year. She was pregnant, due any day now. That’s probably why the slavers killed her. They didn’t want to be bothered with a weak mother and an infant. I imagine her husband died trying to protect her. The other man, the children’s father, probably died trying to help his younger brother.”

  “What kind of monsters are we dealing with here?” Kevin muttered through clenched teeth. Anger like he’d never known surged through his body and his power mushroomed. He turned towards the river and began to walk. He needed to get off by himself and let his anger and power subside.

  He walked to an embankment that jutted out into the river. From there he could see in both directions. Along this stretch, the river was calm, rolling along with no rapids or eddies, just a lazy, soothing river. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed and his pulse rate began to drop. As he stood there, marveling that such a peaceful river could be the scene of such an atrocity, he realized he wasn’t alone. Gen. Crandal had joined him. For a while, neither man spoke, they just watched the river.

  “Where are the dogs?” Kevin asked.

  “What dogs?”

  “The dogs. Why didn’t the dogs alert them?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “Fishing settlements don’t usually have dogs.”

  “Why not? Out here, along a river, at risk of capture, and no dogs to sound the alarm?”

  “These men were fishermen. All the fishermen I’ve ever known believe the fish bite best when it’s quiet. They’d want it quiet around here, which means no barking dogs,” Gen. Crandal explained. “And to be honest, dogs wouldn’t have made any difference.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because slavers scout out a settlement before they attack, to see how many people live there, whether or not any sorcerers or soldiers are in the area, what routines the people have, things like that. They may only watch for twenty-four hours before they attack, but they always watch. If there are any dogs around, they would take care of them first, probably with poisoned meat. By the time of the attack, the dogs would all be dead.”

  “So they were somewhere in the area for at least a day before they attacked?”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “Has anyone looked for where they might have been?” Kevin asked. “A camp of some sort?”

  “I doubt it. Typically, the slavers have a large boat, one that would be normal on the Kivee but noticed on a small river like this. A couple of the slavers probably used a rowboat or canoe to come up this river looking for an easy score. All they’d have to do is drop anchor and watch. As long as they had fishing poles or a net, no one would notice them.”

  “Hide in plain sight.”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “Would they have brought the larger boat here to load the captives?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “It would be much safer to anchor it in one of the alcoves along the Kivee and use small boats for transportation.”

  “If you take out the two children who hid in the woods and the three adults who were killed, that leaves seventeen captives plus the slavers. How many boats would you need to transport that many people to the Kivee?”

  “If they all went at one time, at least four or five.”

  “Wouldn’t someone notice a convoy of four or five boats loaded down with people?”

  “Probably, if it happened during the day, or even at dawn. But in the middle of the night? As long as everyone was quiet, they could float past a regiment of soldiers without anyone knowing. And if they were smart, which from all appearances they were, they used the children as hostages. All they’d have to do is threaten to kill one of the children to ensure cooperation from all the adults and older children. The younger ones would be so terrified they wouldn’t do anything anyway.”

  For a few minutes Kevin stared out at the river. “Which way do you suppose they went?”

  “If they’re on a boat, which I feel sure they are, they had to go either north or south. South is easier, and it leads to open water, but if we decided to pursue them, it’s also the direction we’d be most likely to go.”

  “If they did go south, where would they go once they reach open water? Across the ocean?”

  “Not in the same type of boat they’d use on the Kivee, but they probably have another boat anchored somewhere out in the Agrenon Bay.”

  Kevin nodded. “If they headed north, where would they go?”

  “Glenarbour. There’s a slave auction there every third Saturday of the month.”

  “Who goes to that auction? People from around here?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “The buyers and sellers come from all over Terah. The one thing that’s unusual about the auction in Glenarbour is everyone arrives and leaves by keys, including most of the slaves.”

  “But aren’t seated sorcerers the only ones with keys?”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “I guess that means a lot of them are in the slave business.”

  “Not necessarily, although a few of them are. The business could belong to a family member or a friend, or the sorcerer may get a flat fee for providing transportation. At any rate, Glenarbour isn’t a typical auction site as it’s nowhere near the sea, so slavers who depend on boats to move their slaves don’t bother with it, which makes it sort of elite.”

  “Have we ever rescued anyone from the auction house?”

  “Yes, but it’s rare.”

  “If they headed west, where would they go? All the way to the Trynordic Ocean?”

  “I doubt it. Traveling over land with a bunch of captives would be risky at best, and there’s a lot of rough territory between here and there.”

  “Do you think they’d go somewhere close by and hide, waiting for the search to die down?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “They’ll want to keep moving. It demoralizes the captives and makes them more compliant. The closer they are to home, the easier it is for them to believe they’ll be rescued. That hope dies with each mile they travel.”

  Kevin turned away from the river and looked at Gen. Crandal. “I want to find these people and bring them home. And I want those slavers stopped. Any suggestions?”

  Gen. Crandal paused for a moment. “I’ve got a couple of ideas, if you’re interested.”

  “Go ahead.”


  “We have a small group of men who’ve been training for a couple of years in an isolated mountain valley. They’re expert trackers, stalkers, and hunters. They know how to kill quietly and efficiently and how to defend against ordinary weapons. I’d like to send a squad of these men, under Lt. Martyn’s command, with orders to find the slavers and rescue the captives.”

  “Sounds perfect,” Kevin said. “And they can bring the slavers back to spend the rest of their miserable lives in prison.”

  Gen. Crandal hesitated. “Well, those would be the general orders, but it won’t happen.”

  “Why not?”

  “These men are ex-slaves. No matter what we tell them when we send them out, I don’t think any slavers will survive the encounter.”

  Kevin thought about what the general had said. A few minutes ago, he could have killed the slavers himself. Even now, when he thought of the three bodies left on the dock, he’d feel justified, but would he still feel that way tomorrow? Or the day after? “So basically they’d be an assassination squad.”

  Gen. Crandal didn’t say anything.

  “Have you ever sent out a squad like this before?”

  “No, we used regular soldiers in the past, but even then, if the soldiers caught up with the slavers, it was rare for any slavers to survive. They know if they’re caught, they’re looking at life in jail. If they can’t escape, they’d rather die fighting, and they do fight, using anything and everything at their disposal. They think nothing of using the captives as shields, especially the children. Raises the odds in their favor. After all, how many soldiers will put an arrow or a sword through a child to get the slaver? There are always casualties on both sides. We consider it a win when there are more casualties on their side than ours.”

  “And you think one of those squads would raise the odds in our favor?”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “Did my father know about this?”

  Again, Gen. Crandal nodded. “A few years ago, Paddy, an ex-slave who’d worked his way up through the ranks to lieutenant, suggested a squad like this. He felt that properly trained ex-slaves would have the best chance of rescuing captives. They’d risk more and push harder than other soldiers because they understood the life the captives were headed for. He had it all worked out, what they’d need to know, how the squads would work, everything. I liked what he had to say, so I introduced him to your father and let him plead his case. After Badec gave his approval, Paddy recruited the first twenty men and began training them. Whenever one of those men suggested someone else who would fit in, Paddy invited that person to join, and the group grew. Right now, we have sixty men trained and ready to go, and those men are training another fifteen or so.”

  “Who’s in charge?”

  “I am. I try to get up there at least once a month to review their progress and go over plans with them, but as far as the men are concerned, Paddy’s in charge. Each group of ten men has its own leader. Paddy meets with the leaders twice a day, once before breakfast to discuss the day’s schedule, and again after dinner for a progress report. It’s not regular army, but it works for them.”

  “How soon can a squad be ready to go?”

  “If I get back in time to ride up to the camp this evening, they can be at the castle tomorrow afternoon.”

  Kevin nodded. “Would you send them out as soldiers? I’m wondering how the army in another province might react to their presence.”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “These guys dress like backwoods mountain men at their camp. Since they’ll be on a boat, they’ll dress like fishermen.”

  “Dressing like fishermen is one thing, but will they be able to act like fishermen?”

  “A lot of those men were fishermen before they were captured and turned into slaves. Finding enough men who will be comfortable living and working on a boat will be the easy part.”

  “And the hard part?”

  “Finding a boat and getting them on it, but I can probably have one lined up by tomorrow. Can you take us to it?”

  “Sure. Just let me know when.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  A couple of hours later, the bodies of the three victims were lowered into the ground. As the men from Ashmont shoveled dirt over the coffins, Kevin, Alek, and Karl drifted over to the closest house and sat down on the steps. Gen. Crandal stayed by Lt. Martyn’s side until the graves were covered and simple markers had been placed on them.

  As the men prepared to leave, Gen. Crandal joined Kevin. “I’d like to stop by Ashmont before we go home. I want to speak with the local sister about interviewing the children.”

  “Are you done here?” Kevin asked.

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  Kevin looked at Karl and Alec and raised his eyebrows. They both nodded, so he stood up, took out his key, and they left Syrando.

  Seconds later, they were at the Chapel of Light in Ashmont. Gen. Crandal walked up to the front door and knocked while the others waited in the yard.

  A middle-aged lady opened the door, frowned, and asked, “May I help you?”

  She wasn’t wearing a dragon’s flame pendant, so Gen. Crandal asked, “Is Sister Janine available? I need to speak with her for a moment.”

  The lady shook her head. “I’m sorry, but she’s with a patient. May I be of service?”

  “Could you ask her when it would be convenient for me to interview the two children from Syrando?”

  “And you are?”

  “Gen. Crandal, from Milhaven.”

  The lady nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute. Would you like to come inside to wait?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “I’m fine here.”

  “Very well,” the lady said as she shut the door.

  Less than five minutes later, the door opened and a much younger woman stepped out on the front porch. “I’m Sister Janine. I understand you wish to speak with Corey and Caitlyn?”

  “Are those the children from Syrando?”

  Sister Janine nodded. “They’ve had a very trying day, General. I’ve given them some food and a mild sedative. They’re asleep and I don’t want to wake them.”

  “Would you prefer that I come back tomorrow morning and speak with them then?”

  “That would be better than now, but I don’t think forcing them to remember is a good idea, especially for Caitlyn. She’s barely four years old.”

  “How old is Corey?”

  “Seven.”

  “I may not need to speak with the girl then. Let me see what the boy can tell me,” Gen. Crandal said. “About 9:00?”

  “If you feel it’s necessary.” Sister Janine frowned. “His whole world has been destroyed. Don’t make it any worse.”

  “I’ll be careful. See you tomorrow morning.”

  Sister Janine nodded and shut the door.

  Chapter 3

  More Surprises

  As soon as they returned to Kevin’s office, Gen. Crandal said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way to Paddy’s camp.”

  “Before you go, I’d like to ask you a couple of questions,” Kevin said.

  “Do you need me?” Karl asked,

  Kevin shook his head.

  “Then I’ll get out of the way.” Karl opened the door to Kevin’s office and left.

  “I’ll be right outside,” Alek said as he followed Karl.

  After they were gone, Kevin shut his door. “Do you want me to find a sorcerer to go with your men?”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “It’s tempting, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Right now that particular gang doesn’t have a sorcerer with them, and I’d like to keep it that way. Less people get killed when the sorcerers stay out of the fight.”

  “How do you know they don’t have a sorcerer with them?”

  “We found three bodies, not three piles of ashes.”

  Gen. Crandal’s words brought back the memory of Gaynor’s ashes. Kevin nodded. “Of course. I
should have realized that.”

  “Anything else?”

  Kevin shook his head.

  “Are you going to be able to take me to Ashmont tomorrow morning? I’m supposed to see the children at 9:00.”

  Kevin nodded. “When do you want to take your men to the coast?”

  “I think I’d rather intercept them on the Kivee, before they hit open water, while they’re still in our territory. Makes boarding their boat and taking them prisoner a little less like piracy and more like a military operation.”

  “Who could protest? They’re slavers!”

  “Once they hit open water, they aren’t slavers. They’re merchants, transporting goods to a market,” Gen. Crandal said. As Kevin started to protest, Gen. Crandal held up his hand. “I agree, but if that crew is working for one of the other seated sorcerers, you could find yourself in a bind when it comes to defending our actions. But if we catch them on the Kivee, you could argue that it’s the same as catching them in Camden. They may not all agree, but you’d have a better chance of winning that argument. Of course, all of this assumes we’re going to catch them.”

  “Which isn’t going to happen if you don’t get up to the camp and make arrangements for a team.”

  Gen. Crandal smiled. “I’ll head down around daybreak. Should make it back in time for breakfast. Meet you here about 8:45?”

  Kevin nodded.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Shortly after Gen. Crandal left, there was a knock on Kevin’s door and then it opened. “How did it go in Syrando?” Chris asked as he came in and shut the door behind him.

  Kevin told him what they’d found. “So, anything happen here while I was gone?”

  Chris handed him a message. “This came from Brena.”

  Kevin frowned as he read it. “She wants to see Theresa? Now?”

  “It came in about an hour after you left. Theresa’s already here. She’s with Joan and Laryn in Joan’s office talking about the wedding.”

  “I thought wedding’s here were simple.”

  “I think they are for most people, but when you spent the last year as head of this office, it becomes more complicated. Laryn’s trying to figure out how to keep from insulting anyone. Personally, I think it’s a hopeless task.”