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

  “All right,” Kevin said with a nod. “I’ll take care of it.”

  “But you can’t say anything about what I told you.”

  “I won’t let her know you said one word, and I won’t even pretend Marcus or Alek overheard her. By the way, did they?”

  Theresa sighed. “Marcus did and he wanted to tell her what he thought of her and her attitude. Took Hayley and me both to talk him down. I’m not sure she wouldn’t have burned him for impertinence.”

  Kevin frowned. “You can do that? I thought those pendants were for self-defense.”

  Theresa shrugged. “I don’t think I could, but someone with Janine’s experience and temperament? I wouldn’t want to risk it, and I didn’t want Marcus to risk it either.”

  “I’ll speak with him,” Kevin said, secretly pleased. “And I’ll check in with her while she’s in Glenarbour so she won’t think I’ve forgotten about her or the captives. Think that’ll do it?”

  “I hope so, but you really do need a plan.”

  “Okay. Now let’s go in before someone notices us out here.”

  “It’s okay. I told her I wanted to talk to you about finding homes in Milhaven for the children, which we do need to do. These people are nervous enough about slavers right now without being reminded about it every time they see Caitlyn or Corey. I think the children will be better off in a new environment, too. It would be different if they had family around here, but they don’t. We can talk about that later though. Just let Joan know we’re bringing them back with us. She’ll figure something out.”

  Kevin nodded, as Theresa led him back into the chapel. They walked past the parlor and down the long hall that led to the living quarters. When they reached the kitchen, Alek was seated at the table with a large cup in front of him.

  “Want some coffee?” Alek asked as he started to get up.

  “No, I’m fine,” Kevin answered. “Have you had any sleep?”

  “Not yet. I told Marcus to get some after the sisters got up. I’ll sleep this afternoon, after we get back to the castle.”

  Kevin nodded. “Is Sister Janine ready to go?”

  “She said she was, but that was half an hour ago. I’m not sure where she took off to after that.”

  Kevin glanced at Theresa, who shrugged and said, “I’ll see if I can find her.”

  Alek finished his coffee, rinsed out his cup, and set it in the sink. His bag was on the floor next to the back door. “I’ll come back and stand guard with Marcus tonight if you want me to.”

  “I was just thinking about that. Until the other families come back, it might be a good idea to have one or two guards around. Let me speak with Darrell and Gen. Crandal first though. I’ll let you know this evening. Just be sure you get plenty of sleep once we get back home.”

  Alek nodded. “I will. I’m looking forward to my bed.”

  Sister Janine walked in as Alek finished talking. She cut her eyes at him and said, “I offered you a bed this morning.”

  “I know, Sister. It was my choice to wait up for Myron. No problem.”

  Sister Janine looked at Kevin. “Can you take me straight to the chapel? I don’t want to go parading all over town with you. That would draw just the kind of attention I want to avoid.”

  “Alek knows where the chapel is. He’ll take us straight there.”

  Sister Janine frowned at Alek. “You know how to operate the key?”

  Alek nodded.

  Sister Janine looked back at Kevin, her frown still in place. “Then why do I need you? You can just stay here. With my luck, if you go, someone will see you and recognize you, and I won’t be able to go anywhere without being followed.”

  Kevin shook his head. His sorcerer’s pendant was tucked inside his tunic, and he was dressed in what he referred to as his off-duty clothes, the ones he had worn in Rainbow Valley. Nothing about him said Seated Sorcerer, much less Master Sorcerer. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem, Sister. I don’t know anyone in Glenarbour, and no one will figure out who I am the way I’m dressed.”

  “Unless the person who sees you happens to be on the council, or someone who’s made it his business to know what you look like, like maybe a slaver operating in Camden.”

  “I won’t say it’s impossible, but it’s not likely.” Kevin put his hand on Alek’s shoulder. “At any rate, I’m going.”

  “Very well.” Sister Janine sighed. “But stay out of sight.” She turned to Alek. “Can you take us to the backyard? I don’t want to find myself standing in the middle of the street when we get there, like all of you were when you came here yesterday.”

  “No problem. Now, if you’ll put your hand on my arm, I’ll have us there in just a moment.”

  As soon as Sister Janine placed her hand on Alek’s arm, he turned the key.

  The next thing Sister Janine knew, she was doubled over between an old shed and a hedge in the backyard of the Glenarbour chapel. Her stomach was heaving and she was out of breath and dizzy. By the time she was able to stand up straight, Kevin had had a good look around with his seeing eye and knew they were the only people in the immediate area, but even if someone else had been around, they would still have arrived unobserved. The hedge at their backs was at least seven feet tall and completely surrounded the chapel’s backyard.

  Kevin gave a quick nod and said, “I’d say we arrived without anyone noticing.”

  “Unless a telepath’s around,” Janine grumbled.

  Kevin gave up. “Sister, I’d like to meet with you on a regular basis to find out what you’ve been able to discover, and to let you know how things are going with our search for the captives. I’m sure Sister Theresa will want to update you on things around Ashmont, too. When would be a good time?”

  Sister Janine frowned. “Daybreak. Not many people out at that hour, especially in a place like Glenarbour. Say 5:30, here, behind this shed.”

  Kevin smiled and nodded as if he agreed, but there was no way he was getting up at daybreak every day just to meet her. “That’s fine. I’ll be here Tuesday and Thursday morning. In the meantime, if anything comes up you think I need to know about, send a note to Brena and she’ll let me know. If I hear from you, I’ll be here the next morning at 5:30.”

  “The next morning won’t do if it’s urgent. There needs to be someone here, someone who can act immediately. After all, a few hours can make a huge difference in a case like this. Do you have someone here I can count on?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Why not? You have a key. You should have taken care of that yesterday.” Janine shook her head in disgust. “If I can’t count on you, I’ll just have to figure out a way to handle this on my own.”

  “No need for that, Sister. I assure you. If you need me, I’ll be here as soon as I get the message. Just wait for me to get here.”

  “If I have an emergency, there may not be time to send a message to Brena and wait for her to send it to you. And just how do you expect to handle it if you don’t have people already here? Do you even have a plan?”

  Kevin frowned. Theresa was right. This woman was dangerous. If he didn’t play things just right, he could have a full-scale disaster on his hands. “Sister, I don’t think we should discuss things like that out here in the open. Let’s just say if you call, we’ll come, and by we, I mean me and anyone else I need to handle the situation. Can we leave it at that?”

  Janine glared at Kevin. “I guess we’ll have to since I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of you. Just keep in mind that I am not a patient woman, and I will not stand by and let anything happen to those people, agreements or not. Do you understand me?”

  Kevin’s frown deepened, but he nodded. He put his hand on Alek’s arm and they left Glenarbour.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  As soon as Kevin and Alek were back in Kevin’s office, he asked, “What happened last night?”

  Alek looked puzzled. “Nothing that I know of. Why?”

  “Sister Janine was fine when I met her last night. Tod
ay …,” Kevin shook his head. “What made her change like that?”

  “I’m sorry, but I didn’t notice any difference. She seemed exactly the same to me this morning as she did last night.”

  “Are you serious?”

  Alek nodded.

  “Somehow I missed it last night.”

  “I don’t think you were around long enough to pick up on it. I don’t mean to speak ill of a sister, but I’m glad she works in Ashmont, not Milhaven.”

  Kevin nodded as he sat down behind his desk. “I have a feeling you had a long night last night. Are you sure you don’t mind going back tonight?”

  “Not at all. I’m sure tonight will be a bit more pleasant than last night.”

  “Let me ask you one more question, and then you need to get some sleep.”

  Alek nodded.

  “Did you have an ulterior motive for sending Marcus off to bed this morning?”

  “I thought it best he get some rest. We had a pretty long night.”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “Uh-huh. Try again,” Kevin said.

  “Let’s just say I was afraid that, in his exhausted state, Marcus might say something he’d regret later.”

  “Such as?”

  “I really don’t know, sir.”

  “All right. You’re off the hook. I’ll ask Marcus.”

  “Honest, nothing happened. Sister Janine just expressed some doubts about our ability to handle the situation and I think Marcus was starting to take her comments personally.”

  “Was she talking about our ability in general, as in the army, the governor’s office, and this office? Or a certain sorcerer in particular?”

  “Well, her comments at the time were directed mainly towards sorcerers.”

  Kevin nodded. “Thank you, Alek. Go get some sleep. If I need you to go back this evening, I’ll send someone to let you know.”

  After Alek left the office, Chris walked in and sat down. “Is Sister Janine safely ensconced in Glenarbour?”

  Kevin told him about his impressions of Janine and his concerns.

  “Do we need to let Brena know?”

  “Not at this point. If I say something now, Janine will think Theresa said something, and Janine’s not the type to keep her opinions to herself. That would ruin Theresa in the Sisterhood.”

  “How? Who would have a problem with her letting Brena know of an explosive situation?”

  “That’s not the problem. If Theresa tells Brena, she hasn’t broken her vow to keep anything said by a sister between sisters. But if I tell Brena, Janine will assume Theresa told me, and that’s what could ruin her.”

  “But Janine said enough to you herself to justify your warning Brena.”

  “I know, but Janine will blame Theresa if I say anything.” When Chris started to argue, Kevin shook his head. “We need to find a way to keep the lid on Glenarbour without telling Brena.”

  “How do you plan to do that?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter 5

  Paddy's Men

  During lunch Kevin told everyone about the latest news from Ashmont, including the mass exodus.

  Karl frowned. “That town has too many people to be in any danger from slavers.”

  Gen. Crandal shook his head. “I doubt the slavers are anywhere near there at this point.”

  “I’m more concerned about bandits than slavers,” Kevin explained to Karl. “That’s why I left Alek and Marcus there last night.”

  “I’ll have a couple of guards ready to go this evening,” Darrell said. “Is Alek going back?”

  “He volunteered, but he was busy all day yesterday and up all night. He could use a night off.”

  Darrell nodded. “Do you want two guards? Or three?”

  “Three,” Kevin said. “And I want them to stay there until enough people are back that the town doesn’t look abandoned, so tell them to pack for a couple of days. I want one on duty during the day, two at night. Marcus will be out on the river.”

  When Karl frowned, Kevin explained. “He’s going to see if he can find any sign of a camp the slavers might have used or anyone along the river who can tell us something about a boat or people they didn’t recognize.”

  Karl nodded.

  Gen. Crandal looked at Darrell. “I could send some soldiers if you need your guards here.”

  Darrell shook his head. “I can spare three for a while. If this turns into a long-term thing though, I may take you up on that.”

  “How about the children?” Joan asked Kevin. “Are they safe there?”

  “As safe as they’d be anywhere. They’re at the chapel, with Theresa and her pendant.”

  “But she has other duties, too. Tell her if she’s concerned about them, send them home with you. I’ll take care of them until she gets back.”

  Kevin nodded as he pushed back from the table. “There’s a stack of messages on my desk I need to take care of, so I’m going to my office for a while. Gen. Crandal, let me know when you and your men are ready to leave.”

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Gen. Crandal’s men arrived early that afternoon. He took them straight to the dining room and helped Miranda set some food out for them. While they were eating, Gen. Crandal stepped into the hall and flagged down a passing guard. “Would you let Myron know the soldiers are in the dining room?”

  The guard nodded and headed towards Kevin’s office.

  Gen. Crandal walked back inside the dining room and looked over the men. They weren’t dressed like most dinner guests at the castle, but he’d seen them look worse. They might have beards, long hair, and old clothes, but their eyes no longer looked haunted like they had when they’d first arrived at the camp in the mountains.

  Most of these men had lost everyone they loved to slavery, one way or another. Some had seen their loved ones killed during the attack, some had seen them sold off to strangers. Some had held them in their arms as they died during the long sea journey, and a few had seen them killed simply because they were too much trouble.

  Some had come to Camden as young boys, sold as farm laborers until they were old enough to serve in the army. Others had come as men and had been bought to fill local army units. A few had come as runaways, having escaped their captors in other provinces.

  Their stories were varied, but all of them were scarred, both physically and emotionally, by the cruelty of slavers and owners. Most of them didn’t talk about the past anymore, only the future. They trained every day, dreaming of the day they’d get a chance to pay back the men who’d stolen their lives. Their eyes were hard now, cold, and full of confidence. They followed orders, for the most part, but Gen. Crandal had no illusions about what would happen if they went up against a gang of slavers. Some of these men might die, but none of the slavers would survive.

  As soon as Kevin stepped into the dining room, one of the men, Wythe, dropped to his knees and bowed his head. Kevin raised his eyebrows in question at Gen. Crandal, but the general was as surprised as he was.

  Gen. Crandal walked over to Wythe and put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  Wythe looked up at him, over at Kevin, and back to Gen. Crandal. “That’s the Master Sorcerer, right?”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “Aren’t we supposed to kneel and bow our heads when he walks in the room?”

  Gen. Crandal frowned and shook his head.

  “We had to whenever any of the sorcerer’s family entered a room when I was in Landoryn. I figured it was common practice all over Terah.”

  “Not in Camden,” Gen. Crandal said. Then he put his hand on Wythe’s back and nodded towards the table. “Finish your lunch.”

  After Wythe was back in his seat, Gen. Crandal turned towards a particularly burly man and said, “Myron, this is Sgt. Doyle.”

  Kevin shook Sgt. Doyle’s hand, and then nodded towards the rest of the men. “Thank you for coming. Slavers invaded a small settlement Frida
y night and took seventeen people captive. In a little while, we’re going to take you to a landing near the mouth of the Kivee and put a boat at your disposal. If the slavers are headed for the Agrenon Bay, they’ll have to pass you to get there. When they do, your orders are to rescue the captives, arrest as many slavers as you can, and seize their ship.”

  Most of the men nodded. Gen. Crandal had already given them the basics.

  Kevin looked around the motley crew and asked, “Any questions?”

  One of the men looked at him for a couple of seconds and then said, “I’ve got one.”

  Kevin nodded.

  “How set are you on us arresting those slavers? I mean, there’s going to be some fighting going on, and it’ll make things a lot tougher if we have to bring those slavers back alive.”

  Kevin glanced around the table. The men had stopped eating. They were waiting for his answer. “If you can bring any of the slavers back for us to put on trial, that would be great, but you are not to put yourselves, or the captives, at risk to do it.”

  The man nodded. “Just checking.”

  “Anything else?” Kevin asked.

  When no one else spoke up, Gen. Crandal told the men to finish their lunch. Then he and Kevin stepped back into the hall.

  “You realize you just gave them the kill order, don’t you?” Gen. Crandal asked.

  Kevin nodded. “After what the slavers did, I see no reason why they should survive, especially if it puts anyone else at risk.”

  “You aren’t going to rethink this in a week or a month and end up accusing those men of murder, are you?”

  Kevin shook his head. “No. Your men will be acting in the defense of others. That’s not murder. I just hope all of them survive.”

  Gen. Crandal nodded.

  “When do you want to take them to the boat?”

  “In about half an hour. I’ll introduce Lt. Martyn as soon as they finish lunch. Then we’ll be ready to go.”