Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
As he finished his scog, he mulled over everything Cpt. Garen had said. He couldn’t make up his mind about the man. One moment he believed him and the next he thought it was some elaborate scheme to get Myron to drop his guard. After he finished his scog, he stood up to go.
Ainsley, who had come back out of the kitchen to clear some tables, frowned when she saw that the bowl of stew and bread had barely been touched. “I can get you something else to eat,” she said as she put the bowl and plate on her tray. “What would you like?”
Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “The food was fine. I just don’t have any appetite. Sorry.”
By the time Cpt. Lawrence got back to the castle, he still hadn’t made up his mind whether or not he believed Cpt. Garen. He decided to run it by Darrell and then the two of them could go see Myron.
When he reached Darrell’s office, he asked Kort to go to the kitchen and see if there was some cheese and bread left from lunch.
“Would you like some coffee?” Kort asked as he stood up from his desk.
“That would be good,” Cpt. Lawrence said with a nod. “You might want to pick one up for Cpt. Darrell, too.”
“I got him a carafe a little while ago. There should be some more in there, but I’ll get you a fresh cup, just in case.”
After Kort left, Cpt. Lawrence went into Darrell’s office and sat down. “I had an interesting conversation in Fenway’s today.”
Darrell looked up. “Who were you talking to?”
“A man named Cpt. Garen, and you’ll never guess why he’s been in the area for the past year or so.” Then Cpt. Lawrence told Darrell everything Cpt. Garen had said. As he was finishing, Kort walked in carrying a small tray with cheese, bread, and a cup of coffee on it. He set the tray on a table near Darrell’s desk and asked if there was anything else. After Cpt. Lawrence thanked him, Kort walked out of Darrell’s office, pulling the door shut behind him.
“So, what do you think?” Cpt. Lawrence asked as he picked up the tray.
“I thought you said this conversation took place at Fenway’s.”
“It did.” Cpt. Lawrence made a cheese sandwich and took a bite.
“Didn’t you eat lunch there?”
“I ordered lunch, but by the time Cpt. Garen left, I didn’t have any appetite. I left a bowl of stew and a chunk of bread sitting on the table. Wish I had it now.”
Darrell laughed. “Bet you hurt Callie’s feelings.”
“I doubt she noticed. Petar was there.”
“When are those two going to get married?”
Cpt. Lawrence shrugged. “Who knows? But back to what Garen said. What do you think?”
“I have no problem believing Rolan sent assassins here to murder Myron. He had bounty hunters all over Calandra looking for him,” Darrell said. “And I have no doubt Garen wants to meet Myron, but as to anything else he said? I don’t know what to believe. The only thing I do know is we need to tell Myron about this.”
Cpt. Lawrence nodded. “That was my reaction too, especially the ‘don’t know what to believe’ part.”
Darrell opened his door and asked Kort to see if Myron was in, and if he was, tell Chris to keep him there for a few minutes, that he needed to talk to him.
Kort nodded and left the guard’s office.
Darrell went back to his office to wait for Cpt. Lawrence to finish eating. He had just sat back down when Kort leaned in to tell him Chris said Myron was in his office and didn’t have any plans to go anywhere until after dinner.
Ten minutes later, Darrell, Cpt. Lawrence, and Chris walked into Kevin’s office and sat down.
“What’s up?” Kevin asked.
Darrell looked at Cpt. Lawrence and nodded, so, for the second time, Cpt. Lawrence replayed the conversation he’d had with Cpt. Garen. When he was done, he leaned back in his chair.
Kevin looked at Darrell and raised his eyebrows.
“I don’t know,” Darrell said. “We have no way to validate anything he’s said except that he’s been in the area since before we got here. Other than that, it’s anybody’s guess as to how much is fact and how much is fiction. This whole thing could be an attempt to set you up, or it could be on the level.”
Kevin looked at Chris.
“I agree. There’s plenty of room for doubt. The safest thing would be to lock him up.”
“I’m not sure locking him up’s a good idea unless we can get all of his men, too,” Cpt. Lawrence said.
“We only have his word that he has seven men under his command,” Darrell pointed out.
“I know what you mean,” Cpt. Lawrence said, “but the three men who came in while we were talking were definitely there as protection. I’d stake my reputation on it. They had the look of guards about them, an awareness, a confidence most men don’t have. If they aren’t guards now, I’d bet they were at some point.”
“All right,” Chris said. “So he has some men. We still don’t know how many, and we don’t know what they really want. They could be part of that group of assassins living in the cave near Fall Creek Road.”
Kevin shook his head. “Not if he’s been here since before we got here. Rolan had bounty hunters out looking for Landis, but he had no reason to connect her with me until my first council meeting. If Cpt. Garen and his group were here before that, we can assume I was their target. After all, we knew he had teams out looking for me. Makes sense he’d have sent one here.”
“Okay,” Chris said with a nod. “Say he was sent here to kill you. How do we know his orders haven’t changed? How do we know Rolan hasn’t told him to kill both of you?”
“We don’t,” Darrell said, “which is only one of the reasons I’m opposed to the idea of you meeting with this guy.”
Kevin managed not to grin, but his eyes lit up.
“You’re thinking about doing it, aren’t you?” Darrell asked. “About meeting with him?”
Kevin nodded.
Darrell, Chris, and Cpt. Lawrence all shook their heads.
If the three of them hadn’t been so serious, and if their goal hadn’t been to protect him, Kevin would have laughed. As it was he couldn’t help but smile. “I know this man might be out to kill me, Darrell. It’s not like I think he’s an old friend or something. I won’t take any chances.”
“What have you got in mind?” Darrell asked, frowning.
“I don’t want to go into any details yet.” Kevin looked at Cpt. Lawrence. “When did you say you’re meeting him again?”
“Next Tuesday, at lunchtime, at Fenway’s.”
Kevin nodded. “The four of us will meet Monday night and discuss the details. But for now, I don’t want anyone outside this room to know anything about this.”
“That’s no problem here,” Cpt. Lawrence said, “but what about in town? I’m sure his men knew why he was there, and Petar probably did, too. They looked pretty cozy when I first got there, and if Petar knows, Callie does too, which means Ainsley knows, and so it goes. How do we stop them from talking?”
“We can’t,” Kevin said, “but as long as none of us acknowledge it, it’s only a rumor. And besides, I doubt he’s broadcasting the reason he wants to see me. Rolan has some other assassins in the area and Garen probably doesn’t want any of this getting back to Rolan.”
“Provided he’s telling the truth,” Cpt. Lawrence said.
“What time do you want us here?” Darrell asked.
“Nine?” Kevin asked with his eyebrows raised. When no one objected, he nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you Monday evening at nine.”
After Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence left, Chris asked, “Do you have something in mind? Or were you bluffing?”
“Let’s say I’ve got the beginnings of a plan. We’ll talk about it later.”
~ ~ ~ ~
After Kevin and Nikki got back from their evening walk with Rhianna, they joined Chris in the office. “Anything come up while I was gone?”
Chris shook his head. “The office’s been quiet since dinner. I let the pages leave as soon as I got back.”
“Good,” Kevin said. “This is definitely one time when no news is good news. Are you about ready to head upstairs?”
Chris nodded. “We need to talk.”
Kevin sighed. “About this afternoon?”
Again, Chris nodded.
“Okay, but if we’re going to talk about that, I need some scog.”
“And cake?”
“Unless you can find some brownies.” Kevin laughed. “I never used to eat sweets. You’ve definitely been a bad influence on me along that line.”
Chris shook his head as he cleared his desk. “No, I’ve broadened your horizons. I still can’t believe you managed to grow up without having brownies for breakfast at least once.” Chris glanced up at Kevin. “Please tell me you’ve had cold pizza for breakfast.”
Kevin wrinkled his nose. “Ugh. That sounds horrible.”
“Are you serious? You didn’t have cold pizza while you were in college?”
Kevin shook his head.
Chris sighed. “You had such a deprived childhood, and now I’m finding out your college years left a lot to be desired, too.”
Kevin laughed. “Guess that’s why I need you.”
“Guess so.” Chris stood up. “Meet you upstairs in a minute.”
Kevin and Nikki went upstairs while Chris headed down to the kitchen.
The first thing Kevin did when he got to his room was take out the chimes King Merdin had given him and hang them from his balcony. By the time Chris came in, Kevin was on the floor brushing Nikki.
“She knows how to get on the couch,” Chris said. He set the tray he was carrying down on the coffee table. It was loaded with two mugs of scog, two slices of cake, four brownies, and a small bowl.
“I know, but she likes to stretch out when I brush her and she’s getting too big to be able to stretch out on the couch.”
Chris sat down and picked up one of the slices of cake. “So, what’s the plan?”
“I thought I’d use the island.”
“Which one?”
“The first one,” Kevin answered. “The one that’s basically a big rock. Do you know which one I’m talking about?”
“The one with a small cave and nothing else? No trees, no plants, nothing?”
“That’s the one.”
“How’s he going to get there?”
“I thought you could bring him. If he’s planning to try to kill me, he won’t hurt you until after you take him to me.”
“And after we get there?”
“That’s up to you. You can leave or you can stay.”
“I’ll stay. Darrell will feel better if I’m there.”
“And you want to hear what he has to say.”
“There is that.” Chris picked up his scog and took a swallow. “Will it just be the two of us?”
“I hope not, but I don’t know yet.”
“Dani?”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m going to ask him to come. If he’d rather not, I may see if Xantha will, but if Xantha agrees to do it, we’ll have to find somewhere else to meet. There’s nowhere on that island for him to hide.”
“But you are planning to use a telepath.”
“If I can.” Kevin got up off the floor and sat down on the couch.
Chris pointed to a small bowl on the tray with several of Nikki’s treats. “Miranda set those out for her. She’ll ask you tomorrow if Nikki liked them, so pay attention when you give them to her.”
Kevin nodded and held one of the treats out to Nikki. She sniffed at it, backed up and looked at it from several angles, sniffed at it again, gingerly took it, and ran across the room to lie down on the rug beside Kevin’s bed to eat it. As soon as she finished, she ran back to Kevin, sat down in front of him, tilted her head, lifted her paw, and whimpered. “I think that’s a yes,” Kevin said as he handed her another one. She grabbed it and ran back to the rug to eat it.
“Are you planning to talk to Landis about this?”
“Not at this point.” Kevin paused. “I’ve been thinking about the island we’re going to take Landis to. As of right now it’ll be her, Taelor, Warren, and Torrey. Warren can take care of anyone who shows up, but that’s not his job. I don’t want him worrying about security.” Kevin paused to take a bite of one of the brownies. “I was thinking about sending some of our guards out there to stay while she’s there, or maybe some of our soldiers, but if this guy’s sincere, if his squad really does want to see Landis take over Brendolanth’s seat, they’d be perfect.”
“But isn’t it risky? They could kill her in her sleep.”
“Maybe, but they wouldn’t survive very long afterwards. If Warren didn’t get them, I would. There’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. They’d be on an island in the middle of the ocean with no way of leaving. They’d have to be serious about wanting to work for her to agree to live there.”
“As long as they know what they’re in for.”
“We’re a long way from making the offer, but if I do, I’ll make sure they understand what they’re getting themselves into. And once they know where Landis is, they’re not leaving the island until she does, at least not alive. There won’t be any going out there and then changing their minds.”
“What if these men have families back in Trendon?” Chris asked. “Rolan could use their families as hostages.”
“If they have families in Brendolanth, they’re not going anywhere near Landis. Period.”
“And how are we going to know?”
“I’ll ask him.”
“And Dani will know the truth no matter what he says.”
“Or Xantha will,” Kevin said. “Xantha’s known Landis since she was a little girl and all I’m trying to do is protect her. I think I could get him to go along with it.”
“Especially if you agree to let him pick out a wife for you.”
“If that’s the price, we’ll have to figure out another way.”
“Well, we do know other telepaths.”
“I know, but most of the others prefer not to get involved in human affairs.” Kevin paused. “And if Garen checks out, I need to be sure his men do, too. I’m thinking about asking Glendymere to get a read on them before I let them anywhere near Landis. I’m not sure he’ll do it, but I’ve got a better chance of convincing him to do it if I don’t involve him at this point.”
“That’s a good idea, and I’m pretty sure he’d do it. Protecting Landis wouldn’t even enter into it. He’d do it to spite Rolan.”
Kevin frowned. “What makes you say that?”
“When Rolan stole that lamp, he stole Glendymere’s flame. I’m the one who stayed with him while you three went to get the lamp. Trust me. He made his feelings about Rolan crystal clear that day.” Chris picked up a brownie and took a bite. “But when I said we know other telepaths, I was thinking about Yara.”