Authors: Mackenzie Morgan
“I’ll bring him up next Monday, the twelfth. You’ll have until the twentieth to help him get settled.”
“I’m leaving on the twentieth?”’
“If not the evening before. I’ll let you know for sure later. Have you mentioned any of this to Namir?”
Darwyn shook his head. “He knows the cold was really getting to me this past winter, so I doubt it’ll be a surprise, but I need to be the one to tell him.”
“When are you going to see him?”
“Today. Can I tell him you’ve already found someone?”
Kevin nodded. “And you can tell him Calhoun’s experienced. He’s been in his current post over ten years. I doubt if anything will come up he can’t handle.”
“Except maybe all that snow.”
Kevin shrugged. “Some people like it.”
“Namir does. He lives for winter.”
“Here’s hoping Calhoun does, too.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin went up to his room early Wednesday evening in case King Merdin dropped by. He and Nikki had only been in there a few minutes when King Merdin and Dani arrived.
“I wasn’t sure which one of us you needed, so we both came.” King Merdin sat cross-legged on the couch while Dani stretched out along the top. Nikki immediately jumped up beside King Merdin and settled down with her head in his lap. “So, what’s up?” King Merdin asked as he stroked Nikki. “You need to talk to Garen again?”
Kevin started to shake his head but stopped. “Well, yes, but not just Cpt. Garen. He and his men have joined their wives and I’m going down there to talk to them.”
“Have you decided to use them?”
Kevin hesitated. “I’m going to offer them the chance to join her. That’s what I want to talk to them about tomorrow afternoon.”
“How can we help?” King Merdin asked.
“Do you want me to check out their thoughts while you’re talking to them?”
Dani asked.
“That’s not a bad idea but unless someone’s thinking they’ll finally get a chance to kill her, their first reactions aren’t what I’m concerned about. I need to know what they’re thinking after what I say sinks in.”
King Merdin frowned. “I’m not sure I understand where we fit in.”
“If they join Landis, they’ll be living in isolation until she’s fully trained. I need to be sure they understand what they’re committing to because once they go, there won’t be any coming back. I won’t take the chance they might let someone else know where she is.”
“So you want us to listen to them while they talk to each other and see if they’ve got the picture.”
Kevin nodded.
“This island you’re thinking of taking them to, there won’t be any boats coming and going, will there?”
Kevin’s mouth dropped open, which caused King Merdin to shake his head and laugh. “You should know by now if you invite us in, we’re in. But don’t worry, Dani won’t tell anyone and neither will I. Like I keep telling you, your secrets are safe with us.”
“I know, but it takes me by surprise every time Dani mentions something no one’s supposed to know.” Kevin looked at Dani. “If you hear anyone else thinking about any of this, I need to know, all right?”
“Chris knows, and the elf,”
Dani said,
“but I imagine you know that. As far as I’ve been able to pick up, no one else around here has any idea where she is or where she’s going.”
“Let me know if anyone else figures it out.” He looked back at King Merdin. “So, how do you feel about it?”
“Sounds like fun,” King Merdin answered. “It’ll help if we hear what you tell them so we’ll need to be there when you talk to them. After you leave, we’ll hang around for a while to get their first reactions, and then we’ll drop in on them a few times a day to see who’s saying what. When do you want us to meet with you again?”
“I’d like to take the men to the island in a week or so. They’ll need to get the place ready for their families and I’d like to take the families by the end of the month.”
“Let’s meet next Tuesday evening then. We’ll let you know what we’re hearing and you can decide if you want us to keep listening. How’s that?”
Kevin nodded. “Thanks. I owe you two.”
King Merdin grinned. “You don’t owe us a thing. This will be fun. What time do you want to go tomorrow?”
“Around two.”
King Merdin stood up and took out his key. “We’ll meet you here.” Dani jumped down from his perch on top of the couch and put a paw on King Merdin’s shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
Shortly after King Merdin and Dani left, Chris opened the connecting door between their rooms. He was carrying a tray with two mugs of scog, a plate of cookies, and a small bowl of treats for Nikki. “I waited until I was sure they were gone.” He set the tray down on the coffee table. “I didn’t know they were here when I went to the kitchen or I’d have brought enough for them.”
Kevin shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. They’re coming back next Tuesday. We’ll have something for them then.”
“So they agreed to go listen?”
Kevin nodded. “I think they’re looking forward to it.”
“Good.” Chris picked up a cookie. “Have you decided what you want to say tomorrow?”
“Sort of.”
“Let’s work on that. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
Chapter 40
May 7
While Kevin was talking to King Merdin and Dani, Rolan was pacing back and forth in the tiny shed outside Milhaven. Trevor was late. No one dared be late for a meeting with Rolan. He kept people waiting, not the other way around, and the more he paced, the more his resentment grew.
Right as Rolan was considering leaving, the door opened and Trevor walked in. Rolan glared at him, waiting for an apology, an explanation, anything that showed proper respect. Instead, Trevor plopped down on top of a barrel and just looked at him.
Rolan’s glare intensified. “Where were you? I’ve been here for half an hour!”
Trevor shrugged. “I had things to do. I got here when I could.”
“You know I could turn you into a pile of ashes right where you sit, don’t you?”
“Sure.” Trevor picked up a piece of hay and played with it. “But you won’t. You don’t want Myron to know you’re anywhere near here.”
Rolan snorted. “How would he know?”
“He’d find out when they packed up my stuff. I left a note under my pillow addressed to him explaining where I was going and who I was meeting.” When Rolan’s eyes narrowed, Trevor shrugged again. “I’m not fool enough to meet you without taking precautions.”
“So, what have you got for me?” Rolan snapped
“Nothing until you pay me for last time, the time in December.”
“Your information wasn’t any good. Landis is still alive.”
“That’s not my problem. You pay me to pass on information. I don’t know if she didn’t show up or if your men couldn’t get the job done, but that has nothing to do with me. I did my part and I expect to be paid.”
Rolan took three coins out of his pocket and threw them on the ground near Trevor’s feet.
Trevor looked at the money and shook his head. “You’re a little short.”
With a grunt, Rolan pulled two more coins out and flung them into the dirt.
“That’s better,” Trevor said. “Now, what did you want to know?”
“What do you know about Landis?”
“Nothing. She hasn’t been around here since December and no one’s talking about her, at least not where I can hear them.”
“What about the elf?”
Trevor frowned. “Which elf? There have been several around the castle lately.”
“The woman, the warrior elf who was with Landis when she was here in November!”
“Rhianna?”
“If Rhianna’s the one who was with her, yes!” Rolan’s face had turned beet red.
“She’s living in town with a woman named Doreen. She and Myron have been seeing a lot of each other lately, but I don’t know anything about her in relation to Landis. I think Myron’s the only connection between them.”
Rolan scowled. “Keep an eye on her, and let me know if she leaves.”
Trevor held out his hand. “You asked. I answered.”
“What?” Rolan growled. “You expect to be paid for meeting me and answering a couple of questions?”
Trevor nodded. “That was our agreement. I tell you or your men what I know and you pay for the information, so you need to pay up.”
With a grunt, Rolan threw three more coins at Trevor’s feet. “That piddling bit of information was hardly worth the effort of telling it.”
Trevor shrugged. “You wanted to know what I knew and I told you. Not my fault it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. But as I didn’t have to dig out one of your men to pass it on, I’ll settle for that amount this time. But if you want any more information out of me, you better live up to our arrangement next time. Keep in mind I don’t have to tell you a thing.”
Without a word, Rolan took out his key, but before he could turn it, Trevor said, “I do have another piece of information you may find interesting, but it’s going to cost you.”
Rolan’s top lip curled as he stared at the man. “How much?”
“Five more coins.” Trevor played with the piece of hay. “I think you’ll agree it’s worth it.”
Rolan dug in his pocket and pulled out the coins. “Information first. Coins after.”
Trevor hesitated. “All right, but if you don’t pay me, we’re done. When Landis was here in December, she was planning to drop by the Chapel of Light to pick up some tea Sister Theresa made for her.”
“What tea? What was it for?”
“One that could make her power stronger,” Trevor said slowly. “Thought you might want to know about that. I don’t know if she went by the chapel or not, but I feel sure Myron saw to it she got the tea.”
“What was in it?” Rolan asked as he handed Trevor the coins.
Trevor shook his head.
“I’d be willing to pay double for that.”
“I’m not messing with the sisters. If you want to know what was in that tea, you’ll have to ask them yourself.”
Chapter 41
Back in Milhaven
Early Thursday morning, before the sun peeked over the mountains, there was a faint knock on Kevin’s door. If Nikki hadn’t nudged him, Kevin wouldn’t have known it.
“What is it, girl?” Kevin sat on the edge of his bed and rubbed his hand over his face. “You need something?”
Nikki faced the door and whimpered as there was another knock.
Kevin leaned down to pet her as he said, “Come in.”
Rupert cracked the door. “I hate to bother you, but Freddy wants to see you.”
“Freddy?”
Rupert nodded. “He didn’t say it was urgent, but he seldom speaks to any of the guards, much less asks them to deliver a message. I thought you might want to know.”
Kevin nodded. “Thank you.”
As Rupert went back to his post at the bottom of the steps, Kevin got dressed and knocked on Chris’s door. Before Chris could wake up enough to answer, Kevin opened the door and took Nikki in.
“You don’t have to get up,” Kevin said. “Just let Nikki stay with you until I get back.”
Fighting through the fog of sleep, Chris mumbled, “What’s happened? Where are you going?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m not sure. Freddy sent for me.”
Chris sat up in bed. “Freddy?”
Kevin nodded.
Chris yawned as he swung his legs off the bed. “I’ll get coffee. Meet you in your room.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Freddy’s roost was in the turret over the family wing of the castle. Most of the time he had little if any contact with the humans who lived there and as long as they left him alone, he was content to remain.
Freddy was three feet tall with a blue-black beak and feathers that were a mix of violet, crimson, and scarlet, all with flaming orange tips. When he opened them to greet Kevin, there was an explosion of color. As Kevin walked into the turret, Freddy’s large ruby eyes followed his every move.
Kevin bowed his head in Freddy’s direction. “You’ve been gone a while. Welcome back.”
Freddy tilted his head in response.
“I was returning last night when I sensed the evil heart that was here last year.”
“Rolan?”
“Aye, that’s the one.”
“Here, at the castle?”
Freddy shook his head.
“Towards the north, in a shed.”
“Can you tell me where it is?”
“I’ll show you. The sun’s not fully up yet. You should be able to follow me,”
Freddy said as he leapt into the sky.
Kevin quickly rose up to join him. As Freddy flew, Kevin concentrated on keeping his eyes on the phoenix. If they didn’t get there before the sun hit Freddy’s feathers, Kevin would lose him in the light.
Before long, Freddy slowed and hovered.
“Down there, hidden in those trees.”
Kevin used his seeing eye to focus on the building. “I’ve got it.”
“Meet me back at the castle.”
And with a flash of color, Freddy was gone.
Rather than fly back, Kevin took out his key and used it to go back to the roost.
“Was he alone?” Kevin asked.
Freddy shook his head.
“He met another man.”
“Do you know who it was?”
“Aye. He calls himself Trevor.”
“Thank you, Freddy.”
“I sense that what I told you is more a confirmation than a surprise. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I can tell you the heart of the man called Trevor is not as dark as the evil one’s, but it is filled with greed. The evil one pays him for information.”
Kevin nodded. “That’s good to know.”
“The evil one still means you harm, but he’s more interested in harming someone else now, a young woman. I don’t think she’s here though.”
“She isn’t, at least not now. She was last fall and he tried to have her killed then.”
“Be aware that he has others helping him, not all by their choice. Do not underestimate him. Evil has no rules.”
~ ~ ~ ~
Chris was waiting with coffee when Kevin got back. “What’s going on?” he asked as he handed Kevin a cup.
Kevin told Chris what Freddy had said.
“What do you want to do?” Chris asked.
“Nothing at the moment.”
“Since he’s in it for the money, why don’t we use that and turn him into a double agent?”