The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah) (72 page)

“Like I keep saying, paranoia could be the key to a long life on Terah,” Chris said softly.

Laryn laughed and then turned back to Kevin, “After everyone’s seated, I’ll introduce you and you’ll open the meeting by asking if there is any old business that needs to be revisited. If anyone has anything to say, they’ll speak up. You don’t have to worry that any of these characters are shy.”

“What if I have no idea what they’re talking about?” Kevin asked.

“Then listen. But if it really is old business it would be covered in my notes. Be sure you’re familiar with them before tomorrow.”

“Okay, I’ll go over Chris’s outlines and summaries again tonight, along with the notes on each of the seated sorcerers.”

“After that, ask if anyone has anything new to bring before the council. You can count on something being brought up. Sometimes the things that are brought up are frivolous, sometimes downright foolish, but once in a while it’s something important. Be sure you listen, and listen carefully. A lot of times you can prevent problems by hearing what isn’t being said as well as what is. And keep in mind that your main role is that of facilitator, not critic, although at times you’ll have to put a lid on things, just hopefully not at your first meeting.”

“Agreed,” Kevin said with a nod. “Anything else?”

“Not really. When no one has anything else to bring up, you thank everyone for coming and say that you’ll see them next month, on the fourth of May. Then you stand up. No one is supposed to stand until after you do, so don’t forget. I’d hate for all the sorcerers to be stuck sitting there, getting fidgety, just because you were so relieved to have it all over that you sat back in your chair to relax. Not a good beginning.”

“No, that would be a bit embarrassing,” Kevin agreed. “Chris, if I sit there too long, poke me.”

“I doubt that that would go over too well either,” Chris said.

“Pass me a note then,” Kevin said and Laryn nodded. Then Kevin stood up, gathered up all the notes on his desk, and said, “If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room, studying for my debut as Master Sorcerer.”

Chapter 54

The Master Sorcerer

Saturday morning, Kevin was out in the grassy meadow behind the castle before the sun came up, running through his magical workout. His nerves were raw from all the adrenaline pumping through his body, and his routine exploded with pent-up energy.

Chris was up early, too, dreading the day and excited about it at the same time. As he stood on the balcony watching the magical display across the river, he wished the other council sorcerers could witness what he was seeing. He wasn’t positive that Kevin was the best sorcerer on Terah, but unless everyone around them was lying, he was one of the best, and this morning, he was better than ever.

Laryn was also up, standing near one of the back windows in the dining room watching Kevin’s exercises. She, too, wished that all of the seated sorcerers could see her nephew in action. Then she would be able to relax. None of the others could come close to matching his power and control, and if they only knew that, no one would dare challenge him. Her only real worry was his reluctance to strike a fatal blow. That was the one thing that might defeat him.

When Kevin returned to the castle, he stopped by his office to look over the notes one last time. Afterwards he felt like he was about as prepared as he could get, so he went upstairs to get dressed.

Chris was sitting on the couch, waiting for him. “I noticed your exercises this morning. Quite a performance. You must have been feeling your oats today.”

“I felt something, but I think it was nerves more than anything else,” Kevin said with a laugh as he put on a new dark green tunic. “But it was a good workout. At least I feel better now than I did when I got up.” He pulled the chain that held the pendant Glendymere had given him out from under his tunic and let the red opal fall to the center of his chest.

“I wish the other sorcerers could have seen it.”

“I don’t know about that. We don’t know how good I really am. All we have to go on is what everyone around here is saying, and they could just be saying that to keep us from running for the hills.”

“I was hoping you hadn’t thought of that.” Chris said with a grin. “But today doesn’t have anything to do with sorcery. Today it’s all about showmanship. All you have to do is radiate self-confidence.”

“Too bad you can’t pretend to be me. You’ve got enough moxie for both of us.”

“Not really,” Chris admitted. “It’s easy to act that way when you know nothing is going to be aimed at you. If the situation were reversed, and I was the one front and center, I’d probably be hiding under the bed about now.”

“Not a bad idea,” Kevin said as he fastened the red sash around his waist.

“It’s time for us to go down for breakfast,” Chris said as he stood up. “You don’t want to get a late start today.”

“No, but I’m not at all sure that I want breakfast either. My stomach feels queasy,” Kevin said, rubbing his hand over his stomach.

“Nerves. You need to eat something and give the stomach acid something to work on besides the walls of your stomach,” Chris said. “Come on, let’s go.”

When they reached the dining room, everyone was waiting for them.

“We wanted to wish you good luck today,” Karl said.

“And to let you know that we’re all behind you,” Joan added.

Steve nodded and said, “I just wish we could go with you.”

“After all the hoop-la about this, it seems a shame not to see the big show,” Darrell said with a twinkle in his eye. “Sure you can’t take the Captain of the Guard with you?”

“No, he can’t,” Laryn said quickly.

“I was just kidding, Laryn,” Darrell said.

“I’m sorry, Darrell. I’m just nervous. Don’t take it personally. I know how volatile these meetings can get sometimes and I can just picture what would happen if the sorcerers brought guards with them. As soon as voices were raised, swords would be drawn, and then we’d have a lot of dead guards.”

“Great,” Chris mumbled under his breath. Then he looked at Laryn and said, “That’s a detail you never mentioned before. Just how volatile are things likely to get?”

Laryn shook her head. “No one has ever gotten around to tossing energy bolts or anything like that, but there’s a lot of arguments and yelling. I can’t say that I’ll miss going to those meetings.”

Conversation eventually steered away from the impending council meeting and moved on to other topics while they ate breakfast. Finally, after everyone had finished, Laryn stood up, looked at Kevin, and said, “Well, I guess it’s time for us to go. Are you ready?”

“I guess so. Chris, have you got something to take notes on?”

Chris nodded, pulled some paper and a couple of pens out of one of the large pockets on his tunic, showed them to Kevin, and put them away again.

“We never did get a chance to try this out,” Kevin said as he took off the chain with the key to Terah and handed it to Laryn. “You know where we’re going. I don’t.”

Laryn nodded and held the key in front of her. Kevin put his hand on one of her arms and Chris put his hand on the other. Laryn turned the key, and the three of them vanished from the dining room.

“What a way to travel!” Karl said. “Wish we all had those keys.”

“I don’t,” Darrell said. “If we had them, so would everyone else on Terah, and I don’t have any idea how we could make the castle secure if people could just pop in and out whenever they felt like it.”

Tyree nodded and said, “And it’s not really an easy way to travel either. It may be quick, but it rips your guts around and leaves you feeling like you’ve been torn apart. I hate it.”

~ ~ ~ ~

By the time Tyree finished his comment, Kevin, Chris, and Laryn were on Chamber Isle. Laryn had taken them to a small clearing in the forest so that Kevin and Chris could recover in private. When they first emerged from the energy flow, they were all dizzy and disoriented, but since Laryn was used it, she recovered almost immediately. Kevin and Chris did manage to stay on their feet, but they stumbled around quite a bit as they tried to shake off the effects of traveling through a field of raw energy.

“That’s why I wanted to arrive a little early,” Laryn said quietly. “I didn’t think you would want the more experienced travelers to witness your arrival the first time you zapped in.”

“You’re right about that. Man, I thought my stomach was upset before breakfast. Ohhh, it’s no longer butterflies. There are vultures flying around in there now,” Kevin said, as he rubbed his heaving insides.

“If you’re going to get sick, do it now, before we get around the other sorcerers,” Laryn warned.

“No, I’ll be okay. Just give me a couple of minutes,” Kevin said as he turned to Chris. “How are you doing?”

“All right, I think.” Chris’s face was pale and he had broken out in a sweat. “Did I forget to mention that I absolutely hate roller coasters?”

“I don’t think that ever came up,” Kevin answered with a faint grin.

“Roller coaster?” Laryn asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Where we used to live there were amusement parks with all kinds of rides. One of the worst was the giant roller coaster. You sat in little seats and were carried slowly way up in the air on a track, then the track swooped back towards the ground, twisting and turning as it went. They always made me nauseous,” Kevin explained. “And apparently Chris didn’t like them any more than I did.”

“Well, get yourselves sorted out because we need to head over towards the Council Chamber. It’s about half a mile from here.”

After a few more minutes, Kevin and Chris were steady enough to walk, so Laryn led them down a narrow path that wound through the woods.

When they emerged from the forest, they were standing at the edge of the large circular clearing that surrounded the Council Chamber. They hadn’t been standing there long before other sorcerers and their seconds began popping in. Laryn took Kevin around and informally introduced him to each sorcerer as he or she arrived, but not one of them had a welcoming smile or even a handshake. A few glared, but most seemed to look right through him, as if he were too insignificant to notice.

Precisely at noon, Camden time, a bell sounded and everyone began walking towards the chamber. Once inside, each sorcerer headed directly towards his or her chair and carefully took a seat on the hard gray granite. The name of the province was engraved on the top of each of the stone chairs except for Kevin’s. His simply read “Master Sorcerer.” Against the back wall, nearly hidden in shadows, was another chair that had “Camden” engraved on it.

Kevin took his seat and Chris sat down at the desk beside Kevin’s chair. Laryn stepped up behind Chris and remained standing.

When everyone else was seated, Laryn stepped forward and said, “Presenting the Master Sorcerer, Myron, of the House of Nordin, Sorcerer of Camden.” As soon as she finished speaking, she stepped back and took her place behind Chris. The council meeting was underway.

Kevin played his role flawlessly through the quick discussion of old business. When he asked if there was any new business, Gwendolyn flicked her hand to signal that she had something to say.

Kevin nodded towards her and she began to speak in a shrill and haughty voice. “I want a statement from the Council of Sorcerers condemning any and all assistance to escaped slaves, and I want this statement to specifically include Sisters of Healing who treat escaped slaves for either illness or injury.”

Malcolm, the Sorcerer of Glyndal, quickly nodded in agreement but didn’t say anything.

Kevin looked back at Gwendolyn to see if she was finished. She was looking at Malcolm like she expected him to add something, but when he didn’t, she turned back to Kevin and stuck her chin out defiantly. He thought she looked just like the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz, and it didn’t help that her tunic was black.

“Yes, and we want you to tell Glendymere that he had no right to give them those pendants in the first place,” Gwendolyn said indignantly. She might have been skinny and short, but her voice was piercing and there was no way anyone could ignore her. “You need to demand that he either confiscate them or give us something to neutralize them. We can’t even arrest the sisters as long as they’re wearing those things. They do whatever they want regardless of what we say, and I will no longer tolerate anyone living in my province who is not subject to my rules.”

Several of the other sorcerers started nodding their heads in agreement with her statement, so Kevin stepped in and answered her in a quiet but sturdy voice. “The Sisters of Healing spend their lives helping others, and they wear the pendants only for protection, for self-defense. I can’t understand why anyone would object to that, but I’ll deliver your message to both Glendymere and Brena. Now, I need to know exactly who is registering the complaint.” Kevin glanced over at Chris and said, “Please note that Gwendolyn of Landoryn and Malcolm of Glyndal are opposed to the sisters wearing pendants in their provinces.” Then he looked back at the council members and asked, “Would anyone else like to join with them in their complaint?”

When no one spoke up, Kevin nodded and then directed his comments to Gwendolyn. “I feel sure we can reach a compromise and just not have those pendants in Glyndal and Landoryn. Would that help? Of course, that would also mean there wouldn’t be any sisters in those provinces.”

Gwendolyn shrieked, “You have to present our case to the Federation. Those pendants are in direct violation of the Federation agreement. You have no choice!”

Kevin waited a full minute, until once again, silence filled the chamber. “Actually, the pendants predate the agreement, so they fall under the grandfather clause. Therefore, there is no violation and no case to present. As far as your grievance is concerned, I told you that I would deliver your message just as soon as I return to Milhaven. Brena can notify the rest of the Sisterhood. Just be sure that you’re willing to deal with the consequences. Now, once again, would anyone else like to join Gwendolyn and Malcolm in this complaint? No? Fine. Chris, make a note that the grievance is registered by the Sorcerers of Landoryn and Glyndal only, that no one else objects to the sisters’ pendants.”

Malcolm jumped to his feet and roared, “Now wait a minute. Wait just a minute here. What are you trying to do?”

Kevin kept a cool and steady gaze on Malcolm until he had taken his seat, and then he answered in an icy voice, “My job. I will not represent the view of two sorcerers as if it were the view of all humans, especially when it could have such disastrous repercussions. Anything else would be irresponsible.”

Damien, the sorcerer of Nandelia, spoke up. “Maybe you should delay mentioning anything about the pendants until we’ve all had time to give this some more thought.”

Kevin raised his eyebrows, looked at Gwendolyn, but said nothing. After a couple of minutes, Gwendolyn slowly nodded her head and then looked over at Malcolm. Following her lead, he nodded his head, too.

Then Gwendolyn looked around at the rest of the sorcerers and hissed, “Back to the issue of escaped slaves. We need to stand together on this.”

Jason, the Sorcerer of Prosidian, spoke up. “Just what are you asking us to do?” Although his voice was loud, it was not belligerent.

Gwendolyn turned towards Jason. “Support the hunt for any escaped slaves who enter your province. Have your army and sorcerers assist the trackers. And help out in the search yourself if you can. We need to make a real commitment to returning escapees to their owners for execution. If we really go after runaways, we’ll put an end to running.”