To Be Chosen (41 page)

All the efforts and sacrifices she made were for nothing, striving to be at the top of her class, following the rules to the best of her ability, always exceeding what was expected of her, and denying herself the love of a decent man who would have married her in a heart beat. If she had it all to do again, she would only change one thing, accept Daniel’s proposal. No, she would propose to him as any decent Lobenian would, except she would do so privately, so she could have him and her career. The hypocrites in Aakadon say she can have any sexual partner she wanted so long as she is discrete and does not procreate, but she cannot marry him. The body she was in was shedding tears now, she wept along with it, for the things that could have been but never will be, and for the thought that this same fate awaits the man she should have married, but did not.

She hated what this evil man was doing to her body, which was shaped like a fish, flat and long with arms and legs that could be pressed flat against the torso, of which anyone looking at it would be hard pressed to determine the gender. Standing was difficult and she could hardly draw a breath. Lungs were not meant to be compressed in this manner and she knew the laboring heart in her chest only beat because the spell compelled it to do so. She should be dead. Serin Gell’s alterations were so extreme the body could not function in its current state for long, guaranteeing death in the near future, unless he chooses to rearra
nge her into a different form.

Serena wiped perspiration from her brow while trying to keep the river to her left and not get sidetracked down an oxbow, which would lead to a lake they would have to circumvent, again. She could have sworn that last one was passable when they came by the first time on their way south, it must have rained and covered the original path. Gray clouds hid the sun, night would come early, and she needed to find a place to camp.

“I remember drier ground farther north and to the east, about a half a span ahead,” Ana Tigress informed her.

“That’s exactly where we are going,” Serena replied as if she had planned to stop there all along.

Duggan nodded her head as if convinced her team leader had everything under control while Ferret accepted whatever Serena told him as a fact. Taltin no longer flattered her, but he offered no criticisms of her decision making and obeyed without question. SuTamkin, on the other had, sneered as if he knew she only remembered the drier ground after it had been pointed out to her. That and a score of earlier remarks showed he did not respect her. She would have to do something about his attitude. Of the one hundred forty-three surviving sasquatches under her command, twenty-one, including Gurrumble, had been left in the swamp to discourage pursuit, so she had plenty to choose from if it became necessary for one of them to carry the illegitimate son of a lord. He had the intelligence to keep his mouth shut this time, perhaps sensing her mood.

“Serena, what have you to report?” Vance Cummin’s voice sounded in her mind.

“Ana, I am receiving a communication, take the lead,” she said out loud and then fell in second position behind Tigress and concentrated on the conversation in her head. “I have the trumpet of
Tarin Conn tucked under my right arm.”

“That is good news. Rather than teleport to Serpent North, why don’t you come to me at my residence in Holcum?”

The reply put her in the unfortunate position of having to make an explanation she had hoped to avoid. “I need a team to meet us in Rivertown.”

“One is curious as to why I should send another team. A task was delegated to you. The choices, strategy, tactics, personnel, and resources were left up to you and none of your requests were denied. Did I err in entrusting the task to the wrong person?”

She chose not to dignify that question with an answer. “I was successful in obtaining the trumpet but the price was not without cost. Five members of my team survived, the rest died in the assault and infiltration, leaving me not enough combined potential to perform, Teleportation. The trumpet is shielded in a cedar box and we are unable to open it,” she sent and then took a deep breath, not caring that her team was seeing her sweat, yet glad they could not hear her conversation. “I take full credit for taking possession of the trumpet and full responsibility for the losses incurred. On balance, the Serpent Guild benefits, and as team leader I am calling on the authority you gave me to allocate ten Accomplisheds to be at Rivertown when I arrive.” It was a bold move to demand help rather than beg for it, but she had succeeded in her task and refused to be treated like a failure.

“Communicate with me when you arrive at your destination, a team will be sent, per your authority to allocate resources. Your leadership lacks efficiency, but in the end it is the results that count, so I will be lenient. Next time, report to me sooner, and in the future do not make me learn through other contacts what should have been reported to me by you.” he replied. It was scary how much that man knew. “Just so you know. Daniel Benhannon is following your team and even though he has been Silenced, the Supreme Maestro has plans for him, which means discouragement of pursuit is your only option.”

“Understood, I will discourage but not harm him,” Serena replied.

The connection ended, but what had been communicated weighed on her mind. She was not afraid of Daniel Benhannon, for the reason stated by Vance Cummin. Being Silenced rendered the man harmless, no matter how many lightning bolts he may possess. The heaviness came from the realization of how vast Vance’s web of informants had to be and that he apparently wanted her to know it. Only someone at the estate or traveling with Daniel Benhannon could have been the source, or someone traveling with her, which was more disturbing, seeing as she hand picked this team of Talenteds.

They arrived at the high ground Tigress had spoken of and created temporary hut-like shelters, fashioning them out of dirt and making them hard as stone, one for each Aakacarn, and then Ferren went hunting. Serena formed a message for her pursuer on the ceiling of her one room dwelling. “An Impotent Accomplished Should Keep His Nose Out Of Aakacarn Affairs. Follow At Your Own Peril.”

Pleased with her work, and not being hungry, she went to sleep with one hand on the trumpet and the other on her tummy. Daybreak arrived and she brushed her hair and went out to see Ferren cooking some kind of meat in a pan, it was best not to ask what, although it did not smell bad. Puddles between the shelters were evidence of rain over night, but the sky was clear and the new day promised to be sunny.

“Are we still bound for Rivertown?” Ferret asked her while handing her a plate of fried something, not fish, rodent, or reptile, so it had to be fowl.

“Yes. I arranged for Accomplisheds to transport us to Holcum after we arrive,” she told him. “This is a big accomplishment to have on our resumes.”

“Mostly yours,” Duzolta replied. The unvarnished way he said it sounded sincere rather than an attempt at flattery.

Serena had been thinking about establishing her own web of contacts loyal to her, he and several others were definitely candidates. “True, but everyone in the guild will know you were a part of the team that reclaimed the trumpet of
Tarin Conn. More importantly, the Supreme Maestro will know.”

“Do you think this will earn me the right to visit the sacred cave?” Ferren asked, and then took a bite of meat.

She chewed a piece of fowl, swallowed, and washed it down with water from her canteen. “I’m sure it will. Visiting the cave and being linked to the Supreme Maestro was the highest privilege granted me, higher even than when I graduated to Accomplished.”

Ferren smiled contentedly. Most of the Ducaunan Aakacarns, much like herself, were recruited into the guild at an early age and the customs of Tarin Conn’s association  were all they knew, having never been pollut
ed by the teachings in Aakadon.

Duggan emerged from her stone hut, ran fingers through her thick dark hair, and came over to the fire, grabbed a plate of food, and forked some fowl into her mouth. “Looks like a better day.”

SuTamkin joined them, followed shortly by Taltin. “Should we dissolve the huts?” the illegitimate lordling inquired.

“No,” Serena replied and drew some raised eyebrows. It had been the practice to remove every trace of their campsite. “I have been informed that we are being pursued by Daniel Benhannon.”

“Your contacts are impressive.” It was the first compliment given by SuTamkin and he actually bowed to her. She had no intention of telling him she had no web of her own and only knew what Vance Cummin chose to reveal.

“What does that have to do with us not dissolving our huts?” Taltin asked respectfully, not a challenge of her decision, going by his tone.

“He is powerless to stop us so we have nothing to fear from him, but I want him to know that we know he is following us,” Serena explained, even though she did not owe an explanation, her being the leader, whose authority is not to be questioned.

“You want the huts to remain, they remain, simple as that, but I wouldn’t mind if Benhannon caught up with us. He might even live to learn a valuable lesson,” SuTamkin stated, emphasizing his last sentence as if relishing the possibility, and perhaps hoping to be the instructor. If so, he was going to be disappointed because she intended that task for someone more trustworthy.

“Duzolta, we are going to start out for Rivertown, you wait here for two marks and then trail after us for ten spans. I am leaving you in command of eighty sasquatches. If Daniel Benhannon and his team keep coming after they reach this camp, I want you to discourage him, short of killing him, and then catch up with us,” Serena ordered and received a frown from SuTamkin and a shrug of the shoulders from Taltin. Tigress and Duggan did not seem to care, no doubt they just wanted to get the assignment over with, and if so, it was a sentiment Serena certainly shared.

Ferret rubbed his hands together, smiling maliciously. “I know just what to do.”

Serena liked his enthusiasm, but did not want the Talented to go too far, and actually kill Daniel Benhannon. “What do you have in mind?”

“Hide underground, pop up, strike him, and send half the sasquatches to destroy the supplies, and the other half to attack if Daniel Benhannon chooses to continue pursuing us.”

Serena gave a single nod of the head. “Do it.”

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Samuel Cresh stared out the third floor window of the Polkat Inn. Clouds drifted gently across the blue sky. The Sugret and maple trees were adorned with autumn colors while the pines remained ever green and children played on the village grass over near the tree line. Bashierwood had grown so much he could not rightly refer to it as a village anymore. The people were kind to him and he appreciated that. Orrin Netless did not say a single cross word, which for him was a show of kindness. Samuel reached to his right for a glass of water and ended up knocking it onto the floor with his stump. It no longer pained him, but he still had a tendency to automatically reach with his right hand, it always took him a moment to realize what he was doing, and then grab with his left. He would adjust in time, but for now it was inconvenient. He summoned potential and levitated the glass back onto the table.

“Sam, this is Simon,” the voice interrupted his thought, the more so for having come from i
nside his head rather than out.

“I’m listening,” he replied.

“Serin Gell is attacking Sherree and Jerremy at Lake Tomlin.”

Samuel knew the renegade would take vengeance sooner or later and the only error in the assessment had been where. “Looks like we were both right about him, I’m glad you arrived ahead of me and escorted Daniel’s parents off Tannakonna, but I don’t think either of us thought he would go after Sherree and Jerremy, at least not so soon. How did they come to be together?”

“Jerremy was working on the Tomlin Project, the team fell ill, and Sherree was sent to heal them, but that is not Serin Gell’s reason for attacking. They found a container, sealed by amulets, with Della Lain’s initials on it. Sam, I think they found the flute,” Simon answered.

If the flute was in the box, the news was worse than bad, and all out war would soon follow. “Are you sure?” Samuel asked.

“As sure as I can be without being there and opening it, and whether or not it is the flute, everyone on the Tomlin Project is in extreme danger, including Sherree and Jerremy. I’ve notified Senior Forester Galloway, he is declaring an emergency, and a team should soon be on the way. I’m hoping your contacts in the Eagle Guild will do the same,” Simon sent along with a strong sense of anxiety.

“I will notify Bella Sander,
he is a Senior Soarer, but I can’t just sit here while our friends are in danger, I have to do something,” Samuel replied as frustration grew in his innards. He was on the opposite side of the kingdom from where the events were unfolding.

“You mentioned my arriving on Tannakonna ahead of you, are you still there?”

“Yes, I thought Gell would strike here,” Samuel admitted, wishing he had not been mistaken. His assumption without enough evidence to back it up left him horribly out of position. Lassiter would have chided him for that.

“Looks like we both have a long way to go if we want to make a difference,” Simon sent. “The Benhannon’s and I are in Bon. Give me time to consult with Daniel’s father. He’s a carpenter, a creative person, perhaps he or his wife will have some suggestions. I’m going to obtain a boat, sail down the Hirus to where it merges with the Gosian, sail up that river to where it merges with the Tannakonna, and will meet you at the eastern base of the mountain.”