To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (17 page)

“I am sorry for you loss,” Kay replied, as if she really meant it. “Most of us in the Guard don’t have such tragedies, but all of the Sentinels have survived unimaginable horrors, and I am sure they can relate to your suffering. I will write down your name and submit it to Lieutenant Keenan.” She had been taking notes while he was speaking and so it came as no surprise when she added his name at the bottom of the paper.

Bucked nodded affirmatively, leaned back on the couch, and focused his eyes on the glossy stone floor.

Sorel told his story, in-depth, requiring two sheets of paper, front and back, and ended with, “So, you see, I am the seventh son of a seventh son, and think the fact should be known at the outset. If that fact disqualifies me, then so be it.”

“I assure you it does not,” Kay replied. “You possess a strong back and plenty of determination to get the job done, going by what you just told me. We serve a Knight who is also an Accomplished, if that does not bother us; we certainly are not going to be troubled by a seventh son of a seventh son. I will also submit your name to Lieutenant Keenan.”

Laurence and Ned gave brief histories of their lives, each requiring a paper. “If you will wait here, I believe the Lieutenant may have time to see you soon,” she told them and went to the first door on the left, knocked, and then went inside.

Perhaps a quarter of a mark passed with no one saying anything and then two things happened. “Sorry about the wife and kids,” Sorel began to say when a huge man with a golden falcon on each shoulder stripe exited the office. His arrival saved Buck from having to discuss the painful past again.

The officer possessed the eyes of a man who has witnessed and participated in more than a few battles. He stood nearly seven cubits in height, a mountain of a man, and not one to be taken lightly. “I am Lieutenant Roder Keenan, formerly of the Ducaunan Royal Guardsmen. I resigned and am now in the service of the Chosen Vessel. Captain Marcus Bower commands the Benhannon Guard overall, he does so from the Benhannon Estate in southern Ducaun and has posted me here,” he stated formally. “From what I just read, there is good metal in you four men. This evening you will be escorted into the dining room where you will be given a meal. After which, you will be assigned rooms on the fourth floor. Tomorrow you will be given the opportunity to demonstrate your skills and then will begin learning the rules and requirements of service. Affirmations of loyalty will follow once you have fully understood the commitment required in the service of Sir Daniel.” His right to the point, no nonsense attitude came through clear, and proved this was a man accustomed to giving orders and seeing them followed through. “Do you have any questions?”

“Is there anything to drink in this place besides water?” Ned asked. He is a bartender after all.

Before the answer could be given a short young man wearing blue silks, clearly born among the Teki, walked into the common room. Two golden lightning bolts on the hood of his cloak represented his ranking as an Accomplished. A topaz silver-capped baton in his belt made him seem even more dangerous. He had dark hair, thick eyebrows that nearly touched, and those brown eyes were focused on Buck and his companions as if the Aakacarn had just spotted foxes in the henhouse.

“Accomplished Cresh, can I be of assistance?” the Lieutenant offered politely, which was probably the best way to speak to an Aakacarn.

A door opened and Buck noticed it led into the dining room. “That’s where the eating takes place, let’s just go get some food, and not take up any more of Lieutenant Keenan’s time,” he suggested and started away with his three companions moving to follow his lead once again.

“Halt,” the Accomplished called out.

Buck nearly fell as his joints suddenly locked up and he could not take another step to save his life. His legs, arms, hands, and fingers were stiffened. He was well and surely trapped, as were Sorel, Laurence, and Ned. Keenan and Kay stood with clubs in hand, and ready to back up the Accomplished, should assistance be required. All of the guardsmen in the common room were on their feet and most of them had daggers drawn. Tension and the potential for sudden violence filled the room.

“What have they done?” Kay asked, eyes wide, clearly confused by the abrupt action taken by the Aakacarn. Buck would have asked the same thing if his jaw was not locked shut.

The Teki walked right up and looked him in the eye and then at the Lieutenant. “Roder, these men are all Aakacarns.”

Buck’s joints unlocked and he once again had freedom of movement, but chose not to strike out at the man who just insulted him. “I am no such thing,” he declared, and then glanced at Sorel. If any of the traveling companions turned out to be an Aakacarn, it would be the seventh son of a seventh son. Ned and Laurence began looking suspiciously at the farmer as well.

“Nor am I,” Sorel declared. “We came here to join Sir Daniel’s muster, as is our right as citizens of Ducaun, and I will not stand for you accusing me of such a thing.” The man showed a lot of salt speaking to an Accomplished so boldly.

“Behold,” the Aakacarn said, and spread his hands wide. An orange glow radiated from him. Teki were known for their dramatic gestures.

Indigo light suddenly flared around Buck and seemed to be coming from him, Sorel had a yellowish hue, Laurence greenish, and Ned a sort of a red-orange. This had to be a trick of the Accomplished.

Kay’s club was aimed at Buck.
Better that than raised to strike him.
“And I believed your story.” Her voice held equal parts anger and sadness.

“This is the first time any of us has left the region of Arend and you making us glow does not prove anything,” Sorel stated, undaunted by the spell-casting.

The Teki’s eyebrows lifted slightly as if he was surprised by the continued denial. “I cast a spell modified by the Maestro, with enough power to be in the visible range of a non-Aakacarn, and so the only people in this room who do not believe me now are you four.”

This had to be a trick. “Then you are all wrong. I am not an Aakacarn,” Buck declared, determined not to be intimidated.

“Very well, then you will not mind if I cast, Truth Speak, on you to verify your claim,” the Accomplished replied.

Buck had a feeling the spell was going to be cast on him in any case, willing or not, and so made his decision.
It is better to appear cooperative for the time being.
“I will submit to your questioning, but know that it is you and Sir Daniel who are now on trial in my mind. If you force me to lie while under your spell, it means there is no justice here, and this army is no better than the one that serves Tarin Conn.”

“How dare you speak so about the Chosen Vessel,” Keenan said, while taking a step closer.

The Teki did not speak about who was judging whom, nor did he pay any attention to the officer. He began glowing again, pointed, and an orange beam shot from his finger, striking Buck on the forehead and causing a warm tingle in his head. “What is your name?” the Accomplished demanded.

“Buck Duadams.”

“Where are you from?”

“I came from where I was born, Mount Arend, and from a cabin I left recently to come here. It is on the southern slope deep in the woods.”

“Are you an Aakacarn? Do you know any spells? Who is the first Aakacarn you ever met?”

“No, I am not an Aakacarn, I know no spells, and the first Aakacarn I have had the unpleasant experience of meeting is Accomplished Cresh,” Buck replied and the tingling in his head suddenly stopped.

The Teki turned to Keenan. “He has spoken the truth. This man is an Aakacarn, possibly a Potential who went undetected all these years,” he informed the Lieutenant and then focused on Buck. “You are an Aakacarn and it is the reason you have uncommon vigor for a man of your age. In fact, your energy level has only increased over the years and I suspect you feel stronger now than ever before. To be thorough, I will now question your friends.”

How did he know about the uncommon vigor?

Buck only nodded his head, still having a difficult time accepting this nonsense about him being an Aakacarn, and yet had to admit the Teki was right about him feeling more energetic as the years went by. How can a man be a spell-caster and not know it?

The Accomplished did as stated and was soon satisfied that they were all Potentials. He turned to Keenan. “Roder, I found ten more Condemneds to be restored by the Maestro, which is what I wanted to report to you, since some may choose to be of the Guard rather than Sentinels. Upon arrival I decided to scan the area for any Aakacarns foreign to the guild. I sensed these four in this building, only to find four Potentials have come of their own accord to join the Benhannon Guard. I hope you don’t mind if I take them to Leah.”

All of the clubs and daggers had been placed back into the belts of their owners along with the anticipation of sudden violence. People went back to what they had been doing before all the excitement. The big officer waved his arm casually. “You can take them to the First Accomplished, but I promised them meals and rooms for the night. We will send them to you in the morning.”

“It will be as you say, Lieutenant,” the Accomplished replied and gave him a slight nod of respect.

“Fancy that, my family really did have a reason to worry about me,” Sorel commented. He seemed to be accepting this Aakacarn business.

“I apologize for using force, but this facility has been infiltrated in the recent past and we take no chances here,” the Teki said while extending his hand. “Welcome to the Atlantan Guild.”

Buck hesitated, still believing the man was wrong about the Aakacarn business, but satisfied his trip was not wasted, and that he would be serving Sir Daniel. It was also good to know justice was being upheld under the Knight. He shook hands with the Accomplished and then locked eyes with Kay while the spell-caster shook hands with Sorel, Laurence, and Ned. Kay gave Buck a nod he supposed was meant to be encouraging and so he returned it.

“Will you accept us into the Benhannon Guard if the First Accomplished rejects us?” Ned asked.

“I don’t feel any different,” Laurence joined in. “Even if I can’t cast spells, I still can work circles around men much younger than me, and could be of use to you. As a barber I got pretty good at pulling teeth and stitching wounds for folks who needed more than a haircut.”

Keenan’s lip twitched as if he was about to smile, yet managed to stifle it quickly. “If the First Accomplished turns you away, come and talk to me. I can always use men with stamina.”

The Teki looked down and to the left as if he could see underground. “Daniel has just returned. He will probably eat before the meeting,” the Accomplished said, although it was unclear whether he was informing those around him or just talking to himself. He raised his chin and a boyish smile lit up his face. “Buck, you and your friends have given me something unexpected to bring up, and I think Daniel will want to meet you, all of you.”

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The room had a large obsidian table, rounded at the edges, with twenty-two chairs, ten at the sides and one on each end, all made of the same substance contoured for comfort. Red-orange flames in ten lamps on golden stands, evenly placed from corner to corner, provided a flickering light. Conjured spheres would provide a steady illumination, but Daniel wanted a place to meet where non-Aakacarns could feel a little more comfortable, and a constant reminder that they were surrounded by active spells tended to have the opposite effect. His southern estate had a room used for conferences and a place for that function was at Shantear, one that would be used mostly by the Aakacarn leaders of the Atlantan Guild. This one in the Benhannon Northland Holding had been made by Accomplished Togan and Daniel was pleased by the work of the elder Aakacarn, and did not want to make any alterations.

Daniel sat at the head of the table with Sherree in the chair to his right and Leah to his left. Many of the attendees to this meeting would not be surprised at their presence being required. Chas Herling expected to be here. Marcus Bower, along with Jared Benfyllon, had been conveyed to the Northland Holding by Leah, and neither was a stranger to such gatherings. Accomplished Lassiter was talking to Samuel, who had been mentored by the former Senior Soarer back when they were both members of the Eagle Guild. The former Teki and Sandra Treena had been asked to attend but likely did not know why. The same could be said for Jennel Obenport, Bernard Kleopis, Daria Copa, a Three-bolt Accomplished with long brown hair, and Franklin Togan, a Three-bolt Accomplished of Serinian birth who always kept his currently white beard neatly trimmed, it was light brown yesterday. He often changed his hair color, something he reportedly never did before joining the Atlantan Guild. Perhaps he felt free to express himself here in a personal and creative way that would have been frowned upon in Aakadon. Simon, sitting at the other end of the table, never missed a meeting and it was unlikely Martin, sitting near him, was surprised to be here, but none of them knew what Daniel had in mind, although he had shared a little bit with his wife and Leah during a private conversation after dinner. They all knew he expected each to participate and no doubt came prepared to report on their activities.

Tim and Gina Dukane were ushered in by Jaim Cutler and quickly moved to take their places beside Jared. “Now that the Admirals of our navy have arrived, we can begin,” Daniel said while holding back the smile that otherwise came naturally at seeing his childhood friends. Marsha Obennen, who was probably in the common room, had conveyed them to the location on time, so they were not late, but were always last to arrive at any meeting.