To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (54 page)

Sherree gave the traditional nod of respect. “I will not even speak of it to Daniel. The matter is in your hands and nothing more needs to be discussed on our part.”

Cleona nodded acceptance and turned to Collin. “Please escort Angelina to her chamber. My feelings on the matter are so intense I do not wish to pass judgment on her right now, lest the sentence be too harsh. I will retire for the evening and deal with this matter in the morning.”

“It will be as you say, my Queen,” the Prince Consort replied, and then led the still sobbing niece out of the room, followed closely by Her Royal Majesty.

Daniel and Sherree went into the hall, the guards had gone, and so she must have felt this was a good time to talk. “I have never heard you take that sarcastic tone with anyone.”

He sighed while trying to sort through his feelings for an answer. “Tarin Conn is the only other person who managed to elicit that kind of a response from me. Perhaps I am beginning to see people who stand against us as agents of his and the perspective is coloring how I respond to their actions,” he replied. “If you have no preference, I would like to sleep at our mansion tonight. I need to meet with Jared and Marcus in the morning.”

Sherree smiled coyly. “I will take us to the mansion but cannot guarantee you will be asleep anytime soon.”

“That’s my wife,” Daniel replied, and was pleased by the swirling of events that made it so.

Weeks later, after celebrating the nineteenth anniversary of Sherree’s birth, sparring with Sentinel Commander Chas Herling, and then spending a mark with Jeremiah and Leah discussing the army of Senior Soarers and Coronas who were still camped fifteen spans from Shantear, Daniel, wearing his blue silks and the array, was ready to leave the Benhannon Northland Holding. Sherree had gone to the Benhannon Estate, having scheduled a meeting with the four Conductors of her division along with Captain Bower.

“Aakadon’s forces have not backed off, but neither have they moved a pace closer. That means Terroll Barnes has succeeded in delivering the message and Simon’s idea must have worked to some degree,” Samuel stated, clearly unaware of the fact that his Maestro had recently discussed the very topic with the First Accomplished and Defense Conductor.

Daniel inhaled the fresh morning air while walking across Center Court. The spells currently at work kept the icy cold of late winter at the walls, outside snow covered the hills and trees while inside the grounds were green like a spring day. The days of keeping a low profile were gone and it seemed best to remind anyone who thought to attack this holding that Accomplisheds are at the facility and ready to defend it. Carlos walked in front of him protectively, Sero to the rear, David and Silvia to the far right and left while Simon and the Conductor of ISIG strode along at the inner right and left positions.

“Since they have not joined you or attacked, it seems they have chosen to stand aside and watch,” Silvia offered her opinion while brushing long strands of dark hair away from her eyes.

Daniel did not have that much faith in Efferin Tames. “Terroll’s message might have given the Grand Maestro reason enough to pause and consider the consequences of attacking us, but that does not mean no actions will be taken. Jeremiah and Chas have already worked out a plan with that contingency in mind.”

The whip-crack sound of displaced air announced the arrival of Two-bolt Accomplished Buck Duadams. At the age of fifty, he had the stamina of a man half his age and his neatly trimmed beard and mustache held only the barest traces of gray in them. He had a silver medallion on his chest with the profile of a hound formed into the oval, exactly like the one Samuel now wore, as did every member of the ISIG. Each of the eight divisions had chosen a symbol to be displayed on medallions. “Maestro, Conductor,” he greeted both with a nod of respect. “Van Kestrel has returned to his estate on the lake. I am linked to several different flocks of water fowl living on Lake Kestrel and can provide the necessary visual for conveyance to his location.”

Daniel was surprised by the announcement and looked to Samuel for clarification. “Maestro, I sent Buck to watch the estate shortly after learning you found and restored Lyal, thus giving you the means to reunite him with his father.”

The reunification of father and son was always Daniel’s intention, even though the younger Van Kestrel wanted to become one of the Chosen’s Sentinels. “You did well in doing so. David, would you go fetch Lyal?”

“Certainly,” replied the former juggler, and then went swiftly in the direction of building four.

“You have a meeting with Joel scheduled to begin in half a mark in the new facility at Starling Cove,” Simon reminded him as if he did not know his Maestro possessed total recall.

“Are you referring to the property I purchased at the suggestion of Leah and Sherree a few days ago on the southwest coast of Lobenia, the one I authorized as the home of the manta rays, and told you I wanted to visit after several hundred Accomplisheds of the D & D finished building both the underwater and surface facilities?” Daniel inquired, patiently.

Simon smiled. “That would be the one. I know you cannot forget much of anything unless you remove the memory spell, but you can lock information away in one of those many compartments in your mind and might not get back to it for a while,” he said and glanced at Buck. “I have the impression we are about to take a side trip to Taracopa and felt the need to reopen the little door where the fact is stored.”

Daniel accepted the response, seeing as it was accurate enough, and he also felt the reunion to be an opportunity worth taking time for, even if it meant postponing a meeting he was looking forward to taking part in. “We can save time by having Buck convey us directly onto the estate grounds, rather than arrive out of ear shot, and with Carlos holding potential to render everyone in the mansion unconscious. With the position secure, he can awaken Lord Van Kestrel, and allow father and son to have a discussion about abduction, the Serpent Guild, Condemnation, and Van Joppa.”

“That would work,” Samuel gave his approval of the notion.

Carlos turned around. “Maestro, it would be my pleasure to serve you so.”

“Buck, what do you say?” Daniel asked, eyeing the recently graduated Accomplished.

The former mountaineer pulled back the hood of his blue cloak and scratched his head. “Where I put us depends on when you want to go. Right now the man is on a huge paved area in the back of his rather large house and sipping some red liquid through a reed straw. Leavy is fond of the berries that grow in the bushes by the lake and that little swan has very good eyes, especially for anything of that color. If you want to go after the meeting your Chief Aid spoke of takes place, I don’t know where the thirsty fellow will be and so I may have to take you to a different spot, either way, I can get you there. If you’re wanting my thoughts on going in the first place, I reckon reuniting kinfolk is worth doing.”

Daniel was not surprised Buck would feel that way, given the recent reunion with his long lost daughter Linni. “We will go just as soon as David returns with Lyal. Oh, here they come now.”

Years of physical training had given Lyal the body of an athlete, and the restoration had improved upon his physique, and yet did nothing to enhance his plain clean-shaven face or pointed nose. He had been given the topaz blue uniform with the silver striping, but not a helmet, amulets, or weapons. “Sir Daniel, how may I serve? I hope as a Sentinel,” he said while David took up his former position in the entourage.

Daniel looked the man in the eyes, not missing the stated desire, and decided the young son of a lord deserved an answer. “Commander Herling is more than willing to accept you and I have no doubt you would do well and advance quickly. But you are who you are and before joining the Sentinels can happen, your father must be informed you are alive and well. In fact, the greatest service you can do me right now is to come with us to your family estate and explain to Lord Van Kestrel about the abduction and how you came to be with us.”

Lyal focused on the ground as if suddenly finding the hardened surface of Center Court quite interesting. He looked up after a few moments of pondering who knows what. “Certainly I want to see my father and mother and am more than willing to tell them my recent experiences. The thing is I am not certain my father will be pleased by my desire to join the Chosen’s Sentinels and he is strong willed.”

Daniel had no doubt a man who could be a leader in a rebellion against his king possessed a strong will. The reunion would serve two purposes, one to enlighten the wayward lord as to whose side he was fighting on, and to see if Lyal could fully commit to being a Sentinel. The young man was heir to a dynasty and he could be disinherited if his father did not approve of the decision. “I am hoping your father will be even more displeased with his partner, Van Joppa, when the truth comes out. Your disappearance is the chief reason your father has taken up arms against Van Efery. Meeting him today, right this mark, might be a first step in ending the civil war. Will you help us?”

“You do realize, even if all goes as we hope, Van Joppa is backed by the Serpent Guild, and he will keep fighting with or without Van Kestrel’s support. The civil war will not be over,” Simon pointed out a fact Daniel already new full well.

Perhaps it needed to be stated out loud for anyone whose expectations were set higher than they ought to be. “The realization occurred to me and I am glad you made it plain. I probably would not have mentioned it,” Daniel told him.

Simon nodded his head. “I figured you did and would probably assume everyone had the same understanding. It is the mountaineer part of your character that refrains from speaking of things you think should be obvious and can go without saying.”

“If you mean like seeing a man lowering an empty bucket into a well and my not needing to tell everyone he intends to draw water, then yes, I would not bother mentioning the obvious. Thank you Simon for pointing out that part of my nature.”

“That is what Chief Aids are for,” he replied with a straight face.

The clarification evidently gave Lyal time to make up his mind. “Sir Daniel, I will help solve at least the Van Kestrel part of the problem in Taracopa. I shall not only be serving you, but will also be fulfilling my own responsibility to the realm of my birth.”

Daniel turned to his fellow former mountaineer. “Accomplished Duadams, this is a good time to convey all of us and Simon, if he wants to come, to the Van Kestrel Estate.”

Buck actually waited for Simon to say, “Of course I want to come,” before summoning the potential and focusing the life force energy through the level four baton originally created by Leah.

The darkness came and went. They arrived on the terrace of a sprawling twelve-storied mansion and not more than ten paces from the rebellious lord, who only had the time to yell, “Wha..,” before Carlos rendered him and everyone else at the estate unconscious.

To the right a yacht with three masts was tied off to a long dock. Men were sleeping on the decks and no doubt within the vessel. Carlos was very thorough. Lake Kestral, the southern most of the three great lakes of Taracopa, had a shape similar to a dog’s head in profile with its ears pointing north. In between those ears stood the mansion, directly across from the city of LyVak, which would be the lower jaw, and about forty spans in the distance. Boats of all types sailed on the relatively smooth surface and the dominate activity seemed to be fishing.

Lyal went to the table and sat down across from his father, a gray-bearded man dressed in purple and violet. Daniel gave Carlos an affirmative nod and Lord Van Kestrel opened his eyes, which widened as they beheld his son. He pushed up from a sprawled position and leaned back as if unsure of what he was seeing.

“Yes, I am here. Sir Daniel rescued me from the Serpent Guild, members of which were my abductors, and the Ducaunan Knight has brought me home.”

Dark brown eyes with flecks of gold fixed on Daniel. “Have you come to annex my lands as you did Shantear from Lobenia?” The lord demanded and quickly noted the bodies slumped all over the lawn and everywhere he looked. It was impossible to miss seeing a pair of Teki, six Accomplisheds in the blue silks of the Atlantan Guild, and his own son wearing the same shade in wool. “At least you have granted me one last sight of my son before you kill us as you did my staff.” He apparently had disregarded Lyal’s statement, perhaps unsure of his son’s mental state.

Daniel glanced at a maid on the ground sleeping with her back against the wall. “Much to the chagrin of my Chief Aid, I chose to take time out of my busy schedule and personally bring Lyal home. I asked Accomplished Tyron to put your staff to sleep for a little while so you and your son could have a quiet talk. They can be awakened now if you can keep them from panicking, which is why I gave orders for them to be put to sleep in the first place. You see, people tend to strike out violently when startled, and our mode of transportation can be quite startling, so we acted preemptively.”

“It also establishes which one of the two of us currently wields the power in this meeting,” Lord Van Kestrel correctly stated, eyes narrowing. “Clearly, I cannot stop you from taking anything from me even if you awaken my staff and men-at-arms.”

Daniel took in the view, the mansion, well-manicured grounds, dock, yacht, and the sunlight sparkling off the waves on the surface of Lake Kestrel. “I already have an estate near a lake with a town on the other side, admittedly on a smaller scale than what you have here, and even so I am content with what I own and have no desire to take what is yours. However, I am the Chosen Vessel of the Creator and you are currently on the wrong side of the war I am waging against Tarin Conn and his Serpent Guild. Listen very carefully to your son and choose wisely because I would very much like to see us on the same side the next time we meet.”

Van Kestrel sat up straighter in his chair. “Is that a threat?” The man certainly did not lack courage.

“You can join him, step aside, or be smashed,” Silvia declared in a strong authoritative voice. One would think she was announcing the next act of a Teki performance. “All the Seers of the Teki have acknowledged him to be the Creator’s Champion and only a fool ignores the revelations of a Teki Seer.” This only caused the elder Van Kestral to puff up even more, this time with indignation. What she had said was true but her timing could have been better, Daniel felt.

“Father, as I started to tell you,” Lyal spoke up, drawing attention back to him. “I was abducted by members of the Serpent Guild, who snatched me at the direct request of Lord Van Joppa,” he began his tale, introduced Daniel’s entourage, and ended with, “Sir Daniel restored my body and gave me back my freewill, that is why I want to join his muster as one of the Chosen’s Sentinels. I want to help rid the world of the Serpent Guild and that cannot be done without him.”