Redemption Of The Sacred Land (Book 3) (9 page)

“Don’t overdo it,” Bren said. “I’m starting to get wise to your womanly manipulations of me.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Tatrice said with a telling smile. She moved in close and slipped the Lora Daine into his pocket for safe keeping.

“This is what we will do. We will wait for them to come back in on their own before we attack. They don’t know we have our weapons and armor back. I am afraid if we cause a scene to bring them here, the mindwielder will have an opportunity to trick our minds again. If we wait and attack them off guard, we will have the advantage of surprise.”

“Seems reasonable. So we have nothing to do now but wait.”

“Aye, we wait to see if the dragons show up, which I pray they do not, and alternatively, we wait until Toborne and Bannon return before we attack.

The camp of the mindwielders, just outside the ruined city of By’temog, glimmered in the bright day’s sunlight. The white tents reflected off the hazy smoke left behind by the morning cook fires and dying nighttime campfires. Rennon and Theosus had set up a main command tent in the center of camp for coordinating day-to-day affairs. Deylia stayed by Rennon’s side, helping him with whatever he needed and sometimes taking on some leadership roles.

When Dorenn entered the tent, Theosus and Rennon were sitting at a small wooden table opposite each other, discussing a map sprawled out on the table’s surface. Rennon got up and greeted Dorenn with a handshake, which surprised him. Rennon seemed so different than he had when they started out on this journey. Theosus got up to greet Dorenn, too, but went a pale shade of blue when Veric entered behind him.

“Veric? You don’t look a day older than you did a thousand seasons ago.” He embraced the dragon knight.

“With good reason, my Duil friend, I have been kept a prisoner here for that long.” He put his right hand on Theosus’ shoulder. “I wish this was a social call, but I am afraid we will have to catch up later. I am in need of your illusionary skills. I need you to create the illusion that I am still imprisoned here.”

“Of course I will. Show me where and how you were imprisoned, and I will make a flawless illusion.”

“I knew I could count on you.” He glanced over at the others. “Theosus and I will not be long. When I return, we will plan our next move.” He and Theosus left the tent.

Dorenn sat in Theosus’ wooden chair and addressed Lady Shey, who was taking a seat on the floor on a woolen rug beside Gondrial. “Is there anything else we should know, my lady?”

“Don’t take that tone with me,” Shey said.

“I meant no offense if my tone seemed sarcastic. I genuinely want to know.”

“Aye, there is more to the story than I am willing to tell. Did you ever stop to think that one of the reasons we avoided your questions was because it might be too painful to talk about?”

“I’ll tell him,” Gondrial said. “The war ended with a sacrifice of lives. Lady Shey and I lost good friends, which is why she is reticent to talk about it. After all these seasons, it’s still painful. The mindwielders were not just destroyed by the opposition, they died so we could live. The Oracle was defeated by his own magic. That is all we know. No one knows where he went. It was speculated that the magic that took the Sacred Land destroyed him in the process, but no one can be sure because no one has ever seen that much essence being used at once.”

“So, this Oracle person could be behind everything that has happened to us so far?”

“The signs are there, but who knows?” Gondrial shrugged. “We can only proceed on known facts. Naneden has Lux Enor and the Sacred Land, Toborne has the Silver Drake, and we just released the most deadly assassin I have ever known.”

“Veric? A deadly assassin?” Dorenn asked.

“The deadliest. He frightens the wits right out of me. I know I have played pranks on him in the past, before I knew who he was, but I would never do anything of the sort now. There is a very good reason why the Oracle imprisoned him here; a rogue assassin like Veric could destroy any plans he made with Naneden and Toborne.”

“We never have had the information we needed to take the Sacred Land, have we?” Dorenn lamented. “We have been going around in circles, thwarted by secret after secret. The enemy has been able to use our own weaknesses against us at every turn. We have been defeating ourselves. The enemy has us scattered and unorganized, plagued by the past and our unwillingness to talk about it.”

Lady Shey nodded. “You are beginning to gain that wisdom I told you about. My family is an unusual one. There are secrets my mother and father still keep from me because they are an unusual couple and secrets are the only way they know to keep me, well, us safe.”

“I think you are old enough to know any secrets they keep by now,” Gondrial said.

“Oh? You think I am old enough?”

Gondrial backpedaled. “I simply meant you can take care of yourself now. No need to keep secrets from you.”

“I am sure Mother and Father have their reasons.”

Rennon, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. “I may not know all of the story here, but you mean to say that they left you when you were a child as an orphan in the streets? Didn’t you say you were orphaned? I knew you were lying back then.” He turned to Dorenn. “I told you she was lying.”

“Would you please shut your ignorant mouth!” Gondrial said. “You are correct that you don’t know the whole story.”

Rennon was so taken aback that Gondrial spoke in the defense of someone that he leaned back in his chair and visibly closed his mouth.

“Of course, she is right,” Veric said as he entered through the flap in the tent. “My daughter, I mean. We did have our reasons to keep secrets from her.”

“Are you done so soon, Father?” Lady Shey asked.

“No, I came back to get one of you, preferably Dorenn. It occurred to me that I have no idea how my trap looked with me in it.” He took Shey’s hand and pulled her up next to him. “You already know of your brother, Seancey, but it’s time to tell you our most hidden secret.”

“No, Father, I don’t want to know.”

“You have an older sister.”

“Do
not
tell me her name!” Shey insisted. “Wait until we gain the upper hand and get out of danger. Please, I beg you, Father. I was already captured once. The less I know, the better at this point.”

“All right, my daughter, I understand. We will all be a family when this is over, I promise.”

“I know you will do your best, Father.” She embraced him.

Morgoran and Ianthill joined Veric. “We will go with you to describe the trap,” Morgoran said. “Shey, I want you to sit down with Dorenn and Rennon and have that talk you keep saying you will have. When we return, we will make preparations to go to Brookhaven. I think it’s about time we made our way back there.” He nodded his head with authority, and the three of them exited the tent.

“I think you know as much as I know now, from Fadral to where we sit. I’m not sure what else I can tell you.”

Gondrial spied a barrel with a spigot in the corner. Two mugs were overturned on top of it. “Well, I see what contribution I can make.” He headed for the barrel. “May I?” he asked Rennon. Rennon nodded.

“Gondrial! I thought you were nursing a hangover,” Shey said.

“Hmm.” He absently scratched his ear. “It’s mostly gone.”

“Mostly? What does that mean?” she inquired.

“It means that more ale will cure it anyway and mind your story to the lads.”

She shook her head. “One day, too much ale is going to be his undoing.” She turned her attention to Dorenn. “I honestly can’t think of what to say to you.”

“How about you start at the beginning with the highlord and the Sacred Land. You need to tell us no matter the emotional pain!” Dorenn said. “Who did you marry? What exactly happened at the War of the Oracle?”

Gondrial spit out his ale, and they all turned to look at him. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you to ask
those
questions.”

“You are asking very difficult questions for me to answer. I don’t talk about my marriage or the war with anyone. I will tell you what I am willing to tell you, and the rest is for me to keep to myself. I don’t see any reason why I should have to divulge all of my private life to anyone. It’s private!”

“It’s only private if it doesn’t concern me, my lady, or my friends,” Dorenn said. “The time of shadows and secrets are at an end.”

Lady Shey appeared visibly angry but had the grace and poise not to express it. She took a seat in the closest wooden chair and cleared her throat. “First off, the highlord Rastafin Stowe was a terrible man.” She looked Dorenn in the eye. “I thought the Silver Drake made a terrible mistake choosing him. She claims he was the best at the time. It must have been poor times indeed. The nobleman I married was a good man who got caught up in his work and his lands. He neglected me for power and promotion. It all worked out for the better that we split up.”

“You are still married, though, right?” Rennon asked.

“Aye, being of noble birth, we are to remain married by the traditions of our homeland. Only death will part us.”

“And they both have the capacity to live for an incredibly long time,” Gondrial said before taking another swig of ale.

“Do you ever get to see him?” Rennon asked.

“I don’t ever want to see him again. Now let’s change the subject.” She wiggled in her chair to make herself more comfortable. “What happened at the War of the Oracle is in the history scrolls at the archives in Brookhaven. I know because I put them there with the hope that you would study them one day. If you want to know what happened, read them. Or if you cannot wait, I will tell you what I told my father. Ask Theosus Fiderea. He was there, too.” She got up and exited the tent.

“I was there,” Gondrial said. “Again, what she doesn’t want to talk about is losing her best friend at the end of the war. She never did get over it.”

“Come on, Gondrial,” Dorenn began, “who was he? Who was Lady Shey married to?”

Gondrial took another swig of ale. “I’m not nearly drunk enough to be that stupid yet. Lady Shey would have me skinned.”

“Yet!” Rennon said. “More ale!”

“The fact is I will never tell you before Shey is ready to tell you herself. There is a good reason for her to keep him a secret for now. Let’s just say you know him, and to know more does endanger our cause.”

Dorenn looked to Rennon. “Satisfied?”

“No, not at all. I can’t think of a single reason to keep him a secret, but we needn’t keep badgering her to delve into the past for our sakes. It’s time to look to our task to preserve the future,” Rennon said. “It’s time to ensure our part of the story, not drag up hers.”

“You are both becoming wise beyond your seasons,” Gondrial said. “Now have a drink, and we will talk of more pleasant times!”

With the illusion in place, Veric equipped all the gear he needed to travel. Morgoran’s suggestion of going through Brookhaven was met with enthusiasm. Dorenn was expecting Tatrice and Bren to check in with him soon on the Trigothian scouting mission they were on, and then Tatrice could come home as well. He also was expecting Sanmir and Trendan to return with Kimala. Dorenn left word with Theosus, who was staying behind, to tell them to join him in Brookhaven when they returned to By’temog. Theosus planned to leave for Ardenia in a couple of weeks, and Rennon thought he would catch up to him there when his business in Brookhaven was settled. They were set to travel to Brookhaven at first light.