The Warrior Elf (22 page)

Kevin nodded and quickly finished the message he was writing. As Rhianna walked in, he put his pen down and gave her his full attention. “Is everything all right?”

“Would you mind if I shut the door?” she asked.

“No, of course not.”

Rhianna closed it and sat down across from Kevin. “We may have a slight problem.” Then she handed him the note.

Rhianna,

I received a message from Weldon this morning. Your presence is required by the Council of Elders at their meeting at noon on Monday.

If Myron can bring you home sometime this weekend, Xantha will fly you to South Port Monday morning. I will give you directions to Weldon’s office when I see you.

Hayden

Kevin read through the message twice before he handed it back to her. “If you want me to, I can take you to the meeting. It would be easier if we all went together.”

“Are you planning to be there?”

Kevin nodded. “Along with Marcus, Alek, Theresa, and anyone else you want to take.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m not sure how much good it’ll do.”

“Why?”

“They might not be willing to listen to anyone else.”

“Well, they’ll listen to me.”

Rhianna smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

“You’re worried about this, aren’t you?”

“A bit,” Rhianna admitted. “Being questioned by the members of the Council of Elders is serious.”

“What could happen?”

“Well, there are three possibilities.” Rhianna paused and then said, “The best possible outcome is I’ll explain what happened, they’ll believe me, and the whole thing will be dropped. But since a lot of the men roaming around North Amden are either saying I killed a man for no reason or saying I killed him because he tried to stop me from abducting Landis, they may decide there’s more to it than I’m willing to admit. Weldon’s the only one on the council who really knows me, but we’re related so he’s going to have to stay out of it. No one else on the council can vouch for me.”

Kevin frowned, but didn’t interrupt, so Rhianna continued. “If they conclude that I killed him, they’ll have to decide whether or not it was justified, but at the same time, they’ll probably figure if it was justified, I would have admitted it to start with. Therefore, since I’m not admitting it, it must have been unjustified. And that’s how I could end up in all kinds of trouble.”

“All right,” Kevin said slowly. “You didn’t kill him, so justified, unjustified doesn’t really figure in, but I see what you’re saying. If they decide against you, what happens then?”

“If they decide the death was at my hands and unjustified, they’d rule that I’d violated my oath. That would mean I would no longer be a warrior elf.”

“Would that be the end of it?”

Rhianna shook her head. “Next they’d have to decide whether the violation was unintentional through poor judgment or a blatant disregard for my oath. If they decide it was poor judgment, I’d be forbidden to carry weapons or leave North Amden. If they decide I ignored my oath, I’d be allowed to keep my weapons, but I’d be banished from North Amden and all other elven communities. I wouldn’t be allowed to see my parents again, or even write to them, or them to me. As far as the elves would be concerned, I’d no longer exist. The only time my name would be mentioned would be as an example of disgrace.”

Kevin exhaled in a low whistle. “That’s drastic.”

Rhianna nodded. “We take our oaths seriously.”

“Do you remember the oath?”

“Sure. It’s ingrained in us during training.”

“What is it?”

“I pledge to come to the aid of any and all elves, protect their homes, and defend their lands in any way I can wherever I may be. I will endeavor to deal fairly with all who cross my path, shelter those in need, and live my life with honor from this day forth.”

Kevin sat quietly for a moment. “I wish we had something along those lines for the sorcerers who sit on the council. Actually, I’d like to have something like that for all sorcerers.”

“But it only works if those who take the pledge do so willingly, and with every intention of living up to it.”

Kevin could see tears starting to form in Rhianna’s eyes. “You didn’t violate your oath, Rhianna. We both know it, and we’ll make sure the council knows it, too.”

Rhianna wiped at her eyes as she nodded. “I know.” Then she stood up. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to find Corin and go for a ride by myself right now.”

Kevin nodded as he stood up. He walked Rhianna to his office door and turned towards her before opening it. “We’ll get this straightened out. You’re not going to get in trouble for protecting my people. I won’t allow it.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

“We’ll go talk to Hayden after dinner tonight and see what he says.”

Rhianna nodded. “That’s fine, but I need a little time alone now. See you later.”

After Rhianna left, Kevin motioned for both Chris and Ariel to join him. Once they had, Kevin looked at Ariel. “I need to see Alek and Marcus as soon as possible, preferably together, but if that can’t be arranged, I’ll see them individually. Send someone to find them.”

Ariel nodded as he left.

Chris shut the door. “What’s up?”

Kevin told Chris about the message and the possible outcomes.

“Whew,” Chris said. “They play rough over there.”

Kevin nodded. “They do.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

Kevin told him that he was going to show up at the meeting with everyone involved except Landis. “I’m hoping they’ll listen to Rhianna and that’ll be the end of it, but if not, they’ll listen to me.”

“Unless they’ve heard the two of you are together.”

“I know,” Kevin said. “That’s why I’m taking Theresa. Rhianna said the elves have a great deal of respect for sisters. I’m counting on her as backup.”

“So I guess I need to keep Monday open?”

Kevin nodded. “And if you come up with anything else we can use, let me know.”

Forty-five minutes later, Ariel knocked on Kevin’s door to tell him Marcus and Alek were there. Once they were seated, Kevin explained about Rolan’s men, the rumors they were spreading about Saryn’s death, and the summons Rhianna had received. “She’s a little concerned they may not take her word for what happened since they’re hearing a different story from so many other people.”

“Well, we were there. They weren’t,” Marcus said. “If you want me to, I’ll show them the scar from where his arrow went in my shoulder.”

“I wasn’t wounded, but I saw the whole thing, and I know for a fact Saryn was alive long after the girls were gone. I helped load him into the wagon that brought him up to the castle.” Then, after a moment, Alek added, “It might not be a bad idea to take the guard who found him hanging in his cell. He might not have seen the attack, but since there’s no way she was in Saryn’s cell, she had nothing to do with his death.”

Kevin lifted his eyebrows. “Hadn’t thought about that. I’ll see if Gen. Crandal knows who it was.” He made a quick note and then looked at Marcus and Alek. “Do I take it you’re both willing to testify before the council?”

Alek nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, she saved our lives.”

“Same here,” Marcus said. “She threw that knife in our defense. I wish I could say for certain he’d already strung another arrow, but I didn’t spot him until I saw her knife hit him.”

“I didn’t spot him until he started falling through the branches,” Alek said. “But I can say he shot first without any problem. She was still standing beside the wagon when the arrow hit Marcus. Then she vanished.”

“She translocated,” Kevin said. When Alek frowned, he added, “It’s an elf thing. They can jump from one place to another, often twenty feet away, sometimes more. Some can do it intentionally, but all of them can do it when surprised or startled. Makes a good defense.”

Alek nodded.

“So, what time do you want to leave?” Marcus asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Kevin said. “I’m going to take Rhianna to Crinsor Run so we can find out where we’re going and what time we need to be there.”

Marcus nodded. “Just let us know.”

“Thanks,” Kevin said as they stood up to go.

After they left the office, Chris walked in. “All set up?”

“They both volunteered to tell the council what they know, but since I don’t know what time we need to go, it’s not quite set up yet.”

“But you’ve done all you can do for right now?”

“I still need to talk to Theresa, but I’ll do that when I take her to Rainbow Valley this afternoon. By the way, do you happen to know who discovered Saryn?”

Chris shook his head. “Darrell might know.”

“I need to speak to whoever it was. I’d like to have someone who saw him before he was cut down go with us.”

“I think Darrell was the one who cut him down.”

“I thought one of the soldiers did.”

“I’ll check with Darrell and get back to you. Is that it for now?”

Kevin nodded.

“Good.” Chris held out a stack of messages. “Then you have time to tackle these.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Right after lunch, Darrell knocked on Kevin’s door. “You wanted to talk to me?”

Kevin motioned him in. “It’s about Saryn.”

Darrell frowned. “What?”

“Do you know who found him?”

“Trevor.”

“I thought he was off duty that night. Didn’t Cpt. Lawrence say he went to Fenway’s with some of the soldiers?”

Darrell nodded. “But he was back before daybreak, and Saryn wasn’t found until Trevor took his breakfast down.”

“Why was he handling Saryn’s breakfast?”

“It wasn’t Trevor’s idea. He was in the dining room when Gen. Crandal came in, so the general asked him to fix a tray and take it to the jail. When Trevor got there, Ashen, the soldier on duty, told him to take the tray on in. I remember someone said Trevor didn’t want to go inside, but Ashen said he couldn’t leave his post. So Trevor took the tray in and found him. Why?”

Kevin explained about the meeting of the Council of Elders. “I was going to ask whoever found the body to go with us to explain that Saryn died from being hanged, not from his knife wound, but now I don’t think so. If Trevor thinks Rolan would want him to dump this in Rhianna’s lap, he’d do it. Keeping these spies around better pay off. Sometimes I think they’re more trouble than they’re worth.”

“Well, I saw him hanging in his cell. I’m the one who cut him down. Want me to go?”

“Maybe. I’ll let you know.”

Darrell nodded. “Anything else?”

Kevin shook his head. “Thanks.”

After Darrell left, Chris stepped in. “What time are you supposed to take Theresa to Rainbow Valley? And are you picking her up? Or is she coming up here?”

“I’m picking her up as far as I know. Has Rhianna made it back yet?”

“She came by while you were talking to Darrell. She said she felt better, more relaxed, and she was going to go play with the kids out back for a while. She’ll see you at dinner tonight.”

“Then I guess I’ll go get Theresa now, before something else comes up,” Kevin said as he took out his key.

A couple of moments later, Kevin was on the back porch at the chapel. Before he could knock on the kitchen door, Hayley opened it and motioned him inside. “Theresa’s with a patient, but she’ll be done in a minute. I’ll get you a cup of coffee while you wait. And Blair made a cake for lunch today. Want a slice to go with your coffee?”

“Thanks,” Kevin said as he sat down at the table.

Hayley set the coffee and cake down in front of Kevin and asked, “Are you going to be able to take us to Marcie’s tomorrow morning?”

“As far as I know. When do you want to leave?”

“We thought we’d go right after breakfast if that’s all right with you.”

Kevin nodded as he took a bite of cake. “This is good. What kind is it?”

“I’m not sure, but I liked it, too.” Then Hayley took a deep breath and said, “I asked Marcus to ask you to take us. It wasn’t his idea.”

“Okay. Is there some particular reason why you want to go?”

“I left patients up there, people I treated, and I need to make sure they’re all right. I want to check on Thom’s son, and be sure Marissa’s doing all right. And I think Gorge’s head injury was relatively minor, but I want to be sure he isn’t having any problems from it. I need to be sure I didn’t mess up.”

Kevin smiled. “I’m sure you didn’t, but I understand how you feel. But Hayley, if this was worrying you, you should have said something earlier. You can go anytime you need to. You don’t have to wait for Marcus.”

“You’d take me by myself if I wanted to go?”

“Of course, and if for some reason I couldn’t, Chris or Laryn would.” Kevin paused and looked at Hayley. “I’d have done it for you when you were Theresa’s assistant, but you’re a Sister of Healing now. I’ll take any of the sisters anywhere they need to go. It’s the least I can do for the Sisterhood.”

“Thank you.”

Theresa walked into the kitchen in time to hear the last bit of conversation. “And speaking of taking sisters where they need to go, are you ready to take me to Rainbow Valley?”

Kevin nodded and finished the last bit of cake and coffee while Theresa got her bag. Then they left the chapel.

When they arrived at the cave entrance in Rainbow Valley, Theresa dropped her bag and folded her arms across her chest. “Okay. Spill it.”

Kevin frowned. “Spill what?”

“Whatever’s going on with you and Rhianna, and don’t hand me any romantic nonsense. I know you.”

Kevin sighed. “All right, but you’ve got to keep this to yourself.”

“And when have I ever not?”

Kevin explained why Rolan’s men were in North Amden. “The only reason Rolan thinks Landis is in North Amden is because she was with Rhianna, so we’re trying to make him think Rhianna was with her at my request, as her bodyguard, not because the two of them are together. And everyone says the only reason I would have asked Rhianna to be her bodyguard is if Rhianna’s my girlfriend.”

“So that’s why the two of you have been making the rounds.”

Kevin nodded.

“And ‘everyone’ decided this is what you need to do. Who’s everyone?”

“Her family, Laryn, Chris, Glendymere, and Xantha.”