To Be Chosen (28 page)

The Lieutenant stood in the circle with him and then began to move gracefully, like a dancer, moving the blade as if it was an extension of his arm. He stopped and said, “That was called, Pruning the Hedges. Stand beside me, in the same position, and match me move for move.”

Daniel did so and spent the next several marks working on just that one movement, over and over again until Tomei was finally satisfied it was being done correctly and consistently. The tempo of the dance, which is what the form most felt like, was increased each time they performed it, and even then it was not as fast as the Lieutenant could do in actual combat.

Days went by and Daniel was slowly improving, having been taught, Raking the Leaves, Parting Kiss, and Crack of the Whip. Those were just the beginning, the lessons were hard work,
and he enjoyed them immensely.

The late afternoon lessons provided by Cale made the days go by faster and Daniel was steadily improving on his skills. He knew all of the sword forms, performing them slowly, but would get faster, given enough time and practice, or so the Lieutenant assured him. Most of his mornings were taken up in meet-and-greets with various nobles and Prime Minister Xan DuTobin along with various other ministers, the Chamberlain, and meetings with his fellow Knights of the Realm in their chapter house on the north side of the palace grounds, which gave them the opportunity to speak of how they carried out their duties, which was their way of informally educating him.

Jared was waiting in the
Excursion when Daniel arrived, in a room two doors down from the one they rented when first arriving in Ducanton, before the knighthood had been bestowed. The furnishings were identical. The account keeper stood up. The brown suit he wore was tailored perfectly. The white silk shirt and gold cufflinks finished the outfit of his profession. It had taken Daniel only a few days to realize all the brown-suits were account keepers, treasurers, money handlers, and the like. Life in the flat lands took some adjusting on his part but he was doing his best to figure things out. There was a time when he would not have tried, thinking flatlanders were strange and leaving it at that.

“I purchased the items you required,” Jared said while handing Daniel a blue silk drawstring pouch.

“Thank you,” Daniel replied and poured the contents into his hand.

“Three flawless stones, diamond, sapphire, and topaz,” the account keeper needlessly informed.

Each gem was about the size of a robin’s egg and of excellent quality. Daniel removed the common stones he collected in the shallows of Lake Benhannon from his inner pocket and placed them on the table along with the gems. He touched his golden belt buckle and focused potential at the first and largest stone, changing it into gold, and then shaped it into a flattened oval.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Jared told him with eyes bulging.

“I told you I had access to more gold if the need arises. Well, I have need, but this ability of mine is to stay between us, both to keep my spell casting a secret and to keep greedy people from hounding me.”

“You can count on my discretion,” Jared assured him. “Perhaps I can purchase the horses Marcus put in a request for after all.”

“I didn’t know he wanted more,” Daniel replied while picking up the sapphire in his right hand and holding a common stone in his left.

“It was a last minute request before we left and I promised to bring the matter to your attention at some point, well this is that point, especially since I know you can easily afford it,” Jared went on to say.

“Go ahead and buy however many horses of whatever breed Marcus needs,” Daniel told him and then summoned and focused potential on the objects in his right and left hands. The common stone turned into a sapphire. He placed the original sapphire back in the pouch and picked up the topaz, then repeated the procedure, producing a duplicate topaz, and then did the same with the diamond. A few moments passed before he realized Jared had stopped talking. The account keeper’s mouth was wide open. “Did you think the Melody only works on gold?”

“Account management is my domain, spell casting is yours, but from now on, nothing you do will surprise me,” he replied, regaining his composure.

Daniel nodded, acknowledging the statement, and then focused on the three duplicate gems. He formed the sapphire into a falcon in flight, the diamond into a lightning bolt, placed the bolt into the talons of the falcon, sank them both into the topaz, and then bonded the gems to the golden oval, creating a tri-gem amulet. He cast, Give Me A Holler, the Melody he composed to replace the one lost in the Silencing, focused the potential into his creation, added a Da Capo, and tied it off to his life force. Ten common stones remained. This part he had never tried before and was not certain if it would work the way he hoped. “Jared, you may want to step into the other room. This part is more along the lines of an experiment.”

The account keeper wasted no time high tailing it into the bedroom, slamming the door in his haste. Daniel tried not to smile but the urge was greater than his resolve. After a few moments, he cast, Change
It, and focused on the ten common stones. Each one became exact duplicates of the tri-gem amulet, but did, Give Me A Holler, infuse them or did he just create a pile of custom jewelry? There was only one way to find out. He placed the original, which he knew would work, in the pouch with the gems, and then called Jared. “You can come out now.”

The account keeper opened the door just a crack, peeked out, one eye visible, and then came into the room. “I appreciate being warned of any Aakacarn experimentation.”

“Understood,” Daniel replied and then held up one of the amulets. “This is for communication. Simply place the smoothed gem against your forehead and speak to me. I will hear you no matter where or how far away I am.”

Jared took the amulet and went into the other room. “Can you hear me?” his voice sounded in Daniel’s head.

It worked! Daniel was thrilled. “Yes, I hear you. Come back and we will go have dinner.”

The account keeper reentered the room with a spring in his step. “That is a handy device,” he commented, to which Daniel could only agree.

They went down to the dining area, which was crowded with people, and ordered their food, beef, potatoes, and green beans. Daniel’s fork was half way to his mouth when a voice sounded in his head.

“Daniel, this is Tim. I haven’t used the amulet before because I didn’t want to bother you with every day matters, but there are some things you need to know,” his friend sent.

Daniel laid his fork on his plate and held up his hand for silence when it looked as though Jared was going to inquire if there was anything wrong. “Tim, it’s good to hear from you. And, speak to me anytime, not just when you think I need to know something. Remember, I can’t initiate the conversation.”

The sense of laughter came through and then the words, “Gina and I have been spending some of the gold you gave us, we are newlyweds you know.” He clearly had better things to do, and communicating with his friend was not on the top of the list.

Daniel tried to convey his happy feelings for them through the link. “I remember.”

A sense of caution came next, followed by, “Serin Gell has escaped. Samuel is here and staying at the Polkat. He believes the Pentrosan will come seeking revenge. Also, there is an Accomplished who claims to have met you, Bella Sander, who has been stationed here, and there is a full
garrison of Royal Cavalry a thousand strong on the east side of the village.”

Bashierwood was growing into a town, which was not surprising given all the attention it had received of late. The Accomplished of Dowman’s End being stationed on Tannakonna was a surprise, and Daniel was glad to finally know which fate happened to Serin Gell, even though he was hoping the Eagle Guild had seen fit to execute the man for his crimes. “Bella Sander gave me lodging for a night and is a good man. As for Serin Gell; I knew the shield was gone. Thanks for letting me know the Pentrosan is out and about.”

“It is the least I can do. Word is you are a Knight of the Realm and have a fancy estate.” Tim sent back but there was a sense of nervousness along with the words.

“The Queen insisted and it was either accept or run away, so here I am. Now, tell me what else is bothering you. Is Serin Gell about to assault the town? Are my parents alright? Is Samuel okay?”

“There is no sign of Serin Gell or any other Serpent Guild activity in the area. Your parents are well, but Samuel lost his right hand over in Lamont after tangling with some associates of the Pentrosan. Our Teki friend is otherwise unhurt,” Tim sent, still giving off a sense of anxiety, as if there was something more to be said.

“What else?” Daniel sent back.

“There is a new eatery opening on the east side of Bashierwood.”

“That’s nice to know, but why are you troubled about it?” Daniel wanted to know.

“I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this; Todd Polkat asked Val into his cabin and she accepted about ten days ago. He didn’t actually build her a cabin, they are living at the inn until the eatery is completed, which it mostly is. They will be living on the second floor and serving food on the first when all is ready. With the cavalry nearby, they expect to earn a good living,” Tim sent back.

Daniel took a few moments to digest the news. He had no idea Todd, decent fellow as he is, would be Val’s choice. The innkeeper’s son had certain notions about feminine behavior and Daniel had trouble picturing Val in a dress rather than her pink buckskins. Whatever adjustments they each had to make, he was happy for her. Just because he had no hope of a normal life did not mean she should not have one. A small place in his heart would always be there for her, they had been friends long before any romantic notions came along. “I hope the eatery is a success and they have a happy life together,” he sent to his friend.

“I’ll let you know if Serin Gell shows up,” Tim sent back, making no comment on whatever mixed emotions had been transferred from Daniel along with the words.

“Please keep me informed and feel free to give me a holler whenever you get the urge.” Daniel sent.

“Will do,” Tim replied and the connection ended.

“It was news from home. My family is fine, but the renegade, Serin Gell, has escaped the Eagle Guild and his current whereabouts is unknown,” he told Jared.

The account keeper pointed at Daniel’s plate. “You better eat that before it gets cold. Is there any danger of him coming here?”

“All we can do is
, be on the alert.” Daniel replied and then picked up his fork and started eating.

David and Silvia, both dressed in bright colors only a Teki would choose, joined them later in the common room. From there they took a carriage to the palace for another one of those receptions Daniel was getting tired of. Diplomacy was still not his strong point. He said what he meant and meant what he said, but the lords and ladies kept trying to read d
eeper meanings into his words.

“I’ve been told Fenton Ch
en has an assistant from Aakadon,” David said while they were exiting the carriage and walking into the reception hall.

“Queen Cleona hasn’t called him to the palace in nearly a month,” Jared added to the conversation. “According to my business contacts, this is unusual because, up until then, he had been called upon every other day.”

It was not a mystery. The Queen trusted her Knight over the Accomplished. Daniel had strengthened the Queen twice during the time mentioned, which kept her not only functional, but looking healthier, even though she was still dying, and he was trying to compose a Melody to save her. He simply could not come up with a single Melody to do everything required, so decided to focus on one aspect of what needed to be done at a time, and compose a spell for each. When all were ready, he would add Da Capos and layer the Melodies accordingly. That is, once he manages to compose them.

“I don’t know anything about that,” David said. “I just know the new Accomplished has been at the residence for awhile, healing people of their afflictions, and has been invited to this reception.”

As they entered the hall filled with important guests from throughout the kingdom and emissaries from all over the world, Daniel’s eyes locked onto one particular person wearing the black and red silks of an Accomplished, and stopped so abruptly Jared ran into him. She was absolutely beautiful, like a dream come true.

“What’s the matter?” Silvia asked, and then glanced in the direction he was staring. “Striking, isn’t she? I think her name is, Sherree Jenna.”

“I know her name,” Daniel said in a soft voice. He could not take his eyes off of her, being shocked, thrilled, and having several other emotions flooding into him, especially on the heels of Val’s marrying Todd. “If you will excuse me, I’ll go welcome her,” he said, without waiting for a response.

Sherree’s eyes locked onto his and from that point on no one else in the room existed, or might as well not have for all he cared. “Welcome to Ducaun, Accomplished,” he told her.

The Lobenian smiled, her eyes widened, and her pupils seemed to dilate as if to grant her a better scrutiny of him. “Sir Daniel, you’re the first representative of the Queen to welcome me, and pleased I am to be here,” she replied formally.