To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (50 page)

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The sterile white area containing twenty smaller rooms within the Health Department seemed a little crowded to Daniel with so many people standing outside of room number three of twenty. Jeremiah Lassiter stood talking to Samuel, Simon, Daria, and Leah. Among the others standing around were Sero, Carlos, David, Silvia, and Lyal Van Kestrel. The latter had continued to beg acceptance into service, which may happen within a day or two.

Daniel, wearing his blue silks, removed his hand from the forehead and tummy of a young woman whose body had been mal-formed into resembling a hairless goat. Her skull had been reshaped and the scalp pierced to make a pair of horns. The spell had reduced the bone density of her entire skeleton, having nothing else to draw on to form the protrusions. The female lying on the bed in front of him now possessed a muscularly well-defined body, dark hair, light brown skin, and a length suggesting Serinian ancestry. Had she been shorter, he would have guessed the southern parts of Taracopa or Aczencopa as her place of origin. Where she was born would be revealed after she awakened, which he decided should happen naturally, given the amount of reforming her body was forced to endure.

“I did not expect you to leave the capitol and go right to work restoring the Condemneds,” Sherree commented while placing a blue silk robe on the patient. “Yet I am glad you did for the sake of people like her. She appears to be eighteen or nineteen at the most, so I doubt she spent too many years in that horrible state.”

After mark upon mark of meet and greets, Daniel had wanted to do something constructive. “The first two meetings were the most important and took up two marks, everything from that point on was pomp and circumstance, and kept us from doing anything truly important so restoring Condemneds kind of balanced it all out. Seventeen was my guess of her age, but you may be right,” he replied and then fixed his gaze on the former Senior Soarer. “If Jeremiah was just a little less efficient, I could have been involved in breaking the siege at Polatca, and since he and his Accomplisheds managed it all without my contributing to the effort, I chose to do something only the Maestro of the guild can do.”

The tall-dark man came forward at the sound of his name. He did not smile but projected a sense of contentment over a job well done. “The capturing of a few legions or so of non-Aakacarns took longer than killing them would have, but taking people into custody is a skill I acquired long ago, and well worth the extra time. I estimate that two thirds of the captives seemed to welcome the opportunity to surrender. Clearly, the hearts of the Battencayan people are not in this war,” the Conductor stated and then glanced at Leah before continuing. “It is the army of Senior Soarers and Coronas camping less than fifteen spans from this facility that concerns me more. The War of the Champions is heating up and even with over ten thousand Aakacarns, eleven thousand Sentinels, and the Benhannon Guard being over nine thousand strong, our forces are being stretched. That army is composed of some of the most powerful and experienced Accomplisheds in Aakadon and they will not be overcome as easily as the few flocks of Soarers we incapacitated and sent back to the city in the past.” His concern was certainly justified, no doubt about it, and was likely shared by most of the people in the Atlantan Guild.

Daniel had already made up his mind about any Accomplisheds foolish enough to attack his people, no matter where. “If they attack, they will be treated like anyone else who stands against the Chosen Vessel..,”

“That’s right, they can join Daniel Benhannon, stand aside, or be smashed into ruin,” Silvia interrupted, and this time he agreed with her, and so did David, going by the vigorous way he nodded his head. All of them were coming closer to Daniel while he and Sherree stepped away from the sleeping patient.

He noted the concern on all of their faces at the announcement, other than those of the pair of Teki. They smiled grimly and seemed to be happy over the prospect of seeing those who defied the Champion get their due. Daniel agreed with the need but could not make himself feel happy about it. “We will, of course, give them the opportunity to back off or surrender at any point during the exchange of spells, and those who continue to fight will face lethal force,” Daniel made clear. No one smiled at the clarification and he would have been surprised if anyone had.

Jeremiah nodded his head gravely. “I knew it would eventually come down to the shedding of blood. By your decision, in every confrontation with the Accomplisheds of Aakadon, we have strictly used non-lethal force, and so a change in the tactic could only be ordered by you. For the record, I regretfully agree with the change, and see no other way to handle the situation given the extent of the threats posed by the Serpent Guild. Every moment our forces are tied up dealing with the Senior Soarers and Coronas will leave us open to a major assault from Tarin Conn’s association and allies.”

Daniel stepped out of the small room, Sherree followed and stood behind him while Leah took a deep breath, clearly preparing to speak her mind, a thing he encouraged. “Maestro, the First Accomplished of the Atlantan Guild agrees with you,” she stated and then turned to his wife. “What is the opinion of the First Lady?”

All eyes were on Sherree, who had not brought up the subject after Daniel told her of his decision earlier in the day. Her green eyes locked onto his. “I agree it may not be possible to go on treating the aggression of Aakadon towards us as if it was nothing more than an inconvenience and that lethal force should be an option. If they attack us here, even if they limit themselves to non-lethal spells, I agree with Jeremiah; the Serpents could choose that moment to strike a death blow to the Atlantan Guild.”

“For the record I, the Conductor of Internal Security and Information Gathering, do agree with the decision,” Samuel spoke up, although his subdued tone meant he was not eager for such a confrontation, and especially against senior members of his former guild.

Daria Copa came forward with a golden circlet containing ten gems, five topaz and five sapphires. The hood of the blue cloak was up and brown hair flowed over her shoulders rather than down her back and hidden within the cloak the way Sherree often wore hers. “Maestro I, the Conductor of the Department of Communications, also agree with the decision and at this time present this array to you. I and the First Lady, First Accomplished, and each of the other Conductors of the Atlantan Guild have infused the stones with our life force energies so you can call on us at any time.” She held out the offering tentatively, perhaps fearing he would reject the array.

Daniel had thirty communication amulets in the pockets of his cloak and had the ability to call on any of those individuals at will, but they could not contact him unless he was holding the gem against his forehead. With so many threats looming over the guild, it might not be a bad idea to at least give his lieutenants the ability to contact him when they felt the need, he reasoned. “I accept the array and will wear it from now on,” he replied and took the offering from her hand.

Simon came forward, almost hesitantly, which often meant he was about to point out or suggest something everyone else had overlooked. “As Conductor Lassiter pointed out, our response to Aakadon’s aggression has always been non-lethal. The Grand Maestro and the seven Maestros are glaringly, almost willfully, ignorant of how powerful and influential the Serpent Guild has become, being blinded by their animosity towards you. After all, they do not have the benefit of a Teki Seer to enlighten them.”

“Seek guidance from a non-Aakacarn? No way,” Leah rightly stated, even though she interrupted the Chief Aid.

He smiled and acknowledged her remark with a nod and then continued. “This being the case, the army out there might attack us believing we will respond as we have in the past, with non-lethal force. They do not understand how high the stakes are and therefore emboldened by their ignorance, may see no risk in moving against us. I propose we make them aware of the change in policy before something occurs we will all regret.”

The Conductor of the Defense Department took a deep breath and placed both hands on his hips. “If they move into attack position, we will make clear to them that lethal force has been authorized,” Jeremiah pointed out, a statement Daniel felt to be reasonable, even though it had been stated more forcefully than was necessary.

“Suppose they cast spells first and ask questions later,” Simon replied, undaunted by the possibility whatever he had in mind might not be popular. “Daniel, I think you should inform Terroll Barnes of the many dangers we are facing and the reason why any aggression against the Atlantan Guild will no longer be treated gently.”

“You want my husband to enter Aakadon?” Sherree asked in a quiet voice while her green eyes narrowed sharply at the Chief Aid as if he had just suggested the man she loved be executed at dawn.

Simon, truly a man of courage, did not hesitate to answer. “Yes, none of us has any standing with the Maestros, and of the seven, only Terroll would listen to Daniel. Sherree, the Maestro of the Zephyr Guild has told you he believes your husband is the Chosen Vessel, and we do not know the opinions of the other six. The last time you spoke with the Maestro of the Aloe Guild, she refused to come out and say where she stood on the issue. If you believe anyone else has a chance of enlightening a Maestro of Aakadon, please tell us now.”

Jeremiah’s way was safer for Daniel, but Simon’s proposal might not only prevent bloodshed in the current threat posed by Aakadon, it could avert future confrontations.

Everyone began shouting at the Chief Aid, even Sero who rarely commented on anything. “It is too dangerous,” Sherree was emphatic. “Daniel will be arrested on sight,” Leah said while looming over Simon. “Are you insane?” Sero asked. “You are insane!” Carlos exclaimed. “A trip to Aakadon for our Maestro is out of the Question,” Jeremiah insisted while glancing at his former Fledgling as if for support. “Simon might be right,” Samuel yelled in order to be heard over the others and began another round of shouting, directed at him, led by his former mentor.

Daniel raised his hand and gradually brought silence to the room as each person noticed he was signaling for quiet. They were within the Health Department and it was a wonder half the members were not running to see what all the yelling was about. “This evening a pair of Zephyrs will enter the gates of Aakadon and walk to the home of their guild. One will be me and the other will be Sherree,” he added her because he knew there was no way she would agree to him taking such a risk without her at his side. “With darker skin and a broader nose I can pass for an Ecoppian and Sherree can darken her hair, thicken her eyebrows just a little, and pass for a Taracopian. Most of the changes will be illusion but will suffice so long as no one actually touches our faces.”

Simon, focusing on the floor as if loathed to impose his opinion, gave it anyway. “I like everything about the idea except the part where my name is missing.”

Daniel tried not to smile before making his reply. Well, not very hard. “There is no reason for you or any of the others to come with us. We have to arrive outside Aakadon far enough to keep the sound of our arrival from being overheard. The more I take, the louder the noise, and the farther away from the city we will be forced to arrive,” he replied, and to the group at large added, “You all know a Talented at the gate is not going to question a pair of Accomplisheds who wish to enter and no one in the Zephyr Guild is likely to wonder about two of its members entering the building, even if they do not recognize the pair. The guilds of Aakadon are huge and no member of a guild knows everyone personally.”

“I still do not like the proposal,” Leah said as her eyes met those of everyone else. “But disguises will minimize the danger, especially if they go as a pair of Gusts, and Daniel might just be able to convince the leaders of Aakadon to stop this and any future campaigns that might be launched against us.” It was good she could see the merits to Simon’s proposal and offered an excellent idea about going in as a pair of young Accomplisheds whose relatively low rank would not stand out.

Daniel looked to Sherree. “What do you say?”

For answer, amber light radiated from her and moments later she had darker skin, black hair, and her blue silks were now the red on black of Aakadon. “We will have to conceal our marriage knifes within our cloaks, choose different belts, and make a couple of gold medallions with the letter Z on them.”

“That’s my wife,” Daniel replied, proud of her response.

No one objected once the decision had been made, which did not mean that they liked it, only that they decided not to argue with their Maestro. He and Sherree proceeded to their room, removed their belts, created medallions, and then she focused her amber potential at him. Daniel suddenly had on the red and black silks of Aakadon and one golden lightning bolt on the hood of his cloak. The new belts she made had the letter, G, on the buckles. She attached her old baton to her belt and handed a duplicate to him. “The crescendos are level twos and complete the disguises. I know you promised to wear the new array, but I think prudence dictates that you leave the device here until we return,” she suggested, and so he set the circlet on the night table. “It is well into the evening but the city should be bright as day for another six marks,” she informed him as if he had not spent enough time in Aakadon to know such a thing.

He looked in the mirror and did not recognize the face staring back at him. “Accomplished Sheila Van Tarran, are you ready to head back to our guild?” Daniel asked while instantly making up the name.