To Be Grand Maestro (Book 5) (66 page)

That and you lack the power to arrest me,
Daniel was tempted to say. He was finding it difficult to contain his emotions, building to a crescendo as they were.

“Your demands are outrageous. You cannot expect my Knight to resign his commission,” Cleona spoke up, clearly refusing to be ignored.

“The Creator chose a Ducaunan Royal Knight of the Realm to be His champion, perhaps you should think about that before you utter such rash demands,” Prince Collin added his voice to the growing chorus rising against Efferin’s preposterous requirements.

Queen Clarees glanced at Sherree and then at Daniel before speaking up. “Aakadon does not have the authority to annul a marriage that has been recognized by the Queens of two realms in which the couple followed the rites of both cultures. Furthermore, the Accomplisheds you have stationed in Lobenia have done little in the defense of my kingdom and the Atlantan Guild, as it stands today, is the only reason we are able to fight off the attacks of the Serpent Guild and their northern allies.”

Prince Luther Soon, who reminded Daniel a little of Jerremy DeSuan, stood up and said, “Grand Maestro, adherence to your terms of reconciliation would weaken the only ally Serinia has in the region. If not for Sir Daniel’s patrol boats and the giant sea monsters he commands, our ships would not even be able to sail from their harbors.” The Serinian sat back down after making his position on the matter officially clear.

Sherree’s hand came up and she pointed a finger at Efferin. Daniel quickly clasped his hand in hers while staring at the smug look on the Grand Maestro’s face. The man clearly thought his casual throwing in the bit about resigning the knighthood, and the stupid part about annulling the marriage was actually going to happen. Daniel’s emotions could no longer be contained. It started with a chuckle and he could not stop the full throated laugh that followed.

Through Find All, he sensed Accomplished Meado and the Benhannon Guardsmen with her appear in the throne room and then race into the hall in the direction of the conference room from the far side of the palace. Sero was ten halls away with four squads of Royal Guardsmen right behind him and the growing seriousness of the situation allowed Daniel to stifle his mirth at Efferin’s audacity and respond in a serious tone. “I can see why you allowed Scholar Sander, Instructor Renn, and Maestro Barnes to do most of the talking in the first few marks, giving all the pretty speeches about cooperation and defeating the Serpent Guild. And I like how Maestro Reese spoke of the responsibilities that go with my being the Chosen Vessel. If you had spoken first this meeting would have been over almost from the start. Unlike many of the distinguished individuals seated at this table, I have no talent for diplomacy, so I ask, is this the starting point from which the true negotiations are to begin? If it is not, then you have just wasted the time of every person in this room.”

The Grand Maestro stared, unblinking. “I came because only a fool fights more than one war at a time. I am not in a position to overcome the Serpent Guild and its allies, so resolving our differences must come first. I assure you, coming here is not a waste of my time, and I do not intend to return to Aakadon until this matter between us is settled.”

A strong sense of highly disciplined urgency came through the array just before the words, “Maestro, beware of Tames and Reese, the Senior Soarers and Coronas are on the move, we are slowing them down, and there have been deaths even though we have been avoiding the use of some of our more lethal spells. I can stop the advance but not without increasing the death count.” Jeremiah Lassiter informed him.

Daniel felt a flicker of irritation at the news and then buried it under a mound of determination. He quickly rearranged his priorities and set the chore to be done. The invasion of Ducanton and the attack on Shantear were being dealt with for now, and he would finish the chore before him. “Do whatever you must. I have just been promised the matter between us and Aakadon will be settled tonight. It looks like one way or another it will be.”

“Be assured what must be done will be done,” Jeremiah replied and ended the connection.

Daniel shrugged his shoulders, symbolically throwing the unnecessary weight off his back. Focusing his full attention on Efferin, Daniel replied, “I’ll take that answer as a definite maybe. You have stated your position and so now I will state mine; the Atlantan Guild will not be dissolved, my people will not be subject to you, I will not resign the knighthood bestowed upon me by Queen Cleona, and my marriage to Sherree is for life. We can work together in the same way I worked with Maestro Reese to achieve victory at Mount Shantear.” He made the proposal knowing it was a waste of breath and marveled over the Grand Maestro’s demeanor, the man knew his forces were on the way, and yet he sat there pretending to hold up his end of the terms for meeting face to face.

Efferin began chuckling while shaking his head. “Daniel, Daniel, you amuse me. I remember how that arrangement worked out well for you and not so much for Maestro Reese. You claimed the base and sent him back to Aakadon as a lord dismisses a workman after the job is finished and not even with a gratuity for the services rendered.”

“He did so because you broke the arrangement by ordering Maestro Reese to arrest him,” Sherree responded in a tone that sounded like a scolding. It was hard to believe only a year ago this was a man she trusted and held in high esteem.

“How dare you speak so to the Grand Maestro of Aakadon?” King Jaim shouted in protest.

Prince Kelvin leaned forward over the table. “Woman, show some respect!”

It was not difficult to ignore the blind followers of a willfully blind man and focus instead on the person those foolish men were placing their trust; in that moment, bands of air wrapped around Daniel, squeezing his arms to his sides. He looked at Terroll and was saddened more than shocked by the betrayal. His old tutor would not disobey a direct order of the Grand Maestro for any reason, protest the command yes, but not defy, and neither would Jason, who had Sherree similarly bound. The sustained split-beam striking his and her chests from Talmon’s baton, shielded off their potentials, perhaps he feared adding a Da Capo might allow an Aakasear a chance to escape. The spell, Find All, no longer showed him what was happening, so Daniel ceased the potential for it and summoned life force energy to power his counter move, which would be cast at the first opportunity.

The Grand Maestro also cast a spell from his baton, the beam split, shooting into Daniel’s forehead and that of Sherree as well. Her voice came into his array. “His spell to my forehead was absorbed by my personal shield, but it will take a high power spell for me to overcome Talmon’s conjuring, and I cannot do that without my wedding knife. We could convey from here separately since the energy would be focused within rather than without.”

“My shield also absorbed Efferin’s casting,” Daniel sent in reply. “By the harmonic waves given off from the spell, it is a good thing he did not aim for our eyes, or whatever he struck us with would have probably accomplished the purpose he intended. I believe Talmon is sustaining ten bolts of potential, most of which are being focused on me,” he paused, and made a few adjustments. “I have extended my personal shield over my entire body, except my ears, and can only breathe through my mouth. You should convey to safety. I was able just now to push my potential as far as my personal shield and since Talmon’s conjuring is not touching flesh, it is theoretically possible for us to slip out of the influence of his spell. I’m going to test the theory and settle my problem with the Grand Maestro once and for all.”

“In that case I am staying here. You also need to know, I have just contacted Chas Herling and Gorn Blixten, Accomplisheds and Sentinels will be conveying to this city in the very near future. Also, spheroids are dropping on our Northland Holding, so we need to resolve this issue soon.” Sherree informed him.

That explained why the compartment in Daniel’s head containing his awareness of Loper the wolf was howling for attention. A closer focus brought with it a sharp pain in the pack-leader’s left flank, felt by the wolf and Daniel, caused by an iron shard, along with sounds of multiple explosions, and visuals of round objects falling from an overcast sky, lit up by glowing spheres. Many other furred and feathered creatures in his swirl wanted to show Daniel what they were seeing at the holding. “
Flee into the woods
,” he sent his thoughts to all of them along with the promise of healing their wounds soon. The pain from Loper’s wound vanished the moment Daniel brought his full concentration back in the conference room.

He quickly filled Sherree in on the other assaults while Efferin gloated. “I know Silencing is only a temporary setback to an Aakasear, but it gives us the advantage for now, along with the precautionary shields Maestro Reese has placed on your potentials,” Tames stated.

“Release him at once!” Queen Cleona demanded.

Daniel appreciated her boldness but feared for her safety. As Sam previously noted,
Things are about to get messy.

“All non-Aakacarns are to leave this room immediately,” Talmon Reese ordered. “Failure to do so will result in the use of spells that will compel you to exit. I suggest each of you take shelter because the Atlantan Guild is unlikely to surrender meekly and spells will soon be aggressively focused here.”
He got that much right; this was no place for ordinary humans to be.

Daniel glanced up at the air vent and into the eyes of the little Prince. Talmon’s warning about aggressive spells being cast was about to come true and Daniel did not want the boy harmed in the process.
What could be done will be done to secure his safety,
Daniel determined and then faced Efferin. “You have just made the biggest mistake of your career.”

“On the contrary, allowing you to ride out of Aakadon after the graduation ceremony in which Sherree Jenna took part was my biggest mistake. Under my watchful eyes you would never have established your own guild and the abomination growing in her womb would not exist, a mistake I am now in the process of rectifying,” Efferin replied. “Scholar Sander, focus the spell, Childless, at Jenna’s abdomen.”

Bella, who had been silently observing the goings-on, lifted his baton but did not glow with potential, “I will not,” he declared, refusing to follow the order. Daniel noted and appreciated the bold defiance of the unlawful command as he mentally prepared to act.

“Efferin, you fool,” Terroll inappropriately blurted, when he should have said, Grand Maestro you fool, in Daniel’s opinion. “Capturing them in this manner, distasteful as it is, was in your legal right to demand of us, but attacking after they are already in custody is beyond your authority.”

Jason shook his head as if he did not believe what was happening. “Only a fool strikes at Sherree Jenna in the presence of Daniel.”
He no doubt was remembering the humbling of Harmon Gram in front of several hundred Talenteds and possibly Serin Gell’s fate as well.

Efferin’s eyebrows drew down in disgust. “I will deal with the insults and disobedience when we get back to Aakadon,” he promised and then pointed his baton at Sherree. Energy flowed out in a narrow beam, striking her abdomen, and was absorbed by her personal shield, which is the only reason Daniel decided not strike him dead. “It had to be done,” the Grand Maestro said as if his will had indeed been done.

His failure did not change the evil intent and Daniel fully understood what he had to do, for him, for Sherree, for their unborn child, and in order to have a chance at winning the War of the Champions. “Wrong, but this does,” he said, and then focused the potential for Conveyance.

The emptiness between here and there freed him from the clutches of Terroll, slipped him out of Talmon’s shield, and placed him right where he wanted to be; in the corner behind his opponents, who were attempting to blink the results of the unexpectedly bright flash from their retinas.

Sherree appeared behind Efferin and back handed him out of his chair with a giant appendage of solidified air, just as the Six-bolt was shouting, “Impossible,” and also proving Daniel’s spell theory. She was no longer restrained by Talmon’s Melody.

Daniel focused a personal shield up and onto the young Prince and then grabbed the still blinking Talmon by the shoulders, yanking him bodily out of the chair, and slammed him against the wall.

The Maestro righted himself and suddenly glowed under the protection of a High Power shield, as were Terroll, and Jason, who was the only one of the three whose defenses Daniel could possibly overcome without the aid of a crescendo.

“You cannot win,” the Grand Maestro stated his misguided belief while a shield of his own making stopped a second strike from Sherree and allowed him enough time to stand. “Thousands of Eagles are already in this city and soon you will be brought back into submission,” he stated and then turned to Sherree. “Jenna, you will pay for striking me.”

A sense of relief came ahead of the words, “A team of Accomplisheds from the Northland Holding have just arrived along with Commander Herling and about eight thousand Sentinels. They are establishing a perimeter around the palace while I and my teams are harassing the Eagles and Solars who are swarming the streets. Wait, Leah must have fought off the raid on New Oben, she and two thousand Accomplisheds have just joined us,” Samuel reported, and then added with a sense of sadness. “A lot of damage has been done to the city and there have been deaths and injuries, even among the non-Aakacarns. My animal scouts at the northland holding are showing me an aerial attack taking place. While I am confident we can prevail here and eventually send a team there, I fear for the lives that will be lost in the meantime.”