To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (35 page)

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Something warm and wet wiped the right side of his face along the jaw line and a sense of concern turning into contentment filled Daniel’s mind as he began to stir back into consciousness. Even before opening his eyes, he knew the wolf to which the tongue and emotions belonged. “Good morning Loper,” he said and was surprised at how weak his voice sounded. He could feel every creature linked to him matching the Alpha male’s feelings as they all sensed Daniel’s awakening.

The wolf’s tail began wagging and he allowed Daniel to stroke the space between his ears. A single lamp provide the only light in an otherwise dark room, meaning  it was no longer morning, and he had been way off about the time. Two Sentinels stood to the right and left of the door while Leah, fast asleep, sat sprawled in a c
ushioned chair near the window.

“It is good to see you awake, Sir Daniel.”
Jax Talmin of Quick Silver Squad spoke in a soft voice.

“You had us worried there for awhile. It’s a good thing you recruited that new Accomplished,” Shella Gabler of Nighthawk Squad added whi
le pointing to Leah.

Daniel sat up in bed and had to admit doing so took some effort. The sheet and blanket covering him fell, exposing his chest and the seven golden lightning bolts on his shoulders. He had nothing on beneath the covers but his underpants. “I remember a stabbing pain, lances of light being launched, and not much after that.”

“A member of the Serpent Guild attempted to assassinate you about twelve marks ago,” Jax began.

“He was completely invisible and all we saw of him at first was his hand with your blood on it,” Shella added. “David’s lance hit the man first, causing him to become visible, and in mere moments I think six lances, maybe eight, went right through the reptile before Silvia’s shot pinned him to the wall.”

“Your First Accomplished healed what she could and told us you had lost a large amount of blood and would be weak for a few days,” Jax continued the briefing.

Daniel had never heard of the Serpent Guild using invisible assassins, yet knew he should not be surprised to learn his much more experienced rival could compose such a spell.
An Aakasear is limited only by his talent and imagination. He glanced at the wolf and smiled.
So that is why you are here with me.

I guard pack leader from predators in hunting ground.
Loper sent back in thoughts and sensations the mental link interpreted into words.

Do you smell any
?

Loper’s tongue lolled out and he sat on his haunches,
only dead one.

“The First Accomplished ordered us to bring the wolves and foxes in to sniff out and locate invisible assassins. The canines are roaming all over the holding and don’t seem to have found anymore intruders, but it makes me feel better having Loper and his pack around.” Shella explained, no doubt after seeing him smiling at the wolf. While she had the familiarity all Sentinels who were restored had with the animals linked to Daniel, she could not hear their thoughts.

Daniel cast, How Do You Feel, and focused inwardly, discovered no injuries, and found he had only two thirds of his normal blood supply, which his metabolism seemed to be slowly restoring. He ceased the potential and grabbed a jug of water from the night table and began drinking. The more he consumed, the faster his body could recover the loss, and so he drank that jug dry and started on another.

His list of chores did not go away and a
Benhannon never drops a set chore just because he is tired. He placed the second empty jug on the night table and focused on his two body guards, four if you count Loper and the still sleeping Leah. “Bringing in the wolves and foxes was a good idea,” he said, seeing as they seemed to be waiting for him to comment. “I want Kater brought to my room.”

The Sentinels stared at each other for a few moments. Shella’s eyebrows arched up questioningly and Jax smiled. “You know he sees through the eyes of the animals, of course he knows what happened to Kater,” he said, to which she nodded her acceptance and understanding of the fact.

The female Sentinel blushed. “I should have realized the animals would let him know what happened,” she replied and then opened the door, revealing two more guards standing in the hall. “Tobin, Sir Daniel wants you to fetch your brother,” she announced in a quiet voice.

Daniel could hear the muffled sound of boots on a carpet moving quickly away from the door. A third of a mark later, Tobin returned leading his brother by the hand. The younger Sentinel had a bandage on his head covering his eyes and ears along with ten smaller ones on his fingers and thumbs. “Take off his shirt and bring him near the bed so I can touch his forehead and stomach,” he instructed and waited while that was being done. He did not have the strength to heal each wound separately so chose what he believed would be the quickest and most efficient method.

After placing his hands appropriately, he cast, Hearts Beat As One, added a Da Capo, and then Heal Wounds, ceased the potential for that spell, and cast Heal Burns. The pain Kater had been feeling in his mouth and fingers turned to pleasure and Daniel removed the Da Capo from Hearts Beat As one, and then immediately passed out.

He opened his eyes to a bright sunlit-room. Loper lay near his bed and the Sentinels were still by the door. Leah glanced in his direction, sprang out of the chair, and in moments stood leaning over him. “How do you feel?” She asked.

Daniel did a quick assessment. “Not quite as energetic as when I woke earlier.”

She licked her lips and seemed on the brink of giving him a scolding and then let out a protracted sigh. “That healing you performed, while being compassionate, could have been done by me.”

He was about to say, a Benhannon does not fob his chores off on others, but decided he could no longer afford to think that way. He had made a good beginning at delegating tasks and needed to continue, especially now that he had another Accomplished to rely on. “I’m not used to having someone like you around to help with the spell casting chores, but I will make the adjustment in my thinking.”

Leah gave a quick nod of the head, “You and I both have mental adjustments to make,” she replied, and then went on to say, “Now, tell me what needs to be done and I will get to work.”

“Where is the flute?” he asked without being more specific.

The tall Ecoppian opened her cloak, revealing the inner pocket, out of which extended about a quarter of the instrument. “Chas briefed me on a good many things, yet did not mention the crescendo. Silvia, your Teki Seer, told me the rest of the tale. The shield you placed on it I determined to be unbreakable unless the Da Capo is tied to your life force. If that is the case and the assassin had succeeded, he could have destroyed the flute. Even so I cannot think of a safer place outside of
Aakadon.”

“Thanks for healing me,” Daniel began, deciding that expressing his gratitude should be the first item on his list of things to do. “You can hold onto the instrument until I am stronger.”

“These two briefed you on what happened,” Leah stated while pointing to the Sentinels, who stared back at her respectfully. “I am just glad you took the time to teach me those spells back in Bashierwood rather than waiting until after we arrived here. Your timing was perfect.”

The Chosen Vessel’s swirling of events probably had more to do with the timing being right, Daniel reckoned. Teaching her back on Tannakonna had been an impulse, not part of a shrewd plan. “Do you have any idea how many Aakademneds we will be dealing with?”

“Hundreds or perhaps a thousand or more,” Leah replied.

The holding could not house a group so large and Daniel knew he could not restore such a huge number quickly. Taking down the Serpent Nest and rescuing the Aakademneds would only be half the chore. He needed a safe place in which to work. “Obviously the assault will have to wait until I am fully recovered. It’s blasted inconvenient to be the object of an assassination attempt.”

Leah’s head slanted to the left while her eyes peered into his, as if trying to interpret deeper meaning behind the words. She probably had great skill as an interrogator. “I agree with both points. I can brief Chas on the coming mission but he will probably need our scouting report before he can help us draw up an actual assault plan.”

“We will need a larger facility to house however many Aakademneds survive to be restored,” Daniel informed her.

Leah glanced out the window. “We can use the spells, Fashioning and Change It, to make more buildings like this one.”

Her suggestion had merit yet Daniel hesitated to make the expansion of his facility, any of his facilities, something that can be easily assessed by his enemies. He had overcome his opponents many times in the past because they underestimated him and he wanted his foes to keep doing so, especially about the size and capabilities of his fighting force. “That is a good idea. I think we should give it a flat roof and build it twenty cubits below center court,” he told her and watched as a smile gradually formed on her face.

“No one will be able to assess the strength of this holding,” she said while nodding her head. “What if we need to expand, how far down can we go?”

“I prefer that we not go near the water table,” Daniel replied. He could seal the facility from leakage. It was the possible consequences of interfering with the underground stream that concerned him.

Simon had spoken during their voyage aboard the Javelin, on the journey to rescue Sherree and Jerremy from Serin Gell, about how everything works together in harmony like a grand symphony. Sunlight, wind, water, minerals, plants, and animals are all codependents, and subject to certain natural laws. Daniel did not want to mess with the interrelationship of the ecological system more than was necessary.

“Then we must expand out,” Leah said, and her eyes widened
, causing him to wonder how many ideas were swirling in that shrewd mind. Those dark eyes narrowed and she abruptly slapped the side of the bed and grinned. “We can make additional wings under the ground in the empty space between the existing buildings.”

Daniel loved the idea and pictured in his mind a building four levels deep, beginning twenty cubits below center court, and wings with the same number of levels spreading out under the ground between each surface building, and then created a three dimensional image made of solidified air.

“You should leave the spell casting to me,” Leah said while picking up the blue model. “How is it I did not see you glow with potential or even where you focused the energy to make this solidified projection?”

“Concentration and lots of practice, that’s how I restrict the glow. Before I summon potential, I picture it only coming from my body where I choose. I can focus the beams finer than a hair and the amount of energy also needs to be considered. Even a High Powered spell focused tighter than a hair would glow like the sun,” he explained.

She tried the technique using low power spells yet only managed to restrict the glow to her arms. “I think your seven bolts of potential is a factor. A Three-bolt might be able to restrict the glow to half of his or her body, but I doubt anyone of lesser rank could manage it at all. The amount of potential used in these spells is a tiny fraction of the power you possess where as it takes a proportionally larger amount of the resource at my command.”

Daniel had not considered the matter beyond concentration and practice. By the time he cast his first spell, six bolts of potential filled his vat, and so he had difficulty assessing, from a practical standpoint, what folks of lesser rank were capable of. “While I appreciate gaining a greater understanding of the capabilities of other Accomplisheds, it does little to chip away at our chores.”

Leah straightened up to her full height and gave the customary nod of respect. “Then I will start chipping away while you stay right here and get strong,” she said, and seemed on the verge of giving him an order, yet that is not what came out of her mouth. “Please, do not summon any more potential. Healing Sentinel Kater Brendage has set your recovery back another day. I am not as fast or strong as you when it comes to wielding Potential, but I can do the job.”

The person standing before him had been a Senior Soarer of the Eagle Guild, is more than four times his age, and clearly doing her best not to speak to him as a subordinate. “You can go work on the new addition to this holding while I stay here and consume whatever Marge sends me,” he replied.

“A wise decision,” his first Accomplished agreed and then exited the room.

Later in the morning Daniel was given large amounts of liquid in the form of water and beef broth. Even though he felt better, everyone, including Jared, kept begging him to be patient, and it seemed easier to give in and let them have their way. Not a one of them could have forced him to stay in bed, yet he did so because they cared. General Malcus and the other Royal Knights of the Realm apparently were not told of anything more than an assassin had been caught and killed. They had not even been informed of Daniel’s presence in
the holding.

Silvia and David came in shortly after he emptied his second bowl. Jana and Carn Bencain were standing guard at the door while Loper sat sniffing out the window. The Teki Seer smiled and came near the bed. “Have you contacted Sherree yet?” she asked.

Daniel did not see the point in worrying his wife, he had been healed, and time would see him right as a spring rain. “I did not want to alarm her over something that is done and over with.”