To Be A Maestro (The Maestro Chronicles) (48 page)

“Let’s run,” Daniel told his escorts.

They ran between trees, leaped over bushes, and soon reached the nearest band of Aakacarns. Daniel focused Sleep Time and his blue beam struck five shields, rendering his strike ineffective while fireballs, solidified blades of air, and lightning bolts flew back at him. Silvia dived to the right behind a tree, quickly took aim, and sent a flaming stream of pebbles at the enemy. Her attack bounced off their shields. David dove to the left while launching lances of light. Condemneds ran screaming towards them, brown cloaks flowing behind them, and covering the ground quickly. These were not grotesque or disfigured, merely hairless. Silvia shot one with a blast of light from her nightstick and the mind-slave tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Daniel sent streaks of lightning from both hands, backed by four bolts of potential, and blasted through the shields, killing the first five. The remaining Aakacarns scattered and ran. David sent a lance of light through the lower back of a thick-bodied spell caster, causing the Aakacarn to immediately drop to the ground. Spells flew back and forth as the remaining four Aakacarns hid behind trees and continued the battle
.

Through Find All, Daniel sensed the Accomplisheds of Aakadon moving into action, Eagles going on the offensive and the rest establishing shields of different sorts. The only people he could identify in the camp through the spell were Sherree and Simon, seeing as Daniel had never physically touched any of the others. They stood together, guarding each other’s backs, and focusing potential at the attackers. Daniel had no doubt her repertoire would be more than a match against anything the Serpents could throw at them and knew both Accomplisheds had powerful crescendos. Lassiter seemed to be mowing down any Aakacarns foolish enough to engage him. Silvia launched fiery pebbles, striking an Accomplished in the face, causing a great deal of screaming, moments later the cloaked figure fell dead with his head all aflame. The acrobat spun around, nightstick sweeping out, and struck asleep a male Condemned
a mere six paces away from reaching her.

A bush to Daniel’s right suddenly burst into flames and a lighting bolt struck the tree next to him, sending burning fragments of bark into his face, and blinding his left eye. He spun to the right behind a tree while ten Aakacarns sent a constant barrage of spells in his direction. He ignored the pain throbbing in his eye and used Find All to aim, Die Now, at his attackers. This spell required an extremely narrow focus, rather than a broad beam, to avoid killing indiscriminately. Ten beams shot from his fingers, passing through the tree he was hiding behind, striking each Aakacarn, and killing them instantly. His only regret was that the tree also died. He took the time to heal his eye while David and Silvia began using their nightsticks on the Condemneds. In his mind, with the use of Find All, Daniel could see
multiple circles of ten vanishing as the Serpents realized they were not going to prevail against the Accomplisheds in the camp. Bright flashes lit up the forest in every direction, while the harmonic waves of their teleportation spells washed through the entire area.

The whip crack of displaced air announced Lassiter’s presence along with ten sleeping Condemneds and three Aakademneds. “I managed to kill twenty-three Serpents and rescue these,” he said
while eyeing his surroundings.

“We have rescued these,” Silvia informed him while pointing to the sleeping Condemneds scattered over the area. “Daniel killed fifteen Aakacarns, David killed three, and I roasted two.”

Daniel had not witnessed all of the kills and really was not interest in the numbers, except of those he hoped to restore. “The attack seems to be over for now. We have about half a mark before dark and I image Reese will use the time to move their camp.”

“To move after such an assault is standard Eagle Guild practice, else the Serpents could teleport right back in,” Lassiter confirmed. “The spell you focused to the right of the camp proved to be quite effective, I suggest we collect the forty or so Condemneds on the ground in that area and leave the rest to Maestro Reese.”

Daniel nodded his head. “The Accomplisheds will be asleep for a day or so and we can let your former associates deal with them. You and I need to convey the Aakademneds and Condemneds to the Northland Holding before our presence here is discovered.”

Silvia came and stood next to him. “If it had not been for the necessity of bringing Accomplished Lassiter here to assist in surveillance, we would have arrived too late. The element of surprise would have come from the Serpents.”

Daniel glanced at Flex and Skyler circling in the sky above. He would have seen the attack through their eyes and joined the fight, but she was correct. The Serpents would have been able to overwhelm the sentries, flood the camp and the fighting would have taken place right in the heart of it, rather than outside as the incident had played out. “The swirling of events worked in our favor this time,” he agreed. “However, I don’t think we should count on something like this happening every time. Now, Jeremiah, the sooner we get these patients of mine out of here, the sooner I can contact Accomplished Jenna.”

“It will be as you say, Sir Daniel,” Lassiter replied.

Daniel pictured the receiving area in the Health Wing of his Northland Holding, added his Teki escorts and the first group of patients to be restored, and then summoned the potential. The deep dark of in between here and there swallowed him.

As the sun sank lower in the sky, Talmon Reese considered calling a halt to allow his fellow Accomplisheds time to conjure their huts of solidified air and tend to the horses before dark. Most of the trees were pine and cypress, the latter reminding him this is the northern fringe of the Swamps of Append. Barnabas Galloway rode in the lead. His mental map of the continent is the most extensive of any Accomplished and he had led the way unerringly from northern Taracopa into southern Ducaun, his path only seemed to be random and wavering while in fact each segment had been carefully planned. The other twenty members of the Willow Guild were riding to the rear of the twin columns of horses. Ahead of them were the members of the Stone, Aqua, Aloe, Zephyr, Sun, and Eagle Guilds, with the Senior Soarers naturally in the lead.

“Maestro, we experienced three attacks in five days since disembarking at the river,”
Jerrian Tobermin spoke in a quiet voice from his horse to the right.

Talmon did not need the Lead Investigator to remind him. “Since you are stating what would be obvious to a Fledgling, I assume there is a reason for the comment.”

Tobermin gave a quick nod of the head. “I believe we have a spy among us. How else can the Serpents know in advance where we are? We certainly feel the harmonics when they teleport away, yet we have never heard the thunder cracks announcing their arrival, and that means they had to be in each of those ambush positions before we came into those areas.”

Talmon eyed the surrounding woods. He noticed an eagle soaring in the cloudless blue sky and smiled at the namesake of his guild. “I suspected a spy among us after the first attack and became certain after the second,” he replied and then focused on the Lead Investigator, also known as the Vice-Maestro. “What I want to know, beyond the identity of the person or persons betraying us, is who has been spoiling the attempts to surprise us, and why are the Serpents sending insufficient resources to accomplish their goal?”

Tobermin ran one finger across his dark brown mustache. “Now that you mention it, their actions mimic a military force battling two sides at once.”

Talmon nodded his head. “I will add the idea of the second force being unpredictable in size and capability, making whoever is
joining the fray difficult to plan for and counter.”

The sudden intake of air through Tobermin’s nostrils could be heard from two horses away. “I admit to focusing more on the idea of a traitor among us and not so much on why the Serpents were so inept at managing their assets. Perhaps if you had allowed me to investigate the areas after the skirmishes rather than ordering us to move out immediately, I could have pieced together exactly what transpired.”

Talmon knew his second in command was still brooding over the decision to press on. The man would ordinarily be correct about the investigations if it were not for speed being of the essence. The unnecessary expenditure of time at each of those scenes would have endangered the entire mission. “The risk of them Teleporting superior assets into the region was simply too great. Our resources are limited to what we have brought with us, we cannot abort the mission, and so we must keep going. Even now we are under constant threat of attack.”

“What about Accomplished Jenna?” Tobermin responded with an inquiry beyond the original scope of the conversation.

“She is here because Fenton Chen is her mentor,” Talmon was quick to respond. He knew quite a bit about the young Accomplished of the Aloe Guild, yet decided it would be interesting to hear the Vice-Maestro’s opinion. “She along with the other Aloes did a good job healing our Accomplisheds of the injuries suffered during the assaults.”

“I know why she is here and about her healing skills. In that respect she is a credit to her mentor,” Tobermin said while brushing a gnat away from his face. “I brought up Accomplished Jenna because she is one on a growing list of Aakacarns who believe the rogue, Daniel Benhannon, is the Chosen Vessel, and someone, given her recent history, over which he could exert a measure of control.”

“I see your point about her possible mixed loyalty,” Talmon would give the speculation that much credibility. “Yet, I do not see her as a spy for the Serpent Guild.”

A smile appeared briefly on the dark-haired five-bolt Accomplished. “Neither do I, at least not for the Serpents.”

“So you believe we have spies working on behalf of Tarin Conn and Daniel Benhannon,” Talmon replied. That line of speculation seemed plausible.

Tobermin spit on the ground in disgust. “Two flocks of Soarers have been sent to Ducuan with orders to arrest the rogue. Each group has awakened back in Aakadon, within our own guild headquarters, and with no memory of how they came to be there. I remind you of those reports only to make a point. Accomplished Benhannon can transport resources from place to place just like the Serpents and a few well placed spies is all he would need to interfere with our mission.”

“Or help it,” Talmon spoke under his breath. “The last group of Soarers appeared in our Recreation Room. He is tweaking our beaks to be sure, yet a Seven-bolt is capable of much more, and his behavior toward us has not been hostile. I do not believe he would hinder this mission, not if he understands the importance. As in regard to Accomplished Jenna, she is not among the few who know the exact route we are taking, and could not tell Daniel Benhannon where to lay an ambush. As you said, we only feel the harmonic waves and hear the thunder cracks when the Serpents exit the scene.”

“A valid point,” Tobermin conceded. “Have you considered Barnabas Galloway?”

A chuckle escaped before Talmon could stifle it. “The most respected Senior Forester in the Willow Guild, why would I consider him a spy?”

Tobermin’s green eyes flicked to the rear of the procession. “A Sapling resourceful enough to form a riverboat out of a living tree could probably figure a way to learn just about anything he put his mind to knowing.”

Talmon truly doubted Accomplished Trenca would spy for the Serpents. Even so, the young man did seem to be closely involved with recent events, and particularly those centered on Daniel Benhannon. “Signal the stop for the night. After the camp is set up, I want you to bring Simon Trenca to my hut along with his mentor. We shall find out whether or not the Sapling is a transgressor of our laws.”

“Your will be done, Maestro,” Tobermin replied and then launched an apple-sized sphere of light gently ahead of the Senior Forester, high enough for each rider to see.

The trees were thick in this spot. Talmon had given up choosing broad clearings, which are obvious choices for campsites. The pines along this particular trail were so close not a single hut could stand side by side, yet were close enough for mutual protection. With the Vice-Maestro and nineteen Senior Soarers it did not take long for them to establish shields along the perimeter. Talmon did not pretend to have an in depth understanding of the teleportation spell used by the Serpents, yet knew one element requires the caster to have been in the location at some point in the past or perhaps within sight of it. A traveling circle attempting to appear in this area could materialize in side a tree, making this spot deadly for them, and therefore a secure campsite for the Accomplisheds of Aakadon.

Talmon chose a place between two pines near the center of the camp and played the Melody, Hut of Air, conjuring his abode for the night. Snooper, his black stallion, was led away by Senior Soarer Winthrop, who would groom the Taracopian war horse along with his own Battencayan-bred mare. Tobermin arrived half a mark later with Barnabas Galloway. The Demfilian born, three-bolt Accomplished was stocky, clean-shaven with short white hair, and pale blue eyes. The old man did not look a day over sixty, yet has celebrated two hundred-nineteen years of life. Behind him walked a quiet young man with hazel eyes and sand-colored hair, whose presence would be easy to overlook if not for the fact that he once shared a dorm with Daniel Benhannon, was present when Jeremiah Lassiter had been shielded and suspended, and went on a mission to help rescue the lost members of the Tomlin Project. Talmon fixed his gaze on the Sapling and decided
this interview is well over do.