The Dragon's Flame (The Chronicles of Terah # 2) Read online

  The Dragon’s Flame

  By

  Mackenzie Morgan

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, places, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  Copyright © 2011 by Mackenzie Morgan

  Cover Design by John Ward

  All rights reserved.

  No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law

  The Chronicles of Terah

  The Master’s Chair

  The Dragon’s Flame

  Table of Contents

  A Brief Introduction to Terah

  Maps

  Camden

  Calandra

  Provinces of Terah

  Chapter 1 Sunday, April 7

  Chapter 2 Loose Ends

  Chapter 3 The Federation of Terah

  Chapter 4 Gerry

  Chapter 5 The Last Days of April

  Chapter 6 Theresa’s Excursion

  Chapter 7 Back to Glenco

  Chapter 8 Theresa Returns

  Chapter 9 North Amden

  Chapter 10 Brena

  Chapter 11 Details, Details

  Chapter 12 Robyn

  Chapter 13 Timera Valley

  Chapter 14 The Sorcerer of Zander

  Chapter 15 Verna Sounds the Alarm

  Chapter 16 Sunday

  Chapter 17 The Sisters

  Chapter 18 Last Weekend of Spring

  Chapter 19 Crinsor Run

  Chapter 20 Theresa Goes to Glenco

  Chapter 21 Back in Camden

  Chapter 22 The Cave

  Chapter 23 Walnut Springs

  Chapter 24 Beginning of July

  Chapter 25 Rolan’s Quarters

  Chapter 26 Brena Goes to Glenco

  Chapter 27 Theresa’s Chimes

  Chapter 28 August Council Meeting

  Chapter 29 King Merdin Goes to Glenco

  Chapter 30 Visitors in the Night

  Chapter 31 Stormy Weather

  Chapter 32 Exile

  Chapter 33 Chris’s Role

  Chapter 34 Willow Canyon

  Chapter 35 Yara Helps Again

  Chapter 36 Gaynor

  Chapter 37 Saturday

  Chapter 38 Mapleton

  Chapter 39 King Merdin Visits Trendon

  Chapter 40 Glendymere’s News

  Chapter 41 Landis Arrives at Wildcat Mountain

  Chapter 42 Introductions

  Chapter 43 September Council Meeting

  Chapter 44 Kevin Finalizes His Plans

  Chapter 45 Showdown

  Chapter 46 Aftermath

  Chapter 47 The Federation Meets Again

  A Brief Introduction to Terah

  Since the beginning of time, two sister worlds, Earth and Terah, have co-existed in different planes, connected by an immense energy field. Long ago, magical and non-magical creatures lived together in harmony on both worlds, and sorcerers and magical beings traveled freely between the two worlds by means of a gateway that they had constructed through the energy field.

  Over the centuries, life on Terah remained fairly stable with magical and non-magical beings living side by side in relative peace. Everyone on Terah spoke the same language and all thirteen provinces had similar beliefs, laws, and systems of government.

  The Council of Sorcerers was originally set up to monitor the activities of sorcerers, but eventually it evolved into the final authority for all human affairs. Each province had one seat on the council, and before long the seated sorcerer became recognized as the head of state for that province. The chairman of the council, the Master Sorcerer, was acknowledged not only as the most powerful human sorcerer on Terah, but also as the ultimate head of human government.

  Meanwhile, the people of Earth divided themselves into hundreds of countries, most with their own language, their own system of government, and little tolerance for anyone else. Non-magical people began to turn away from magic and embrace science and technology. Soon magic became synonymous with evil, and magical creatures as well as sorcerers were hunted and killed. The gateway became the avenue of escape.

  The gate on Terah was frequently inspected and repairs were made, but on Earth the condition of the gate quickly deteriorated after the exodus of magical beings. When the gate on Earth became unusable, the Council of Sorcerers worked with the dragons, elves, and dwarves to make four keys that would open the energy field from anywhere on either world. One of the keys was given to the Master Sorcerer, a second was given to the dragons, a third to the dwarves, and the elves had the fourth key.

  Earth and Terah were physically alike, except for the area known on Earth as Europe. Several hundred years ago, the Master Sorcerer died without an heir, and a horrible magic war broke out as the other seated sorcerers battled it out for the Master’s Chair. Mountain ranges were flattened and huge craters were created. Rivers and lakes evaporated over night and dust storms filled them with dry, parched dirt. Only within the last hundred years had grasses and small shrubs begun growing there again.

  Protecting Terah from that kind of destructive magic became one of the many responsibilities of the Master Sorcerer, a heavy weight for anyone, much less a twenty-four-year-old accountant from Omaha.

  Maps

  Chapter 1

  Sunday, April 7

  When Laryn introduced her nephew, Myron, as the new Master Sorcerer at the April meeting of the Council of Sorcerers, some of the seated sorcerers were pleased, but others were annoyed. Rolan, the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, was probably one of the most incensed, and he was still fuming Sunday morning.

  He had tossed and turned all night, sleeping very little, and had gotten up in a foul mood. When the young kitchen slave brought his breakfast tray, Rolan picked up the plate of food and slung it out the door, vowing to kill the boy if the next plate wasn’t perfect. While the child scampered back to the kitchen, Rolan picked up his coffee mug and hurled it across the room, smashing the mug and strewing hot coffee in an arc across his bed.

  His long black robe swirled around his legs as he paced back and forth across his bedroom. His eyebrows were knitted so close together that they formed a black line across his forehead, and his eyes were so full of fire and venom that sparks seemed to fly out of them.

  “Tell Captain Yardner I want to see him! Now!” Rolan bellowed to no one in particular.

  The guard who was on duty outside Rolan’s door didn’t dare leave his post so he grabbed one of the maids and sent her to find Captain Yardner.

  When the captain reached the door to Rolan’s bedroom, the guard whispered, “He’s in a black mood today, sir. He threatened to kill the young boy who brought his breakfast if the next plate didn’t suit. I’m afraid to let the boy go back in.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Captain Yardner answered softly. Then he turned and walked back down the hall towards the kitchen.

  Ten minutes later, Captain Yardner returned with Rolan’s breakfast tray. He knocked on the door, waited a second, and then gently eased it open.

  “What took you so long?” Rolan roared.

  Captain Yardner quietly shut the door behind him before he spoke. “I stopped by the kitchen to pick up your breakfast, sir,” he said as he set the tray on the coffee table in front of Rolan’s couch.

  Rolan barely glanced at the food as he continued pacing.

  Captain Ya
rdner didn’t say anything. He just stood quietly, waiting for the storm to pass.

  After a few minutes, Rolan stopped and stared out his window. “You know who’s responsible for all of this, don’t you? The person who’s to blame for Myron’s appearance at the council meeting yesterday? Captain Garen! If he and his men had done what they were assigned to do, Myron would be dead and the Master’s Chair would be vacant. Didn’t we tell Garen that if Myron showed up at that meeting, he and his men would be considered dead? And that we would sell their wives and children to the highest bidder?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Rolan swirled around and glared at Captain Yardner. “Make it happen!”

  Captain Yardner bowed his head in acknowledgment and quietly left the room.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The source of Rolan’s ire woke up Sunday morning feeling on top of the world. For the first time in his life, Myron had a sense of being in the right place at the right time. He got out of bed, stretched, and quickly dressed in the dark green tunic, black leggings, and black boots that were standard for all of the residents of the castle at Milhaven. Then he tied the deep red sash that signified his position as the Seated Sorcerer of Camden around his slim waist and pulled his red opal pendant out from under his tunic so that it hung in the middle of his chest.

  At first glance, he did not appear threatening in any way. He was a relatively short man with thick brown hair and honey-colored eyes. There didn’t seem to be anything at all remarkable about him, and if he had been asked to describe himself, he would have said that he was Kevin O’Reilly, a twenty-four year old accountant with an MBA, a typical nerd, a loner who had lived a quiet, solitary life in Omaha, Nebraska until a year ago.

  He probably would not have said that he was Myron, of the House of Nordin, and that he had just finished an eight-month apprenticeship in the art of sorcery with a huge gold dragon named Glendymere so that he could take his place as the Seated Sorcerer of Camden and the Master Sorcerer of Terah. Both descriptions would have been true.

  He left his quarters on the second floor of the castle just as the sun climbed over the mountains to the east. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to be living in a castle, although his castle didn’t really fit with the mental image he’d always had of castles. For one thing, it wasn’t round. It was shaped like a blocked out “U” with a wide base, but it did have thick stone walls, and it was hundreds of years old. There were no turrets, but there were two guard towers on the front half of the two legs, facing west, towards Milhaven.

  Kevin grinned as he started down the stairs that led from the family quarters to his office. That stairway was the closest thing his castle had to a secret passage.

  When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the guard who was on duty in the stairwell nodded to him and said, “Good morning, sir.”

  “Good morning,” Kevin answered, embarrassed that he didn’t know the guard’s name. “Is there anything going on anywhere that I need to know about?”

  “Not that I know of, sir,” the guard answered as he stepped forward to open the door to Kevin’s private office.

  Kevin nodded, said “Thank you,” and made a mental note to get Darrell, who was Captain of the Guard, to give him a copy of the duty roster so that he could match a name to the posts. He quickly walked through his office, through the reception area, and opened the door to the hall. The governor’s office was directly across the hall from the sorcerer’s office, and the other government offices were off to the right, down the northern leg of the “U”.

  “Good morning, sir,” the guard who was on duty in the hall in front of Kevin’s office door said as he stepped aside to let Kevin pass.

  “Good morning. Was everything quiet during the night?” Kevin asked, just to have something to say.

  “As far as I know, sir.”

  Kevin nodded and turned left towards the entrance hall. When he opened the door to the huge foyer, another guard greeted him and stepped aside to let him pass. Kevin mumbled a reply and continued walking. As he crossed the foyer, his footsteps echoed around the room. His whole apartment back in Omaha would have fit inside the entrance hall with room left over. He shook his head as the guard on the other side of the room opened the door for him.

  “Is anything wrong, sir?” the guard asked.

  “What?” Kevin asked with a frown. Then the guard’s question registered and Kevin felt himself begin to blush. “I’m sorry, no. I was thinking about something else.”

  “Very good, sir,” the guard replied as Kevin walked through the door.

  As the door shut behind him, Kevin shook his head again. He wasn’t used to having people pay that much attention to him, and he wasn’t sure he liked it, but it was probably one of those things that he was just going to have to accept. He shrugged it off as he walked past the stairs that led up to the guest rooms and on down the short hall past the grounds and housekeeping offices to the dining room.

  The dining room was still dark, but there was light and noise coming from the kitchen, which filled the leg of the “U” on the south side of the castle. Kevin glanced around the room as he walked through it. A couple of weeks ago, tables and chairs had filled the room. Hundreds of people had eaten at the castle on the day of his father’s funeral, but now that things were back to normal, only a small section of the room near the kitchen was actually used for eating. There was only one dining table set up now, but it was about twenty-five feet long with ten chairs on each side and one at each end.

  Most of the room had been converted into sitting areas, each furnished with a couple of couches, several large armchairs, a long coffee table, and small lamp tables beside each chair. There were also several small square tables with chairs on each side scattered around the room between the various sitting areas.

  Three sets of double doors opened to the outside, with huge windows on each side of the doors. Two sets led to a large patio area at the back of the castle and the other led to a smaller patio area facing the vegetable gardens to the south.

  Kevin walked through the closest door and crossed the back patio. Several of the grounds men were already busy at work. Although none of them spoke, they all nodded in his direction as he walked by. In addition to the vegetable gardens, they tended the family gardens behind the castle, the courtyard that was nestled inside the “U” out front, the lawns, and various small flowerbeds that were scattered around the grounds.

  As he passed the stables, he noticed that the grooms had already taken the horses out to the pasture and were busy clearing out the stalls. Smoke was coming from the direction of the blacksmith shop and an occasional clank of metal on metal told him that even though it was Sunday, Neiven was at work.

  As Kevin approached the river that separated the grounds of the castle from a grassy meadow, he lifted himself a few feet above the ground and floated across the river to the other side. Then he quickly walked along the bank to a small grove of willow trees.

  Although the trees did not really shield his magic from curious eyes, they gave him a sense of seclusion and privacy. He began to go through the magical workout that he and Chris had developed while he was apprenticing with Glendymere in Willow Canyon. As he settled into the familiar routine, he began to focus on his magic and all other thoughts were banished from his head.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  Meanwhile, Chris, Kevin’s assistant and closest friend, had gotten up as soon as he’d heard Kevin’s door open.

  He and Kevin had adjoining rooms that opened onto a wide balcony that overlooked the back gardens, the river, the meadow, and the mountains. Every morning Chris liked to stand on the balcony and watch Kevin’s magic rise and fall over the tops of the willow trees. He could tell a lot about his friend’s frame of mind by the intensity and precision of his workout. This morning’s workout was spirited, almost like Kevin was laughing.

  When Kevin returned to his room, Chris knocked once on the connecting door, opened it, and walked in. He was a couple of years olde
r than Kevin, a little taller, had blond hair, green eyes, and a more athletic physique. “Feeling cocky this morning?” he asked with a grin.

  Kevin laughed. “I don’t know if I would say cocky, maybe giddy would be a better description.”

  “I’m going down to the kitchen to get some coffee. Where do you want me to meet you? Here, or in your office?”

  “In here I think. I don’t plan to spend much time in the office today.”

  While Chris was gone to the kitchen, Kevin’s thoughts wandered back to the middle of March of the previous year. He had been plucked out of his peaceful life on Earth and plopped down on Terah, along with six people he had never seen before. A dwarf named Kalen had told them that they could never return to Earth, that they were stuck on Terah for the rest of their lives. Kevin smiled to himself as he remembered how they were all convinced that Kalen was some kind of mad hermit, and that if they could just escape, they could find their way out of the woods and back to civilization. The arrival of the tall and slender elf, Duane, and his pegasus companion, Xantha, had pretty much put an end to those ideas.

  Kevin now knew beyond any doubt that his place was on Terah. It was his destiny, but the others had been brought over simply to be his companions. No one had asked them if they wanted to come, or if they wanted to stay. He had felt guilty about that ever since the first day but there had been nothing he could do about it, until now. Kevin fingered the keys that hung on a chain under his tunic. Now he had it within his power to take them back home if they wanted to go.

  When Chris returned with the coffee, he handed a mug to Kevin and said, “You look like you’ve been doing some serious thinking. What’s up?”

  “I was thinking back to the beginning, to when we first arrived on Terah.”

  Chris raised his eyebrows and waited for Kevin to explain.