To Challenge a Maestro Read online

  His perfectly good line of thought was interrupted by two powerful harmonic waves so close together they almost felt as one. Then he was hit by another and then another. The double waves were getting stronger and Instructor Renn stopped his lecture and was looking to the north, the source of the waves. The double ripples grew more intense and Simon realized his knuckles were white, so strong was his grip on the desktop. He looked around and noticed he was not the only person reacting to the ripples. Reginald was on the floor having tipped over in his chair. The power of the waves seemed to suddenly multiply to beyond anything Simon could relate. He looked at Instructor Renn.

  “Oh my Creator, it’s Daniel,” he mouthed, but Simon did not need to hear sound to know what was said.

  Daniel, why would he think so? Simon did not know if Instructor Renn was one of the few who knew the Ducaunan’s true rank. “Instructor what is happening?” he asked.

  Jason Renn seemed to refocus on his students. He hesitated before speaking as if not sure how much to tell a group of Talenteds. He nodded his head in some internal affirmation and said, “What you are feeling is Maestro level spell casting, tightly focused High Powered Melodies. You will note the ripples we have been experiencing over the last few days, while powerful, were hundreds of high potential spells being cast over a thousand miles. What we are feeling now is two spells being summoned and focused within strides of each other. In deed, this is what it feels like when Maestros do combat,” he answered and everyone’s mouth was hanging open.

  Simon was surprised, not that a Maestro would be capable of summoning and focusing tremendous power, but that the Instructor would actually tell them so.

  “Instructor, when Maestro Barnes challenged Maestro DeCamp for leadership of the Zephyr Guild, we felt no such ripples from their spell casting,” Joanna pointed out.

  “True but there are rules when challenging for the office of Maestro. The contestants cannot use crescendos and all spells must be low power. If either contestant was to break the rule, he or she would be disqualified by the Grand Maestro. If they actually summoned the kind of potential on the level we are feeling now being used, the Grand Maestro would most likely shield the offender’s potential and the penalties would be severe. In a real dual there are no rules. The only thing that comes close to being similar in magnitude is Melodies or Symphonics performed in concert,” the Instructor explained.

  Simon stared directly at Jason Renn and waited until the Instructor’s eye was on him and then, with great exaggeration, mouthed, “It is Daniel,” without vocalizing. He certainly did not want the other Talenteds to catch what he was trying to communicate.

  The Instructor’s right eyebrow arched up. “Judging by the space between waves, the event is happening very far north so none of you need worry. The matter will be looked into by the Maestros,” he told the class and then focused on Simon. “Talented Trenca, we will have a word in private.”

  The class eyed Simon, some with sympathy and some not, no doubt all were wondering what he had done. Reginald, who was back in his chair, said, “Whew, you are in trouble now.”

  Simon followed the Instructor through the door to the office behind the desk. Once inside, Jason Renn folded his arms, leaned back on the front of the slightly smaller desk, and studied Simon for several minutes before asking, “What makes you think Daniel has anything to do with these harmonic waves?”

  “Because you do,” Simon replied and when the Instructor frowned he added, “And he is my friend and I know he went on a mission for the Grand Maestro. Whatever it is, he needs it to sever the link made by Tarin Conn.”

  Instructor Renn rubbed his chin and then ran his fingers threw his hair. “How do you know this?”

  Daniel is his friend and Simon had no intention of violating his confidence. “I actually wanted to know why you think it is Daniel. I read your lips.”

  Instructor Renn’s eyes widened, he no doubt expected an answer to his question. “Talenteds do not require Instructors to give an account for what they say, it is the other way around,” he replied in the fashion consistent with all Instructors.

  “It is not my intention to disrespect you, Instructor. Daniel is my friend and has shared with me things that I will not reveal. You arranged his meeting with the Maestro and the Grand Maestro so I figured you know more than most anyone about what is going on,” Simon replied.

  “There are things about Daniel Benhannon that I am not at liberty to discuss with anyone. Since he is your friend, I take it you will keep what you know or suspect about him to yourself,” Instructor Renn informed him, indulging him much more than any other Instructor would have.

  “Then we are agreed, we will not tell anyone Daniel is fighting Balen Tamm,” Simon replied and then added when the Instructor’s eyes widened again. “Those are the only two people outside of Aakadon who could engage in Maestro level spell casting.”

  Jason Renn smiled. “You do not miss much. I always said it was the quiet one’s you have to watch. We are agreed, young man; just do not share what you know or what you think you know. The consequences would be quite severe.”

  “Understood,” Simon replied, and then the harmonic waves stopped. “Do you think he won?”

  Jason shook his head. “Only time will tell, but if anyone short of the Grand Maestro could win, it would be Daniel Benhannon.”

  Simon dearly hoped Instructor Renn was correct and that his Ducaunan friend was victorious. “Mountain men are stubborn, Daniel will be back,” he declared.

  Chapter Thirteen: Too Many Da Capos

  Daniel stumbled against the door. He was thirsty, weak and tired. His father and Tim helped him into the cottage and into Ronn’s chair. His mother grabbed a pitcher of water and a glass and brought them to him. “Here, drink this. I’ll get your bed ready and you can rest,” she told him.

  Daniel shook his head. “No. I can’t sleep yet, not until the link to Tarin Conn is severed. A really strong tea might help.”

  “I know just the thing,” his mother said and went outside.

  Daniel looked at his father. “Near the end, when I was dueling Balen Tamm, I was exhausted and struggling to continue on. I heard a voice tell me..,”

  “A Benhannon never drops a set chore just because he is tired. Yes, that was me. Near the end the waves coming from the two of you made it difficult to stand, the mountain was shaking, and it looked to me like you were just about used up. I had faith in you; faith that if you held out a little longer you would prevail over the evil Maestro. So I said what always motivated you when you were a child and still had a task to finish,” his father told him.

  Daniel smiled. “It worked, but I have not finished my chores. There is still the Grand Maestro to deal with and this cursed link to Tarin Conn, but the hardest part is done.”

  Tim smiled. “That’s right. I still can hardly believe we pulled it off. As soon as you are rested enough we can travel to Aakadon and things can go back to normal.”

  Daniel stared at his friend. Even if all of his plans worked out nothing would go back to normal for him, but it did not have to be that way for the drummer. “While I’m recuperating, why don’t you go see Gina?”

  Tim hesitated, clearly torn between wanting to stay and help his friend and going to see the love of his heart. “I’ll go see her if you give me your word you will not go on to Aakadon without me.”

  Daniel had thought himself clever enough to out fox the drummer. He wanted him to be with Gina and start that normal life. “Go to her,” he insisted without promising anything, hoping she would have better ways of convincing him to stay.

  Tim shook his head. “Your word or I don’t go,” he insisted, the mule headed mountaineer just would not budge.

  Daniel gave in, and few people there were who could beat him in a contest of mulishness. “You win. I’ll not go to Aakadon without you.”

  Tim nodded acceptance and headed off to find Gina. Now it was time for Daniel to see if he could win the contest against his par
ents, although he did not give himself good odds. His mother returned and put a pot on the boil. His father sat down in his chair at the head of the table.

  “This will only take a few fractions of a mark,” his mother told him and she was right the tea was brewed soon enough.

  He could tell by the smell it was cana bark. The tea would be strong even sweetened with honey to take the edge off the bitterness, but it likely would keep him awake.

  “With this teleport thing you can come visit us more often,” his mother mentioned while pouring the brown liquid into a mug and giving it to him.

  “Thanks,” he said and then took a sip. It was bitter but effective. “Once the link is gone I can come in secret. I don’t want to cause a fuss.”

  “What, the hero of the Battle of Bashierwood cause a fuss?” his father joked.

  “Exactly,” Daniel said and took another sip.

  “Unless you go live in the wild, people are going to recognize your name. I understand the queen has sent proclamations all across the realm informing the entire population of your power and skill. People are coming up Tannakonna to see the battle sites and hear of your exploits,” his mother told him.

  Daniel figured she was right and there was no way he could avoid attention once people realized who he was. It never entered his mind that folks would travel all the way to Tannakonna just to see where a battle had been fought, but he should not have been surprised, flatlanders often did things like that. Her statement helped to steer the conversation around to where he wanted it. “I think you both should go visit Uncle Carlton for awhile, just until things simmer down a bit. With all the strangers coming onto the mountain, there could be another person like Serin Gell,” who was still lying asleep on the porch, “I have made no small amount of enemies of late and some of them might come after you.”

  His mother shook her head. “I appreciate your concern and would not mind seeing my brother and his brood again but I will not be chased from my home,” she said firmly.

  “We understand the risks. I have learned a lot since you came home less than a month ago and demonstrated your talent. At the time I told myself it was the most terrifying day of my life, seeing my son wielding the powers of an Aakacarn. Then the yetis came and I told myself, this is the most terrifying day of my life. Then the Serpent Guild shows up with hundreds and hundreds of Condemneds and a legion of yetis and I told myself, this is the most terrifying day of my life. Then Serin Gell shows up, snatches me and my wife, and takes us to our son where we come face to face with the most evil Aakacarn in the world, Balen Tamm, and I said to myself, I am going to stop saying this is the most terrifying day of my life because every time I do a worse day comes to top it. My point is, there will be danger no matter what I do and I am through worrying about it. I’m for sure not going to allow danger to dictate where I live. If danger is looking for me it will find me wherever I go,” his father said in a tone as firm as the mountain he was born on.

  It seemed Daniel was going to lose this contest of wills as well; maybe it was because he was so sleepy. He finished the tea. Three and a half marks later Tim came back and his smile absolutely refused to go away no matter how hard the drummer tried to put on a serious expression.

  “You invited her into the cabin,” Miriam Benhannon said with confidence.

  Tim turned bright red but his smile stayed in place. “I told her what happened, what Daniel and I still had to do, but she would not let me go unless I invited her into the cabin first, so I did,” he confessed.

  Daniel was happy for Tim and Gina and he gave his friend a pat on the pack. “Today is as good as any to get that start on those babies.”

  “No argument from me,” Tim replied.

  Daniel hugged his parents and then he and Tim went out on the porch to stand over the sleeping Pentrosan. Daniel retrieved his baton from Serin Gell and stuck it in his belt, but chose to use the Baton of Tarin Conn instead of his own for no better reason than it pleased him to do so. Summoning potential, he focused it through the serpent-shaped crescendo while picturing a circle, taking in Tim and the sleeping Aakacarn, all in the mountain fortress at Bessel. Three heart beats later they were there.

  The shield was still in place and the blue ball floating near the center of the ceiling still gave off light. The horses were stomping the floor, no doubt startled by the abrupt entrance. Tim rushed over to calm them and Daniel drank a full canteen of water in an attempt to quench his sudden thirst. Even with the powerful baton the teleportation spell was taking a high toll. He was not allowing himself enough time to recuperate in between castings. He went to the washroom, refilled the canteen, then went back out into the main chamber and sat in the air padded chair.

  Several marks went by and he decided what he really needed to feel invigorated was a soak in the cool water drawn from beneath the mountain. But first it was time to wake Serin Gell. “I’m going to remove the spell from the Pentrosan. Keep a close watch on him.”

  “Wait, let me check him for any nasty surprises,” Tim said and then stripped the Accomplished and sorted through his silks. He found nothing beyond a few communication amulets and a medallion; threw them into the far corner, and then dropped the silks on top of him in a heap. The Pentrosan was skinny, having very little muscular definition. Two golden lightning bolts were clearly visible on his right bony shoulder and one on his left.

  “I better shield off his potential,” Daniel said.

  “Definitely,” Tim agreed.

  Daniel cast, Shield Potential, and focused on Serin Gell, then added a Da Capo and tied it to his life force. He wondered how many spells could be tied to his life force. There had to be a limit. It occurred to him that an awful lot of powerful spells were being sustained by him, it is a wonder he prevailed in the duel with Balen Tamm. He removed the Da Capos from most of the spells he had cast since leaving Aakadon except the one shielding off the Pentrosan’s potential, and those protecting the Bessel fortress and powering the blue ball of light. He began to feel better right away. It was probably the shield spells on the Wager and the hill fort that had slowed his recovery the most.

  He removed the sleep spell from Serin Gell, who let out a weak moan and sat up, causing the silks to drop to his lap. “What happened?” he asked and then seemed to notice his surroundings were different. “Where am I?” he added and realized his silks were scattered around him and pulled them up to cover his chest.

  “You are in serious trouble, that’s what,” Tim answered. He shook his fist at the shielded Aakacarn. “Now keep quiet or I’ll thump you.”

  Serin Gell made a feeble effort to break the shield on his potential but was no more successful than Harmon Gramm had been. The failed attempt seemed to wipe some of the arrogance off his gaunt face. He eyed Tim with some caution now. The drummer was simply too big for him to ignore. “What are you going to do with me?”

  Daniel was thirsty, tired, and ready for a cool soaking. He started toward the washroom. “You are going to Aakadon with us,” he answered without looking back.

  He decided to leave the door open, to help keep an eye on the captive Aakacarn. Serin Gell stood up, trying to look imperious while bunching his silks around him to cover his nakedness.

  “Teleporting away from the Maestro will not help you and has no doubt already doomed your parents. Balen Tamm will catch you again,” the captive Aakacarn declared with as much dignity as he could muster.

  Tim rounded on him. “Your Maestro is dead and dried up like an old leather boot,” he said and then swung his fist but stopped short of striking the Accomplished.

  Serin Gell put up his hands to block the punch that never came, causing his silks to fall into a pile at his feet. “Impossible,’ he said and dropped his hands after realizing he was not going to be hit. He did not bother to bend down to pick up his silks.

  “Do you think Balen Tamm would give that as a parting gift,” Tim replied while pointing at the Baton of Tarin Conn tucked into Daniel’s belt.

 
; The Pentrosan trembled and took a step back. His eyes widened as if he was facing something totally inconceivable. “That’s a fake. No one can defeat the Maestro of the Serpent Guild while he holds the Baton of Tarin Conn. Few could over power him even without the crescendo.”

  Daniel was in no mood to explain and even if he had been, the enemy Accomplished did not deserve explanations. He removed the golden baton from his belt, leaned it against the granite bathtub, and then took off his boots. He removed his own baton and belt with the knife still sheathed in it, and placed them on the floor.

  Stripped to the waist, he stepped into the tub, stretched out, and summoned water up from the depths of the mountain. The cold water was in deed invigorating. He cupped his hands and drank as clear liquid flowed from the granites fixture. Six golden lightning bolts were clearly visible on his broad muscular shoulders and he did not care.

  Serin Gell clamped his mouth shut and looked ready to bolt bare naked to the exit, except the archway was solid granite from the floor up to about chest height with only an arrow slit for an opening, and that was shielded; there was no escape. He stayed put, probably realizing he had about a fly’s chance in a spider web of getting away.

  Tim smiled and pointed at the sheathed knife. “That knife used by a six-bolt Accomplished is more than a match for a five-bolt using the Baton of Tarin Conn,” he explained, no doubt to rub salt in the wounds.

  Serin Gell shook his head, not ready to accept the fact. “The Baton of Tarin Conn is one of the most powerful crescendos in the world. No mountain boy could over come that. Besides which, I checked the knife and it was just an ordinary hunting blade, iron with a wooden handle.