To Challenge a Maestro Read online

  “You had me worried back there,” Tim said, although his light tone indicated it was not the kind of worry that would cause him to lose any sleep.

  Daniel glanced at his friend. The drummer should be happy after leaving Aakadon. What could possibly be worrying him, “About what?” Daniel asked.

  Tim smiled like a raccoon in a rubbish pail. “The way you and Sherree hugged I thought you would change your mind and stay,” he replied, seriously, as if he actually believed it could have happened.

  Daniel sighed. How many times would he have to explain that Aakacarns do not marry? “She was only wishing me a happy hunt. Most every woman on Tannakonna did when we left there as well.”

  Tim chuckled. “Yeah, how come she didn’t hug me? Face it; she has had the look of desire in her eyes ever since you two met. Aakacarns do not marry, but they are still human, capable of getting sweet on each other, and that young woman is sweet on you,” he stated with a shocking degree of accuracy. When did he become so perceptive?

  The signs had been there all along, Daniel had simply refused to see them, and for good reason. Sherree was just as much a captive of her fate as he and any relationship they formed would have no where to go beyond simple acknowledgement. “You’re right. I have grown to love her and I think she feels the same way about me, but this would end up the way it did with Val, better to end it now than later.” He admitted.

  Tim took a sip from his canteen and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know you’ve said many times how much trouble spell casting brought you,” he began, perhaps trying to change the subject, any change would be welcomed. “I just don’t see how you could give up all that power and not feel bad.”

  Daniel expected the question to come up eventually, now was as good a time as any to answer it. He guided Sprinter off the main trail and over a hill he was certain would hide them from view, should anyone pass by. The answer to this question required privacy. He reined the stallion to a halt and waited for his friend to join him.

  Tim frowned. “Where are we going?” he asked, not seeming the least bit pleased about being kept in the dark.

  Daniel released the grin he had been fighting since waking up. He could finally share just how well his plan had worked. “You are absolutely right. I can’t give up the power. It is as much a part of me as my hands or feet,” he said and then grabbed the guitarn from its place behind Sprinter’s saddle. “Give me a beat.”

  Tim’s eyebrows narrowed and he seemed totally confused. He finally shrugged and detached the drums from his saddle and beat out a steady rhythm.

  Daniel concentrated on fond memories. More precisely, he thought of the incidents that led up to him casting the spells. He remembered the emotions that provoked him to compose those Melodies, although he could not remember the actual spells. In his mind, random notes began to form into a Melody, filling his soul with the inspiration. He added a six note harmony and his fingers caressed the strings of his guitarn, playing aloud the Melody in his heart. He titled the new composition, Inspiration. The blue glow formed and brightened around him. He remembered, sparking the flame and why it had been necessary to cast it. A Melody formed and filled the gap in his memory. He remembered priming the well and why, and another Melody came to mind and filled the gap. The cycle continued until he stopped playing, Inspiration, and strapped the guitarn back behind the saddle.

  Tim stared wide-eyed with his mouth open. “But..,” he began to say and then was silent for a few moments while he collected his thoughts. “You were Silenced, how can this be?”

  Daniel began to laugh, laughing harder than he had in a very long time. “Silencing only works on an Aakacarn. I’m an Aakasear,” he explained after catching his breath.

  Tim nodded his head and smiled as if he now understood completely. “You broke the Forget spell, like you did for Terroll, but that must have taken incredible power.”

  The drummer was right and wrong at the same time and needed to be set straight, but first it was time to get going again. “Let’s get back on the main trail. We can talk and ride,” he suggested and began guiding Sprinter back without waiting for a reply.

  They reached the main trail heading north toward the Gosian River. “I didn’t break the spell. I kind of by passed it.”

  “Why not just break it?” Tim asked while shrugging his shoulders.

  “Because, for one thing, Efferin would sense the spell had been broken since it is tied to his life force, like I can sense the shield spell on Serin Gell. Secondly, the harmonic ripples from such an effort would spread half way across the continent. And finally, the Melody I used was simple, adequate, and requires little potential,” Daniel replied and then grabbed his canteen and took a sip while keeping a close eye out for predators.

  Tim scratched his head. “So how can you remember the spells while the Forget spell is in place?”

  “The new Melody I just composed brings back the emotions that inspired me to cast the spells that were in my repertoire and fills in the gaps,” Daniel tried to explain while taking his guitarn in hand once again, feeling a demonstration was in order. “You know the, Potential, Melody, listen to the one that has come into my mind,” he said and then played the tune.

  At the completion of the Melody Tim nodded his head and was grinning from ear to ear. “I see. This isn’t the same tune I remember, although it is similar, a variation of the original. Does this mean you are composing new spells?”

  Daniel nodded. “Yes, but I need to play, Inspiration, some more. During the time I played it just now, only a tenth of my repertoire has been replaced. Composing news Melodies takes time, which I seem to have plenty of for now. In the near future I hope to catch up and surpass my old repertoire. After all, it took me a long time to compose a spell that could sever my link to Tarin Conn.”

  Tim’s jaw dropped open like a broken root cellar door. “If you knew how to break the link yourself, why did you allow Efferin Tames to Silence you?” he asked and then nodded as a lopsided grin formed on his face. “You planned this.”

  Daniel could not help but feel a little pride at how well he had succeeded. He glanced at a bird sitting on the branch of a large water oak. Freedom, that was why. Freedom to enjoy the simple things in life without worrying about what the Dark Maestro might throw at him next or the Accomplisheds in Aakadon for that matter. “Efferin no longer sees me as a threat, Tarin Conn doesn’t see me as a threat, Balen Tamm is dead, and Serin Gell is a prisoner of the Eagle Guild. I have my spell casting ability and best of all, I’m free.”

  Tim laughed so hard he nearly fell out of the saddle. “And Efferin said he would never again underestimate a mountaineer,” he chortled.

  What Tim said was true, thank the Creator. The Grand Maestro grossly underestimated his perceived opponent and best of all; he lost and does not know it. Daniel smiled and removed two sacks of gold from his saddle bag. “Here,” he said while tossing them to the drummer.

  Tim stopped laughing and caught the sacks. “What are these for?”

  Daniel knew this time would come, and dreaded it. They were coming to a fork in the road, one continued north and the other to the west. “Give one to my parents and keep the other for a wedding present,” he replied, and took a deep breath. “I can’t come home. The people of Tannakonna will either remember me as the hero of Bashierwood or the man who brought the wrath of Tarin Conn down on them, No matter what, they will always treat me as an Accomplished, never just plain Daniel Benhannon. I will try to visit from time to time, but not real soon,” he answered, knowing it was all true and hoping his friend would understand.

  Tim frowned, clearly not liking what he was hearing, and seemed on the verge of throwing the sacks back. He finally let out a sigh and surely would have kicked something if his legs were not in the stirrups. “What will you do?”

  Daniel was free, the time had come to make his choice, and he knew from early on what that would be, having told it once to the mighty Tarin Conn. “With my inv
itation in hand, I intend to offer my services to Queen Cleona,” he replied, feeling sure she would accept his offer.

  Tim looked very much like a man trapped between a bear and a two hundred cubit drop. “I’ll come with you,” he said. “To make sure..,”

  “I’ll be fine,” Daniel told him. His friend would not be allowed to make any more sacrifices. “Go home. Gina is waiting for you. Go to her, raise children together, and be happy. I would teleport you but I haven’t as yet composed a suitable Melody.”

  The fork in the road came into sight and the time had come to part ways. This was the end of the journey for them, but not their friendship, that would last a lifetime. And besides, he would eventually compose a teleportation spell of his own and then a visit would be only three heart beats away.

  Tim nodded his head in agreement, although reluctantly. “Happy hunting,” he said in a tight voice.

  Daniel reached out and shook hands. “Happy hunting and thanks for always being in the right place at the right time.”

  The drummer smiled. “Someone has to be, the way you keeping hopping a trail on impulse, although you always do manage to catch whatever you are hunting. Take care of yourself,” he said and then heeled Tremor in the flanks and galloped up the north trail.

  Clouds hung in the sky like balls of cotton in a canopy of blue. A bobcat straddled the branch of a nearby gummet tree, the sap of which when mixed with that of the sugret tree made an excellent sole for boots, shoes, and a good hand grip for a knife. Daniel smiled contentedly at being able to think about the simple things again. His life would be forever changed by the casting of the memory spell, but it need not be for the worse, not unless it was his own doing. He was free to choose his path without anyone trying to impose their will upon him. He patted Sprinter on the neck and headed west to meet the queen.

  The End

  To Be Chosen

  Daniel learns what it means to be the Creator’s Chosen Vessel. Queen Cleona has a deadly disease for which there is no cure, Serin Gell has escaped, and spies infest the royal court. The Serpent Guild is reorganizing with two Accomplisheds vying for the coveted position of Maestro and the Ducaunan mountaineer gets caught up in the machinations of one while his friends get tangled up with the other. For a thousand years the Trumpet of Tarin Conn has been hidden away by the Ducaunan Royal family, now Duke Cantor of house Ducalin sends word that his estate is under assault by members of the Serpent Guild and the trumpet is in danger of once again falling in the hands of the enemy Aakacarns. As a newly dubbed Royal Knight of Ducaun, Daniel must go from the sasquatch infected swamps of Append to the northern kingdom of Pentrosa in pursuit of the trumpet. His friends, Sherree and Jerremy, face horror and death if Daniel makes the wrong choice, but the right choice could mean war between Ducaun and Pentrosa. To succeed, Daniel must accept that he is the Creator’s Champion, recover the Trumpet of Tarin, compose a healing Melody, all why trying to keep secret his ability to cast spells has not been hampered by the Silencing laid upon him by the Grand Maestro.

  To Challenge A Maestro

  Copyright 2012 by John A. Buttrick

  E-Book

  All rights reserved. No part of the book can be reproduced

  or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or

  mechanical, including photo-copying, recording, or by any

  information storage and retrieval system, without

  permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This book was printed in the United States of America.

  Cover art by Robert L. Buttrick

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Good News

  Chapter Two: Traveling Companions

  Chapter Three: A Painful Lesson

  Chapter Four: Settling In

  Chapter Five: The Lessons Begin

  Chapter Six: Enough Is Enough

  Chapter Seven: From the Backwoods

  Chapter Eight: Two Choices

  Chapter Nine: Time for a Nap

  Chapter Ten: What is an Aakasear?

  Chapter Eleven : Meeting of the Maestros

  Chapter Twelve: Confronting a Maestro

  Chapter Thirteen: Too Many Da Capos

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen: The Link Removed

  Chapter Sixteen: A Gratuity Paid

  Chapter Seventeen: Upon Awakening

  Chapter Eighteen: I’m an Aakasear

  To Be Chosen

  Copyright