To Be a Maestro Read online

  Gina nodded her head, apparently satisfied with the answer, Tim not so much. He shook his shaggy head. “I understand that you healed the impossible, you’ve done that before. What I want to know is, did you tell her about the flute of Della Lain and how close it came to Tarin Conn being freed?”

  The facts were not a secret and Daniel did not mean to keep his friends in the dark, this was simply the first chance he had to discuss the matter with them. The intention had been to inform them earlier after he returned from leaving a message for the generals and his fellow Knights of the Realm at Fort Casum, but Sherree side-tracked him, and what a wonderful experience that turned out to be.

  “I had to issue a Realm Alert, made my report, and the Queen declared the danger valid at a joint meeting of the ministers and various Royal Knights of the Realm. I and all other nobles of the realm have been ordered to raise our musters and prepare the kingdom for war. The kingdom of Ducaun will be ready when the Serpent Guild launches its war for dominance, even if the other nations fail to be,” Daniel told them gravely, for it was not a matter to be spoken of lightly, and even Tim did not try to make a joke out of it.

  “Raise a muster, does that mean you need to raise an army of volunteers?” Gina asked. Standing in her pink-dyed buckskins with a large hunting knife belted to her waist made her appear dangerous, which is exactly what she was, and only a fool thought the mountain beauty to be defenseless.

  Daniel looked at the pair of Teki. “We’re with you all the way,” they both assured him, not that he doubted their loyalty.

  “I’m glad you are,” he told them and focused on Tim and Gina, he had a strong suspicion as to why she was asking. “Each Lord of the Land must draw people from his or her jurisdiction and attract as many volunteers as they can from the many areas of Ducaun that are independent of any lords. I’ve only a small number of tenant farmers and about fifty guardsmen at my estate southwest of Ducanton, which is not much of a muster.”

  “Then you need us,” Tim declared. “Where do we sign up?”

  Daniel smiled at his long time friend, the drummer whose friendship often provided a steady beat, and who had been with him through some of the toughest times of his life, and at Gina standing there with arms folded across her chest as if determined to march right along with he and her husband.

  “I think you should let them help,” his mother offered her valued opinion. “Your father and I will also help in whatever way we can.”

  Daniel wanted to keep them safe and send them back to their home on Mount Tannakonna; no, to his estate in the south, or keep them here in his new holding. The trouble was, when the war starts, and it will sooner or later, no one will be safe anywhere. They wanted to help and had a right as citizens of Ducaun to serve, with him or with any other Lord of the Land. “I noticed the Royal Guardsmen have removed the blue coats and pants I made to hide their identities from the Pentrosans while we were on their soil. By my count, there should be forty-seven uniforms to choose from if you are all set on joining my muster.”

  A man, perhaps in his early thirties, about five cubits tall with dark hair and a pale complexion, entered the office. “I was told you are ready to see me, uh, Sir Daniel.”

  “Come you two, we have uniforms to pick out,” Miriam Benhannon, the world’s greatest guitarn player told the young couple and ushered them out the door and closed it behind her, winking her eye at her son before shutting it completely.

  Daniel shook the man’s hand and led him to one of the four chairs in front of his desk. “Sit and we’ll get to know each other.”

  The restored-one did so and Daniel went and sat behind his desk. The man’s hair and beard were long and he was in prime physical condition, as were all of the people who had been healed. “The Teki Seer told us your name; even so I would know you are the person who healed me. I feel a strong sense of familiarity with you and seem to have a general sense of where you are. Strange, I didn’t realize that until you went from building one to two. She also told us that you are the Chosen Vessel,” he said in a strong tenor voice.

  “It seems you have the advantage on me, you know my name but I don’t know yours,” Daniel replied.

  “Forgive my lack of manners, Sir Daniel, I mean no disrespect. It is just that I have not quite recovered from the shock of it all, having my body twisted grotesquely, living as a passenger in my head, unable to control so much as my own breathing, and then falling asleep and waking up here in better shape than I was before being Condemned. My name is Chas Herling, former Major, Second Division, of the Pentrosan Sutton Guard,” he stated his rank quickly and in a softer tone than he had been using.

  The man was an officer in Pentrosa’s elite fighting force and possibly responsible for the border raids that had been going on for months. Daniel kept his face neutral, wanting to hear Herling’s story before passing judgment. “Why did Serin Gell cast Condemnation upon you?”

  Major Herling glanced at the floor and his shoulders sagged and then he sat up straight, as if he was at first hesitant to answer and then decided he had no reason to be ashamed. “I was the post commander at Fort Teeman, one span south of Los Collins, and had three captains commanding outposts along the southern border. Our mission was to capture men and women between the ages of seventeen and forty, to work at labor camps in order to help in war preparations,” he spoke boldly.

  “Who is this coming war to be against” Daniel asked.

  “Ducaun, of course, Prince Xavier reported from your capital that Queen Cleona is dying, chaos is happening all over her realm, and her generals are on the verge of seizing the throne. It is King Jarred’s judgment that whichever general takes control, a war against Pentrosa would soon follow to rally the kingdom behind the new ruler,” Chas answered, clearly believing what he had been told.

  “I healed the Queen, she is in full control of the kingdom, and the unrest happening within Ducaun is because of Serpent Guild activities, not civil disorder. Their headquarters was in Mount Gosian until I brought it down upon their heads. King Jarred is dead and Xavier is on his way to your capital to be crowned, seeing as his two older brothers died in accidents,” Daniel filled the man in on recent events. “You were a good soldier fulfilling your duty, why were you Condemned?”

  Chas took a deep breath, perhaps taking a moment to absorb what he had been told. “General Kall ordered me to transport the Ducaunan captives to the Foothills for processing. I believed some sort of work camp had been set up there. When I and my men arrived, an Accomplished of the Serpent Guild came out of a cave and cast a spell on one of the captives, Marge, a woman I met after waking up here. Serin Gell stripped her clothes off and twisted her body into a wretched parity of humanity. I had no idea the General was in league with the Serpent Guild or that the people I had brought were to be made into Condemneds. I protested and then became the second person to be Condemned. I believe Captain Trellon was given the command in my place and have no idea what transpired after that,” he explained and then looked Daniel in the eyes. “I want to join your muster.”

  Daniel was surprised by the declaration and the conviction in which it had been spoken. “When I rescued you, Accomplisheds of the Serpent Guild actively fought beside the detached Sutton Guard unit you once commanded and beside the legion of cavalry out of Los Collins. More Accomplisheds were traveling with another force of over twenty thousand, a force I believe commanded by General Kall. If Pentrosa is in league with the Serpent Guild, we may have no choice but to fight your fellow Pentrosans. Can you do that?”

  “I know King Jarred would never join with the Serpent Guild, I’m not so sure about Prince Xavier, and I know for sure where the General stands. Condemnation is considered by all to be a living death. I am dead to my former kingdom and to the Sutton Guard and will serve you in whatever capacity I can, if you will have me,” Chas replied, leaning forward in his chair, his voice full of sincerity.

  Daniel remembered how Cale Tomei, his own sword instructor, betrayed him, and
so hesitated to accept someone from a country actually hostile to Ducaun. “How can I trust you?”

  “I’ll have to earn your trust,” Chas replied and sat back in his chair. “I am a man of conscience. The fact that I knowingly risked the Condemnation of Serin Gell for the sake of my captives shows my character.”

  Daniel had to admit the man was forthright, spoke bald truth about his part in the border raids, and truly is a man who executes his duty in good conscience. He would not be sitting here otherwise. Daniel healed this man, had touched Herling’s life force, and knew there were no links to Tarin Conn.

  The door opened and in walked his father with a bucket full of rocks and wearing a light blue uniform with a broad silver stripe on each shoulder and down the pant legs, like Chas was wearing. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but the oddness of your request for these rocks caused me to think you wanted them sooner rather than later,” the mountain carpenter told him, and then placed the bucket on the desk.

  Daniel smiled at his father. “Thanks, your timing is perfect.”

  “I’ll leave you to your chores,” Ronn replied, and then gave a nod of the head and went back out.

  “That was my father, if you have not been told,” he said while dumping the rocks onto his desk.

  He cast a spell, splitting the rocks into smaller pieces and then removed the communication amulet from one of his many inner pockets. The golden oval had a topaz stone with a sapphire falcon clutching a diamond lightning bolt in its talons, sunken into the blue precious stone, and set into the metal. Daniel held the communication device in his hand and played, Change It, in his mind. Blue light, only the eyes of a fellow Melody Wielder could see, flashed from his eyes, turning all of the rocks into three hundred functioning duplicates of his amulet.

  Herling’s eyes widened, even though he knew about Daniel being an Accomplished, seeing rocks suddenly change into gold and precious stones and then all of them combine into three hundred individual amulets seemed to surprise him. “Will you have me?” he asked in a steady voice after recovering from the shock.

  Making up his mind, Daniel handed the man an amulet. “Place the topaz against your forehead to send your thoughts to me instantly, from anywhere in the world, and I’ll be able to respond. I need to communicate with the people in my service.”

  For the first time in the meeting, Chas smiled, and then placed the amulet as he had been instructed. “I will serve you well,” he sent through the device.

  “I trust that you will,” Daniel sent back. “I hope to gather as many people as I can into my service. Most of them are not likely to have the necessary skills and will need competent people to train and lead them.”

  “Sergeant Keenan and Corporal Carlin are doing a good job and so are the rest of the Royal Guardsmen,” Chas was quick to reply.

  “True, but they are Royal Guardsmen in service to the Queen and temporarily under my command. The guardsmen were hand picked by Sergeant Keenan and he chose the best of the best. They make me look like a good commander,” Daniel admitted. “You know what it takes to train and command an elite force. I can use your skills.”

  Chas stood up and saluted. “You will have that elite force,” he stated out loud having removed the amulet from his forehead in order to salute.

  The interview was over and Chas exited and sent in the next in line, a young couple, Jana and Carn Bencain, who also requested to join Daniel’s muster. In all, thirty-three people wanted to go back to their homes; they had children and elderly parents who needed them. Seventy-two men and sixty-six women from among those he had healed joined his muster by the end of the interviews and Daniel knew the names, situations, and backgrounds of each individual. The sun was beginning to set when Jaim Cutler, the final person to volunteer for service exited his office with an amulet. Daniel had given all who enlisted one of his communication devices, including his parents.

  His mother arrived, dressed in a blue uniform, with a plate of vegetables and several jugs of water. “You need to eat something,” she insisted. “I am sure you haven’t had a thing to drink in marks.”

  “You’re right about that,” he replied and took one of the jugs and gulped it down. He had been casting some major spells since late last night and was thirsty. His body metabolized the water faster than a normal human would, a necessity for a body that loses fluids in the process of summoning potential. The greater the potential or duration of the spell, the more draining it becomes to the caster, and careless power wielders can be mummified by their own castings, even a seven-bolt Accomplished.

  The door banged open and in walked Silvia. “General Tallen and your fellow Knights of the Realm are outside in the square and demanding to see you.”

  “Did they say why?” Miriam asked on behalf of her son.

  “No, they did not,” Silvia replied and then smiled, “I have a revelation,” the Seer went on to say. “They’ve come to talk about General Kall, who has brought his two legions down to the border. Daniel told us the troops were coming, they arrived shortly before he and Sherree finished settling their differences,” she added with a totally unnecessary wink, then her eyebrows drew down in consternation, doing away with her lightheartedness, and she stared directly at Daniel. “My vision is obscure about what will happen next because the choice you make in the next few marks will influence the outcome, battle or, I don’t know, a major threat hanging over our heads either way, something related to your defeating Serin Gell. I also see danger concerning the flute.”

  “Are the visions related, is Kall coming after the flute?” Daniel asked while getting to his feet.

  “That’s just it, I don’t know, although I believe they are not related,” Silvia admitted, biting her lip. “You are the Chosen Vessel and a powerful Accomplished, you will win any confrontation with General Kall, but the cost in lives will be significant if he invades today. People not just in this compound will die, so will others at the fort south of us and elsewhere along the border. But it is the flute that worries me, I see it covered in blood, and Daniel it’s yours.”

  He knew how much the Seer detested giving an imprecise revelation, especially when lives were on the line. “Ever since casting my first spell on Mount Tannakonna, many of my decisions have been matters of life and death, so it does not surprise me to hear of yet another one. As for the threat hanging over my head, Tarin Conn and Efferin Tames are likely to see me once again as a threat and take steps.”

  How much time did he have before they reacted? His blood on the flute of Della Lain posed a concern, yet was a danger so obscure he had no answer except to proceed with caution.

  “My feeling, going by the anxiety I experienced just seeing the revelation, is you are at a pivot point, making the right decision is crucial, and the threat, whichever way you choose, is going to grow exponentially. You are going to have to step up the pace, it is the only way to survive what is coming,” Silvia began wringing her hands.

  One would think the Chosen Vessel could relax, enjoy at least one day before events came hurling into him, and forced him to react. “What you want matters little,” the words of Ruth the Seerer for the Forager Troop flashed through Daniel’s mind. “Well, I’ll meet with our guests in the conference room, and try to make a good decision,” he replied and stood up.

  “After you drink the other jug of water and eat your vegetables,” his mother insisted.

  Despite the grave revelation, Daniel chuckled and then sat back down. “Right, Silvia, go get everything set up while I do what my mother tells me.”

  Chapter Three: The Right Decision

  Daniel sat at the head of the obsidian table, deliberately making his guests wait, not out of contempt, for he did respect them, and not for some silly posturing, or to show who was in charge of this meeting. He long ago learned from necessity how to compartmentalize his mind; it was the only way he could think clearly with so many animals linked to him, most of them wanting his attention at the same time. The greatest pressure came from t
he compartments containing Echo and Wisp, a pair of ospreys, and Dusk, a black panther. Daniel focused on the one containing Echo.

  Far below in the twilight, through the eyes of the circling osprey, Daniel could see thousands of horsemen gathered at the southern border of Pentrosa, at least two legions, twenty thousand on horse and ten thousand on foot. A command tent was being set up near a man in a black jacket with gold trim, definitely General Kall, and beside him were ten men in the silver on black silks of the Serpent Guild, along with ten individuals dressed in dark brown cloaks. This force was far greater than any General Tallen could stand against. Daniel sent his thanks to Echo and then concentrated on Wisp, who was soaring over last night’s battle field in the Foothills, that broad stretch of hills marking the end of the highlands in Pentrosa, from which there were nothing but flatlands all the way south into Ducaun. The army Daniel had struck down, horses and all, was still asleep, and would probably begin waking up about this time tomorrow. These were a legion of regulars where as those commanded by Kall were Pentrosa’s elite Sutton Guard, even so, they could come down and hold whatever forts the elites overpowered. Daniel sent his gratitude to Wisp, who sent back a sense of contentment, and then withdrew his concentration from the raptor.

  Daniel concentrated on Dusk, high up, hidden in the branches of a tree, and watching thirty Ducaunan Cavalrymen and fifty foot soldiers facing the huge force, as if they could stop them from crossing the border. Captain Johannan was talking to a man in the gray with black trim uniform of the Sutton Guard.

  “General Kall demands to see General Tallen, Sir Laurence, and however many Royal Knights of the Realm are with him. I told you this before. The demand has not changed. We have a legion down and out of commission and answers must be given,” the Pentrosan stated arrogantly.

  “Your request has been sent,” red-haired Captain Johannan replied in a firm voice.