Free The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah) by Mackenzie Morgan Page B

asked him, but I bet Glendymere would be willing to keep the folder.”
    Laryn tilted her head to the side. “That’s not a bad idea.”
    “Glendymere? Who’s going to take it to him?” Duane shook his head and continued, “I’ve had to wake him up before, and he wakes up with a big nasty yawn, spewing smoke and fire. You could end up toast before he recognizes you.”
    Laryn grinned. “He has a gong at the entrance to his cave now, Duane. You don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
    “The dragons don’t like to get involved in human affairs. Don’t you think he might consider this as becoming too involved?” Pallor asked.
    Laryn shook her head. “I doubt it, but let me see what Badec thinks. The request should come from him anyway. I’ll let you know.”
    “What’s next?” Duane asked.
    “Has anyone given any thought as to how we’re going to get the child to Earth?” Kalen asked. “If Pallor shows up at Badec’s castle at about the same time that the child vanishes, anyone who’s paying any attention at all will know he’s on Earth.”
    “Not that it would do them much good,” Pallor mumbled.
    “It would be best if no one even knew you were connected to any of this, Pallor,” Kalen answered.
    “I’ve got an idea,” Laryn said. “Duane, why don’t you and Xantha pick him up at the castle, bring him up here, and Pallor can meet you here?”
    “That might work,” Kalen said with a slow nod. “But it would be even better if no one knew about it. If everyone at the castle was used to seeing Duane come and go they probably wouldn’t even notice. But what reason could he possibly have for hanging around the castle?”
    “Shelandra,” Laryn said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
    A slow blush crept up Duane’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Oh, yes, you do,” Laryn insisted. “You’ve had a crush on her ever since the first time you saw her. You’re just too shy to do anything about it.”
    “Cousin!” Pallor said as he slapped Duane on the back. “Congratulations! I wondered when you were going to find a nice woman and settle down.” Then he turned to Laryn and asked, “Are you talking about that gorgeous elf I saw there last Christmas? Long slender legs, hair down past her waist?”
    “That’s the one,” Laryn said with a grin. “Duane, if you play your cards right, you could end up with a wife out of this. I know for a fact that she likes you.”
    Duane’s blush deepened. “How do you know?”
    “She told me.”
    Duane’s eyes took on a dreamy look. 
    Kalen rolled his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. “We have about six months before the birth of the child. What else do we need to do?”
    No one spoke immediately, so Pallor said, “Well, I have plenty to arrange, but I have to go back to Earth to do it. So, if there’s nothing else, I’m off.”
    “I think that’s all for now, but I feel sure we’re going to think of other things as time goes on. Check in with me once in a while,” Kalen said.
    Pallor nodded, took out his key, and vanished.
    ~ ~ ~ ~
    Six months later, on the sixteenth of March, a falcon landed on Kalen’s windowsill with a letter from Laryn. She said that Badec’s son, Myron, had been born the day before, and that although Yvonne was weak, she was in relatively good shape.
    Kalen sent a message to Pallor, and then settled down in his living room to wait. As he sat there staring into the fire, he let his mind wander ahead twenty-five years, to the time when Myron would return to Terah. How would the boy feel, coming home to a culture so completely different from Earth’s? Myron would be safe from Badec’s enemies while he was on Earth, but how safe would he be when he returned to Terah? How could they prepare him for life here, much less for his role as Master Sorcerer?
    After a while, Kalen stood up, walked around the room, and decided that the present was going to be difficult enough to deal with. He