Master's Mind (The Dagger of Dragon Rose Book 1)

A well laid plan is priceless - Anonymous

Fragments of the dream he’d been having clung to Taren’s memory like cobwebs in his mind. Visions of himself with his wings on fire kept replaying themselves in his head. He thought he might have an idea of how it would feel to have that happen. It hadn’t been too long ago that he had almost had his wings removed by a large cat.

She was now a member of his party.

This thought brought his mental meandering to the subject of his companions. He would have never thought a week ago that he would have been in the company of such strange people. There was the healer Ularen Hope. Taren still knew very little about him. He and Shaunna apparently knew each other. Then there was Shaunna Nightshade. She was enigmatic at best. Narissa Silvermoon was probably the easiest for him to understand. She had been used by his enemies to try and kill him; but he had freed her from the enchantment she had been under and she had pledged her life to him. Last, and definitely most confusing, was Grathius Wolftracker. He showed up just in time to save them from the dark elf curse that had caused the spirits of murdered elves, for that’s what Taren thought they looked like, to rise up against them. Each of them claimed to be descendants of those said to make up his father’s personal guard and there was no evidence to suggest otherwise. They each wielded one of the swords that the original guard had used.

This brought his thoughts to the subject he had been trying to avoid since it had happened. There were those who were lost that had once been his companions. Cyan had been a faithful sword and counselor. He died when the power of the black gauntlet had overpowered Taren’s mind. The evil had traveled through the mind link and caused the heart stone to shatter.

Taren had no doubt that this is what had happened to the sword. It had been Taren’s fault that Cyan had died; there was no questioning that. Then there was Parel. She had been taken by Silax.

Shaunna. She was beautiful and she seemed to like him. He wasn’t sure what her motivation was. She had saved his life and knew much more about his quest than he did. However, there were certain things that she was not telling him.

A sudden knock caused him to break off his scattered thinking and come back to reality. As he sat up to answer the knock the pain in his head returned in full force, causing him to cry out. The door burst open.

“Are you all right?” It was a woman’s voice, but Taren couldn’t tell who it was, the pain in his head was so great. He seemed to think it was someone he should know.

Shaunna entered the room with the small crossbow in her hand with a bolt of shimmering light sitting ready in the bow. Seeing that he was all right, she let go of the crossbow and went to help him, but the crossbow did not fall.

“Erik?” Taren was surprised to hear himself speak. “The crossbow’s name is Erik.”

Shaunna confirmed. “Yes, this is Erik Light Bow. He was my great-grandmother’s.”

“Shalarandra Kaardrannan. You said she was your great-grandmother.” His head hurt more as he forced himself to speak his thoughts.

“That is true.” Shaunna was beginning to feel uncomfortable. She had never expected to see Taren in such a vulnerable state when she had volunteered to come and get him for the meeting.

He placed his head in his hands. “My head really hurts.”

“It’s ok, your majesty. You just rest. The meeting can wait.” Shaunna sat down on the bed, guiding Taren’s head so that it would come to rest on her lap.

Taren just lay there staring up into Shaunna’s beautiful face. He felt he could just lay like this forever. Then a sudden thought caused him to wince in pain.

“Meeting?” Taren spoke the thought out loud.

“Yes, to finish what we started last night.” Shaunna explained.

“We had better be going.” Taren tried to raise himself, but collapsed back into Shaunna’s lap.

Shaunna began to stroke Taren’s hair with her hand. “Just rest; the meeting can wait.” She repeated.

The stroking hand seemed to ease the pain in his head slightly. In fact it felt really good, so he didn’t argue.

Taren didn’t know how long he lay there, but he did seem to remember another female voice asking what was going on. Shaunna had just said to tell the others that the king was suffering and would be there as soon as he could.

When Taren opened his eyes, he was staring up at the most beautiful face he had ever seen. The tan face surrounded by hair almost as white as his was looking down at him with a gentle loving look in her brown eyes.

I could look into this face forever. He thought to himself.

Just as the thought passed through his head; another came to crush it. What about Parel? He suddenly realized where he was.

“Are the others still waiting for us?” He asked suddenly.

“Yes they are.” Shaunna was worried about what she was seeing in the king’s eyes. He suddenly looked angry.

“Then we had better not keep them waiting.” He rose from the bed quickly, causing himself to almost fall.

Shaunna rose quickly to catch him, and he leaned on her shoulder. She wrapped her good arm around his waist, supporting him so he could walk. He followed her lead docilely allowing her to direct his steps.

They walked in silence, Shaunna gently directing him through the maze of caverns. When they arrived, everyone was looking at Taren in trepidation.

“Hope, can you...” Shaunna began, but stopped when Hope shook his head in sadness.

“No, the nature of this injury is such that I am not able to heal it. The only thing that will heal this is time, the ultimate healer.” Hope truly looked miserable as he spoke. “I am sorry.”

Shaunna lowered Taren carefully to the ground. Once he was situated, she sat right next to him.

“Where did we leave off?” Taren asked weakly.

Shaunna quickly jumped to answer the question. “We identified that the enemy is the Dark Lords. And that Taren is supposed to destroy the Sun-Fire Orb.”

The look that had been on Hope’s face the previous evening quickly returned. “That’s impossible. The orb can’t be destroyed.”

“Yes it can.” Shaunna’s voice was small as she offered the argument. “It can be destroyed, but only by the child master.”

Hope was incredulous. “Well it would help if we knew who the child master is”

“We do know who the child master is.” The others just watched the exchange between the two silently. “It’s Taren.”

Hope made a sound that sounded like a cross between a cough and choking. “If Paron was to be believed, yes. That was one point on which my parents disagreed with him. The marks are just coincidence. What proof do you have that Taren is the one who can do this? What proof do you have that the three girls are not dead?” Hope asked

Shaunna was beginning to get angry. “I saw the girls leave. I was at the castle when it was attacked. Don’t...” Hope had been getting ready to argue that point. “You know I was there. It was then that my parents were killed. It was then that my life was shattered.” Tears began to well up in her eyes as she spoke. “I saw the War Birds. I watched them fly away with the girls. They are safe.“She was shaking with anger at this point. “As for proof of the Child Master, all I can offer is this.” She gestured towards Taren “He can wield the Sword of StarFire. Taren, can you show our unbelieving friend?”

Taren reached into his pocket and produced the purple crystal cylinder that he had found in the mansion. Taren closed his hand around the warm surface of the cylinder. Purple fire shot out of each end, wrapping around his hand and forming a large purple sword.

Hope’s eyes went wide with fright at the sight of the sword. Narissa suddenly became very nervous. Grathius just yawned.

“Are we all agreed that this is possible then?” She was glaring at Hope as she spoke.

Everybody just nodded silently.

After the argument between Shaunna and Hope, everyone was scared to speak for fear of the contention starting up again. The room was silent for several minutes as people turned the events that had just happened over in their minds.

Taren put the sword away, not quite understanding what had just happened, but feeling remarkably better. The pain in his head was considerably less and he found he was able to focus on the task at hand much easier than before.

Shaunna looked at him in alarm as he stopped leaning on the wall to sit up a little straighter. He just smiled back reassuringly and asked the question that had been on his mind since he first started having the strange dreams that had been plaguing him for months.

“What we need to do now,” his voice was surprisingly stronger as he spoke. “Is find where the orb is. Shaunna,” He turned to face the woman sitting next to him. “Your great-grandmother is the one that took it from Knoro’s house in Brightbay. She supposedly took it to my mother, but I don’t know anything about it. Do you have any idea where it might be?”

Shaunna’s voice was almost inaudible when she answered. “No, I don’t know where it is.” She paused for a moment causing an uncomfortable silence to fall over the room. “However, I do know who does.”

It took most of the next few hours to get the information from Shaunna. Every time the conversation would come back around to who had the orb, Shaunna would hastily steer the topic away from that subject. Something seemed to be bothering her about the whole thing. Once she finally divulged the information, it turned out that her grandmother was the secret keeper, the sole individual who knew where the orb was being hidden.

“The journey is going to be a dangerous one.” Shaunna tried to keep her voice steady. “The village where she lives is in the center of the Black Forest.”

This comment was met by looks of trepidation from the whole party. Even Grathius who, up to this point, had remained still through the whole meeting, looked up at this.

“I’ve heard stories of the Black Forest.” Hope was obviously not looking forward to going into the forest. “It’s supposed to be haunted by the spirits of those that never returned from its depths.”

“As long as you’re with me, you should be fine. Nothing in the forest would hurt you as long as you are with a member of my family.” Shaunna’s hand strayed to the leather strap she wore around her neck. “I haven’t been there for so long.”

Grathius stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against. “We leave at dawn. That should give you all time to rrrest, and it will give me time to finish gatherrring prrrovisions.”

With that the meeting adjourned.

As they were leaving the conference room to go back to their quarters, Taren approached the tall Elfin healer. “Hope, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Hope looked slightly taken aback, but nodded his acquiescence

They waited until the room was empty. Hope was the first to speak. “Your majesty, if this is about my doubts in the meeting...” He started to voice his fears, but stopped as Taren raised his hands.

“This isn’t about that, exactly.” Taren explained. “I want to ask your professional opinion on something.”

Hope was dumbfounded. “You mean you are not mad?”

“No.” Taren smiled as he answered. “If we’d had that same discussion a week ago, I would have agreed with you whole-heartedly. There are just too many things that have happened since then for me to discount what Shaunna said earlier. Which brings us to my question. When I activated the Sword of Star Fire, something happened to me. Suddenly the pain in my head subsided, and I was able to concentrate more on the issue at hand. Do you know how this occurred?”

Hope stared at the floor for a few minutes before offering the only answer he could come up with. “I don’t know what caused your mind to repair itself. Very little is known about the mystical sword you hold.” Hope paused a moment, as if to consider whether or not he should continue. A look of satisfaction crept slowly across his face and he continued. “I can tell you the legend behind it.”

Taren just nodded for him to continue.

“According to legend, there are three of these swords. Naratha himself forged them in the fire at the heart of a star. He holds one, and the Grey Lords hold the other two. Mortal beings are supposed to perish at the mere touch of the sword’s fire, ensuring that only the gods are able to wield the divine weapons.” A large grin exploded onto his face. “Apparently there is a flaw in the legend.”

Taren held the purple cylinder toward Hope. “Would you like to try?”

The smile instantly vanished from Hope’s handsome face. “No thank you, your majesty. You may be an anomaly. I am not willing to risk my life to test whether or not any mortal can use it.”

Taren nodded, putting the cylinder back into his pocket. “Let’s go back to our rooms then, so we can prepare to leave in the morning.”

Hope bowed his head in respect. “Yes, your majesty.”

Taren shook his head slightly. “Please call me Taren; I’m not the king yet.”

Back in his room, Taren lay on the bed thinking of the drastic turn his life had made. He finally had a history. Even though the history did not fit into any of his wildest imaginations, it was much less believable. Truth is truly stranger than fiction.

He didn’t know how long he lay there thinking, or when it was he had fallen asleep. A sudden knock on the door brought him out of the most beautiful dream. As soon as he opened his eyes, the details of the dream blurred and faded. The knock sounded again.

“Yes, come in.” Taren spoke in a voice that was still very heavy with sleep.

The door opened slowly and then shut again with an almost silent click; Taren did not look up. The candles had all burned out while he was asleep, so the room was bathed in a blanket of darkness that warmed the soul with a promise of protection.

The mattress of the bed bowed as the weight of a body came to rest on it. “Taren, are you awake?” Shaunna’s soft whisper floated through the warm blackness gently pulling his mind the rest of the way into wakefulness.

“Yes, I am.” Taren answered into the darkness.

The form sitting beside him began to slide closer to him on the bed. The warmth of Shaunna’s body was welcome as she snuggled up to his body. Her breath on his neck was warm and exciting.

“I’m scared.” Shaunna’s voice quivered as she spoke. “I haven’t been to the dark elf village since I was a child. They don’t like me there. And they like unwelcome visitors even less.”

Taren didn’t know what to say, so he just wrapped his arms around her to try and comfort her. As his embrace enfolded Shaunna, she nuzzled even closer to his neck. So close that he could feel the moist tears as they fell from her eyes.

“I’m really scared.”

An unexpected feeling began to well up inside of him as he lay there with the crying Shaunna in his arms. An overwhelming need to protect her from anything that might threaten her, a need to keep her safe from all harm, built up inside of him so powerfully that he felt as if his chest would burst from the pressure.

“Everything will be ok, as long as we stay together.” The words sounded inadequate as he spoke them.

He felt Shaunna lift her head slightly. The next thing he knew, he could feel her breath on his lips. She hovered there for a moment before she spoke.

“Thank you, Taren.” Then she kissed him.

He wasn’t quite sure how to react to the kiss. Here was Shaunna in his bed kissing him, having just confessed that she was terrified of going back to the dark elf village. Tears were still streaming down her face, falling onto Taren’s cheeks as they fell from hers. When she finally broke from the kiss her head moved to rest on his shoulder. Within minutes she was asleep in his arms.

Taren’s mind was racing. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. She had come into his room, apparently seeking comfort. She had confessed her fears and then she had kissed him; and he had liked it.

He didn’t know what was happening to him. It had only been a few days since Parel had disappeared. He didn’t really believe that she was dead; the bard had told her that she would find her past on this journey, and as far as Taren knew, he had never been wrong.

He knew that it would never work out between him and the human woman, but was this dark elf woman any different? The Dark Elves were hated above all other things in this world, with good reason, according to Shaunna’s story. But those things happened eons ago. He just couldn’t believe that the world’s racial memory extended back far enough to even remember what the Dark Elves had done to deserve the hatred. He figured that, as an angry baby forgets why he’s angry, the races had forgotten the reason for the hatred, they hated the Dark Elves just for hatred’s sake.

I will protect this woman as if my life depends on it. The thought startled him as it raced through his head. He unwrapped himself from her embrace very carefully so as to not wake her. Being as quiet as he could, he opened the door to leave. As the light from the outside passageway entered the room, Shaunna raised her head.

“Where are you going?” she asked softy.

“I’m going to go soak in the bathing chamber.” The answer was given in innocence.

A mischievous tone crept into Shaunna’s voice. “Would you like some company?”

Taren took a step back, almost stumbling over a stone. “No thank you.”

Shaunna lay down again, burying her head in Taren’s pillow.

He hurried through the corridors toward the bathing chambers, eager to be someplace where he could be alone with his thoughts. He vaguely remembered a pool in the bathing chambers that was just off the main pool, where the water wasn’t quite as deep and continually bubbled. His head had been hurting too much the last time he was in there to be certain he hadn’t imagined it.

He looked around upon entering the bathing chamber, trying to locate the small pool he had come to relax in. It wasn’t difficult to find. It was located just above the main pool. The water from the smaller pool spilled in the larger pool.

In the bubbling water of the smaller pool sat a very old Canavar. He was looking at Taren with mild curiosity.

“What brings you here, young king?” The Canavar’s voice was smooth, not gruff like Grathius’ voice had been.

“I... I wasn’t expecting any one to be here.” Taren stammered, staring at the large wolf man.

“Nor was I expecting anybody to come in to disturb my late night relaxation.” The gentle eyes never left Taren’s face. “Since you are here, come have a soak, and we’ll talk about what’s bothering you.” He paused long enough to allow Taren to undress and lower himself into the pool. Once the young man was situated, the old Canavar offered his furry hand in friendship. “I am Ranan Moonwalker, the elder of this tribe.”

Taren took the hand in a firm handshake. “I am Taren Elloy, future king of the Elves, but you know that don’t you?”

The old Canavar nodded. “You have much of the look of your father in you. Enough, now that we are properly introduced, why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you?”

Taren shrugged indifference. “Who says anything is bothering me?”

Ranan laughed, a sound distinctly different from Grathius’ laugh. “Why else would you come to the bathing chambers in the middle of the night to be alone?”

Taren couldn’t argue with the logic so he just kept quietly looking around the chamber as if he had never seen it before.

The old wolf-man just sat watching him silently waiting for an answer to his question. As he waited he remembered a night very much like this one. It had been a different young man then. It had been this young man’s father.

Neither of them knew how long they had been sitting there before Taren finally began to talk. He began somewhat slowly, but in a short time had told the Canavar almost everything that was bothering him. He talked of the price he had already paid to gain the throne that was rightfully his. He spoke of friends lost. Parel had been taken by the Mother Dragon . Cyan’s heart stone had shattered and was definitely dead.

“How many more have to die before I finish my quest?” The question had been asked simply enough, but it enveloped most of Taren’s fears.

“Not as many have died as you might think. The Mother Dragon prefers to use live bait to trap her prey. I doubt she has murdered your friend, at least not yet.”

Taren pondered the answer briefly. If Parel were not dead, if she came back and joined the group, it would place Taren in an awkward position. He was becoming rather fond of Shaunna, and Parel probably wouldn’t understand.

When he voiced his fear, the old Canavar just smiled and offered what advice he could, but the advice did little to ease Taren’s fears.

“There are forces at work here that are beyond you, beyond me, even beyond the force of love (which some people claim to be the greatest force in existence). There is an oath that must be fulfilled.”

Taren was extremely confused. “Oath? What oath?”

Ranan was surprised at this reaction. “You do not know? Then I have said too much.”

Taren was about to object but was stopped by Ranan raising his hand. “I cannot tell you more, I am sorry. All will be revealed to you in due time.”

Feeling disappointed, Taren rose from the pool “I must be going now.“, quickly dried himself “nice to meet you”, dressed himself in his nightclothes “thank you for the advice”, and rushed out of the room, “good night”.

The cold of the corridor he had just entered was almost painful after the heat that permeated the bathing chamber. Quickly, he traveled the space between the chamber and his bedroom trying to keep the thoughts in his head from traveling paths he did not want them to. As he entered the room, the dim light from the corridor showed the outline of a body in his bed. Shaunna was still there. He briefly wondered what he should do. Should he wake her and send her back to her room?

Shaking his head, he resigned himself to the inevitable and climbed into the bed. She shifted her body closer to his. Her warmth was comforting, and he fell asleep quickly