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“But they have to be really smart to stay hidden all these years, right?” Alora insisted.
“If Serenshire is real, it holds some incredible secrets—that much is certain,” Kaevin remarked, pushing himself up from the chair as his stomach let out a rumble.
He moved to the bench beside Jireo, piling a plate high with meat and bread and stuffing his mouth full. Alora joined him, loading another plate of her own
for a second dinner.
Kaevin’s eyes widened at her appetite, but he grinned. “Now this is as it should be. Using your gift correctly should make you hungry rather than making you ill. I believe Laethan’s lessons are finally working.”
“It was a long hard session today, but I accomplished a lot.”
No sooner had her words left her mouth, than she wished them back.
Kaevin scowled, slamming his mug down with a thump that splashed water and shook the table. “And it could have been half as long and half as painful if you’d allowed me to help.”
Resisting the urge to calm him with her gift, she touched his hand. “You have more important things to do right now. We each have our roles to play, right? Isn’t that what Laethan said?”
Tearing off a hunk of dried meat with his teeth, Kaevin chewed like an angry trash compactor. “What-ev-er.”
At a muffled snicker behind her, Alora turned to find Beth with her hand over her mouth. Kaevin’s “whatever” was one of the few colloquialisms he’d adopted from his time in Montana, and it was funny to see some US culture rubbing off on him.
“I’m surprised the council doesn’t object to having Wesley on the trip,” Beth remarked. “I mean, isn’t he a liability, since he’s not gifted?”
“Morvaen and Nordamen advocated including both Wesley and Brian,” Jireo answered. “People from your realm were able to see through magickal cloaking. Remember?”
Alora recalled all too well that terrifying night when Laegenshire was attacked by cloaked wendts and Kaevin injured with a poisoned blade in the hand of a cloaked warrior. Both she and Kaevin would be dead if it hadn’t been for Uncle Charles, Wesley and his father, Brian.
Jireo continued, “Nordamen has pronounced the ability to be a gifting and intends to name it and enter it in the records at the Craedenza, unless Raelene finds it previously listed in the ancient scrolls.”
Kaevin spoke around a large piece of bread in his mouth, obviously glad to be free of Montana’s constraints about proper eating etiquette. “I don’t believe we should consider it a gifting when, as best we know, anyone from the Montana realm has the ability, but I cannot quash Nordamen’s enthusiasm.”
“Nordamen may want Wesley and Brian, but Wesley’s the only one going. I think Brian’s still afraid to leave Karen alone with Daegreth, though he swears that’s not true.”
“What were you talking about with your father and Morvaen today?” Jireo asked Kaevin. “I waited all day to spar with you.”
Alora also wondered what they’d been doing, though she was glad Kaevin had been occupied instead of sulking outside the healing house.
Kaevin stopped eating, closing his eyes and blowing out a heavy sigh. He looked at Alora. “Your uncle has brought us a few... presents... through the portal. Now we must decide what is to be done with them.”
“What kind of presents?” Beth asked.
“First, he brought some knives. He thought the material might be superior to ours because they were stain-less-steel.” Kaevin emphasized each syllable. “But Morvaen found the blades no better than those made by our gifted forgers who work the iron. He believes we can copy the design of the folding blades. Charles called them switches.”
“Switchblades? Uncle Charles brought switchblades to Laegenshire?”
“Yes, but the knives were not the troublesome items. He also brought two guns.”
“Guns?” Alora’s heart raced in her chest. “I thought we were doing everything possible to keep guns out of Vindrake’s hands. Why would he bring them here?”
“His idea was to only use them as protection,” Kaevin explained. “He argued if Vindrake’s men attacked, he could use his special sight tube to kill the warriors from far away.”
“Like a sniper rifle,” said Beth, who didn’t seem nearly as upset as Alora thought she should be.
“And what happens if I need to transport Uncle Charles to safety, huh?” Alora asked with rising alarm. “His gun would be left behind to fall into whatever evil hands were close by. And then Vindrake would have that technology.”
“We’re well aware of the risks involved,” said Kaevin. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have spent the entire day in conference, studying the weapons.”
“What will the council say?” asked Alora.
