“Thank you for keeping me up to date,” Kevin said to end the meeting. “I’m looking forward to hearing the rest.”
As Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence left the office, Chris walked in and shut the door. “What’s up?”
Kevin told Chris about the plan and the final list of suspects. When he was done, Chris said, “If Shana turns out to be a spy, she’s done in the kitchen.”
Kevin frowned. “But we decided to leave things alone, not let on we know anything.”
“And we can do that, but no one in Rolan’s camp is going to work around the food you eat. We’ll find a way to get her out of the kitchen. We’ll find another position for her, one where she won’t have any contact with you or anything you eat or drink.” When Kevin didn’t answer, Chris said, “If she’s a spy, I’ll take care of it. Now, who are you going to get for spotters?”
~ ~ ~ ~
Friday evening, Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence knocked on the door to Kevin’s office a little after 9:00.
Chris opened it and waved them in. “We were beginning to wonder if you’d forgotten.”
Cpt. Lawrence shook his head. “It’s my fault we’re late. I was in Gen. Crandal’s office until a few minutes ago.”
“Anything I need to know about?” Kevin asked.
“There’s been another raid, but it was a bit strange.”
“Where?” Chris asked.
“On Longleaf Lake.”
“What struck you as strange?” Kevin asked.
“It wasn’t much of a raid. They only managed to capture two men and one woman as far as anyone’s been able to tell, but they left three men dead. There wasn’t any sign of a fight, so the slavers probably killed them just because they were too old to bring much money at auction. They were in their sixties. The three who were captured were their grown children.”
Kevin frowned. “Why did they even bother with such a small settlement?”
“The settlement’s not that small. There should have been sixteen people there, including seven children, most of whom are in their teens, but all of the children and three of the women were in Fredaport. They stayed overnight with some relatives. That’s what saved them. They discovered what had happened when they got home the next morning.”
“When was the raid?”
“A week ago tonight.”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m sure they’re long gone by now. Wish we’d known earlier.”
“If they’ve got a key, it wouldn’t have mattered if you’d found out about it that night,” Darrell said. “The key makes them untouchable.”
“Not untouchable,” Kevin said. “Just hard to find.”
For a couple of minutes no one spoke. Then Darrell said, “Have you talked to anyone about spotting for us?”
Kevin shook his head. “No, but I know who I’m going to ask. I wanted to have an idea where they’ll have to wait before I talked to them. Have you come up with the six errands yet?”
Darrell frowned. “We’ve got four, but we’re trying to make them realistic, places she might actually go. We’re having trouble coming up with the last two. We thought you might have some ideas.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. “What have you got?”
“We thought Landis could go to Joan’s house for lunch,” Darrell said. “Dropping in on the governor’s wife wouldn’t be out of line.”
“And she could drop by Jana’s for coffee that morning or tea that afternoon. Jana and Wrenn both knew Tsareth,” Cpt. Lawrence said, “Landis would be well within bounds to go see them.”
“We also thought she could go to the chapel to pick up something from Theresa,” Darrell said, “but we weren’t sure what.”
Chris grinned. “Let’s say Landis is going to pick up a special tea Theresa made just for her that will enhance her ability to gather and store magical energy.”
Kevin laughed. “And hope it gets back to Rolan. That would give him something to think about, but if we use that, Theresa will have to be in on it.”
“Do you want to talk to her or shall I?” Darrell asked.
“I’ll do it,” Kevin said.
Cpt. Lawrence took over again. “Since Landis is your apprentice, technically she lives where you live, even though she’s not here yet. She could meet with Tolliver to sign the register, but we’d need for them to meet someplace other than his store. There’s nowhere around there for an assassin to hide, much less an assassin and a spotter.”
“How about if she met him in the garden at Fenway’s?” Chris asked. “It backs up to a stream with woods on the other side. You could hide an army back there.”
“But what reason could we give for her wanting to meet with him there? Tolliver would either have to close his store or get his wife to watch it,” Cpt. Lawrence said.
“Could we have Tolliver leave the book with Fenway for Landis to sign?” Chris asked.
“We could, but why would he do that?” Cpt. Lawrence asked.
“As nervous as that man gets, I imagine he’d be relieved not to have to deal with her,” Kevin said.
Cpt. Lawrence frowned. “But how are we going to get him to come up with the idea of leaving it at Fenway’s?”
“Wait a minute. This would have to be set up in advance, and too many people would know about it,” Darrell said. “Our plan is only going to work if we can be sure only one person knows about each destination. If Tolliver and Fenway know she’ll be at Fenway’s, the whole town will know.”
Kevin nodded. “You’ve got a point.”
“Could we come up with some other reason for her to have to go to Fenway’s?” Chris asked. “His back garden is perfect for this.”
No one said anything. They were all thinking. Then Darrell grinned. “We could have Marcus send Hayley a note to meet them there for a mug of scog.”
“Why would he do that if they’re going to go by the chapel?” Cpt. Lawrence asked.
“Doesn’t Hayley do rounds on Saturday?” Chris asked.
Kevin nodded. “Usually.”
“Then if he wanted to see her, he’d have to set it up, but maybe we should say around 2:00 for that one,” Chris suggested.
“But won’t that mean we’ll have two messengers going to the same place?” Cpt. Lawrence asked.
Darrell frowned. “We don’t want two of them comparing notes.”
Chris shrugged. “Have one of them go somewhere else.”
“For which one? Theresa or Hayley?” Darrell asked. “And why?”
“Let me talk to Theresa about it,” Kevin said. “We’ll figure something out.”
Darrell nodded. “So we have four errands. Does anyone have anything we could use for the last two?”
When no one had any other ideas, Kevin said, “I’m going to talk to Landis this weekend and see if she’s willing to go along with this. If she is, she may have a couple of suggestions. If not, I’ll come up with two errands for Marcus and we’ll use those.”
~ ~ ~ ~
When Kevin and Chris got back from the December Council of Sorcerers meeting Saturday morning, Chris tossed his notes on Kevin’s desk and sat down. “Something’s going on.”
“What do you mean?” Kevin asked as he sat down and started sorting the various stacks of messages and notes that seemed to multiply every time he left the room for five minutes.
“Gwendolyn,” Chris said. “I don’t know what she’s up to, but she’s up to something. And whatever it is, we’re not going to like it.” Chris thought for a couple of minutes. “Did you see the way she kept looking over at you? Like she knew something you didn’t?”
Kevin frowned. “Her eyes looked the same as always to me, full of loathing and hate, but I didn’t see anything else. Are you sure your imagination’s not going into overdrive here?”
“It’s not my imagination.”
Kevin stopped fiddling with stuff on his desk and looked at Chris. “Are you sensing something? Is this one of those things?”
Chris shrugged. “I’m not sure. Sort of, bu
t not as strong as usual, like it’s there, but not close by, heading this way, but not here yet. Know what I mean?”
“Not exactly, but if you start feeling that way, let me know.”
“That’s what I’m doing. I’m telling you she’s up to something, and whatever it is, it’s headed our way.”
Chapter 58
A Busy Sunday
After his workout with Glendymere Sunday morning, Kevin picked up Rhianna and took her to the canyon lands to work with storms. He knew right away she’d been practicing with the wind. Her control was a lot better, and she had a thunderstorm going on the first try. After she stirred up and calmed down two more storms, Kevin called a halt.
“Next week, we’ll try a tornado. Once you can build one, control it, and calm it back down, you’re as far as I can take you.”
“How long do you think that will take?”
“Unless tornadoes are a lot easier for you than they were for me, it’s going to take a while,” Kevin answered. “Ready to go?”
Rhianna nodded and placed her hand on Kevin’s arm. One turn of the key and they were back at Willow Canyon.
“Before I leave, I need to speak with Landis for a moment,” Kevin said. “Is she up at the house?”
“When I left, she was in the cave, gathering energy from fire.”
“Fire? In the cave?”
Rhianna nodded.
“What about the smoke?”
“Blalick set up the stove you and Chris used. She’s using the fire in the stove as her source.”
“So she doesn’t need a large fire?”
Rhianna shook her head. “Not anymore.”
When they reached the room, Rhianna said, “Landis, Myron wants to speak with you.”
“Just a minute.” Landis continued concentrating. A couple of minutes later, she gave a quick nod and turned towards Kevin. “There, all capped off. Let’s see if I can hold it while we talk.” Then she walked over to the table and sat down. “What can I do for you?”
Kevin smiled. This was not the same girl he’d been dealing with for the past few months. Things had definitely changed for the better.
“I need to ask a favor,” he said as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from her.
Rhianna sat down beside Landis. “Will it be dangerous?”
Kevin hesitated, and that was enough for Rhianna. She started shaking her head, but before she could say anything, Landis said, “Let’s hear him out.”
Kevin cleared his throat. “As I’m sure you know, we have a spy at the castle, and if we assume Saryn was telling the truth, we have more assassins hanging around Milhaven waiting to get a shot at you.”
When Kevin paused, Rhianna shook her head again. “I’m sorry you’ve got spies and assassins, but that’s your problem, not ours. You are not going to use Landis to flush them out. It’s too risky.”
“I would agree if the assassins were going to have any chance of getting near her, but Darrell and Cpt. Lawrence have come up with a plan that might work without putting Landis in any danger.”
Rhianna leaned back and frowned, but she didn’t say anything.
Landis, on the other hand, leaned forward.
“Saryn said someone told him you’d be at the chapel, someone who has supplied information before, remember?” Kevin asked, looking at Landis. When she nodded, he continued. “So Darrell made a list of every person who was anywhere near the castle while you were there that morning. Then he and Cpt. Lawrence asked people where they were, where they went, who they talked to, who they saw, and so on, until they found six people who had time that wasn’t accounted for by other people.”
“And one of those is your spy?” Landis asked.
“Maybe,” Kevin said. “They all had the opportunity to slip away and let Saryn and his buddies know your plans, but we don’t have any proof that any of them actually did it.”
“So you’re going to lay a trap, with Landis as bait,” Rhianna said.
“Let him finish,” Landis said, cutting her eyes over at Rhianna. “What’s wrong with you anyway?”
“I don’t like anything that puts a target on your back,” Rhianna snapped, “but go ahead. Tell us the rest of this plan of yours.”
Kevin went through Darrell’s plan, with special emphasis on the part about Landis not leaving the castle at any point.
Rhianna’s face relaxed a little. “That might work,” she admitted. “But as soon as you capture the assassin and your spy, Rolan will send more.”
Kevin nodded. “That’s why we’re not going to capture them. All we want to do is identify them, figure out who’s who in this game.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“We’re hoping the assassin will get tired of waiting for Landis and lead us back to their hideout. It would be nice to know what all the assassins look like.”
“But what’s the point? She’ll still be in danger whenever she comes to Milhaven.”
“I agree, and that’s why I’m going to find some other place for her to study when she leaves here. Milhaven’s not safe for either of you right now.”
Rhianna shook her head. “They’re not after me.”
“Unless they see you as an obstacle to getting to her.”
“Hope they do,” Rhianna mumbled.
“So, Landis, are you willing to go along with this?” Kevin asked.
Landis shrugged. “I can’t think of any reason why not.”
“Good. Now, we have four errands we can use, but we’re having trouble coming up with the last two. Did anything happen while you were there last time that we might be able to use?”
Landis frowned. “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” Kevin said. “Someone you met, someone you heard about that you’d like to meet? Something you’d like to see? Someplace you’d like to go? Anything like that.”
“Wait,” Rhianna said. “Did Marcus help you come up with the errands?”
Kevin shook his head. “He doesn’t know anything about this yet. Why?”
Rhianna turned to Landis and asked, “What about the kitten?”
“That’s right,” Landis said. “When we were there, Marcus lifted a cedar tree so we could rescue a kitten. We could hear it crying, but we couldn’t get to it, and the poor thing was so boxed in by tree branches it couldn’t get out. The lady who lived there said we could have it as soon as it was weaned if we wanted it. It should be old enough now. We could go get it.”
Kevin frowned. “We could use that, but if we make arrangements for you to pick up the kitten, we’ll have to get it. What are you going to do with it? Keep it here? Have you talked to the giants about it? Or Glendymere?”
Landis laughed. “I can’t picture Glendymere sharing his cave with a kitten, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask the giants. No, if we get it, we’ll take it to Crinsor Run.”
Kevin glanced at Rhianna, who nodded. “The kitten would love it there, and there are lots of other cats around for it to play with.”
“Do you remember the lady’s name?” Kevin asked.
Landis shook her head. “Sorry, but Marcus will. He knew her.”
“I’ll check with him. Anything else you can think of? We need one more.”
Rhianna snapped her fingers. “Remember the older lady? The one who brought us muffins and tea? I can’t remember her name, but she lived in the cabin that had the pine tree leaning against the chimney. We could always take her a basket. I bet Ashni would bake some stuff for her if we asked.”
“I’m sure she would,” Kevin said, “but one of the people we’re trying to check out is on the kitchen staff. We’ll ask her to get a basket together.” Then he looked at Landis. “Any chance you remember her name?”
Landis shook her head.
He glanced over at Rhianna, but she shook her head, too.
“Maybe Marcus will,” Kevin said. Then he stood up to go.
“When is this supposed to take place?” Rhianna asked.
“Sorry,” K
evin said. “I forgot to mention that. Next Saturday.” Then he looked at Landis. “I’ll be here to pick you up around 8:00.”
“We’ll be ready,” Rhianna said as she stood up.
“Uh, sorry Rhianna, but I’m only picking up Landis this time,” Kevin said. He felt his cheeks grow warm.
“What do you mean, only Landis?” Rhianna put her hands on her hips and fire flashed in her eyes.
“Remember what Saryn said? If he’d known an elf was with her, he wouldn’t have tried it?”
“Actually, he said if he’d known that both a sorcerer and an elf would be there he probably wouldn’t have tried it. Why not leave Marcus out? Send him somewhere else. I’ll stay with Landis.”
“I can’t send Marcus away, Rhianna. He knows where all the places are, and after last time, no one would believe for one minute I’d let her go anywhere without a sorcerer.” Kevin took a deep breath. “If you’re there, the assassins won’t try anything, and it’ll all be for nothing. It’s not like she’s going to be gallivanting all over the country side. She’s not going to leave the castle, and I’ll be with her the whole time.”
“Are you going to go to breakfast with her? While she’s making all these arrangements?”
“I hadn’t planned to, but if it’ll make you feel better, I can.”
“Rhianna, let it go,” Landis said sternly. “I’ll be fine.” Then she turned to Kevin. “Everything’s fine, just the way it is. I’ll be ready.”
With a quick nod, Kevin took out his key, but before he turned it, he looked at Landis. “Still got it?”
She frowned.
Kevin grinned. “The energy you were storing when I got here. You were going to try to hold it while we talked. Still got it?”
“Oh,” Landis said, her eyes lighting up. “Still there. Didn’t lose a drop!”
“Great,” Kevin said. Then he turned the key and left Willow Canyon.
~ ~ ~ ~
Kevin made a side trip to Shadron’s farm on his way back to the castle. He got there right as Shadron was coming out of the barn.
As Kevin started walking towards him, Shadron put down his bucket and asked, “What brings you out this way?”
“I’ve got a few questions, and I need to ask a favor.”
The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) Page 52
