The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “Since she’s worried about being the seated sorcerer, does this mean she’ll win?”

  Yvonne shook her head. “If that were the case, the question would have been phrased differently, as in ‘what am I supposed to do now?’ The way the question was asked in the vision means it’s either on her mind now or will be soon.”

  “So what am I supposed to do about it?”

  Yvonne smiled. “The same thing Laryn did for you. Find her a Tyree, someone who’s worked in an office and can teach her the basics of running one.”

  “At some point, she’ll need an assistant,” Badec added, “Nice if one person could do both, but you can’t choose her assistant. That needs to be someone she’s comfortable with and has complete faith in.”

  “And that person has to be willing to do it,” Yvonne mentioned. “It’s more a way of life than a job.”

  “Chris would agree with you there,” Kevin said. “All right. I’ll see if I can find someone to work with her on setting up an office. The assistant can wait a while. Thanks.”

  “Anytime,” Yvonne said as she took Badec’s hand. “I’m afraid it’s time for us to go now. Take care of yourself, and your elf.”

  After Yvonne and Badec faded, Kevin sat down on the chair and thought about what his mother had said. He had the beginnings of a plan for getting Landis her own Tyree, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it about. Maybe Chris could help with that. He’d run it by him later, after everyone had gone home. With a quick nod to himself, he got up and went back to bed.

  ~~~~

  By late afternoon Saturday, the men had finished their work on the nursery, including arranging the furniture. Laryn, her sisters, Kayla and Mia were busy sorting, organizing, and putting away all the baby clothes and supplies Laryn had accumulated so far.

  While the women worked, the men scattered. Kyle found Marshall and Nikki, Shadron went to the stable to check on the horses, Craven visited with Neiven, Steve and Dayed drew up plans for things like playpens and rocking horses, and Sedwin joined Norrie and Teron in the playground.

  Shortly before dinner, Kevin and Chris were in Kevin’s office when Kyle knocked on the door and asked, “Are you busy?”

  “Not really,” Kevin answered. “What do you need?”

  “If one of you has a moment, I’d like to go home.”

  “Are you done with the nursery?” Chris asked.

  Kyle nodded and then shrugged. “Well, we’re done with our part. The girls are oohing and aahing over baby clothes and stuff. It’ll take them half the night to get it put away at the rate they’re going.”

  Kevin smiled. “Is Laryn having a good time?”

  “I guess so,” Kyle answered. “At least she hasn’t told anyone to go away yet.”

  Chris laughed. “Guess that’s a good sign.”

  Kevin took off his key and handed it to Chris. “I want to get these messages finished and sent out before dinner. Chris can take you. All he’s doing right now is distracting me.”

  “Then we’ll get out of here and let you get to it,” Kyle said.

  Shortly after Kyle and Chris left, Shadron knocked on Kevin’s door and asked if he could see him for a minute.

  “I was out at the stable,” Shadron began.

  “Any problems?” Kevin asked

  Shadron shook his head. “Nothing like that. Isak was out there.”

  Kevin nodded. “It’s his weekend off.”

  “Did you know he spends most of his free time out there?”

  Again, Kevin nodded. “He and Marshall have become friends, probably because of Nikki. The pages fight over which one will get to take care of her when she’s not with Marshall.”

  “Maybe that’s where it started, but Isak’s main interest out there is the horses. From what I picked up, Marshall’s teaching him how to groom them, feed and water them, and take care of their tack. Isak enjoys all of that, but while we were talking he mentioned he’d like to learn how to train them.”

  “I had no idea,” Kevin said. “He’s never said anything about that to us. Do you think he was serious or was it just a stray thought?”

  “From the way he talked, he’s been thinking about it since he stayed with us last winter. How would you feel about letting him come up to my place on his weekends off and find out if this is really what he wants to do? If it is, I could take him on as an apprentice when he’s ready.”

  “That’s a good idea. He’s seventeen. He needs to start thinking about his future.”

  “It means you’ll have to find a new page.”

  “Actually, I’ll need to find three. Don’t say anything to anyone, but we think Cameryn will be getting married within a year or so, and Ariel’s already eighteen. He’ll be moving on soon.”

  “Any idea what he wants to do?”

  Kevin shook his head. “He’s never said, but I haven’t asked either. I may need to do that before long.”

  “Do you want me to talk to Isak about coming up to my place, or do you want to?”

  “I’ll do it,” Kevin answered. “I’ll talk to him Monday and see what he says.”

  Shadron nodded as he stood up. “Now, if you have time, I’d like to go home. Kayla’s busy at Laryn’s, but my part’s done and I have things to do at home.”

  “Chris just took Kyle. He should be back by now,” Kevin said as he stood up. “Of course if he started playing with the dogs, there’s no telling when he’ll get back.”

  At that point, there was a quick knock on the door. Chris opened it and said, “Just wanted to let you know I’m back.”

  “Good,” Kevin said. “Would you mind taking Shadron home?”

  “No problem.” Chris grinned. “Anything to keep me out of the office.” Then he looked at Shadron. “I’ll be right here when you’re ready to go.”

  “I’m ready now.” As he was leaving Kevin’s office, Shadron looked back and said, “Let me know what he says.”

  “I will,” Kevin agreed. “Sometime Monday.”

  Chapter 26

  Making Plans

  After Kyle and Shadron went home, things settled down in the office, but as soon as the rest of the family finished eating dinner, they grabbed their bags and lined up to go home. Once everyone was back where they belonged, Kevin and Nikki headed for Doreen’s to go for a walk with Rhianna. While they walked, Kevin mentioned his conversation with Shadron.

  “I think it’s a good idea,” Rhianna said. “That way Isak can find out if it’s for him before starting an apprenticeship.” Then, after a moment, she asked, “How would he arrange an apprenticeship anyway? I thought the fathers took care of that, and from what I understand, his father’s dead.”

  “It’s harder for a young man to arrange one on his own, but it can be done. But in his case, or any of the pages, we’d take care of it.”

  “Who? You and Chris?”

  “I’d be the one to make the request, but I’d want Cryslyn to recommend a mentor. The only tradesmen I know live and work in Milhaven.”

  “What about the ones from where you grew up?”

  Kevin shook his head. “That’s not an option.”

  Rhianna frowned. “Why not?”

  “It just isn’t. Now, how would you like to go see Landis tomorrow afternoon? We can’t go until dinnertime, but we can stay as long as you like.”

  “Don’t you have a rule about whoever goes out there has to stay?”

  “That rule’s for anyone connected to Rolan. Theresa’s been to see Sister Brena and to Rainbow Valley. Torrey’s been to visit Ashni and I brought Darwyn here to see someone.”

  “Can we take Nikki?”

  “I don’t see why not. But since there’s no point in going until late afternoon, is there anywhere else you want to go?”

  “I should go see Mother, but I don’t want to stay long. Could we drop by on our way to Elsewhere?”

  Kevin nodded. “I bet Landis would like to see your parents. She hasn’t been home in quite a while.”

  “Are
you sure it’s safe for her to be there?”

  “Caelan said Rolan’s men are out of North Amden, and if I take her straight to your mother’s kitchen, who’d know she’s there anyway?”

  “Mother would love it.” A smile spread across Rhianna’s face. “And it would put the focus on Landis, not me.”

  Kevin laughed. “Then let’s do it. I need to talk to Warren anyway and we may end up going to Willow Canyon to see Glendymere. I can leave Nikki with Xantha while I’m gone.”

  “If Xantha’s not in Crinsor Run, she can stay with me at Mother’s.”

  By that time, they’d circled back to Doreen’s. “Guess I’d better head back to the castle. There are a couple of things I need to talk to Chris about.”

  Rhianna squeezed his hand. “Then I’ll say goodnight and let you be on your way. See you tomorrow.”

  ~~~~

  Later that evening, Kevin and Chris sat down in Kevin’s room with a plate of cookies and a pitcher of scog. After Chris caught Kevin up on the bits that had come up while he was gone, he said, “You’ve got to do something about Dara.”

  “I wish I could. What’s she done now?”

  “She keeps pestering everyone. She started in on Neiven today.”

  “Why?”

  “She wanted to know what kind of women he liked, what his plans for the future were, and so on. He told her he was happy just like he was and planned to stay right here until he dropped dead. She kept on until he finally left.”

  “Left?”

  “He told her he needed to see Korman and she’d have to excuse him. Then she grabbed Marshall.”

  “He’s too young to be thinking along those lines.”

  “I know, but she’s nothing if not persistent. Anyway, Marshall said since he was part elf, he’d probably marry an elf. That shut her up. But Ariel and Isak weren’t so lucky. I sent them on some errands to rescue them.”

  “I’m surprised you stuck your head out of my office if she was there.”

  Chris rolled his eyes. “When she said she needed to see me, I told her I had all I could handle and unless it involved blood or smoke, she’d have to wait until another time.”

  Kevin laughed. “You know she’ll be back when Laryn’s baby’s born.”

  “And again for the signing of the register. Danyelle and Allisandra will probably make a big deal out of that.”

  “Why? We didn’t do that for Lysette.”

  Chris thought for a moment. “You’re right. After everyone saw the baby and made sure Allisandra was all right, they went home. Maybe we can get out of that one.”

  “Tell Cryslyn what’s going on and that we’d like to avoid having her here if we can. Maybe she can take care of it. If not, we’ll have to muddle through the best we can. I don’t want to hurt Dayed’s feelings by leaving them out.”

  Chris nodded.

  “There’s something else I want to talk to you about,” Kevin said. “Shadron mentioned that Isak’s been spending a lot of time out at the stable.”

  “I know. He likes horses, and I think it’s good for Marshall to be around someone his own age. Does Shadron have a problem with it?”

  “No. In fact, he thinks Isak may be interested in training and breeding. He asked me if Isak would like to go up to his place on his weekends off and help out around the stable to see if he wants to pursue an apprenticeship in horsemanship.”

  “With Shadron?”

  “If that’s what Isak wants. Shadron said he’d be willing to take Isak on if he decides that’s what he wants to do.”

  Chris sipped his scog. “If he’s as interested in this as I think he’ll be, we can use this to explain why we’re looking for someone else to replace Ariel.”

  “Let’s see how it goes with Shadron first. He might try it and find out he’s not as keen on it as he thinks. We should know something by the end of the year. In the meantime, I have another idea I need to talk to you about.”

  “Okay,” Chris said hesitantly. “Why do I get the feeling I may not like this one?”

  “It’s about Landis. I’m going to talk to Warren tomorrow and see how she’s coming along and if he has any idea how long it’ll be before she can defend herself.”

  “Will he know at this point?”

  Kevin shrugged. “He might not, but when I asked him before I took them to the island, he said give him a couple of months and he might have an idea.”

  “Why does it matter?”

  “Landis is in the same spot I was as far as knowing what this is all about. That’s why I brought her here to follow Marcus around, to see what sorcerers do on a daily basis. All she knew was that they killed each other in duels.”

  Chris nodded. “But now she has Warren and Darwyn to explain all that to her.”

  “Right. But the last time I talked to her, she was still determined to challenge Rolan, and if she does that and wins, she’ll be the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth.”

  “And?”

  “She won’t know any more about what that means than I did. She needs a Tyree.”

  Chris exhaled a long breath.

  “I was thinking Ariel could do it. He knows more about what goes on in that office than I do.”

  Chris laughed. “I hate to say it, but you’re right. But he might not be willing to do it. He’s got to start thinking about his own future, how he’s going to earn a living.”

  “He’s a good office manager. He could work for a district minister or someone like that man Doreen was planning to marry, the one who had all those different businesses. I’m sure we can find him a position somewhere. If nothing else, he can apprentice with Cryslyn and help Serra when she takes over.”

  “If he wants to work in an office. We need to find out what his plans are before we mention any of this.”

  “Can you take care of that?”

  Chris nodded. “When do you need to know?”

  “I don’t know. Let me see what Warren says tomorrow.”

  ~~~~

  Sunday was quiet around the castle, so Kevin had no problem slipping away before dinner. He and Nikki picked Rhianna up and headed for Crinsor Run. When Rhianna told Gwynn that she and Landis would be joining them for dinner, Gwynn started pulling out ingredients for Landis’s favorite foods.

  While Rhianna was with her mother, Kevin and Nikki went in search of Xantha. Once Nikki was settled with the pegasus, Kevin and Rhianna left to go get Landis.

  It was barely dawn when they got to the island, so Kevin left Rhianna to wake Landis while he went to see if Warren and Torrey were up yet. When he got to their cave, he used his seeing eye to check the kitchen. Torrey was at the stove and Warren was drinking coffee at the table.

  Kevin knocked on the cave wall and called out, “Good morning. It’s me, Myron.”

  Torrey had a cup of coffee poured and on the table for him when he got to the kitchen. He sat down opposite Warren and said, “Thanks, Torrey.”

  “What’s got you out here so early?” Warren asked.

  “I’m going to take Landis to Crinsor Run and let her spend some time with Gwynn and Hayden. Rhianna’s waking her up now.”

  “Oh, that’s a good idea,” Torrey said as she turned to look at him.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Warren asked.

  Kevin hesitated. “I think so. Supposedly Rolan’s men are out of North Amden, but I’m taking them straight to Gwynn’s kitchen. Rhianna will make sure Landis stays out of sight.”

  “Should be all right then.” Torrey picked up her cup and joined them. “She needs to go home once in a while.”

  Kevin grinned. “Is that a hint? Do you want to go to Walnut Springs for the day?”

  “You mean for the night?” Warren asked with a grin.

  “Well, you’re right. It’s dinnertime in Camden now, but you could still visit for a while, or stay a couple of days if you want to.”

  Torrey shook her head. “Thanks, but not today. I’d rather adjust my sleeping a bit before I go. What about next week
end? Could you pick me up Friday night? That would be your Saturday morning, and bring me back Sunday around this time?”

  Kevin nodded. “We can do that.” Then he looked at Warren. “Since Landis is going to Crinsor Run, I thought you and I could go to Rainbow Valley and talk for a bit.”

  Torrey’s eyes lit up. “Can I go? I could visit Ashni while you two talk.”

  “Fine with me,” Kevin said.

  “I hate to ask, but could we have breakfast first?” Warren asked, looking back and forth between Kevin and Torrey. “I’m hungry.”

  Torrey laughed and got up. “If you can give us half an hour, we can eat and be ready to go.”

  Kevin nodded. “I’ll be back after I take Landis and Rhianna to Crinsor Run.”

  Landis was barely awake, but she and Rhianna were waiting in front of her cave when Kevin got back. Fifteen minutes later, they were having tea with Gwynn and Kevin was back on the island. He made a quick stop by Theresa’s cave to see if she needed anything and then made his way back to Warren’s cave. By the time he got there, they were waiting out front.

  When Kevin and Warren dropped Torrey off, Ashni said, “You are in luck. I made cinnamon buns this morning and I have some left over. Wait a minute while I get them for you.”

  Five minutes later, Kevin and Warren headed down to the sitting room in the caves with a plate full of buns and a pitcher of milk. Once they were settled, Kevin picked up a bun and looked at it. “It’s a wonder I’m not as big as a house as much food as I eat.”

  Warren laughed as he picked one up, too. “Magic takes a lot of energy, so we need to eat a lot. At least that’s the excuse I use. Now, what’s on your mind?”

  “How’s Landis doing?”

  “I thought that might be what you wanted to talk about. She’s doing quite well. She picks things up quicker than any sorcerer I’ve ever worked with. She can store almost as much energy as I can, and she does it quickly. She focuses her attention better than most fully trained sorcerers. Working with Glendymere put her years ahead of schedule. She can light a candle, search the valley floor for someone, and move objects several feet and set them down gently on target. And considering we’ve only been working together a little over six months, that’s remarkable.”