“I’m glad things are going well. Is she still determined to fight Rolan?”
Warren nodded. “I don’t think a week’s gone by without her mentioning it at least once. It’s her primary objective. Challenge him and defeat him to avenge her father.”
“I was hoping she’d backed off on that, but I can’t say I’m surprised. Do you have any idea how long it’ll be before she’ll be able to defend herself.”
“That’s not an easy question to answer. There’s basic self-defense, then there’s defense against weapons such as arrows and knives, and then there’s defense in dueling.”
Kevin nodded but didn’t say anything.
“I’ve been expecting you to ask me something along those lines, so I worked out a projected time line, but it assumes she can keep this pace up, and I’m not sure she can. Plus we could hit a snag at any point and have to backtrack. I don’t want to let her go too fast. She could get hurt trying to do more than she’s ready for, so I may end up slowing her down.”
Kevin nodded again. “Let her take all the time she needs. I don’t want her rushed. There’s too much danger out there once she leaves the island for her to cut any corners.”
“I agree, but she pushes me to move on whenever I slow things down to let her practice. She needs to practice until things become as natural as breathing, but she gets restless if she doesn’t have new stuff to try.” Warren shook his head. “Anyway, if we don’t run into any problems, three years from now she should be able to put up a shield, sooner if things continue to go well. That doesn’t mean she’ll be ready to fight, much less challenge a seated sorcerer. And just so you know, I’m in no way qualified to teach her to duel. I can teach her to throw a shield up and use it to defend herself and anyone with her, but that’s it.”
“That’s all right. I’ll help with that, and I’m going to draft Glendymere when we start working on dueling.”
“Do you think he’ll help her learn how to duel? Knowing she plans to challenge Rolan?”
Kevin nodded. “He might not if she was planning to challenge anyone else, but it’s Rolan. Glendymere can’t stand him. It was all I could do to keep him from going after Rolan himself. And he’s not going to want to see her get killed. He’ll help us get her ready.”
Warren shook his head. “I don’t think I want to know what Rolan did to rile Glendymere.”
“Chris and I are the only ones who know, except Rolan of course. And he knows Glendymere’s still angry with him, too.” Kevin paused for a moment. “You know Landis has never lived around humans, right?”
Warren nodded. “She and I have talked about that. Following Marcus around was a good idea. Too bad it ended the way it did, but it helped her decide to become a sorcerer. She’s talked to Darwyn, too. And whenever we go over something new, I try to tie it into some task so she can see how to use it.” Then he laughed. “She used her outstretched hand to put her clean clothes away the other day. She was proud of that one.”
Kevin smiled. “The first time any of my friends saw me do any magic, I used mine to set the table for dinner.”
Warren laughed. “I’ll mention that to her. She could use the practice. She’s also talked to Cpt. Garen a little about how things were done around the castle.”
Kevin nodded. “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I’d never been around the castle or anything else related to being a seated sorcerer, so, while I was training with Glendymere, Laryn sent Tyree to coach me on how the castle and offices were run.”
“That’s a good idea, but would Tyree be willing to come to the island and stay until she’s ready to leave? He’s not a young man.”
“You know him?”
“I’ve known him probably as long as you’ve been alive, but we haven’t kept in touch for the past few years.”
“Well, I wasn’t thinking of asking him. I’ve got someone else in mind, someone who knows more about my office than I do. My head page, Ariel.”
“Oh, he would be good. Have you asked him yet?”
Kevin shook his head. “I wanted to see what you thought first. We’ll need time to set it up if he’s willing to do it. He’s eighteen. He may have something else in mind, an apprenticeship somewhere, and he may not want to put it off that long. He’ll be in his twenties when he comes back.”
“She’s already curious about how the castle works, and she’s going to start wondering what a seated sorcerer deals with on a daily basis, if she hasn’t already. You might want to tell her you’ll find someone to help her with that.”
“I don’t want to mention it yet. If I do, she’ll want him out there right now. She’s not the most patient person around.”
Warren laughed. “You’re right about that.”
Kevin stood up and looked at the empty plate. “When did we eat all the buns?”
“I don’t know. I blame it on gnomes when Torrey finds the cookie jar empty and accuses me of eating them all.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s take the dishes back to Ashni and see if Torrey’s ready to go.”
~~~~
Later that evening, after Kevin and Nikki were back in his room, Kevin told Chris about his conversation with Warren.
“When are you planning to take Ariel out there?” Chris asked. “Provided he wants to do it.”
“Next summer if at all possible. That would give him at least two years to work with her.”
Chris frowned. “Will it take that long to explain things? That’s longer than you trained to be Master Sorcerer.”
“Well, I want him to do a little more than teach her the finer aspects of running an office.”
“Such as?”
“How to set up a staff to run the castle, and maybe get her to consider running her castle without slaves, maybe the whole province. He can give her a little insight into how slavers operate and the lives they ruin.”
“She was raised by elves. She probably already hates the idea of slavery.”
“It’s not something elves worry about so they may not have talked to her about it. It’s not like she was in any danger of being captured.”
“True.”
“And I’d like for him to bring up taking care of the people in her province.”
“What do you mean?”
“Things like helping out with storm damage, making sure the sorcerers don’t overcharge or take advantage of people, mediating between sorcerers and ministers, listening when people say they need something and finding ways to help them get it. She needs to be aware that she’s responsible for everyone in her province. I doubt that thought has entered her mind.”
“Did it enter yours?”
“Truthfully, yes, but I didn’t have any idea how to do it. Fortunately, Joan’s good at it. And by the way, remind me to thank her for taking the lead on the clinics, and if she mentions anything else we need to look into, let me know.”
“She still wants to set up monthly meetings with the ministers’ wives on a rotating basis.”
Kevin nodded. “Tell her to set it up and one of us will provide transportation.” Then he sighed. “But tell her to find some way to let those women know I’m not in the market for a wife, so forget the matchmaking.”
Chris laughed. “She could say someone from her office will handle the transportation. That would take you out of the picture.”
“Fine with me, but who? There are only three of them, and one’s a teenager.”
“I can go, or maybe I should take Petri with me and teach him how to do this. If he’s going to be our head page one day, it wouldn’t hurt for him to know how.”
Kevin thought for a moment. “Does Ariel know how to use the key?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Find out, and if he doesn’t, teach him. If I do take him to the island next summer, let’s wait until after the ministers’ conference. He can go in my place.”
Chris laughed. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“I’m sure there’s more stuff he
’ll need to go over with Landis. I’ll start making a list. You need to make one, too. Then, if he says he’ll do it, we’ll have some notes to give him, like a syllabus. And there’s one other thing I want him to do, but I’m not going to mention it at this point.”
“What?”
“When she’s ready to learn to duel, I’m going to ask his opinion of her temperament. I’m not sure I want to teach her the offensive techniques of dueling if she’s not completely in control of her emotions. And I’m also not sure it’s a good idea to help her get ready to challenge Rolan if she’s going to take advantage of the position. I do not want to create another Rolan, or another Gwendolyn, or even another Gaynor.”
“Surely Warren can let you know about that.”
“Oh, I’ll ask him too, but his time with her is spent on magic. The conversations Ariel and Landis will have will be philosophical as well as practical, and that’s where her opinions will come in.”
Chris nodded. “And Ariel will notice.”
~~~~
Monday morning after sorting the mail, deciding what needed to be done, and making the first assignments of the day, Ariel looked at Isak. “Before you start, Myron needs to see you for a minute.”
“Me?” Isak asked, “Did I do something?”
“Not that I know of.” Ariel went back to the papers on his desk. “Go on. He’s waiting.”
Isak slowly walked across the room and knocked on Kevin’s door, cracked it open, and leaned his head in. “You wanted to see me?”
Kevin nodded and motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
Isak sat down on the edge of the chair and licked his lips, wondering what he’d done wrong.
“Shadron dropped by here Saturday afternoon after he left the stable. He said you were out there helping Marshall.”
Before Kevin could say anything else, Isak spoke up. “Don’t blame Marshall. He didn’t ask me to help him. I offered. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to be out there.”
Kevin quickly shook his head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Shadron wasn’t upset with you. Just the opposite.” Kevin took a breath. “You like working with horses, don’t you?” Isak nodded. “And you think you might be interested in learning how to train and breed?” Again, Isak nodded. “Well, Shadron wants to give you an opportunity to find out. He’s invited you to spend your weekends off working with him on his farm. Would you like to do that?”
Isak’s whole face lit up. “Really? Work with your uncle?”
A smiled tugged at the corner of Kevin’s mouth as he nodded. “If you want to.”
“More than anything,” Isak said, “but are you sure it’ll be all right with Chris?”
The smile spread across Kevin’s face. “He and I have already talked about it.”
“When can I start? I work next weekend, but I’m off the next. Can I go then?”
Kevin nodded. “One of us will take you out on Friday afternoon and pick you up after dinner Sunday. Would that be all right?”
“Yes, yes, of course,” Isak said. “And you’re sure it’s all right for me to go?”
“I can’t guarantee there won’t be a weekend when we’ll need all four of you in the office, but right now we don’t have anything like that planned. You might want to let Marshall know you won’t be around on your weekends off anymore though. Actually, you can ask him if he’d like to go with you sometime. He has a standing invitation.”
Isak nodded.
“And keep in mind this is an invitation, not an assignment. If you decide it’s not for you, all you have to do is say so. No one will get angry if you want to stop. Shadron’s offering to let you find out if you want to do this before you start an apprenticeship somewhere. It’s hard work, and if you don’t like it, you’d be miserable, and from what I understand, most horsemanship apprenticeships are for a minimum of three years, most for five.”
“I’d never been around horses until you took us to his farm last winter. I really had a good time and I’ve been thinking about trying to find an apprenticeship when I get old enough ever since we came back. Do you think he might help me find one later, when I’m ready?”
“If you end up liking it as much as you think you will, I’m sure he will,” Kevin said. “Do you have any questions?”
Isak shook his head. “Not that I can think of.”
“All right. I’ll let him know to expect you the first weekend of November.”
~~~~
Shortly after Isak left, Ariel knocked on Kevin’s door. “Sister Agnes would like to speak with you if you have a moment.”
Kevin stood up as he said, “Show her in.”
Once Sister Agnes was in and the door was shut, Kevin asked, “Is Laryn all right?”
Sister Agnes frowned and then smiled. “As far as I know she’s fine. I haven’t made it out to see her today. I was here to see you. Mind if I have a seat?”
“I’m sorry. Please.” Kevin motioned to the chairs in front of his desk. “Can we get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Something from the kitchen?”
Sister Agnes’s smile widened. “No, I’m fine, but thank you.” Then she chuckled. “Relax. I’m just delivering a message.”
Kevin nodded. “It took me off balance for a moment. I know Laryn’s due before long, and she’s not exactly young…”
Sister Agnes shook her head. “You’re thinking in human terms. She has enough elf in her that she’s nowhere near as old as a human woman of the same age. She’s fine. No, I came to see you at the request of that nice young couple, Sean and Kitra.” Then Sister Agnes explained that they had seen a man in the tavern Friday evening that Kitra thought she knew. “She wasn’t positive it was the man she’d known in Trendon, but if it is, he was one of the castle guards. Sean was in the tavern for lunch today so he asked Fenway if he knew anything about the man, that his wife thought she’d recognized him from somewhere but couldn’t place where. Fenway didn’t know much, but he said the man’s name was Gildan. He grew up in Riordan, lived in Nandelia, then Brendolanth, and was now exploring Camden. From what Fenway said, the man got up early Saturday morning and rode out of town.” Sister Agnes shrugged. “Sean said he can’t be sure it’s the same man and since the man’s already left Milhaven, he started not to say anything. But if it is the man Kitra’s thinking of, there’s no way he’s here by coincidence. If it’s him, he’s here for a reason, Rolan’s reason, so he thought you ought to know.”
Kevin nodded. “Next time you see Sean, tell him I said thanks, and to let me know if he sees anyone else the least bit suspicious.”
Sister Agnes stood up. “I already did, but I’ll tell him again. Now, unless there’s something else, I’m going to check on Laryn.”
Kevin walked Sister Agnes to the door and opened it for her. “Thank you for playing go-between.”
Sister Agnes nodded. “It’s no problem. See you soon.”
After Sister Agnes left, Kevin told Chris about their conversation.
“Wish we knew one way or the other,” Chris said.
“Even if he was one of Rolan’s guards, there’s no way to know whether or not he still is. He could have quit and left. At any rate, he didn’t do anything wrong while he was here. And now that he’s left town, there’s not much chance he will, at least not anything that would justify my picking him up and taking him back to Trendon.”
Chris stood up to go. “Guess we’ll have to see what happens next. I hate having to wait until we know Rolan’s moves before we can counter them. Wish there was some way to block him first.”
“I do too, but there isn’t, not without a crystal ball.”
~~~~
Tuesday morning, Darrell was waiting for Kevin when he got back from breakfast. “If you’ve got a minute, I need to see you,” Darrell said as he followed Kevin into his office. “You too, Chris.”
After the three men were seated, Darrell said, “While I was in Fenway’s last night, he told me about a visitor we had over the weekend.�
� Then he told Kevin and Chris about Gildan, what he’d told Fenway, and the questions he asked. “It may have been innocent curiosity, but I can’t shake the feeling there’s more to it.”
“Did Fenway say what he looked like?” Kevin asked. “Or where he was headed?”
“From what the man told Fenway, he’s looking for a spot to settle for a while, but we don’t know which way he went. When I asked Fenway what he looked like, he said he had his hair. Fortunately Ainsley gave me a pretty good description, but I’m not sure how much help it’ll be. It could fit half a dozen of the guards. Steve was in there that night with your uncles. I was hoping he could give us a sketch, but when I asked him if he’d noticed the guy Fenway was sitting with, he hadn’t. Anyway, I thought I’d meet with the guards and tell them to keep an eye out for anyone matching Ainsley’s description.”
Kevin nodded. “But tell them not to do anything other than let you know. I don’t want people to be overly suspicious of strangers, but we do need to keep our guard up, especially now that Rolan’s out of spies.”
“As far as we know. We may not have found them all.”
“True,” Kevin said.
“Well, that’s all I needed to see you about.” Darrell stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’m heading outside.”
“Thank you. Let me know if you hear anything else.”
After Darrell left, Chris asked, “What are you going to do?”
“We don’t know enough to do anything.” Kevin leaned back in his chair for a moment. “But why would Rolan or anyone else be interested in my aunts and uncles?”
“Well, one thing comes to mind. They’re sorcerers, and you have an apprentice who’s obviously not with you.”
“But I all but told him she’s on Earth.”
“You’re assuming he’s smart enough to figure that out. I think you’re overestimating him.”
“No, I’m sure he got the message. As to whether or not he believed it though…” After a moment Kevin added, “Think I’ll make a few quick trips after lunch and let them know to be on guard.”
The Rambling Spy Page 25
