The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “Sure. Your place or mine?” Joan stacked the papers she’d been going through and put them away.

  Kevin held out his arm. “Neither.”

  Joan raised her eyebrows and put her hand on Kevin’s arm. “Petri, if Karl asks, tell him I’m with Myron.”

  “She won’t be gone long,” Kevin said as he turned the key.

  When they emerged from the energy field, they were in the sitting room in Rainbow Valley. Joan looked around and asked, “Who’s staying here?”

  “No one. Why?”

  Joan pointed to the glowstone lamps. “Someone uncovered the glowstones. Or do you leave them that way?”

  Kevin shrugged. “I came out here to uncover them before I went by your office, but they were already uncovered. Sari comes down to the workroom most days. Maybe she leaves them uncovered.”

  Joan nodded and sat down. “Why are we here?”

  “Because you’re probably going to yell at me.”

  Joan arched her eyebrows again. “I am?”

  “Probably, and I thought you’d rather do it where no one will hear you.”

  Joan took a deep breath. “All right. Spill it.”

  Kevin hesitated a moment before starting. “As you know, Ariel’s eighteen years old, too old to be a page. It’s time for him to move on.”

  Joan narrowed her eyes and looked hard at Kevin. “Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you’re not going to take Petri.” Joan’s voice inched up in volume and pitch. “Please tell me I’m not going to lose him right before all those clinic reports start pouring in. Kevin!”

  “Joan, you’re right. I do want to move Petri to my office, but I won’t leave you in a lurch. I was thinking about moving Elin to your office to help you out.” The storm in Joan’s eyes raged on, so Kevin kept talking. “She’s come a long way since we got here. That first summer, before we held the competition, Chris put her in charge of getting updated sorcerer applications and current evaluations. He was trying to get her to focus on something, anything. At that point all she was good for was running errands and making copies of letters someone else had written. When he first gave her that assignment, Chris had to coach her every step of the way, but since then she’s matured, both as a person and as a secretary. Over the past year, she’s expanded her file on sorcerers to include all known sorcerers in Camden. Now we have updated information and new evaluations on all practicing and novice sorcerers. She found out who has an apprentice, who doesn’t but is willing to take one, and who isn’t. Whenever I have a question about any of them, she can either put her hands on the answer, or knows how to get it. She’s become a responsible and reliable aide, and I think she’d be a real asset to you.”

  Joan didn’t look convinced. “If she’s so valuable, so competent, why are you letting her go? What’s the catch?”

  Kevin sighed. “I don’t want to let her go. I want us to share her. I want her to continue taking care of the sorcerer files, but she’d be assigned to your office so she could help with any projects you undertake. She’d be a whiz at organizing the clinic stuff or anything else, but if you have any doubts about her, we’ll find someone new for your office and she can stay with us. It’s up to you.”

  Joan shook her head. “I don’t have time to train someone new. If I can’t have Petri, I’ll take Elin, but I’m not sure about this sharing idea. I have enough work to keep her busy all by myself.”

  “If both of us use Elin for the major stuff, we can let the other pages handle the everyday things like writing messages or running errands for both offices, like we did before Petri got there.”

  “How? Your office keeps four pages busy as it is. Keeping up with sorcerers is not anywhere near everything she does in your office. I know that no more than I’m in there. Someone will have to do all the other stuff she does, and when Ariel leaves, you’ll only have three left, which means they’ll have even more work than they do now, and I haven’t noticed any of them twiddling their thumbs a whole lot over the past year or so.” Joan shook her head. “I was already thinking I’d have to ask for help since Petri and I would have our hands full setting up the clinics. Now…” Joan stared into the distance. “Where’s Ariel going? And when’s all this going to happen?”

  Kevin paused. “How much do you know about Landis?”

  “I know she’s Rolan’s sister, and he wants her dead.”

  Kevin nodded. “He’s afraid of her. He thinks she’s going to try to kill him, and he’s right. She plans to challenge him as soon as she’s trained.”

  Joan frowned. “Why? Does she want his seat that bad?”

  Kevin shook his head. “The seat doesn’t figure into it. She’s convinced Rolan murdered her father and she wants to avenge his death. Actually, she blames him for her mother’s death too, but his role in that wasn’t as direct. Anyway, if she wins the duel, she’ll be the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, but she’s lived her whole life among the elves. She doesn’t know any more about what’s involved in running a province than we did. She needs someone to explain it to her. Basically, she needs a Tyree, and the best person I know of for that job is Ariel. He knows more about a sorcerer’s office than anyone I know. Chris and I would have been lost without him when we first got here. He taught us how to do it and he can teach her.”

  “You’re going to take him to wherever she is?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “And he’s willing to do it?”

  Kevin nodded again. “I talked to him about it last month but asked him not to mention it to anyone at this point.”

  “When’s he going?”

  “As of now, I’m planning to take him towards the end of the summer.”

  “Will Isak be head page at that point?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Isak will be eighteen this spring. Right now he’s leaning towards training and breeding horses, and if he goes into that, he’ll need to start an apprenticeship before long. We may be able to keep him for another year, but that’s it. Besides, he doesn’t want it, and even if he did, he’s not head page material. He doesn’t think fast enough and he’s not strong enough. But Petri’s a natural. I want him to take over when Ariel leaves, but, if he’s willing to do it, we need to get him in there now so Ariel can train him.”

  “What about the girls? They’re both older than he is and have been in your office a long time. Why can’t one of them do it?”

  “Cameryn’s already got one foot out the door. She’s pretty serious about the guy she’s seeing. I’m expecting her to tell us any day that she’s leaving to get married. Elin’s got good organizational skills and she’s shown a lot of initiative over the past year, but she works best on her own. Besides, she’s turning seventeen in a few months and may already be thinking in terms of what comes next. I hope she’ll find working with you interesting enough to stick around for another year or two. Petri’s not just the best choice, he’s the only choice.”

  “When are you planning to ask him?”

  “Later this week. I want everything settled before your reports start coming in.” Kevin paused. “But I won’t move him if you’re dead set against it.”

  “You have no idea how much I want to say no. He’s great to work with, and I’ll really miss him, but I know he wants to work in your office, and he’d love to be head page.” Joan sighed. “I don’t know what I’ll do without him, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “Yes, we will.”

  “Any plans underway for replacing any of them?”

  “We know of one girl who’s interested in becoming a page. Chris is going to talk to her and her parents next week. If he decides to take her, she’ll start training next month. But that’s the only one we know of.”

  Joan paused. “He’s not old enough yet, but Corey’s been talking about being a page ever since he started hanging around the castle.”

  “Maybe after we get things sorted out a little, we could bring him in to run errands for a few hours a week,” Kevin said. “He could work out of both offices. Thi
nk he’d like that?”

  “I know he would, but I don’t want him to spend his whole day inside. He’s still a kid.”

  “We’ll see how things go. If he changes his mind and wants to do something else, we’ll find someone else to run errands. If I remember correctly, when I was his age, I changed my mind about what I wanted to do when I grew up half a dozen times a day. By the end of the summer, he may want to be a soldier.”

  Joan smiled. “You know Petri’s planning to either be a guard or a soldier, don’t you?”

  Kevin nodded. “But he can’t do that yet, and in the meantime, I want him to be my head page.”

  “And he’ll be a good one,” Joan said as she stood up. “Guess we’d better get back before someone sends out a search party. Come on. Take me home.”

  ~~~~

  Christmas Day might not have been observed in the same way on Terah as on Earth, but it was still a holiday. In fact, it was the only holiday on Terah. All offices were closed and all sorcerers, including seated sorcerers, were off duty except in the case of life and death. Even the sisters took the day off with the sole exception of medical emergencies. It was a day for family. And for those without any family, it was a day of freedom, a day for fun. And for Isak, fun was horses.

  As soon as he ate breakfast, Isak headed out to the stables. Before he could do much more than get a saddle out of the tack room Kevin walked in. “Still like horses and stables?”

  Isak grinned. “Yes, sir.”

  Kevin leaned back against the wall. “How’s it going with Shadron?”

  “Great.” Then a slight frown knitted his eyebrows. “As far as I know. Is there a problem?”

  “No, I just wondered if you were enjoying it as much as you thought you would.”

  “Yes, sir, absolutely.”

  “And you want to keep going out there on your weekends off?”

  “If that’s all right.”

  “Then I need to talk to you about something. I’ve asked Ariel to do something for me which means he’ll be leaving next summer.”

  Isak’s face fell. “So you’ll need a new head page.”

  “But it doesn’t have to be you. We can get someone else.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, I’d like to keep going out to Shadron’s.”

  Kevin nodded. “And that’s fine. We thought that would be the case, but before we asked anyone else to take over, I wanted to talk to you.”

  Isak bit his lips. “I probably shouldn’t say anything, it’s not my place, but Cameryn won’t be able to do it.”

  “We sort of figured that.” Kevin smiled as he stood up. “Don’t worry. We’ll get it worked out, but I would like to ask you to stay on for a while, at least until Ariel trains someone to take his place.”

  Isak nodded. “I hadn’t planned to go anywhere.”

  “Good. If you decide you want to work with horses, you’ll need to set up an apprenticeship. I’d like to ask you to put that off for a year or so. Think you could do that?”

  Again, Isak nodded. Then he said, “Could I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you think it would be all right if, when the time comes, I ask Shadron if he’ll take me on as an apprentice?”

  Kevin smiled. “I don’t see a problem with it if that’s what you want to do.”

  “I do, but I didn’t want to ask him if you didn’t want me to.”

  “I think it’s a good idea, and if for some reason he’d rather not take on an apprentice right now, I’m sure he’ll help you find someone.” After Isak nodded again, Kevin said, “I’ll let you get on with your ride, but don’t mention what I told you. We’re not ready for everyone to know Ariel’s leaving yet.”

  “I won’t say anything.”

  “Thanks,” Kevin said as he turned to go. “Enjoy your ride.”

  ~~~~

  Kevin stopped by the dining hall when he left the stable and sat down next to Chris.

  “I’m surprised you’re still here,” Chris said. “I thought you’d be with Rhianna.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I’m picking her up after lunch. Doreen wanted everyone to have brunch this morning and spend some time together. When Rhianna told me last week, I thought it was a good idea, especially since the rest of them lost their families last year. Today’s going to be tough for them, but now I wish she hadn’t planned to join them. At least it’s only for a few hours.”

  “What are your plans for the afternoon?”

  “I don’t know yet, but they’ll definitely involve Rhianna and Nikki.”

  “Just let me know how to find you and leave me a key in case there’s an emergency. Marcus is in Bridgeport so I’m fresh out of sorcerers.”

  Kevin handed Chris the key to Terah. “You can always get Shadron or Kyle, or any of the others for that matter. And if you run out of them, I’m sure Laryn knows some sorcerers.” While Chris fastened the key on his chain, Kevin told him about talking to Isak.

  “And he’s okay with Petri?”

  “I didn’t mention Petri. Frankly I don’t think he cares as long as it’s not him, but he did agree to stay with us for another year or so to give us time to get things sorted out.”

  Chris nodded. “When are you going to talk to Petri?”

  “Tomorrow, I guess.”

  “Well, he was in the governor’s office a little while ago, and since you’ve got some free time today…”

  “Joan came in on Christmas Day?”

  Chris shook his head. “I didn’t see any sign of either Joan or Karl, but Petri was sitting at the table he uses as a desk.”

  “Doing what?”

  Chris shrugged. “He had a stack of papers in front of him.”

  “I’ll check on him when we leave here.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Kevin stopped by Joan’s office. “Why are you working today? We told everyone to take the day off.”

  “I want to make sure everything’s taken care of before the clinic reports start coming in next week.” Petri pointed to the stack of papers. “I think all of these have been handled, but I thought I’d go through them once more to be sure.”

  Kevin nodded. “If you’ve got a few minutes, I want to talk to you.”

  Petri set the paper he had in his hands down and looked at Kevin.

  “Let’s go to my office”.

  Petri followed Kevin to his office. Kevin shut the door and waved towards the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.” After they both sat down, Kevin said, “I’d like to talk to you about working in our office.”

  Petri frowned. “Have I done something to upset Joan? Or Karl?”

  Kevin shook his head. “No, nothing like that. Joan couldn’t be happier with your work. She was ready to kill me when I told her I wanted to move you in here.”

  Petri’s frown deepened.

  “Ariel’s agreed to do something for me that means he’ll have to leave Milhaven. I need a new head page, and I’d like for it to be you.”

  “Me?! Head page?!”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Why me? Why not Isak? Or Cameryn? Or Elin? They’ve all worked in here for years. They know how you want things done. I don’t.”

  “True, but I still want you.”

  “But they’d hate me!”

  Kevin shook his head. “No, I think you’ll find they’ll all be grateful. You know Isak goes out to Shadron’s on his weekends off, right?”

  Petri nodded.

  “He likes working with horses and he doesn’t want to give it up. Cameryn’s not interested in being a head page. And I have something else in mind for Elin.”

  “But what about Joan? She’ll have all those reports to sort through, and setting up those clinics will involve a lot of work. She’ll need help.”

  Kevin nodded. “I agree, and I’ll see to it she has all the help she needs. She and I talked about that when I asked her to let me have you.”

  “And she’s all right with it?”

  “Yes and no. She sai
d you’re the best assistant she’s ever had and she’ll miss you, but she agreed with the plan I have in mind.” Petri still looked unsure, so Kevin added, “I know you’re working with Darrell toward becoming a guard when you’re older. I think that’s a good plan, but you can’t be a guard for at least four or five years. We’d like to have you work in here until then, but the choice is yours. You can stay where you are and help Joan if you’d prefer, but I need to know your answer. If you can’t do it, I’ve got to find someone else. Ariel’s not going to be easy to replace and he needs all the time we can give him to train someone to take over.”

  Petri hesitated. “Could I have until tomorrow morning to decide? I’d like to think about it.”

  “And talk to Joan?”

  Petri’s cheeks grew pink. “I want to be sure she’s all right with it. She’s been good to me. I don’t want to upset her.”

  Kevin smiled. “I can give you until tomorrow morning, but I need to know one way or the other then.”

  Petri nodded. “Is there anything else?”

  Kevin shook his head. As he opened the door for Petri, he said, “I hope you’ll decide to join us. See you tomorrow.”

  ~~~~

  While Kevin and Chris were having coffee in Kevin’s room Friday morning, Kevin asked if there was anything on the day’s schedule.

  “Not that I know of. Why?”

  “Depending on what Petri says, I may want to meet with the pages.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem, but I thought you wanted to meet with Elin first.”

  “I do, if Petri says yes, but that shouldn’t take long.”

  Chris nodded. “Are you going to talk to Cameryn?”

  “Why? She’s not involved.”

  “No, but she’ll be the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on. I doubt she’s ever thought about being head page, but I’m not sure we should assume she doesn’t want it.”

  Kevin sighed. “What reason can I give her for not asking her to take over?”

  “Her age?”

  Kevin frowned. “Lousy reason.”

  “Not if you phrase it along the lines that taking over as head page would obligate her to stick around at least a couple more years and you don’t want to put that kind of constraint on her now that she’s old enough to pursue other interests if she wants to.”