The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  After dropping her bag off in his office, Rhianna went in search of Kevin, who was mingling with the guests. For the next several hours the two of them made the rounds. Everyone wanted to talk to her, to tell her how much they’d enjoyed having her there and were looking forward to when she could come back to stay.

  Finally, around four, Miranda cornered Rhianna. “Everyone’s waiting for you to cut the cake so they can have a slice.”

  “Cake?”

  “Come with me.” Miranda led Rhianna and Kevin into the dining room. Two tables had been pushed together and spaced out along the centers were three three-tier cakes. “Blair baked them and Joan did the decorating.” Miranda gave a little chuckle. “She finished the last one fifteen minutes ago.”

  All three cakes were decorated with flowers, shells, and swirls, definitely feminine. The first cake had “Best Wishes” on top. The one on the other end had mountains with “Safe Travels”. But the largest cake was in the middle and had “Hurry Back” on top.

  As everyone gathered around Rhianna and the cakes, Miranda handed her a knife. “First cut’s yours.”

  “It’s too pretty to cut,” Rhianna said as tears gathered in her eyes.

  “Don’t say that too loud. We might have a mutiny on our hands,” Kevin said. “Lots of people have been waiting all day to get at these cakes, me included.”

  Rhianna laughed, bit her lips, and made the first cut. A cheer went up and lines were formed as bowls of ice cream were carried out of the kitchen. For the next hour, chaos reigned as people ate cake and ice cream to their heart’s content. When the last of the cake was served, folks started heading home.

  After most of the people had gone, Rhianna managed a quiet moment with Steve to tell him how much she appreciated the sketches. While she was talking to him, a couple of the guards told her everyone was heading to the tavern, but Fenway had said he wasn’t going to serve any scog until she and Kevin got there, that the first pours went to them, so she might want to hurry up.

  From the looks of things when she and Kevin walked in, the whole town was at Fenway’s. There were people she knew well, some she knew to speak to, and some she’d only seen in passing, but they all wished her well and told her to hurry back.

  After everyone had been served, Tolliver stood up and got everyone’s attention. He asked Rhianna to stand. He said she’d brightened up the town when she came, that knowing her added sunshine to their days, and they were all looking forward to the time when their ray of sunshine returned.

  By the time he finished talking, Rhianna was bright red and had tears in her eyes. Then he picked up a small wooden chest and handed it to her. On top of the little chest was a tapestry inset with “Home Is Where the Heart Is. Milhaven, Camden” embroidered on it.

  Kevin and Rhianna stayed until most of the townspeople had gone and only guards and soldiers remained. When they got outside, they started walking aimlessly down the boardwalk. After a bit, Kevin asked, “Where to? Doreen’s?”

  Rhianna shook her head. “We’ve already said our goodbyes. When I left this morning, I told them I was heading home.”

  “Oh. I didn’t realize you were leaving tonight.”

  “Well, that’s up to you.

  “What do you mean?

  “I thought I’d spend my last night in Camden with you.

  Kevin turned towards Rhianna and took her hands in his. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”

  Rhianna nodded.

  “Are you sure?

  With a little laugh, Rhianna said, “I’m more sure about that than anything else.”

  “But what about your stuff?

  “I’ve already packed. The stuff I’m leaving here is either in a chest in one of the castle storerooms or in a box at Doreen’s. The stuff I’m taking with me is in a bag in your office. I stuck it in there when I got there this afternoon.

  Kevin smiled and took out his key. A few moments later, they were in the main office where Chris and Nikki were waiting. Kevin squeezed her hand. “Let me talk to Chris for a moment.”

  Rhianna sat down on the couch and called Nikki. While Rhianna made a fuss over her, Kevin motioned for Chris to join him in his office.

  After he shut the door, Kevin said, “Rhianna’s staying with me tonight.”

  “At the castle? Or with you?”

  “With me.

  Chris smiled. “I’ll sleep in the room I used when we first got here. Want me to keep Nikki with me?”

  “Unless Rhianna wants her to stay with us. I’ll need to ask her about that.” Kevin paused. “I’d rather not have a big fuss made over this. I think I’ll use the key to take us upstairs. Can you bring Nikki up with you? And could you pick up some scog? And maybe some fruit and cheese?”

  Chris nodded and as he left Kevin’s office, he asked Nikki if she wanted to go for a walk. She ran to the door, tail wagging. “Well, guess that answers that,” Chris said as he opened the door.

  After the two of them left, Kevin closed up the office and took out his key. He put his arm around Rhianna, gave the key a turn, and took the two of them up to his room.

  When they got there, Rhianna looked around. “Funny, but I always thought there were stairs leading up to this level.”

  “I thought it would be better to keep this quiet. You’ll be in North Amden, but I’ve got to stay here, and I’d rather not have to answer an endless slew of questions.”

  Rhianna laughed. “And you would, and not just from your staff. Word would spread throughout the land.” Then, after a moment, she said, “I hadn’t considered the problems this might cause. Would you rather I not stay?”

  Kevin took her hand, led her to the couch, and sat down. “No, I want you here, more than you could possibly know. I just don’t want it to become the main topic of conversation for the next month. It’s going to be hard enough to have to live here without you. I don’t want to have to answer a lot of questions about it all day long.”

  Rhianna squeezed his hand and then let it go. “I’m going to miss you.

  Kevin slipped his arm around her shoulders. “You’ll be so busy you won’t have time to think about it, and I hate to say it, because when I’m busy it means someone’s got problems, but I hope I’m too busy to do a lot of thinking, too.

  “And it’ll make the times we do have together that much more special.”

  “Speaking of those times, let Xantha know as soon as you can get away for a bit, even if it’s only for a few hours.”

  Rhianna sighed. “There won’t be much time off, at least for a while. Definitely not for the first few months. It’ll be seven days a week with no breaks. That’s when the weak ones, the ones who either don’t have the physical strength or the commitment, are weeded out.”

  Kevin nodded. “I know. I’m not trying to pressure you, just saying I’m already looking forward to your first break. We’ll need to do something special. Any ideas?”

  “Not at the moment, but I’ll think about it and let you know.”

  Meanwhile, Chris and Nikki took a quick walk around the backyard so Nikki could take care of business. Then they made a trip by the kitchen where Chris loaded fruit, cheese, bread, and a few brownies on a tray, along with a pitcher of scog and two mugs. When he passed Rupert at the bottom of the stairs, he said, “If anything comes up tonight and you need Myron, wake me first, but I won’t be in my regular room. I’ll be in the first room on the left down the short hall.”

  Rupert raised his eyebrows for a second and then smiled. “I understand. Have a good night.”

  Chris climbed the stairs and went past his room to Kevin’s door and knocked. When Kevin opened it, Chris handed him the tray, and grabbed Nikki’s collar. “Come on, girl. You’re with me tonight.”

  “No, Chris. Let her stay,” Rhianna insisted. “This is her room. There’s no reason for her to leave.”

  Kevin looked back and forth between Nikki and Rhianna. “She’s used to sleeping on the bed.”

  Rhianna glanced at the
bed and shrugged. “It’s a big bed.”

  Chris grinned and gave Kevin a quick nod. “Let me know if she changes her mind. I’ll be in my old room.”

  “Thanks, Chris.”

  While Rhianna made a fuss over Nikki, Kevin set the tray down and poured each of them a mug of scog. “Want something to eat?”

  Rhianna looked at the tray and smiled. “Looks wonderful. Whose idea was that?”

  “Chris asked if we wanted something. I suggested fruit and cheese. The brownies were his idea.”

  “Well, my thanks to both of you. I’m starving.”

  “I can get you something more substantial if you want.”

  “No, this is fine. For someone who was surrounded by food all day, I didn’t manage to get much of it.”

  “You were too busy being gracious to everyone who wanted to tell you goodbye.” Kevin handed Rhianna a small plate and took one for himself. “I heard the women at Doreen’s gave you something special. What was it?”

  “Oh, I meant to show it to you, but with all the fuss today, I forgot. Doreen asked Steve to draw some sketches of them for me to take with me.” Then she described the pictures he’d drawn. “They’re absolutely wonderful. I have no idea when they asked him to do it or how long it took him, but I owe him a big thank you. I did tell him thank you today, but I want to do more than that. Do you know of anything he wants?”

  Kevin shook his head. “No, but I’ll keep an eye out for something. Maybe Laryn would know.”

  “I thought about asking her, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to her privately today. Would you see what you can find out?”

  Kevin nodded, and for the next hour they chatted about the events of the day, and while they talked, they ate. When they’d finished off everything but two brownies, Kevin picked one up and put the other on Rhianna’s plate.

  “I’m going to miss this place, and the people,” she said as she broke off a piece of the brownie. “Having a cup of tea with Doreen before the day starts. The walks you and I take at the end of it. My gardens. And the classes up here. I love the strenuous workouts with the guards, the gentle coaching for self-defense, and the fun of watching Laryn and Marshall work with their gifts. I’m going to miss it all. But I’ll miss you most. And Nikki. Unless you’ll let me take her with me.”

  Kevin laughed and popped the last of his brownie in his mouth. He shook his head and as soon as he’d swallowed, said, “As much as I love you, I’m not letting you take my dog.” He didn’t realize what he’d said until he saw her eyes widen. After taking a sip of scog, he reached for her hand. “I do love you, you know. I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that the first time I said those words to you, but that doesn’t change what I said. I love you, and I want you to know that before you go.”

  A tear crept down Rhianna’s cheek. “I love you, too.” As she wiped the tear away with her sleeve, she laughed. “I’m not sure when I fell in love with you, a lot of little things pushed me in that direction, but it really hit me that Saturday night you had to leave Nikki with me.”

  Kevin frowned, trying to remember the night.

  “It was the weekend Marshall was with Kyle and you were in the middle of deciding what to do with Cpt. Garen and his men. I promised Marshall I’d keep Nikki with me while he was gone, so she stayed down at Doreen’s. The look in your eyes when Nikki went inside with Shelley after we got back from our walk went straight to my heart. A direct hit. I still questioned it and pretended it wasn’t so, but that was the night I knew.”

  Kevin smiled. “I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. You had a bow in your hand and an arrow lined up on a target.”

  At Rhianna’s frown, Kevin laughed. “It was the day we met, in Crinsor Run, the day I met Landis. I had gone for a walk in the woods after talking to Duane, and while I was walking, I spotted you in a narrow clearing. You had your bow drawn back and the arrow lined up. You were totally focused on your target. Then, after you released the arrow, you smiled. And that’s what did it. That smile. I was a goner. That was the day I fell for you. There have been times when I’ve denied it, times I’ve wished it wasn’t true, but that feeling’s never faded, only deepened.”

  Kevin took Rhianna’s hand and gave it a light squeeze and then got up and closed several of the glowstones. As the room darkened, the moonlight beaming through the windows and glass doors to the balcony gave the room a warm glow.

  Rhianna glanced towards the balcony and sighed. “It’s a lovely night.”

  “Want to step out on the balcony?”

  “Aren’t you concerned someone might see us?”

  Kevin shook his head. “The only ones out there this time of night are the guards, and they know how to keep their mouths shut. Come on. It’s a nice view by moonlight.”

  The chill in the air gave Kevin a good excuse to put his arm around Rhianna and hold her close. They gazed at the shadows of the mountains and listened to the quiet of the night. As they stood there in the moonlight, Kevin turned towards Rhianna and puller her to him. He stroked her hair, kissed her forehead, and was working his way down to her mouth when he heard a knock on his door.

  “I don’t believe this.” Kevin dropped his forehead to hers. “Of all nights...”

  “Go on, answer it,” she said as she leaned back and gently pushed him away. “They wouldn’t be knocking if it wasn’t important.”

  “Nothing’s that important.”

  Rhianna laughed. “It might be. Go see.”

  With a deep, heartfelt sigh, Kevin went inside to open the door. “What?!”

  “I’m really sorry, Kevin,” Chris said. “But Damien’s downstairs.”

  “Damien? From Nandelia?”

  Chris nodded.

  “At midnight?!”

  Chris nodded again.

  “I don’t believe this!” Kevin snapped. Then he took a deep breath and blew it out. “Give me a few minutes.”

  “I’ll let him know you’re on your way.”

  As Chris pulled the door to, Kevin turned back towards Rhianna.

  She smiled and shook her head. “Go see what he needs. I’ll wait.”

  Kevin sighed as he gently set his hands on her shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

  Rhianna shook her head and chuckled. “It’s your job. Besides, he’s a friend of yours, and you don’t have that many on the council. You need to take care of the ones you have.”

  “No one’s that good a friend, not tonight,” Kevin grumbled as he changed into a fresh tunic. “I won’t be long.”

  “It’s all right. Take your time,” Rhianna said as she walked him to the door. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

  ~~~~

  An odor of smoke hit Kevin when he walked into the office and one glance at Damien told him where it was coming from. Damien’s clothes, face, and arms were streaked with soot and his hair was singed.

  Chris and Damien were huddled over a map on the conference table, each holding a large mug of scog. As Chris handed him a mug, Kevin asked, “Are you all right?”

  Damien nodded as he straightened up. “Can’t say the same for some other folks though.”

  “What happened?”’

  “Lightning started a fire in some grasslands. We’ve had a dry winter so it spread too fast for the local sorcerers to be able to handle it. That’s when they called me in. I took several sorcerers with me and we’ve been working since daybreak. We got all the people and livestock out of the burn area, at least I think we did, but we lost a couple of towns and a lot of farmhouses and barns, and it’s still not contained.”

  “Do you want me to round up some sorcerers? I can be ready to go in five minutes, and so can Marcus.”

  “I’ve already sent for him,” Chris interjected.

  Damien shook his head. “I appreciate it, but that’s not what we need. We need rain. Right now the fire’s headed for some forest land, and if we don’t get it under control before it gets there, we’re going to lose that forest, several good-si
zed towns, and everything from there to the Kivee.” Damien took a deep breath. “I’m not sure you can help, but we had a fire like this maybe ten years ago, and Badec did something with the clouds and wind to get a good rain going. With the rain helping us, we were able to get the fire contained and put it out.” Damien paused and looked at Kevin. “I’m not sure how he did it, but he said it was something he could do because of the elven blood in his veins. Can you make it rain?”

  Kevin paused. “I can try. So far every time I’ve tried, I’ve been able to, but it’s not something I do very often.” Kevin shrugged. “I’ve had more experience going the other way, calming rains down and breaking up bad storms, but I’ll see what I can do. Where is it?”

  For the next few minutes all three huddled over the map as Damien outlined the extent of the fire. When they stood back up, Kevin said, “That’s a big one. It would help if we could come at it from two directions and work from the edges towards the center.”

  “But wouldn’t you need two sorcerers with elven blood to do that?” Damien asked.

  Kevin shook his head. “It’s not just a matter of having elven blood or I could get a couple of my aunts and uncles to help. You have to know how to do this. It’s a skill, and it takes a lot of work to develop it. As far as I know none of them have ever tried, but I do know someone who could help. Her name’s Rhianna and she’s an elf. Mind if I bring her along?”

  “If she can help, I’ll be forever in her debt. Do you think she’d be willing to help us?”

  “I’m sure she’ll be happy to try, but same as me, most of her experience has been in going the other way, so no guarantees.”

  “Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated. Now, if you’re on one side and she’s on the other, what kind of support do the two of you need? What can we do to help?”

  Kevin paused and looked at Chris. “I want Marcus to go with her, and I’ll need a lookout.”

  “I can do it.”

  Kevin shook his head. “Get Alek. I want you to go, but I want you to stay with them so you can get them out of there fast if that fire loops back around and traps them. And if you’re there with a key, you can check in with me and let me know how they’re doing.”