Kevin stopped by the kitchen to pick up a carafe of coffee and some pastries which he dropped off in Rainbow Valley on his way to the meadow in North Amden where he was meeting Rhianna and Xantha. While he was waiting for Rhianna, it dawned on him that if Rigel hadn’t told him about Zeb’s barn over breakfast, he wouldn’t have found out. He wondered what else he didn’t know about.
After Xantha landed with Rhianna, she and Kevin went to Rainbow Valley for coffee, pastries, and quiet conversation. While they were chatting, Kevin filled Rhianna in on the storm, the damage, and the plans for rebuilding Zeb’s barn.
“Cameryn’s Zeb?” Rhianna asked.
Kevin nodded. “I told Rigel I’d be there around eleven to help out.”
“Then shouldn’t we get going?”
“You want to go?”
“Of course. It’s been a long time since I got a chance to do something useful. And I bet Doreen will be there, too.”
“Rigel said she would.”
“Good.” Rhianna drank the rest of her coffee and stood up. “I need to change clothes. Can we stop by the house on the way?”
“Which house?”
“Doreen’s.”
Twenty minutes later, Rhianna had said hello to Neisha and Shelley, changed clothes, gotten her tools out of the shed, and was ready to work.
When they got to Zeb’s farm, Rigel called a break so Doreen and everyone else could say hello, but within half an hour, the sound of hammers and saws rang out again.
After the others got back to work, Cameryn set up two chairs and a small table complete with paper, ink, and a pen. Then she handed Kevin a stack of messages. “Come on,” she said as she pointed to the table. “You read the messages, tell me what you want to say, and I’ll write the answers while you help with the barn.”
“Chris’s idea?”
“His idea for you to use this time to answer some of these messages. My idea for me to write the answers for you. That way maybe we’ll be done by the time he gets back with lunch because he’s bringing another stack then.”
“Good plan.” Kevin opened the first message. “Let’s get to it.”
~~~~
By Friday evening, Zeb’s barn had walls, a roof, and doors. And Kevin had taken care of at least a third of the messages that were on his desk.
After dinner, he and Rhianna took Nikki to the island. While Rhianna visited with Landis, and Nikki played with the children, Kevin checked in with Ariel, Warren, Darwyn, Cpt. Garen, and Callie. By the time he was done, Rhianna was ready to go. They dropped Nikki off with Chris and went to Rainbow Valley for the night.
Rhianna spent Saturday with Rigel and Doreen putting stalls, a tack room, and a loft in Zeb’s barn while Kevin helped Alek and some of the soldiers work on some of the damaged stores in Milhaven.
Sunday morning they took Nikki to Federation Isle and let her play on the beach. While they were relaxing in the sunshine, Rhianna asked, “Have you started looking for someone to take over for Marcus?”
Kevin shook his head. “You, too?”
“Chris?”
Kevin nodded.
“Well, it’s something you need to do. I overheard some of the soldiers say how much they missed being able to call on him. There are trees down in places that will never make your list but that he would have taken care of.”
“What trees?”
“Trees that are lying in fields, in cow pastures, on fences, on tool sheds, and so on. Nothing critical, but they still have to be seen to.”
“I can help with that. Who were the soldiers?”
“I don’t know. I was on one side of the wall, they were on the other. But even if I knew who was talking, I wouldn’t tell you. It was a private conversation. They had no idea I was there. But the point is another sorcerer would make a lot of lives a bit easier. You have your own job to do. You don’t have time to do Marcus’s, too. You need to find someone to take his place, and soon.”
“I’ll think about it, but in the meantime, I’ll see if I can find out where those trees are.” Then Kevin sighed. “There really isn’t that much work to do around Milhaven. Marcus stayed busy, but a lot of his work was as a carpenter, not a sorcerer. I was handling things fine until the storm hit, and things like that don’t happen very often. The last time we had damage like this was when you and Landis were there, when Marcus got shot.”
“But I can remember several times when emergencies came up in other places and you took Marcus with you. You need someone who can help out then.”
“By the time I hear about it, there are already several sorcerers working in the area. All I am is an extra pair of hands, and yes, I used to take Marcus with me, but if I need to I can always go get him, or Shadron, or Kyle, or any of the others.”
“I still think you need to find someone,” Rhianna said as Nikki came running up, soaking wet. “Guess we’d better get her dried off and get out of here if you’re going to meet Glendymere.”
While Rhianna dried Nikki, Kevin packed their stuff, and a few minutes later they left Federation Isle. Kevin dropped Rhianna, Nikki, and their stuff off at the castle and left for the canyon lands.
After half an hour, Glendymere called a halt. “You’re distracted. What’s going on?”
“Rhianna and Chris are both on my case about finding a replacement for Marcus.”
“Do you need one?”
“I don’t know, maybe. Having Marcus around helped, and I do miss being able to call on him, but it’s not that simple.”
“Why not? If having him helped, why not replace him? I don’t see the problem.”
“Because there’s no such position!” Kevin blurted out. Then he sighed. “When Brena’s chapel was broken into, I had two novice sorcerers at the castle. They’d competed for a district job and lost to someone who had family in the area. I sent one to Brena’s and the other with Theresa and Hayley, first to cover for Drusilla, and then to Glenco, where we found out about Gerry and Rolan. Anyway, once things settled down, Warren took one of them and I took the other. I wanted someone I could call on in case something else happened. We made up the position of Associate Sorcerer so we could offer him a job. Later I kept him on because the people of Milhaven liked having a sorcerer, and to be honest, it came in handy to have an extra sorcerer around.”
“So why not find someone for Milhaven? Plenty of towns have sorcerers.”
“I don’t know how they’d pay him. Marcus was paid out of the castle budget.”
“So why not let the castle pay?”
“Because if the castle pays for Milhaven to have a sorcerer, every small town in Camden will want us to provide one for them. And that would be impossible.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure.”
“And that’s why you’re distracted.” Glendymere took out his key. “We’re done for today. Sparring when your mind’s not on it is too dangerous. Try to have your head clear by Tuesday.”
After Glendymere left, Kevin sat on the bluff and gazed out over the canyon lands while he tried to figure out what to do. He had no problem admitting, at least to himself, that when Marcus was there, he knew things in Milhaven were being handled and that if he was needed, Marcus would let him know. Now he couldn’t help but wonder how many people were making do on their own rather than ask for help, just like the farmer who’d fallen off his ladder. And that bothered him.
And because it did bother him, he took out his key, and went back to the castle.
~~~~
After Kevin took Rhianna to Crinsor Run Sunday afternoon, he sat down at his desk to tackle the stacks of messages. By dinnertime he was halfway through them.
While he and Chris were eating dinner, Kevin said, “I want to see Cpt. Lawrence, Cpt. Kort, Alek, and Rigel this evening. Think you can round them up by nine?”
“Probably. Rigel may be at Doreen’s, but the others should either be here or at Fenway’s.”
Kevin handed Chris the key to Terah. “I’
ll be in my office. Let me know when they’re here.”
~~~~
A little before nine, Chris knocked on Kevin’s door. “They’re here. Where do you want them?”
“Let’s use the conference table. I’ll be out in a minute.”
While they waited for Kevin, Chris poured mugs of scog and handed them around. Then they all sat down.
“What’s this about?” Alek asked.
“I don’t have a clue,” Chris answered.
Five minutes later, Kevin joined them. “Sorry, but I wanted to finish that letter. Now, as to why I asked you to meet with me tonight. I need your help.” Kevin took a sip from the mug of scog Chris had set in front of him. “I know we’ve taken care of the urgent repairs, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done, some due to the storm, but some of it’s routine, work that needed to be done anyway. I know everyone used to ask Marcus for help, but he’s not here now, and I don’t want anyone spending a whole day, possibly getting hurt, doing something I can do in minutes.”
Kevin glanced around the table. “We’ve asked people to sign up at Fenway’s if they need my help. So far, not one person has done that. I’ve found out about a few things, but not from the person who needed the help, always from someone else. So, since we can’t convince the folks around here to come to me, you’ll have to let me know where I’m needed. You and your men are out there. You know what needs to be done.” The others nodded. “What I’m asking you to do is make a list of everything you hear about and then meet with me for a few minutes after dinner every night. We’ll go over the lists and decide where I can be of use the next day. Hopefully the people around here will realize they can come to me when they need my help, but until that time comes, I’ll need you to act as go-betweens.”
For a moment no one said anything, then Cpt. Lawrence spoke up. “I have a list of things that need to be done in my office. I was going to get some of the soldiers to work on them tomorrow.”
“Doreen has a list for me down at her house,” Rigel said. “I think there are about a dozen things on it right now.”
“I’ve got a list, too,” Alek said. “But my list is limited to the farmers I was working with today. While we worked, they talked about what needed to be done at their places. They were planning to tackle one place at a time until everyone was back to normal.”
Kevin nodded. “Let’s take a look at your lists and see if there’s anywhere I can help out. I’m not a carpenter. I can’t help with that part, but I can do the heavy lifting, literally.”
“Rigel, go get Doreen’s list.” Chris handed him the key. “Alek, do you have yours?”
“It’s in my quarters.”
“Mine’s in my office,” Cpt. Lawrence said as he stood up.
“While you get your lists, I’ll pick up some refreshments,” Chris said.
Two hours and a plate of cookies later, all the jobs had been sorted into several lists, one for Kevin and his bodyguards, one for the soldiers, and one for the rest of the guards to handle.
For the next four days, Kevin spent the majority of the day working in Milhaven and the surrounding areas. When he got back to the castle, he shut himself in his office and dealt with the messages and reports on his desk. After dinner, and a quick meeting to set up the jobs for the next day, he went back to work at his desk, where he stayed until Chris chased him out around ten. His only break was the quiet walk he and Nikki took before bed each night.
By Thursday evening, there were only a dozen jobs left, and Kevin’s assistance was only needed on five of them. Before he left the castle Friday morning he called Chris into his office. “I’m not coming back until I’m done. If I’m not back by one, send someone down to get me some lunch. I want to get all of this,” he waved towards the paperwork on his desk, “done in time to relax some this evening. We’ve got the council meeting tomorrow morning and I haven’t had a chance to go over last month’s notes yet.”
Chris nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
When Kevin got back a little after one, his lunch was on his desk. After he ate, he started on the messages and worked straight through until Chris opened the door around four and handed him a note. “I hate to give you this.”
Kevin leaned back and opened the note. It was from Sandor, the minister of Edgeland. According to him, most of Edgeland had been under blizzard conditions since Thursday afternoon. A lot of roofs had caved in trapping families inside, especially on the coast near Conner’s Point. He’d sent several groups of men out to help, but most of the roads were blocked by downed trees. Sandor said that by Friday morning, the storm had intensified to the point that between the wind and snow, he could barely see ten feet in front of his face. He ended his letter saying he hoped it would make it to Milhaven, but he wasn’t sure the falcon could fly through the storm.
Kevin walked over to the map. “It’s up here,” he said as he pointed to a town on the east shore of Longleaf Lake, known as Lake Michigan on Earth. “This is where the worst of the storm is. Conner’s Point.”
“What do you want to do?”
“First, we’ll need to go to Walkerville and talk to Sandor. Things may have slacked up by now, but if it’s still as bad as he said, I’ll want you to go get Kyle and Shadron while I pick up Darwyn. He’s used to working in these conditions.” Kevin frowned. “We’ll be working in the dark before long. That’ll slow us down.”
“Before we go anywhere, we need to change into warmer clothes. It’s going to be worse than cold up there, especially if you’re outside.” Then Chris frowned. “I’m not sure we have anything warm enough.”
“Might be something in storage. Is Cryslyn still here?”
“I’ll see.” Chris headed out the door. “Meet you upstairs.”
When they got to Walkerville, Kevin glanced around. “I don’t think he was exaggerating.”
“He did say the coast was hit harder than here, right?” Chris asked, looking at three feet of snow on the ground and snow still coming down.
Kevin nodded. “After you drop Kyle and Shadron off, there’s no reason for you to stick around. I have a feeling we’ll be here all night. Can you take care of Nikki?”
Chris nodded as they made their way to Sandor’s front door. “I’ll take Marshall up to Kyle’s so he can take care of the dogs.” While they waited for someone to answer the door, Chris added, “Don’t lose track of time tomorrow morning. We have to be at the council meeting by noon and I won’t be here to remind you.”
Chapter 60
February Council Meeting
When Chris got up Saturday morning, he checked Kevin’s room. There was no sign that Kevin had made it back to the castle. Chris took Nikki for a short walk and then went to the office where he sorted mail, made a list of things the pages needed to do, and waited for Kevin to show up.
A little before eleven, Chris went by the kitchen for a fresh carafe of coffee and a couple of mugs. He carried the tray upstairs, put it on the coffee table, set out a fresh tunic and leggings for Kevin, and sat down to wait.
Half an hour later, the light shimmered and Kevin stepped out of the energy field. Chris poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” Kevin sipped the hot drink.
“Are you done?”
“Yes and no. Everyone’s accounted for and the ones whose homes are damaged have a place to stay until repairs can be made, but there’s a lot of cleanup to do. Their sorcerers will be busy for weeks.”
“Are your uncles and Darwyn still up there?”
Kevin shook his head and started changing clothes. “Last night before we split up, I told them I had to be out of there by eleven and if they wanted to go home they needed to be at Sander’s house by then.” As he pulled on his fresh tunic, he laughed. “And no one was late either. They were worn out, too.”
“Are you going back this afternoon?”
Kevin shook his head. “I’m going to get something to eat and then I’m going to bed. I’m wiped out.
” Kevin sat down on his bed to change boots. “Think the pages will look after Nikki this afternoon?”
Chris nodded. “And I’ll be around. She’ll be fine. Now finish your coffee. We’ve got to go.”
When they reached Chamber Island, Kevin didn’t hang around outside like usual. He went straight to his chair and sat down. By the time the others came in, he was half asleep. Chris nudged him while everyone was getting settled, and then, with a yawn, Kevin called the meeting to order and asked if there was any old business.
After the meeting was over he’d have been hard pressed to say what had been discussed. Fortunately the only business of consequence dealt with trade deals, and Chris had notes on those. When no one else had anything to say, Kevin adjourned the meeting, but instead of getting up like usual, he remained in his seat, mainly because he didn’t have the energy to stand up.
When everyone had gone except Damien, Kevin stood up and stretched. Damien asked his second to wait for him outside and walked over to Kevin. “Are you all right?”
Kevin nodded. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Because you look and act like you’re at death’s door. Are you sick?”
Kevin shook his head and smiled. “Just tired.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“We had an ice storm in Milhaven a week ago and we’ve been trying to get people back to normal all week. Then yesterday, one of our northern districts needed some help digging out from a blizzard. I took some sorcerers up and we worked all night. I didn’t get home until time to come here. I’m tired and I’m hungry, but other than that, I’m fine.”
“Do you need some help?”
Kevin shook his head. “When I left, everyone was accounted for. I’ll check on them later, but when I leave here I’m going to eat and go to bed.”
Damien looked at Chris. “If anything else happens, come get me.” Then he looked back at Kevin. “Get some rest. And make sure you’re looking healthier next month.”
Kevin nodded. “I’ll be fine. See you in March.”
~~~~
Rolan could hardly contain his delight long enough to get away from Chamber Island. By the time he got back to his office, the grin on his face had spread from ear to ear. He slapped his desk and burst out laughing.
The Rambling Spy Page 62
