Chapter 45

 

Spring Arrives

 

Monday evening, shortly after dark, Kevin walked into the main office and slumped down in the chair next to Chris’s desk.

“What happened?” Chris asked, setting his pen aside. “Why are you back so early?”

Kevin shook his head. “Nikki and Shelley played until it got dark, and I don’t feel comfortable taking Nikki inside. Neisha always offers to fix me some refreshments, insists on sitting with me while Nikki and Shelley play, and in general tries to keep me entertained. I know there are other things she’d rather be doing, but she feels like I’m there for her daughter so I’m her responsibility.” Kevin sighed. “I miss her Chris, more than I ever imagined.”

“I take it you’re talking about Rhianna.” Chris leaned back in his chair.

Kevin nodded. “It’s like there’s this great big emptiness inside of me now, a hole she filled up, and now that she’s gone, it’s so empty it aches. And nothing I do seems to help.” Kevin raked his hand through his hair. “Every day, all day long, little things happen, things I know she’d like or get a laugh over, so I make a mental note to tell her, only to realize I can’t. She’s not here anymore. When I’m walking Nikki, especially when we’re in the woods, I find myself reaching for her hand.” Kevin paused. “Used to, when I reached for her hand, it was just there, like she was reaching for mine at that same instant. I never realized it until it didn’t happen, till her hand wasn’t there.” Kevin shook his head. “She’s only been gone a month, Chris. One month. How am I ever going to make it through two years?”

Chris sighed. “You are well and truly hooked, my friend.” When Kevin didn’t say anything, Chris sat up. “You need a distraction, something else to think about, a change of routine.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know, maybe a hobby.”

Kevin snorted. “The only thing I ever did that might be considered a hobby was playing computer games. Don’t think that’s going to work here.”

“No, but maybe you could take a more active role in Landis’s training. That might provide some distraction, and with the time difference, it would fit into your schedule. You’re usually too busy during the day to dwell on it, but you’re used to spending your evenings with her.”

Kevin tilted his head to the side as he considered what Chris had said. “You have a point. And if I go after dinner, it’ll be morning there. That’s not a half bad idea.”

“And between us, Marshall and I can take care of Nikki while you’re gone.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, she misses Rhianna as much as I do. She can go with me. She’d have forests to run through, a beach to romp on, and there are plenty of children who would be glad to keep an eye on her.” Kevin’s eyes lit up as he thought about it. “And if I leave one of the keys with you, I won’t have to worry about being out of touch. You can come get me if there’s an emergency.” Kevin nodded. “Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I like that idea. I’ll start tomorrow night.”

Chris nodded. “I’ll keep your evenings clear.”

“And let Kort know there won’t be any need to have a bodyguard standing by after dinner anymore. If an emergency comes up, you can let them round up someone while you come get me.”

“I’ll tell him, for all the good it’ll do.”

Kevin stood up and stretched. “Think I’ll head up and get ready for bed. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day.”

~~~~

Tuesday evening, as soon as he finished eating, Kevin went out to the stable to get Nikki. “Has she eaten?” he asked Marshall while he petted her.

“Ten minutes ago. She’s good to go.”

“Thank you.” Kevin turned to Nikki and told her to lie down. Once she was down, he put an energy ball around her, turned his key, and left for Elsewhere.

Kevin had decided to go to the grounds in front of the common building in hopes of finding some children for Nikki. As soon as they got there, Logan, one of Synead’s boys, ran over, dropped to his knees, and started petting her.

“Is he your dog?” Logan asked without looking up. “What’s his name?”

Kevin smiled. “Her name’s Nikki and she needs someone to keep her company while I step inside. You up for the job?”

Logan looked at Kevin. “Huh?”

“Would you keep an eye on her while I go inside? I won’t be gone long.”

“Oh, yeah,” Logan said, still rubbing Nikki. “You can stay as long as you like. Can she fetch?”

Kevin pulled a rope out of his pocket. “Here. This is one of her toys. She’ll fetch it if you throw it, but she also likes to play tug-of-war, so don’t expect her to give it up easily.”

Logan nodded as he took the rope. “Come on, girl,” he said and ran off towards the side of the clearing.

Kevin went up the steps, but before he could open the door, Cpt. Garen opened it. “Come on in. Can I get you something? Coffee maybe?”

“I wouldn’t mind a cup of coffee, but I don’t need anything else.” Kevin followed the captain inside. “Know where Warren is?”

Cpt. Garen poured Kevin some coffee. “He and Landis left half an hour ago. I’m not sure where they went though.”

Kevin nodded. “I’ll find them, but first, if you’re not busy, I’d like to talk to you.”

“Of course.” Cpt. Garen led the way to the little room he used as an office, motioned Kevin to a chair, and sat down behind his desk.

“Is Landis still determined to challenge Rolan?” Kevin asked.

“As far as I know.”

“If she challenges Rolan, she could end up in charge of a whole province without knowing how anything works. I know all of you will do whatever you can to help her out, but your focus needs to be security, not the administrative end of running a province.” When Cpt. Garen nodded, Kevin continued. “I’m going to bring my head page, Ariel, out this summer. He knows more about running a seated sorcerer’s office than anyone I know, including me. I don’t know how we’d have made it through the first year without him.”

“I’m surprised you’re willing to give him up.”

“I don’t want to, but he’s nineteen. He should have already moved on, but he stayed to help us out. He’s been training his replacement since the beginning of the year but we’re going to miss him. Anyway, he’s agreed to work with Landis. I’m not sure how your men will feel about it but I don’t want anyone to resent him.”

Cpt. Garen smiled. “If anything, they’ll be relieved. I haven’t wanted to say anything, and neither has Warren, but she’s used to the way elves do things. We’ve been a little concerned about it, but it’s not our place to question her. We’re her guard. Our job is to take care of her and support her, no matter what.”

Kevin nodded. “I understand, but how will your men feel when Ariel argues with her, tells her she’s wrong. My guard doesn’t take it well when someone argues with me, even when it’s Chris.”

“If she was the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, we probably wouldn’t like it, but she’s a student, and although we’re not going to try to teach her, we do recognize that someone needs to. And I’ll talk to them. I’ll tell them that, same as Warren, Ariel works for you and is under your orders.”

“That’s a good way to put it. Ariel’s young in years, but old in experience. I doubt I could find anyone who understands the non-sorcerer part of being a seated sorcerer any better than he does.”

“He’ll be a welcome addition to the island. Don’t worry about my men. They’ll be glad to see him.”

“Good, and could you keep this to yourself for now? I want to tell Landis myself, but I don’t want to do it yet.” When Cpt. Garen nodded, Kevin stood up. “I’ll let you know when you can tell your men. Now I need to find my apprentice and see how the magic’s going.”

~~~~

The next Monday night, there was a big map on Kevin’s bedroom wall when he got back from Elsewhere. “What’s this?” he asked as Chris came through the connecting door with two mugs of scog.

“A map.”

Kevin rolled his eyes as Chris sat down on the couch. Then he sat down across from Chris and picked up his scog. “And why is there a map on my wall?”

“I thought you might want to keep up with Kitridge’s travels. Sister Agnes got a letter from Zara today. She brought it up right after you left for Elsewhere.”

“Where’s the letter?”

“Sister Agnes has it. It was a newsy letter from one woman to another, full of the odd little details women tell each other, like stuff they had for sale at different dry goods stores, the curtains, or lack thereof, in the inn rooms, and so on. She even talked about what they had to eat in the different taverns.”

“How long was this thing?”

“Three pages, full of tiny writing. She wrote it like a journal and Sister Agnes really enjoyed it. She said she couldn’t wait to get the next one and wanted to know if she could have them back when we were done with them, so I jotted down the towns they’d gone through and gave the letter back to her.”

“Three pages? That thing must have been heavy. They found a falcon to fly it here?”

“Apparently long letters aren’t all that unusual.” Chris shrugged. “We just don’t get them.”

“Thank goodness.” Kevin sipped his scog. “I take it they haven’t found any trace of our guys then.”

Chris shook his head. “But don’t give up. They’re just getting started, and it’s going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“And Camden is one big haystack. So, where have they been?”

Chris stood up and motioned towards the map. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

After Kevin joined him, Chris pointed out a line connecting a dozen or so towns starting at the top of Heron’s Gulf, and zigzagging back and forth from the mountains to the shore until it ended at a spot near where Alexandria, Virginia would be.

Kevin studied the map for several minutes, noticing that they’d missed more towns than they’d hit, but at the same time acknowledging, at least to himself, that they’d done a good job of covering the area. “Do you think this is going to work? I mean what are the odds? They could all be in the same area and never hit the same town. There’s so many of them.”

“I know,” Chris agreed. “I thought the same thing, but let’s give him a chance. He’s done this type of thing before and is supposed to know what he’s doing. He probably has a better chance of finding them than we would.”

“True.” After they were seated again, Kevin asked, “Why did you hang it up here?”

“I didn’t think you wanted to have to explain it to everyone who walks in your office.”

“Good point, and most of them would ask.” Kevin sipped his scog. “Anything else I need to know about?”

Chris shook his head. “Did you think to pick up Callie’s grocery order?”

Kevin pulled it out of his pocket. “I told her we’d try to have it to her by Wednesday.”

Chris glanced over the list. “I should be able to get it together by then.”

“We’ll need to furnish another cave for Ariel by this summer. Can you corner him some evening and find out what he’ll need?”

“Sure, and speaking of pages, Jenni’s scared to death of you and thinks you don’t like her. Ariel asked her to take you a cup of coffee this morning and she nearly had a panic attack.”

“Why? I haven’t done anything to give her that impression, have I?”

Chris looked at the ceiling as if asking for help, then back at Kevin. “You’ve been worse than a bear coming out of hibernation ever since she got here. Her first day was the Monday after Rhianna left. Between no sleep the night of the fire and having to tell Rhianna goodbye, you were in no mood to play nice. We all tried to keep her out of your way, which didn’t help matters. She’s a smart kid. She realized what we were doing, and assumed it was to protect her. Ergo, you’re someone dangerous, someone to avoid. It’s my fault as much as yours for not realizing it until the damage was done, but we’ve got to get her past this or we’re going to lose her. And she’s going to be good.”

“You’re happy with her?”

“Very much so. She’s articulate, much more articulate than Elin was when we got here, and she’s quick. She picks things up, almost too well. After all, she figured out we were trying to protect her. She read the situation right, just hadn’t heard enough gossip to know why you were so irritable.”

“All right. I’ll ask her to do something for me, and use that as an opening to talk to her a bit.” Kevin yawned. “Does she like Nikki?”

“They all do.”

“Good. Then I may send her out to get Nikki a little early tomorrow.” Kevin pointed towards the bed. Nikki was passed out on the floor, dead to the world. She’d plopped down as soon as Kevin removed the energy ball and hadn’t moved since. “Those kids are as bad as the energizer bunny. They just keep on going. And poor Nikki had already put in a full day before we went out there.”

Chris laughed. “It’s their morning. They’re rested and ready to go. Yeah, might not be a bad idea to pick her up a little earlier. Want me to speak to Marshall?”

Kevin shook his head. “I’ll do it.”

Then Chris drained his scog and stood up. “By the way, don’t make any plans for this weekend. You need to be here.”

“Okay. Why?”

“Darrell’s found the spot for his house and the plans are to get it built this weekend. Marcus will be here to help, but it’s Darrell. You’ve got to be there, too. We all do.”

Kevin nodded. “And I’ll take him up to Dayed’s afterwards to get some furniture.” Kevin finished his scog and set his mug back on the tray. “Anything else?”

Chris shook his head as he picked up the tray. “See you in the morning.”

~~~~

Gildan rode into Stanton on a Monday near the middle of March. It wasn’t the largest town he’d been in since Ardmore, but it was close. As he rode through town in search of a livery stable, he saw two inns, three taverns, a couple of dry goods stores, a farmer’s market, and a fish market. That one surprised him. He didn’t realize he was that close to the coast.

The blacksmith shop and livery stable were on the far end of town. After he dismounted, he went inside to find the blacksmith. Instead he found Sedwin.

Gildan did a double take. “Excuse me, are you the blacksmith?” he asked even though he knew he wasn’t.

“No, he’ll be back in a minute.” Sedwin gave the newcomer a close look. If he cut his hair and shaved, he’d look like the man who had been in Fenway’s when they were working on Laryn’s house, the man whose pictures were tucked away in Danyelle’s dresser.

Gildan nodded. “Do you work here?”

Sedwin shook his head. “I’m here to pick up my plow.”

“Guess it’s that time of year, isn’t it?”

Sedwin nodded. “We’ll start turning the ground this week.”

“Do you know of anyone looking for help?”

Sedwin frowned. “You don’t strike me as a farmer.”

Gildan laughed. “I’m whatever I need to be. A few months ago I harvested oranges. Before that I was a logger.” Gildan held his hand out to Sedwin. “My name’s Gildan and I’m a rambler. I was thinking of taking a break from the road for a while and this looks like a nice place to do it, provided I can find someone who’ll exchange bed and meals for a day’s work. Or if someone in town needs help, I’d be willing to put up at the inn if we can work out a deal with the owner.”

Sedwin shook his hand and introduced himself as he considered offering the man a job. Would Danyelle rather keep him close by or watch him from a distance? “I don’t know of anything right now, but several of us work together for planting and harvesting. We’re meeting tonight to work out the details. I’ll mention that you’re looking for work.”

“Thanks. I’d appreciate that. I’m not sure where I’ll be staying yet. Wanted to get my horse settled first. If anyone in your group does need some help, tell them to leave word here, with the blacksmith.”

Sedwin nodded as the back door opened and the blacksmith walked in. He nodded at Gildan and then looked at Sedwin. “Your plow’s loaded on the back of your wagon.”

“Thanks, Micah. How much do I owe you?” Sedwin pulled a small bag out of his pocket.

Micah shook his head. “I want your wife to help me out with something later this week. If she can do it, we’ll call it even.”

Sedwin nodded. “I’ll let her know to expect you.”

Then Micah looked at Gildan. “Is there something I can help you with? Or are you with Sedwin?”

Gildan shook his head. “I was looking for you. Do you board horses?”

Sedwin slipped out the back door while Gildan and Micah discussed boarding options.

An hour later, Sedwin was back at the farm. The plow was in the barn, his horse was in the pasture, and he was ready for tea.

As he walked into the kitchen, Danyelle poured him some tea and asked, “Want anything with it?”

Sedwin shook his head. “I think that guy you’ve been watching for is in town.”

“Gildan?”

Sedwin nodded. “I thought it was him when I first saw him. I noticed him watching us that night in Fenway’s, but he’s got a full beard now and he hasn’t cut his hair in ages. But it looks like the same guy, and when he introduced himself, he said his name was Gildan.”

“Wish I knew what he wanted. Allisandra said he worked around Ardmore for a month and then moved on.”

Sedwin told her about his conversation with Gildan. “Do you want me to hire him? I’m not sure I like the idea of him being that close, but you’d be able to keep an eye on him and maybe figure out what he’s up to.”

“Let me think about it. When do you have to let him know?”

Sedwin shrugged. “I told him I didn’t know of anything right now but if I found out about any work, I’d leave word with Micah.” Then he mentioned that Micah wanted her to do something for him later in the week. “He said if you were willing to do it, he’d take that in exchange for fixing the plow.”

“He didn’t tell you what he wanted?”

Sedwin shook his head. “But Gildan was there, and you know how closemouthed Micah is. It didn’t take him half an hour to fix my plow though and if he’s willing to take whatever he wants you to do in trade, it can’t be much.”

“All right.” For the next few minutes they quietly drank their tea. Then Danyelle said, “I’ll write Myron and let him know Gildan’s arrived. But as to working around here, I don’t think so. I don’t like the idea of him getting to know the children.”

Sedwin exhaled a sigh of relief. “Good. I don’t want him around here either.”

“Then why did you bring it up?”

“I thought you might want to keep him close so you could figure out what’s going on. Me? I’d rather help him find the road out of town, but since I can’t do that, think I’ll see if someone on the other side of town could use some help.”

~~~~

A week later, Marcus knocked on Kevin’s door. “Have you got a minute?”

“Come on in.” Kevin waved him towards a chair.

“While I was in Bridgeport yesterday, Hayley asked me if I’d mind doing a few things to help some people out this spring. When I told her I’d be glad to, she handed me this list.” Marcus handed a two-page list to Kevin.

Kevin scanned it. Most of the jobs involved Marcus’s skill as a sorcerer, but there were a few requests for his skill with a hammer and saw. Kevin chuckled as he handed the list back to Marcus. “A few things? This looks like a full week’s work if not more.”

Marcus sighed as he folded the list and stuck it in his pocket. “Apparently she’s been volunteering my help all over the place, and folks are taking her up on it. According to Thom, he’s got a list, too.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Try to get it all done, but I’ll have to be up there for a while to do it. I looked at the jobs I’ve got lined up here for the next month and I think I can get them done in three weeks, so I should be caught up by the second Friday of April if the weather cooperates and no emergencies come up.” Marcus shook his head. “Then, if all goes well, I’d like to go up there that Saturday and stay about ten days. If I can put in a full week plus two weekends, I think I can get everything done.”

“Provided that list hasn’t grown by the time you get back up there.”

Marcus cringed. “Don’t even joke about that.”

“Why don’t you let me help with some of the stuff around here? You don’t have to do it all.”

“I might take you up on that if we get a rainy spell or an emergency comes up, but otherwise I think I can handle it. I will need to put any new jobs off until I get back though.”

Kevin shrugged. “Tell them to let me know. I’ll take care of them.”

“I hate for them to bother you,” Marcus said. “Unless it’s an emergency, they can wait until I get back.”

“It’s no bother. Half the time I’m looking for an excuse to get out of here. Seriously. Spread the word if anything comes up while you’re gone, let me know. And I meant it when I said let me know if you need some help, either here or up there. I can’t do the carpentry jobs, but I can handle some of the sorcerer stuff for you.”

“Thank you.” Marcus stood up. “Guess I’d better get moving if I’m going to get it all done. See you later.”

~~~~

Kevin hardly saw Marcus over the next three weeks, but everywhere he went he heard that the sorcerer was working from dawn until dark every day. Some of the people were impressed with his stamina. Others were afraid he was doing too much.

But when Marcus walked into Kevin’s office the Friday afternoon before he was supposed to go to Bridgeport, there was a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye. “I did it,” he said as he flopped down in a chair. “It was rough, but I got it all done!”

Kevin laughed.

“Before I came in here, I went back over my calendar to make sure I hadn’t left anything out. Hard to believe it’s over.”

Kevin shook his head, still grinning. “It’s not over. You’ve still got that massive list from Bridgeport.”

Marcus groaned. “I’ll think about that tomorrow. Tonight I want to enjoy the feeling of being done.”

“What are you going to do to celebrate?”

“That’s why I came by. I need to wash up and pack, but if you’ve got time, I’d like to go to Bridgeport this evening and spend some time with Hayley. Maybe go for a walk or a buggy ride, just the two of us. I know I’ll be there next week, but I’ll be too busy during the day to spend time with her and too tired at night. Could you or Chris take me up there around dinnertime?”

Kevin nodded. “I’ve got someplace to go this evening and it wouldn’t be any problem at all to drop you off on my way. Can you be ready by five?”

“Meet you here?” Marcus asked as he stood up.

“That’ll be fine. See you then.”

~~~~

After Kevin dropped Marcus off in Bridgeport, he and Nikki went to the island and joined the residents in the dining room. After everyone went outside, Kevin asked Warren if he could speak with him. “I thought I’d talk to Landis about Ariel this morning.”

“Do you know when you’re bringing him?”

“Mid-July. I want him to stay at the castle through the Ministers’ Conference. Petri helped with it last year so he knows what to expect, but he’s a bit apprehensive about doing it on his own. I’ve asked Ariel to be there for advice and moral support.”

“Your other pages will help him, won’t they?”

Kevin shook his head. “Elin’s working out of Joan’s office now, so she’ll have her own stuff to do. Cameryn’s getting married in August, so the conference will be the last thing on her mind, and Isak’s never had a big part in it. He’s always handled all the normal stuff that gets pushed to the side when the castle’s invaded by guests. We also have Jenni now. She was brought in to replace Elin, and we think she’ll do a fine job for us, but she’s only been there a couple of months.”

Warren nodded. “Glad I never had to deal with that type of thing.”

“Me, too. Thank goodness for the pages. If it hadn’t been for Ariel that first year, I don’t know what we’d have done. Neither Karl nor I had ever done anything like that. Wrenn helped, but there were a lot of details he’d never dealt with either, things that one head page passes on to the next.”

“Does Rolan have a head page?”

“I’ve never seen any sign of it. Every time I go to his castle the pages are lined up in the hall waiting for him to need something. Anyone who needs to see him has to wait in the hall with them until he decides to call for them.”

Warren’s eyebrows arched. “You waited in the hall?”

Kevin grinned. “Yes and no. When I go, I go early enough he’s still in his room. I send the message down that I’m there to see him and if he’s not in his office in fifteen minutes, I’ll join him in his chambers. Funny enough, he shows up fairly quickly.”

Warren burst out laughing. “I imagine he does.”

“But that castle’s not run anything like ours. If anyone’s in charge of guests, handling requests, or anything else, I haven’t seen any sign of it.”

“In other words, if she defeats Rolan and becomes the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, she won’t have an Ariel who’s already organized and knows how to run her office.”

“Right, and she’ll need to be even more prepared than I was. I had other people I could lean on, too. Laryn was there to coach me and answer my questions. Cryslyn, Miranda, and Neiven kept the castle and its staff running smoothly. I didn’t have to worry about food, clothes, or any of the other day-to-day details of life. I don’t know what she’ll find in Trendon.”

“From the bits I’ve heard, if Rolan hasn’t driven off everyone who worked for her father, she may have quite a bit of help, out of gratitude for getting rid of him if nothing else.”

Kevin shrugged. “I hope she does find a loyal staff when and if she takes over, but I don’t think we can count on it. It’s been ten years since Tsareth died.”

Warren nodded. “Have you decided where you want to put Ariel?”

Kevin shook his head. “Hadn’t thought about that yet. Why? Do you have any ideas?”

“Maybe. You know that little cave between mine and Landis’s? The one that only has one room?”

Kevin nodded. “We didn’t use it because it doesn’t have room for a kitchen or sitting room.”

“But Ariel’s used to living in one room, so it might be perfect for him at first. He can pick out another cave later, after he gets to know some of the people on the island.”

“And it’s close to both you and Landis, which is a plus. Let’s use it.”

“Is this a private conversation?” Landis asked. “Or can I join in?”

Kevin smiled. “I was asking Warren if I could borrow you for a little while this morning.”

“And what did he say?”

Warren laughed. “I’ll be at home when you get back.”

Kevin held his arm out to Landis and took out his key.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought we’d go to Rainbow Valley. I like those chairs.”

A few moments later, they were in the sitting room in the cave in Rainbow Valley. As Landis sat down, she asked, “Is everyone all right?”

“Everyone’s fine, as far as I know. Why?”

“You wanted to talk to me in private. Warren’s waiting for me in his cave rather than on the plateau…” Landis shrugged. “Made me wonder what bad news you had for me.”

“No bad news. I want to talk to you about the future.”

Landis nodded.

“You’re still determined to challenge Rolan. Right?”

“You’re not going to try to talk me out of it again, are you? Because if you are, you’re wasting your time and we might as well go back.”

Kevin shook his head. “No. That decision’s yours to make. What I want to talk to you about is what happens afterwards. You realize if you defeat him, you’ll be the Seated Sorcerer of Brendolanth, don’t you?”

Landis nodded.

“I’m not sure how much you know about me, but, like you, I was raised in seclusion, separated from all of this. I didn’t find out I had magic in my blood until Badec got sick, much less that I was his son and next in line to become Master Sorcerer. I had never been around a sorcerer and had no idea what they did, much less what being the Master Sorcerer entailed. Fortunately, Laryn realized how unprepared I was and arranged a tutor, someone to teach me how a province works and who’s responsible for what. That’s what I want to do for you.”

“Who?”

“Do you remember my head page, Ariel?”

Landis nodded.

“I’m going to bring him out to the island. I want him to explain how to set up and run the main office, and what’s involved in being a seated sorcerer. When we first got there, we’d have been lost without him.”

“If he’s so good, why aren’t you keeping him?”

“If we could, we would, but he’s nineteen. Most pages leave before they’re that old, and he probably would have too if I hadn’t been such a novice. He’s spent the last few months training his replacement.”

“Do all provinces operate the same way?” Landis asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Then wouldn’t it make more sense to get someone who worked for my father to teach me?”

“Maybe, but we don’t have access to any of them. If Robyn could disappear for a while without anyone noticing, he could help with the main government, but he never dealt with the office. I doubt he has any idea what type of stuff comes across a sorcerer’s desk. Ariel does.”

“My father’s second died when he did. And I think his governor was in an accident shortly afterwards,” Landis said slowly as she tried to think of someone. Then she shrugged. “All right. I guess you’re right. So, when do we start?”

“Mid-July. I want him to stay at the castle through the ministers’ conference.”

“Ministers’ conference?”

“See what I mean? There’s a lot more to running a province than magic, although you need to keep those skills sharp, too. You never know when an ice storm or some other natural disaster’s going to hit.”

Landis laughed. “That much I figured out for myself.” Then after a moment, she said, “I heard someone at the castle mention that you run through drills every morning before breakfast. Is that why? To keep your magic skills sharp?”

Kevin nodded. “And I work out with Glendymere three times a week.”

“Do all sorcerers do that? The drills, I mean. I know Glendymere doesn’t work with all of them.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never talked to any of the others about it, but practicing your skills every day is a good habit to get into. I may not use magic at all for a month or more, but then a tornado hits somewhere and I’m using everything I’ve got for twenty-four hours straight. When you’re called on for help, you have to go, it’s part of the job. And if it’s bad enough that they need your help, lives usually depend on it. You can’t afford to be rusty.”

Landis nodded. “So be ready.”

“Be ready,” Kevin repeated. Then he stood up and stretched. “Actually ‘Be Ready’ is a good motto for a sorcerer, especially a seated sorcerer. You never know what may happen or what you may be called on to do, and it’s not always magic either. I’ve had to speak at banquets, answer a barrage of questions from a bunch of irate ministers, settle contract disputes, fire sorcerers, organize a competition for district sorcerer, even explain to a father that he could not force his daughter to marry someone against her will, all kinds of things.” He took out his key and held out his hand to help her up. “I don’t think anything sums up the job better than ‘Be Ready.’ And that’s why I want Ariel to tutor you. So that by the time you get there, you will be ready.”

~~~~

When Kevin got to his room the next Wednesday night, he saw a flag stuck where Richmond, Virginia should be. “What’s this?” he asked, pointing towards the flag.

Chris was on the couch with some papers in his lap. “You might say it’s confirmation that Kitridge is on the right track.”

“We heard from him again?”

“Letter arrived this morning. Sister Agnes brought it by this evening.” Chris jotted something down and set the papers to the side. “Zara’s good. If they get tired of being trackers, we need to hire her, especially if we need any spy work done.”

“King Merdin might object to that. He considers himself our spy.”

“True, but she’s still good. She never mentioned Mikos or Devron or that they were looking for anyone in her letter. She said a man came into the tavern while they were eating dinner. She had a feeling she’d seen him before, maybe six weeks ago. She thought his name was Aiden, or maybe Terrance. She couldn’t be sure, but if it was the man she remembered, he was traveling south, to someplace warm, same as they were. And then she went on about other stuff.”

Kevin frowned. “I must be missing something here.”

“Sister Agnes said she and Zara talked about this when Rigel took her down to the clinic that night. Apparently the tavern owner in Clearwater thinks Mikos and Devron passed through town headed south about six weeks ago and they were using the names Aiden and Terrance. He’s not positive it’s the same two men since it’s been a while, but he thinks it is.”

Kevin nodded. “I can see that. Okay. Good. At least they’re on the right track and our guys didn’t head west to get past the mountains before heading south. I was afraid they might do that.”

Chris shook his head. “They left right as winter was setting in. If I’d been in their shoes, I’d have headed south fast, and then, after winter was over, cut across the mountains if I wanted to be on this side, although I wouldn’t have. I know the area. The coastal plain’s a lot flatter, much easier to haul stuff on.”

“If they really intend to go into hauling.” Kevin drank his scog. “I’m beat. Anything else we need to talk about tonight?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good. Let’s get some sleep.”

~~~~

When Gildan rode out of Stanton near the end of April, he had mixed feelings. In a way he hated to leave. He’d worked for several farmers on a rotating basis and one of them had a second house on his land, one that his parents had lived in. Although it had been unoccupied for several years, it had been kept up. In exchange for two day’s work a week, he had full use of the house. First time in his life he’d lived in a house he could consider his, and he’d liked it. Giving it up was hard, which is why he’d stayed longer than he’d planned.

He’d managed to take one day off a week to spy on Danyelle and her family, for all the good it did. He couldn’t see any more going on there that would interest Rolan than had gone on at Allisandra’s. At least at Allisandra’s people were coming and going to see her for plants and gardening advice. Danyelle lived far enough out that visitors were few and far between. For all practical purposes, she was a farm wife, tending her house, children, and gardens.

As for Landis, he’d asked a couple of people in one of the taverns if they’d seen any red-headed young women in the area, but no one had seen any redheads at all, regardless of age. But his questions drew the attention of several mothers who were searching for husbands for their daughters. By the end of the day, he had enough dinner invitations to take care of his evening meals for a couple of weeks. Never before had he been so sought after.

At first it was fun, but then it became tedious. He couldn’t even make a supply run to the dry goods store without being swamped by well-meaning mothers trying to set him up with their daughters. Getting rid of them was one of the good things about getting back on the road.

But the main reason Gildan left Stanton was he wanted to get the next two people on his list taken care of before winter set in. If his information was right, all three of Badec’s brothers lived well outside town, which meant he’d have to set up a base camp in the woods, something he didn’t mind doing as long as the weather wasn’t frigid. So, with that in mind, Gildan turned his horse towards the north and set off for his next target, Kyle, the brother who lived about as far north as you could go and still be in Camden.