The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “Was that before or after her power showed up?” Brena asked.

  “A couple of months afterwards,” Theresa answered. “A band of slavers raided while Hayley was there. She helped Marcus capture the slavers, tended to the injured, and delivered the baby that night. I went up as soon as we found out what had happened, but she had everything under control. I was in the way more than anything else.”

  “Ever since then, Hayley has looked at everyone in that area as her responsibility,” Kevin said. “At first she went up there to check on the baby, but before long she started making rounds whenever she was up there.”

  Brena looked at Theresa. “Do you think she’s ready to handle a chapel on her own?”

  Theresa nodded. “I’m sure there are things she doesn’t know how to handle, same as all of us, but when Hayley comes up against something she hasn’t seen or done before, she has no problem asking for help. Some people won’t admit there’s something they don’t know. Hayley’s not like that. She’ll ask if she needs advice.”

  “Does she know how to set up and care for the gardens? If she has a chapel, the gardens will be her responsibility as well as the preparation of all the herbs.”

  Again Theresa nodded. “She probably knows more about that than most sisters. I’ve taken her with me to the mountain valley in Nandelia where I grow rare herbs.”

  “Don’t you have a giant taking care of those for you?”

  “Yes, but Hayley and I have spent a good bit of time up there working in the gardens. I’d say she knows as much about medicinal herbs as most practicing sisters, more than a lot of them.” Theresa paused. “But not as much about cooking herbs. She’s a little weak in that area.”

  “She can always find someone else to do the cooking. Does she have an aide?”

  Theresa shrugged. “I’m not sure, but if she doesn’t, I’m sure there’s a young woman somewhere who would like to train in a chapel.”

  “Oh, yes, I have a list. We can find someone if we need to.” Brena glanced toward Kevin. “You’ll take care of transportation?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “All right, then.” Brena stood up. “Enjoy your tea. I’ll be right back.”

  Kevin and Theresa chatted with Verna until Sister Brena breezed back in and handed Theresa an envelope addressed to Hayley. “This is her official notification that Morris has requested her. If she wants the assignment, tell her to let me know and I’ll accept the offer on her behalf.”

  Theresa took the note and stood up to go.

  As Kevin stood up, he said, “By the way, Sister Brena, would you mind terribly if we met in the evening when you need to see one of us?”

  “Of course not. Is morning a bad time for you?”

  “It can be. Mail comes in overnight and sometimes we have quite a bit to handle first thing in the morning. I can clear time in the evenings a lot easier.”

  Brena nodded as she walked them to the front door. “Of course. You should have said something sooner. Evenings will be fine. Theresa, be sure to tell Hayley to let me know as soon as she decides. If she’s not going to take it, I’ll need to find them someone else. Nice to see you two,” she said as she more or less pushed them out the front door.

  As soon as Sister Brena headed back into the chapel, Theresa handed Kevin the letter and put her hand on his arm. “Did you know about this?”

  Kevin shook his head as he took out his key. “I hadn’t heard a word about it.”

  “I’d have thought Morris would have asked Hayley if she wanted the chapel before he requested her.”

  “He may have, but she may not want to say anything about it until it’s official.”

  “Could be,” Theresa agreed. “At any rate, I’m tired. It’s past my bedtime.”

  Kevin turned the key and a few moments later they were standing outside the cave Theresa was using as a chapel. “Rough day?”

  “Not really, just busy. We’re still trying to get set up. Taelor’s working on our gardens so I’m taking care of the cave.”

  “How do you like the people who’ll be living here?”

  “Fine so far. Gilean’s great. She’s like a town mayor. Oh!” Theresa pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket. “Here’s the next shopping list.”

  Kevin glanced at the list. “Is any of this stuff urgent?”

  “She didn’t say, but I know we’ll need groceries before long.”

  Kevin stuck the paper in his pocket. “I’ll try to get the groceries out here either this evening or tomorrow. The rest of the stuff may take a while. Depends on how quickly Chris can round it up.”

  Theresa nodded as she yawned.

  “Go get some sleep,” Kevin said. “See you later.”

  ~~~~

  By the time Kevin dropped Theresa off, sparred with Glendymere, and made it to the chapel in Milhaven, it was midmorning. When he knocked on the back door, Sherri opened it and asked, “Can I get you a cup of coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” Kevin sat down at the table. “Is Hayley around?”

  Sherri nodded as she poured the coffee. “She’s in the storeroom. I’ll get her.”

  A couple of minutes later, Hayley walked in. “Is Theresa all right? Has Marcus been hurt?”

  “Everyone’s fine.” Kevin pulled the letter out of his pocket. “Sister Brena asked me to give this to you.”

  “Sister Brena?” Hayley reached for the note as she sat down. “Why did she send it to you? Why not me?”

  “She didn’t send it. She handed it to me as Theresa and I were leaving.”

  Hayley looked up from the note with wide eyes. “Theresa’s back?”

  Kevin shook his head. “She needed to talk to Sister Brena, so I took her to Timera Valley early this morning. She’s back home now.”

  “Oh.” A crestfallen look settled over Hayley’s face.

  “I’m sorry. If I’d been thinking, I’d have brought her by here before taking her home.”

  “It’s all right. I doubt she had time for me anyway.”

  Kevin fought the urge to roll his eyes. “I was the one in a hurry this morning, not Theresa. I had to meet Glendymere and he gets irritated when I’m late.”

  Hayley perked up a little. “Well, maybe next time you won’t be in such a rush.” Hayley looked back at the note, shrugged, and opened it.

  Kevin waited a few minutes for Hayley to read it. “Is everything all right?”

  Hayley nodded without looking up.

  “So?” Kevin prompted.

  Hayley stared at the note as she fingered it. “The people of Bridgeport want me to be their resident sister.”

  Kevin smiled. “Are you going to accept?”

  “I’m not sure,” Hayley said slowly, not taking her eyes off the note. “I knew they were going to write to Sister Brena, but I thought she’d say it was too soon, that I needed more training.”

  “Do you want the chapel?”

  Hayley took a deep breath. “I thought I did. I met with Morris to talk about it, but even while we were making plans, I felt sure she’d say no.”

  Kevin grinned. “Well, she didn’t.” When Hayley still didn’t look up, Kevin put his hand on her arm. “You’ve been their sister for six months now. Don’t you think it’s time you made it official?”

  Hayley slowly looked up. “You think I should take it?”

  “Of course, unless you don’t want it.”

  “I do,” Hayley whispered. “But it’s scary.”

  “It’s not an unknown like when you went to Drisden or Glenco, or even Ashmont. You already have friends up there.”

  “But Theresa won’t be there, and neither will Marcus.”

  “No, but Marcus can go whenever he wants to, and if you need to talk to Theresa, all you have to do is let me know.”

  Hayley looked back down at the note. “What if I get up there and miss everyone so much I’m miserable?”

  Kevin shrugged. “Tell Sister Brena to find someone else for Bridgeport and come back here. I’m sure
Sister Agnes won’t mind.”

  After a moment, Hayley exhaled a long breath. “I hadn’t thought of that. Guess I could come back if I hate it.” Hayley fingered the note a bit more and then gave a little nod. “I’ll give it a try and see how it goes. But if I don’t like it, I’m coming back.”

  Chapter 8

  July 24

  As Rolan stood by his window watching his soldiers spar on the practice field he thought about someone else who was training, training so she could kill him. Time to do something about her, time to put his plan in action.

  But was poisoning Myron too risky? Would the similarity between Myron’s death and Badec’s make people suspicious?

  Rolan paced around his office. How could he keep suspicion from falling on him? How could he make sure people would think it ran in the family, like magic? Maybe if someone else died first, someone not connected to Rolan. It would have to be someone who wasn’t involved with the castle or the business of Master Sorcerer. Who could he use?

  A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. “Come!”

  One of his pages slowly opened the door. “Sir, there’s a letter for your brother, Robyn. Do you want to read it before we send it to him?”

  “Bring it here.”

  The page handed the letter to Rolan. It was from the town historian asking for some information. Rolan handed it back to the page. ”Send it on.”

  “Yes, sir.” The page bowed and backed out of the room.

  Brothers. Didn’t Badec have several brothers and sisters? If one of them fell into that same deep sleep that ends in death, no one would think twice about it when Myron did. Everyone would mark it up to family and say it was the curse of the House of Nordin.

  He’d have to figure out a way to deliver the poison after he decided which one to target, but the biggest problem would be not poisoning someone else by accident. From what Gerry said, even the tiniest amount was deadly, so anyone living with the target would be at risk. Maybe he’d get lucky and one of Badec’s brothers or sisters would be single. After all, Badec was single after his wife died. Maybe one of the others had lost a spouse, too.

  But how many brothers and sisters did Badec have? And where were they?

  “Page!” Rolan yelled. When a page opened the door, he said, “Find Sgt. Trevor and tell him I need to see him.”

  “Yes, sir,” the page said as he pulled the door to.

  Fifteen minutes later, the page knocked and opened the door. “He’s not on the castle grounds, sir, but I told the men at the stable you needed to see him as soon as he gets back.”

  “Where is he?” Rolan growled.

  “Gen. Salazar sent him to pick up some mares. He should be back in a couple of hours.”

  ~~~~

  Three hours later Trevor sat down opposite Rolan in the sorcerer’s office. “You wanted to see me?”

  “I need to know how many brothers and sisters Badec had. And I want to know who they are and where they’re living.”

  “He had three brothers and three sisters. Shadron’s the oldest brother, then Dayed, and the youngest is Kyle. Laryn’s the oldest sister. The other two are Danyelle and Allisandra. As to where any of them live, I don’t know. I assume Laryn’s still at the castle, but the others are scattered all over Camden. The idea was to have someone in each corner. At least that’s what I heard.”

  “Do you know anything about them that might help someone find them?”

  “Shadron raises horses and Kyle trains dogs. Dayed runs a sawmill and makes furniture. I think Danyelle’s husband’s either a farmer or a fisherman, and Allisandra’s husband’s a blacksmith.”

  “You’d know them on sight?”

  Trevor hesitated. “The brothers and sisters, yes.”

  “So if someone told me they’d found one of them, you could tell me whether or not they were right?”

  Trevor’s eyebrows crept up a bit. “They all know me, and by now they know I was working for you. They wouldn’t hesitate to kill me, and since all of them except Laryn are sorcerers…”

  “But could you do it?”

  “If I can get my hands on a spy glass and you take me someplace a good safe distance from them, I’ll give it a try. But I’m not going anywhere near any of them. I didn’t agree to get myself killed for you.”

  Rolan narrowed his eyes. “That’s all for now. I’ll send for you when I need something else.”

  ~~~~

  Thursday morning as soon as Rolan got to his office, he yelled for a page. When one of the pages slowly opened the door, he said, “Find Gildan and tell him I want to see him now. And get me a cup of tea.”

  “Yes, sir,” the boy whispered as he backed out of the office.

  Five minutes later, another page brought Rolan his tea, and five minutes after that, Gildan knocked on the door. “You wanted to see me?”

  Rolan nodded as he sipped his tea. “I have an assignment for you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Gildan stepped inside and shut the door.

  “I want you to go to Camden and locate five people.” Rolan handed Gildan a folded piece of paper. “The names on that list are Myron’s aunts and uncles, along with what they do for a living, which may help you find them. I want you to locate their houses, see who lives with them, and find out as much as you can about their schedules. But keep in mind everyone on that list is a sorcerer, so be careful.”

  Gildan nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “And you need to do it without anyone figuring out what you’re doing, where you’re from, or that you’re connected with me.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Rolan motioned to a box sitting on a table under the window. “Open it.”

  Gildan walked over to the box and opened it. It was filled with coins. Gildan frowned and looked back at Rolan.

  “That box and its contents are yours when you return with the information I need. From what I understand, they live all over Camden, so it’s going to take some time. I’ll give you until two years from today to get back to me, but if you don’t make it back on time, I’ll take a handful of coins out of that box for every week you’re late.”

  “Yes, sir.” Gildan closed the box.

  “That small pouch of coins is your traveling money. Use it well.”

  Gildan slipped the pouch into his pocket.

  “Any questions?”

  “Does Cpt. Yardner know I’m leaving?”

  “Not yet. Tell him to take you off the duty roster before you go. Anything else?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Then be on your way.”

  ~~~~

  While Gildan packed the few belongings he needed to take with him, he wondered if his new assignment was a continuation of the old one. It would make sense for Myron to stash the girl with family, and since he was an only child, his aunts and uncles were the ones he would turn to.

  Gildan sighed as he picked up his pack and made his way out of the bunkhouse. Looks like that elf in South Port was right. His next step was Milhaven.

  Chapter 9

  Ridgeville

  Saturday morning Serra showed up in Kevin’s office with an overnight bag and a gloomy look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?” Chris asked.

  “Oh, nothing.” Serra shrugged. “There are a lot of things I’d like to do this weekend, but sitting around in Ridgeville isn’t one of them.”

  “You get to sit back and relax with nothing to handle. Think of it as a weekend off.”

  “It doesn’t feel like one. When I go up there, I’m not company, but I’m not family either. I’m not sure what I am, but it’s not comfortable, which is why I’ve only been going up there for the day. Actually just for the afternoon. Spend a few hours chatting over tea, and then come back here, which is where I’d rather be. But that’s not enough anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “Who knows? Thanzer said my grandmothers want me to stay for the whole weekend. I offered to go up more often, maybe twice a month, but that didn�
��t work. They want the whole weekend, and apparently what they want, they get, no matter what I want.”

  “But you’re going, right?” Kevin asked from the doorway to his office.

  With a deep sigh, Serra nodded.

  “And you’ll check on Tonnie while you’re there.”

  Serra gave a quick laugh. “That’s the one part I’m looking forward to.”

  “When will you be back?” Chris asked as Kevin picked up Serra’s bag.

  “Shortly after lunch tomorrow.” Serra looked at Kevin and raised her eyebrows. “Right?” When he nodded, she put her hand on his arm and they left for Ridgeville.

  Kevin didn’t hang around after they got to Thanzer’s house. He told Serra to have fun, turned the key, and left. Once he was gone, she climbed the steps, pasted a smile on her face, and knocked on the door.

  Tonnie had been waiting for Serra to get there, and as soon as she heard the knock, she jerked the door open and hugged the woman she’d come to think of as a sister. She followed Serra upstairs and filled her in on all the news while she unpacked. Then they went back downstairs and spent the rest of the morning with Yani.

  When Tonnie left to spend the afternoon with some of her friends, Yani told Serra that Ester, Serra’s paternal grandmother, had invited them and Serra’s maternal grandparents, Kyra and Arden, for dinner that evening. “Your grandmothers had a dress made for you to wear tonight.”

  Serra looked down at the dress she was wearing. “What’s wrong with this one?”

  “Nothing. They just wanted to give you something. It’s in my room.”

  Serra followed Yani upstairs to her bedroom and waited while Yani pulled a dress out of her wardrobe.

  When Serra held the dress up next to her, it looked like a perfect fit. “How did they know my measurements?”

  “They wrote Debra and asked her.”

  “They asked my mother?”

  Yani hesitated a moment before nodding.

  “I’m sorry.” Serra felt her face flush. “I didn’t mean…”

  Yani touched her arm and shook her head. “It’s all right. Debra will always be your mother. She raised you, and she did a wonderful job. Don’t ever feel guilty about her, not with me, not with your grandmothers, not with anyone.”