The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “I guess I could say something like that. Sure would make my life easier if she’d go ahead and tell us she’s planning to get married.”

  Chris nodded. “I have my doubts that’ll happen in the next couple of hours though.”

  “You never know. She spent all day yesterday with the guy she’s been seeing and his family.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Rhianna.”

  “We’re going to miss having her around to keep us informed.”

  “Only one of the million reasons I’ll miss her, but you’re right.”

  ~~~~

  As Kevin and Chris were heading into their office, Petri stepped out of the governor’s office. “Myron, could I see you for a minute?”

  “Here? Or in my office?”

  “Here will do,” Petri said as he stepped farther down the hall.

  Chris went into the sorcerer’s office as Kevin joined Petri.

  “If your offer still stands, I’d like to take you up on it,” Petri said quietly.

  Kevin smiled. “Have you discussed it with Joan?”

  “I went to see them last night. They’re fine with it. In fact, they think I should do it.”

  “How do you feel about it?”

  The smile on Petri’s face lit up his eyes. “Excited and scared.”

  Kevin laughed. “I’m meeting with the pages after lunch. I’d like for you to be there.”

  “Yes, sir,” Petri said as he turned to go back inside. “And thank you.”

  ~~~~

  Kevin nodded to Chris as he crossed the reception area. As he opened the door to his office, he caught Elin’s eye and asked, “Could I see you for a moment?”

  Elin looked at Chris with raised eyebrows as she got up and followed Kevin into his office.

  Once they were seated, Kevin said, “Elin, Chris told me what an excellent job you’ve done organizing and updating our information on the sorcerers.”

  Elin’s eyes widened at the compliment. “Thank you.”

  “We may have a new project for you along the same lines. I’m sure you’ve heard that Joan wants to make sure every person in Camden has access to a clinic even if they don’t live near a sister. It’s going to be a tremendous undertaking to find trained aides who are willing to set them up and manage them. Would you be interested in helping her?”

  Elin’s eyes sparkled. “I’d love to do it. It’ll be fun.”

  “Great! You’ll need to work out of her office, but we’d like for you to maintain the records on the sorcerers. Could you manage that?”

  Elin nodded. “Ariel could give me the messages as they come in. I could do it from there as easily as from here.”

  “Good. Now, do you have any questions?”

  Elin hesitated. “You said something about working out of her office. Do I go over there when she wants me to work on it? Or should I work over there every day?”

  “We’ll move your desk to Joan’s office. You’ll work out of there.”

  “What about Petri? How’s he going to feel about that?”

  “He’ll be fine. He’s going to have a new project of his own to concentrate on.” Kevin paused a moment. “Any other questions?”

  Elin shook her head. “Not that I can think of.”

  “If you think of any later, let me know.”

  “Thank you,” Elin said as she stood up to go. Right before she opened the door, she turned back to Kevin. “When can I say something about this? I mean, do you want me to keep it to myself for a while?”

  Kevin smiled. “I’m meeting with the pages after lunch today. Wait until then.”

  Elin nodded, opened the door, and left.

  ~~~~

  Kevin had started sorting the messages on his desk when Chris walked in with a new batch. “So? How did it go?”

  “She’s fine with it. Only thing she was worried about was Petri.”

  “Says a lot about her that that’s her biggest concern.”

  Kevin nodded as he flipped through the new messages. “Guess I need to see Cameryn next.”

  “She’s not out there. Ariel sent her on some errands.”

  “Okay. Send her in when she gets back.”

  “Will do,” Chris said as he opened the door. “In the meantime, see if you can make a dent in those messages. If I’m not mistaken, some of the ones on your desk were left over from Wednesday.”

  “Yeah, well, I was a little busy Wednesday, and yesterday was Christmas. Surely no one expected me to get back to them yesterday.”

  Chris didn’t bother to answer as he pulled the door to behind him.

  After Chris left, Kevin tackled the stack of messages. He was concentrating so hard that the knock on his door startled him. Before he could answer, the door opened and Cameryn walked in with a fresh cup of coffee.

  “Chris asked me to bring this in,” she said as she set the cup on his desk. “He thought you were probably ready for some.”

  Kevin smiled as he picked up the cup and took a sip. “And he would be right.”

  “Well, if there’s nothing else,” Cameryn said as she turned to leave.

  “Before you go, I’d like to talk to you for a minute.” When Cameryn turned back towards him, he said, “Have a seat,” and took another sip of coffee. “Ariel will be leaving us this summer…”

  Before he could get any farther, Cameryn interrupted. “Could I say something?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “I wasn’t going to mention this yet, but I’m leaving at the end of the summer. This isn’t the way I’d planned to tell you, but I wanted you to know before you said anything else.”

  Kevin smiled. “Do I take it congratulations are in order?” At Cameryn’s puzzled look, Kevin rephrased his question. “Are you leaving because you’re going to get married?”

  Cameryn blushed as she nodded. “Zeb asked me yesterday after we left his parents. His father’s going to help him get started on his own place this spring, and he’s planning to build a house towards the end of the summer. He asked me to move in with him once the house is built.”

  “And you want to marry him?”

  Cameryn’s blush deepened as she nodded.

  “Then congratulations. I couldn’t be happier for you, but we’ll miss you around here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And be sure you let me know when he’s ready to build his house. I’m not a carpenter, but I’ll be happy to supply sorcerer support to the ones who are.”

  Cameryn shook her head. “We couldn’t ask you to do that. You’re the Master Sorcerer!”

  “You don’t think I can help build a house? I’ve done it before. You can ask Doreen or Rhianna.”

  Cameryn’s blush went from a pretty pink to a deep red. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you, it’s just…”

  Before she could get any farther, Kevin burst out laughing and shook his head. “Cameryn, it’s okay. I’m teasing you, but I was serious about the offer. I would consider it my honor to help the man you want to marry build a house for you. Consider it my wedding gift.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, one more question and I’ll let you get out of here. I want to meet with the pages after lunch. Do you have any objection to telling everyone then? Or would you rather wait?”

  A big smile lit Cameryn’s face. “I’m ready to tell the whole world.”

  ~~~~

  When Kevin got back from lunch, Aaron was standing guard at his door. As Aaron opened the door for him, Kevin told him the office would be closed for a while. “We’re having a meeting and I’d rather not have it interrupted. I’ll let you know when we’re open for business again.”

  Aaron frowned. “I’m sorry, but how closed are you? I mean, do I let Cpt. Darrell in? Or Governor Karl? Or Joan? What about Laryn or Rhianna?”

  Kevin chuckled at the guard’s dilemma. “I know I’m putting you in an awkward position but there are a couple of things Chris and I want to discuss with the pages without interruption.
Tell anyone who insists they need to see one of us that we’ll be done shortly. If they get upset, tell them to take it up with me, that you’re just following orders.”

  “As you wish, sir.”

  Once the pages were settled around the conference table, Kevin began. “There are going to be some major changes in here over the next year or so. All of you know some of it, none of you know all of it, and it’s time to fill you in, starting with Cameryn.”

  When Kevin nodded at her, Cameryn took a deep breath and broke into a huge smile as she told them she was getting married. For the next fifteen minutes, she answered questions about how and when Zeb asked her, what she had said, and their plans.

  As the questions started dying down, Kevin cleared his throat. “Cameryn’s not the only one leaving us this summer. As you know, I have an apprentice, one I can’t work with because it’s too dangerous to have her anywhere near here. I have another sorcerer working with her, but she’ll need someone to play Chris.” Kevin grinned as he nodded towards Chris.

  “And believe me, it’s not an easy job,” Chris said. Then he told them a few of the funnier stories about things they’d run into since arriving in Milhaven, things that were handled outside of the office and weren’t common knowledge. “I don’t know if Ariel’s really brave, or if he had no idea what he was getting himself into when he said yes.”

  Ariel shook his head. “I’m not that brave.”

  After the laughter died down, Kevin said, “And since Ariel’s leaving, we need a new head page. Petri has agreed to take over when Ariel leaves.” Kevin paused while the pages wished him luck. “But that leaves Joan with several major projects in the air and no help, so Elin’s agreed to help her out. She’ll work out of the governor’s office, but fortunately for us, she’s agreed to maintain the files on the various sorcerers in Camden. If anyone needs to know anything about who and where they are, she’s the one to ask.”

  Kevin paused again as the pages congratulated Elin and told her they’d miss her. Then he turned to Isak. “Even though Isak’s main interest lies outside this office, he’s agreed to postpone starting an apprenticeship for a year to give us a little time to find replacement pages and get them trained. He’ll continue working with Shadron on his weekends off, but in the meantime he’ll help us get the new pages ready.”

  “To be honest, the idea of not having all of you to fall back on is a bit scary for us,” Chris said. “We’ve come to rely on you for help in all areas, and you’ve been invaluable. I can’t tell you how much you mean to us, and how much we’ll miss those of you who are leaving.” Chris paused. “We don’t have any new pages lined up yet. We’ll start on that next week. I hope to bring at least one in by the end of January. It’s not going to be easy for them to fill your shoes. I know you’ll do everything you can to help them.”

  “When are Elin and I changing places?” Petri asked.

  “I’d like to make the switch Monday,” Kevin said. “That’ll give Elin a few days to get settled before the clinic reports start pouring in, and you’ll need as much time as you can get with Ariel before he leaves.” Then he glanced around the table. “Any questions?” When no one said anything, he nodded. “Okay, let’s get this office open for business again.”

  ~~~~

  Shortly after Kevin went back to his office to resume answering messages, Chris walked in, shut the door, and sat down. “That went well.”

  Kevin nodded as he finished the message he was writing. “I thought so, too.”

  “Nice that Cameryn was able to make her announcement today. Now all of them have something new coming down the tubes. No one was left out.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t say Isak has new plans. His have been underway for a while now.”

  “But now that it’s out there maybe he’ll talk to Shadron about apprenticing with him.”

  Kevin nodded. “So it’s time to get moving on some replacements. Have you found out that girl’s name yet? Wanda’s daughter?”

  “Jenni,” Chris said.

  “Okay. I’ll ask Hayley about her when I pick Marcus up Sunday.”

  “Are you picking up the grocery list from Elsewhere tonight? It’s Friday.”

  Kevin shook his head. “Rhianna wants to go with me and spend a little time with Landis, so we’re going early tomorrow morning. I’ll see Theresa then.”

  Chris nodded. “If they think she’d be good, I’ll talk to Wanda.”

  “Let’s let Cameryn be responsible for training her. That’ll leave Ariel to train Petri and Isak to do the work.”

  Chris laughed. “Don’t think I’ll put it quite that way, but I get your drift.”

  Chapter 40

  One Year Ends, Another Begins

  Kevin was with Rhianna most of the weekend so Chris stayed near the office. Isak and Cameryn were on duty, but Elin and Ariel were in and out so much they might as well have been on duty, too. Elin wanted to finish everything she’d been working on for Ariel and oversee moving her desk and files to Joan’s office. Ariel wanted to get Petri’s desk set up. While they worked, the pages were alternately excited and quiet as they contemplated the future, a future full of new plans but without each other.

  As Chris listened and watched, he realized he was feeling a bit melancholy, too. He felt like a parent sending his children out into the world. No matter how many times he reminded himself that none of them were really going anywhere, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was goodbye.

  When Kevin got back to his room Sunday night, Chris was ready to think about something else, but the first thing Kevin asked about was the pages. “Did Elin get moved okay?”

  Chris nodded. “And Ariel’s ready for Petri.”

  “Good. I talked to Hayley and Theresa about Jenni. They both gave her a thumb’s up. Theresa said the girl was twelve going on thirty. I guess we should give her a try. When are you planning to see Wanda?”

  Chris hesitated. “I think I’ll wait until after the new year, maybe next Sunday. I want to talk to Laryn first.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, for one thing, are the pages supposed to live at the castle or do ours live here by choice? And do we pay them? And if so, how much? And how is that handled? And then there’s what if it doesn’t work out? How do I let her know it’s okay to say she wants out if she ends up hating it? And, even more tricky, how do I get rid of her if she’s not up to the job?”

  Kevin nodded. “When do you want to bring her in?”

  “Probably the middle of February.”

  “Why wait so long?”

  Chris hesitated. “I don’t want to scare her off.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m not sure how you’re going to react as it gets closer to time for Rhianna to leave.”

  “You think I’m going to turn into an old grouch?”

  “I think it’s a distinct possibility. I think there’s an equally good chance you’ll get depressed. Or you may simply be absent, whether you’re there or not. At any rate, you won’t be yourself. The pages we have in there now know you. She doesn’t.”

  “You aren’t afraid I’ll scare off Petri?”

  Chris grinned. “Not after everything he’s seen. If Gwendolyn didn’t scare him off, I’m not sure anything would. But Jenni’s not Petri. She’s what we’d have called sheltered back on Earth. Everything going on here will be hard enough for her to adjust to. An irascible sorcerer might tip the scale.”

  Kevin raised his eyebrows. “Well, all I can say is I’ll try not to be too ‘irascible.’ But I get your point. Let’s say the beginning of February though. If I don’t think I can deal with a new page at that point, we’ll put her off a couple of weeks, let her help Elin in Joan’s office or something. And let’s bring Corey in a couple of hours a week to run errands. With Ariel busy with Petri, and Cameryn training Jenni, Isak could use the help.”

  Chris nodded. “I’ll talk to Joan about it next week. How are things in Bridgeport?”

  �
��Things must have gotten straightened out.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “When I went to get Marcus, Hayley was at Marcie’s too, and her eyes were sparkling. From what Marcus said, the townspeople have gone out of their way lately to make her feel welcome. They’ve taken her gifts, or I guess you could say they took gifts to the chapel. According to Marcus, they had cakes, breads, preserves, cheeses, even some stews and meat pies.”

  “Good. I guess that means their plan worked.”

  “Anything happen here I need to know about?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Well, if you missed it, it isn’t worth worrying about. Let’s call it a day.”

  ~~~~

  While Kevin and Rhianna were eating lunch the next Friday, Rhianna asked if he had anything planned for Monday morning.

  “Not that I know of. Why?”

  “I need to go see Eryn.”

  Kevin nodded. “We could go this afternoon if you want to.”

  Rhianna shook her head. “It’s dinnertime there. If Dougan’s not home yet, he will be soon. I’d rather he not know I’m there this time.”

  Kevin frowned. “What are you up to?”

  “It’s about Laryn and Marshall,” Rhianna began. “Darrell or one of his guards can take over the self-defense classes when I leave, but I need someone to work with Laryn and Marshall.”

  “And you want Eryn to do it? She’d have to live here for a while.”

  “I know, but it would give her a chance to spend some time with Marshall. Besides, there aren’t too many elves around for me to ask.”

  “I can think of one. After all, I’ll have a lot more free time while you’re in North Amden.”

  Rhianna shook her head. “Your free time will be from dinner till bedtime. During the day your schedule’s too uncertain. Marshall and Laryn have to know in advance when we’re going to meet so they can make arrangements. I know you’d do your best to be there when you said you would, but it would end up being a problem. It would be easier for everyone if Eryn did it.”

  “What about Dougan? What’s he going to say about it?”