The Rambling Spy

by Mackenzie Morgan

  “No need to bother him. I’ll take a look at it this afternoon. If I can get some men from Gen. Crandal, we’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

  Tolliver nodded. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  After Tolliver left, Kevin looked at Chris and said, “My only experience with bridges was in Zander.”

  “Didn’t Steve and Shadron go with you on that one?”

  “Good idea. I’ll get them to run out there with me this afternoon and see what we need to do. Then tomorrow morning I’ll get some soldiers and take care of it.”

  “Might want to take Shadron along tomorrow morning too since you’ve never done anything like this by yourself before.”

  “And look like a complete novice in front of the soldiers?”

  “Better that than have it fall down the first time someone uses it.”

  Kevin grimaced. “You’re right. That would be worse.”

  Later that afternoon, Kevin took Steve and Shadron out to look at the bridge. They were both of the opinion that it was time for a new one, so Kevin and Shadron took down the old one and reduced the rotted wood to ashes. Then, while they were there, Shadron explained how Kevin should work with the soldiers to get a new one up.

  “If you’ll come get us tomorrow morning, Kayla can visit with Laryn while Steve and I come with you,” Shadron said. “That way we’ll be here if you need us, but everyone else will assume we came so we could get out of the house while the women talk about babies and such.”

  “Are you sure Kayla won’t mind?”

  Shadron laughed. “She’s been asking when we can come down here so she can play with Donovan. She’s afraid he’ll grow up before she has a chance to spoil him.”

  And so it was planned. Shortly after breakfast the next morning, Kevin picked Kayla and Shadron up and took them to Laryn’s house while the soldiers loaded the lumber and tools they’d need for the bridge. Then they all went out to the river to build a new bridge.

  It was almost dark by the time they got back, and once again, everyone was filthy, including Shadron and Steve.

  When Laryn and Kayla saw their husbands, Kayla put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “All you were supposed to do was stand back and watch.”

  “That’s hard to do when another pair of hands is needed,” Shadron said. “And besides, we couldn’t let them have all the fun.”

  Steve grinned at Laryn and sheepishly asked, “Could you get me some clean clothes?”

  “What about you, Shadron?” Laryn asked. “Miranda’s not going to let anyone that filthy in her dining room.”

  “Cryslyn’s getting me some of Badec’s clothes,” Shadron said.

  An hour later, all cleaned up, Steve and Shadron joined Kayla and Laryn for dinner while Kevin checked in at his office.

  “Caitlyn came by to see you,” Chris said, handing him a stack of messages that had come in the mail.

  “Joan’s Caitlyn?”

  “The very same. She said Tina needs your help.”

  “Tina? The little girl from the playground?”

  Chris nodded. “Her cat likes to climb the tree right outside her window, but once he’s up, he can’t get back down. Marcus used to go get him for her, but he’s not here. Caitlyn said Tina cried all afternoon. She’s afraid her cat will die up there.”

  “What did you tell Caitlyn?”

  “That you’d take care of it as soon as you got back.”

  Kevin raised his eyebrows and looked at Chris.

  “What? Caitlyn was in tears when you weren’t here. What was I supposed to tell her?”

  Kevin laughed. “Where does Tina live?”

  “As soon as Caitlyn left I went to see Cryslyn. Tina is Jandra’s daughter, and they live on the edge of town.” Chris handed Kevin a piece of paper. “Cryslyn drew a map for you so you can find it.”

  Kevin took out his key. “Think I’ll go the quick way.” Then, right before he turned it, he asked, “Have you had dinner?”

  Chris shook his head. “Darrell and I are going to Fenway’s for dinner tonight. I figured you’d eat at Laryn’s.”

  Kevin shook his head. “While I’m getting the cat, would you have someone fix me a plate and leave it on my desk?”

  “Why don’t you meet us at Fenway’s? You’ll be done with the cat by the time we get there.”

  Again, Kevin shook his head. “I told Shadron I’d be in here when he and Kayla got ready to go. I need a little quiet time after the day I’ve had. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get bored and tackle that stack of mail on my desk. See you later.”

  Three hours later, Kevin was sitting at his desk answering mail while Nikki snoozed on her quilt when Chris walked back in. “How’s the cat?”

  “Mr. Wimple is back in Tina’s arms.” Kevin smiled as he put his pen down. “I even got a kiss out of it,” he touched his cheek, “right here.”

  Chris laughed. “Ready to call it a night?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Not yet. I want to get through these before I quit.” He pointed to one of the three stacks of messages on his desk. “They need to be answered this week. The other two stacks can wait.”

  “You could do them tomorrow morning. They’d still go out tomorrow.”

  “Provided another cat doesn’t get stranded,” Kevin said with a grin. Then he got serious. “Now that I’m more or less on my own, I can’t count on being in the office tomorrow. Anything could happen.”

  “True, and there were things that pulled you out of the office when Marcus was here, but it didn’t happen often because he handled the small stuff, which is one more argument for finding a replacement for him. Things are going to get a lot busier on the sorcerer side of things when spring breaks.”

  Kevin picked up his pen. “If I stick around here a bit more in the evenings I should be able to handle it. Let’s see how things go.”

  ~~~~

  As it happened, Kevin could have waited until Friday to finish the mail. The office was quiet all day long. But Saturday was a different story, and it began before daybreak with a knock on Chris’s door.

  Chris stumbled out of bed and made his way to the door. As he opened it, Rupert said, “I hate to bother you, but there are bells ringing all over the area.”

  “Bells?” Chris rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “What bells?”

  “The emergency bells.”

  “Something on fire?”

  “No, sir. Ice and wind, always a bad mix.”

  “Ice?” Chris asked, still trying to wake up. “It was raining when I came up. Guess it got colder.”

  “Lots colder. Now it’s snowing on top of the ice, and it’s really coming down.”

  “So what have we got? Limbs down?”

  “Limbs, trees, roofs, and in one case, the whole house. It’s bad out there.”

  “I’ll get Myron. We’ll be down in a minute.”

  After Chris woke Kevin up and told him what was going on, he asked, “Do you want me to go get Marcus?”

  Kevin shook his head. “Let’s see what we’re up against first.”

  When Kevin and Chris walked into the office fifteen minutes later, Petri handed each of them a steaming cup of coffee. Gen. Crandal, Cpt. Lawrence, Cpt. Kort, Brandon, Rigel, and Alek were leaning over the conference table mapping out damage reports.

  Gen. Crandal straightened up when he saw Kevin. “I sent patrols out around midnight with orders to let us know of any problems. Reports trickled in for a while, but once the wind picked up, they started pouring in and the damage has been more serious, life-threatening in a few instances.”

  “Those are the ones I need first,” Kevin said. “Do you have them marked?”

  “They’re on this list,” Cpt. Lawrence said. “Some of it can be handled without magic. We’ve assigned squads of soldiers to those.”

  “And I’ve sent the off-duty guards into town to inspect the stores and make a list of problems there,” Cpt. Kort said.

  “There will be problems on the roads, too,�
�� Gen. Crandal said, “but we’re not bothering with those yet.”

  Kevin nodded. “Let’s take care of the people and animals first. We’ll get the roads next week.” Then he turned up his cup and drained it. “Who’s coming with me?”

  “It’ll go faster with all three of us,” Rigel said as he picked up the list Cpt. Lawrence had made and Alek and Brandon stepped beside Kevin.

  Kevin took out his key to Terah and handed it to Chris. “In case you need it for some reason.”

  Chris put it on his chain. “Good luck.”

  For the next four hours, Kevin and his bodyguards moved from one house to the next on their list, removing trees, lifting limbs, clearing doorways, and in one case, clearing half a wall that had fallen, trapping the family inside. When he got back to the castle, he was filthy, wet, cold, and hungry, and so were his bodyguards.

  “Thanks for all you did this morning,” Kevin said. “Go get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

  “And you?” Alek asked.

  “The same.” Kevin studied the map of damage reports. The ones that had been assigned had been checked off, but there were three times as many still waiting. “And then I’m going back out there.”

  “We’ll be back in half an hour,” Brandon said.

  After the bodyguards left, Chris handed Kevin a cup of coffee. “Why don’t you go upstairs and change clothes? And you need to eat. Do you want to eat here or in the dining room?”

  “Here. Back in a minute.”

  As Kevin started to leave, Chris asked, “Ready for me to get Marcus?”

  “If he’d been married a little longer, I might say yes, but Hayley makes rounds on Saturday and I’m sure he’s out somewhere with her. Let him be. If we don’t get the worst of it done by mid-afternoon, we’ll get Shadron and Kyle to help.”

  The three bodyguards walked back in shortly after Kevin finished eating. “Have you eaten?” he asked.

  Rigel nodded. “Miranda had plates ready for us, and while we were eating, she packed us some bags.” He held up two bags. “This one’s yours.”

  Kevin took the bag and glanced inside. A big smile spread across his face. “Brownies.”

  “With nuts,” Brandon said with a grin. “She gave all of us some, but I’ve got some bread and cheese, too. Don’t you?”

  Kevin nodded. “But the brownies are the best part.” As Chris handed him the list of damages, he took out his key. “Let’s go.”

  While Kevin dealt with the damage, Joan lined up beds and stalls for the people and animals who had been displaced by the storm.

  It was dark by the time Kevin made it back to the castle. As he sank down in his office chair, he sighed. “I consider this one a win. No one died, no serious injuries, and thanks to Joan, everyone has a place to spend the night.”

  Chris handed him a cup of coffee and sat down opposite him. “I won’t point out that today would have been easier with a second sorcerer. I’m sure that thought’s crossed your mind at least a dozen times today.”

  “I know, and yes, I missed him today, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pull a sorcerer in off the street and make him my associate. That was a position we created when Warren hired Colin and we had Theresa going off in all directions. I’m not sure it’s something we should continue. My father didn’t have another sorcerer around to help, and from what I’ve heard, neither did my grandfather.”

  “Well, I don’t know how it was done in the past and I don’t care. All I know is having Marcus here worked out well for everyone involved, for you and the town. You’re one person, and you don’t have a bunch of brothers and sisters to call on. And when something like this happens, you need help, or someone’s going to suffer, maybe die, because there’s only one of you and you can only do so much.”

  Kevin didn’t answer for a moment. “Let me think about it. In the meantime, I’m hungry. And too tired to answer the questions I’ll get if I go down to the dining room. Any chance I could get you to go get me something to eat?”

  “What do you want?”

  “I’m not picky at this point.”

  Kevin glanced around the room as Chris headed for the door. “Where’s Nikki?”

  “Marshall’s got her. He said he’d keep her tonight if you want him to. He’ll check with me after he takes her for her evening walk.”

  “I may take him up on that. It’s quit snowing, but if the wind picks up again, we’ll have more problems tonight.” Then he shook his head. “If it had to happen, I’m glad it’s this weekend and not next.”

  “Rhianna off next weekend?”

  Kevin smiled. “She gets off Friday morning. I hope we have all the damage taken care of by then. I’ve got plans, and they don’t include hammers and saws.”

  Chris grinned as he opened the door. “Back with your dinner in a few minutes.”

  ~~~~

  First thing Sunday morning, Rigel met with the soldiers and guards who had been out and about Saturday to compile a list of what needed to be done. Then, while the others started working on the repairs, he and Alek went through the rest of the list and made note of the jobs that would need Kevin’s help.

  Kevin spent most of Sunday and all day Monday and Tuesday helping repair roofs and rebuild damaged walls. There was still a lot of work to be done, but by sunset Tuesday, the most urgent repairs had been made. On Wednesday Kevin concentrated on clearing the main roads and trails so lumber and other supplies could get into town. Then on Thursday, the last day before Rhianna’s weekend off, Kevin cleared debris jams in the rivers and streams so that when the snow melted, the water could flow freely. By the time he got back Thursday, he was worn out but satisfied that everything would be all right until next week.

  When he sat down at his desk, he looked at all the paperwork he needed to do and shook his head. He’d worked from dinner until midnight every night, but the stack of messages that needed his attention got larger every day. With a deep sigh, he picked up the first message and started reading.

  Chris walked in with a mug of scog, set it down, and took the pen out of Kevin’s hand. “Those can wait.”

  Kevin shook his head. “I want everything caught up before I pick Rhianna up tomorrow.”

  “Why? She’ll go down to Doreen’s at some point. You can work then. And while she’s with her parents. Let it go for tonight.”

  Kevin looked at the stack. “I should at least read through them tonight. Some of them have been sitting there a couple of days. Something in there might be urgent.”

  “I’ve been through them. There’s nothing there that can’t wait until next week. Go get cleaned up, eat, spend some time with Nikki, and get some sleep.”

  Kevin leaned back in his chair. “I’d like to keep Rhianna away from here as much as possible this weekend. When she hears about that storm, she’ll want to help out. I don’t want her working all weekend.”

  “It’s part of who she is. Do you really think she’d thank you for keeping her away?” Chris shook his head. “It didn’t go well the last time you tried to keep her from doing what she wanted to do.”

  Kevin grinned. “No, it didn’t.” Then he stood up and nodded. “Let’s get something to eat. I’ll worry about that later.”

  ~~~~

  While Kevin was eating breakfast Friday morning, Rigel sat down beside him and asked him if he had any plans for the day.

  “I’m picking Rhianna up in an hour. Why?”

  “I didn’t realize she was off this weekend.” Rigel sipped his coffee. “Doreen will be pleased to hear that. I assume you’ll bring her around at some point.”

  Kevin nodded. “I’m not sure when, but she’ll want to see everyone. What are your plans for today?”

  “Zeb’s barn was destroyed during the storm so some of us are going to help him clear out the debris and put up another one.”

  “Why wasn’t he on my list this week?”

  “Because his wasn’t urgent. He moved his animals to his father’s place, so they were safe, but
now that most of the big repairs are done, we’ll start working on the other jobs.”

  “Is that why you asked what I had planned for today?”

  Rigel nodded. “I thought if you had some free time maybe you could drop by and help out a bit, but it’s all right. We can do it without a sorcerer. Having one just makes some parts easier.”

  Kevin sighed. “When are you planning to start?”

  “We’re heading out after breakfast.”

  “I can’t go then, but I can probably get there by eleven.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m sure you have plans for today. We’ll be fine.”

  “I know, but we both know it’ll be easier if I’m there. Think you can manage until I get there?”

  “It’ll take us that long to get the debris out of the way and lay out the foundation.”

  “All right. I’ll meet you out there when I get back.”

  Rigel stood up to go. “Seriously, if you have other plans, we can handle it.”

  “I’m sure you can, but I’ll be there all the same,” Kevin said. “And don’t be surprised if Rhianna comes, too.”

  Rigel smiled. “Doreen would like that.”

  “She’ll be there?”

  Rigel nodded.

  “Then I know Rhianna will want to join in.”

  “I’ll have Miranda pack some food,” Chris said. “I’ll bring it down around lunchtime.”

  “Thanks,” Rigel said as he left.

  “I knew I should have tackled those messages last night.” Kevin sighed. “I won’t be able to get to them until tomorrow now.”

  “You won’t be working the whole time, and since Rhianna will be, why don’t I bring a handful with me when I bring lunch? We’ll go through them, make some notes on what you want to say, and I’ll write them later this afternoon.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “You know you wouldn’t need to be there if you had another sorcerer around.”

  “Don’t start that again. I told you I’d think about it.”

  “Just reminding you,” Chris said. “Don’t want you to forget about it.”

  “Like I could,” Kevin mumbled. Then he put his napkin on the table and stood up. “I’m going to get Rhianna. See you later.”