The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) (11 page)

“You could go as yourselves, two retired soldiers. From what I’ve heard, you’re both pretty well known in Milhaven for your Octuro skills. Want to play in Glenarbour?”

“Now that does sound like fun,” Caezar said with a nod. “And I have to admit, being able to shave, take baths, and wear clean clothes on a regular basis sounds good, too.”

“And we get to eat someone else’s cooking!” Ramen agreed. “When do we leave?”

“How long will it take you to pack?” Kevin asked.

“Half an hour,” Ramen answered.

Kevin nodded. “I need to see Sister Brena for a minute, but I should be back by the time you’re done.” Then he lifted off the ground and up over the treetops.

A few minutes later, he landed at the foot of the steps leading to the front door of the chapel. As soon as he knocked, Brena opened the door.

“I thought I saw you floating around a little while ago. Made me think I was losing my mind for a minute there,” Brena said as she headed towards the kitchen and the inevitable cup of tea.

“I was looking for Caezar and Ramen,” Kevin explained. “I take it you’ve met them?”

“Ummm.” Brena poured two cups of tea. She set one in front of an empty chair on one side of the table and the other in front of a chair on her side. She motioned Kevin towards the chair across from her as she sat down. “I would have thought you’d introduce them to me yourself, but never mind.”

“Brena, when I brought them here, you were unconscious.”

“Verna wasn’t.”

Kevin hesitated a moment. “I felt like the fewer people who knew about them, the better.”

“You didn’t trust Verna at that point, did you?”

Kevin didn’t answer.

“That’s all right. I understand,” Brena said as she sipped her tea. “As far as I know, she never realized it, so it doesn’t matter. But for future reference, you can trust her.”

Kevin sighed. “I know you have complete faith in all of the sisters, Brena, but …”

“No, not really. I never did trust Gerry very much, and to be honest, Janine’s a bit of a worry. That’s why you’re here today, isn’t it?”

Kevin nodded. “I don’t think she trusts me to handle things if she finds the captives.”

“And you’re afraid she’ll go off on her own, try to rescue them, and end up causing both of us all kinds of headaches.”

“To put it mildly.”

“I agree. So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Wait a minute,” Kevin said, frowning. “If you’re not sure she’ll play by the rules, why did you have me take her to Glenarbour to start with?”

“Because I know her. If I hadn’t made arrangements for her to get there, she’d have gone on her own, and neither of us could have done a thing about it. I couldn’t have sent you after her to drag her back. She’s got a pendant. And she’ll only listen to me up to a point. If she thinks she knows best, she’ll act on it, no matter what I say.” Brena took another swallow of tea. “She has tunnel vision right now. She doesn’t see the larger picture and she’s not interested in seeing it. All she sees is that someone she feels responsible for is in danger, and that makes her dangerous to anyone who tries to get in her way, me included. You can’t fault her loyalty, or her sense of duty, but it may lead us into a real mess if you don’t come up with something. So, like I asked earlier, what are you going to do about it?

“I’ve made arrangements to have someone at the auction who’ll buy any of the captives from Syrando who show up there. That person will take them to his home province where they’ll stay until arrangements can be made to bring them back to Camden, but I’m not going to take them back to Syrando.”

“That’s fine, but I doubt it’ll be enough for Janine, especially as she doesn’t really know you.”

“That’s why I want to put Caezar and Ramen in Glenarbour. I’m going to tell her they’re working for me and she can get a message to me through them, and if she runs into any problems, they’ll be there to help her.”

“Or stop her,” Brena said under her breath. “All right, but why should she trust them?”

“Does she know about the break-in last summer?”

Brena thought for a moment and then nodded. “I don’t remember how, but she did hear about it. I got a note from her asking if there was anything she needed to know. I let her think it was just a couple of stray bandits who thought that since this chapel was the home of the Sisterhood, there’d be money here. But I did mention you’d put a couple of soldiers in the area to keep an eye out in case the thieves had been part of a larger gang.”

“If you send her a note introducing them, would that make them more acceptable to her?”

Brena nodded. “It should, but be sure to remind them she wears a pendant, and even good intentions, if interpreted as a threat, can spark it.”

“I will.”

“When are you taking them up there?”

“I’m supposed to meet her tomorrow morning around daybreak. I thought I’d take them then.”

“Good.” Brena stood up and put her cup in the sink. “Anything else?”

Kevin shook his head and finished the last swallow of his tea.

“Then I’m going to go write that note,” she said as she took his cup and set it in the sink with hers. “She should have it before you get there. And if you can, drop by tomorrow morning and let me know how she reacts.”

Kevin nodded as Brena breezed out of the kitchen and headed down the hall to her office.

~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin didn’t get back to his office with Caezar and Ramen until a few minutes before 9:00. After arranging to meet them in his office at 5:00 the next morning, he left for Ashmont.

No one was on the street when Kevin got there, but a couple of the stores were open. He walked up the front steps of the chapel and knocked on the door.

When Alma opened it, she said, “You’ve come to see Sister Theresa again, haven’t you? You do realize she’s a Sister of Healing and has certain obligations and duties, don’t you? She doesn’t have time for personal visitors.”

“But you’ll still tell her I’m here, won’t you?”

“Humph!” Alma muttered and stomped off down the hall.

A little bit later, Theresa emerged from the back area of the chapel, wiping her hands on her apron. “Sorry. I was with a patient, although I’m not sure why. He kept saying nothing was wrong, but Alma insisted I had to check him out.”

“Was something wrong with him?”

Theresa shrugged. “Not that I could find. Anyway, you’re here for the children, right?”

Kevin nodded.

“Good. And I want you to take Hayley back, too.”

“Don’t you need her here?”

Theresa shook her head. “With the children gone, there’ll be even less to do. Alma doesn’t let her do anything but clean anyway. And if she goes back with you she can help look after the children. At least they know her.”

“Have you told her yet?”

Theresa nodded. “She wanted to argue with me, but she had to admit the transition will be a little easier for the children if there’s someone around they already know.”

“Are they ready to go?”

Again, Theresa nodded. “Alma woke them up at daybreak, fed them a quick breakfast, and started them in on chores, just like yesterday. They’re probably ready for a nap by now. Where are you taking them?”

“I’d planned to take them to the castle, but I didn’t know Hayley was going. Should I take them to Joan’s house instead?”

“I don’t think it matters. But if I were you, I’d take their stuff straight to Joan’s. Hayley’s got it all together on the back porch.”

“Let’s go get it then.”

Half an hour later, Hayley and her bag were back at the chapel in Milhaven and the children’s clothes were at Joan’s. Before he headed back to Ashmont, Kevin made a quick detour by Joan’s office to let her know he would be back with the children in a few minutes.

When he got there, Serra, one of the women from the housekeeping staff, was arranging a pallet on the floor. “We thought the children might need to lie down a bit when they get here,” Serra said in answer to Kevin’s unasked question. “From what Joan says, a trip through the energy field can be a bit draining for an adult. I imagine the experience is even harder on a child.”

Kevin nodded and looked at Joan. “I’ve already taken their stuff to your house. Gracie said she’d get everything unpacked and have their rooms ready by the time you get home. Hayley’s back at the chapel so she’ll be available to help out, too. Are you ready for me to bring the children?”

“I want to go to Ashmont and meet them first,” Joan said. “Then, after I spend a little time with them, I’ll ask if they want to come stay with me while we try to find their mother. They need to feel like they have a choice, even if they don’t.”

Kevin frowned. “How long will this take?”

“As long as it takes,” Joan said. “Why? Do you have something else to do today?”

“Actually, yes.”

“When?”

“This evening.”

“We’ll be back before then.”

“When did you decide to do this? No one mentioned it to me, and it’s just luck I decided to drop by before heading back to Ashmont.”

“About two minutes ago, but you have to admit it’s a good idea.” Joan put her hand on Kevin’s arm. “Now, let’s go.”

As soon as Kevin and Joan arrived on the back porch of the chapel, Joan opened the door and stepped into the kitchen. Alma was standing near the table, instructing Caitlyn in the proper way to wipe it down after a meal.

Joan nodded to Alma, walked over to the table, pulled out a chair, sat down, gently took the cloth out of Caitlyn’s hand, and introduced herself to the child. Then she asked if Caitlyn knew where her brother was.

“I think he’s outside, in the shed,” Caitlyn answered, looking down at the floor as she spoke.

Joan looked up at Alma and raised her eyebrows. Alma nodded, but there was a deep frown on her face. As Alma put her hands on her hips and took a breath to say something, Joan said, “I’m Gov. Karl’s wife. I need to talk to the children.”

Alma bit her tongue and nodded.

Then Joan stood up, took Caitlyn’s hand, and the two of them walked towards the back door.

Kevin held the door open for them, and as soon as they were off the porch, he stepped back inside. “I think I’m going to be here for a while. Do you have any coffee?”

Chapter 8

Business As Usual

It was nearly lunchtime before Kevin got back to his office. As soon as he sat down at his desk, Chris walked through the door with a message in his hand.

“What’s that?” Kevin asked.

“Remember Lynda? In Zander? She needs some help.” Chris handed the message to Kevin. “There’s a bridge near Clayborn that gets washed away every time they have heavy rains. She’s put it back twice, but she’s wondering if there’s something else she can do to help it withstand flash floods.”

Kevin frowned. “I think I was absent the day they covered building bridges in my business class.”

“Same here.”

“And that’s one of those questions I really hate asking anyone. It’s probably something I’m supposed to already know.” Kevin leaned back in his chair. “Unless we can use some steel cables and string up something like a suspension bridge, which I wouldn’t know how to do anyway, I’m fresh out of ideas.”

“So the question becomes, who do we ask?”

“Steve might know something about this,” Kevin said.

“Or Karl.”

“That’s not a bad idea either. We’re going to lunch in a few minutes. You ask Karl if he has any ideas and I’ll check with Steve.” Kevin looked at Lynda’s note again. “In the meantime, tell Lynda we’re working on it and we’ll get back to her with some ideas as soon as we can.”

Chris nodded. “While you were gone, I told Gen. Crandal that Caezar and Ramen were back and that you wanted to send them to Glenarbour. He thought it was a good idea, and said he’d have a quiet word with them about keeping an eye on Janine. I didn’t actually say we were afraid she’d try something on her own, but I think he figured it out.”

“Better for them to hear it from him than from me.”

“And I talked to Karl about working with Gov. Shardin to buy the captives. He said he’d get with Wrenn this afternoon and find out how it works.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“Laryn dropped by. She told me to keep Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon clear this week.”

Kevin frowned. “Why?”

“You’re going visiting. Wednesday night you’re having dinner with your Uncle Kyle, and Saturday afternoon you’re visiting your Uncle Shadron.”

Kevin’s frown deepened. “What are you talking about?”

“Laryn wants to introduce Steve to her family, and since you’ve never been to see them, she’s killing two birds with one stone.”

“Why now?”

“Steve and Laryn are getting married, and she wants them to meet him before the wedding.”

Kevin nodded. “Okay, but why do I have to go?”

“She thinks it’s time you got to know them, and from the way she told me to keep those slots open, I don’t think you’ll be able to use being busy as an excuse.”

Kevin shook his head. “How are the wedding plans coming along?”

“I’m trying to stay out of it, but from the bits I’ve heard, I’d say fine.”

“Anything I need to know?”

“Plenty, but that’s next month. Let’s get through this one first. And you’ll be going to visit the rest of your relatives over the next couple of weeks, so before you make any plans, check with me.” Chris stood up. “Now, let’s get some lunch.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Kevin caught up with Steve right as he was leaving the dining room. After Kevin explained Lynda’s problem, Steve asked, “What’s causing the bridge to collapse? Is the water sweeping it away? Or are the supports giving away?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, if water’s hitting the bridge, all she needs to do is raise it. If the supports are failing, she may need a wedge in front of them so the water splits and doesn’t hit them head on.”

“What kind of wedges?” Kevin asked. “Wood?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of concrete.

“Do they have that here?”

Steve chuckled and waved at the castle. “They had to use something to hold all these rocks together.”