Page 15 of The Study of Fire
They exchanged a glance. Valek wondered if they thought of Sven, Adrik’s father and one of Valek’s corps. Sven had thought he could handle the heat and ended up being murdered.
“Take the rest of the day to gather supplies. Kenda will have the appropriate transfer paperwork for you. I’d suggest you arrive in Castletown tomorrow afternoon as if you’ve been traveling. I want weekly reports, unless you learn something important, then send word right away,” Valek said. Although it was a rather straightforward mission, he asked if they had any questions.
“No, sir,” they said in unison.
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
They left and Valek considered the other possibility. That magic was causing the citizens of Castletown to act strangely. He debated if he should go undercover as well, but decided to wait until Trevar and Adrik reported in.
Later that day, Kenda arrived in his office with a lanky young man at her heels. He had short dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and appeared to be in his early twenties.
“This is Brede, he works in housekeeping,” Kenda said.
Careful not to squeeze Brede’s long thin fingers too hard, Valek shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
Half-distracted, Brede nodded as he took in the state of Valek’s office and his eyes widened with glee.
Glee? Valek expected disapproval or distain or disgust.
“Oh, man,” Brede said. “You said this place needed a good cleaning, but you didn’t mention the sheer chaos. This is gonna be a challenge! I better get my cart and start right away.” He dashed from the office.
Valek lifted an eyebrow, inviting Kenda to explain.
“You wanted someone trustworthy. He’s the son of Adviser Abelard and he just about throttled our agent when he tried to bribe him to sell secrets. Brede was so outraged, he dragged the agent, who is twice his size, to my office and demanded I arrest him.”
“Could have been an act. It seems odd that an adviser’s son is working in housekeeping.”
Kenda’s expression turned cold. “What are you implying? That he’s too good to scrub floors?”
“Not at all. Those positions are usually filled with people from other military districts who want an entry-level job in the castle. He grew up here. Most of those children either find apprenticeships or leave to work elsewhere.”
“All I know is he enjoys his job and is trustworthy. Plus, the Commander approved. In fact, he’s assigned Brede as yourpersonalhousekeeper.”
Valek groaned. “Why do you hate me so much?”
She laughed. “For the record, I didn’t go over your head. The Commander happened to be talking with the housekeeping manager when I went searching for a reliable staff member.”
“Anything else you wish to torture me with?”
Kenda’s humor faded. “I received a message from Kelia. She confirmed General Kitvivan is hunting snow cats.”
CHAPTER4
Cursing, Valek took the report from her and scanned the page. “And she doesn’t have the clout to order him to stop.”
“Her and her partner could sabotage the efforts.”
“That would certainly work, but the general needs to know he’s on thin ice.”
“Ha. Ha.” Kenda deadpanned. “Should I assign a couple more agents to aid them?”
“No. I think this is the perfect mission for our new seconds-in-command.”
Now her laugh was genuine. “Good luck with that.”
“Anything else?”
“Star is still sulking. It’s nineteen days before the cold season starts. It’s not looking good for you.”
