The Fourteenth Key (The Chronicles of Terah Book 3) by Mackenzie Morgan Page B

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.”
    “Would that work in a river?”
    “Could you get us some volcanic ash?”
    “Volcanic ash?”
    Steve nodded. “I’m not sure what they use here, but both the