Blaze

Cover Art Copyright ©2004 Angela Knight

Edited by
Portland
Elizabeth

BLAZE

Kate Hill

Copyright ©2004 Kate Hill

Prologue

Sir Blaze's thick auburn hair shone redder than ever in the sunlight pouring through the windows of his herbarium. His pale blue eyes fixed on his elegant, long-fingered hands as they plucked leaves from a mint plant. Inhaling the scent of herbs, he felt at peace—or as much at peace as the spirits allowed.

To his left, three bearded scholars watched his every move while whispering amongst themselves.

Finally Blaze turned to his observers and snapped, "What?"

"You think of work when pleasure awaits," said the tallest and thinnest of the scholars.

"Pleasure in the form of sweet music," said a shorter, fatter one.

"Sweet Music?"

"Do you not deserve the happiness others have found? Do you—"

A knock on the door interrupted the spirits who grumbled and clustered near shelves filled with books and medicine bottles.

"Enter!" Blaze called.

Two Knights stepped inside. The taller, burlier visitor, Sir Lock, wore a wry grin on lips just visible beneath his wiry white beard. He approached the table, his arms folded across his broad

chest. The other, Sir Crag, a lean, chestnut-haired man who, like Blaze, wore a green sash as part of his black uniform, lurked in the doorway.

"What service is required?" Blaze asked.

Lock grinned. "Oh, just the service of every single woman at the festival this afternoon."

"You are a claimed man."

"I don't mean me. I'm talking about you."

Blaze turned his attention back to his herbs. "These woods are full of young bucks to see to their needs."

"What about your needs?" Lock continued. "Damn it, Blaze, your libido is drying up just like these herbs."

Blaze flashed a stern look in Lock's direction. "How is that your concern?"

"Lock, extend a bit of tact for once." Crag approached the table. "I swear all those years at sea have affected your brain."

"There's nothing like the sea to set a man up," Lock argued. "There's freedom, adventure, and with the love of a good woman on deck beside me, I've no complaints."

"We're not here to discuss your married life, or mine, for that matter."

"Why are you here?" Blaze asked, though he already knew the answer. For some strange reason, his closest friends were obsessed with finding him a mate. Blaze wasn't opposed to marriage. He loved the idea of sharing his life with a woman, but for him it was a dream. An unreachable dream.

For as long as he could remember, he possessed a "gift." The dead appeared to him as clearly as the living and communicated with him. Sometimes they spoke gibberish, but other times they warned him of danger and even foretold the future. No one could lie in Blaze's presence, for the spirits would reveal their deception. Such contact with the spirit world came at a price. Blaze was rarely left alone. The ghosts' messages were often strange and led him to speak in symbolism that

normal people found difficult to understand. As a child, he'd been considered insane by his family and village. They banished him to the madhouse, a horrible, filthy place filled with pain and death.

When Knights of the Ruby Order passed through his village, one had offered his healing skills in the madhouse. Sir Mahir, leader of the Order, had taken a liking to Blaze. He'd realized the boy

wasn't crazy and arranged for Blaze to accompany him to Rubyshire, home of the Ruby Order.

The Knight had raised Blaze as his son. With patience and understanding from those around him, Blaze soon learned to communicate with others. He learned the ways of the Order with enthusiasm and gratitude.

In spite of his relationship with Mahir, it was no easy task for Blaze to climb the ranks of the Order. He endured as many, sometimes more, hardships than the other trainees. Because of his

natural talent for healing, he was often stationed in the poorest and loneliest places where the inhabitants suffered from a variety of rare illnesses. Not once did he shirk his duty or consider leaving the order to explore more profitable positions that a healer of his quality could attain tending the rich.

Blaze loved being a Knight, except for the idea of killing in battle. With the sprits of the dead always close to him, the company of those he killed could drive him to real madness. The only reprimands marking his record resulted from his lack of force in battle or with prisoners. In spite of his reserves about violence, Blaze possessed great skill in combat. His reflexes were incredible and the strength in his lean, supple body impressive. He had the power, but not the will.

It was during his travels east that he found the man who became his teacher in empty handed combat. Master Etah was a legend among his kind. He and his wife lived alone, deep in the mountains. The Master rarely took on students, but he immediately liked Blaze and his feelings

were reciprocated. Blaze began a training regimen even more grueling than what he'd endured at the Order. He learned the Master's fighting secrets and carried them back to the Knights. Home again, he convinced Mahir to establish the Green Sash Faction. These Knights would forsake the use of weapons and dedicate their lives to healing. Mahir agreed and placed Blaze in charge. Few men volunteered for the Green Sash Faction, and even fewer met Blaze's rigid standards for

acceptance. Harsh training and tests were necessary, since these men risked their lives by marching weaponless into the thick of battle.

In spite of Blaze's strangeness and gentle nature, he and his faction established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Possessing tremendous skill and incomparable courage, the Green Sash

Faction was elite among all others in the Order.

After years of work and dedication, Blaze earned the rank of third in command of the entire Ruby Order, with only Mahir and Sir Torn above him. Torn's friendship meant more to Blaze than anything in the world. Of all the Knights, even Mahir, Torn understood him best. Blaze treasured such rare acceptance.

"Hello!" Lock waved a hand in front of Blaze's eyes. "Are you with us?"

"What?" Blaze glanced at his companions. He'd been so lost in thought that he'd almost forgotten about them.

"The festival," Crag said with a slight smile. "You are coming this year?"

"I'm to perform with you and the rest of our faction."

"I'm not talking about the martial arts display. I mean the fun. You always disappear after the performance and never enjoy yourself with the rest of us."

"I prefer solitude. There is work to be done."

"Life isn't all about work," Lock said. "You got to have fun. You got to mingle. You got to romance the ladies."

Blaze smiled and held up a defensive hand. "No. The fairer sex and I do not mesh. I confuse them.

They confuse me."

Lock chuckled. "Who isn't confused by women? Hell, if I had to understand Sparrow, I never would have married her. Lust and love are what matter."

"Lust." Blaze shook his head. "You both slip into marriage beds. I must uphold my vows."

Lock's smile faded and he glanced toward the hall before speaking in a hushed voice. "How many of these men do you think really uphold the abstinence vow?"

"Vows are not to be made or broken lightly."

"Have you ever?" Lock grinned.

Blaze glanced at a bunch of lavender hanging on the wall. The scent of it reminded him of a moment shared between a younger, naïve version of himself and an older woman who considered lovemaking recreation rather than commitment. Sometimes he thought of her in shameful flashes.

Her hair had been black as ink. Her eyes blue and her lips full and red. Her nails had scored his flesh with passion as he plunged into her liquid heat and satisfied forbidden desires.

Little more than a child, he'd fancied himself in love with her. She'd laughed at his affection as well as his lovemaking. What had she called him? A pitiful simpleton whose cock was bigger than his brain but little more useful. It had taken years before he ceased cringing at the memory. To think he'd broken one of his vows for such a woman. Never again would he make that mistake.

"Well?" Lock leaned closer, waiting for the juicy details.

Blaze stared hard at the Knight. "Remember to whom you're speaking, Sir."

"Pulling rank on me, eh? Looks like I better shut up."

"My thanks to both of you," Blaze said sincerely. "But not all are meant to be wed. My company is not coveted by women."

"Our wives consider you a friend," Crag stated. "And many single women in Rubyshire enjoy spending time with you."

"More than anything I would treasure a companion, but I fear it is not meant to be."

"Not stuck in this room or out in the battlefield, it's not," Lock told him.

"Blaze, almost every Dame in the Opal Order is going to join us at the festival. There are many nice, free Dames just looking for—"

"I’m familiar with the Opal Order. My foster daughter lives among them and I've instructed many of their healers."

"Work again." Lock scowled. "Look at yourself. You make a good appearance. A little on the thin side, perhaps, but—"

"But not all of us are built like a white island yak." Crag flung the burly Knight a snide look.

"I'm tired of people calling me a yak," Lock muttered.

Crag turned to Blaze. "Listen. You have so much to offer a woman. It's wrong to withhold your gifts from a potential mate. You don't belong alone."

"Why the concern? Have you not enough to do with your own wives that you must seek one for me?"

"We're your friends!" Lock snapped. "We want you to be happy. You do everything for everybody but nothing for yourself. Ask anyone in Rubyshire and he'll tell you the same!"

"Your concern touches me." Blaze told them, meaning every word. He stepped closer to the window and gazed at the field outside where Knights and horses trained for battle. "But women confound me. I see a maiden and speech won't come. I cannot think of what to say, and if I do, my language is not hers."

A half smile touched Crag's lips. "You're saying you're shy around women? That's all right."

"We can get you over it," Lock said. "You just need to give a woman the look. Like this." Lock's eyes took on a lusty expression and he ran his tongue over his full lips while growling deep in his

chest.

Crag looked disgusted. "Do that and she's likely to shoot you with a crossbow and mount your head above her fireplace."

"What do you know about romance?" Lock retorted. "In my youth I was a SothSea whore. I know everything about seduction."

"Regarding humans or Archipelago pigs?"

"Gentlemen, please!" Blaze said. "Take arguments—and lessons in love—outside. This is a place for healing."

"Just come to the festival," Crag said.

"What could it hurt?" Lock added. "At least the food will be good."

Food. That was one temptation Blaze found difficult to ignore. "I will consider it."

"Good. I need to get back to my ship for inspection," Lock said. "See you men at the festival."

Blaze watched his companions leave. No sooner had the door closed behind them than the scholars approached again.

"Do as the Knights say," the spirits chimed. "Sweet Music awaits."

Sweet Music. Before Blaze could inquire about what they meant, they disappeared through the stone wall.

Chapter One

Melody smiled, warmed by the sun and tantalized by the scent of wildflowers, dewy grass, and festival food cooking over fires. As she reached the crest of the hill between Rubyshire and

Femmeglen, she paused to gaze at the fairground below. Colorful tents and vendors' carts scattered over the lush field. In the distance, a horse race was underway and in the midst of the field performers on a raised platform entertained a crowd.

The yearly festival was an event most everyone on the isle of Travelle looked forward to . Hosted by the Knights of the Ruby Order, everyone on the island was invited to share food, games, music, and events.

It had been ten years since Melody attended the fair, and just as long since she'd been home. For the past decade she had been stationed on a small island off the coast of the western continent. The inhabitants were of a primitive culture and their number dwindled. Finally their village elder had agreed to move his people to one of the larger cities. With many healers available in their new home, they no longer had need of Melody's skills. Tears were shed upon her leaving, both by her

and the people she considered her family. Her duty dictated that she serve where the Opal Order placed her. It was time for her to return to them and accept a new assignment. Besides, she had another family with the Order, and she missed them greatly.