Keepers of the Flame (15 page)

He
showed her the rest of the house. The luxury and space of it intimidated her
with the expectations the citymasters had of her, the belief she’d stay in
Lladrana. Each wooden panel and piece of furniture was carefully crafted of the
best materials. A showplace. She didn’t know if she could live in a showplace,
but to refuse and dent everyone’s pride was impossible.

The
master bedroom was on the third floor, with a balcony over the square and a
wide window to the north, showing the Castle. She had a prized corner lot. The
guest bedroom was an explosion of purple. Someone had put it together with
care, with various shades and rich textures, but her eyes watered just looking
at it.

Sevair
watched her closely. Not time to tell him that she and Elizabeth had finished
their purple phase at seven years old. “It’s…interesting.”

He
chuckled, relaxed. “Then we were correct in keeping to a more traditional
decorating scheme for the master bedroom.”

“Ayes,”
she said.

Harp
strings came at her door. Bri blinked.

“The
doorharp is bespelled so you can hear it anywhere,” Sevair said. He went to the
bedside table and picked up something that looked like a real horn and spoke.
“Who’s there?”

“Geraint.”
Bri heard the answer.

Sevair
said, “My assistant.” Then into the horn, “Ayes?”

“The
other citymasters request that you accompany the farmer home after market.”

Eyebrows
winging up, Sevair said, “Come in,” and set the horn down. He hummed the unlock
spell on the front door. His expression had gone serious again. “We citymasters
had intended a dinner in your honor this evening, then decided after you healed
the child that you should rest. Will you be all right here on your own?”

Bri
blinked at him. She’d traveled the world over and had been all right on her
own. She’d been careful—mostly. “Ayes.”

A
young man wearing gray walked toward them. He bowed.

“My
assistant, Geraint, who attends to my office, will be available to you for
anything.”

“Salutations,”
Bri said.

Sevair
turned to Geraint and spoke of reassuring the countryside that their concerns
were not overlooked. Bri drifted toward the creamy-yellow painted bedroom.
Cheerful and sunny, especially on this gray day, she liked it, though it was a
trifle too fussy with lace.

Earlier
she’d set down her pack on the desk. It looked totally out of place here.
High-tech materials against silk and brocade and lace, gender-neutral in a very
feminine room. The citymasters had obviously expected their Exotique to be
female.

Again
harp strings sounded. Bri looked around and found a shell-like horn on the
bedside. She picked it up. “Who’s there?” That was what Sevair said.

“The
tailor, my lady,” said a female voice.

“Is
that the right greeting?” Bri asked. “Who’s there?”

A
little cough on the other end of the horn. “Ayes.”

“Thank
you,” Bri said. “The door is unlocked, please come in. I’ll meet you in the
parlor.” There
was
a parlor.

She
turned and found Sevair at the door, Geraint hovering behind him.

“Unless
you want me to stay, I’ll leave now.” Sevair’s voice was matter-of-fact, but
his gaze was warm with a touch of curiosity. When she listened, she thought the
vibrations of his Song expressed interest—personal—in her.

He
smiled. “Citymaster Nu will take care of you. She’s an excellent tailor and
already has a wardrobe planned.”

Bri
glanced around. “So all my needs will be provided by citymasters?” That didn’t
come out the way she’d intended.

His
gaze lingered on her face. “Ayes, anything you wish for will be provided.”

“Ah,
how about lunch?” Her mind went back to the potato casserole and her mouth
watered.

“Of
course.” He looked at a water clock set on an beautifully sculpted table made
especially for it, smiled again. “The clock is understandable and acceptable?”

“Ayes,
we know that time passes the same here as at home. The clock is charming.” The
rush of water soothed her.

“I’d
heard that time is the same and so are clocks,” Sevair said. “And the table?”

The
intensity of his glance clued her in. “You made it? It’s beautiful.” A short
pillar with a delicate stone floral vine covering the underlying flutes. Bri
thought she even saw a fairy face peeking out between leaves.

He
nodded. “Thank you.”

She
wondered how much more of his work she’d find in the house. Something to look
for.

“As
for lunch,” Sevair said, “it should have arrived and been placed in the kitchen
for you. We have cold and hot boxes to keep the food at the proper temperature.
The other Exotiques—all three of them—planned the menus.” Amusement laced his
tones. “There was lively discussion.” He sobered again. “However, the tailor is
here…”

She
suppressed a sigh. The woman was probably a busy person and Bri was taking up
time. “Yes. The tailor first. And I’m a little tired. I’ll rest.”

“E
verything okay?”
Alexa asked.

Elizabeth
looked around. The extra bed and wardrobe had been removed, the furniture
rearranged. Bri’s fragrance, more, her Song, still floated in the rooms,
reaching Elizabeth’s heart. She’d only had the company of her sister for a few
brief hours before they’d been separated again. Not their choice this time. Or
perhaps it had been too easy to accommodate the wishes of the Lladranans and
they should have thought more of themselves. But they hadn’t been given the
time.

Going
back out to the sitting room, Elizabeth checked the potatoes and went to the
chest. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw the clean empty serving
bowl that had held the fruit salad. Her mother’s special-occasion china.

What
would her parents think when they discovered their daughters were missing?
Elizabeth’s car was in her allotted apartment parking spot, but…. She shut off
that line of thinking. There was nothing she could do about it right now, and
it would only muddle her thoughts when she needed all her wits to deal with the
current situation.

Her
mind went back to what Alexa had said before. Elizabeth asked, “Any idea what
this item…the Dark wants…is? Is it physical?”

“No,
we don’t know what it is. Yes, we know it’s physical. We think the Dark
originally came to this planet through the dimensional corridor and landed in
Lladrana, then left and settled in the north on its own cozy volcanic island.
But it either lost this object or didn’t realize it needed it.”

“Hmm,”
Elizabeth managed.

Alexa
said, “So, the Dark wants this item, and we think it’s somehow sent this
sickness as a plague to wipe the Lladranans out. The monsters haven’t been able
to penetrate the northern border and take the thing. So killing us all with an
epidemic might be an alterative plan.” Her steps slowed; she studied Elizabeth
with cool eyes. “That’s your task, your’s and your sister’s. To find a cure for
the plague.”

“Nothing
like a little pressure,” Elizabeth said.

Alexa
shrugged. “That’s life on Lladrana. You, what, just got certified as a medical
doctor? Did internships and residency? That ain’t exactly a walk in the park.”
She’d switched to English again, and Elizabeth’s head began to ache.

Elizabeth
said in Lladranan, “No, my training to be an E.R. doctor wasn’t easy.”
‘Training” was a word she’d already learned. “But it was a long ordeal, now
over.”

“Ah,
and now I’m asking you to gird your loins for another long ordeal.”

“If
most Exotiques fulfill their task within two months for the Snap, Bri and I can
do it, too.” Elizabeth was feeling overwhelmed, but wouldn’t admit doubt to
anyone other than Bri.

Blinking,
Alexa said, “Fulfilled their task in two months?”

“You
said that the Snap averages two months, and one of the prerequisites for the
Snap is the fulfillment of a task.”

“Excellent
deduction.” Faucon, the elegant Chevalier said from the door. He looked around.
“All is as it should be.”

“You
did your task in two months,” Elizabeth said.

Alexa
pinkened. “A little over.”

“Marian
succeeded in a month,” Faucon said, and grunted when Alexa elbowed him. “And
Calli—”

“Calli
decided early on to stay in Lladrana,” Alexa said.

“Bri
and I will work hard on our task,” Elizabeth said. “But we want to return home.
We have our parents to consider. They’ll worry.” She lifted her chin. “Imagine
how you’d feel if your children disappeared.”

Scowling,
Alexa said, “We understand that.”

“Good.
Understand that our food and our belongings are ours.”

“Fine,
fine.” Alexa waved a hand.

“Promise.”

“I
promise,” Alexa ground out between her teeth.

“You
seem to be giving us a list of rules and requirements. I’m just returning the
favor,” Elizabeth said, and the phrase sounded fine in Lladranan.

Faucon
indicated the potatoes. “I can arrange for a cold storage box to be put in your
dining area,” he said smoothly.

“Aren’t
those expensive?” Alexa grumbled.

Faucon
just kept smiling.

“Right,
with you, zhiv—money—is no problem,” Alexa answered herself.

“I’d
like the cold box,” Elizabeth said. She sent a look to Alexa. “You were all
very free with your bribes to keep us here this morning.”

Alexa’s
chin came up. She touched her baton. “Exotiques who stay get an estate and a
lifetime salary. That’s the deal. The citymasters have a house for you in
Castleton, but if you both stay you can have what you want, where you want.”

“We
won’t be staying.”

“I’ll
let you get settled,” Alexa said. Her eyes softened. “Despite all its dangers,
Lladrana can be a wonderful home.”

“I’m
sure,” Elizabeth murmured.

Alexa
dug into a pocket and came out with a small crystal sphere. “Almost forgot,
this is for you. Communication to any of us, though, um, we may develop a
telepathic link as we go along.”

Elizabeth
took it. Even as she watched the crystal clouded. She hurriedly placed it on
the sideboard.

“We
also have an internal communication system.” Alexa picked up a cow’s horn. “Magic—or
rather Power. It doesn’t use much energy. Feel free to call.” She walked to the
door.

“Thank
you.” Elizabeth’s mouth dried. Soon she’d be alone. She should cherish the time
alone, as she’d learned to do during her medical training back home. But this
wasn’t home.

From
the doorway, Alexa said to Faucon, “Aren’t you coming?”

“In
a moment.”

She
snorted again and disappeared into the hallway.

Elizabeth
met Faucon’s warm, dark chocolate-brown eyes.

“You
will have the cold-storage box within the hour.” He hesitated, came up to her
and took her limp hand. Only when she felt the warmth of his fingers did she
realize how cold her own were, though the room was nearly hot.

He
squeezed her hand. “Please, call on me if you have any other wishes you want
fulfilled. I would be your friend.”

From
the lilt of sensual Song coming from him, Elizabeth was sure he wanted more. As
she gazed at his elegant features, her pulse picked up, surprising her.

Keeping
his eyes on her, he kissed her hand, let it go. “Until later.”

“Later,”
Elizabeth whispered.

He
went out the door and closed it behind him.

Elizabeth
stared at the strange room, full of beautiful furniture, the window showing a
landscape of gray and green rolling hills. No mountains. No plains.

The
white chest from a place a world away.

She
found herself on a new segment of her life, and not the new segment she had
planned.

And
a new man?

12

E
lizabeth spent
her afternoon studying in-depth with the medicas, especially the non-invasive
healing of muscle and bone. As predicted—or perhaps dreaded—a Chevalier
fighting pair had arrived in bad shape.

Calli
and the Marshalls took care of the volarans’ injuries since the medicas wanted
to teach Elizabeth.

The
Marshalls’ healing circle was more like calling down a blessing, or general
healing, not detailed work with the chakras—God help her!—or individual systems
of anatomy. The medicas could do this, too, and had participated in such
circles to use the Marshalls’ incredible strength and teamwork. But
individually and in pairs and triads, the medicas were more specialized,
drawing on what Bri called the healingstream and performing with their minds
and magic what surgical teams would do with hands and tools.