Protector of the Flame (14 page)

Her mother walked into the house, followed by a man wearing a suit. Everyone else was dressed in black.

The man in the suit closed the door. He had short hair and looked like a movie star. “I tried to do this the easy way, but you leave me no other choice.”

Her mother dropped her purse and stepped forward. Archelaus placed a hand on her father’s shoulder, but his eyes stayed closed.

“Daughter, don’t do anything stupid,” the movie star said. “Get on your knees.”

Her mother didn’t move.

Uncle Archie pulled out something shiny and held it in front of Serenity. “Do you know what this is?”

“It’s a knife.” Glee bubbled inside of her.

With wide eyes, her mother knelt on the floor. Archippos, her other uncle, walked from the archway of the dining room and shackled her mother’s wrists behind her back.

“Arabelle,” the movie star said, putting his hands in his pockets. The woman with curly hair circled her mother. “Lovely Arabelle tells me what a person wants most.”

The woman stopped behind her mother and looked at the man in charge. The movie star nodded his head.

The woman closed her eyes. “Interesting. Never would’ve guessed.” When she opened her eyes, she stared at Serenity.

“Do you know what you can do with this?” Uncle Archie asked Serenity, holding the knife in front of her face.

“Cut an apple. Mommy makes baked apples with cinnamon and sugar.”

“She shouldn’t feed you sugar. It’s bad for you.”

“But it tastes good.”

He turned the knife and it glinted in the light. “What else can you do with this?”

“Chop off my shoelaces so I don’t have to tie them.”

He grinned. “Very creative, but I’m thinking of something else.”

“You could kill a person with it. Stab him in the chest,” she said with flourish as though she had a sword, “or in the throat or eye.” She waved her hand about, pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate.

“Arcturus, she’s perfect,” Uncle Archie said. “I want to keep the cherub instead of Sothis. You could wipe her clean and we could mold her into something exceptional.” The man tickled Serenity, and she laughed. “Give your Uncle Archie a kiss.”

Serenity gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

“Would you like to hold it? It’s an obsidian blade.”

She went to grab it, but he pulled the knife away.

“Grasp it by the hilt unless you plan to throw it at someone. I could teach you how. There’s so much I’d like to teach you.”

Her father stirred and opened his eyes.

The movie star smoothed back his hair and looked at her mother. “I came for you, but I’ll settle for the child. To make it easier, you and Lucien don’t even have to remember she existed. You could have more children.”

Her mother rolled, extending her leg, and knocked the movie star down. She kicked him in the face and wrapped her legs around his torso.

“I must admit, your mother always keeps things interesting,” Uncle Archie said merrily.

Her mother brought her arms under her butt and feet, so her wrists were now in front of her. She wrapped the dangling chain around the movie star’s neck. Archelaus leaped across the room and grabbed her by the shoulder.

A guttural scream tore from her lips as her mother crumpled to the floor, holding her head, body twitching like old man Robertson from next door having a seizure.

“Enough!” the movie star said. He stood, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped blood from his mouth. “I need her conscious!”

Fear rattled through Serenity. “Mama?”

“She’s all right,” Uncle Archie reassured. “Your mother is a tough cookie. She can handle anything.”

The movie star put the handkerchief back in his pocket. “Arabelle,” he said.

The woman walked behind her father and pulled out a gun.

“Arcturus, what do you want?” Her father asked, fully awake.

“I want my daughter back home where she belongs.”

Another uncle put Sothis down on her knees and held her shoulders. Serenity waited for her mother to twitch again, but nothing happened.

The movie star stood in front of Sothis. “Do you know what it was like for us when you ran off with Lucien without so much as a letter? I—no—we, every single one of us, poured everything we had into you, to make you the best of us. And this is how you repay us, by breaking our hearts. You made a vow. You refused Aten’s call to serve. You belong to me!”

“Father, I was fourteen. You can’t hold me to that.”

“Thirteen is the age of conscience. I have kept every solemn vow I’ve made and so shall you. You will honor your commitment to the brotherhood.”

Arabelle cocked the gun and pointed it to her father’s head.

Serenity’s father stared at her mother without a glimmer of fear. “Remember the endgame.”

Sothis shook her head and turned to Arcturus. “You wouldn’t kill my
kabashem
. You couldn’t hurt me like that.”

“Don’t gamble with me. You. Will. Lose.”

“I’m one soldier. I can’t make a difference!”

“Things have been set into motion. The time has come. I need every soldier. I need you.”

Tears rolled from her mother’s eyes. “Killing Lucien won’t change anything.”

“You’re wrong. Putting a hole in your heart will change everything.” Arcturus nodded.

Gunfire cracked through the room, shaking Serenity to the bone as the woman shot her father in the back of the head.

“Daddy!” Trembling in her uncle’s lap, she sucked in shaky breaths.

Uncle Archie turned her from the bloody sight. She clutched his neck, digging her fingers into his shirt. Salty tears dripped into her mouth.

As the sweet calm of a gentle breeze on a sunny day wrapped around her, washing out the sorrow and pain, she stared at the tattoo on the side of his neck.

A delicate flower with sharp black thorns and petals shaped as beautiful blades.

“Be strong, cherub,” Archie whispered.

“You will come and accept your calling to the
Sodalitas
with a heart full of love,” the movie star said. “I want you, but I will take your daughter in your place.”

Wiping away tears, Sothis gaped at Lucien. She lowered her head and drew in a deep breath. “I have two conditions.”

“You’re in no position to negotiate.”

Her mother’s head snapped up. Violet eyes blazed. “Someday Aurora will find out what you’ve done to me. And when she’s finished with you, I’ll spit on your grave.”

The movie star sighed. “What do you want?”

“I want the
Sodalitas
to take the blood oath to my daughter, and I want her to grow up away from the Houses amongst humans.”

“Why should I grant your child the sacred oath? It’s reserved for our own, ordained through fire and blood.”

“Today she loses her mother and father by your hand. Her grandfather. She’s earned the blood oath. It’s the only way I’ll be able to give my heart fully, knowing the life of my daughter will be as dear to my brothers and sisters as their own.”

The movie star walked to a window and slipped his hands back in his pockets. “You’d truly prefer her to be raised by human strangers rather than your family.”

“Yes,” Sothis said through gritted teeth. “I won’t seal her fate.”

“What of Aurora?”

“Mother will never learn what you’ve done here from me. Take the oath now. Swear the rest of the brotherhood will upon our return.”

The movie star clasped his hands behind his back. “What is the child’s name?”

“Serenity Ameliora.”

He put his hand over his heart and glanced around the room. The others, including Uncle Archie, mimicked him. He spoke in a strange language, but Serenity heard her name.

Afterwards, Archippos lifted Sothis from the floor.

“You’ll go back with your uncles and prepare to formally accept your calling,” the movie star said.

“Can’t I hold her and say goodbye?” Sothis asked.

“It wouldn’t be best for you.” He moved hair out of her face. “I could erase this memory for you, if you’d like.”

Her mother pulled away. “Why ask? There’s nothing to stop you from creeping into my room one night and doing it anyway.”

“I swore to your mother I’d never tamper with your mind against your will.”

“Too bad she didn’t make you swear never to harm me or my family.”

“Not even Aurora can think of everything.”

“I want my daughter to be free of you and the Houses. I don’t want her watched or I’ll consider it a violation of the sacred oath.”

He nodded. “Keep your vow to us and we shall keep ours to her.”

“Will she remember this?” Sothis looked back at Serenity.

“No. She’ll have no memory of us or what happened to Lucien.”

Sothis stared at Lucien. A shadow fell on her face. She glared at the movie star. “I’ll never call you father again.”

“That’s a sacrifice I’m prepared to make for the brotherhood. Take her,” the movie star said, waving his hand.

Through blurry eyes, Serenity watched her mother walk out the door between two uncles. Archie bounced her on his knee and wiped away her tears.

The movie star lifted her into his arms. “I’m your Grandfather Arcturus. It’s regrettable I had to upset you today, but it was for the greater good.”

He carried her down the front porch. The car her mother was in pulled away.

“Torch the house,” Uncle Archie said to Arabelle.

Her grandfather stroked Serenity’s hair. “Do you like your name?”

Heart galloping with fear, she nodded.

“Then I’ll let you keep it.” He opened the door and they got in. “What’s your
ingenium
?”

She shrugged, not knowing what he meant.

“Has your mommy or daddy ever gotten really excited about something you’ve done or maybe even angry?”

She thought about it, but didn’t know if she should tell him. “They get mad at me when I ask for a brother or sister.” The last time she asked, she’d been in the grocery store with her mother. After being told no, again, she focused on the flutters inside her tummy and made a little brother of her own appear. Her mommy was so mad they left the store without any food.

Sighing, her grandfather shook his head with a disappointed look. “Late bloomer? I had thought your mother capable of producing something more adept.” He took a deep breath. “You’re going to take a nap. When you wake, you’ll have a new life. The humans will adore you.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Your fate is tied to the
Sodalitas
now.”

Uncle Archie smiled. “We’ll meet again, cherub.”

Flames raced up the curtains inside the house. The smell of burnt wood filled the air. Then everything went blurry as her eyes fluttered close.

A crackling bolt of electricity whipped through her, breaking her connection to Adriel. He gazed at her, tears streaking his face.

He roped her into a hug, pressing his damp cheek to hers. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, as if he’d seen it all too.

Sinking into the comfort he offered, she couldn’t move her shaking arms to return his embrace. He squeezed tighter as she wept.

Chapter Fourteen

In the privacy of his spacious quarters, Cyrus cracked his knuckles. He cut his gaze to the digital clock on his desk again. The phone lines of House Aten had been busy for two days. He looked at his smartphone for any missed calls, then clicked the wireless mouse, waking his computer, and checked his email.

Serenity should’ve sent a message by now to let him know she’d arrived safely.

Tension coiled deeper into his muscles, tightening in the tendons of his back. He never should’ve let her go. How rash and foolish.

“Lord Cyrus.” Aditya, his personal attendant, came from the bathroom into his bedroom, diverting him from his misery. “Your bath is drawn.”

Barefoot, she took delicate steps across the marble floor. The sheer turquoise gown she wore with nothing beneath clung to her voluptuous breasts and svelte waist, flowing gently around curvy hips and lean legs. Her typical style of dress while in his private quarters, designed to please him, only deepened his heartache.

“I’ll shave you first.” Aditya stroked his cheek with years of familiarity built over two human lifetimes. “And after your bath, I think you could use a massage with warm oil.”

The sweet perfume of her skin tickled his nose.

She glanced at the flat screen computer monitor. “Are you ready for me to bathe you? Or do you need more time to work?”

He appreciated her services over the lonely years and infrequent occasions when he came back to House Herut. The comfort she brought, which stopped short of sex—barely—had been an indulgence he once reveled in. One of many perks of nobility. Aditya was four hundred, but only looked a few years older than him. She had lost her mate almost two centuries ago. If Cyrus had asked or even alluded to interest in more, she would’ve gladly given her body for his pleasure, despite Herut’s laws to preserve spiritual purity.