Temple of Fyre (Island of Fyre) (10 page)

“Did I hurt you last night? There’s dried blood on your organ.”

He dared not laugh, but her expression amused him. “’Tis your blood because ‘twas the first time you lay with a man. ‘Twill not happen again.” He took the cloth from her and finished washing himself.

She edged along the blanket and touched his erection. When his rod stirred, her eyes widened. “How did you make your organ move?”

“My rod reacts to your touch.”

“Will I hurt you?”

He smiled. “Your touch increases my desire for shared pleasures.”

She met his gaze. “By moonlight, you learned the secrets of my body. By the sun’s brightness, I would know you. In the scrolls, I read about a man and a woman uniting in body, heart, and mind. When they do, the power of the blue fyrestone is theirs.”

He braced on his elbows. “My body is yours.”

“And your heart and mind?”

“Perhaps one day. Today, I have no more than my body to offer. How can a man give his heart when he doesn’t know who or what formed him?”

She nodded. “I also have nothing more to give until I have a fyrestone.” She moved along the blanket and touched her lips to his. “Let me see if I can raise a fire in you.”

“You have.” Her look of determination intrigued him. What would she do next?

She ran her tongue over his mouth. Her breasts brushed his chest. The feel of her tightened nipples on his skin made him clench his hands to keep from pulling her into his arms. This time was hers to control. He inhaled her scent and the aroma of the flowers that drifted from the tree.

When she slid her tongue into his mouth, he stroked hers with his. She drew his tongue into her mouth and sucked. He brought his hands to her shoulders. Ria raised her head and kissed her way down his neck. She touched a spot that made him groan. When she lapped like a kitten drinking cream, he growled.

“Ria, take me inside.”

“Be patient and all you desire will be yours.”

She kissed her way down his chest and abdomen. When she slid her mouth over his rod, his body burned. Could he endure this slow but delightful pleasure much longer?

“Ria, please.” He rasped the words.

She stroked the length of his erection with her tongue, and then sucked. Lightly, she massaged his sac.

“Mount me.” A sheen of sweat covered his skin.

With a final stroke of her tongue across the head of his rod, she rose and slowly encased him. With her hands braced against his shoulders, she began to move. Ari’s breathing became as rapid as though he’d run several miles. He reveled in the slick tightness of her sheath. As she rocked, he fondled her breasts. With a roar, he peaked with an eruption he thought would never end.

Ria continued to ride. She whimpered and moaned. He slid his hand between them and rubbed her pleasure node. Her body arched and she cried his name, and then collapsed on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her. “My body is yours.”

“As mine is yours.” She pressed her hand over the copper cage. “I wish we could triple bond.”

He shook his head. “I’m a man with no name or heritage. Jorg and Bil found me in the grove. I knew nothing but my name. They believed I was head damaged. Until the mystery is solved, I can give no bond beyond the physical for that can be easily broken.”

She brushed his lips with hers. “Though I yearn for the triple bond, I am incomplete without a fyrestone.”

He placed his fingers on her mouth. “We must bathe and be on our way. ‘Twill take days to cross the second waste.”

* * *

Ria stepped into the cold water of the stream. Her feelings were conflicted. Though she knew what had happened between them meant she was no longer suited to be a priestess, the experience hadn’t erased her need for a fyrestone, or for vengeance. She felt no regret for being with Ari. They had bonded body to body and their joining had been as equals. Part of her still yearned to find a triple bond. Another wanted to flee and find a way to return to the safety of the temple.

She gulped. Safety? She had nearly died there. Without a crystal, there was no safety anywhere. While Malera ruled the temple, Ria faced danger. Her only chance lay with Ari. She had to help him achieve his goal so he would help her. How? He searched for a past she knew nothing about.

If she had a fyrestone, she could use the flames to discover what he wanted to know. If she had a stone, she could force him to bond with her heart and mind. This thought made her shudder. How could she consider such an act? Forcing people to do her will was Malera’s way. To emulate the chief priestess was wrong.

Ria stepped from the stream and briskly dried. She reached for her clothes and dressed. Why did they have to leave the grove? All they needed for survival was here. Except the fyrestone she needed to be whole.

While she made tea and boiled eggs stolen from the nest of a hen gone wild, Ari packed the panniers. He rolled the remains of the birds they’d eaten the past night in cress leaves. She removed the tubers from the coals and the eggs from the pan. She and Ari sat beside the fire and ate. Once they finished, Ria placed the remainder in one of the baskets. “How soon will we reach the hills and search for fyrestones?” she asked.

He looked up. “Before we hunt the crystals, there’s a place I need to visit, and perhaps, learn something about my parents.”

“Where is this place?”

“A hamlet.” He poured water over the fire. “You will know where when we reach the place. ‘Tis vital for me to go there.”

Why is he so mysterious? Is there danger to be found there? Does he fear I’ll betray him? How, when I have no fyrestone? “What could be more important than finding stones? Isn’t that how you earn your living?”

“It is, but there are six lunars to find more.”

She put her hand on his arm. “Where is this place? Tell me now.”

“Gydon.”

Ria gasped. “That’s the hamlet where Malera demanded I destroy the livelihood of the people. I couldn’t burn what would keep them alive. What do you think to find there?”

“My identity. My family. Bil, Jorg’s old partner told me of a man he’d seen in Gydon who looked like me.”

Ria drew in a deep breath. “The only men I saw there were old. What if Malera used the solstice fire to do what I refused?”

He shrugged. “Until I reach the hamlet, I won’t know.”

Why was this so important to him? She had no desire to find her kin. They had cursed and cast her out without seeking the real reason for the death of her betrothed.

* * *

As the sun moved toward setting, the rocky plain stretched endlessly ahead. Ari wondered how many days would pass before they reached land that hadn’t been seared by fire. If they were forced to spend too many nights on the waste, how would they fend off the lopestas? He’d brought enough wood to cook their evening meals and for torches to be used by the person standing watch. Fire was the only thing the night creatures feared. The hard-shelled denizens could shred and devour the flesh of a man or beast in minutes. He knew the route he’d chosen was longer, but he’d felt a need to keep his destination a secret.

Just as the sun set, he spotted a massive flat rock that bore traces of past fires. The area was large enough for the entire party. Once they reached the rock, he removed the panniers, grained, and watered the burros. With the fyrestone, he kindled a small fire using wood from the dense long burning ferrus tree. He made two torches and sat beside Ria. “We’ll take turns standing watch. You can take the first stint.”

“Why must we keep watch?”

“The lopestas fear fire. Believe me when I say they’re dangerous creatures. Years ago when Jorg, Bil, and I, traveled as a team, we lost a burro to the evil things.”

She shivered. “I know about the night creatures. Though my people rarely travel on the waste, when they skirt the edges, they surround the camp with fire to keep the coursers and children from straying into the rocks.”

“We haven’t enough wood for that.”

She unwrapped the remainder of the morning meal and took several tubers from the store. “Is that why you made the torches?”

“Yes.”

“If you would let me use your fyrestone, I could cleanse the area. I’m sure ‘tis what the priestesses do anytime they come onto the waste.”

Ari closed his eyes. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d removed the copper chain. He thought about the number of times Ria had touched the crystal. During her illness, she seemed to have gathered strength when her flesh brushed the fyrestone. Could he let her use the stone? The crystal was his and he could call fire. Except, his flames weren’t strong enough to destroy a lopesta.

He studied her. What if she tried to steal his fyrestone? She’d warned him about her need to possess one. Where would she go? Rosti was closed to her and there were no other temples. Her clan had sold her. What she knew about living off the land was due to his teaching. He had to trust her for now. Still, when he removed the chain, he felt a great reluctance to share with her. Before he changed his mind, he dropped the scarlet in her hand. “Be careful.”

“I will.” She shuddered. “I have no desire to become a meal for one of those vile creatures.”

His eyes widened when he saw the length of the flame she drew from the stone. She stepped to the rocky ground and plied the fire around the edges of the broad rock. Noxious smoke spiraled into the air. The burros brayed. She raised the fyrestone and used the flame to consume the smoke. As she continued to secure the area around the camp, the moon rose.

Ari gasped. “Ria, behind you.”

She whirled and aimed the flame at the creature rising from the rocks. The lopesta glowed yellow, orange, and burst into a scarlet blaze.

Finally, Ria returned to the camp. She handed Ari the crystal and slumped on the ground. He knelt beside her. “Did you breathe the smoke?”

She shook her head. “I’m weak because I haven’t used a stone for days.”

Ari opened one of the packs and handed her dried fruit and nuts. As she ate, he saw the way she eyed the fyrestone. “I vow you will have all the stones you want.” But she couldn’t have his.

She moved to her blanket roll and leaned against the mound. When she finished the fruit and nuts, she drank water from her flask. She curled into a ball. Before long, she slept.

Ari lit one of the torches and listened for the tapping of claws on the rocks. Though he struggled to remain awake, he drifted to sleep and remained lost in dreams until dawn.

* * *

Two days later when they made camp, they found the remains of a recent fire. Ari frowned. Who had camped here and left wood that had been partially burned? Had the other party been slavers on their way to Gydon? What would he find when he reached the hamlet? He used the scavenged logs for the night fire.

Ria stirred a pot of stew. “The party that stopped here was large. Why didn’t we encounter them in the grove?”

Ari sat across the fire from her. “The grove covers a wide area between the wastes. If they used the North Gate, and rode coursers, they may have left after the solstice. Coursers can cover more distance in a day than we can.”

Ria nodded. “That’s true. Who do you think they are?”

He shrugged. “What troubles me is the number of lopestas they killed. There are hundreds of shells.”

Ria left the fire and knelt beside one of the shells. “A priestess travels with them. One who uses the yellow. Do you think Malera sent them after us? They must have left Rosti right after Solstice Day.”

He shrugged. “Who can know their purpose? But I fear they’re on their way to Gydon.”

Ria sank to her knees. “’Twas as I feared. She did what I refused. Those poor people. Is there any reason for us to go there now?”

“I don’t know. I just believe I’ll find answers there.”

She wrapped her arms around her knees. “I hope you’re right.”

The quaver in her voice brought Ari an urge to wrap his arms around her. He couldn’t. One touch would lead to a union he feared would add another level to his bond with her. He wasn’t ready to pledge his heart. First, he needed to know who his parents had been and why he’d been left alone in the grove.

He rose and walked to the burros. Was Ria any more ready to make a heart pledge than he was?

* * *

On the fourth night when they made camp, Ria accepted the fyrestone from Ari and performed the cleansing ritual. There were no signs of the group they followed. If the other party rode coursers, they could cover ground faster than those afoot leading a pair of plodding beasts.

She cradled the copper cage and felt the warmth of the stone. She needed her own crystal. Each time she used Ari’s scarlet, she imprinted herself on the stone. Why wouldn’t he give her the fyrestone? Men couldn’t attune themselves to the major crystals. That pronouncement had been repeated again and again by Malera and the other priestesses. They had lied about other things, though, why not this? Ria had seen Ari use the stone, though not with the skill of one trained in the temple. His flames were so small, he might have been using a white.