Keeper of the Flame (19 page)

And the flame was still strong in her heart. Being with Hugh had only strengthened it, in fact.

“When we reach the floor of the tower, the flame will test you, Hugh. Do not be alarmed.”

“When has a dragon ever been afraid of a little fire?” he replied with a humorous edge to his thoughts.

Hugh didn’t really understand what he was in for, but Lera knew he could handle it. As could Miss. She would be frightened, of course, but Lera kept her hand on the baby’s soft fur as she trotted between herself and the wall. Lera wouldn’t expose her to the flame until the last possible moment. Miss was scared enough as it was. But she had to walk the gauntlet of the flame, like any other gryphon who sought entrance to the temple grounds.

“Hyadror, when we reach the bottom, will you guide the little one?”

“Of coursse, milady. Sshe will have no problem. Sshe iss pure of heart.”

“I think so too. But something has her frightened. She will need all our reassurance.”

“Asss you wissh.” The gryphon bowed his head slightly in respect as he led the way downward.

When they reached the bottom of the ramp, their honor guard of priests went ahead, spreading out to ring the circular chamber. There were no windows and only one door large enough for a single gryphon to pass through at a time.

The flame greeted her as it always had, leaping and bounding with iridescent tendrils of magical power. When Miss saw it, she cowered back, afraid. Lera stayed with her, allowing Hyadror to go first.

As Lera expected, the old gryphon passed around the half circle of the chamber, heading for the door, allowing the central flame to examine him. It sent out tendrils that never quite touched his feathers or fur, retracting before they could cause any harm, but taking stock of the purity of his great heart. For such was the consciousness of the eternal flame. It could see into a being’s true nature and it judged harshly should it see any sort of contagion within, burning from the inside outward.

It could singe or it could decimate. The flame alone knew what was required in each case brought before it. No being was allowed on the temple grounds without undergoing this test. The flame that burned here was only a small part of the eternal fire the priests kept alive in many parts of the temple complex.

Miss shivered against Lera’s legs as she watched Hyadror face the flame. He turned when he was more than halfway to the door and looked at the little one.

“You ssee, child? There iss nothing to fear if your heart iss pure.” Hyadror dared the flame, spreading his wings in silent salute as he continued around the room to wait by the closed door.

“Iss my heart pure?” Miss asked, looking from Lera to Hugh and back again in clear distress. Her eyes were wide and her whole body trembled.

Hugh bent his head to her level, blowing warm air over her in comfort.
“Yours is the purest heart I have met in many a year, my dear. You have nothing to fear from the Lady’s fire.”
Lera could hear the words Hugh sent to Miss.
“Is that not right, milady?”

“Hugh is right. As Hyadror said, you have nothing to fear from the eternal flame.” Lera tried to inject confidence and faith into her tone.

“I’ll go with you, sweetheart,”
Hugh offered, stepping forward. Lera was touched by the tender tone of his voice in her mind. He was so loving with the child. If she’d had any doubt about the goodness of his heart, she had only to watch him with Miss to know he was as straight as an arrow and would fly as true.

He led the way, allowing Miss to go as fast or slowly as she wanted. He kept himself between her and the flame. Lera knew how little protection even a dragon would be for anyone of ill intent, but Miss didn’t realize it.

The flame licked out with its pink, gold and orange iridescent tendrils, touching Hugh’s scales. It hadn’t touched Hyadror, but when the dragon paused before it, the fire embraced him. For a moment, his entire body was engulfed in a magical phosphorescence that all within the chamber viewed with awe, Lera included.

And then it was over. The tendrils stopped short of Miss’s feathers and fur, though they gave her a close examination as well. Wafting around her and over her, under her belly and through her legs. Delicate wisps of flame that never burned, only touched the very surface without causing one bit of harm.

She made a mewling sound. The whimpers of distress turned to sounds of joy as Hugh turned to watch the child bat at the little wisps that seemed to play with her for a short moment. Her paws struck out, claws hidden, trying to touch the elusive tendrils.

“Tickless,” she said, enchanting a smile from even the most hardened of the priests in the chamber.

“It likes you,” Lera proclaimed, somewhat surprised by the playfulness of the eternal flame in the child’s presence.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Hugh’s voice was warm in Lera’s mind as he spoke to Miss.

“Fire hurt before,” Miss said, her head tilted to one side, clearly perplexed.

Lera looked at Hugh. Little puffs of smoke came from his nostrils as he chuckled.

“That was ordinary fire. The eternal flame is very special, Miss,” Lera explained. “Very magical and sacred to the Lady we all serve.”

Lera walked toward the fire, glad to be in its presence as Miss scampered back to Hugh’s side. She raised her arms, greeting the flame and taking it within herself. All was well. The eternal fire welcomed her as it had always done. She was still its chosen. Being with Hugh hadn’t changed her so much that the flame no longer wanted her.

She felt empowered by the flame. Fleeing for her life had put Lera in a position she’d seldom been in during her privileged life. Hugh had saved her and taught her about real passion, but the feelings of vulnerability persisted. Her cousin wanted her dead. The most expensive—and successful—assassins that money could buy were following her, lying in wait, anticipating her every move.

Hugh had foiled them and taken her away from danger for a precious few hours. But sooner or later, the threat had to be faced. She was back in the city to do just that. Like it or not, things would be coming to a head soon. On her terms, hopefully, this time.

Leaving the tower and walking into the courtyard, which was covered by a leafy trellis, hiding them from above, Lera and her party found the High Priest and his Council of Elders waiting for them. They greeted Hyadror first, with a respectful bow for his age and station. Lera walked with Miss. Hugh guarded them from the rear. Lera noted the widening of the High Priest’s eyes when he saw the dragon, even though she knew he’d had to have known by now that the black dragon had brought her to his temple tower. The priests had efficient ways of passing information among their number. Even Lera didn’t know the extent of their magics.

“Greetings, milady. We are relieved to see you well.” High Priest Gregor greeted her with concern in his eyes.

“Father Gregor, may I introduce Hugh of Draconia and his ward, Miss.” Lera kept to the formalities while they were standing in the middle of the courtyard, in full view of anyone who could possibly see or hear them. She trusted the priesthood in general and had even more respect for the elders and High Priest, but there were always a few brothers-in-training around who had not yet been fully embraced by the flame.

She’d never questioned their presence before. Then again, she’d never had the most fearsome assassins in the land set on her trail before. Bitter experience of the past few days made her leery of anyone and everyone.

“The flame has welcomed you, Hugh of Draconia and young Miss. Be welcome in our temple and among our brethren.”

Miss bowed on her forelegs, her manners impeccable, as usual. Lera had to wonder again where she’d learned such dainty ways, but the child had so far refused to discuss much about her origins.

Hugh bowed his head, holding eye contact like most warriors she’d seen. He did not initiate telepathic communication and she wasn’t sure he’d show his human form to these warriors, which left her unsure how to proceed.

“I invite you to the main audience hall. It should be big enough for our flying friends,” Gregor said, neatly taking the problem out of her hands.

“I would request only that you limit the meeting to you and your Council, Father Gregor. I trust you, but I have reason to doubt all others until proven otherwise.” She tried to phrase her request politely. She may be the Doge and the Keeper of the Flame, but the warrior priests of the Order of Light operated under their own aegis for the most part. They were autonomous and dealt with transgressions within their own order separately, away from the justice system she administered either as Doge or as Keeper.

Gregor frowned but nodded. “I heard about the bodies in your cousin’s orchard.”

“Eyes, Father. She set Eyes on me.” Lera’s voice broke with emotion. She’d had some time to let the fact of her cousin Sendra’s betrayal sink in, but it still hurt. Badly.

Gregor sighed as some of the elders in the Council shook their heads in disapproval of Sendra’s actions.

“Your cousin is missing, milady. Our brethren have been assisting the Guard, looking for her trail with no luck.”

“Thank you for trying, Father. Much as it pains me, she must be brought to justice.”

“We agree,” Father Gregor said, including the elders that surrounded him in his statement as they nodded in agreement. “Let us go indoors where we may sit and make plans.”

“Thank you.” Lera almost collapsed in relief. She had feared somehow the priesthood might have turned against her. Or they could have denied her assistance. They often kept to themselves and did not choose to interfere in secular matters. She had been hoping they would help her but couldn’t fully count on it until she saw Father Gregor in person.

Judging from his responses and tone, he would give as much help as she could wish for. Lera’s heart lightened as they stepped toward the main audience hall. Once again, Hyadror led the way. Miss scampered under Hugh’s wing when they came out from under the arbor and were exposed to the sky and the gryphons who still circled above in agitated spirals.

The giant arched doorway to the main hall was open and large enough to fit both gryphon and dragon. They proceeded through in the same order—Hyadror taking point, Lera in the middle and then Hugh acting as rear guard. She had never felt safer. The priests fanned out and the elders and High Priest took seats around a long table that had been set to one side in the large chamber.

Place settings and platters of food were already on the table and an area behind held pillows enough for both gryphons and the dragon. Lera wondered if Hugh would stay in his dragon form. She would have liked to have him seated at her side, but it was his secret to share.

“If you can get the younger priests out of here, I will shift form. I believe these elders and Gregor can be trusted after what I learned from your flame.”

Hugh’s thoughts came to her, as if in answer. She wondered what his first experience of the eternal flame had told him. She was curious to know what he’d learned from it. Sometimes—in very special circumstances—the flame communicated with those it touched. She assumed, from his words, that Hugh had experienced something like that. It meant a great deal that the flame had chosen to converse with him. A great deal, indeed.

“Father, can we be private? Just the elders and yourself? There are many things I wish to discuss with you, but I am hesitant to do so in front of others.” Lera looked at the priests stationed all around the large hall. They didn’t shift their stance but Lera could tell they were probably surprised and a little suspicious of her request. “The flame has already tested my companions. They mean no harm within your walls. Isn’t that so?” She turned to the non-human shapes gathering behind her as she took her seat at the table.

“I have no quarrel with the priessthood,” Hyadror confirmed. He turned to Miss, prodding her gently with the tip of one long feather.

“I won’t hurt anybody,” she said softly, as if afraid of the large audience in front of her. She was adorably shy, which went a long way toward putting the rest of the room at ease about her.

It was the dragon the younger priests eyed with distrust. Hugh stretched his long neck as if allowing them to study his form—especially the spikes along his neck and the scales that shone a gleaming black all along his body.

“Do you agree to withhold your fire, Hugh?” Lera asked him directly.

“For you, I’d do just about anything, my dear,”
he answered in her mind. His teasing tone made her warm inside. He then made a great show of nodding his scaled head for benefit of the priests.

“I am satisfied,” Gregor said, nodding as well. “Brothers? What say you?” He looked to the elders for their agreement.

The elders agreed readily and the lower ranking priests were ordered to leave. When the last one had cleared the area, one of the elders sealed the doors, going from portal to portal, erecting a barrier of magical flame around the edges. Lera had seen it only once before and was satisfied they would not be disturbed or overheard.

When he was finished, he returned to his place at the table. Lera turned, sensing Hugh was gathering his magic.

Sure enough, he’d gone from dragon to human as the priests watched in amazement.

“What is this?” Father Gregor asked, standing in shock from his chair.