Keepers of the Flame (10 page)

But
Elizabeth was frowning, too. “What did you say, Bri?” she asked.

“They
want to split us up. Send one of us away.”

“Yeah,”
Alexa rolled her eyes. “All the way to Castleton. Two miles downhill.”

Bri
felt her cheeks pinken. “Oh.”

“Two
miles downhill from a Castle on a hill means walking two miles
up
hill
for someone,” Elizabeth said.

“True,”
said Bri.

Jaquar
waved the vial near Bri’s nostrils again. Wonderful scent. She clenched her
teeth, then said, “How much would give me language skills for the day?”

Marian’s
gaze met Jaquar’s. She cleared her throat. “Language skills, ah. You might be
interested to know that during sex there is a definite transfer of the language
with your partner. That is to say, you’ll get Lladranan. They get English too,
but there’s not much chance to practice it.”

Bri
moved until she was shoulder to shoulder with Elizabeth. “We look like the easy
types to you?”

Marrec
shook his head. “No Exotique is easy. Not a one.”

“Pity,”
said Bastien.

Jaquar
said, “Two drops for today lasting perhaps until tomorrow noon.”

The
medica stepped farther into the room and said something that escaped Bri.
You
understand that?
she asked Elizabeth.

No
. “Please
translate,” Elizabeth said. She’d tensed up again.

The
other Coloradan women shared a glance, grouped together and murmured a bit,
then Marian looked at the twins and said, “She speaks in words and concepts
that we are not sure of, even though we have done Song healing. Something about
wanting to consult you about the rhythmic cycles of each energy point-pulse.”
Marian didn’t look pleased that she didn’t get it.

Bri
turned a little to Elizabeth.
If I try, I can hear each chakra tune. Can
you?

Elizabeth
squinted, then a corner of her mouth lifted.
Not really, but I can “see”
different colors of swirling energy. I definitely see auras now, more than I
ever did on Earth.

Chakra
auras.

I
suppose.
Elizabeth held out her hand, and Bri clasped it. They looked at Marian. The
sounds Bri heard merged with Elizabeth’s sight. Each chakra had a series of
notes, a color, spun in a different pattern and to a different beat.

Now
that you help, I CAN hear the notes. Probably what the medica was talking
about,
Elizabeth said.

For
sure. And with our link I can see the chakras better than I ever could on
Earth. The seven main ones and all the way to the thirteen
. Bri felt
Elizabeth scrutinizing the medica.
We could learn from them, and teach them,
too!

You
got the parents’ teaching gene,
Bri said.
I think I’ll take a
chance.

You
always do,
Elizabeth said.

Dropping
Elizabeth’s hand, Bri went to Jaquar, who still held the small bottle. Now she
wasn’t physically connected with Elizabeth, sounds were amplified and her aura
sight dimmer. She
reached
and drew Power from the atmosphere, boosting
her sight. Yep, easy to see auras. Jaquar had a shadow in several of his energy
pulses, as if a lingering sickness was finally passing.

“What
made you sick about a year ago?” she asked him.

He
stilled, straightened to his full height. “I lost my parents. A Dark monster
drained their Power and killed them.”

The
room suddenly seethed with sorrow, anger, determination.

“He
was sick with grief,” Marian said. “Almost mad with it.”

Jaquar
grimaced.

“Those
particular monsters, sangviles, especially like to kill people strong in
Power,” Alexa said. “Like Circlets. Or Exotiques.”

Bri
looked back to Elizabeth.
They do need our help.

And
they aren’t about to let us go before they get it.

“Two
drops only,” Bri said, and stuck out her tongue.

Plink.
Plink. Oddly enough, the taste wasn’t nearly as good as the smell. Bri wasn’t
sure what she expected, a sweet honey like columbine perhaps, but she didn’t
get it. She turned to the medica.

“Say
that again.”

The
medica nodded. “We believe this sickness was sent by the Dark in some way, but
the symptoms are not the same for every patient. It affects the rhythm and Song
of the different energy pulses of a person—chimes—but not the
same
chime.”

You
get that?
Bri asked Elizabeth.
And they call a chakra a chime
. Bri shrugged.
Only
natural in such a culture, I suppose.

But
Elizabeth was staring at the medica, then Jaquar. Bri could
feel
her
waves of curiosity. She stared at the vial. He offered it, and she sniffed,
wrinkled her nose.
Overly sweet
, she said to Bri.
But I know you
liked the scent.

Elizabeth
held up two fingers. “Two drops only.”

Jaquar
nodded.

The
tip of Elizabeth’s tongue peeked from between her lips. Jaquar carefully poured
one drop, then a second.

I
like the taste
,
Elizabeth said.

Speaking
of taste, what do we do with the spuds?
Bri went to the bags of potatoes and
pulled out three of each, then said to Sevair, “Do you have botanists who’d
study these? They’re a very good crop on Earth, called potatoes.”

She
thought she heard Alexa moan.

“They
are a delicacy,” Marian said to Sevair.

Sevair
had pulled a folded bag from his pocket, snapped it, then opened it. The man
was prepared. How depressing.

With
a smile, Bri carried the potatoes heaped in her hands over to him and dumped
them in the bag, then drew one back out. “You germinate them by the eye.” She
pointed to one on the Idaho potato. “These are better baked, the others are
better boiled.”

“That
one is excellent fried. Deep fat fried,” Alexa said.

Now
Marian whimpered.

Sevair
lifted an eyebrow, took the potato from Bri, weighed it in his hand, glanced at
Calli. “Your opinion?”

Calli
smiled. “What you have there is about a thousand times more tasty than turnip
fries.”

He
looked surprised, then pleased. Nodding to Elizabeth, then Bri, he said, “Then
you have something to barter with. However, I assure you that the Cities and
Towns who Summoned you abide by tradition. You will receive property—an estate
in the city or town of your choice—and enough money to support you for the rest
of your days. Both of you.” He slipped the potato into the bag. “You will also
receive a bounty on every plant that is developed from this po-ta-toe.”

He
bowed to each of them. “I thank you both for accepting the language potion. It
will make our tasks much easier. With your permission, I would like to adjourn
to Temple Ward.”

Alexa
was staring at the cooler and the potatoes.

“Where’s
that guy who guarded them last night?” asked Bri.

“That
would be my brother, Luthan,” Bastien said. “I don’t think we’ve spoken of
Luthan.”

“Or
Faucon for that matter,” Marian said.

Something
else, here,
Elizabeth said mentally to Bri as she walked over to stand in front of the
chest, blocking it from everyone else.

Alexa’s
wistful look turned into a pout. She speared Bri with a disgruntled gaze.
“Luthan Vauxveau is a Chevalier, a knight who rides the flying horses, so flies
into battle with us. He’s a wealthy nobleman with his own estate and the
representative of the Singer, who is
the
prophetess of Lladrana, lives
to the south in an Abbey, but meddles in our affairs.”

I
don’t like that
,
said Elizabeth.
We have enough to worry about with the people in this room.

I
don’t either,
Bri replied.

Alexa
cleared her throat. “Some people have instinctive reactions to Exotiques.
Either an instinctive revulsion or an instinctive attraction.”

“I’ll
go for the attraction,” Bri said.

“That
can be a problem, too,” Marian said.

Bri
waved that away. “Better than the alternative. I’ve suffered from prejudice
before. How nasty is this repulsion thing?”

“Bad
enough to get you killed,” Bastien said. His usual optimistic expression had
faded and turned grim, making him look like the warrior he was. “Alexa had to
fight for her life.”

8

I
saw him,
Luthan, shudder last night when he looked at us,
Elizabeth said.

Now
that you mention it…

“Luthan
has the instinctive repulsion,” Alexa said, her voice cool, her manner lacking
any playfulness. “He is deeply ashamed of it. He would die before he hurt any
of us.”

Must
be difficult to have a brother-in-law who thinks you’re repulsive,
Bri sent to
Elizabeth.

“Ayes,”
said Alexa, reading body language or energy or Bri’s mind. “Ayes is ‘yes.’
‘Ttho’ is ‘no.’ And Luthan has long since gotten over his first problem with
me, as well as Marian and Calli. It’s only when he has to meet and interact
with a new Exotique that the problem surfaces again.”

“But
you must be aware that others might have this reaction,” Marrec said. “If they
have never met an Exotique before, they may not know they have this flaw and
may act on it instead of thinking how important you are to us.”

“We
understand,” Elizabeth said. Bri could feel her need to leave the suite and get
out into fresh air, someplace not as crowded with others. Bri felt it too.

“Okay,
so there’s a repulsion and Luthan has it and hates it. I still sensed he was
the most honest of all of you.” She enjoyed saying that. “Will he watch our
goodies for us?”

Marian
sniffed, took out her finger length wand again. “I can bespell the chest to
keep the food cold. And Jaquar is very good with lock spells. He can put one on
the door and all the windows.”

“What
about Faucon?” Elizabeth asked. “Since Luthan has the revulsion, I would
imagine that he has the attraction?”

“Ayes,”
Alexa said cheerfully. “He’s sexy, rich, noble, a good Chevalier and a good
guy. He’ll want to Pair with you.” She shook her head. “Twins. He’ll go mad at
the choice. I’d advise you to take him up on any offers.”

“We
aren’t staying,” they said together. Bri continued, “Our parents—” The thought
of their parents grief at the disappearance of their daughters clutched at her
gut.

“It’s
difficult,” Marian said. “I couldn’t leave my brother Andrew.” Then her voice
softened, held a wrenching undertone. “He came with me, but was badly wounded,
and dying. We transferred his mind and soul into a dying Lladranan, Koz. Now
Andrew is Koz.”

That
still sounded weird.

“There’s
a cure for MS here?” Bri asked.

Marian
grimaced. “We didn’t know. We hoped. But my place was here, with Jaquar and the
Circlets.” She took her husband’s hand. “With my mentor, Bossgond, and the
school we wanted to found,
did
found.”

“I
don’t believe it.” Elizabeth shook her head.

A
smile lingered on Marian’s lips. “Come meet him, then.” She nodded to the
medica who was waiting patiently by the door. “Jolie was the main medica to
make the transfer, if you’d like to talk with her.”

Jolie
said, “You did it yourself, Circlet Marian. That procedure is a matter of the
soul and the Song. We medicas only kept the receiving body alive.”

All
Bri’s nerves shivered at the thought.

“It
was a matter of faith in herself,” Jaquar said, kissing his wife’s cheek. “She
knew her Power was strong, and fashioned to be more of use here than on
Exotique Terre.”

A
definite prod at them, Bri thought. She said, “I have always used my healing
hands.”

Jaquar
switched his gaze to Elizabeth. “And you? You both have great Power here, otherwise
the Song would not have reverberated in your mind—the gong, the chimes.”

Bri
jerked in surprise. “How did you know that?”

“It
is the way Exotiques are Summoned.” He nodded to the books on the table. “You
can learn much from the others’ experiences.”

“Later.”
Alexa walked to the door, sent the twins a challenging look. “Can’t hide in
here all day.” She snorted with laughter as if at a secret joke. “Come along.
Your new life awaits. If you dare.”

Bri
spared one last glance around the room, then watched carefully in the hallway
when Jaquar bespelled the door.

As
they walked down the stairs the medica, Jolie, began asking Elizabeth
questions. Soon they were deep in a conversation about medical techniques. Bri
blinked. She didn’t want to face another new day in another new place. She was
supposed to be in Denver.