Keepers of the Flame

“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

Elizabeth 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.

Incidentally, Elizabeth learned other things. The Chevaliers she worked on were an independent pair, which meant that they were poor and didn’t fly under anyone’s banner, like Faucon’s people. The image of that man distracted her for a moment, and she had to ask for elucidation of the lesson. The medicas were waiving their fee because they were teaching her.

The Chevaliers were pairbonded which meant marriage, and no stigma attached to homosexuality in this culture, a very good thing.

And the wounds were fearsome.

Elizabeth had never seen anything like them and had to keep her breathing, her emotions detached, her mind focused so she wouldn’t vomit.

She learned from the medicas which “horrors” perpetrated each wound. Apparently the Chevaliers had been unlucky enough to run into a combination of all three major horrors.

The long, deep and razor-thin slices were from “renders.” The easiest to mend with Power. “Slayers” had duller claws but poisonous spines. Elizabeth helped flush the poison from the Chevalier’s system, through the skin pores, which was gross enough to remind her of her beginning days of med school. Little round bumps left from “soul-suckers” showed a deadening of the skin around the wounds. Physical life force had been drawn from that injury.

What was even more incredible to Elizabeth was that sometimes the Chevaliers wouldn’t get help if they felt the wounds weren’t severe enough.

Any wound was dangerous in Elizabeth’s mind. The Lladranans had a different point of view. A very, very tough people.

A people who’d been at war for a long time.

Bri woke from her nap feeling restless. She tried to reach Elizabeth telepathically and was reassured when she touched her twin’s sleeping mind. They’d be able to communicate mentally, then. She wandered through the rooms, feeling like the greatest fraud. This wasn’t her; usually she shared small rooms with other women of her ilk. What would she do if she were in a new place on Earth? She’d go out. Even if she was unsure of the language, she’d unpack then hit the streets. Something was always going on outside if she didn’t want to stay in.