Keeper of the Flame: Second in Command Series - Orrick Read online

  “Well, help her find it already and let’s be done with it. Did she give you any idea of where you can look for it?”

  “She didn’t, but neither did she have to. You see, I know exactly where it is.”

  “Well, why don’t you tell her then?”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t trust her. And I certainly don’t trust that man with her. If the Eternal Flame gets into the wrong hands, it could be disastrous.”

  “What in the devil’s name is an Eternal Flame?” asked Corbett, shaking his head. “I don’t understand at all.”

  “It’s a burning flame,” explained Orrick, taking Corbett into his confidence since he knew he could trust him. “The flame is connected to one with magic and it burns without being fed by oil or wood. You see, no matter what is done to it, the flame cannot be extinguished.”

  “Really? That sounds odd. What is the purpose of it?”

  “It has only one purpose and that is to bring about immortality to whoever is its keeper. The position of guardian, or Keeper of the Flame, is passed from one person to the next after every fifty years. The guardian’s job is to keep it hidden and safe and from falling into the wrong hands.”

  “Immortality?” Corbett chuckled. “Well, mayhap I’ll look for it myself since I’d like to be infallible and live forever. Getting older has made me often think about my death.”

  “Nay, you don’t want immortality. Believe me, it isn’t a good thing. Besides, the idea behind passing the flame to the next Keeper every fifty years is so one does not get too much power . . . or really live forever. There are evils that go along with being the Keeper for too long a time. I know, believe me.”

  Corbett’s eyes shot up to Orrick’s and he slowly slid his feet off the bed and to the floor. “Orrick. You aren’t by any chance this Keeper of the Flame. Are you?”

  Orrick looked up and nodded slowly, not able to answer with words.

  “God’s eyes! That’s fantastic.” Corbett jumped off the chair and grabbed Orrick by the shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me about this years ago? You know how helpful this would have been every time we went to war? You’ve got to tell King Richard about this. Mayhap his whole army can bathe in the flame and then no enemy will ever be able to kill them.”

  “Nay!” shouted Orrick, feeling his anger rising to the surface. “This is exactly why I didn’t want anyone to know about it. It’s not to be used in that manner. It’s a sacred emblem that is only to be used for good. But now I see that it’s about to cause the suffering of many more than just me.”

  “Suffering? How are you suffering, Orrick? What are you saying?”

  “It’s a curse to be immortal, Lord Corbett. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

  “I don’t understand. If it’s only for fifty years, it’s not like one is living forever. How long have you been the Keeper?”

  “Too long,” said Orrick, not having the time to explain to Corbett why he’d been the Keeper of the Flame for over a hundred years now, and not wanting to relive his painful memories of the past.

  “I still don’t understand,” said Corbett. “Why haven’t you told me about this before now?”

  “Nay, I don’t suppose you could understand and that is why I kept my problems to myself through the years,” said Orrick sadly. “No mortal can understand what the Keeper is going through. Outliving all my friends and everyone I ever loved is not easy. Do you realize how hard it is to watch others suffer, get sick, grow old, and die while I cannot do a damned thing to stop it?”

  “Nay, I suppose not. I never thought about immortality in that way before, but I suppose you’re right,” said Corbett in deep thought. “Mayhap it’s more of a curse than a blessing at times. I could not imagine outliving my wife, children, and grandchildren, having to watch as they grew old and died while I lived on forever.” Corbett sat back down with a plunk atop the chair, shaking his head.

  “Now you see why the flame cannot get into the wrong hands. If used in the wrong way, it could be possible that enemies could defeat even the strongest of armies.”

  “Where is the flame now, Orrick?” asked Corbett. But before he could answer, Corbett raised his palm in the air. “Nay. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know and don’t want to be tempted by it. It’s better if you keep the information to yourself.”

  “It’s in a safe place, let’s just leave it at that,” said Orrick. “However, now that Lady Hope and that cur, Lord Irwin, are looking for it, I’m afraid I’m going to have to do something to stop them.”

  “I’m sorry, Orrick. I didn’t know anything about this when I made the deal with Lady Hope’s father to be her guardian. I’d like to send them away, but we have an agreement and an alliance. It wouldn’t be wise of me to break it.”

  “Nay, I don’t want you to break it. I’ll just have to find a way to get them to leave. But first, I need to know more. I want to find out why they really want it and what they plan on doing with it.”

  “That isn’t going to be easy,” said Corbett. “Lady Hope seems like a very determined woman and Lord Irwin doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who will tell you the truth about anything.”

  “Ah, so you get a bad feeling from him as well?”

  “I do. Don’t forget, Orrick, that when I was a child, I often had dreams and premonitions. I might be getting old but I still listen to my gut when it warns me about someone or something.”

  “Getting old?” Orrick chuckled.

  “Don’t laugh, old man. You are older than all of us. You never did tell me your real age.”

  Orrick stopped laughing, having an idea. “Corbett, there is a lot I haven’t revealed about my past. But I will tell you that I can be any age I choose to be.”

  “So, you’re not really an old, cantankerous, odd man who everyone thinks is always angry or just plain out of his mind?”

  “Well, I suppose I can’t deny that,” said Orrick, making them both laugh. “However, I have a plan how I can learn more about Lady Hope and her escort and their true intentions if they were to find the Eternal Flame.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?” asked Corbett. “I hardly think a beautiful young lady like Hope is going to tell an old wizard any of her deepest secrets.”

  “Sorcerer. Not wizard,” Orrick reminded him. “And although she wouldn’t tell anything to an old man, perhaps she would let me seduce her into telling me her secrets . . . but as a young, handsome man instead.”

  “Orrick, I don’t –” Corbett stopped in midsentence as Orrick waved his hand through the air and shapeshifted into a much younger and much more handsome version of himself. Corbett’s jaw dropped open. “You – you’re . . .” He pointed and just kept shaking his head in disbelief.

  “You’ve seen me shapeshift before, my lord,” said Orrick. “This should come as no surprise to you.”

  “Aye, but never have you looked like this.”

  Orrick walked over to the standing mirror in the solar, admiring his new body. Gone was the long, white beard and mustache. In its place was rich, dark stubble. Instead of having wrinkled, loose skin, his skin was pulled taut over bulging muscles. Orrick looked to be in the prime of his life, perhaps in his late twenties. He lifted his hand and ran his fingers over the angles of his face, staring at his bluish-green eyes in the mirror that seemed to turn to amethyst. It was a far cry from the body of an eighty-year-old sorcerer.

  “It’s been so long,” he muttered, running his hands down his sturdy chest, standing straight and tall instead of bent over. He seemed much taller this way. He held his hands out in front of him, surveying them, wondering if he could still wield a sword the way he used to when he was first married to Petronilla. Just thinking about his beautiful wife had him feeling randy again. It was something that had not happened in quite a long time now. He looked down below his belt to see his hardened form protruding from under his hose and cloak.

  Orrick was so alive a
gain and it felt damned good! His body tingled with the blood that coursed through him. Earlier today he’d wanted to die and thought there was no purpose to life. But now – now he felt like all he wanted to do was live, experiencing life to the fullest.

  “What are you going to do now?” asked Corbett.

  Orrick looked up at Corbett’s reflection in the mirror. His lord still stood behind him as if he were unable to move. Orrick hadn’t looked this young in a hundred years. And it only made Corbett look that much older. Emotions coursed through Orrick again, making him feel cocky, cautious, and calloused all at once. Had he made a mistake shifting into his younger self after being an old man since the day Petronilla died? And would being in his younger form only bring back the sorrow he’d tried to forget for such a long time?

  He was about to dismiss this idea and shift back into the image of an old man, when the door to the solar burst open and Lady Hope strutted in, followed by the steward.

  “I’m sorry, my lord, I tried to stop her,” apologized Harold.

  Lady Hope stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes sweeping over to Orrick who was still standing there admiring himself in the mirror.

  “Lady Hope, was there something you needed?” asked Corbett.

  “I wanted to tell you that . . . that the meal is ready,” she said, drinking in Orrick’s new appearance. Orrick liked the way she perused him, however, it only made things worse. When he looked down, he noticed that his erection had gotten bigger just from looking at Hope in the mirror.

  “Well, send a servant next time,” scolded Corbett. “And at Blake Castle, we knock at the door and wait until acknowledged before entering a room, so don’t let that happen again.”

  “Of course, my lord.” She spoke to Corbett but her eyes stayed focused on Orrick. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I had the pleasure of meeting your friend,” she said, smiling sweetly.

  Orrick felt tongue-tied and didn’t know what to say. If he turned around, would she know it was him? He hadn’t planned on staying in this shapeshifting form, and had felt like he’d made a mistake. But now that she’d seen him, he had to at least give her a name.

  “I’m . . . I’m . . .” His brain froze as well as his tongue and he didn’t know what to say.

  “Lady Hope, I’d like you to meet Sir . . . Sir Rick Pendragon,” said Corbett. “He is here visiting Blake Castle as my guest.”

  “Sir Rick. How nice to meet you,” she said, hurrying across the room to Orrick.

  He groaned. Having no choice, he turned around fully, taking her hand in his. Bowing, he brought his lips to the back of her hand in a kiss.

  “My lady, it is an honor and pleasure to meet someone who holds such beauty that she puts the stars in the heavens to shame.” His voice sounded deep and rich – so unlike the high cackling voice he’d been using in the guise of an old man. He’d almost forgotten how good it sounded. But one thing he didn’t forget was how to treat a lady.

  “Oh my,” she said with a giggle, her cheeks blushing as Orrick stood tall. She looked at him oddly. “Isn’t that the old sorcerer’s cloak?” she asked.

  Orrick’s heart jumped into his throat. This woman was a sly one and it wouldn’t be long now before she figured out his secret. “Where is Orrick?” she asked, looking around the room.

  “He – he’s not here,” said Orrick, his voice sounding a lot higher since he was choking under pressure.

  “Something is odd about you,” she said, lowering her hand and taking a step back, still staring at him. “You look an awfully lot like that old sorcerer I met earlier. I think you are –”

  Orrick couldn’t let her say it aloud or he’d not be able to lie and his cover would be blown. So before she could finish her sentence, he did the only thing he could to get her thinking about something else instead. He reached forward and pulled her into his arms, kissing her on the mouth. Well, one kiss only got his libido going even stronger, and he felt as if he needed one more. It had been so long since he’d held a beautiful woman in his arms and kissed her that he felt the overpowering need to take her right there. The next kiss was filled with passion as he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her and letting his tongue slip into her mouth.

  She stomped on his foot, causing him to release her. And when he did, she reached out and slapped him hard across the face.

  “Ow,” he said, his hand going to his cheek. It was more of a surprised reaction since he didn’t really feel pain at all.

  “How dare you!” she retorted, glaring at him now. My, how her opinion of him changed quickly.

  Corbett cleared his throat and came to the rescue. “Lady Hope, please excuse Sir Rick for his rude behavior. I’m afraid he’s been campaigning for the king overseas so long now that he’s forgotten how to act around an Englishwoman.”

  “Aye, my sincere apologies,” grumbled Orrick. “Those French women are feisty and I forgot for a moment that the English ladies are much more reserved.” He tried to reach out and kiss her hand again but she wouldn’t let him.

  “So you are related to Orrick?”

  “Aye,” he told her, his eyes sweeping over to Corbett for help. “That’s why I look like him. I’m even named after him.”

  “But your name is Rick, not Orrick,” she said.

  “Aye, Rick. It’s short for Orrick,” said Orrick, cringing inwardly since he heard his voice get higher again when he answered. Would this keep happening every time he lied? He didn’t want to be untrue to the beautiful woman, but now he had no choice but to play out the charade. “Orrick gave me his cloak before he left for . . . for . . .”

  “He’s visiting a relative far up north,” said Corbett. “He won’t be back for quite some time. Sir Rick will be staying in his tower room for now.”

  “Where is your home?” asked the girl. “And is Orrick visiting your parents?”

  “Nay, I don’t have parents,” he answered the truth, but now wished he hadn’t. One lie led to another and he no longer knew what to tell her.

  “Everyone has parents,” she said with a chuckle. “Perhaps yours have passed on? And how exactly are you related to the old sorcerer?”

  Wondering how to answer, Orrick was thankful for the next distraction.

  “Oh, there you are, Lady Hope,” came Lord Irwin’s voice as he pushed past the steward who still stood in the corridor and entered the room as well. “Who is this?” he asked, eyeing up Orrick.

  “This is Sir Rick Pendragon. He’s the sorcerer’s . . . relative of some sort,” said Hope. She subconsciously licked her lips, or mayhap she did it purposely just to see him squirm.

  “The sorcerer’s gone?” asked Irwin, sounding disappointed. “I was hoping he would help us on our mission.”

  “Well, perhaps Lord Rick will be able to help us instead,” Hope suggested. When she looked up at Orrick with those big, brown eyes and batted her long, black lashes, he found himself nodding.

  “Of course. I’d be happy to help you in any way I can,” said Orrick, lost in the wench’s eyes.

  “Good,” she answered, turning and heading toward the door. “I’ll meet you in your tower room after the meal to tell you my thoughts on where we might look for the Infernal Flame.”

  “Eternal,” Orrick corrected her, watching Lord Irwin escort Hope out of the room. They headed down the corridor with the steward following. Orrick stood frozen, just staring after them.

  “Orrick?” Corbett walked up and waved his hand in front of Orrick’s face. “Or should I say Lord Rick?” Corbett chuckled. “I’ve never seen you act this way. With a woman, that is. Or with anyone for that matter,” said Corbett, bursting out into full blown laughter. “You are smitten with the girl.”

  “I am?” Orrick swallowed deeply. “I swear I didn’t mean to kiss her.”

  “Well, you did and I hardly think Lady Hope is ever going to forget that kiss.”

  “Arrgh,” said Orrick, running a hand over his face, daring to peek out between his fingers at his r
eflection staring back at him from the mirror. “I can’t change back now that she’s seen me.”

  “Nay, I guess you can’t,” agreed Corbett.

  “Did you have to tell her I was a knight?”

  “If not, I would have had to throw you in the dungeon for your lusty behavior. You should be glad I thought that up so quickly.”

  “I don’t know what happened,” he said.

  “I thought you were going to seduce her secrets out of her,” said Corbett. “I am sincerely wondering who is seducing whom.”

  “She’s better at the game than I thought,” said Orrick, suddenly starting to worry. Because if she’d so easily gotten a reaction out of him and he found himself agreeing to do her bidding when all she did was bat her lashes, then he wondered what else she was capable of doing. He also wondered if, over the years, he’d forgotten the vows of a knight and how to stay in control. This was going to be challenging and Orrick hadn’t had a challenge in so long now that it excited him and frightened him all at the same time.

  Chapter 3

  “He kissed me, Grace. I cannot believe the nerve of him to pull me into his arms and kiss me so passionately that it made my knees quake.”

  “Your knees quaked?” Lady Grace, Hope’s younger sister by three years, sat next to the hearth in their solar that night, warming her hands by the fire. Her long, red hair was tied up into a knot atop her head. She was a pretty girl and soft-spoken and very proper – nothing at all like Hope. Or so Hope had thought. “Did you like the kiss?” asked Grace, stacking another log on the fire. Hope had dismissed the help of the servants, wanting to be alone to talk about Sir Rick with her sister.

  “Did I like it? How can you ask such a thing?” gasped Hope. “The man was rude and forceful. He held me tightly up against his chest and kissed me with so much passion that I thought I was going to combust. He even had the nerve to stick his tongue into my mouth! And besides that, I tried to pretend I didn’t notice but he – he was very excited,” she said in a half-whisper. She tried to choose her words carefully around her little sister.