Keeper of the Flame: Second in Command Series - Orrick

by Rose, Elizabeth

  Chapter 10

  Orrick rode out the gates of Blake Castle, stopping behind a tree to shift back into his young form. He needed to make sure he could still do it. Running his hand along his jaw, he once again felt soft skin instead of a wiry, old beard.

  “Good,” he said, feeling very concerned as to why he couldn’t hold his shapeshifting form lately. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that he’d been Keeper of the Flame for way too long. Still dressed in Orrick’s cloak that covered his head, he sped off to the cave. Normally, he was very aware of his surroundings, but today he was distracted. As he rode, a scene from his past – his younger days – played out in his head.

  “Orrick, what brings you here to the secret cave?” asked the sorcerer named Alwin. Orrick discovered that Alwin was Keeper of the Flame and also where to find him, having heard about him when he was a youth from his mentor, Merlin. But Orrick left Merlin and his mentoring to become a knight. He hadn’t liked some of the things he had to say. One of them being that Orrick would never be one of the Keepers of the Flame.

  “I’m here for the Eternal Flame,” stated Orrick, ready to fight in whatever way he had to in order to get the flame. Orrick had just married the girl of his dreams, Lady Petronilla. He wanted to please her and give her everything in life that he could. He wanted to make her proud of him, and he wanted to rule with her and feel powerful. He’d heard the flame made one indestructible and also immortal. Orrick’s parentage was unknown, but he’d been knighted by the king for his skills with weapons. All he had to do now was to bring the flame home to Petronilla, and he would live forever, having even more power than even the king. He’d have a dozen children to follow in his footsteps, and he would treat his wife like a queen.

  “Nay. You’re not one of the chosen,” said Alwin. “You cannot have it.”

  “Well, I want to be one of the guardians of the flame. Now, let me have my turn.”

  “It doesn’t work that way, Orrick.” Alwin walked over to a table where a candle burned brightly. Pulling out a chair, he sat down. Besides this, there was only one torch for light that burned behind him, stuck into the cave wall. “Didn’t Merlin explain to you what dangers are involved with the flame if one’s heart is not pure?”

  “He didn’t tell me much, but it doesn’t matter. I know the flame will bring me immortality and that’s all I need to know.”

  “True, it will do that,” agreed Alwin, putting his hands around the flame of the candle and gazing into it. “But things are not always as they seem. I will not hand the flame over. And you don’t understand the consequences if you should steal this flame from me.”

  Orrick took two steps toward the table, but Alwin held up his hand, sending a bolt of light at Orrick. It hit him in the chest and knocked him to the floor.

  “I’m a warrior and a knight of the king,” spat Orrick. “You cannot treat me with such disrespect.” He jumped to his feet and drew his sword, swiping at the man, nicking him on the hand. Alwin didn’t even flinch.

  Orrick’s eyes fell to the trail of blood on the man’s hand that disappeared before it even hit the table. The light of the candle flickered mysteriously over the sorcerer’s body.

  “Did you forget, Orrick? I’m invincible and indestructible since I am Keeper of the Flame,” Alwin reminded him. He chuckled lowly, irritating Orrick. “You cannot use a sword to kill someone who is immortal. As long as I am the Keeper, I cannot die.”

  With each word from Alwin, Orrick felt a darkness inside of him coveting the flame even more. He had to have it! He needed to be invincible. Orrick wanted to hold the power that came with the Eternal Flame.

  “Give it to me!” he spat, becoming very angry that it was being kept from him. The more the man told him he couldn’t have it, the more Orrick was determined to get it, no matter what the cost. “Hand it over, or I swear I will thrust my blade right through your heart, old man.”

  Alwin chuckled again, and a shiver ran through Orrick. “Did you not hear a word I said? Go ahead and stab me. It will not matter. I am immortal and you are not. You cannot harm me.”

  Something inside Orrick cracked and the darkness in his soul seeped through, taunting him, teasing him, and making him want the flame more than ever.

  “I can’t help myself. I feel the overwhelming need to take that flame and kill you if I have to in order to get it,” explained Orrick.

  “Ah,” said the man, getting to his feet and walking in front of the table. “It’s the power of the flame that calls to the darkness inside of you. Only the pure of heart can be Keepers. If someone with darkness in their soul should possess the flame, there is no telling what will happen.”

  “I don’t have darkness in me! Now step away or I swear I will kill you.”

  “Really?” The man laughed. “Just your words tell me the reason why you were not chosen to be one of the Keepers.”

  “You sound as if you know the future. Well, you don’t, because my name, I assure you, is on that list.”

  Sadly, the sorcerer shook his head. “Nay, Orrick, it is not. Each Keeper has a record of names of the future Keepers for all of time.”

  “That’s not possible! If the flame is passed on to the next guardian every fifty years, then the future Keepers are not even born yet.”

  “That’s right,” said the man with a smile. “The names are embedded on a thread of the Akashic Records on a different realm. It’s like a book on another plane that can only be read by one who is pure of heart who also holds the power of magic within him.”

  “I don’t care. It’s time to change that record. I swear I will be the next Keeper of the Flame, no matter what I have to do to get it.”

  “Go ahead and try,” the man taunted him, holding out his arms to his sides. “Strike me down dead with your blade if you think you can do it.”

  Anger welled inside Orrick. He felt so much rage that he didn’t understand it. It frightened him as it took control. He couldn’t stop himself now if he tried. The sorcerer had dropped the gauntlet before him and Orrick had to pick it up.

  “Aaaaaah,” screamed Orrick, rushing at the man and thrusting his sword into Alwin’s heart. Blood spurted out and Orrick heard the sickening sound of metal being pushed into flesh. Alwin doubled over, falling into Orrick. There was no way this man wasn’t dead. Orrick had spent the last ten years fighting for the king and he was one of the ruler’s best warriors. No man walked away from Orrick on the battlefield, and this would prove to be no different.

  Or so he thought.

  Alwin gripped the blade, pulling it from his chest and throwing it to the ground. “You really shouldn’t have done that, Orrick. The darkness is taking control of you. If you don’t fight it, it will consume you.”

  Orrick watched in astonishment as the gaping hole in Alwin’s chest quickly closed up, and the blood disappeared.

  “You truly are immortal,” whispered Orrick, wanting the flame now more than ever. His eyes flashed over to the candle and then back to the sorcerer. If Orrick were immortal, no man could touch him or even hurt him. Orrick would be the mightiest of warriors, and mayhap someday, even king. He’d rule with Petronilla as his queen, and they’d have many, many children.

  “It doesn’t work that way,” said the man, reading his mind. “The Keeper of the Flame is immortal, but also unable to sire children.”

  “That’s nonsense. I don’t believe a word you say.”

  “It’s true. It is a precaution.”

  “Precaution? That makes no sense.”

  “It does, Orrick. You see, in order to keep the flame safe, the guardian cannot be distracted. Having a wife and children would only make the Keeper careless.”

  “Nay! I can have a wife and many children and still be a mighty warrior and also the next Keeper.”

  “I wish that were so, but it’s not. And that is why each Keeper chosen is supposed to be a child. He or she will be pure of heart, but cannot be Keeper until they turn ten. Then, and only then, w
ill they be mature enough to realize the responsibilities that go along with the position. So, you see, Orrick, you are much too old to be the Keeper anyway, even though my time is nearly up. I will be passing the flame to the next Keeper soon.”

  “The only one you’ll pass it to is me.” Orrick lifted his hand, using his magic. Alwin’s body rose into the air, his feet dangling beneath him.

  “I can’t let you take it,” said Alwin. “My job is to protect it, and I will.”

  Alwin used his magic next, as part of the cave fell on Orrick’s head, releasing a rock, and almost knocking him out.

  With their magic, the two of them fought each other, but Orrick could see this wasn’t going to work. He needed an advantage if he were going to win a fight with an immortal man. Slowly, he worked his way over to the table, and with one mighty blast, he sent Alwin stumbling backward. At the same time, Orrick dove for the candle, gripping it in one hand and his dagger in the other.

  “Nay!” shouted Alwin, getting to his feet with his hands out in front of him. “Orrick, don’t do this. It’s not for you.”

  “It is for me, and there is naught you can do now to stop me.” Darkness clouded Orrick’s brain, totally controlling him now. The greed inside him was unbearable. And though a sliver of light deep inside told him he was doing wrong, he was powerless to stop it. Like watching in slow motion from up above, he saw himself fling the dagger across the room at Alwin. The dagger lodged into the man’s heart, taking him to the ground. He fell in a heap on the floor. To Orrick’s surprise, even though he had stolen the flame, Alwin was staring at him like he wasn’t hurt at all.

  Orrick looked at the candle and then spotted the flame from the torch, realizing his mistake. He dropped the candle and ran for the torch, warding off a magical blow from Alwin as he did so.

  Ripping the torch from the wall, Orrick’s fingers closed around the wood, and he immediately felt the power of the flame flow through him.

  “You tricked me into believing the candle held the flame,” said Orrick.

  “I did nothing of the sort,” said Alwin, gasping for air. The dagger was still embedded in his chest and the blood continued to flow. “I only protected . . . the flame. You decided . . . it was the candle.”

  Orrick held the stolen gift of immortality now, so he was the new Keeper. The power of the flame flowed through him, making him want to shout aloud. Without it, Alwin was mortal and able to die.

  Alwin clutched the dagger stuck in his chest, and looked up at Orrick with eyes that seemed to see right through his very soul. “I don’t fear dying,” gasped the man. “But I do fear what will happen to you, now that you have let the darkness take control.”

  “Nothing will happen to me but good.”

  “I only wish that . . . were so.” The man was losing a lot of blood and was near death.

  Orrick should have helped him, but there was a dark fog clouding his judgment, just like Alwin said. Instead, he stood still with the candle in one hand, just staring at the dying man on the ground.

  “You – you need to get . . . the flame to the . . . next Keeper,” said the man with his dying breath. “The next Keeper’s name . . . it is –”

  “I am the next Keeper,” spat Orrick, hearing his own voice and almost sounding like someone else. Part of him wanted to give the flame back so the man wouldn’t die. But another part of him, a darker part of himself, wanted the flame for himself and wouldn’t let him give it up. Unable to unclench his fingers from around the torch, Orrick stood over Alwin, watching the man die. Little did he know that everything the sorcerer said was true, and that being the Keeper of the Flame was going to prove to be a curse instead of a blessing or gift of any kind.

  Without even realizing how he’d gotten there, Orrick stopped his horse just outside of the cave that housed the Eternal Flame. Slipping from the saddle, he hurried to the mouth of the cave, using his magic to remove a boulder that blocked the door.

  Dirt fell and small rocks tumbled around the entrance. With another swipe of his hand, he magically cleared away all the vines that had grown and tangled over the mouth of the cave in the last hundred years – the last time he’d been here.

  He ducked and entered the cave. The cool, earthy air hit him in the face and made him take a deep breath before he slowly released it. By hiding the flame inside the cave and sealing the door, Orrick hoped to never have to see it again.

  But now that there were people looking for it, and his powers of shapeshifting were unstable, he figured he’d better check up on the flame.

  Slowly making his way deeper into the cavern, he could see the slight glow of the eternal flame still burning from the torch on the wall up ahead. He rounded the corner and stopped. It was right where he’d put it after Petronilla had died. It burned on the wall. The table with the candle that Alwin had used as a decoy was still there.

  He felt a presence within the cave and wondered if it was the spirit of Alwin. Even though he’d buried the man’s body outside the cave, he almost felt as if he were going to look down and see him on the floor in a puddle of blood.

  A tingle went up his spine. He had hoped to forget about his dark past, but now he was being confronted with all these awful memories once again.

  He walked over to the flame, sticking his hand into the fire, feeling the power flow through him. The flame couldn’t burn him, but somehow he wished it could. If he could die, he would gladly take his own life just so he wouldn’t have to live like this anymore.

  If only Alwin had told him the name of the next Keeper before he died, then Orrick could have passed along the flame, and given his troubles to someone else.

  “Orrick?” came a soft, female voice from behind him. He spun around to see Lady Hope standing there. He’d been so distraught and deep in thought that he hadn’t even realized she’d followed him. “Oh, it’s you, Sir Rick,” she said.

  Damn, thought Orrick. It probably would have been better if he’d stayed in the form of the old sorcerer. Now, it was too late. She’d already seen him here and he didn’t know what to say.

  “Lady Hope,” he said, flashing a nervous smile. “What are you doing here?”

  “I followed Orrick here after I heard him speaking with Lord Corbett in the stable.”

  “Y – you did?” Orrick’s heart beat faster. He hoped she hadn’t heard their entire conversation. “So, what did they say?”

  “Orrick is the Keeper of the Flame!” she blurted out, making Orrick grimace and squeeze his eyes closed. Now, the next thing she was going to want to do was to see the Eternal Flame, and he couldn’t have that. Nay, that would never do at all.

  Chapter 11

  “So, where is Orrick?” asked Hope, walking over the stone- cold floor, making her way closer to Sir Rick. She looked around the cave, protectively wrapping her arms around her. “I followed him here and am fairly sure he came in the cave as well. I saw his horse outside.”

  “Aye,” said Sir Rick, clearing his throat, seeming nervous all of a sudden. “Orrick was here. But now he’s not.”

  “Where did he go?” she asked, looking at him from the sides of her eyes. Something about this man was very mysterious and she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. “And why are you here?”

  “Aye, why, indeed,” he said, shifting from foot to foot. “You see, Orrick asked me to – to meet him here.”

  “Here?” She took in her primitive surroundings. “In this dark, dank cave?”

  “That’s right. He said he wanted to talk to me. But when I arrived . . . when I arrived, he was gone.”

  “I see,” she said, strolling over closer to the torch on the wall. “Did he say what he wanted to talk to you about?” she asked.

  “Nay. But I’m sure it wasn’t important. Mayhap we should leave now.”

  Her gaze fastened on him and her eyes narrowed. “Why are you wearing Orrick’s cloak?”

  “His cloak?” Sir Rick looked down at his cloak and chuckled. “Oh, yes. I was chilled and Orric
k left it for me. He said he had to . . . leave.”

  “Something isn’t right here,” she said, walking around him in a circle. “Where is your horse?”

  “My horse?” He turned around and smiled. “Oh, my horse. It went . . . lame. It’s close by. Orrick went to use magic on it to heal it. He left me his horse.”

  “Is he coming back?”

  “Nay.”

  “Nay? Why not?”

  “I’m supposed to meet him back at the castle. Shall we go?” He reached out to guide her, putting his hand at the small of her back, but she stepped away and looked up at the torch.

  “Is that the Eternal Flame?”

  “What? This? Nay,” he said, almost too quickly, once again, trying to lead her away.

  “Wait,” she said. “I want to see it.” She reached up for the flame, but Orrick grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her to him, up close against his body.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I want to kiss you, Lady Hope. Since I’ve met you, I haven’t been able to think of anything else.”

  “Really,” she said snidely, pushing him away. “Then why did you send your gift for me with the sorcerer instead of giving it to me yourself?”

  “Your gift,” Orrick said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the heart necklace he’d meant to give her. “I’d like to give it to you now, if you’d allow me.”

  “I – I don’t know.” She crossed her arms stubbornly over her chest. “It seems like naught but an afterthought at this point.”

  “Not so. Turn around,” he told her, holding up the two ends of the chain. “I want to put this on you myself.”