Lines of Fire (The Guild House - Defenders Hall) Page 19
* * *
Kalia clung to her brother. Grief spilled between them. Their father’s rule had ended. He had died with clean lines and she could think of him with love again. But her mother had joined his dive into the abyss. Had the ending been worth the price?
A new thought cut through the sadness. Her mother had heard the words she’d always wanted. Amid the grief, Kalia felt a moment of joy. Did her mother’s sacrifice mean the Defenders could change?
Petan remained alive. He would return. She knew that and rubbed her arms.
“You all right?” Robec asked.
“Just thinking of Petan’s threat and what that could mean.”
Robec stiffened. “He was never my friend. I know that now. Do you believe he will come back here, especially when everyone knows what he has done?”
“Yes, and he’ll bring this master he speaks about.”
Robec stepped away. “He told me I’d been chosen by one greater than all men. That’s why my lines are darkening.”
“So were mine.” She looked up and saw Alric. She held her hand for him to clasp.
Alric slid an arm around her waist. “The bodies are being prepared. When they are, we will go to the crypt to honor them.”
“Honor?” Robec said. “For our mother yes, but our father lost his honor years ago when he surrendered to the blight.”
“You’re wrong,” Alric said. “His lines were clear when he died. He told your mother the words she wanted to hear.”
Kalia nodded. “She sacrificed herself to save him. Their hearts were bound in death.”
“But he didn’t tell us what we need to know,” Robec said. “Why did he accept the taint? Why did he allow Petan to steer his life and decisions?”
“There was no time to ask.” Kalia clasped her brother’s arm. “Petan knows the answers. We must find him.”
“That will be my quest.” Robec squared his shoulders.
“You will have another search,” Kalia said. “One to take the taint away.”
“How? Every time I worry or think about Petan, the darkness grows.”
Kalia nodded. “I know what the dark emotions can do to the lines. Mine are clear again. Remember what we told you. Alric and I have a double heart bond. Seek the one for you.”
“Here?” Robec made a face. “I’ve met every unbonded woman residing in the Hall. None interest me.” He turned to Alric. “Since you’re the Swordmaster give me leave to wander on detached duty.”
Alric nodded. “You have my hope for success. Before you leave, spend time in the Archives. Learn what you can about this infection, heart bonding and the sorcerers our people crossed the mists to leave behind.”
Robec’s mouth gaped. “Do you think one of that ilk came here?”
“Yes.”
Kalia clasped Alric’s and Robec’s hands. She nodded in agreement. “Tomorrow I’ll help with the search.” She turned to Alric. “Do you recall which book you found that reference?”
“The second one you gave me.”
The Right and Left Hands approached. “The women have cared for the body. The crypt has been opened.”
Alric turned. “Kalia, you and Robec will lead the way.” He struck the summoning gong five times. From the patrols, the leaders and their seconds approached. The litters with the bodies were lifted and the procession began. The people of the Defender’s Hall marched in orderly lines from the salle, across the forecourt, through the gates to the crypt where the bodies of the dead were placed.
Alric, Robec and Kalia followed the men bearing the bodies into the building. They helped move the corpses onto a shelf bearing the bones of those who had died in the past. Some of the bones had turned to dust.
Kalia wrinkled her nose. The stale odor of the crypt made her feel ill. She clasped Alric’s hand and followed him into the sunlight. Robec stumbled after them.
Alric raised his hands to address those gathered around the opening. “The Swordmaster and his heart bound are at peace. Before you return to the Hall and continue your day, Kalia and I want you to witness our exchange of bracelets marking our pledge of forever.”
Kalia stood beside him. “We will tell you the meaning these special bracelets have for Defenders. We discovered the information in the Archives.”
Alric clasped the bracelet with links of four metals on Kalia’s arm. She did the same for him. “They are bracelets of remembrance. This is what I read. Copper is for the Defenders. Other metals belong to the other Guilds. From this day forward, all bonding bracelets for our guild will be made of copper.”
“What if we want to wear the ones we have worn since the day of our bonding?” A woman’s voice rose from the mass of people.
Kalia smiled. “Wear them. Copper ones will be exchanged and will distinguish the Defenders from the other Guilds and from the common people.” She turned to Robec. “You can’t leave until you have a pair. Lasara found two hidden in a storage place in the floor of the chamber that was mine.”
He nodded. “I’ll stay until then.”
Kalia smiled. “Tomorrow, Alric will speak to the Artisans and I will show you the ancient records.”
Alric raised his hands. “Tomorrow I’ll meet with the Seconds, the patrol leaders and their seconds. We’ll plan our strategies for handling a band of outlaws. There are records to be copied. Think of the members of your patrols who will be best suited to the task.” He pulled Kalia toward the gate. “We should examine the Swordmaster’s suite.”
“Can we wait several days and use your suite until the room can be cleaned and the furniture moved?”
“We can.” He turned and waved the patrols and people toward the gates.
Kalia strode beside him. They stopped in the refectory where he loaded a tray with a selection of food. She took a pitcher of kafa and one of citren. They hurried to his suite. Alric put the tray on the table and took the pitchers from her.
“What’s the rush?” she asked.
“To avoid questions I’m not ready to answer and to be alone with you.”
She laughed and stepped into his embrace. Their mouths met. Tongues tangled. She savored his taste and inhaled his musky scent. When the kiss ended, she touched his lips with her fingers.
Alric released her. He stripped off his clothes before she had a chance to remove more than her vest and shirt. When he scooped her into his arms, she laughed. “So eager.”
“Always for you. Time to make up for the interruption this morning and to celebrate a most eventful day.”
She brushed her hand along the place where Petan’s knife had cut his arm. “Does this hurt?”
“No and the Artisans checked the knife so there was no hidden filth to cause a problem.”
Kalia smiled. Their lines of fire moved in unison. The currents of scarlet seemed to cross the barrier of their skin, blending and returning like the thrust of their tongues. She rolled to her back and he moved above her.
“You have my heart,” she said.
“And you have mine.”
His lips brushed her throat and returned to her mouth. With one movement he entered her channel. She tightened her inner muscles. Mutual movement carried heat, called passion and ended in an explosive storm of love.
With a loud roar of her name, he gathered her close and rolled to his side. The savage kiss changed to a gentle tasting.
“Forever.” The word etched in scarlet danced before her eyes for they had spoken in unison.
* * *
One week, then two passed before the copper bracelets arrived from the Artisans. The reddish brown metal gleamed in the light from the glass panels in the ceiling of the salle. Kalia and Alric joined the couples on the sand and dropped the bracelets, both the brass and the multi-metal ones on the heap. After clasping the copper ones on each other’s arms, they spoke the vows of forever with the others.
Kalia smiled. Not only had she and Alric exchanged their bracelets but the seconds plus the patrol leaders and their seconds. A number of other me
mbers of the Defenders also made the exchange. Their gasps of surprise echoed hers. The lines of fire on their skin seemed visible to the world.
Alric raised his hands. “Dismissed.”
Robec paused and selected a copper pair. “I’ll be leaving in the morning.”
“Join us in the refectory,” Kalia said.
Before following the men, she looked for the bracelets with the four different metal links in the pile of brass. They had disappeared. For a moment she wondered which Guild would be next. That wasn’t her problem. The Defenders had enough to solve.
Once through the line with their trays, Kalia chose a small table. Robec carried his tray. She patted his hand. “I’ll miss you.” She noticed his lines remained unchanged. “I wish you good fortune.”
He met her gaze. “I learned so much in the Archives but all this knowledge is jumbled.”
“You’ll find the right end and unravel the facts,” Alric said. “Remember calmness is the way to keep the darkness from growing.”
“Where will you go?” Kalia asked. “If you see Lasara, tell her she can return. She needs to know about Mother and Father.”
“I’m not sure that’s the way I’ll travel,” he said.
“Will you go east since that’s where Petan has collected his band of outlaws?” Alric asked.
“Perhaps.” Robec bent his head and concentrated on his food.
When they finished the meal, Robec rose. “I’m off to gather my supplies.”
Alric handed him a purse heavy with coins. “To keep you from needing a pack train.”
Robec laughed. “My thanks.”
“Be careful,” Kalia said.
“I will.”
“There will always be a place for you here.” Alric clapped Robec’s shoulder.
Robec kissed Kalia’s cheek. “I will return and my lines will be clean.” He turned and strode away.
Alric reached for Kalia’s hand. “He’ll succeed and he will find his heart bound mate the way I found mine.”
She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. She felt their lines of fire unite. “Forever.”
The End
About the Author
Janet Lane Walters is a multi-published award winning author. To date she has published 35 novels, 10 novellas, 4 non-fiction books, and a number of short stories and poems. She lives in the scenic Hudson River valley, a setting in many of her novels. She bills herself as the eclectic writer and writes romances, from sweet to spicy, cozy mysteries, alternate world fantasies, historicals, paranormals and fantasy from YA to adult. She is the mother of 4 and the grandmother of 7. She lives with her psychiatrist husband who has no desire to cure her obsession with writing. Among her hobbies are Astrology and composing music. She also admits to housework as a hobby for isn’t that what one does in their spare time.
Note from the Publisher:
Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author. Best Regards and Happy Reading, Jamie and Jude.
Books We Love Ltd.
http://bookswelove.net
* * *
Top quality books loved by readers,
Romance, Mystery, Fantasy, Young Adult,
Vampires, Werewolves, Cops, Lovers.
* * *
Looking for Something Spicier
for Sexy Spicy Selections
Books We Love Spice
http://spicewelove.com