Page 40 of Keeper of the Flame: Orrick

“I’m not sure. I guess he had to leave. That’s what Sir Rick told me. I was sure the torch that burned in the cave was what I’ve been looking for. However, Sir Rick extinguished the flame. Since I don’t believe the Eternal Flame can be snuffed, it seems it really wasn’t the flame at all.”

“Oh.” Grace made a face. “Then where is it?”

“I don’t know. But since I now know that Orrick is the Keeper, I think we need to sneak into his tower chamber and take a look around.”

“That is not going to be easy. Not when Orrick or Sir Rick always seem to be there.”

“Then we’re going to have to be sneaky about it,” said Hope, pacing the room, tapping her fingers together. “Perhaps we can listen and watch closely. Then when we know that neither of them are in the tower, we’ll sneak in and explore.”

“Good thing I still have the key.” Grace pulled the key out of her bodice.

“You keep it there?” gasped Hope.

“Well, you never know when you might need it. How about if we go now?”

“Nay. It’s nightfall and Orrick or Sir Rick is sure to be in there. We’ll wait until tomorrow. When Sir Rick is on the practice field, we’ll find a way to make sure Orrick is somewhere else and then we’ll move in.”

“I like the way you think,” said Grace, tossing the key in the air.

Hope’s hand shot out and snatched it away before Grace could catch it. “Don’t get too comfortable, Sister. We need to stay on our guard. I don’t trust Sir Rick and I certainly don’t trust Orrick. Something is odd with them but I can’t put my finger on what it is.”

“How so?”

“I’m not sure, but I can feel that whatever it is, magic is involved,” Hope said as she handed the key back to Grace.

* * *

Orrick woke up the next morning in his chamber, contemplating what had happened yesterday. He hadn’t told a soul that he’d made love with Lady Hope. If word got out, Lord Irwin, not to mention Lord Corbett, would want to kill him. What the hell had he been thinking? He was so worried that Hope would figure out the torch burned with the Eternal Flame, that he did whatever he could to distract her.

Too damned bad the act had distracted him as well.

He yawned and stretched and sat up on the bed with his feet dangling off the edge. The Eternal Flame burned brightly from a beeswax candle in the center of his table. He didn’t like bringing it here, but he didn’t know where else to take it. Once Hope announced that she thought it was the Eternal Flame, he knew he had to remove it from the cave. That’s all he needed, for Hope to tell Lord Irwin where it was, and then the man stealing it from him. What kind of low-down, seedy cur would even consider stealing the flame in the first place?

Orrick’s stomach twisted into a knot when he realized he had done just that, stealing the precious flame over a hundred years ago.

Releasing a breath of air from his mouth, Orrick stood up and got dressed. Straightening his tunic, he studied himself in the standing mirror. He looked young, strong, and full of life in this form. He liked this version of himself and was starting to dread turning back into the old sorcerer. If he had his way, he’d never go back to the old body again. It had felt damned good to make love to a beautiful woman. It only brought to life that dormant need in him that he’d put to rest since the day he’d lost his wife.

He walked over to his shelf that held books on magic and spells. A thick coat of dust covered not only the books but also the stuffed carcass of an owl as well as crystals, candles, and his wand.

Orrick chuckled as he picked up the wand that was nothing but a stick carved with mystical images of mythical creatures. It was the only thing he had left from his short apprenticeship with the old sorcerer, Merlin.

He tested the weight of the wand in his hand, remembering how adamant Merlin had been that he could use this to do magic. Orrick waved it around in the air but, like always, nothing happened. He’d never believed it was anything more than a stupid stick and that Merlin had been teasing him, just to get him to find the magic within him. After all, as he’d been taught, sorcerers didn’t need wands, spells or potions, or even gazing crystals at all. Those things were for wizards who had to look outside of themselves to find their powers. A sorcerer was born with his power and had it in him from the beginning. Sorcerers only needed to learn how to tap into it to use it.

There came a knock at the door and then the voice of Lord Corbett.

“Orrick, are you in there? Open up.”

Out of laziness and not wanting to walk across the room, Orrick waved his hand in the air and the knob turned and the door opened.

“Good morning,” said Corbett, glancing back at the door as he entered the room. Nothing Orrick did ever surprised him. Orrick had tried to mentor Corbett as a child, but Corbett only wanted to be a knight. “We came to pay you a little visit.”

“We?” Orrick looked up to see Noah following Corbett into the room. His head was down and he looked as if he’d been scolded. “Oh, hello, Noah.”

“Hello, Orrick,” said the boy, seeming sad this morning.

“Is something wrong?” asked Orrick, running his fingers over the wand mindlessly.

“Noah was caught in this tower room yesterday by my steward. He was going through your things.”