“I am ready for my next test,” she said, repeating the words he had said to her such a short time ago.
He laughed. A genuine, easy laugh. Not one of ridicule or cruelty.
“I was scared to death when I began my training with the Black,” he said. “Facing off two dozen demons was easier. I kept wondering when the captain was going to tell me it was all a joke and send me back to my Red squad.”
Kate gasped.
“Aha!” he said. “You too. Good, good. It doesn’t do to be confident to the point of arrogance. A little self-doubt to make you strive to be better is a good thing. But don’t worry, Kate. You will not be turned away. At this point, the only way you will not be officially one of the Black is if you decide you do not want to be part of the group. Or if we find that you are a spy for the demons, in which case you will have a very bad day indeed.”
Kate couldn’t trust herself to speak, didn’t so much as crack a smile at the obvious joke, so she just nodded, her eyes feeling like they were going to stretch so wide they would pop out of her head. The captain could surely hear the rapid tempo of her heartbeat from across the room.
“Kate,” he said slowly, looking into her eyes. “You’re fine. It’s a formality. Honest. You will be subjected to hard training, but today is necessary administrative nonsense. Take a deep breath.”
She closed her eyes momentarily and took in a deep breath. She opened her eyes again as she released the air.
“Good,” he said. “Now come with me.”
The captain strode past her and opened the door. He stepped through it, not even pausing to hold it open for her.
She smiled. The message was clear. He would treat her as one of the Black, not as some noble lady to have the door opened for her. She knew he was a polite man, had seen him open doors for other men, Black or not, but he avoided showing her that courtesy to make a point.
“Thank you,” she said as she fell in step behind him.
He smiled. “You are a smart one, Kate Courtenay. I’m looking forward to seeing great things from you.”
Kate followed Captain Achard down the hall. She had a feeling she knew where they were going, but she didn’t ask. It was all she could do to follow him without trembling. His understanding and what he had said made her feel a bit better, but her palms were still clammy and her heart was racing.
Sure enough, the captain stopped at the door she had seen once before. It led to the room where he invited her to join them. Was that only a few weeks ago? It seemed like years.
Phrixus Achard smiled at her and raised his eyebrows.
Kate nodded.
The captain opened the door and motioned with his hand for her to enter first.
Kate tried to swallow what seemed like an apple-sized lump in her throat and stepped inside. She was not surprised to find all thirty-six of the Black within.
The captain—the thirty-seventh Black—entered the room and closed the door behind him.
“We do not stand much on tradition and ritual in the Black,” he said loudly enough for all to hear in the large room. “So let’s just do this.” He turned to Kate. “Kate, please put your hand on the stone.”
One of the other Black brothers brought a thin wooden rod with a pale purple stone set in it. It was familiar, nearly identical to the one she had seen during her trials. That seemed so long ago.
Kate understood. She would be taking another oath. She placed her right hand on the stone.
“As with the other oath you took when you were inducted into the Order itself,” the captain said, “this stone’s magic will bind you with your words, making it impossible or at the very least dangerous for you to break your oath. I will have you repeat the following after me.”
Kate nodded. She gulped one more time and then repeated the oath as the captain spoke it slowly to her.
“I do pledge myself, body and soul, to the Order of the Fire and to the Black Command. I will be loyal and will not share information or resources with those who do not have the clearance to accept such. This oath is binding by magic from now until my death.”
After the last word faded from the silent room, a loud crash of applause made Kate jump. She looked around, and everyone was smiling, many of them saluting her as her gaze passed. The captain stood next to her, his mouth curved into a smile.
“Uh,” she said eloquently. “It’s that easy? I’m in the Black?”
“You are one of us now, yes,” he said. “But that is not the end of your initiation. There is information you must know and some additional training you must receive, but you are officially of the Black.”
Her head spun and she had to focus on her breathing to get it under control. “Really? To get into the Order, we had to complete the training first and to graduate before we were officially in.”
“As I’ve said before, we’re a little different than the rest of the Order. You have proven yourself worthy to be Black. The oath you took is required before our training and information is given to you because some of the things you will learn could destroy the Order entirely.
“The Black are not just the most skilled combatants and the most highly trained in combat against demons, we are the elite in all respects. You will learn things that even some of the high command do not know. You are bound to share this with no one except those who have sufficient authority to know it. Essentially, that means only the rest of your Black brothers.
“So, Kate, I ask you again, are you ready for your next test?”
Kate straightened to attention and snapped off a salute, arm horizontal and fist pounding her breastplate. “I am.”
“Very well,” the captain said. “The first thing you will learn, in the presence of all these, your brothers, is the history of the Black Command.”
The captain nodded toward another black-clothed man, who stepped up to Kate. He was compact, not muscular but somehow more solid than normal people. He was a good three inches shorter than Kate and had eyes so dark they looked almost black. He smiled at her as he spoke in a smooth, melodious voice that instantly demanded Kate’s attention.
“I am Horith Valwynn, the historian of the Black, among other things. I will tell you of our origin and the state of affairs within the Order.
“It was only seventeen years after the Order of the Fire had been established. The Order tried mightily to increase their ranks, but even then, they had standards. These were not so stringent as they are now, but there were fewer people willing to join the Order as well.
“What would someone have said if asked whether they wished to join an army to fight against demons from Hell? Most people at that time believed the existence of Hell to be merely myth and legend.
“It was during this time that Orthros Daggerrend entered the Order. His name prior to joining is not recorded, but even then, recruits had the right to change their names to whatever they wanted.
“Orthros, only eighteen years of age, had spent much of his life on the streets. He was an orphan and so had to make his own way. He did so through, shall we say, a shadier manner than is commonly acceptable. This being the case, his weapon of choice was a dagger, or double daggers, to be precise.
“He learned, as all Order soldiers do, to use the sword and shield, though his blade was a short sword, not the long or bastard sword commonly used by others.” He nodded toward Kate’s sword with a wink, then continued.
“Orthros was a fair soldier, perhaps a little hesitant to take orders, but there was one thing in which he excelled. He was very good at killing. People, animals, demons, it didn’t matter. With his sword and shield, or especially his favorite daggers, he was a bringer of death.
“The training and acceptance practices were much as they are today. By the time Orthros made it to what is now Gateskeep—then only a temporary camp—he was so skilled with his weapons and shield he was immediately made a sergeant, leading his own squad. He continued this way for several years, viciously halting demon advances and personally responsible f
or ending hundreds of their lives.
“Then, one day, he found himself isolated through some cruel twist of fate. His squad, caught up in the shield wall push, moved beyond him as he was distracted by something at the corner of his vision. Inside the gate.
“Orthros was a curious sort, and not understanding the motion just inside the gate, he snuck around the edge of battle and entered Hell itself. His skills at stealth worked in his favor because he was not noticed until after he had entered.
“In those times, the colors had not yet been set, and so each soldier wore what they wanted. Orthros always wore black, of course, because habits are hard to break. This allowed him on that day to get within the gate itself and to see what no man had seen up to that point. A demon, nearly twice as tall as the normal demons he fought, stood within Hell’s domain, motioning. With every gesture, groups of demons raced to where it pointed.
“It was some kind of commander, and Orthros, preferring to make things simple, mentally named the demon that. The demon commander caught sight of the human, though, and sent its minions after the black-clothed man.
“Orthros engaged them in battle, laughing as he cut them down. Still, there were too many for one man, so he darted back through the gate, to the surprise of his squad and the others present. He managed to take his place among them as part of the shield wall, and once they had pushed the demons back and the gates had closed, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
“That evening, he approached the Supreme Commander, the great Kharis Shafaren, and told him what he had seen. The first Supreme Commander of the Order, being a clever master of strategy, immediately saw the value in what Orthros had done.
“‘Orthros,’ Shafaren said, ‘I want to give you a squad, a special group, whose duty will be to support the Order in a way that is very special. I want you to hand pick the best of the Order and offer them a place in your squad. The fastest, strongest, most capable soldiers you can find.’
“‘And what am I to have this special squad do?’ Orthros asked.
“‘They are to be the most elite, the most special of the Order. They are to rally the troops if the wall is failing, they are to engage in combat with the toughest of the demon forces, they are to be a shining example to all of the Order.’ The Supreme Commander looked Orthros in the eye and continued, ‘And they are to actually enter Hell on special assignments.’
“Orthros rubbed his whiskered chin and thought about it for a moment. His smile lit up his sun-darkened face. ‘On one condition,’ he said.
“‘And what is that?’ the Supreme Commander asked him.
“‘I want all of us to wear black.’
“So it was that Orthros became the father of the Black Command. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, later captain, and finally major before he retired. In his lifetime, he saw the Black grow to a rank of one hundred twenty-three members, all of them respected for their skills and their contribution to the Order.
“A few short years after the Black Command was started, the Supreme Commander instituted a color scheme within the Order. Later, when Orthros had his soldiers wear a black cloak in addition to the black clothing, the rest of the Order followed suit. That tradition has been maintained to this day, the command colors reflected by the cloaks or uniforms worn.
“As time went on, the potency of the Black waxed and waned. During their height, over two hundred Black brothers and sisters served the Order.
“Right now, our numbers are at the lowest point since our founding.
“The trend seems to be that much of the upper command does not believe in the Black or their mission. We’re sure you have seen this yourself.”
The historian paused until Kate nodded. She had seen evidence of this, just in the short time she had been with the Order. The thought of officers who claimed they wanted to eliminate the Black Command caused her to clench her fists.
“So it is, Kate, that you have joined at a crucial point. It is entirely possible you will be the last induction into the Black. Our captain fought to get approval for you to join. Nearly half the high command did not agree to another appointment. Fortunately, the Supreme Commander supports the Black.
“Do not doubt that you will be scrutinized and judged, more so than any of the rest of us. Your actions may be the deciding factor in whether or not the Black will be done away with forever. We do not have to tell you how disastrous that would be to the Order as a whole. Change is coming, and much of it not good.
“This is but a short history of the Black Command. There is a great deal of information to learn, as well as skills. We are all at your disposal for anything you may need.
“But there is one more thing we must do before you will be allowed to carry on with your training. For that, we need the help of another command in the Order, one you would not know exists. In fact, they are a secret group whose existence may not be shared with anyone lacking clearance. That is, anyone who is not of the Black or the command of which I speak.
“Molara, please step forward.”
A young woman wearing purple robes and a purple cloak stepped out from behind some of the Black. She was at least a half foot shorter than Kate and slender, with long black hair. She squinted slightly and tilted her head as if she was categorizing Kate in some way. Her pale blue eyes blazed, almost as if a light source illuminated her irises from behind like a lantern.
The captain stepped back to allow the women room to greet each other. “This is Molara Grey, one of the few members of the Purple Command.”
5
“The Purple?” Kate said without thinking. “There is no Purple Command in the Order.” It occurred to her, too late, that she had just been told she wouldn’t know of them.
“Is there not?” the woman said with a small twitch and pursing of her lips.
Kate looked from Molara to the captain and back again. “Is there?”
“There is,” the purple-clad woman said, smiling widely at Kate. Kate decided that she was going to get along well with the woman.
“This is one of the secrets I haven’t had access to up to this point?”
“It is,” Molara confirmed. “In fact, only the Black and the Purple have access to the most restricted information. Aside from the Supreme Commander, of course. As far as anyone else knows, I, and my fellow Purples, don’t exist.”
Kate blew out a breath forcefully. What other secrets were waiting for her?
As if reading her mind, Molara went on, “Don’t worry. I can help you out with the other things you don’t know. I am usually in the restricted section of the main library. You can visit any time. Well, after we’re finished with what we’ll do next.”
“There’s a restricted section of the library?”
“There is, and even its existence is secret. So…shh.” She put her slender finger to her lips, and Kate noticed for the first time the other woman was wearing a subtle purple tint on her lips. It matched the smaller stones on the chain worn around her hair and hanging on her forehead. There were six, three on each side of a larger red gem that looked much like a bloodstone.
“I see you have noticed my jewelry,” Molara said, pointing toward the stone resting on her forehead. “Yes, it is a firestone. It helps me to…focus my energies.”
“Your energies?” Kate noticed that the captain and the others around her were paying careful attention to the exchange, almost as if they were anxious to see where it would go.
“Yes.” Molara ran her fingers carefully through her long black hair, expertly avoiding the chain. “The Purple are responsible for the magic of the Order.”
Kate’s breath caught again. “Magic? I know the firestones are magic, and the stones used for taking oaths are magic, but I assumed they were artifacts, left over from some great mage far back in history.”
“Now, Kate. Really? Do you think that even magic items would never deteriorate, that enough of them were made ages ago, and there have been no other users of magic since then?”
Kate’s mind was whirling. Magic? She’d never heard of people using magic in modern times. But how did they…?
“The trial!” she said. “During the trial, the woman stared at me for a long time, and then she waved one of those stones over me. She was trying to see if I had magical talent.”
Molara shifted her gaze to the captain, and Kate caught him giving the Purple a small shrug. “Oh, you are a clever one. Yes, part of the trial is screening for those who can wield the energies, who can learn to cast spells. There are presently five Purple in all the Order. Of those, two reside here and three are…elsewhere.”
“That’s fantastic. How does it work? How do you cast the spells? What can you do?”
Molara tilted her head, and a slow smile spread across her face. “Oh, Kate, I think we are going to be good friends. For now, however, I will ask that you hold your questions. In front of all these, your brothers, I need to adjust your identification stone. We can talk of other things later.”
“Adjust my stone how?”
“It’s simple enough,” the Purple said. “I will encode your new position into it, giving you access to, well, basically everything. Including the secret section of the library. Of course, the oath you took prevents you from telling anyone without proper authorization about any of this, but the stone will allow you to actually pass through that doorway in the library. Just stand still for a moment. It will not take long.”
Molara stepped up to Kate, moved her hand as if she was about to plunge it into the top of the taller woman’s tunic, but then retracted it. “Please retrieve your stone for me.”
Kate fished it from where it hung between her breasts by its chain and held it out. Molara gently placed it in her palm, inches from Kate’s face. She whispered words Kate didn’t understand, Molara’s breath smelling faintly of berry, a stark contrast to the sweaty smells of the soldiers she was usually around.
Kate’s body grew warm, but part of it may have been the proximity of the beautiful woman mere inches from her face. She pulled her eyes away from Molara’s ice-blue orbs, focusing on her firestone pendant. The stone flared and then settled back to its normal glow. Molara let it down gently on the outside of Kate’s armor.
Hero of Fire Page 3
