Protector of the Flame

by Isis Rushdan

  With a jarring electric jolt Serenity became aware of Adriel for a second before he faded away in a shadowy miasma of fractured memories.

  Chasing a purple ball, she ran into the front yard, laughing. She kicked the ball back to her father. When he picked it up, his smile faded.

  “Kick it back, Daddy!”

  He wasn’t looking at her. She turned to see two black vehicles coming down the street.

  “What’s wrong, Daddy? Throw me the ball.”

  “No, sweetheart. We’re going in the house to play hide and seek instead.”

  Her father whisked her into his arms with such force it stole her breath. He ran around the side of the house, dashed through the kitchen and down into the basement. He set her behind old boxes. “I want you to stay here. Don’t come out until I find you.”

  “This is stupid. You already know where I am.” She pouted.

  “I need you to stay here. Be very quiet.” His face was serious as if they weren’t really playing a game.

  “Can you turn on the light?”

  “I can’t, sweetheart. If someone else calls you, don’t come out.”

  “But I’m scared of the dark,” she whispered, beginning to shake.

  “You’re going to be Daddy’s brave girl. Can you do that for me?”

  She nodded, and then her father was gone.

  A shadow scurried in the darkness and she scooted back until she hit a wall. She closed her eyes and put her head down on her knees.

  Floorboards creaked upstairs—footsteps, lots of footsteps. Something heavy crashed to the floor. Shouting. A man screamed.

  Silence.

  The door to the basement opened. Light crept in.

  Someone walked slowly down the stairs. Her heart beat in her throat. She raised her head and saw legs moving until a man reached the concrete floor of the basement.

  “Hello cherub,” the man said.

  She didn’t recognize the voice.

  He circled the basement, weaving around boxes. “I’m Archimedes. I’m your mommy’s uncle, which makes me your great-uncle. You can call me Uncle Archie. I know you’re down here. I can feel you. Make it easy and I’ll give you a treat.”

  She swallowed hard as the man drew closer. A bitter taste filled her mouth and she thought she might be sick. Shaking, she pulled her legs in tight.

  “You don’t need to be afraid. I’m family, cherub.” He stopped in front of the box where she hid. “Come out and you can see your daddy.” He reached for her, but she bit his hand.

  Her nails cut into her legs as she formed a ball.

  Sweet laughter cut through the darkness. “You’ve got your mother’s spirit. I like that.”

  He lifted her. She struggled to break free, kicking and scratching.

  Calm and joy stroked her like comforting fingers all over her body. By the time they reached the stairs, she stopped fighting, floating on a cloud of happiness that lured her into sedation.

  “Isn’t that better, cherub? You and I are going to be best friends.” He carried her upstairs into the living room.

  Her father sat in a chair, eyes closed, head slumped to the side. Handcuffs locked him to the chair. A man with long dark hair stood behind him. He smiled when he saw Serenity.

  “That’s your Uncle Archelaus. He had to make your daddy take a nap.”

  Two men lay on the floor twisted like broken dolls. The green sofa and coffee table were turned over. Books and broken glass littered the carpet.

  Archimedes stepped over the broken bodies, sat down and dandled her from his knee.

  “When will Daddy wake up?” she asked in a quivering voice.

  “By the time he wakes up your mommy will be home.”

  “Mommy’s coming home!”

  Archimedes swung his ponytail over his shoulder and she ran her fingers over the silky strands. He had straight, cherry brown hair like her mama.

  He looked up toward the door, along with Archelaus. Another man with dark hair walked into the room, with a pretty lady.

  “Wave to your Uncle Archippos.”

  Another boost of happiness pumped into her. Serenity waved to the man.

  Archippos winked and waved two fingers. “They’re here,” he said and moved to the doorway of the dining room.

  Serenity glanced at her father whose eyes were still closed. She chewed her lip as her mouth went dry. Her pulse quickened and she began to shake.

  A surge of carefree calm caressed her and she rested her head back against her uncle.

  “I won’t leave them,” her mother said from the porch. “She’s too young. She needs me, maybe when she’s older.”

  “Mom—”

  Uncle Archie covered her mouth. Panic seized her, only for a second, and she relaxed into his chest as soothing bliss made her drowsy.

  “The Sodalitas needs you now,” a man with a deep voice said. “Bring them with you.”

  “Things have changed,” her mother said. “My life is complicated now. I can’t serve you any more than I can serve Aten. I’m sorry, Father.”

  “Is this about the child or your kabashem? I’m sure his ideals will make it hard for you to execute your duties faithfully, but—”

  “Lucien and I are sealed. I’ve even taken human vows of marriage.”

  “You made a vow to us first.”

  Silence.

  “Who is inside?” her mother asked.

  Keys jangled.

  “There’s something I want you to see,” the man said.

  The key turned in the lock and the door opened.

  Her mother scanned the room, growing pale.

  Uncle Archie removed his hand from Serenity’s mouth.

  “Mommy, you’re home!” In a yellow dress with flowers, her mother glowed bright as an angel. She tried to go to her mother, but her uncle fastened an arm around her waist. “Put me down.”

  “Can’t, cherub.” Uncle Archie kissed her cheek and leaned back.

  Her mother walked into the house, followed by a man wearing a suit. Everyone else was dressed in black.

  The man in the suit closed the door. He had short hair and looked like a movie star. “I tried to do this the easy way, but you leave me no other choice.”

  Her mother dropped her purse and stepped forward. Archelaus placed a hand on her father’s shoulder, but his eyes stayed closed.

  “Daughter, don’t do anything stupid,” the movie star said. “Get on your knees.”

  Her mother didn’t move.

  Uncle Archie pulled out something shiny and held it in front of Serenity. “Do you know what this is?”

  “It’s a knife.” Glee bubbled inside of her.

  With wide eyes, her mother knelt on the floor. Archippos, her other uncle, walked from the archway of the dining room and shackled her mother’s wrists behind her back.

  “Arabelle,” the movie star said, putting his hands in his pockets. The woman with curly hair circled her mother. “Lovely Arabelle tells me what a person wants most.”

  The woman stopped behind her mother and looked at the man in charge. The movie star nodded his head.

  The woman closed her eyes. “Interesting. Never would’ve guessed.” When she opened her eyes, she stared at Serenity.

  “Do you know what you can do with this?” Uncle Archie asked Serenity, holding the knife in front of her face.

  “Cut an apple. Mommy makes baked apples with cinnamon and sugar.”

  “She shouldn’t feed you sugar. It’s bad for you.”

  “But it tastes good.”

  He turned the knife and it glinted in the light. “What else can you do with this?”

  “Chop off my shoelaces so I don’t have to tie them.”

  He grinned. “Very creative, but I’m thinking of something else.”

  “You could kill a person with it. Stab him in the chest,” she said with flourish as though she had a sword, “or in the throat or eye.” She waved her hand about, pretending to be a swashbuckling pirate.

&nbs
p; “Arcturus, she’s perfect,” Uncle Archie said. “I want to keep the cherub instead of Sothis. You could wipe her clean and we could mold her into something exceptional.” The man tickled Serenity, and she laughed. “Give your Uncle Archie a kiss.”

  Serenity gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

  “Would you like to hold it? It’s an obsidian blade.”

  She went to grab it, but he pulled the knife away.

  “Grasp it by the hilt unless you plan to throw it at someone. I could teach you how. There’s so much I’d like to teach you.”

  Her father stirred and opened his eyes.

  The movie star smoothed back his hair and looked at her mother. “I came for you, but I’ll settle for the child. To make it easier, you and Lucien don’t even have to remember she existed. You could have more children.”

  Her mother rolled, extending her leg, and knocked the movie star down. She kicked him in the face and wrapped her legs around his torso.

  “I must admit, your mother always keeps things interesting,” Uncle Archie said merrily.

  Her mother brought her arms under her butt and feet, so her wrists were now in front of her. She wrapped the dangling chain around the movie star’s neck. Archelaus leaped across the room and grabbed her by the shoulder.

  A guttural scream tore from her lips as her mother crumpled to the floor, holding her head, body twitching like old man Robertson from next door having a seizure.

  “Enough!” the movie star said. He stood, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped blood from his mouth. “I need her conscious!”

  Fear rattled through Serenity. “Mama?”

  “She’s all right,” Uncle Archie reassured. “Your mother is a tough cookie. She can handle anything.”

  The movie star put the handkerchief back in his pocket. “Arabelle,” he said.

  The woman walked behind her father and pulled out a gun.

  “Arcturus, what do you want?” Her father asked, fully awake.

  “I want my daughter back home where she belongs.”

  Another uncle put Sothis down on her knees and held her shoulders. Serenity waited for her mother to twitch again, but nothing happened.

  The movie star stood in front of Sothis. “Do you know what it was like for us when you ran off with Lucien without so much as a letter? I—no—we, every single one of us, poured everything we had into you, to make you the best of us. And this is how you repay us, by breaking our hearts. You made a vow. You refused Aten’s call to serve. You belong to me!”

  “Father, I was fourteen. You can’t hold me to that.”

  “Thirteen is the age of conscience. I have kept every solemn vow I’ve made and so shall you. You will honor your commitment to the brotherhood.”

  Arabelle cocked the gun and pointed it to her father’s head.

  Serenity’s father stared at her mother without a glimmer of fear. “Remember the endgame.”

  Sothis shook her head and turned to Arcturus. “You wouldn’t kill my kabashem. You couldn’t hurt me like that.”

  “Don’t gamble with me. You. Will. Lose.”

  “I’m one soldier. I can’t make a difference!”

  “Things have been set into motion. The time has come. I need every soldier. I need you.”

  Tears rolled from her mother’s eyes. “Killing Lucien won’t change anything.”

  “You’re wrong. Putting a hole in your heart will change everything.” Arcturus nodded.

  Gunfire cracked through the room, shaking Serenity to the bone as the woman shot her father in the back of the head.

  “Daddy!” Trembling in her uncle’s lap, she sucked in shaky breaths.

  Uncle Archie turned her from the bloody sight. She clutched his neck, digging her fingers into his shirt. Salty tears dripped into her mouth.

  As the sweet calm of a gentle breeze on a sunny day wrapped around her, washing out the sorrow and pain, she stared at the tattoo on the side of his neck.

  A delicate flower with sharp black thorns and petals shaped as beautiful blades.

  “Be strong, cherub,” Archie whispered.

  “You will come and accept your calling to the Sodalitas with a heart full of love,” the movie star said. “I want you, but I will take your daughter in your place.”

  Wiping away tears, Sothis gaped at Lucien. She lowered her head and drew in a deep breath. “I have two conditions.”

  “You’re in no position to negotiate.”

  Her mother’s head snapped up. Violet eyes blazed. “Someday Aurora will find out what you’ve done to me. And when she’s finished with you, I’ll spit on your grave.”

  The movie star sighed. “What do you want?”

  “I want the Sodalitas to take the blood oath to my daughter, and I want her to grow up away from the Houses amongst humans.”

  “Why should I grant your child the sacred oath? It’s reserved for our own, ordained through fire and blood.”

  “Today she loses her mother and father by your hand. Her grandfather. She’s earned the blood oath. It’s the only way I’ll be able to give my heart fully, knowing the life of my daughter will be as dear to my brothers and sisters as their own.”

  The movie star walked to a window and slipped his hands back in his pockets. “You’d truly prefer her to be raised by human strangers rather than your family.”

  “Yes,” Sothis said through gritted teeth. “I won’t seal her fate.”

  “What of Aurora?”

  “Mother will never learn what you’ve done here from me. Take the oath now. Swear the rest of the brotherhood will upon our return.”

  The movie star clasped his hands behind his back. “What is the child’s name?”

  “Serenity Ameliora.”

  He put his hand over his heart and glanced around the room. The others, including Uncle Archie, mimicked him. He spoke in a strange language, but Serenity heard her name.

  Afterwards, Archippos lifted Sothis from the floor.

  “You’ll go back with your uncles and prepare to formally accept your calling,” the movie star said.

  “Can’t I hold her and say goodbye?” Sothis asked.

  “It wouldn’t be best for you.” He moved hair out of her face. “I could erase this memory for you, if you’d like.”

  Her mother pulled away. “Why ask? There’s nothing to stop you from creeping into my room one night and doing it anyway.”

  “I swore to your mother I’d never tamper with your mind against your will.”

  “Too bad she didn’t make you swear never to harm me or my family.”

  “Not even Aurora can think of everything.”

  “I want my daughter to be free of you and the Houses. I don’t want her watched or I’ll consider it a violation of the sacred oath.”

  He nodded. “Keep your vow to us and we shall keep ours to her.”

  “Will she remember this?” Sothis looked back at Serenity.

  “No. She’ll have no memory of us or what happened to Lucien.”

  Sothis stared at Lucien. A shadow fell on her face. She glared at the movie star. “I’ll never call you father again.”

  “That’s a sacrifice I’m prepared to make for the brotherhood. Take her,” the movie star said, waving his hand.

  Through blurry eyes, Serenity watched her mother walk out the door between two uncles. Archie bounced her on his knee and wiped away her tears.

  The movie star lifted her into his arms. “I’m your Grandfather Arcturus. It’s regrettable I had to upset you today, but it was for the greater good.”

  He carried her down the front porch. The car her mother was in pulled away.

  “Torch the house,” Uncle Archie said to Arabelle.

  Her grandfather stroked Serenity’s hair. “Do you like your name?”

  Heart galloping with fear, she nodded.

  “Then I’ll let you keep it.” He opened the door and they got in. “What’s your ingenium?”

  She shrugged, not knowing what he meant.
>
  “Has your mommy or daddy ever gotten really excited about something you’ve done or maybe even angry?”

  She thought about it, but didn’t know if she should tell him. “They get mad at me when I ask for a brother or sister.” The last time she asked, she’d been in the grocery store with her mother. After being told no, again, she focused on the flutters inside her tummy and made a little brother of her own appear. Her mommy was so mad they left the store without any food.

  Sighing, her grandfather shook his head with a disappointed look. “Late bloomer? I had thought your mother capable of producing something more adept.” He took a deep breath. “You’re going to take a nap. When you wake, you’ll have a new life. The humans will adore you.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Your fate is tied to the Sodalitas now.”

  Uncle Archie smiled. “We’ll meet again, cherub.”

  Flames raced up the curtains inside the house. The smell of burnt wood filled the air. Then everything went blurry as her eyes fluttered close.

  A crackling bolt of electricity whipped through her, breaking her connection to Adriel. He gazed at her, tears streaking his face.

  He roped her into a hug, pressing his damp cheek to hers. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, as if he’d seen it all too.

  Sinking into the comfort he offered, she couldn’t move her shaking arms to return his embrace. He squeezed tighter as she wept.

  Chapter Fourteen

  In the privacy of his spacious quarters, Cyrus cracked his knuckles. He cut his gaze to the digital clock on his desk again. The phone lines of House Aten had been busy for two days. He looked at his smartphone for any missed calls, then clicked the wireless mouse, waking his computer, and checked his email.

  Serenity should’ve sent a message by now to let him know she’d arrived safely.

  Tension coiled deeper into his muscles, tightening in the tendons of his back. He never should’ve let her go. How rash and foolish.

  “Lord Cyrus.” Aditya, his personal attendant, came from the bathroom into his bedroom, diverting him from his misery. “Your bath is drawn.”

  Barefoot, she took delicate steps across the marble floor. The sheer turquoise gown she wore with nothing beneath clung to her voluptuous breasts and svelte waist, flowing gently around curvy hips and lean legs. Her typical style of dress while in his private quarters, designed to please him, only deepened his heartache.