Lawked Flame (5 page)

“I will talk to Clotho tomorrow. In the
meantime , we must send more Lawkes to study with the Murlins. They
need additional hands and minds to decode the Geleet viruses used
to taint the air and land. I have spoken with Jethro in the
Southern region and that was his complaint, a lack of
assistance.”

Benicke nodded. “Consider it done.”

“Do you think we should dismantle the
fighting squad?” Royce asked.

Khayden looked at him, willing him to finish
his thought.

He nodded. “They have been at loose ends the
past sixty years. The most they do now is patrol the
Lawkharvens.”

“Tha’s important,” Benicke said.

“I know that,” Royce snapped, glaring at
Benicke before speaking again. “It’s just, there’s little for them
to do here. We are not permitted to fight a war on Earth’s soil.
Even the Geleet are limited in what they can do. Neither their
weapons, nor ours, will fire in this atmosphere. To have so many
fighting Lawkes with no fighting seems off somehow, that’s
all.”

Khayden had no intention of dismantling his
warriors, he had a feeling they would be needed in the near future.
“I will think on it,” he said, effectively stopping that line of
conversation.

Royce stood. His slanted turquoise eyes
surveyed the room. His long dark braid slapped the center of his
back as he turned sharply, his Asian features prominent in his
mahogany complexion. “I believe I will rest in here before
traveling east.” He turned to Khayden. “Unless you have further
need of me.”

Khayden waved him off. “Rest.” It had been a
long day and he still needed to debrief with his housemaster. He
rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Perhaps he could put it off
until morning.

Benicke leaned forward in his chair. “Do ya
require anything of me?”

“Are you returning North?” Khayden asked,
watching Addie stop at the entrance.

“I’m at ya’r command. If ya donna hae need
of me services, I leave ta thee European Harven and check on
Nokmian activity. They are the ones thee Geleets seduce with lies
of separation.”

Khayden met Benicke’s gaze as he awaited
further instruction. “I do not understand how the Geleets are able
recruit with such a weak promise of separation from me. We are a
joined nation, the body cannot survive without the head and the
head cannot survive without the body.” Khayden’s jaw clenched at
the reminder of the few rebels in the ranks. “Once separated, they
die. Even if we did not capture and contain them, their lives are
forfeit. The serum the Geleets uses destroys the gelatal membrane
and corrupts the Lawkes. You would think they would have learned
this by now.”

“None of ta Kees hae succumbed ta tha
foolishness,” Benicke said, relief evident in his tone.

“No, but what if one of the infected Lawkes
belonged to one of the Kees? What happens to them since those
Lawkes are destroyed?” Royce asked.

“Are they to be locked foreva?” Benicke
asked, looking at Khayden as if he had all the answers.

Pissed he didn’t have the answers, he
responded harsher than he might normally have. “Am I destined to
remain locked? What about you or Royce? None of us are unlocked. I
would give a treasure chest of Frejyn if I knew the answer to your
question. I see my people growing dim, lacking purpose, and looking
to me for answers I do not have. My hope is one day things will
change for the better on this alien planet and we can leave to go
home, back to Lawkmeria in peace.”

Khayden turned from Benicke’s red face and
glanced at Addie. “Come, tell me what has you in a dither. You have
been standing near the doorway the entire time.” He waved the
housemaster closer.

Addie bowed from the waist, cleared his
throat, and stared at Khayden. “Master Lawke, in your absence we
have had a visitor.”

Chapter 4

Khayden shot out of his seat, fatigue
forgotten, and stared down at the smaller man. “What?”

Royce and Benicke moved closer, encircling
the nervous servant.

“Earlier this morning, a human female walked
into town searching for help. Her vehicle broke down into the
woods, she asked for a phone—”

“Clotho, report now!” Khayden snapped,
summoning the head Gramier. Within seconds, an elegant woman
appeared, draped in a red and chocolate caftan, her dark hair
caught the light and threw off an ethereal glow.

“Did the wards around Lawkharven fail in my
absence?” Khayden asked through gritted teeth as he stalked up to
her. She remained still, passive.

“No, I checked them myself.” She spoke in
the same clipped manner he had become accustomed to over the
centuries. When his parent’s life force ceased, she had been one of
his early caregivers. They shared a unique bond, and he knew she
understood the basis of this summons.

“Explain how a human entered our
sanctuary.”

“From what I have been able to determine,
she is unique.”

“Unique?” he scoffed. “You have met this
creature?”

“Not creature, human. And yes, I met her at
the diner when she ate earlier.”

“She was here long enough to eat?”

“Yes.” She opened her mouth and then snapped
it shut.

“She is still here, Master,” Addie said in a
low tone that resonated around the room.

“Wha’?” Benicke asked. His head whipped
around to the housemaster.

“Clotho?” Khayden’s voice dropped
dangerously low. He couldn’t believe she’d allowed this invasion
and put their people at risk. He opened his senses, searching for
anomalies. There were none. He relaxed a fraction while he waited
for her answer.

“Master Lawke.” He cringed at her use of his
formal title, which meant whatever she had to say, he wouldn’t
like. Unfortunately, experience taught him she was normally right
when she started in this manner.
Gorsh!

She cleared her throat. Her face had
reddened. He suspected she had read his thoughts and erected mental
blocks. “Master Lawke. As you know, the wards around all the
Lawkharvens serve to keep out everyone who is not a Lawke or Kee.
This protects our people and allows us to live in peace.”

Khayden nodded. Nothing new there. He
watched as she inhaled deeply. For some inexplicable reason he
tensed. Whatever she was about to say would directly impact him,
change him in some way. He did not care for that at all.

“Alayna, that is the human who entered our
town, was able to see Lawkharven in the forest. No one has ever
done that before. Not only that, she walked in and out several
times without any calamity. That also has never happened before. As
I mentioned earlier, the wards are just as strong.” She paused, her
piercing gray eyes stared at him. “Why do you think that
happened?”

Khayden released a pent up breath. She gave
him a question. He thought about her words and watched her watching
him. The name meant nothing to him, he knew no humans. But it
was
odd that a human was able to breach the wards when the
Geleets could not. Yet, she accomplished it not once, but a few
times.

“She is a Seer such as you?” he asked,
surprised when the light dimmed in her eyes. He had disappointed
her. “No?” He waited a second. “She studies human magic and is able
to manipulate nature?”

“No.” Clotho sighed and looked at the four
men. “A half century past, with your permission, we petitioned
Nature’s Mother.” She redirected her attention at him, her stare
direct as though she could imprint the answers in his mind. “Do you
remember?”

His jaw clamped tight. He knew where this
was headed. She always found a way back to the issue of a Kee. He
nodded to refrain from saying the cutting remarks that rose within
him.

She looked at Royce and Benicke, but they
appeared confused.

Khayden nodded again when she glanced at
him, granting permission for her to tell them what happened. “A
small group of Gramiers went to Nature’s Mother to ask for
assistance. Since we have come to this place, there have been no
additional Kees, and we need more.”

“How canna stranger to our customs help?”
Benicke asked, his brow deeply furrowed.

“The same way she was able to take a plant
from another planet and clone it to insure our survival. You must
never underestimate her abilities,” Clotho corrected him
gently.

Benicke reddened further, though he nodded
in agreement.

Khayden sympathized with him, Clotho did not
mince her words, he had been on the receiving end during his
studies many times through the years.

Royce nodded. “True. So you asked her to
help. What did you want her to do? Create Kees like she does the
Frejyn plant?”

“We asked her to send us Kees to unlock our
Lawkes.” There was silence in the room for the space of three
seconds. Then the outcry and a barrage of questions flew. Khayden
and Clotho stared at each other as the other three talked over each
other. He opened their private line of communication.

“
You think she is a Kee
?” He tried to
keep the disbelief from his tone.

“
Yes. That is the only way she was able
to walk through the ward. There is something inside her that
resonates with the wards, with us
.”

“
She was unafraid
?” He frowned,
trying to wrap his mind around the concept of humans and Kees in
the same sentence.

“
She was afraid, and curious. I believe
Nature’s Mother has restructured a few humans and they can function
as Kees.
”

“What do you mean they can function as Kees?
Either they are a Kee or not,” he said aloud, stopping all the
conversation in the room.

“Wha’?” Benicke asked, looking between
Khayden and Clotho.

Khayden ignored Addie’s widened eyes and
Benicke’s questions. He focused on his head Seer, demanding an
answer.

“She may have the ability to unlock a Lawke,
but that doesn’t mean she will.”

“What?” Royce gasped, his eyes widening.
“What else can a Kee do but unlock?”

Khayden waited for the hammer to drop. He
knew he would not like whatever came out of Clotho’s mouth, but as
Master, he needed to be aware of everything, no matter how he felt.
He looked at her, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.
Perspiration beaded his brow. He felt like a pawn in a game of
cosmic chess. “Tell us all of it.”

“She’s human.”

Khayden blinked and tilted his head to the
side wondering what game Clotho played at. “Gorsh! That’s it? She’s
human.”

Clotho blew out a breath. “Humans do not
live by the same rules as we do. A Lawkmerian Kee is created to
unlock a Lawke. Kees understand they never reach their own full
potential in a locked state. So they gladly function in that role
and submit to the process.”

As her words penetrated he balked. “But
human Kees may not? How is that helping? What good is it for Her to
make Kees and then give them a choice in the matter? It makes no
sense,” he snarled. His displeasure grew the more he thought about
it.

“On Earth, destinies are chosen, not forced.
Master Lawke, you cannot force a Kee.” She looked at him with what
he decided was either a well of pity or compassion. He chose to
believe it was the latter.

“Where is this human Kee?” Royce asked.

“She is at the boarding house, resting for
tonight. Kenton took her engine apart, which delayed her until your
return. I doubt anything will keep her here past tomorrow.”

“Wait. Tha’ makes nae sense. You believe
she’s a Kee, but she’ll nae wanna stay in Lawkharven? How she meet
up wit her Lawke?” Benicke asked. His words became harder to follow
as he looked from Clotho to Khayden and back to Clotho.

Khayden picked up on the Gramier’s distress
as she struggled to explain. She had never been particularly
patient when she believed someone should understand her words the
first time. She squeezed her palms in her lap, closed her eyes for
a brief moment, and then spoke in a low tone. “You do not fully
understand. On the one hand, we are saved with these new Kees. I
doubt Alayna is the only one. But she knows nothing about Lawkes or
Kees, or who we are or what we can and cannot do. On the other, in
the past we decided against mingling with humans. Now it seems our
fate is in the hands of human Kees and we must venture into the
human realm to locate them. I believe Alayna walking into our town
was Nature’s Mother’s way of informing us she has done as we asked,
but she did it her way.”

“That’s, that’s…” Royce stammered as he
looked at Khayden.

“Insanity,” Benicke said through tight lips.
“We donna mess wit humans.”

“How do the Murlins get the antidotes to the
Scientists to stop the viruses?” Clotho asked, fully in school marm
mode.

“They talk ta thee doctors and scientists…”
Benicke stammered, looking between Khayden and Royce.

“And what of the European Lawkes? Is it not
true many of them work alongside humans and live in their
communities?”

“Yes, but they do not live in congested
areas. They have lots of open spaces. That is not the same thing,”
Royce argued, swiping the sweat from his brow.

Clotho merely glanced at him and refocused
on Khayden. He felt the heat of her stare, as he listened to
everything she said. Beneath the words, and beneath the tone of her
voice, he picked up a thread of excitement. She believed everything
she was saying to him and more importantly, she approved.

“Our previous Master Lawke chose this planet
because of our similarities. In his wisdom, he knew we would blend
in with the population. And with small changes, we pass for human
all the time. That’s why you are able to find and dispose of
Minthians. In spite of our similarities we are not human. That is
why we needed the leaves from the Frejyn plant to survive. We asked
for assistance and received it. Tell me, what have we done to repay
the hospitality shown?”