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Chapter 26: Fire In Paradise

Two whole days have passed since that terrible day at the seaside village. Rebuilding has begun, both of the structures and the rebuilding of lives. It would take them some time to return to normal, everyday living, but they were trying. The mourning process was also very difficult.

Surprisingly, though, the Fire Council hadn’t pursued the matter. No meetings to discuss the matter further had been arranged, no attempt to find the cause of such a horrific event. The villagers had been left alone, to cope and mourn in peace.

It was all very suspicious.

And yet, it was probably for the best. Without an official inquiry, it meant that Bharath could do the research himself. And yet, it also meant they had to be super careful. The Fire Council seemed to be hiding something and if they stuck their noses in where they didn’t belong, it could cause trouble.

Everyone was on tenterhooks as it was.

Sitting in a private room at the temple, Keahi asked Bharath and Brendis about how the investigation was going. But the news wasn’t all that good.

“I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do without arousing the suspicions of the Fire Council,” Bharath said as he knelt upon a large cushion on the floor, his hands folded elegantly on his lap. “Asking too many questions may lead to trouble. I can do research within the library, but that’s about it.”

“I’ve searched around the island, asking villagers if they’ve seen any suspicious activity, but no one has seen anything,” Brendis added, sitting cross-legged next to Bharath, his arms folded tightly over his chest. “Or are unwilling to say anything.”

Sitting in front of his two friends, Keahi felt shoulder’s drooped a little in disappointment. “So we have no clue?”

Bharath was equally disappointed as well as holding some guilt at not being able to find some meaning to a meaningless loss. “I’m afraid so.”

Keahi sighed. “I had really hoped that we could find whoever was responsible for the attack on the village before anyone else gets hurt.”

“So do we, Master Keahi.”

“I don’t want Bharath to have to perform another Cleansing Ritual,” Brendis said rather abruptly, his gaze that was filled with subtle concern turning to Bharath. “Especially with Dark Fire Magic involved.”

“Yes,” Keahi nodded readily, he too turning his attention directly at his friend. “How are you feeling, Bharath?”

Bharath had slept for the entire day after the Cleansing Ritual, ridding himself of the painful remnants of the Dark Fire Magic he had to dispel from both the village and the ashes that had remained. He still looked a little pale, but he appeared much better than directly after the ritual. He had greatly worried Keahi, seeing Bharath pale, shivering and his brow furrow in discomfort as he slept.

“Oh, I’m alright,” Bharath immediately reassured. “Performing the ritual had taken a bit out of me, but I’m ok now. Really.”

Brendis continued to look pointedly at him before he sighed, looking both wary and weary. “I guess I should go on patrol again,” he commented.

For someone like Brendis, it must be incredibly frustration to do all this work and yet see nothing for it.

“Thank you for all your hard work, Brendis,” Keahi told the Fire Guard sincerely. “We really appreciate it.”

“It’s nothing,” Brendis quickly dismissed as he moved to stand up. “I just really want to find this bastard.”

Keahi could understand that completely. “Yeah.”

The moment Brendis reached his full height there was a knock at the door, startling the three occupants inside. They shared an apprehensive and hesitant look before Brendis straightened his posture and took the few strides necessary to reach the door. Opening it, he appeared momentarily surprised before taking a step back and allowing someone only remotely familiar to Keahi.

A man, a few years older, walked into the room with confidence and business-like seriousness. He then knelt to the ground in a formal matter, his head bowed as he presented a scroll of paper for them to see.

“I am terribly sorry to disturb you Priest Bharath, Master Keahi.”

“Oh, a message from the Palace?” Bharath questioned as he gracefully stood up to give the messenger his full attention.

“Yes, from the Fire Council.”

“I see,” Bharath muttered. It was subtle, but Keahi saw the way his hands clenched into fists as his side. But he stayed posed and polite as he received the message from him. “Thank you.”

He then dismissed the messenger, waiting until he had left the room, Brendis closing the door tightly behind him before he looked at the letter. He unfurled the piece of paper, his eyes quickly scanning the contents as Brendis moved to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder. Bharath’s brow then furrowed in displeasure.

Keahi didn’t like that expression at all. “What is it?” he asked, a sense of dread forming in the pit of his stomach.

Bharath sighed and then handed the paper to Keahi, kneeling down upon the cushion once again. “It’s for you, Master Keahi.”

Keahi blinked before taking the letter from the beautiful priest. The letter was short and abrupt, but it said more than enough. By royal decree, Keahi was to complete his Priest Training by meditating upon the peak of Volcano Obsidian. The letter signed oh-so sincerely by his cousin, Flamenca.

“Meditation, huh?” Keahi muttered as he folded the letter in half and lowering it to his lap, his expression that of annoyance. “Why do I get the feeling she’s trying to get rid of me?”

“It certainly seems that way,” Bharath commented.

Brendis abruptly sat himself down in his original place and added, “You are her biggest threat, after all.”

Keahi really should have expected something like this. Flamenca was planning something, something big, something that he most certainly wouldn’t have approved off. Elder Aodh must have informed her of the ancient royal order where royalty could enforce a Priest to meditate with their Fire God. He was the first person to challenge Flamenca and had actually won, so they would be eager to get him out of the way for a little while.

“I don’t want to leave,” Keahi said with a frown. “I know she will try to pass some of her bills through the Fire Council, but I must also fulfil my duty as a Fire Priest.”

“And with that idiot roaming around using Dark Fire, it’s not safe,” Brendis commented, disapproval evidence on his face as well.

That was also another concern of his. But…

“The fire upon Obsidian should protect me, surely.”

“Still…”

“It’s for one night, Master Keahi,” Bharath tried to pacify. “Surely she could not do all she wishes to do in such a short amount of time?”

“She can be...persuasive when she has to be,” Keahi commented warily, something that everyone was well and truly familiar with.

“Maybe you could use this time to think of a way to deal with Lady Flamenca?” Bharath suggested, always trying to find the positive in a situation. And, well, that did sound reasonable.

“Perhaps.”

Perhaps he could speak with Nootau Chatan again?

“Well,” Keahi said as he hoisted himself up upon his feet, smoothing out his robes as he did so. “I better get ready if I am to leave before nightfall. Excuse me.”

Keahi left the room, leaving his two good friends behind as he began his journey to his room, his expression less than serene. He was quite annoyed, to be perfectly honest. He had no problem with completing his duties as a Fire Priest, but to have his cousin order him to do so made him bristle with surprising defiance.

But what really ticked him off was the fact that he had no idea what she could be planning. Sending him off to meditate didn’t sound like the type of revenge she would do. Oh, she was planning something.

“What’s up?” A familiar voice asked the very second Keahi stepped into his room, making him jump slightly in surprise. “You look a little ticked off about something.”

“Oh, Masou,” Keahi said as he turned to look at the blue-haired man casually sprawled out on his bed. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Masou merely rolled over onto his stomach, his arm hanging over the side of the bed as he looked at Keahi with a curious gaze. “Well?”

Keahi sighed irritably as he closed the door. “Looks like Flamenca got her revenge on me after all.”

“How so?”

“Well, my training involves me spending the night within a cave on the Obsidian Volcano as a form of meditation,” Keahi explained as he moved further into his room. “Which means I won’t be able to attend any meetings for a day, so she has the Fire Council all to herself.”

“Ah,” Masou uttered with a sense of understanding. “I see.”

“A day doesn’t seem long, I know,” Keahi commented as he began shifting around in his room, thinking for what he would need for his training. “But this is Flamenca we’re talking about here.”

“Well, I still don’t think she’s much of a threat with her abilities now in question,” Masou said as he heaved himself up into a sitting position on Keahi’s bed, leaning his elbows on his knees. “She’ll just do a lot of huffing and puffing. I’m sure the elders will realize what is going on when she threatens them, but doesn’t actually do anything.”

“That’s true enough,” Keahi nodded and grabbed a bag to hold the oils and incense he would need for meditating. “Still…”

Still, he didn’t like the idea of leaving. He liked to know what schemes she was up to. He might not be able to stop everything she tried to do, but he could still put up one hell of a resistance.

“Bharath would have some sort of authority, right?” Masou tried to reassure him, no doubt seeing the hesitation and reluctance in Keahi’s posture and attitude. “Maybe he could bide some time?”

Keahi found himself sighing again. “He’s busy trying to work out how someone managed to gain the power of Dark Fire,” he explained. “I couldn’t ask him to do anymore.”

Again, Masou made a small noise of understanding, his brow furrowing ever so slightly upon the mentioning of Dark Fire before shrugging slightly and pushing himself to his feet. “How’s he going with that? Found anything yet?”

“Not really, only a bit of profiling,” Keahi said as he placed his bag on a table and turned his full attention to Masou. “In order to gain control over Dark Fire, one had to be completely immersed within their own ego and hold hatred for someone so intense that they are driven to completely ruin them, no matter the cost.”

A faraway look suddenly appeared in Masou’s eyes before he muttered, “I see,” under his breath. He seemed to be musing over something, allowing the information Keahi just supplied to mull over in his head for a few moments.

“Well, anyway, I need to prepare for the trek to Obsidian,” Keahi said as he turned his attention back to the task at hand, walking over to his bookcase to pull out a scroll that should inform him of his preparations for the coming meditation. “Maybe I can ask Nootau Chatan for guidance. He said something to me when I was trying to rescue that child from the flames. He said that the flames were not that of the Holy Realm.”

“So Nootau Chatan knew?” Masou asked him as he leaned against the bookcase, his arms folded over his chest, a small smile on his lips. “I’m not surprised.”

Keahi nodded as he ran his eyes over the scroll that was uncurled in his hands. “I didn’t understand at the time and I didn’t remember until later.”

After taking a moment to mentally go through a check list of what he needed, Keahi realised that he had everything necessary for the journey. All he needed to do now was to trek up the side of the volcano, following the picketed trail and sandstone pathway to a cave filled with eternal candles that forever burned.

“You’re going now?”

Pulling the string on his bag, closing it, Keahi gave Masou a half smile. “Orders from the Fire Council.”

“Bunch of old farts,” Masou pouted.

Keahi couldn’t help but laugh at that. “As true as that may be, they’re still in charge,” he then hefted the bag upon his shoulder, ready to set off. He leaned forward and gave Masou a light kiss on the lips.

“I’ll see you later.”

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