Fire Angels

Chapter 14 Part 4 The Klementari Appear!

Please forgive this late post.  Things are busy in the land of OZ.  (Munchkins to organize etc.)

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The following morning Lady Anne roused me before dawn and as the sun was turning the world from black to grey, I reached the stable yard. In the middle of the silent yard a groom waited with three horses. Shortly afterwards Lady Julia came running in.

The groom helped us up onto the horses, mounted his own and we rode off.

"We have a little way to go," she told me, "but if anyone asks, we decided to go for an early ride to see the dawn."

I was agog with curiosity and could not resist asking where we were going, but Lady Julia smiled and said by way of an answer,

"I am glad to have you with me, Enna. You are a good friend to me. I know I can trust you to say nothing of this journey to anyone."

We did not ride through the town, but through the orchards and out into the forest that clothed the hills all around the Lake. The air smelt wonderfully fresh and the long grass and low branches were damp with dew. The edge of my skirt was quickly dripping wet where it brushed them. This was the wild side of Lake Lammer where my mother had met the Wanderer that day.

We had travelled for almost an hour before we came to a clearing.

Here three priests and a mage were waiting for us. The mage was Karac. The others I did not recognize, though the most plainly dressed of the priests did look familiar.

It was only when we had all dismounted and Lady Julia had gone to the opposite edge of the clearing to speak with him, that I recognized this plainly dressed priest. It was Patriarch Sylvestus.

"Close your mouth, sister dear, there's a good girl," said Karac mockingly in my ear. "It's not as if you've never seen a Patriarch before."

I shook off my amazement and looked around the clearing. The groom was rubbing our horses down with some dry grass. The two other priests were huddled near the horses whispering together and darting glances at us.

"What's going on?"

"With those two?" said Karac, with amusement. "They have recognized who you are and I don't doubt they are in mortal fear of some trap, sister dear. They were sure of being able to take me on, but know they have no chance with you."

"And the Patriarch?"

"Oh he's no priest mage, though I don't doubt he could give you a few bad moments with a cathedral full of worshipers at his back."

I looked over to where Lady Julia and the Patriarch were quietly talking.

"Actually I meant, what is the Patriarch doing here?" I said.

"It's not our business," said Karac. "We only serve our Lady. In fact, if you want my advice, it's best to remain as ignorant as possible. Come sister, let us sit here upon this log and await the pleasure of our betters."

What on earth were Lady Julia and the Patriarch talking about? Had she come out here to plead the Duke's cause? If so why the secrecy? Surely this meeting would have done the Duke's cause no harm. Then I remembered what Shad had said all that time ago about Lady Julia becoming Queen in her own right. Was that what this meeting was about?

"Did you know our sister, Tasha?" asked Karac in a casual tone.

"Not really."

"Dally said you where there when she died."