Page 67 of Keeper of the Flame: Orrick

“Noah?” asked Orrick. “Do you . . . do you have . . . magic?”

“Aye,” said the boy. “I have always had magic but you didn’t believe me.”

“Do you mean to say you had magic even before I gave you the wand?”

“Aye,” he said again.

Suddenly everything became clear to Orrick. “Did you by any chance keep changing me into the old sorcerer when I didn’t know it?”

“I wanted you to be old again so you would teach me, and read to me. I don’t like you young because you ignore me.”

“Noah,” he said with a chuckle, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I thought I was losing my power to shapeshift and hold the form. I had no idea you could do that.”

“I can do more things, like open up your locked door with a wave of my hand. But I want you to teach me to do what you do.”

Curious, Orrick had to ask him. “Did you happen to read the title out loud of the Eternal Flame book, too?”

“I did. I read for Lady Hope. She was going to teach me to read the whole book.”

“That’s how she was able to read it,” he said, having thought Hope was the one with magic at first. He never thought little Noah was the one who held all the power.

“If that toad is Lord Irwin, I think you’d better change him back.”

“Why?” asked the boy. “He is evil.”

“I know that. And that is why he needs to be punished.”

“I can’t leave him as a toad?” Noah looked up with wide, blue eyes, making Orrick want to agree. At least in this shape, Irwin wasn’t a threat to anyone.

“Orrick? Noah? Where are you?” came Lord Corbett’s voice from the cave.

“Orrick, are you all right?” shouted Hope who was there now as well.

“I think we’ll have too hard of a time explaining to the others what happened to Lord Irwin. How about if you change him back and it’ll be our little secret?”

“All right,” agreed the boy, waving his wand at the toad. In a cloud of dust, the shape of Lord Irwin started to emerge.

“We’re fine. We’re in here,” Orrick called out to the others.

Lord Corbett and Hope appeared at the craggy entrance just as Lord Irwin finished transforming, looking dazed and confused while lying on the ground.

“Noah, thank God you are all right,” said Corbett, drawing his sword. He reached down with one hand and dragged Irwin to his feet. “It’s the dungeon for you, Irwin, until we can decide what to do with you.” He turned and headed away.

Irwin was so shaken, he didn’t even put up a fight. “What happened? What happened to me?” he kept asking as he left with Corbett.

“Thank goodness you two are all right,” said Hope, reaching over to give Orrick a quick kiss and then pulling Noah into her arms in a big hug. “Noah, how about if we go back to the castle and get you a nice cherry tart to eat?”

“All right,” said the boy, taking her hand. “Do you think you can read to me like you promised?”

“Of course I can,” she answered happily.

“Don’t go reading any of my books unless I agree to it,” called out Orrick, following them, still holding on to the flame. Once again, he was the Keeper. And while he was happy the flame was retrieved, he felt a sinking sensation within him that being immortal once again was only going to make him relive the pain of the past. He had to find a new Keeper, because the last thing he wanted was to watch Hope grow old and die while he lived on forever. Ironic how his lessons in life kept coming back to haunt him. Well, Orrick learned his lesson and now he had to figure out a way that he could marry Hope and live with her, but not as an immortal. He needed to be mortal once again and he wasn’t going to give up hope – or Lady Hope either.

Chapter 19

Three days later, Hope sat in Orrick’s solar with him, trying to convince him to marry her. Little Noah lay on Orrick’s bed sleeping. The boy had fallen asleep after Hope had finished reading him the entire book on the Eternal Flame, by Orrick’s permission of course. The little boy had been spending every moment with Orrick since they’d returned from the cave. Hope hadn’t had a minute alone with Orrick so she decided she would speak to him now since the boy was sleeping.

“Orrick, I don’t understand why we can’t be married,” said Hope. “After all, Lord Irwin has been sent back to my father’s dungeon and the betrothal is broken. I am no longer promised to anyone.”