The Key

by Marianne Curley

Isabel turns her head up to peer into Arkarian’s face. ‘What is the Goddess up to this time?’

  ‘From what I have been able to ascertain, Lathenia has set her sights on the explorers.’

  Ethan nearly jumps out of his seat. ‘Yeah? Who?’

  Arkarian pauses for a moment before he speaks. ‘Cook. Or Columbus.’

  Chapter Three

  Rochelle

  I can’t believe I’m going to the underworld. It’s because of my power that Arkarian chose me, but I don’t care really. I’m just glad he did! It will be another opportunity to prove my loyalty to the Guard.

  Matt and Arkarian are coming too. And this is not going to be like any other mission. It’s not the past we’re headed to, it’s another world. That means we’ll be using our own bodies, with no disguises.

  We meet in one of the front rooms of Arkarian’s chambers. Matt is already there, his hands thrust deep into his trouser pockets. He sees me and his eyes stay on me for a long moment before silently sliding away. His thoughts come thundering into my head, and as hard as I try to stop them, they just keep coming. He’s still angry! I wish I had never been given this Truthseeing skill. Since my powers increased, I’ve lost control over what I hear and what I can shut out. I shake my head to rid myself of his thoughts. ‘Enough is enough!’

  Matt looks at me with a frown. ‘What’s wrong with you?’

  I tug my hair behind my ears, something I’ve always done out of habit, but my hair falls short. So much of it was singed, I had to have it cut. It’s all in layers now, short around my face. ‘Nothing is wrong!’ I find myself snapping out of sheer frustration. Great. I’m really going to make friends yelling at people! ‘I’m fine. OK?’

  I try to distract myself and start looking around. But there’s not much in this room to amuse me, just a couple of stools and an old wooden desk. ‘I wonder where Arkarian is?’

  Matt shrugs and rocks back on his heels, his hands still in his pockets. ‘Probably giving some last-minute instructions to Ethan and Isabel.’

  Even though it’s obvious he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than standing in a room alone with me, his thoughts are also letting me know he’s excited, like a little boy in a toy shop with cash in his pockets. Lots of it.

  Arkarian suddenly appears before us. Matt jerks back with a start. He’s unfamiliar with Arkarian’s ability to materialise at will. Ethan can do this too. I wish I was able but I have to earn my wings first, just like they did. When I was with Marduke, he didn’t want me to have them. They would have lessened his power over me.

  Without wasting any time, Arkarian transports the three of us to a room in the Citadel that I’ve never seen before. It’s huge and could easily fit a thousand people shoulder to shoulder. I look up and can’t draw my eyes away from the ceiling. There are eight panels and so many colours! Glass, or maybe crystal, I think, etched in myriad intricate designs. Instinctively I lift my hands into the air. I want to touch it, feel its texture, see its depth. But the panels are too high, the single point at the centre disappearing into oblivion.

  Arkarian grins at me. ‘Wondrous, isn’t it?’

  I nod, and he says, ‘This ceiling is identical to the one in the temple we’re about to visit in the underworld. Although now it is nothing more than dust and debris. It’s just as well you’re coming with us, Rochelle. Your hands will be worth their weight in gold.’

  It’s such a sweet thing to say, my mood lifts for the first time in months. He glances down and notices my hands. They’ve still got electric currents running through them. He takes one and turns it over. ‘Can you feel the energy?’

  ‘They sting. When will it stop?’

  ‘The stinging?’

  ‘Yeah, and the electric charges, or whatever they are.’

  He remains quiet for a moment, just looking at me with those all-knowing eyes. It’s as if he’s wondering how well I cope with bad news. Even though my powers have increased I still can’t hear any of his thoughts. I wouldn’t dream of trying either. He’s an expert at shutting out his thoughts from Truthseers. I’ve never heard any unless he’s wanted me to.

  But he doesn’t have to say, or think anything out loud – it’s there in his eyes.

  ‘They’re not going away, are they? This is it. My hands for ever.’

  ‘It would be a good idea if you wore gloves. I’ll have some made that imitate skin, so no one will suspect anything is different about you.’

  I shake my head. Unbelievable. When I was with Marduke I had to wear a mask to conceal my eyes, my one easily identifiable feature. Now it’s my hands.

  ‘There is something you should know.’

  Arkarian’s words send a chill through me. ‘What is it?’

  Matt comes close enough to listen, but stays quiet.

  ‘There’s more power in your hands now than you realise.’

  ‘More than the touching and visualising thing I do?’

  ‘Be careful, Rochelle, until you learn what your capabilities are and how to control the power. You could probably injure a small animal with these.’

  I yank my hands from his. ‘Injure an animal?’

  ‘Or a child.’

  ‘What are you saying, Arkarian? I don’t want to hurt an animal, or a child!’

  A soft whoosh from behind has me spinning around. My nerves are suddenly on a razor edge.

  ‘I assure you my dear, you won’t be hurting anyone.’ It’s Lady Arabella, cloaked in a golden cape and looking very regal, even with her delicate skin and frosted eyelashes.

  I first met this woman in a safe room here in the Citadel. Along with Arkarian, she debriefed me and helped with my transition into the Guard.

  She smiles and her ice-encrusted eyes appear softer. ‘Don’t fret, Rochelle. I’ll teach you how to control your new-found power so that your hands will be completely safe.’ Her words are a relief. I thank her and she glances past me to Arkarian. Her eyebrows lift. ‘Unfortunately we are still picking up the pieces after that disastrous meeting.’

  ‘How is my father?’ asks Arkarian.

  ‘Tired. He asks about you. He warns you to take care and stay out of sight. He says to tell you that there has been some suspicious movement on the borders of the realms of late. And he gives you these.’ From within her cloak she hands Arkarian what appear to be three small crystals. ‘They will give you light.’

  Arkarian takes the crystals and stashes them in his trouser pocket, while Lady Arabella’s eyes drift to Matt. She greets him by smiling and bowing her head. Bowing! What is going on? She’s acting like a gushing schoolgirl.

  Finally she pulls herself together and starts explaining how we’re to stand within the inner octagon frame. I look around, but can’t see it until Arkarian points to the ground, where an octagon is displayed through a series of patterned floor tiles.

  ‘Your exit from this world will be smooth, but your delivery into the remains of the temple will be anyone’s guess.’ From nowhere Lady Arabella produces three thick long cloaks. ‘Put these on now and keep them wrapped tightly around you. They will cushion your fall and protect you from injury. Remember you don’t have Isabel to heal you on this journey, and even with her newlyenhanced powers of being able to heal without touching, she is still limited by distance and barriers. And of course she can’t heal unless she knows what the injury is.’

  After a few more instructions to Arkarian on how he will return us, Lady Arabella guides the three of us to stand within the inner octagon. Content that we are in the right position, she steps back. Almost instantly a humming sound draws our attention to the high centre point above us. The ceiling panels begin to move. They move slowly at first, and it’s quite a sight as the panels are just so big. As their movement increases the colours and patterns intertwine and soon become one colourful blur. It becomes hard on my eyes and I lift an arm to shield them. Suddenly the highest point in the ceiling opens and fills with a light so bright it’s as if the sun is falling.

  Surround
ed by this light my body lifts and spins, leaving me disoriented. The light changes, loses its brightness, and darkness rushes in. Arkarian calls out, letting me know he’s not far. But I can’t see either him or Matt any more. There’s a strong wind now, pulling my limbs in different directions. It strengthens until it becomes too much to handle and I wonder if I will survive the experience, when the wind suddenly disappears and I begin to fall. Remembering Lady Arabella’s warning, I pull the cloak around my body as tightly as I can.

  It’s just as well I do, for moments later I hit the ground. Hard. The impact knocks the wind out of me. For a second I think I must be out cold, but it’s just the dark here – total and completely consuming. Suddenly I can think of nothing else. I put a hand out in front of me, but can’t even make out an outline of my fingers. Is this how it was for Matt and Ethan and Isabel when they came here? How did they handle it?

  ‘Are you OK?’ It’s Arkarian.

  Leaning on his arm I climb to my feet. ‘Everything feels fine.’

  ‘Good,’ he says. Running his hand down my arm he puts something small and cold in my hand. It’s one of the crystals Lady Arabella gave him.

  ‘How does it work?’

  ‘Like this.’ Suddenly the crystal in his hand glows with a gentle light that encompasses his face. He makes it increase until he’s happy with the rounded glow.

  ‘How did you do that?’

  He smiles. ‘I just asked it.’

  ‘Yeah?’ I look at the crystal in my own hand, unconsciously bringing it up closer to my mouth. ‘Turn on!’

  It turns on all right. Instantly. But the light coming from it is so bright it almost blinds us both and sends beams radiating into the black atmosphere above. We’ve landed inside the temple, but the walls are in tatters and the ceiling non-existent.

  ‘Turn it down, quickly,’ Arkarian whispers, one hand shielding his eyes. ‘We don’t want to alert anyone or anything to our presence.’

  I lift it up again and ask it this time to turn down. The light reduces to a softer glow.

  ‘We sure could have used one of those when we were here looking for you, Arkarian,’ Matt says, coming over from wherever he landed.

  Arkarian passes him the last one of the crystals. As soon as it hits Matt’s palm it begins to glow gently. ‘Excellent.’

  ‘Isn’t it?’ I can’t help my voice filling with relief, remembering the feeling of that absolute darkness only moments before. ‘I hate the dark!’ I mutter nervously. It reminds me of when my father used to beat my mother and I would hide in the little cupboard beside the front door, with my mother’s overcoat on top of me. I would stay there until the screaming stopped, wishing that I were invisible.

  Arkarian sends me a sympathetic look. He’s heard my thoughts, but thankfully doesn’t refer to them in any way. ‘We should hurry,’ he says. ‘Lady Arabella didn’t say how long these crystals will maintain light.’

  The three of us begin our search of the floor, systematically dividing what’s left of the temple into sectors. Arkarian gives me the centre section, warning me against touching the key with my bare hands. I am, apparently, to use my skill of touch to ‘see’ what’s beneath my fingers. Arkarian produces a rake and uses it to wade through the rubble. I have to be careful to skim the surface only. That’s all I need to ‘see’ below it, anyway.

  I get down on my hands and knees and start searching. Instantly, layer upon layer of scalded fragments of timber, glass, rock and other elements become clear in my head. After a while my hands start to go numb with cold. I stick them inside my cloak occasionally to bring some life back into them.

  After another hour of fruitless searching I sit back on my heels as a troubling thought occurs: what if this ‘key’ disintegrated along with the rest of the temple? I grab a handful of sand-like dust and let it dribble through my fingers.

  ‘The key is made from the hardest element in the universe,’ Arkarian explains. ‘It is indestructible. There is no way it could reduce to dust.’

  We keep looking, and once we’ve worked through our own section, we begin working on each other’s until every square centimetre has been searched three times. When I’m done I get up and walk outside. Arkarian glances up, but he doesn’t say anything, only sends me the thought that there’s a lake nearby and I’m not to touch the water, for it’s not what it seems. I nod to let him know I understand and he goes back to sifting through the rubble.

  As I near the lake I find a boulder to sit on and wonder at the consequences of this journey. The key is nowhere to be found, not in that demolished temple, that’s for sure. Lathenia must have got here before us. Her magician, Keziah, probably used one of his tricks to locate it without so much as bending one of his ancient knees.

  Suddenly there’s a voice in my head. I remain still until I realise it’s only Matt. I look around but can’t see him. His crystal light is off, but as mine is still glowing softly, he would be able to see me. He’s obviously comfortable with the darkness, sitting out here alone. Maybe he even likes it. Some people are like that, not bothered by nightmares, content with their own company, unafraid of the dark.

  His thoughts penetrate and I realise with a start that he’s thinking of me. He’s noticing my new haircut. He thinks it suits me, adds a warmth to my face that wasn’t there before. He notices how the dark strands are shining with the rays of the light upon them, and how my hands lie one over the other as delicate as flower petals. I suck in a hard, deep breath as his thoughts shift to shared memories. He recalls the touch of my hand on his face, and how we used to lay together for hours and not speak. And how in those quiet times he had felt his soul was one with mine.

  I try to shut out the rest of his thoughts, but they’re filled with so much passion that I find it impossible to do so. And then he is standing beside me.

  ‘Rochelle …’

  My hands have started shaking. I clasp them together and turn slowly towards him. He sees me and takes a step backwards, his own thoughts suddenly thrown into turmoil. ‘Why are you crying?’ he asks.

  It’s difficult to find the words, but I know I have to try. ‘I’m crying because I hurt you and keep doing it just by being near you.’

  He makes a scoffing sound. ‘Don’t get any ideas that I want you back!’

  ‘I know that. I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I never loved you the way you deserved.’

  He looks over the top of my head, then exhales a long breath. ‘It was a cruel thing you did – pretending to love me.’

  I grip the crystal so tightly my hand begins to ache. ‘You need time to get over it.’

  He swings a hand dismissively into the air. ‘Time? Did you say time? Yeah, that’s what I need all right. Time will heal everything. Isn’t that how the saying goes?’

  His tone is so cynical it’s hard to listen to. ‘Matt, please don’t do this –’

  ‘Do what, Rochelle? Pour my heart out to you? Don’t worry, I won’t embarrass you like that.’

  ‘Don’t say that!’

  ‘I was such an idiot. You took me for a ride.’

  ‘We were both taken for a ride.’

  ‘But you knew all along our relationship was a lie. You listened when I told you that I loved –’ He gives a horrible sarcastic laugh and shakes his head. ‘You say I need time. Well, let me tell you what I really need. I need to go back in time.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s what we do, isn’t it?’

  ‘I don’t understand.’

  ‘I want Arkarian to send me back in time so I can choose not to have ever met you!’

  He turns to leave and I go to run after him, but Arkarian suddenly appears. His eyes are full of compassion and I understand he’s heard it all. He puts a staying hand on Matt’s arm.

  ‘Easy, Matt. Slow down.’

  Matt quietly calms, and I’m grateful for Arkarian’s soothing touch.

  Reassuring himself that Matt is all right, Arkarian turns to us both. ‘The key is gone. T
here’s no point in looking any more. Turn off your light, Rochelle. We have to get out of here. There’s movement on the other side of the lake.’

  His words are like icy water trickling slowly down my spine. Without wasting any more time, we make our way back to the remains of the temple. As we climb higher, a reddish glow in the distance appears in our vision. Getting down on our haunches, Arkarian leads us over to a pile of boulders for a closer look.

  ‘What is it? Can anyone see?’ I ask.

  Arkarian holds a finger to his lips and now the thoughts of another penetrate my brain. It has me frozen to the spot. The memory of Marduke’s hold over me is still too vivid.

  Matt reaches up to peer over the boulder. For a moment he is completely silent, but his eyes have opened wide. ‘What are they doing down there?’

  I reach up to see what has Matt in such a state of shock. But even Matt’s reaction isn’t enough of a warning. On the other side of the lake hundreds of torches are burning around an area so vast it must spread backwards for kilometres. There, within the frame of these torches, are thousands of strange creatures with human limbs, pig-like heads and awkward-looking wings. But it’s not the look of these creatures that has the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly electrified. It’s the way they’re standing at attention, row after row of them, all in strict formation.

  Finally I find my voice. It’s merely a whisper. ‘What are they?’

  ‘They’re called wren,’ Matt says. ‘They answer to your old Master. Just like you did.’

  I try to ignore his cheap shot of sarcasm. ‘What are they doing, Arkarian?’

  It takes Arkarian a moment to draw his eyes from them. Finally he turns to me.

  ‘They’re preparing for war.’

  Chapter Four

  Matt

  As soon as we get back to the Citadel Arkarian instructs us not to tell anyone what we’ve seen. ‘Not until I’ve briefed the Tribunal. Decisions will have to be made. Plans brought forward. New ones set into place.’

  ‘Does “anyone” include Isabel?’

  Arkarian hesitates, and for a moment I wonder if he is in the habit of keeping things from my sister. Just how much control does he have over her, now that the two of them are so close? And with Lathenia advancing her cause, will their relationship affect his judgement? I would kill Arkarian if he hurt Isabel as a result of putting his duties to the Guard first.