A tall, willowy woman two seats to Edith's left shook her head in dismay, her long flaxen hair floating nearly horizontal with the movement. "No," she said. Her voice drifted lazily from her lips, seeming to ripple across the room in a smooth melody. "My Keeper and her mate are still unresponsive. None of our remedies have worked so far. I fear whatever vile magic was used will be the end of them."
Though her voice expressed apathy, her large, walnut eyes glistened with unshed tears and the strain of the last few days was evident on her dark face.
"We will not give up." Charles kept his voice soft as he spoke. "With any luck, when we retrieve the key, it will break whatever curse is upon them. Until then, keep trying and keep them guarded at all times. There are certain members of that family that I would not trust."
The adviser to the First Key nodded. "I agree."
He turned his attention to the man seated to Boxy's left. "Veth, any luck finding a route into their camp?" Edith had been trying desperately to not stare at the being, and the shift in attention gave her an excuse to examine him. He was about Edlaner's height, maybe slightly shorter. His facial features were very human, right down to the pointed nose and blood-red lips, but his eyes were pure white, though he was obviously not blind, and in place of hair he had a mane of dark fur. He had a very shaggy beard that covered most of his face, but where it was visible, his skin was nearly as pale as his eyes. She could see more fur poking out from under his sleeves.
Veth dropped his head and a lock of fur flopped down into his eyes. Edith held back a giggle. He looked so much like the cowardly lion at that moment, her heart went out to the dejected adviser.
"Not yet, Charles." His voice came out as a growl, harsh and angry. "We are trying our best, but they are always one step ahead of us. No matter how quietly we plan our next move, they're there, waiting." Sharp nails dug into the surface of the table, leaving huge gouges in the wood. They were not the first. The area in front of Veth's chair was riddled with grooves and pits. "I cannot trust my own men."
A snarl erupted from the creature and he smashed an open palm into the edge of the tree slab. The entire thing shook violently, the edge furthest from him rising up momentarily before slamming back to the ground. Edith jumped and her eyes went wide. She glanced to Charles, unsure how to react to such a violent action in this formal setting.
Charles narrowed his eyes at the man, his face stern. "We will offer any help we can in flushing out the traitor. We must find a way in or all may be lost."
The meeting continued for hours with Edith and Dana being effectively ignored the entire time. Mags entered at various intervals, bringing sandwiches and snacks, coffee and tea. Edith's attention drifted, but from what bits and snippets she gathered, she learned that the other absent key belonged to an elder Guruba, a shaman, in Nepal. The Guruba was missing as well with no signs of struggle as they had expected. A pack was missing from her home, along with many supplies. Her adviser, the hobbit-like being called Edlaner, clung to the small hope that she had heard the rumors of other Keepers being attacked and simply went into hiding, though he could not figure out why she would not just take refuge in Alaesha at the adviser's home.
The full weight of the situation began to settle on the young woman. As she listened to the seven people around her discussing things far beyond anything she had ever encountered, her chest constricted. She clenched the arms of her seat until her fingers hurt, taking deep breaths with her eyes pressed tightly together. A hand touched her leg and scared her out of her gloomy thoughts. Charles didn't look her way, but he squeezed gently. She watched him sitting there, strong and confident, and his strength flowed through to her. She pushed the encroaching fears from her mind and tried to focus on the meeting.
As time dragged on, the room grew warm. Edith found herself dozing and she was thankful that the twig chair she sat in had a rounded headrest. She was just drifting off after a brief start when the door slammed open, causing her to jump in her seat and squeak. Several advisers were on their feet instantly, most of them taking a battle stance, including Charles. Alex stumbled in, tripping over his feet and landing in a pile behind the adviser for the Keeper of the Sixth Key.
Mags stormed in behind him, her face beet red with rage as she kicked at him, howling in a language Edith did not understand. Charles raced across the room, throwing an arm around his sister as he tried to calm her. "It's all right, Mags. Calm down."
"It's not all right," the woman shouted. Her eyes were wide and crazy, a look of murderous intent sitting in the angry snarl on her face. "This little wretch somehow got out of his room and was sneaking around, spying. For what purpose, I do not know. I tracked his movements as best I could. I grabbed him when he tried to creep into Charles's room. The sneaky little blighter."
She kicked at him until Charles dragged her away. "Thank you, Maggie," he said, kissing her forehead. "You are my savior, as always. Now if you'd be so kind, we could use some more coffee." He gave her a smile. She returned it with a deadly glare, but turned and stomped out of the room without another word.
Charles's face dropped as she as she closed the door. His normally calm visage gained a few shades of red and his nostrils flared. He grabbed Alex by his collar and hauled him to his feet. One of the other advisers pulled a twig chair away from the table and set it on the floor in front of the boys. Charles threw Alex into it, nearly knocking the boy and the chair over together with his forcefulness.
"Actonatha," Charles cried, raising a finger to point directly at Alex's chest. Edith and Dana both gasped as the chair began to move, twisting and reforming. Branches snaked out from behind, wrapping themselves tightly around Alex as he flailed against them. When Charles finally lowered his hand, Alex was bound hand and foot, unable to move. Twigs had even wrapped around his forehead and chin, leaving only his face free of branches.
Charles leaned in close, his nose a bare inch from Alex's, his lips curled into a snarl. "Who are you?"
Chapter 9
Alex stopped struggling against the branches restraining him and raised his eyes to Charles's. They were full of rage and fire. As Edith watched, his human face shifted. His cheekbones grew sharp and his nose more elongated. His skin became dark as night and his hair flowed out from his skull, turning white as snow. His black lips pulled up into a sneer.
"You know who I am, stupid boy. You've always known. But you allowed yourself to be fooled by these women." Alex's voice was haunting and sent shivers down Edith's spine. With a snarl, he spat in Charles face before letting out a horrible, evil cackle.
Dana cowered in a corner, a look of pure betrayal etched into her young features. Edith scooted around the bound creature and put her arm around her friend, gently pulling her into an embrace.
Charles growled and lifted a hand, balling his fingers into a fist. Only Boxy's swift intervention kept Alex from receiving a dented nose. Charles pulled his hand away from Boxy, turning his angry gaze on her. He shouted and began pacing the room, his rage palpable. His fists were clenched so tight, Edith could see blood dripping onto the floor from holes he ripped into the palm of his hand. He stopped in front of the humans, his eyes intent on the cheerleader.
"You." His voice was low and cold, his face a strange mask after the ranting from moments before. "This thing..." He straightened and pointed a finger at Alex as a sneer spread across his face. "This thing was your boyfriend? Excellent taste in men, I must say. You--"
"Stop." Edith stepped forward, positioning herself between Charles and Dana, a tough feat considering how close Charles had stepped to her. She placed a hand on Charles's chest and pushed gently. He yielded, his face softening slightly, and took a step back. "Leave her alone. Please. This isn't the right time to deal with this." Edith did not issue a demand. It was a plea. She met his eyes, begging him silently. Dana was already hurting. She couldn't bear to see her ripped apart twice in just a few minutes, no matter how cruel the girl had been to her before.
He pursed his lips
and shook his head before turning away from the girls. "Take her," he said, waving a hand. "Get her out of my sight."
Edith did not hesitate. She grabbed Dana by the hand and dragged her out into the hallway. The door vibrated on its hinges as it slammed behind them. Edith turned back to stare at the foreboding carved wood until Mags touched her shoulder.
"Come, Edith, we must go."
As they reached the staircase, faint screaming echoed off the walls. Dana turned back. Tears streamed down her face. She made a break for the meeting room, trying to duck around Mags and Edith, but Mags was quick and had Dana slung over her shoulder in no time flat. The cheerleader screamed, cried and pleaded as she beat her hands against the Alaeshan's back and kicked her feet, but Mags ignored all of it and lugged her load up the stairs and to the girls' room without visible effort. Edith opened the door for her and Mags went through, dumping Dana unceremoniously on the bed.
Dana jumped off, turning on her friends. "Let me out," she screamed. "They're going to kill him."
Mags stood with her back against the door, arms crossed. Edith thought she seemed to have gained a few extra pounds and inches in the walk. That was one woman she definitely did not want to tussle with.
She put a hand on Dana's shoulder and pulled her close. As Dana cried, smearing her makeup and ruining Edith's lovely dress, Edith turned her attention to Mags.
"What exactly is going on? Who is he and what does he want with us?"
Mags's face scrunched up and her voice oozed with bitter hatred. "That, my dear child, is a Reformer. They are the vile creatures who are stealing the keys and trying to take over your world to make it their own. That particular thing is one of their leaders, one of their generals, you could say. His name is Nethoil. Son of Athenin, King of Ibania. Athenin has always been a dissenter. Always causing trouble. This is his war. All of this is his fault. And his spawn is in my house!"
She turned and punched the wall, releasing a warrior cry as she did. The sound brought Dana out of her fit and she stared at Mags.
"He's... I... I kissed him... He..." Dana fumbled for words that would not come and instead settled for sinking to the floor into a heap. "I'm so sorry," she muttered over and over.
Edith sat beside her friend, stroking the girl's messy hair. When Dana had calmed a bit, Mags helped Edith get her into her nightclothes and they tucked the girl into bed. Once she heard Dana's breathing slow, Edith went to the window and sank to the bench. The sky was black outside, dark clouds pregnant with rain blocking out the sun. Huge drops of water pelted the windows and she could see the trees lashing back and forth in the wind. The weather mimicked her mood very well.
She felt the cushion move and turned to look at Mags. "This might be a good thing, you know. In a way, anyway." The older woman's voice was soft, the small hope she offered crushed by the disbelief in her voice.
"How could any of this be a good thing?" Edith asked with a sob, running a hand over her face and rubbing her stinging eyes. She pressed her face against the cool window, her own tears matching the falling drops outside. "I'm in another world, supposedly, witnessing things I've only ever read about in books. Somehow I ended up in the middle of some other dimension's freaking mess just because I picked up a stupid key and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. The guy I had a crush on is downstairs looking like something out of a horror movie. The other guy who's supposed to keep me safe, dragged me into the middle of a war, and I'm stuck in a room with a girl who hates my guts." She tried hard to keep her voice quiet so as not to wake Dana and her whisper turned into a nasty hiss by the time she was done.
Mags reached out and pulled the younger woman close. She brushed away the dark clumps of hair that stuck to Edith's face and cupped her cheeks in her hands. "The Reformer's magic is strong,” she said, forcing a smile across her lips. “As strong as Charles's. There is no way Dana could have known. Even with her training and charms, someone skilled enough can get close as he did. It is easy to fool someone once you have their trust. He likely stole the key from her."
“But how could he touch it? I thought only humans could touch the key?”
“There are unspoken loopholes built into each key. Most of them are unknown, but he may have found one. If she took it off or gave it to him for some reason, he could have gained possession somehow.”
"And then he lost it." Edith remembered her first day of school when she saw Alex frantically searching around the benches. She remembered the way he reacted when she found the key, how he had asked for it, how he looked suspicious.
"Lucky for us he did. Who knows where the war would be if he hadn't?" Mags patted Edith on the arm and stood, leaving the girls to their new-found newfound misery.
Edith leaned against the window, staring out into the rain, her mind racing over the past few days. The world she had known, the world she had trusted was all a lie. The false security she had always counted on was gone. Now she was thrust into the middle of an encroaching war. She was a key player against her will and the safety of not only one, but two worlds rested with her. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. A large black shape appeared from somewhere below, loping across the lawn and into the woods. She watched Ollie disappear into the forest at random intervals, usually returning with a log or some other inanimate object, though once he was carrying a whole deer in his large maw. He was unconcerned with the fate of the world, just a big puppy who trusted Charles to keep him safe. Edith smiled. She wanted to be that puppy, to put all her faith in the man downstairs, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't trust him. Not completely. There was still too much he hadn't told her, too much she didn't know. So why had she let him drag her to his house, to his world? Edith was Ollie play and tried to answer that question without success.
Dana slept for several hours, tossing and turning fitfully, waking only when Mags returned with food. She set the tray she carried down on the table. It was a simple fare -- turkey sandwiches, fruit, and sodas. Dana picked at the food, her heart not in it. Her face was puffy and stained with tears. The corners of her mouth remained pointing toward the ground and she had a listless look on her face. She glanced up once, her eyes meeting Edith's. What Edith saw there, or didn't see, made her heart break in two. Dana's typically defiant pride was gone, replaced by an utter hopelessness that no one should have to endure.
The cheerleader beseeched her friend wordlessly, but Edith had nothing to offer but a weak smile. Dana dropped her eyes back to the table and picked up a grape. She lifted it to her mouth, but before it touched her lips, she sighed and set it back down. She wandered to the window, where she lay down on the bench facing the world outside.
A gentle knock on the door startled them both. "Come in," Edith called. She heard the key click in the lock and the door slowly moved inward. Charles poked his head in, apprehension knit across his mouth and forehead. He looked at both girls briefly before entering the room. Dana didn't move and Edith didn't stand. He bit his lip, his eyes locking on Edith's. She wasn't sure how to feel about this man anymore. She wasn't sure about anything.
He moved across the room quietly, his gaze shifting to Dana occasionally. He took the seat across from Edith, where Dana had been sitting, and pushed aside the girl's plate. He picked up a sandwich, but didn't put it to his mouth. He simply held it, staring at it for a long time as if he were hoping it would provide some sort of inspiration.
"I am sorry," he whispered, his voice barely audible.
"What was that?" Edith had heard him. And he knew full well that she did, but Dana needed to hear it too.
He cleared his throat and straightened, setting the sandwich back down. "I said, I am sorry. You should not have had to witness that. I lost my temper and it will not happen again." He paused for a moment, his head cocking slightly to one side. "At least not when you lovely ladies are around." The corner of his mouth quirked up in a hopeful smile and his eyes begged for forgiveness.
Edith glared at him, her arms crossed, but her h
eart melted quickly and she was forced to relinquish her anger.
"So what now?"
"We know where the missing keys are," he said, tearing a chunk from an apple and chewing noisily.
Edith sat up straight. "You do? All of them?"
"Yeah, we know where the keys are. The tra--." Charles stopped himself when Dana twitched on the window seat. "Now the trick is to get them back."
Edith frowned. "Where are they?"
"Various places, all near their respective doors, but heavily guarded. It's going to be a job to get close to them, much less get them back." He sighed and rested his forehead on his hands. "I'm..." His voice trailed off and he looked up. Edith saw fear and worry plastered across his brow.
"You're what?" She reached a hand out, resting it on his. Heat raced up her arm and her cheeks flushed. She had reacted on instinct, and now her doubt was telling her to pull her hand back, but she pushed aside the fear and left her hand where it was.
Charles stared at it a moment, then he gripped her fingers gently, giving them a squeeze. "Walk with me?" He stood and nodded toward the door. She followed him out and he locked it behind them, slipping the key into his pocket.
"You still don't trust her?"
Charles frowned. "There are very few I trust right now, honestly. But that's not why. The Reformer is still alive, being held for trial in the dungeon below. I doubt he will, but if he somehow manages to escape, she needs to be protected. That door cannot be opened without the key. It is sealed. No magic can open it. The lock cannot be picked. There is no safer place for her to be right now."
Edith nodded and they walked in silence until they reached the patio. Ollie bounded up the stairs, nearly knocking Edith over. She laughed and bent slightly to wrap her arms around the beast's neck.
"He likes you." Charles was smiling when she looked up, a smile that warmed her soul and made her heart beat faster.
The Third Key (The Alaesha Legacy Book 1) Page 7