by Fletcher, MJ
“Yes, you did.” Val wasn’t looking at me, her eyes were glued to Edgar and she was beaming.
“I’ll let you two catch up. I have some things to take care of anyway.” I patted Edgar on the shoulder as they walked off. I could hear Val talking a mile a minute while Edgar nodded.
“Gran?” I turned to Jess wanting to know if she’d learned anything about our grandmother.
“Nothing. I reached out to a few people but no one knows where she is,” she said with concern.
I didn’t like not knowing where the people I cared about were. Mr. Tower had used too many of my loved ones against me for me not to think he wouldn’t hurt another one.
“We’ll find her,” I assured Jess and myself.
“Where’s Nightshade?” Jess asked as we walked along.
“I sent him to take care of something with Gavin.”
“I’m surprised you let him out of your sight.” She chuckled.
I shook my head. It had been impossible in this small place for everyone to have noticed just how much time Nightshade and I had spent alone together.
“He won’t be gone long,” I admitted at least I had warned him not to be.
“I’m happy for you, Cuz, and for him too.”
“Thanks.”
“You two deserve some happiness after everything that has happened to us.”
“I think you’re right about that one.”
“Have you learned anything else about your sister?”
I had told the others about everything that had happened with my mom after we’d been here a few days. I slid my new hand into my hoodie and lifted out the box Mom had given me. I turned it over and held it out to Jess.
“I still can’t figure out how to open it,” I sighed.
“None of your abilities work on it?”
“Not a one.”
“There must be something that opens it.”
“I agree, but I can’t figure out what the hell it is for the life of me.”
“Did she say anything to you? Maybe she tried to give you a clue.”
“Nothing that I can remember and believe me I’ve been wracking my brain.”
Jess lifted it to her ear and shook the box back and forth listening to it. “There better be something good in here.” She handed it back to me.
“I’m pretty sure it’s important, I just don’t know how or why, yet. But you can bet I’ll figure it out.”
“I know you will.” She gestured toward my new hand. “I see Slade finished it.”
“Yeah, it feels weird but I think I’ll get used to it.” I lifted my hand flexing the fingers out and watching them move.
“Have we come up with a plan yet?” Jess asked as we entered the Great Room.
“I am working on something,” I didn’t want to reveal too much just yet and Jess took the hint. “We have a lot more than just the First Kind to worry about now.”
“I heard about the Council declaring us outlaws. Honestly, I’m surprised they didn’t do it sooner.”
“Emory thinks they were still reeling from the fallout of Storm Reach. I apparently did a good amount of damage to their loyal ranks when I destroyed their Memory Room. I woke up quite a few people who wanted nothing to do with the First Kind. They’ve been busy dealing with that. The Mapmakers have been taking in defectors for the last few days.”
“Good, I’d hate to think we were fighting innocent people. This way it’ll be us against the people who really believe in those nut jobs.”
“I agree.”
The hair on my neck stiffened as a portal opened into the Reliquary. I sensed the signature and smiled. Nightshade was back.
“God, you’re so happy it’s sickening.” Jess laughed at me.
I grabbed a pillow from the couch and tossed it at her. She ducked and stuck her tongue out at me.
“Very mature.”
“You’re the leader, not me,” she teased.
Nightshade swept into the room and lifted me up, planting a kiss on me that I eagerly returned. He’d only been gone for a short time but with how much we had been separated, neither one of us liked being apart.
“Would you two get a room already?” Jess stuck her finger in her mouth and made a gagging sound.
“Hi,” Nightshade said ignoring Jess.
“Hi.” I kissed him again quickly. “How’d it go?”
“Perfectly.” The woman’s voice cut through me like a knife and I was up and around Nightshade in a heartbeat.
Rosalita was standing behind him, her hands on her hips. Her deep eyes were rimmed with tears. “You made it.” She smiled and the tears rolled down her face as she held out her arms to me and I ran to her and we hugged each other tightly.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”
The last time I had seen her she was kneeling over Bodie, her beloved husband, as he lay dying. Even though it had been over a hundred years in the past, it had been an echo in time that I had watched, though not for her. And I was learning that the pain of that kind of loss never goes away.
“Don’t be sorry, it wasn’t your fault. Bodie would do anything for family.” She eased me back away from her and took my face in her hands and looked into my eyes. “That’s what we are, family, and we always will be. I’ve wanted to tell you that since the first moment I met you, but I had to wait. I couldn’t take a chance of screwing anything up and possibly inadvertently helping the First Kind.”
“I understand.”
“I tried to help you as much as I could, but in the end I couldn’t be there, not knowing what you were headed into. If I had seen you, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from telling you.” Her hands trembled as she spoke and I grabbed them holding her steady.
“You’re here now, that’s all that matters to me.” I smiled and hugged her again.
“Things have gotten even more dangerous not just for you but your friends as well. With the Council throwing in with the First Kind, everyone is against you now.” Rosalita sat down in one of the chairs and looked at me anxiously.
“I have my friends and the Mapmakers are still with us. Now that we know who the enemy is, we know who to go after.”
“That’s one of the reasons I contacted Gavin, I have news about Tower.”
“What about him?” I asked anxiously.
“He’s retreated to the Skeleton Key Guild dimension, but I learned something else as well.” Her eyes fluttered and I knew she was worried.
“What is it?”
“He found the Skeleton Key Guild Artifact, but that’s not all. He also learned the whereabouts of the Doorknob Society one as well. Soon he’ll have them both.”
“Not if we have anything to say about it he won’t,” I said.
“What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to destroy the First Kind for good.”
~~~~~~~~~
To be concluded in
The Skeleton Key Guild
Meet MJ Fletcher
MJ Fletcher is the creator of the comic book series Adam Zero: The Last Man of Earth published by Ronin Studios. He’s also been published in Hope: The Hero Initiative and Digital Webbing Presents. The Doorknob Society series is his first book series and he’s thrilled about it. He lives near the beach with his wife, daughter, dog and a crotchety cat.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Meet MJ Fletcher