“Prisoners?" Fale was taken aback by the word. She remembered the metal man as he raised a baton above her in the rain and shuddered.
“Surely you don’t think they choose to be there?" Ash interjected.
“I guess I hadn’t thought about it,” Fale said, dazed. Me. A princess. My people. “Wait, so I’ve been four people now? Is that what you’re saying?” Fale finally spoke about the topic everyone was avoiding.
“I know it’s overwhelming, my dear." Lucien said kindly. “I’ve tried to be as simple as possible for now. I’m sure you’ll want to know more, later.”
Fale thought about how any of this could be happening to her. Keron looked just as stunned.
“Do you have any questions before we take our leave?" Lucien looked to Ash and raised his eyebrows.
“I have a million,” Fale said.
“Yes?” Lucien looked at her with a soft smile.
“Who is after me, and my key?”
“There is a lot of information and I hoped I wouldn’t overwhelm you with everything at once,” Lucien said.
“If you know, then I need to know, too. Please tell me.” Fale leaned forward, clasping her hands.
“From the first time the people divided between Effailya and Gryndoll, there have been two sides. Once Effailya was sent to Garrith, the people were made to keep secrets, and many forgot what had happened. It was forbidden to mention. This generation doesn’t even realize there is a battle that lies dormant like a sleeping volcano in their midst. Even now, it is waking, though their backs are turned.”
“What battle? I don’t understand. Gryndoll died.” Fale stammered. She cleared her throat; she would not admit to being overcome.
“We called it the ‘Battle of Oakenhearst’ after the royal family, but it is simply the battle between the wizards and us mages. They are who tracks you now. The wizards led by Gasten. He is Gryndoll’s great, great, great grandson. If they had their way, they would revive the machine to open new dimensions in search of magic for Gasten to steal and increase his power. He would find weaker species and imprison them, strip them of their magic, and leave them as he absorbed their life essence and became stronger. You must not let it happen.”
“So, the wizards killed my parents? I think somehow, I was aware of a battle, I could feel it. I won’t let them have the machine." Fale’s voice shook. “Wait, do you think they know about my visions?”
Lucien looked surprised. “Why do you ask?”
Keron put an arm around her shoulders. “Seems somebody is one step ahead of us, each time Fale has a vision.”
“It would make sense,” Lucien said.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Ash interjected, crossing his ankles.
“We’ll just have to be extra careful,” Keron whispered into Fale’s ear.
“Do you have any more questions tonight?” Lucien’s eyes probed Fale.
“Only one. Can you help me find Nelson?” Fale doubted there was anything they could do, but she still hoped.
“I’m afraid we don’t have enough information yet, my dear. All will be done to save him when we can,” Lucien said.
“I guess that’s what I expected. Thank you anyway.” Fale rose to shake their hands.
Lucien and Ash excused themselves and Keron walked them out, shutting the door tightly. It was starting to darken so he lit the lanterns again. Neither of them spoke.
“What does this mean?” she asked.
“A whole lot.” Keron stood across the room from Fale. “The wizards must be in league with Control because the men after us have not been from the Agency,” he thought out loud.
“It explains why the wizards are after you, too. Control belongs to the wizards. Gryndoll made the new laws for the people when he sent Effailya away. Control runs your life, I’m sure they don’t want you helping me,” Fale said, visibly shaking. “My mind is so full of information; I don’t know what to think about first. I don’t know what my next move is.”
“Can’t freak out now, Fale.”
“I know. I still need to find Nelson, and those wizards know his location,” she said.
“Why not go ask Lisle?" Keron said sarcastically.
“Lisle! I forgot about Lisle,” she said. “Wait. Why are you being like that?”
“No reason,” he shrugged.
“Keron,” Fale said, rising and going to him. She put her forehead to his chest, but he left his arms at his sides.
“What is it?" she asked.
He put his hands on her shoulders and held her away from him. “You’re a princess? A magical princess, for goodness’ sake, and I’m just a bondsman.” He leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling in pain. “I have nothing. Nothing to offer you.”
“Keron,” she pulled on his head, but he resisted. Her heart clenched within her chest. She wanted all of him, but she would settle for what he could give. He was so much more than any other man she’d ever met; strong, fearless, determined, creative, kind. How could he think he had nothing to offer? “Please,” she begged. He let her bring his face to hers and she whispered, “You give me safety and support. You’re my champion, and I know the time to fight has come because I have you next to me."
For the first time she kissed him, and he let her set the pace, exploring him. She pulled back suddenly. “That was a really good idea,” she said.
“What?” He laughed, kissing her nose.
“I should go to Lisle’s.”
“You were just now thinking of Lisle?”
“They were using him for information on us. He needs to know. He could be in danger if they find out we’re gone and he talked to us without knowing,” she said.
“I guess. I think you want out of this house.” Keron hesitated. “But I was thinking I could maybe show up to one of the small underground fights and get some information on these wizards.”
“I think you want to get out of the house and kill something." Fale grimaced.
“So, we’re in agreement that we’re stir crazy?” He smiled at her.
“Yes. And I need answers.”
“Will you be careful? I mean it. Stay where the streets are lit. Wear a scarf to disguise yourself. Remember you’re Bryla Palmquist now," Keron said. “Walk different, talk different. Be someone else.”
“I will, if you promise to come back to me.”
“Done.”
Fale made up a disguise for herself. She dug through her things and decided against sunglasses at night. She finally found a scarf to cover all her hair, so she put it in a bun and swept the scarf around her head, but she still looked like Fale. So, she put on workout leggings with a long form fitting top and a skinny belt, something she would never wear together in public; then slipped on her black leather flats and scarf. She added the makeup Izzy had given her. Finally, she looked like Bryla.
Keron was in the living area with his tools, waiting to walk Fale into the city, when she came out of the bedroom. He wore workout pants and a long-sleeved t-shirt that covered his limbs, and a stocking cap, pulled down over his ears. He watched her walk through the room carefully, his eyes narrowing.
“What?” she asked. “You said to get a scarf.”
“But the rest of it.” He pointed to her body. “And your face.”
“I have to look like Bryla.”
“It’s not for Lisle?” he asked, his voice gruff.
“No, silly,” she laughed. “Let’s go before you miss fight call.”
“How’re you gonna walk the marsh in those shoes?" he asked.
“I hadn’t thought about it,” she said.
“Wear your boots. Carry the black shoes to the edge of the city, then switch them.”
“Good idea.” She gripped her flats and stepped into her boots.
After trudging the two miles back to their entrance spot, Keron and Fale exited the reedy marsh. He put one arm around her tiny waist, preparing to split up, and kissed her soundly. “Remember, be careful,” he said with his for
ehead touching hers.
She trembled from nervous energy and his kiss. “Come back to me.”
“Meet you at the house.” His voice was soft as he looked around for anyone who might have seen them exiting the marsh. “Can you find it?”
She confirmed with a nod, but bit the edge of her lip, looking around as well.
Fale walked as quickly and quietly to Lisle’s as possible. From shadow to shadow, she slipped behind buildings until she reached Lisle’s complex. With her gaze down, it occurred to her on the way that he might not be home, but when she knocked on his door, he answered.
“Hello?”
“Lisle, it’s me, Fale,” she whispered loudly.
“Oh.” He unchained the door and ushered her in, looking outside in both directions. “Did you know Control is looking for you?”
“Yeah. It’s what I’m here to tell you. I need to know how to tap into this power I have. And I need to tell you who you’re working for.”
Lisle sat in his chair and Fale took her place on his tiny couch. She explained to him as best as she could what Lucien and Ash had told her, swearing him to absolute secrecy. Fale had known Lisle almost as long as she had been taking lessons and she knew she could trust him.
He didn’t take the truth very well. “Not Gasten. He’s the Source Wizard, the leader of all wizards. He must be good. And they wouldn’t do that to me, Fale.”
“I’m sorry, Lisle. Why else would they need your readings on Keron and me?”
“They asked for all my friends.”
“The original person who banished the princess and wanted the key was the Source Wizard Gryndoll. He took advantage of the king on his deathbed, and since Effailya was ruling by proxy, he punished them all. They aren’t what you think they are,” she said.
“Fale. I can’t believe it. It would destroy everything I hold true. The wizards are good. There’s nothing I want more in life than to be a wizard, because they help for good. They can help people reach a higher version of themselves.”
“Fair enough. I know they’re part of your life. I won’t pressure you. We can still be friends though, right?” she asked.
“We’ll always be friends.” Lisle reached out a hand to her.
Fale let go of the breath she’d been holding and took his hand. “Do you still want to help me?”
“I’ll do what I can,” he said.
“How do I release this power?”
“With some heavy-duty magic; or it’s something you have to do yourself.”
“I don’t know how,” she pulled her hands back and clenched her fists. She couldn’t do magic; why did everyone think she had this great power? She didn’t feel it.
“Could you fight the first day you practiced? No. You have to find it and practice.”
“Is it what you do?” Fale asked.
“I use spells. They have magic attached, I suppose, but I did have to practice a lot.” Lisle said.
“What about the boy? Do you think he knows anything?” The idea hit Fale like lightning.
“No idea. Should we try to find out?" Lisle said with a twinkle in his eye.
“What do I do?” Fale asked.
“Get comfortable. I’m going to try to put you into a trancelike state.” Fale lay back on the couch with her hands clasped over her stomach. “Close your eyes and listen to my voice." She could hear Lisle moving around but tried not to be curious about what he was doing.
Relax, Fale. Breathe, listen.
She concentrated on the words he said even when they turned into words she didn’t understand. Fale felt herself drifting, drifting; she bravely met what was coming head on. She faded through colors and space…
Fale heard sheep bleating through the ears of the boy. At least, as a child she was taught that sheep say “baa,” though she’d never seen one. She moved to look for where the noise was coming from and felt as if her back was a blazing furnace. She lay on her side on a hay pallet in a thatched hut with a window full of moonlight and an open door. Fale tried to sit up, but the pain in her shoulders and back sliced through her. Her shirt stuck to her and pulled at the burning flesh.
The pallet next to hers was empty and Fale wondered who slept there. It hurt so much. She lay back down and panted. Fale had never known such pain. She closed her eyes. So much for finding out information. She wished Lisle would call her back, but what if he couldn’t? There was always the boy’s little sister. This time she needed to get some answers before she found herself being cast out again.
A noise at the door made Fale open her eyes, shining with pain. “I brought you more chili plaster. Mother Rill added some herbs to help with the healing." The little girl entered the hut with a small bowl in her hand. “Roll onto your stomach, Taran.”
Fale assumed she was talking to her and dutifully eased from her side to her belly. She felt the coarse material of her shirt rip the skin from her back as Taran’s little sister carefully lifted it. She cried out in pain, surprised to hear a man’s wail work its way from her lips.
“I’m sorry. I know it hurts,” the girl said.
Fale said nothing as the girl spread a heated concoction over her entire back.
“That was really stupid, you know, provoking a guard. They could have killed you." She pressed cloths into the mixture, which burned almost as bad as the wounds, but felt strangely refreshing. “Next time you decide to get ten lashes, at least stand up for yourself, not me." She gingerly pulled the fabric of Fale’s shirt down, and Fale heard her sniffle. “You were so brave. Mama would’ve been proud." Fale didn’t know what to say.
“Taran? Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” Fale said in the boy’s voice. “I need to talk to you, but I need you to stay calm.”
“All right.”
“Do you know the stories of princess Effailya?”
She snorted. “You mean from every night?”
“Yeah those. Well, I’m, I’m not Taran.”
The little girl leaned down in the moonlit dark and looked into Fale’s eyes. “Who are you?” she asked angrily. “And do not tell me you’re Princess Effailya. Where’s my brother?”
“He’s safe. He’s in Alloy City in my body.”
She gasped. “How?”
“I don’t know exactly how, magic I guess, but we switched places,” Fale said.
“Do people practice magic in Alloy City?” the girl asked.
“I never knew it existed until recently, but it turns out there is magic hidden everywhere. The mages and wizards are fighting the same battle they started with Gryndoll and Effailya. Do you know about Alloy City, I mean, the Industrial District?”
“We came from a city named Sorche, a long time ago. But our queen was named Effailya.”
“Then why are you here?”
“We’re slaves for the machines that guard us.”
“Slaves?”
“Yes. Especially the descendants of the royal family, Effailya’s family. The machines are in charge now.”
“Effailya’s family? But she came from Alloy City.” Fale was confused, but the other girl was catching on.
“Maybe that’s what they call Sorche now. It has been a long time and names change. It is said Queen Effailya returned to her home to find a way to help us. Does she lead in Alloy City now? Did she send you here? Who are you?”
“The Control Agency is our government. I’m Eff… I’m Fale. Maybe you should call me Bryla? I’m still figuring it out.”
“You don’t know who you are? Do you have memory loss?”
“It’s complicated," Fale said. “What’s your name?”
“Minova.”
“Where are we, Minova?”
“In Garrith,” the younger girl confirmed.
Fale was frozen in shock. “I think I need to go back now. Can you send me back like you did the other day in the rain?”
“That was you?" Minova asked and squinted as if to see Fale through her brother’s eyes.
“Yes.”
“It is different from this," Fale said. “We don’t have a castle. Do you have a king in this castle?” She beckoned out the window.
“No, it’s for the wizard and his machines.”
“What wizard?” Fale asked.
“The one who rules the machines,” she said, acid in her voice.
“Okay, Minova, can you send me back?”
“Yes.” The girl nodded.
“How do you do it? Do you all have powers?”
“Just me. It’s why Taran worries about me showing them. He says maybe I’m more powerful than the others. When I talk sometimes, things happen.”
“I won’t tell anyone here. In Algea, I mean,” Fale said.
They looked into each other’s eyes, and Fale nodded. “Go away,” Minova said.
Fale opened her eyes to see Lisle sitting in front of her with his elbows on his knees. His shirt was unbuttoned, and a t-shirt was defining his chest. She stared at his body.
When did Lisle grow up? When had he gotten so handsome? Has Izzy noticed? Focus, Fale.
She looked up to see him watching her.
“Fale?" he asked.
“Yeah, it’s me," she said.
“That was fascinating." Lisle exclaimed, nearly bouncing out of his chair.
“I found out his name, where they are and that he’s a slave to a wizard and a bunch of machines,” Fale offered. It made her sick to think of “her people” being slaves. Those machines were terrifying with their bloody hearts behind glass. She remembered how angry and oppressed she felt when she was in Taran’s body and she resolved to do whatever she could to help free them.
“I got the same thing. And a lot of questions. Who did you talk to?" Lisle asked.
“Taran’s sister, Minova. She told me the people of Garrith are slaves. They beat him, Lisle. It hurt so bad. I couldn’t wait to get back.”
“I’m sorry. We could have talked all day. He was so excited you have the key to free them.”
“I have the key, but no machine, no idea where this dimension is or how to free him. Please tell me you didn’t say I was the princess?" Fale pleaded.
“No, but I can’t refute parts of your story now,” Lisle said. “I don’t know what to do with it, Fale.”
The Key of F: a young adult fantasy romance (Freedom Fight Trilogy Book 1) Page 14