The Key of F: a young adult fantasy romance (Freedom Fight Trilogy Book 1)

by Jennifer Haskin

  They peeked out of the alcove into the mall. It was nearing evening and the musical University students were gathering to beat drums and sing. They passed the others and walked quickly down the stairs.

  “Hide yourself,” he told her when they had reached the street. Fale pulled on her invisibility like a suit, and they walked straight home.

  “You need to practice your powers,” Keron told her when they reached the house.

  “I don’t have anything to heal or destroy." Fale crossed her arms.

  “Destroy our trash.”

  Fale disintegrated all their trash, practicing not only touching it, but trying to point at it from a few steps away. That didn’t work at all. They had an argument over whether she should be allowed to cut herself to attempt healing the wounds, or if Keron should be a guinea pig, and decided to skip the healing gift for the present. Then Fale practiced making different parts of herself disappear and reappear. She attempted making other objects invisible, but only succeeded in giving herself a monster headache.

  “Are you ready to eat?” Keron called from the kitchen. He had used the rest of their spinach to make salads and toasted bread. “We’ll have to go to the grocery again, Sprout.”

  “We can go tomorrow when we go to Izzy’s,” she answered.

  They ate and washed dishes together, watching each other. “We can’t stay here forever,” Fale said. “What do you think will happen to us?”

  “I have no idea,” Keron said, hanging up his towel. “What are you thinking?”

  “I get the feeling we’re running out of time.”

  “Time for what?”

  “That’s all I know. I can see a ticking clock, and something is coming,” she said.

  “Do you see what’s coming?”

  “Change. An ending or a beginning. Maybe it’s us.”

  “It could be the beginning of a solution. Or maybe an end to all this running. Maybe it has something to do with the beginning of our lives together; all I know is, we’re not ending,” he tried to reassure her.

  “How do you know?” She couldn’t give up the worry that she was feeling a shadow of future disappointment.

  “I know how I feel about you.” His husky voice melted her insides.

  “Do you still want to keep me?” she asked.

  “Come here,” he pulled her close. “Of course, I do. That hasn’t changed.”

  “I’m not sure,” she said.

  Keron gazed at her, concern written on his features. “Fale?” he asked. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Did you have a vision?”

  “Nothing serious. Just time passing,” she said.

  “Let’s go to bed early. If we only have a little while here, we might as well enjoy it.”

  Fale awoke early the next morning to meditate, leaving Keron asleep in the pre-dawn. She cleared her mind of all her concerns. Getting answers could wait. She needed to find a calm peace in her core. She imagined a warm summer rain washing away every problem. Then she basked in the warmth of serenity. She felt much better once she was centered and began making flatcakes. She had a tall stack made and a pot of coffee ready when Keron poked his bedhead in the kitchen.

  “Why are you up?” he asked with one eye closed.

  “It’s morning,” she said brightly.

  “Hardly,” he groaned.

  Fale laughed. “Come eat. I made you breakfast.”

  “Need. Coffee.”

  “It’s right here, sleepyhead,” she said.

  “Why are you so cheerful?” he asked.

  “No reason.” She kissed his shoulder as he walked by to sit at the table.

  Keron smiled. “I like this Fale. She’s just a little early,” he mumbled.

  She laughed, piling his plate with flatcakes, and smothering them with buttery flavored syrup. “Are you feeling better about things this morning?” Keron asked.

  “Much better,” Fale answered.

  “What changed?”

  “I’m not sure. I still feel like something is coming, but I’m not afraid of it anymore.”

  “Good,” he said. “Whatever it is, we can conquer it.”

  Fale thought it might be more serious than that, but she didn’t want to cast doubt on Keron, so she didn’t say anything. She simply poured coffee and sat down to eat.

  After breakfast, Keron showered and Fale brought in the laundry. They folded together and talked about their plans for the day. Working together, they were done in no time. “How many credits do we have?” she asked.

  “My band had a thousand credits on it at the guest house, but then it had a thousand again at the liquor store and the drug store, too. Either the credits don’t really come off, or Teague keeps replenishing them, so we have a thousand all the time,” Keron explained.

  “Good,” she said. “I want to go to the store this morning then, before we meet Izzy and Lisle.” Fale was afraid of getting caught in the city, but she was determined to master her fear. Nelson had always taught her to face her fears, so she wanted to go on with life, like she wasn’t in danger.

  “We can go-“Keron began.

  “Alone,” Fale interrupted.

  “Fale. It’s not safe.”

  “What will you do if I’m caught by Control, Keron? Fight our way out? They’ll be expecting that,” she said.

  “But together- “

  “We’re more recognizable,” she said grimly.

  “You’re going to do this no matter what I say, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Please, Keron?”

  “Are you asking my permission?”

  “No, I guess not. But I don’t want you to be mad at me,” she pleaded. She ached at the thought of his anger but knew she could take care of herself. In disguise, Fale didn’t look a thing like herself and wore a fake identification band. What could go wrong?

  “If you don’t want to upset me, don’t leave without me.”

  “I’ll meet you at Izzy’s for lunch, I promise,” she said with her palms pressed together in prayer pose. “I’ll even get us something to eat from the pub.”

  Keron sighed in defeat. “If you really have to, I’ll take- “

  “Wings?” she asked with a wink.

  “Right.” He smiled wanly. He was frustrated at her lack of concern about being in public, especially alone. She wasn’t as invincible as she thought. Disguised or not, he didn’t like her taking chances.

  “Thank you. I’ll be careful, I promise. Nothing bad will happen.”

  Fale dressed quickly and set out across the marsh. She had thought Keron was never going to let her go as he stood on the front porch, holding her. “I’ll see you at Izzy’s by noon,” he’d said.

  She’d kissed him on her tiptoes and swore not to talk to strangers. Fale had disentangled herself and bound off the porch into the muck. She walked to the city’s edge going straight to the back of Keron’s apartment. She was going to attempt climbing up to his balcony, but it was not only too high, the hole she’d made had been patched. Keron was right, they weren’t going to make it easy. She was probably being observed. Fale kept walking. She was about to turn west when an idea slapped her in the face. Quickly, she rounded the corner of the building and made herself invisible. She walked to the front of Keron’s apartment, casting glances in all directions, but the people who passed her in the street didn’t sense her at all. She was giddy with freedom, why don’t I do this all the time? She carefully searched the grounds for anyone suspicious or loitering, but there was no one.

  Fale stood up with her shoulders back, and boldly walked up to Keron’s front door. She didn’t know what she was doing, or what she expected, but when she turned the knob it slowly clicked open. She froze. This was too convenient. She waited for a full minute and when nothing happened, she inched the door into the room, releasing the breath she had been holding. Everything was gone; except for the furniture. Clothes and towels had been on Keron’s floor; pizza boxes and beer bottles on his coffee table; and trash overflo
wing the bin. Where her apartment had been torn apart, his had been sifted through and apparently stuffed into tall black bags along the wall. Fale looked for the guitar but didn’t see it. When she walked further into the room, she noticed a man sitting on the couch, a cap on his head and his chin tucked to his chest. His eyes were closed, and his hands crossed his stomach where they held a small pistol.

  Fale gasped and the man’s eyes flew open. He looked over his shoulder to see the door ajar and grinned. Fale backed up against the wall going into the kitchen, watching him. He pulled a small box out of his pocket, pushed a button with his thumb and spoke into it.

  “Yeah, this here’s Birt. We got some activity.” He took his thumb off the button and turned his head to the side to hear from the box.

  “Well? What happened?” The voice coming through the box made Fale shiver. The tone was rich and authoritative, and annoyed. Was that the Source Wizard Gasten?

  “Somebody opened the door and I knowed I heared somebody breathing,” Birt added hastily, “sir.”

  “Was the breathing in the room with you or outside?” the box asked. Fale covered her mouth with her hand, she needed to get out of there. Now.

  “Couldn’t tell.”

  “I’ll send a few men to your location to scout the area. Search the apartment. You know what to do when you find them. I will be there later.” The man was mid-sigh when he clicked off.

  Fale was about to make a run for it, when Birt closed the door again and locked it. Crap. She would have to be silent as she left and unlock the door too? He was awake now; she started to sweat. It was then she realized she hadn’t found the guitar. She stepped lightly through the kitchen and into Keron’s bedroom. There it is. A tattered gray case leaned in the far corner of the room and she rushed to it like two magnets pulling toward each other. She eased the brass clasps up and looked toward the door to make sure Birt was still in the other room, then she swung the loose hinges wide. The guitar was in bad shape, it was worn and cracked in the places she could see. This was not an instrument worthy of Keron, but he deserved to have his own things. How am I ever going to get this out of here?

  Contemplating her options, Fale considered lowering it out the window by the balcony. The guitar would never make it though, not in the shape it was in. She couldn’t carry it out the front door. She wasn’t successful yet with cloaking herself, as well as large objects. She was still thinking when Birt’s box crackled to life in the living room.

  “Hey Birt. Seen anything? Me and Jare are almost to ya.”

  “Nah,” Birt said. “I ain’t seen them yet, but they’s around, I knowed it.”

  “Yeah? You’s a wizard now, too? We gettin’ hungry. Got anythin’ to eat?” the voice in the box asked. Definitely not the Source Wizard now.

  Fale heard Birt walk into the kitchen and open cabinets, throwing bags and cans around. He opened the fridge and rustled something plastic, then spoke with something in his mouth, “I got food. And I knows what I knows, so shut up. Somebody gotta opened the door, and it weren’t no wind blowin’ outside, I heard breathing.”

  A knock sounded at the door followed by a rattle of the knob, then pounding.

  “I’m comin’!” yelled Birt, stomping across the floor and unbolting the lock.

  “You’re supposed to be leavin’ that open, in case…” a new voice spoke into the room.

  “I knows, I knows. Get in here afore somebody sees ya,” Birt said.

  “Jare’s scoutin’ once more, then we’s gonna eat,” the new voice was young, maybe even someone Fale’s age. She didn’t have time to think about it, though. She needed to get out of the apartment. The guitar would have to stay, but she had an idea about that. Assuming she could get out of Keron’s apartment before the Source Wizard showed up. He would sense her presence for sure.

  Fale kept her back to the wall and slithered from one room to the next until she was back in the living room. The men were lounging on the couch and chair; and they were filthy. She felt sorry for the furniture. Where did Gasten find these men? They could barely speak the language. Were they from another city? Another dimension? It didn’t matter, when the third man came in, Fale would slip out and be on her way.

  “You ever seen her?” the younger man asked Birt.

  He grunted, “She’s jus’ another one o’ them mages. Nothin special.” He tipped back his head and poured his ale down his throat like a professional drinker.

  “I heared she was a beauty, and the mentor said when I catches her, I can do what I want to her.” His grin made Fale’s skin crawl.

  “Nah. Her mother been a beauty. Fale only be good for raising half - breed mages,” Birt chuckled. “I would put her down and…” He pushed his hand down and proceeded to make lewd motions with his hips that riled up the boy. Birt smiled and Fale stiffened at the talk of her mother.

  “Woo hoo. You tame her good, Birt,” he said, but there was a gleam in his eyes.

  That is so not going to be me. I’ve been too helpless in the past. I was so sheltered before, but now that I am thrust into this world, it’s a dark, dark place. But you know what? I am sufficient to combat this darkness.

  “You makin’ me nervous boy, grinnin’ like that.” Birt set down his ale.

  “I’m gonna kill the fantocci then I be doin’ what I want to the brown-haired princess while she’s under me,” the boy vowed with so much venom, Fale found it hard to breathe. She was incensed. No one was going to kill Keron on her watch. She stalked over to the boy and looked him dead in the eyes. She opened her mouth; she wanted to tell him what he could do with his beliefs, but he stared back at where she stood and narrowed his gaze.

  Fale slipped in her invisibility. Then all hell broke loose.

  “She’s here!” the boy shouted and lunged forward as Fale immediately returned to her invisible state and punched him in the face for everything he’d said before. She flipped herself over the back of the couch and ran for the door.

  “Jare!” someone yelled, presumably into their radio boxes.

  The door swung open, banging into the wall and a huge man stood in the center of the opening like a five-point star filling the doorframe. “What?”

  Fale almost slid to a stop but dove between his wide set legs instead. He felt her pass and tried to catch her with his meaty hands, but he couldn't react fast enough. She repressed a half-crazed giggle as she stumble-ran across the landing toward the stairs. The men ran after her, shouting, but she kept her shield of invisibility and they couldn’t tell where she went. Fale was grateful for the silent concrete that met the soles of her shoes with a grip, pull, and release. She ducked into the nearest alcove and let them pass her by.

  Whew. That was too close. Maybe I am taking too many chances.

  She watched them running about like headless chickens, searching around nearby corners.

  Idiots.

  She stayed to listen to them talking, but no one said anything of value, though it was clear they were terrified of their leader and being caught empty-handed.

  Chapter 16

  Fale waited until the men had gone back to Keron’s apartment to regroup, and traveled to the plaza shops, still early enough to beat the weight of the late morning crowds. She made herself visible in a quiet alley and stepped trepidatiously into the sun. When she knew she wasn’t being followed, she went to a music store. There she spent half an hour carefully choosing an acoustic guitar in a deep red wood with six strings and a thin body. As soon as Fale picked it up however, the store attendant was instantly at her side.

  “How can I help you, Miss?” he asked and tipped his head to look at her with a patronizing smile.

  “I’m looking for a guitar.”

  “Any particular one? We have some used ones on sale,” he made a point to look at Fale from head to toe, and took in her clothing, splattered with mud from the marsh.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t play. Something not electric. I think I like this one,” she ran her hand over the smooth w
ood of the instrument in her hand, causing the attendant to cringe.

  “I don’t think you’ll want to start on this one, miss, it’s rather expensive and not for beginners.”

  “How does it sound? Can you play it?” she asked.

  Looking insulted, he took the instrument from Fale, “Of course I can." The salesman played several rich chords and a short bit of fretting.

  “How much is it?” Fale asked.

  The attendant smiled viciously, “Seven hundred credits.”

  “Thank you,” Fale said, taking back the guitar.

  “Shall I return it for you?” his smug smile infuriated her.

  “No, I’ll take it. For my husband,” she said confidently.

  I am Bryla Palmquist. I am older and richer than you think I am. Respect me. She wasn’t in the mood today, and Keron was going to get this guitar.

  The attendant quickly changed his demeanor. “Oh. Yes, ma’am,” he said. “The case is over here. Will you be needing any other accessories?”

  “Nothing you can help me with,” Fale said haughtily, trying not to smile. She had never been so rude in her life, but she was being Bryla, not Fale.

  “Yes ma’am.” The salesman looked chagrined. Fale reminded herself he would be earning her commission and she didn’t feel bad. By the time she scanned her wrist band, she had spent forty-five minutes in the shop, so Fale headed to the pub. She would be eternally grateful to the mages for her new identity. The scanners didn’t seem to alert Control that Bryla was not real. Thank the stars for the mages within the Agency system.

  Fale experienced an independence and strength she’d never felt before. She’d been taught to take care of herself, but she’d never been allowed to do it until now. She decided to make some changes in her life. She was going to become the true Takanori warrior she’d always wanted to be. Even if it killed her. She looked down, at the guitar she carried. Keron wouldn’t be happy with her for what happened today and the decisions she had made, but she had to do more, take more risks. Like being out in public right now. She knew the wizards’ men were looking for her, but they were also looking for another version of her, not Bryla. Well, they had been. She could only hope in the few seconds they saw her in Keron’s apartment, they were too stunned to notice the difference in her hair. They weren’t the brightest lot.