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

by Jennifer Haskin

  They led Izzy through the miles of concrete and marsh to the little coterie house they had come to call home. “Why can’t I see it?” Izzy asked when they stood before the safe house.

  “It’s enchanted,” Keron said, taking Izzy’s other arm and helping lead her inside.

  “It’s so cute,” Izzy cooed in the entryway.

  “You won’t think so tonight,” Fale said. “There’s nowhere left to sleep.”

  “I’ll sleep with you, Fale,” Izzy put her arm through Fale’s and linked elbows.

  Keron coughed. “Um, Izzy.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Never mind. You’ll figure things out.” He grinned as they stepped from the entryway.

  “Figure what out?” Izzy asked.

  “Sleeping arrangements,” he said, standing aside for the girls to pass and grinning at Fale.

  Fale slapped his chest and whispered, “You might be sleeping on the floor. Bring in the other deck chair for the kitchen.”

  “Hey Lisle,” Izzy called.

  “What’s going on, Iz?” he answered.

  “Not much, I guess we’re going on a trip.”

  “Looks like it.”

  Izzy joined Lisle in the living room to talk, and Keron disappeared into the bedroom. Fale flipped the light on in the kitchen. “I’m going to see what’s for dinner,” she called out.

  Fale looked in the fridge, there was still crumbled meat and veggies for salad. They also had some cheese substitutes. She decided to make a lasagna, so she found a pan and began to layer. Fale could hear Keron’s guitar coming from the bedroom and she put the pan in the preheated oven. She was about to start on a salad when Izzy stepped into the kitchen.

  “You didn’t tell me there was one bedroom,” she whispered.

  “You never asked,” Fale said nonchalantly, getting out a big bowl from the cabinet.

  “Fale, please tell me he slept on the couch.”

  “Okay,” Fale smiled.

  “Okay what?”

  “He slept on the couch,” Fale said.

  “He did?”

  “No.”

  “Fale,” Izzy declared. “The whole time?”

  “Yep.” Fale took out spinach and lettuce and put them in the bowl.

  Izzy sighed. “Fale, did he…have you two…?”

  Fale stopped and showed her ring to Izzy, “What do you think, Iz?”

  “He asked you to marry him?” Izzy squealed.

  “Yes,” Fale laughed.

  Izzy slapped her arm. “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “No, I didn’t tell Lisle,” Fale amended.

  “Oooh. You finally figured it out, huh?” Izzy asked. “Oh, my bright stars. And he stayed here last night. How did that go?”

  “It was rough,” Fale said. “I thought they were going to kill each other a few times.”

  “I’m sorry, Fale. Do you want me to say something to Lisle?”

  “No. The one I’m having issues with right now is Keron. I want to be more independent in my life, and he wants to protect me from everything,” Fale said.

  “I think it’s sweet. I would love to have a hero like that,” Izzy said dreamily.

  “But I am supposed to BE the hero, Iz,” said Fale. The freedom of an entire generation of people in Garrith rested on her shoulders alone. She couldn’t help feeling like Taran and Lucien and the mages expected her to be their redeemer.

  “Everyone needs help sometimes, Fale.”

  “I guess. That’s why you guys are coming with me.” Fale chopped cucumber.

  “Oh gee, thanks. It’s nice to feel needed,” Izzy pouted.

  “You know what I mean Izzy. Don’t pout.” Fale added tomatoes to the bowl.

  “I might understand you but give the guys a break. They aren’t mind readers. Poor Lisle is pining for you already.”

  “I am being as nice to him as I can be, without setting off Keron. Pass me the rest of the cheese for this salad." Fale tossed the salad with some croutons made from her crusty bread. Then she put water on to boil for tea. She had time to mix up a box of brownies. They would eat well tonight, because who knew when they would eat this well again?

  Izzy placed plates on the table and the girls talked about the weather and the effect it was having on their hair; anything superficial they could think of. When the lasagna was ready, Fale put the brownies in and called the guys. “Dinner’s ready. Go wash your hands.”

  Keron emerged from the bedroom and washed in the kitchen while Lisle was in the bathroom. “Smells great, Sprout.” He stepped behind Fale and kissed her cheek. “What’s the occasion?”

  “We’re going on an adventure,” Fale said.

  Lisle walked into the kitchen. “Ugh. Get a room.”

  “Got one,” Keron said, hugging Fale.

  She swatted him off and cut the lasagna into squares, piling a piece onto each plate. “Sit down you two and eat.”

  Everyone sat and Izzy passed the salad bowl around. They all ate heartily. “If we have to go to an island, won’t we need a boat?” Fale asked.

  “How are we gonna afford a boat with the couple thousand credits we have together?” Keron asked.

  “How are we going to get to the coast?” asked Lisle.

  “We’ll have to go north, through the marsh and trees, to the base of the mountains and follow them around to the coast.” Izzy said. “Maybe we can buy horses?”

  “How much will it cost?” asked Keron.

  “And how long would it take?” Lisle questioned.

  “It would take several days to get to the coast. Four or five, probably.” Izzy said.

  “Well, we can pool our money,” Fale said. “Keron and I seem to have unlimited funds.”

  Lisle looked incredulous. “Really? The mages are funding you for everything?” Fale nodded.

  “She is the queen. Maybe the money was hers anyway,” Keron added.

  “What are we going to do about the machine?” Lisle asked Fale.

  “What about it?”

  “How are we going to find it?”

  “We don’t know this other island, but we know it’s hidden. Maybe the people there know where it is?” Keron suggested. “Maybe the mages know more than they have told us so far.”

  “We don’t even know what we’re looking for.” Izzy scraped her plate to get the last bite.

  “We know it’s big, but it can’t be too big, or it wouldn’t be easy to hide. It may be box-like, and we know it has a keyhole for Fale’s key,” Keron reasoned.

  “We’ll ask all the questions we can, then find the cave I saw in my vision next to the rock with the symbol. I’m sure it’s in there. My vision was dark,” Fale looked around the table at her team. “When we find it, I’ll turn it on with the key and we’ll see what it does.”

  “What if it’s dangerous?” Keron asked.

  “I don’t think it is,” Fale raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

  “How is a machine going to bring home a large group of people from another dimension?” Izzy asked.

  “I have no idea. I’ll have to have Lucien ask the sage. I’m hoping it’s self-explanatory,” Fale looked unconvinced.

  “Don’t worry. It will all work out. The mages wouldn’t send you on a wild ghost chase.” Keron put his arm around the back of Fale’s chair. She thought about how secretive the mages seemed to be and wondered if they were indeed being sent on a wild hunt for the unknown.

  The oven buzzer went off and Fale took out the brownies. “I hope you’re right. Since we can’t go anywhere until we hear from Lucien, can I make anyone coffee?”

  “Let’s do the dishes first,” Izzy said. “Then we’ll be ready for brownies and coffee.”

  “Why don’t you let Lisle and me do the dishes?” Keron said.

  “It’s not a problem,” Fale said. “We can all do them.”

  “Go take a shower and relax,” he said.

  “He’s a keeper,” Izzy whispered, poking Fale in the side.

  “R
eally, Fale, we’ve got it,” Lisle said.

  “All right.” Fale wiped her hands on a dish towel. By the time she joined her friends in the living room around the coffee table, Izzy was pouring coffee and the pan of brownies sat on a hot pad in the middle of the coffee table.

  Fale was about to sit on the couch when Lucien knocked on the door, so she turned to answer it instead. She greeted Lucien and, with some surprise, Ash. “Come in. We were about to have dessert. Can I get either of you some coffee?”

  “I’ll take some,” Ash said. Fale left to get another cup from the kitchen. She reemerged to find Keron making introductions. Lucien and Ash sat in the two armchairs and Lisle, Izzy and Keron sat on the couch facing them. Fale sat on the floor at Keron’s feet and rested her back against the couch between his knees. Keron smoothed her hair and laid his hand possessively on her shoulder. Izzy poured coffee for everyone and served brownies.

  When everyone was comfortable, Fale asked Lucien, “Do you know where the machine is?”

  Lucien looked to Ash, “We do.”

  Ash continued, “It’s not a place on the map of Algea. It’s an island named Everligne across the globe." He let his news sink in, waiting for the inevitable questions. It didn’t take long.

  “What do you mean, across the globe?” Keron asked.

  “You are familiar with our planet’s shape?” Lucien asked.

  “Our world is a circle, but are you saying it has another side?” Keron looked confused.

  “Yes,” Lisle answered. “It’s a sphere.” He looked at Keron and made the shape with his hands. Keron had little schooling and it wasn’t necessary for an average citizen to know about what may or may not lay beyond Algea. There was no other map than the flat map of Algea and the Isles above it.

  “It’s like a ball? And the island is where?” Keron was catching on.

  “The island is on the other side of our planet. When we have day, they have night,” Lucien informed.

  “We were always taught Algea and the Isles were the only human dwelling land masses,” Lisle said.

  “How do you even know this place exists?” Keron asked.

  “Our sage has seen it,” Ash said with a superior tone.

  Lucien looked at him disapprovingly, “We know of the place. And it has been written in our documents Queen Effailya had hidden the machine on an island. But had not revealed the location as being Everligne until you described the landscape and markers.”

  “How did she get it there?” Fale asked.;

  “We don’t know, but the queen did have a gift of particle mobility,” Lucien said.

  “What’s that?” asked Keron.

  “She could manipulate the particles in objects to move them from one place to another. It’s how we assume she got it there, although teleporting could have done it. The queen was powerful in her original form,” Ash said, sipping his coffee leisurely. “The machine itself is alive. She had put the machine to sleep when she realized Gryndoll was greedy for power which only made him hungry for her crown. You know what happened when she turned down his marriage proposal. On her deathbed, Effailya used her gift to move the machine from Alloy City to Everligne.”

  “Why does the stone have the same sign as the front of the house?” Fale asked.

  “That’s your sign, Fale,” Lucien said. Fale was obviously confused. “Rather, it was Effailya’s sign.”

  “You’ll have to ask someone when you get there,” Ash said. “We don’t know why your sign is there either.”

  “How are we going to get there?” Lisle asked. “We can’t have our particles manipulated, or whatever.”

  “Our sage has limited teleportal gifts. She can get all of you to our coterie estate in the mountains and we can give you supplies and mounts, but then you have to get to the coast where a freighter will be waiting for you.”

  “How big is this island?” Izzy asked.

  “Not much bigger than Alloy City,” Ash said, “but it is connected to others.”

  “Why is it not on the map?” Fale questioned. “Why aren’t we taught about a globe?”

  “I can’t explain everything now, but Algeans don’t sail around the planet and do not know they are there. As far as Everligne goes, the natives prefer you are taught that way. They mean to live in secret. They wish to live independently of Algea and free from persecution for being mages.” Lucien said, “And we honor their wish.”

  “How is it you know they are there and the wizards do not?” Lisle asked.

  Lucien smiled. “We know of every location of mages on this planet, hidden or known. They are protected from the wizards’ knowledge, by being heavily warded. Their inherited magic borders reside within the nature that surrounds them and are unrivaled by any of the wizards’ spells.”

  “Especially because the wizards don’t know to look for them,” added Ash with a sly grin.

  “When do we leave?” Fale asked.

  “How soon can you be ready?” Ash asked.

  “Hold on. It will not be an easy journey,” Lucien interjected, “there need to be preparations.”

  Fale looked to her companions. Izzy shrugged, “I’m packed,” she said.

  Lisle said, “Me too.”

  Keron, always thinking, said, “We’ll have to take care of the food and pack our clothes. Will you be giving us dry food and soap, or will we need to buy those things? What about bedding?”

  Lucien smiled generously at Keron. “Good thinking, Wardsman; we will provide all the supplies you need. Just bring your clothing and personal items. Make sure you can hike and ride in what you bring. How are you adjusting to your new role?”

  Keron sat up straighter. “It feels good to be called Wardsman instead of bondsman. It seems like a title of honor rather than one of shame. I have always hated being owned. From the first day, when they gave me the seal of the Agency on my stainless-valezsan arm, I knew I belonged to them. Now I can feel the first winds of freedom under my wings.”

  Fale asked, “Is that how you get here? By teleportal?”

  “Of course,” Ash said in an exasperated tone.

  “Ash is my impatient apprentice,” Lucien admonished. “We do arrive here by teleportal. It is safe and instant.”

  “But you knock on the door,” Fale argued.

  “Out of courtesy for you.” Lucien smiled at Fale as a father might to a child. His kindness made her heart ache for her parents and Nelson. It was time to get this show going.

  “I want to leave as soon as possible,” she said.

  “We will ready the guest cabin for you then. Ash and I will be back to collect you tomorrow,” Lucien said rising from his chair. Ash rose as well, meekly following his mentor after his public reprimand.

  Keron saw the mages out as Fale collected dishes and took them to the kitchen. Lucien spoke to Keron alone at the door at length, and the men parted ways. Keron immediately retreated into the bedroom, closing the door. Fale and Izzy, washing coffee mugs, gave each other a questioning glance. Fale shrugged her shoulders.

  When they were finished, Fale gathered more blankets and a pillow for Izzy. Lisle offered to take the floor so Izzy could have the couch and they began talking between themselves, so Fale excused herself. Fale readied herself for bed while Keron lay quietly, already facing away from her. She turned down the lantern and slipped under the sheets. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

  “No,” Keron answered.

  “What’s wrong? I saw you talking with Lucien. Did he say something?”

  “He…he just made me realize something.”

  “What is it?” she asked nervously.

  “I can’t be everything for you,” Keron turned over to face her. “I can’t be both the protector of this mission, and your boyfriend, lover, whatever. It will make me sloppy, I could pay too much attention to you, and not the danger lurking around the next corner. I’m not only in charge of protecting you anymore. I have Iz and Lisle to think about. Lucien is counting on me to do this job. Thi
s is who I am now, and my feelings get in the way.”

  “What are you saying? Are you refusing to be my Wardsman?” she asked.

  “No, Fale.”

  “Are you breaking up with me?” Fale’s quiet voice broke. “You can’t. You promised.”

  “I know I did, Fale, and I still lo- “

  “Don’t. Don’t say it now. Not for the first time. Not like this.” The world shifted, and she felt the floor drop out from under her. Fale’s heart was shattering into billions of pieces, but she imagined herself holding the pieces together so she wouldn’t fall apart. She didn’t want him to see her losing it.

  “Fine,” he said. “But I do.”

  Fale’s eyes filled with unshed tears. I will not cry. I have lived four lives to fight this fight and I can do this. Fale slipped the ring off her finger. “I guess I need to give this back to you." She held it out to him.

  “No, Fale. Keep it. It was a gift. You can’t give back my heart.”

  “You just gave back mine,” her voice was soaked in acid.

  “Fale, please understand. I am still part of you, I’m a different part. I’m your guard. I will give my life for you, but my head has to be clear to make the best decisions.”

  “I make my own good decisions,” Fale snapped.

  “Then we’ll make a better team, your highness. You wanted your independence, now you’ll have it,” he said sincerely.

  “It doesn’t mean I wanted to be alone. I wanted to be an independent woman, not a needy girl, and don’t call me that,” she spat.

  “I’m sorry Spr- Fale.”

  “You know what? I don’t care,” she said. “I didn’t need you three years ago, and I don’t need you now.”

  “Yes, you do.” He touched the angry tear sliding down her face, shaming her.

  “Don’t touch me. Don’t ever touch me again.” She turned over, giving him her back, and reigned in her tears.

  I will not cry over any man.

  She tried her hardest to master this pain, but it ached into her bones. She lay awake for hours listening to Keron’s breathing slow and grow shallow. She remembered every other night she’d spent in this bed with him and let her heart fracture into shards of glass