The cage housing the stuffed creature was moving toward her on mechanical crablike legs. The animal’s devil-pointed ears twitched, letting her know it was not stuffed with sawdust as she had first assumed. It had the face of a fox, but its body was more like a monkey, with practiced hands smoothly navigating its portable prison away from the wall. Looking equally dumbfounded as Fate felt, Eustace and Gerdie stepped in next to her as the cage came to a full stop in front of them.
Pulling on what looked like the brake, the creature parked its cage, hopped off the seat and stuck its whiskered snout through the bars. “And who would you be?” For some reason it spoke through a device, which amplified its voice to an annoying pitch.
Fate winced at the sound. “I’m Fate, the new Guardian. And this is my dad, Eustace, and Brune’s sister, Gerdie.”
Mischief sparked red in the creature’s eyes as it ignored the others and studied Fate. “Ah, Brune found her successor, though I’m not accustomized to a guardian who comes with escortendants.” Its ears drooped slightly. “I gather she didn’t make it.”
“No, she’s here.” Fate stepped around the table and dragged Brune’s wrapped body to the other side.
The creature’s ears shot straight up. “Is she expirated?”
Fate flung the sheet back. “If you call being undead and mummified expirated, then yeah.”
“You say she’s undead? That would be the doing of the Orb. The only way to nullivoid such a condition is to combinate it with the Rod. Do you have it?” The creature extended an eager hand through the bars of its cage.
Fate regarded the strange-speaking animal with cautious curiosity. As jumbled as some of its words were, she was surprised she was able to understand the meaning behind them.
Gerdie stepped in front of Fate. “Who wants to know?”
The animal’s gaze dropped to Gerdie and its slanted eyes narrowed to slits. “Move aside, pesky little beast.”
“Who you callin’ pesk–”
“I agree with Gerdie,” Eustace interjected. “We won’t be handing anything over until we know more about whom we’re dealing with.”
The creature’s eyes widened as it studied Eustace. “If you must know, my name is Farouk. I am the Keep caretaker, and have been so for thousands of years.” It directed an arrogant smile at Fate. “I have seen hundreds of guardians come and go, some of which I supportorated, and not so much with others. You would do well to get on my pleasantful side.”
“Noted,” Fate said.
“Splendillent. Now. Back to the matter at hand. We have an iron-eating scavenger loose within the Keep. It’s already eaten through the subsurface and its size has doublfied over the last twenty-four hours. The bigger it gets, the more likely it is that it will want out and either breakture the Keep’s seal or attempt to perforgrate the breaching door into this sanctuary.”
The duty-bound sense of urgency that had been with Fate since she first took the oath intensified. Her months of army training kicked in, instantly shifting her into soldier mode. “Breaching door?” she asked.
Grabbing a gear, Farouk steered his cage over to a large hatch. The iron iris of the door was shut tight for the moment. The creature waved its hand over a screen displaying a series of geometrical patterns. Glimmering particles of light shot out from the panel, spreading over the wall like liquid soaking into cloth. Wherever the shimmering light moved, the solid bronze wall became translucent, revealing the Keep. Nothing in all of Fate’s experiences, not even those within the Book of Fables, had prepared her for the sight unfolding before her.
The Keep stretched out as far as the eye could see. On first glance it appeared to be made entirely of massive gears and moving parts. Miles and miles of ancient, alien structures filled the flat plains of the gears, each slowly rotating in opposite directions. Gigantic revolving hoops encompassed the complex system, sweeping in circular rotations, which appeared to be generating a crackling force field around the Keep. Beyond the protective sphere, lay the glittering stars of deep space, interrupted only by a smoldering red planet and a gaseous green nebula.
Eustace and Gerdie edged close to the transparent wall, both staring wide-eyed and slack-jawed. “Where are we, exactly?” her father asked after a moment of stunned silence.
“We are in the Chaos Region, the birthplace of multidimensional magic,” Farouk explained as he walked his cage back over to stand next to Brune’s body.
Knowing they were on the other side of the universe should’ve been entirely unnerving, yet Fate felt as if she knew this place, like she belonged there. The barely audible thrum of the revolving hoops and slight vibration within the walls and floor were all comforting sensations that made her feel strangely at home.
She unclasped the chain holding the Rod and placed it in her palm. The spell Brune had cast to force her to get the Rod–at any cost–had driven her to do the unthinkable. She’d spilled blood to take it and she’d been obsessed with keeping the Rod for herself ever since. But now something had changed. Possibly the spell had waned with the last of Brune’s life ticking away.
Whatever the reason, the Rod’s hold over her was gone. As much as Fate resisted, she knew she had to restore Brune to life. She would need her help to rid the Keep of the scavenger. That was her first priority as the new guardian. Then, and only then, would she be able to return her attention to finding a gateway back to Finn.
Fate dangled the Rod in front of Farouk. He grabbed for the chain, but she jerked it out of reach. “It’s best you tell me how to use it.”
“That is secretential information, and is unfit for any human.”
“Well I’m not about to hand it over to you,” Fate said. “Besides, what makes you fit for the secret?”
Farouk’s eyes narrowed into angry slits as he squeezed the bars of his cage. “You’ll have to take my wordbond for it.”
Eustace pulled Fate aside. “You shouldn’t tease him. You’re going to need his help and he’s already said he wouldn’t give you any if you got on his bad side.”
“I can’t go kissing up to him either. He’ll never respect me if I do.”
“Well, there must be a better way to go about this. This requires diplomacy. Maybe I can negotiate this for you.”
“Sure, you can try. But first, are you up to speed on the whole Orb and Rod deal?”
Eustace scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I did read something about the Orb of Aeternitis. If I remember right, it was a small, gold object made of interlocking rings engraved with magical symbols and numbers. By turning the rings in specific order, one could activate alchemical formulas, which would summon forces powerful enough to bestow life or death.”
Fate stared at him in surprise. “Bingo, only its power is faulty without the Rod.” She held the gold bar between two fingers. “This tiny hunk of metal is the only thing that’ll unlock the Orb’s full power and make it work the way it’s supposed to. Meaning, whomever combines the Orb and Rod is the one who gets to have all the godlike powers that go with it.”
Gerdie stepped in between them. “And that ain’t happening on my watch.”
“I see,” Eustace said. “Then we must tread carefully. Where is the Orb?”
“Hangin’ around Brune’s neck. It’s the only thing keepin’ her alive,” Gerdie explained.
Eustace removed his spectacles and brushed the lenses over his sleeve. “Well there’s a conundrum. We’ll have to leave it on her while we unlock it. Does that mean she’ll be the one endowed with the power once she’s brought back to life?” He replaced his glasses. “Given Brune’s shady reputation, I can only imagine the trouble such a power in her hands will bring down.”
“Exactly,” Fate agreed. “I say we cut our losses, rip the Orb off Brune and draw straws for who’s going to be the next immortal around here.”
“For your information, I have supremable hearing and I know what you’re saying,” Farouk informed them from the other side of the room. “I have already previsionated this dilemma
and made all the obligessary arrangements.”
The three of them turned to Farouk as he steered his cage over to the table. He reached for a small brass contraption made of springs with weighted arms and a scoop that swiveled from a clockface. “I call it the combinator. It will unite the Orb and Rod with absolute neutrality for everyone in the room.”
Fate flung her hands in the air. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” She and the others joined him next to the table.
Farouk avoided her gaze. “I was testing your knowledge.”
“Testing my ignorance is more like it.” Fate took the combinator from him with a frown. “What do I do with it?”
“Place it on Brune’s body.”
“Ew, do I have to?”
Farouk huffed. “You’ll have to grow a thicker skin than that if you are to be an effectful guardian.”
“Fine,” Fate grumbled as she kneeled down next to Brune and placed the combinator on her bony chest. “Now what?”
“Remove the Orb from the chain and place it on the arm with the spoon. But you must be quick. The Orb must remain in contact with her by the chain or the combinator, to maintain whatever life-force she has left.”
Tense with revulsion, Fate pulled on the chain around Brune’s desiccated neck until she found the clasp and unhooked it. Then she dragged the Orb over Brune’s body, bumping it against the combinator, before quickly depositing the gold sphere onto the spoon. “Done. What do I do with the Rod?”
“Slot it into the hole of the second arm. Good, now wind both arms counterclockwise until the springs are tight and no longer move.”
Fate stopped to look at Farouk. “You do mean counterclockwise, right? No offense, but you’ve got that word salad thing going on.”
Faruouk’s back stiffened. “Of course I insinufy counterclockwise.”
“You just did it again.”
Faruouk’s ears pressed against his head. “Do as I say.”
“Alright,” Fate muttered as she wound the springs. When the mechanisms tightened, the clock started ticking. She let go and stood. “Why do I feel like I just set a bomb?”
“In essence, you have,” Farouk said. “You may want to step away a fair distance. Oh, and look away. You don’t want to be blinded by the God spark.”
“Well, there’s an afterthought to fill you with dread.” Eustace gestured for Gerdie to follow as he put a protective hand on Fate’s shoulder and guided them to the far wall. “None of this was in your Gran’s notes,” he muttered to Fate.
“Sorry, Dad, but that’ll probably be the case from here on out.”
The sound of the ticking clock grew louder as everyone fell silent and waited nervously for the bomb to go off. The arms holding the Orb and Rod slowly rotated into alignment, one tipping over the other as they inched closer. The moment the Rod pierced the Orb, light blasted from both objects.
Covering her eyes, Fate turned away. A hot wind slammed against her, followed by a terrible shrieking noise. Eustace grabbed her hand, squeezing to reassure her, as he had always done throughout her life. Little did he know that she was more afraid for him than she was for herself. She’d already walked through hell and back. That changes a person, and in ways she didn’t want her father to know about.
What worried her most was that he was entirely new to all this. Eustace had no idea what he was in for and she could not bear the thought of anything ever happening to him. In that moment, she vowed to keep him safe. She’d been forced to live without one parent and she wasn’t about to lose the only parent she’d ever known.
The power built around them, charging the air with energy thick with the smell of ozone. Pressure weighed on them in the form of a glittering, gaseous cloud. Fiery micro sparks seared Fate’s face and hands. She wanted to swat the pain away and fight. Instead, she tensed every muscle and held still. This was something they’d have to wait out.
The blazing light snuffed out in an instant, taking the ear-piercing shriek with it. Thankful for the silence, Fate checked on Eustace and Gerdie, then cautiously glanced over her shoulder at Farouk. “What the heck was that?”
“The impersonal supratemporal power of discreation,” he answered.
“Yah, whatever that means.” She edged toward the cloud of smoke hanging over Brune’s still form. “All I want to know is, did it work?”
Waving the smoke away, Fate spotted Brune’s face, now youthful as she stared at the ceiling. Thick, wavy blonde hair splayed over the floor as her hazel eyes moved and focused on her. Fate was shocked by her beauty. She appeared to be only a few years older than Fate–nineteen or early twenties–and had the flawless aesthetics of a model. Fate had been so focused on Brune’s cruelty she’d never expected anything other than a warty witch. In fact, the stinky zombie would be almost preferable to her impossible good looks. At least then she’d find it easier to keep hating her.
Gerdie barreled past Fate and stooped over Brune. “I see you’ve got your pretty face back. Just remember, Brune, pretty is as pretty does.”
Brune rose to a sitting position, knocking the combinator to the floor. The arms broke, sending the Orb rolling over the floor. She reached for it, but not before Gerdie snatched it from her grasp.
“That’s mine,” Brune said in a tone filled with authoritative rage.
Gerdie shoved it in her dress pocket. “Not anymore.”
Brune’s gaze shifted to the Rod, still stuck in the arm that had broken off the combinator. Fate lunged and grabbed the piece. “Oh no you don’t. I’ll hold onto this, thank you.”
Glaring at them both, Brune rose to her feet. “I need the Orb. Without it, I’ll just start aging. I can’t go through that again!”
Farouk moved his cage closer. “No, Brune, we combined the Rod and Orb to bring you back. The restorstruction is sound. You’ll age, but at the rate you humans are meant to.”
Relief softened Brune’s anxious expression. “That’s good to know. Old age is a scary, scary thing. But being undead…that’s an unholy nightmare.” She fell quiet as a haunted look filled her eyes.
Fate couldn’t imagine being trapped in a rapidly rotting body. She wondered what she would do if she’d been turned into a zombie. Would she be desperate enough to send an innocent girl into absolute danger just to save herself? She liked to think she’d never be that selfish, but she couldn’t be a hundred percent sure.
Brune regarded her ripped, bloodstained clothes with a look of disgust. Without a word she walked over to a large cabinet, pulled out a fitted military jacket with pants and proceeded to shed what she was wearing to put the uniform on.
Always the gentleman, Eustace cleared his throat and turned away to afford her some privacy.
Once she was dressed, Brune visibly shook off what lingering trauma she’d been feeling and turned to them with a look of all business. “First things first. We need to lock the Orb and Rod away. I hardly think pockets are safe storage.”
Gerdie folded her arms. “It’s safe enough for me.”
Fate threaded her gold chain through the rounded top of the Rod and clasped it around her neck. “Ditto.”
Eustace shook his head. “Fate, you’ve seen what these things can do. I agree both pieces should be put under lock and key.”
Fate could hardly believe her ears. He was siding with Brune. She opened her mouth to argue, when a loud hum suddenly interrupted, and the inner rings of the portal they’d come through started rotating.
Brune looked at Farouk. “Did you activate the portal?”
“No, I certainly did not.” He marched his cage over to the tunnel of spinning blue light.
Brune watched him frantically wrenching on the lever next to the opening. “You never closed it!”
“That was always your job,” Farouk argued.
“Did you forget that anything can jump into the stream?” She walked over to the table, grabbed a laser gun and aimed it at the portal. “Get ready, you idiots. I guarantee you won’t like whatever’s comi
ng through that door.”
10
Every Action Has A Consequence
“BOLLOCKS!” FINN THREW THE last book from the pile against the stone wall with a loud thud. The ancient tome’s fragile spine cracked. Yellowed pages broke free and fluttered to the floor. Turning away from the table, he paced back and forth, furious and frustrated that he’d spent the whole night scouring through the last remaining books in O’Deldar’s collection. All that was left were the mounds of scrolls, most of which had proven to be simple healing recipes, love and beauty potions and wealth spells.
The druid priest had obviously been forced to be the empress’s nursemaid, rather than attend to the more important duties of being the king’s counselor. What a waste. No druid worth his salt would lower himself to such mundane work, but then again, O’Deldar had to feign his allegiance to Moria all those years.
Every muscle in Finn’s body coiled tight as panic set in. What if he never figured out how to leave Oldwilde? Every part of his being screamed no. That was a reality he couldn’t live with.
Finn stormed over to a large chest and kicked it. His boot punched a hole in the wood and his foot got stuck.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered as he struggled to pry his foot free. Giving it another good yank, he broke loose, stumbling backward as something inside the chest clicked and a shallow drawer pushed open near the very bottom.
Regaining his balance, Finn bent to have a look. “What have we here?” He reached for the thick, rectangular object wrapped in red silk. The moment the slippery cloth fell away, a nauseating wave of darkness washed over him. Pain spiked his brain and his limbs weakened. Unable to hold onto the object any longer, he dropped it and stared in surprise.
It was a book bound in weathered wood and held together by leather straps. Embedded within the center of the cover was an iron ornament in the shape of a trident crossed with an arch, or possibly a bow. The title was scorched in the language of the Sidhe near the bottom of the cover. Finn’s Sidhe was a bit rusty, but he was fairly certain his translation read, Feadh-Ree Triad. The Feadh-Ree were the faery folk, but he’d never heard of any triad in connection with them.
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