The Crystal Keepers, An Overseers Novel

by Mary Coffin

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  Gwynn’s nerves were coming unraveled because it had taken longer than she thought it would to find Markus’s room. Now she was concerned that he and the others would be returning from their meal but she was certain this was his room because it was, by far, the largest she had found.

  Next to the door was a table holding a pitcher of water and a washbasin. To the left of the entrance was a large wooden desk facing two chairs. She had searched the desk and all the drawers but didn’t find the journal. Against the wall were a few shelves with books and loose papers but no journal.

  In the center of the room was a table with four chairs placed around it but the table was bare. There was an elaborately carved wood and ivory partition on the other side. In front of it were a small sofa and a comfortable reading chair. Gwynn peered behind the divider and saw Markus’s bed and a small table with a lantern, an empty glass and...a book.

  She rushed to the bedside table and instantly recognized the journal. She picked it up and opened it. It had certainly aged over the years and she carefully turned the worn pages before she caught herself and wondered why she cared to treat it so cautiously when she planned to destroy it?

  Suddenly she heard voices in the hallway.

  “Good night, Sir Markus. Have a restful evening. I’m sure there will be lots of excitement around here when Noya and the others return.”

  “Good night, Peter.”

  Gwynn grabbed the journal and tucked it into the waist of her pants, underneath her cape. She frantically searched the room. There weren’t many options for hiding and, morphing against a smooth, plain wall would be too obvious, so she ran to the other side of the bed and dropped to the floor between the bed and the wall. There was a window near the room divider and she wished she could get to it but the door opened.

  Looking underneath the bed, she saw a pair of boots enter the room and the door closed behind them. Gwynn dared to sneak a look from around the end of the bed and confirmed that it was Markus. He stepped to the washbasin and threw some water on his face and then dried it with a towel. He set the towel down and placed his hands on the stand that held the wash basin. From his body posture, Gwynn thought he appeared very tired or depressed. His shoulders slumped forward; he hunched over with his head hung low and she heard him sigh.

  He turned toward her and she pulled back behind the bed. Watching his feet from underneath, she realized he was coming closer. He stopped at the other side of the bed.

  “Oh, no,” he whispered.

  Gwynn realized he must have seen that the journal was gone. He walked quickly to the other side of the room but she couldn’t see him through the divider. She heard desk drawers open and close and papers shuffle.

  Gwynn wondered if she could make it to the window and escape before he saw her. She told herself to relax and to clear her mind as she took a couple slow breaths to calm herself. She pulled the hood of her cape over her head, and then stood and tip toed to the drapes covering the window. She slid them aside and quietly pushed the window open.

  Markus slammed one of the desk drawers shut, rushed back to the bedside and dropped to the floor to check underneath the bed for the journal. At that moment, he noticed Gwynn’s feet and gasped. Gwynn grabbed her dagger and turned to face him. Markus was on his knees, looking at her, his face registering shock at the intruder in his room. Then his eyes darted to the side to look for a weapon since he had nothing on him.

  Gwynn took a couple steps toward him. “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

  Markus looked at her and did a double take, as though he recognized her. Then his eyes squinted.

  “You,” he whispered. “Before your brother died, he said that you would return for it. I thought he was just paranoid but I guess he was right after all.”

  Markus placed his hands on the bed to push himself up and Gwynn stepped closer yet. Suddenly Markus appeared to sway, as though he was dizzy, and Gwynn wondered if it was a ploy. His hand grabbed his chest and he fell backwards, hitting the bedside table and toppling the lantern, the water glass and the table itself, onto the floor. Flames began licking at the wooden floor planks.

  Markus still gripped his chest and his eyes stared, lifeless, at the ceiling. Gwynn was about to reach toward him for a pulse when she heard a voice yell his name and footsteps running toward the room.

  Gwynn rushed to the window, climbed through and ran into the darkness.

  FORTY

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