Gateway (The Gateway Trilogy, Book 1) (25 page)

“Good point,” I said, my laugh more of a husky bark. “But I thought that was against the rules…”

“Well, you’ve caused quite a bit of discussion about the rules and which of them might need changing,” Taren replied, his voice filled with pride. “You’re quite a heroine, you know.”

“I am?”

I hadn’t meant to be a hero. I had just wanted to save what lives I could, and killing the Demon had seemed the best way.

“Of course it was an incredibly dangerous thing to do, and as your personal Guardian I’m going to have to insist you never do anything like it again,” he said. “But yes, it was courageous and selfless, and all around heroine-like.”

“My Guardian?” I asked, bewildered.

“You had someone else in mind?” Taren said.

“No, but to have a Guardian I would need to be…”

“A Keeper,” he said. “Don’t act so surprised. You more than earned it.”

My mind had spun with the knowledge I'd been allowed to remain at the Institute's infirmary; now it reeled.

“But… the Gateway,” I said. “I destroyed it…”

“That,” Taren said with a smile, “you're going to need to see to believe.”

It was two weeks before I was well enough to be wheeled into the hall where the Gateway was. Dr. Meade was right, her salve was working wonders, but the burns had been severe and I spent much of that time in pain. Taren, Kat and Mom continued to sleep in shifts and a moan never escaped my lips that wasn’t answered with a soothing word and whatever else I asked for. The bandages had been removed the day prior, revealing new, healthy skin. I continued to peel, some of the skin flaking off in strips, but the doctor assured me this was normal.

I insisted on being taken to see this new Gateway I kept hearing about. Mom was resting. For all their willingness to tell her the truth, the less physical evidence they showed her to support that truth the better. I had my doubts as to whether the Institute would have been so free with that truth had my mother’s word not be tainted by an already documented mental illness.

Taren pushed my wheelchair through the main house. The hall was undergoing construction. The chaos of the battle could not simply be swept away. Scaffolding rose to the ceiling where workers were repairing burned areas of walkway. Singed tapestries and broken fixtures were being replaced. As we neared the spot where the Gateway was, what Taren and Kat had been telling me finally sank in.

Nine Keepers sat in meditation at their appointed stations, but where once had been nine heavy stone slabs, there was one sheet of thick glass, the Gateway seal intact. The darkness beneath it absorbed the light of the room, allowing me to see glimpses of shadows that moved beneath, and casting my own reflection.

“The sand…” I whispered, remembering the granular dust each of the nine segments had been reduced to.

“You melted it when…”

Taren’s voice trailed off. He didn’t like taking about that night. The thought of losing me was too painful, he said.

It was Kat who’d filled me in on what had happened after I leapt inside the Demon. She’s said It had burst into flames and then melted, leaving nothing behind but ashes and me, naked and severely burned in a heap atop the new Gateway.

The sound of footsteps pulled our attention and we watched as Annys and Master Dogan entered. Neither had been to visit, though Taren told me they asked about me regularly. The oversight would have once caused me to feel unimportant in their eyes, unworthy of their attention, but I found my old thoughts creeping in less and less. We had all had our parts to play in this, and had each not been carried out perfectly we might have gotten a very different outcome.

“Ember,” Master Dogan said. “It warms my heart to see you up and about.”

“Thank you,” I said. “I'm glad to see that both of you escaped unharmed.”

Scores of others hadn't been as lucky. Taren had tried to shield me from the realities, but news had trickled in of the casualties sustained before the Gateway had been reformed. I had wept for them, hoping if there was a Heaven they were all in it. But when my grandfather had passed away when I was only six, my mother had told me life was for the living, and finally I agreed with her.

“We have much to beg forgiveness for,” Annys said.

For once her expression was soft, her hawk-like eyes downcast.

“We all do,” I said, “if not for this, than something else.”

“That's very… Zen of you,” Master Dogan said.

I laughed. “Don't get used to it. I'm pretty sure it's a near-death thing and will pass, but let's enjoy it while we can.”

Annys and Master Dogan chuckled at that.

“Then tell me, Ember, how did you do this? You will soon be called before the Elders to answer that as well as many other questions, but before the formal inquiry, please, I must know.”

I reached for words, for hazy memories to coalesce into a linear timeline so that I could explain.

“As Taren and I raced through the sanctuary to get to the Gateway, my mind raced for a way to fix things, to make the Gateway whole again. But once we crossed the boundary I knew the damage was too great. The filth and the evil was overwhelming, and it was all I could do to keep it out and to stay focused.

“But then I saw the horror of the battle, saw the condition of the Gateway and I realized how present it made me. I was meditating, but as usual I was using it to numb me, to push away the bad feelings so I wouldn't have to feel them. But this, this was too much, and it required all of my strength to hold the pain at bay. And it occurred to me how much more powerful I might be if I embraced the pain. If I channeled it, not allowing it to control me.

“I didn't know if it would work, but I knew I had to try. And I knew for there to be any chance of success, I had to be as close to the core of the demon as possible.”

My explanation complete, I waited for their reaction.

“You couldn't have known you would survive,” Annys said finally.

“No,” I said, avoiding Taren's eyes.

“And yet you don’t seem like the girl with a death wish you were when we first met,” she said.

“I think, or at least I hope anyway, that there is a difference between sacrifice and suicide. I didn’t want to die, but I was willing to, if that’s what it took.”

“Thankfully it did not,” Annys said.

“And opening the Gateway completely as you did,” Master Dogan said, “I’m curious if your reasoning matches a theory I've been working on.”

“I just never understood why all of the Marked ones hear multiple voices and I only heard one. At first I used it as an excuse to explain why my Voice couldn't be demonic. Once I'd accepted that It was, I still questioned the difference—why the singular Voice I heard was so focused and intelligent. The only answer was that It was no ordinary demon.”

“It had an organizing ego,” Master Dogan nodded, “an agenda.”

“Yes, though I would have never come up with 'organizing ego,'“ I said with a laugh. “It was like all of the other demons, the ones you were killing with arrows and daggers were just weeds and this one…”

“Was the root,” Annys finished. “Clearly this Root demon was too large to fit through a small opening of the Gateway. It needed the Gate destroyed.”

“It tried to use Gretchen to get the job done, but when that didn't work, I became plan B,” I said. “Encouraging a suicide attempt destined to fail at a time when Taren would be at Windsor with Callie, the attack ensuring we would escape together…”

“It was a brilliant thing you did, Ember,” Master Dogan said, “brilliant and very courageous.”

“Yes, and she must never, ever do anything like it again,” Taren said, fixing me with a firm gaze.

“Don’t worry,” I said,  “I have no plans for a repeat performance. Besides, I don’t see that there would be a need. The Root, as we’re calling it, is dead, and the Gateway is sealed. We’re safe.”

I smiled in satisfaction, but the others seemed troubled.

“Ah, well, that’s not exactly the case…” Master Dogan said.

“You see, the eight other Gates have been seeing some increase in activity,” Annys said, “Keepers going mad, requiring Retrievals at an alarming rate. If this Root demon had been responsible for those Gateways, the activity would have ceased when you destroyed it.”

I chill ran up my spine. “What does that mean?”

“It means that as the only two Daemons able to channel the entire symbol,” Annys said, “we will be needing you and Gretchen to visit those Gateways, and report your findings.”

“You would put them both right back in harm's way?” Taren said, his voice heated. “How can you—”

“Wait, Gretchen is alright?” I asked. “She's well enough to even go on such a mission?”

“No,” Taren said, “she isn't.”

“Not yet,” Annys said, “but she will be. She's progressing remarkably since the death of the Root demon and is eager to get back to work. And to meet you, Ember.”

I looked to Taren, his eyes tight.

“She's coherent,” he said, “but it's a long road. My father and I have not allowed her to be off the sanctuary grounds. What Annys says is true, she is anxious to meet you. I just wanted to give you both time to heal.”

I nodded, grateful for her recovery, but the sense of calm I'd felt just minutes ago was replaced with a twisting in my stomach. Eight other Gateways, possibly eight other Root demons to face. And there was the issue of all the demons that had escaped during battle, presumably to repopulate this dimension.

I had been right those many weeks ago, in the bedroom of Taren's parents, when I knew I would never feel safe again. I shuddered, but instead of pushing aside the fear growing in my belly I held it gently. There were enough demons in the world, I didn't need to grow any more of my own.

“You OK?” Taren asked.

I imagined myself enveloped in a radiant light and became aware of every cell, every thought, every fear, every mercy.

“Yeah,” I said, and for the very first time I knew it was true. “I'm going to be fine.”

###

Christina Garner began writing stories at the age of six. (With the help of her older sister.) At eighteen, her aspirations as an actor had her loading up her Buick and setting off for Hollywood. Since then she has written and directed ten short films, including Rewind and Reminder, both of which received acclaim on the festival circuit. In 2007 she was hired to write her first feature film. In May of 2011 her debut novel, Gateway, became an Amazon Bestseller. She is currently finishing Books 2 and 3 of The Gateway Series, on sale September of 2012. She loves to hear from readers; please contact her via:

Twitter: @
GarnerChristina

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her website:
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