The Key (#1 of Anna Kippling Series) Paranormal romance by A.D. Duling

ANNA KIPPLING
SERIES

BOOK ONE

THE KEY

By:

A.D. Duling

For my husband who is my
greatest supporter.

For Christian, Isabella,
Trey, Arwen, Evangeline & Sawyer…. my biggest fans…

For those who influenced my
life, either by good or bad interaction…I could not be the person I
am today without that….Thank you.

Text copyright © 2011 by
A.D.
Duling

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter One

The creak of the door’s hinges echoed
through the empty house; where only shadows now dwelt. In only a
week, the house already seemed to have lost the imprints of her
grandmother. It appeared just as much in mourning as she was.

Anna quietly followed her mother inside. Her
mother switched on the lamp sitting atop the small table to their
left. Light spilled into the room, illuminating the hallway ahead
with walls filled with family photos. Her Grandmother loved
pictures and hung them in any space she could find. When finally
there was no more room, pictures were then put into frames and
propped up all around the house for display. Anna had once asked
her grandmother why she had hung so many up.

“So I will never forget.” Her grandmother
softly replied.

A year later for her birthday, they gave her
grandmother a scrapbook.

“Now you have more room to save your
memories, Grandma,”

Her grandmother had loved it and even joined
a scrapbooking club, she even persuaded Anna’s mother to join. It
didn’t take very long before both women were addicted as well as
professionals!Every week after that; she would come over and help
her Grandmother work on it.

Anna looked forward to the visits. She loved
looking through the old pictures and especially loved the stories
that came with them! With every new page, came a new and
interesting story!

Her Grandmother’s life was far from boring.
Some of her stories were almost unbelievable! Her stories of her
youth were even more cherished because there were no pictures to go
with them.

Her grandmother had vaguely mentioned once
of the earlier photos of her perishing in a house fire.

Sadly the earliest ones to date started with
her wedding day and so Anna assumed this was why pictures had
become very important to her grandmother.

“Anna, grab those boxes for me please.” Her
mother asked her.

She grabbed them and walked over to the
staircase. Through the doorway next to it; the large desk covered
with her grandmother’s scrapbooking supplies caught her
attention.Everything was left just as it was the last time Anna had
worked on it with her. Her mother reached over and rubbed her
shoulder. Anna gave her a weak smile and followed her mother up the
stairs to her grandmother’s room.

“
Anna, start going through
Grandma’s dresser and I’ll start in the closet.” She instructed
her.

Anna grabbed a box and carried it over to
the dresser. She plopped down in front of it and opened the bottom
drawer. She reached inside and pulled out a handful of clothing and
neatly placed them into the box.When she grabbed the next pile, a
small wooden box fell back into the drawer. She quickly placed the
clothes into the cardboard box and reached back inside for the
wooden box.

She opened it and found an old metal key
lying inside. She took it out.

“Mom, look what I found!” she yelled out to
her mother.

Her mother popped her head out of the closet
at her, “What did you find?”

Anna held up the key up for her to see. Her
mother came out and walked over to her; she gave her the key.

“
Hmm, I’ve never seen this
before. Maybe it’s a skeleton key.”She handed it back to
her.

“What is a skeleton key?”

“
It’s a key that can open
any door in a house.” She explained. “Why don’t you go give it a
try?”

Anna got up to her feet, “Yeah that would be
neat!” She walked over to the bedroom door and tried it. “Well, it
doesn’t work on this one!”

Her mother headed back to the closet, “Well,
maybe it goes to only one door then?” She suggested.

Anna’s interest perked up again and she
bolted out of the room to try another, her mother’s faint laughter
echoed down the hall after her. Unfortunately the key did not work
on any door that she tried! Feeling very disappointed she walked
back to her grandmother’s bedroom and leaned against the door
frame.

Her mother popped her head out again, “Any
luck?”

She shook her head.

“You tried all the doors?”

She nodded.

“Even the attic?” She asked.

“I forgot about the attic!” she exclaimed
and rushed back out.

She opened the closet door and climbed the
small staircase leading to the attic; the door was closed. She
reached down and turned the knob and the door opened. She closed it
again and inserted the key; she couldn’t even get it to turn.

She sighed, once again
disappointed and pulled on the key, but it was stuck!She tugged at
it a little harder until finally it popped out, almost sending her
tumbling down the stairs! Thankfully she managed to maneuver
herself to fall back against the wall; at the same time flinging
the key
into the attic and
sending the
door flying open as well.

She recovered herself and walked over to
where her key now lay and picked it up. That was when she noticed a
large trunk in the corner with a rather large old fashioned lock
hanging from it.

“I wonder…..” She spoke to herself and
walked over to it.

She knelt down and examined the lock; it
appeared to be the right size.

“Well, there is only one way to find
out.”She said aloud and slipped the key inside the hole and turned.
It turned with ease and the lock popped open.

“Yes!” She cried out.

She lifted the lid up and looked inside. She
found a small stack of journals atop some old clothing. She reached
inside and pulled out a dress; it looked very dated, almost
medieval.

She laid it down next to the trunk and
pulled out a couple more dresses similar in style, reuniting them
with the first on the floor.She spotted a leather satchel and
picked it up, it felt heavy.

She untied the leather cord at the top and
gently poured the contents out onto one of the dresses lying on the
floor.Out fell a small dagger and a small handkerchief tied closed
with a ribbon.

She picked the dagger up first; its handle
beautifully lined with jewels. She pulled it out of its sheath to
admire it; the blade was silver and still very sharp. She returned
it to its sleeve and sat it down.

Anna then reached down and untied the ribbon
around the handkerchief. She gently folded the sides open and found
a beautiful bangle bracelet and a matching necklace lying inside.
The stone each had adorned on them, she could not identify.

She tried both of them on; they felt like
ice against her skin. She reached inside the trunk and grabbed the
top book from the stack. She turned to the first page and started
to read.

I will never be forgiven for the choice I
have made, I hope one day to be welcomed again to my home land. But
I will never regret leaving Tatania; I will never regret entering
through the portal. That is where I found my Jacob. Earth is a very
fascinating world, not so very different from ours.I have fallen in
love with this place and him; we are to be married in just a few
short
days…

She stopped reading; it was clearly
someone’s journal, but whose? Was it her grandmother’s? Jacob was
her grandfather’s name, but what and where is this Tatania? She
turned the page and read on:

Mother wept, father couldn’t even bear to
look at me. I left a letter for them; I hope it can at least give
them some comfort. The councilmen have allowed me to leave. I can
return, but only once a year; which is ten years of Earth
time…

Anna was getting more and more confused as
she read along. Maybe this was a story? She skipped ahead a couple
of pages and read some more:

Caroline has grown into such a beautiful
young girl; she has the spirit of Tatania in her veins. She is ten
now and it is also time for my allowed visit to Tatania. I have
told Jacob about my home. He has held my secret for these many
years; I wish that he could come too. He would love it there so
much! But I can only bring Caroline, only because she is partly
Tatanian…

Anna skipped ahead a few pages and read
on:

It was very hard to see mother and
father; I look much older than they do. Father and I took a walk
while mother visited with Caroline, they hit it off instantly.
Father confided to me some very disturbing news, which he has
carried on his conscience since I have been gone. Many years ago,
there was a prophecy made by one of the great councilmen. He spoke
about an evil man taking control of all the lands, Tatania one of
them. But it was also prophesied that a girl not of this world
could save them. This was why they did not fight
my leaving,
knowing I could be the one who delivered them the chosen one. So
now I must bring Caroline before
them…

It ended there. Anna quickly reached inside
the trunk and grabbed the next journal. She opened it, but all of
the pages were blank. She grabbed the other two in the trunk, but
the same; blank.

“I don’t understand this, why are there no
more entries?” She spoke aloud to herself.

“Anna! Did it work? What are you doing up
there?” called up her mother, startling her.

She quickly gathered up everything and
returned them back into the trunk.

“Anna!” her mother called again.

“I’m coming!” she yelled back and shut the
lid.

She stood up and quickly walked over to the
door. It slammed shut suddenly; startling her! She looked around
the room. The only window; behind her was shut. What had caused the
door to slam shut like that? Trying not to allow the shadows
reflecting through the glass on the walls scare her, she quickly
reached down and grabbed the knob. But it would not turn!

She frantically grabbed the knob and tried
turning it in both directions, but still it would not turn!She went
to call for her mother, but then remembered the key!

“It could work!” She convinced herself and
pulled it out. She inserted it into the keyhole and turned.
Surprisingly, it turned with ease and she heard the lock click
open. She quickly pulled the key out and pocketed it.She opened the
door ready to race down the stairs; but instead she found a
forest!She quickly slammed the door shut and stared at the knob;
dumbfounded!

What had just happened?
Had she really seen what she thought she did? -
She reached down, turned the knob and opened the door again.
This time on the other side she only found the stairs leading down;
she blinked and shook her head.

“Anna!” her mother called up to her from the
bottom, “What are you doing up there?”

“Nothing and I’m coming!” She yelled out to
her and ran down the stairs.

Chapter 2

A
nna stayed clear of the attic for the remainder of the week.
By Sunday; she had almost convinced herself that what she had seen
up there in the attic was just a figment of her imagination. And
the so called “Journal” had to be as well… it could have very well
been the start of a story her grandmother was trying to
write.

But when Tuesday came around; her conviction
had faltered. Curiosity had now taken over and once again she found
herself standing before the attic door. Her parents had left early
this morning, to head back to their own house to pack up there for
the move into her grandmother’s house. The house had been left to
them in her will.

She licked her lips and swallowed; her mouth
had suddenly become dry. She wanted to proceed… yet she couldn’t. A
battle had now emerged in her head over her newly felt fear and the
still strong curiosity that she could not be rid of!

Finally…. what seemed like eternity, the
seventeen year old did what any average teen would have done… she
followed her curiosity!