The Key
Authors: Marianne Curley
For my sister Therese, with love and admiration
Before the world can be free
A bloom of murdered innocence shall be seen
In the woods above the ancient city of Veridian
Where nine identities shall be revealed
It will come to pass that a king shall rule
But not before a leader pure of heart awakens
And an ageless warrior with an ancient soul
Shall guide with grace and providence
Beware, nine shall see a traitor come and go
From whence a long and bitter war will follow
And the Named shall join in unity
Yet suspicion will cause disharmony
A jester shall protect, a doubter cast a shadow
And a brave young warrior will lose his heart to death
Yet none shall be victorious until a lost warrior returns
And the fearless one emerges from a journey led by light and strength
Take heed, two last warriors shall cause grief as much as good
From the midst of suspicion one shall come forth
The other seeded of evil
Yet one shall be victorious while the other victorious in death
They agree to meet in an abandoned monastery at the top of an ancient monolith of rock and cliff in Athos. Lathenia, known as the Goddess of Chaos since her quest for domination began, is first to arrive. She is accompanied by her loyal soldier Marduke and trusted magician Keziah. The rules are simple: bring no arms and only two allies. Instigated by Lorian, this meeting is for peace, for brother and sister to come to an agreement and stop the prophesied final battle from destroying life as it is known on the earth.
The night is black. A blizzard roars through the gorges. Lorian appears at the foot of the monolith, trailed by Tribunal members Lord Penbarin and Lady Arabella, and a third figure.
Swathed in thick warm cloaks the Immortal and his party trudge up the two hundred and seventy-two slippery steps of icy rock, one after another.
Lord Penbarin steps hurriedly but carefully to catch up with Lorian. âI can't help but suspect, my liege, that there is more to this meeting with your sister than you have allowed us to believe.' His eyes shift purposefully
to the third member of their party.
Lorian halts. All three behind him stop and look up.
âAnd you, Lord Penbarin, are far too cynical as usual.'
Lord Penbarin scoffs, though gently, for he knows Lorian speaks the truth.
As the wind drives the shifting snow even harder, Lorian's eyes momentarily drift past Lord Penbarin's shoulder to the third member of his party. He gives an acknowledging nod and a wry smile.
âWill the meeting take long, my lord?' Lady Arabella asks.
Lorian's gaze shifts sideways to the lady, and even while her face remains almost completely concealed beneath the shadow of her deep hood, the Immortal finds it difficult to drag his eyes from her. She lifts her head to meet his gaze and Lorian wonders for the millionth time in a thousand years how he has the strength to maintain his determination to remain genderless. He is tiring of the task; he has made many sacrifices for the sake of unbiased and unprejudiced rule.
Finally they stand before the monastery door. Made of cypress wood, centuries of neglect have seen it reduce to a few dark and rotting boards. It creaks open. A flurry of servants, hired especially for the occasion, usher the esteemed party within. Once inside, warm air washes over them. Only Lorian, unaffected by either cold or heat, seems indifferent to the change.
To their left a sweeping staircase of stone bricks raises their eyes to the upper level. It is there Lathenia stands watching. Lorian nods in her direction. Their minds meet and clash, and a rough greeting of sorts follows. She descends, her white gown trailing on the steps behind her, the purple sash at her waist defining her
narrow figure, while long fingers slide elegantly down the banister railing.
Behind her Marduke and Keziah keep a suitable distance. Their Mistress is the focus, the reason for this meeting. They are, after all, only her humble servants, as she is apt to remind them.
âBrother,' she says as she comes and stands before Lorian. âOr ⦠being neither male nor female, is there another term by which I should call you?' With these words she glances briefly at Lady Arabella, but the action is so swift and fleeting none in the room perceives it.
Sounding irritated and slightly bored, Lorian lifts a hand in a brief dismissive gesture. âAs you so obviously have difficulty grasping the concept of impartiality due to gender, you may refer to me in the masculine as I have allowed others to do for their own comfort.'
âWhat a pity,' she sniggers. âI could have enjoyed calling you â¦
It
.'
Lorian stares deeply into her eyes. Lathenia is first to glance away, her gaze coming to rest first on Lord Penbarin and then briefly on Lady Arabella. Although it's impossible not to notice her brother has brought a third party, she ignores the uninvited guest's presence â for now. âIt has been a while, my lord and lady.'
âHow unfortunate that we have to meet at all,' Lord Penbarin says in a mocking tone.
Lathenia's shoulders lift, the only indication that the insult penetrated. Her face remains a stoic mask of indifference. She allows her gaze purposefully to single out her brother's third supporter. As if commanded, the cloaked figure steps forward. Piercing blue eyes are the first things she notices. A shiver begins at the tip of her
spine and slithers along every vertebrae as she inhales a sense of the importance of the man standing before her. A Tribunal member for sure. But not one she recognises. She pins her cold gaze on her brother, trying hard to conceal her surprise and interest, but fails.
âWe agreed on only two allies! Who is this
intruder
?'
Lorian acknowledges his sister's reaction, keeping his sense of gratification well hidden. It is exactly as he hoped. He motions the cloaked figure forward. âAllow me to introduce the former King Richard II of England.' Lorian waits while his sister absorbs this much first. Then, âHe is now the new King Richard ⦠of
Veridian
.'
She moves backwards. âVeridian has a
king
?' A slender hand lifts to hover above her breastbone.
Lorian doesn't say a word. He doesn't need to. All those present understand that now Veridian has its King, the Tribunal will be complete, and the power of the Guard will be stronger than ever before.
âMy lady.' King Richard bows deeply before the stricken goddess. âI am â¦
intrigued
to meet you. I look forward to further acquaintance.'
Their eyes hold for indefinable seconds while Lathenia takes a moment to regather her thoughts. King Richard has affected her on many levels. Lorian gloats inwardly, while Marduke, fully aware of his Mistress's sudden interest in this stranger, makes a snorting, grunting sound through nostrils that resemble a pig's snout. Physically altered from his earlier experience in the middle realm, Marduke has fallen out of favour with Lathenia.
The sound of Marduke's displeasure is enough to jolt Lathenia's senses, though it is with an effort that she drags her emotions away from sudden public scrutiny. She sighs, appearing disinterested. âWe shall see, my
lord.' Abruptly she lifts her gaze and stalks off towards an open doorway, leaving behind a tense, suffocating atmosphere.
The servants show the Tribunal members to a large room of stone bricks lit with hundreds of glowing candles. In the centre stands a table made entirely of crystal with seven matching stools brought here from Lathenia's own palace especially for the occasion.
Lorian notices the seven stools but says nothing. Surely she couldn't have known about King Richard! But then nothing his sister does should surprise him now.
All seven sit around the table, Lathenia and Lorian opposite each other. For a long moment there is silence and King Richard, being a recent addition to the Tribunal, wonders whether they are communicating without his knowledge, something he understands to be quite possible. He rather hopes they aren't. It would be enormously arrogant on their part. After all, what else are the rest of them doing here if not bearing witness to these proceedings?
Lorian glares in his direction. Instantly King Richard regrets his outspoken thoughts. But Lorian's stare soon softens and he gives an almost imperceptible nod. âYou are quite right, my lord.'
King Richard grunts a soft acknowledgement, vowing to keep his thoughts under a tighter rein from now on. He still has much to learn.
âWhat I was thinking,' Lorian continues to address King Richard, âis what my parents would say if they were alive today.'
âBah!' Lathenia waves a hand into the air. âWhile I was thinking how my brother has grown so melancholy lately. A sign of weakness I find amusing.'
âThe fact is, Lathenia, an immortal can only be killed by another immortal.'
Lathenia's silver eyes flash the colour of obsidian while her long fingers slam down on the table top. âAre you threatening me, brother?'
Lorian appears amused at the dramatic leap his sister makes. Their parents loved and fought so fiercely that they ended by killing each other in a moment of inflamed passion. âYou think I find the deaths of our parents amusing?'
Lathenia remains silent, but something in her silence alerts Lorian's senses. âWhat more do you know about our parents' death than I?'
âNothing. You were there.'
âYes. I saw each holding a blade at the other's throat. But while I walked in after the deed, you were there before me.'
âI walked in only a second before you.'
âA lot can happen in a second of immortal time,' he says accusingly.
Lathenia takes the defensive and quickly changes the subject. âListen to
you
. When it is
I
who should be asking questions. Questions about our brother. You are more devious than you would have your supporters think.' She stares at each of the Tribunal members in turn. âYou don't really know him. He's not the honourable Lorian you trust. He murdered our own brother!' She turns her gaze to Lorian. âDartemis was no threat to you.
I
was the threat! So why did you destroy an innocent child?'
Lorian recalls how Dartemis was never an âinnocent child', but the youngest and most powerful of the three siblings. He'd had to take his brother to another world
for the boy's own safety. A world where he remains very much alive today. A world where even his greedy sister cannot detect life. And it is there he will remain, continuing to harness his powers â a lord, a magician and much more.
