The Third Key (The Alaesha Legacy Book 1) (4 page)

Alex bristled. "Why? What shady deals are you getting Dana involved in?"

Charles's laugh echoed through the small room. "I'm the one involved in shady deals, eh? Right, mate. Good one. Edith, this is your home. I need your promise or I can't continue."

Wondering what she managed to get herself into this time, Edith's curiosity got the best of her and she consented. Charles put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. He mumbled in some gibberish language, then straightened and waved a hand through the air. A ring on his finger glowed a bright purple for a few seconds before the light exploded outward like a sound wave. Edith jumped as her ears popped and she looked around the room. Nothing appeared to have changed. Everything was exactly where it had been before but a strange feeling settled over her.

Charles smiled at her. "Shall we get started then?"

Chapter 4

"Wait, what did you just do?" Edith wasn't about to let Charles get away with something like that and not explain it. She was still blinking spots from her eyes from the bright flash of light.

"What do you mean?" He took the half-full glass that Dana offered and took a sip, his eyes on Edith.

"That whole chanting mumbo jumbo sonic boom thing. What was that?"

His patient smile made Edith feel like a stupid child. "That, my dear girl, was a silencing spell. Once either of you leave this room, you will not be able to speak about what I'm about to share with you. No matter how hard you try, you simply will not be able to."

"Spell? As in magic? That's crap. Magic doesn't exist." Alex had been silent up until that point, his sudden intrusion drawing everyone's attention.

Charles shifted his stare to Alex. Dana had settled onto the couch between the boys and looked very uncomfortable as she shrank back to give Charles a clear view. Alex met the glare without flinching, but Charles just quirked his eyebrow before turning back to the girl on the floor.

"Do you believe in magic, Edith?"

Put on the spot, she stuttered a moment. "Uh, I guess so? I mean that sure looked like magic, so yeah, why not?"

The older boy shot a triumphant smile Alex's way before returning his attention to Edith once more. "Now that we agree magic exists, I can explain the key. Despite what my darling Dana may say, I am not her cousin, though I have known her family for a very long time. Much longer than she has been around. In fact, I have been working with her family for centuries."

Edith held up a hand to stop him. "Wait a minute. Centuries? You're maybe nineteen, twenty at most. Even if we pretend magic exists, there's no way you're that old."

His grin was magical, though not in the same way as his ring. "You flatter me. Alas, I am much older than I appear. This," he said, waving a hand at his body. "This is a guise, a costume, you could say. My true form is not human and tends to shock and terrify those who are not familiar with me. I couldn't have you running away the moment you opened the door, could I?"

Alex stood up. "This is bull. I don't know what game you guys are trying to pull, but I'm not buying it. I'm out of here." He stomped toward the door, knocking over the glass he'd set on the floor and spilling soda on the carpet. He paused only briefly to look at the mess before stepping through the opening to the hallway. Or trying to step through, anyway. Before he could break the plane of the doorway, he bounced backward, stumbling and landing on his rear beside Edith. His nose was bleeding and his forehead was quickly developing a bright red spot. He blinked rapidly.

Charles leaned forward from his perch with a smirk on his face. "The silencing spell also includes a blocking spell. It won't dissipate until I release it, so you really have no choice but to hear me out."

"You're holding us prisoner?" Edith's stomach sank and her chest contracted, forcing her breath to come in short gasps.

Charles shook his head. "No, no. Not you. Just him. You can leave anytime you like, though I do hope you'll listen to what I have to say."

"Why can I leave and not him?"

"Because I don't trust him. He's hiding something. You, Edith Myers, are an open book. You act gruff, but you're true at heart. I trust you no to share what we have discussed here. I trust you completely."

Edith's forehead crinkled in doubt. She stood up and headed for the door. As her foot broke the plane of the door frame, she braced for a rough impact but none was forthcoming. She moved through freely where Alex had dropped like a rock. She felt a gentle heat against her leg and pulled the key from her pocket. It glowed warmly for a few seconds before returning to its normal color.

Stuffing the key back into her pants, Edith briefly considered taking the key and running, but instead she rubbed her temples and sighed. "I'm so in over my head." She turned around and took her place on the floor again. "None of this makes any sense at all, but tell me what I've gotten myself into."

Dana slid off the couch to sit next to her. "It's not really that bad. You don't need to be too worried. But now that you have the key, you're kind of stuck with it."

Charles's face pinched as he looked at the cheerleader. "Actually, Dana, it really is that bad. Things are a lot worse than your mum and dad have told you. I wanted them to be honest with you, but they insisted on keeping you in the dark, hoping to protect you. Fat lot of good that did, eh?"

Dana shook her head. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

"They told you about the impending war, right?"

She nodded, her skin blanching noticeably.

Edith raised her hand. "War? You kind of skipped over that part. What war?"

Charles glanced between the two girls. "There is a war brewing in our world, Alaesha. Between the good guys and the bad guys. We were hoping to avoid it, but we failed. It's started. Started awhile ago, really. Months. Maybe even years. We just didn't know it. Right now, two keys are missing. That's not counting this one, which was apparently found or the one we know is in the hands of the enemy."

Dana's pale skin drained of all color and her hand gripped Edith's painfully. Edith didn't notice over the buzzing in her ears. "Wait, they have one?" Dana whispered, her dread floating in the air like a heavy blanket descending on the world.

Charles nodded, his lips pinched together. "Yes, they do. The Seventh Key."

"Wait, that's Antarctica, right? No one is there, so it's not so bad." Dana relaxed and Edith could feel her fingers again.

"It also means they have full access to an empty continent where they can set up base and make strategic attacks on the rest of the world."

Edith held up a hand. "Okay, stop. What... the hell... is going on? Everyone is freaking out about stupid keys and then this guy shows up who seems to know everything about me and tells me he's from another world and now there's a
war
? None of this makes any sense!"

Dana's sad expression nearly broke Edith's heart and calmed her irritation a bit. "Civil war," Dana said. "But not between us, not between humans. Though we'll get the brunt of it if it comes to a full scale battle. I'm not sure we can survive something like that. Without the full protection of Alaesha... " She trailed off when she saw Edith's annoyed glare return.

"My world," Charles began, "is called Alaesha. It's identical to yours. Set up the same way, the geography shifts in similar fashion. You might call it a parallel universe. Our job, however, is to protect your universe. Well, in theory. The actual protecting really only falls to a small number of people. The rest carry on with their daily lives and maintaining the world, just like yours."

"How do you get from my world to yours?" Edith found herself immersed in the tale and almost willing to believe it. She scoffed inwardly, telling herself that Charles was just a good storyteller and she shouldn't believe a word he says, but she still wanted the answer.

"Doors, of course. Seven of them to be exact. There is one on each continent, and each door is controlled by a key. You have one of the keys. Only humans can touch the keys. It was a rule initially created to keep my people from abusing our power, but as humans grew in number and greed, we began to fear what they would do. Up until now, it hasn't been an issue. But..."

"But what?"

"The Keeper of the Seventh Key was corrupt. He sold the key for money and power, and that was the catalyst needed. Tension has been brewing on Alaesha for centuries. It was only a matter of time. A minor group wants the control of the keys to be more open. They want to allow migration between the two worlds, or more correctly, they want to be allowed to travel to your world to use your resources and further degrade your ecosystem, all the while keeping Alaesha safe from your influence. There has even been talk of enslaving your people, but I do not think that would come to pass, at least not anytime soon."

"And they have a key now."

Charles nodded. "Yes, they do. They have the key to Antarctica. They have already started building their base and bringing over an army. We did not realize they were so organized."

"You said other keys are missing. Where are they?" Edith's forehead wrinkled as she tried to take in all the new information. It was all too unbelievable, totally ridiculous, utterly unfathomable, but a growing part of her was actually starting to accept it as truth for some inconceivable reason.

"We do not know. They may be in the hands of the enemy. Or they may have been hidden by the Keepers. Each key has its own set of rules as to who can protect it. Not just anyone can be a Keeper."

"And what about this key? What are its rules?"

Dana perked up. "The Keeper of the Third Key must a child be. A minor in the eyes of the law, true of heart, strong of spirit. Never to falter in their faith or turn from what must be done." She rattled off the rule like it was the Girl Scout creed.

Edith's jaw dropped. "Wait, so the keys are guarded by kids? That's ridiculous."

"No, just the Third Key. And though the children are the true Keepers, they are not the only ones involved. They are guarded at all times, trained in self-defense and the art of combat. I will admit, however, that more than one child has died in defense of the key. It is always a shame, but an unfortunate necessity."

"Why give the key to me? If Dana is the rightful Keeper, why just pass it off? That's dumb. I'm not at all trained like she is."

Dana colored and her eyes glistened with unshed tears before she tore her gaze away from Edith to look at the floor. Charles's next words were cold and did not mask his disappointment in the least.

"She failed in her duty as Keeper. She is lucky to still be breathing, to be quite honest. Only twice before has a key ever been lost. Once during the reign of Genghis Khan and once during World War II. That second time was nearly disastrous. But the key was recovered quickly and the Keeper punished properly."

Edith found herself holding Dana's hand again and gave it a squeeze. "What will happen to Dana?"

"That is for the Seven to decide. They are the ultimate council, made up of four humans who are former Keepers and three Alaeshans. They are the final decision-makers for anything involving the keys or Alaesha. They trust the advisers to do what is necessary to protect the keys, but in they end, they have the final say. I have never seen their pronouncement not be death, but I guess there is always a chance they may show mercy." His tone had softened by the end as he noticed Dana's tear-streaked face.

"So who is my adviser? And what do I do now?"

The corners of Charles's mouth quirked up and his green eyes grew warm. "Why, my dear Edith, I am your adviser. And I am here to teach you the ways of the Keeper. As I said, I have worked with Dana's family for centuries up to this point. It will be interesting to work with someone new, someone unaware of the secret ways of the world."

"But I turn eighteen in a couple months. I won't be a child anymore."

"We will worry about that when the time comes. You will be Keeper until then."

"And what if I don't want to?"

Charles's face fell. "Well, I guess you could say no. People have before, though very rarely and not since the first millennium. But there are, uh, consequences to doing so. And I doubt you would want to decline such an opportunity."

Dana gripped Edith's hand tightly. "You can't say no, Edith. It's not really an option, no matter what he says. There is no coincidence as far as the key is concerned. It has chosen you. Why, I don't know, but you have it now. It's yours and if you try to give it away, it will not react well. You'll be in even more danger than I am."

Edith heart sank. For a brief moment, she had considered turning down the key and carrying on with her utterly boring, but safe life. Now Dana had told her the truth, that denial was not an option. "So if I try to say no, I'll die?"

Charles gave her a tight smile. "The key will likely kill you. I'm sorry, my dear, but that's the way it is."

Alex, who had been quiet for most of the conversation, grunted. "Such a load of bologna. The key won't do anything to you. It's just a key. It doesn’t have feelings. It can't be upset because it was lost or given away. It's a piece of metal."

Dana's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly do you know about the seven keys of Alaesha, Alex?"

The young man coughed. "Nothing. But it's a key. Keys are keys. That's all. They don't lead to secret worlds."

Charles stood and walked over to where Alex sat. "This key is not a key in the traditional sense, boy. This key is unique, crafted from the forges of Ibana in the Wilek mountains. But you claim to have no idea what that means, so there is no possible way you could understand its significance. Just know that this key will stab you in the back the moment you turn on it. And it will know if you do."

With that, Charles waved a hand and the oppressing cloud that had been hanging over them disappeared. "Shall we get dinner then?" he asked as he walked out into the hall.

"Dinner? You can't be serious." Edith followed Charles out into the hall and gaped at him. "After all that, you just want to pretend it didn't happen and go eat?"