Maylin's Gate (Book 3) (40 page)

Brees pointed toward the elemental socket. "The one at the top means 'humility'."

She suppressed a wry chuckle. Humility would be the last word she’d use to describe Trace.

Brees nodded and pointed toward the lower left socket. "The word above nature's keyhole says 'compassion'."

"And the last one?"

"It means 'tolerance'," Brees said.

Would unlocking them lead to the heartwood tree? Or the final pieces of Maylin’s Gate? "Where are the keys?"

"The emperor holds the keys," Ormond said.

“All three?” she said.

A flicker of doubt touched Ormond's eyes. "Why does it matter? If you fool with the keyholes, the room will explode along with whatever the emperor's hidden away."

She crossed the room and knelt before Ormond. Did he have the third key? "If you tell me, I'll help your family first."

Ormond's eyes widened. "What do you know of my family?"

"I know you're worried about them. About the plague."

Ormond's eyes glistened. "I don't trust you."

She glanced toward Dravin's charred corpse. "Just like you didn't trust Dravin?"

"He had good reason not to trust Dravin," Keely said leaning against the doorway. "Arber and I caught a couple of Dravin's pals heading this way."

She met Ormond's gaze. "I could've already killed you. You know that, right?"

Ormond said nothing.

"That I didn't, must account for something,” she said. “I've no reason to let you live Ormond. You held me against my will and tried to kill Brees. I can only imagine the plots you have boiling inside the Brotherhood."

"What do you want?"

"The keys. I want the keys," she said.

"I told you. The emperor holds the keys." Ormond's gaze flickered away then returned to meet hers.

"You have one, don't you?"

"Even if I did, it won't help you."

"I believe we will find a tree beneath this chamber," she said. "If it’s the tree I think it is, I can grow many more."

Ormond's brow furrowed. "A tree. What good is a tree for my family?"

"The tree grows a very special fruit. I can use the fruit to create an antidote for the plague. One that will cure your entire family."

Ormond's jaw dropped open. "You speak lies." Doubt crept into the shaman's voice.

"She can do it," Brees said. "She cured me and my sister."

Ormond's head whipped toward Brees.

"I came from Mara," Brees said. "Nearly everybody in Mara is dead. How do you think I survived?"

"Where's the key Ormond?" She said.

"You'll help my family first?" Ormond said. "Do you promise?" Desperation haunted the shaman's eyes.

"I promise," she said.

"You'll never see a better agreement," Jeremy said stepping up beside her.

"I hold one of the three keys," Ormond said. "It's on a necklace beneath my robe."

"Jeremy, can you lower your shield please?" She said.

Jeremy's wrist flicked and the shield vanished.

She channeled energy into the vines surrounding Ormond.

The vines shifted revealing the shaman's chest.

Jeremy knelt and fished a hand beneath Ormond's robe. "I've got it." Jeremy yanked loose a silver chain hanging around Ormond's neck.

A crystal key dangled on the chain swaying from side to side.

She extended her palm and Jeremy handed it to her. She removed the key from the chain and turned it over in her palm.

Symbols matching those above the elemental keyhole decorated the key.

"Humility," she said.

"One of humankind's three greatest virtues," Arber said.

"All three virtues are born from love," she said. How could a construction born from love unleash hell on earth?

"You'll need the other two keys," Ormond said in a softer tone.

"Jeremy?"

Jeremy handed her the leather pouch she'd given him to hold two nights earlier.

"I don't think we'll have a problem with the keys," she said. "I managed to find this one," she pulled free a silver key from the pouch, "in Trace's personal possessions."

Ormond's gaze froze on the key as if it might reach out and bite.

"And, the third?" Brees said.

She pulled the gold key from the pouch. "I found it in Mara."

"Mara? How?" Ormond said.

"I found the gold key among Aren's possessions," she said.

Brees's head jerked up. "When did you see Aren?"

"Two weeks ago at your sister’s house in Mara," she said. "He’s sick. Your sister made him comfortable."

Brees’s shoulder sagged.

"I'm sorry," she said. "If I’d had the antidote —"

Brees waved away her apology. "My real brother died a long time ago. You owe no apology."

She faced Ormond. "Where did you get the crystal key?"

Ormond's cheeks reddened. "The emperor left the key in the care of a sorcerer he'd planted inside the Brotherhood."

"Dravin?" she said.

"Yes,” Ormond said. “Dravin offered me the key as part of our agreement."

"You have all three keys now," Brees said.

"And, the elemental orb of power,” Jeremy said.

“You can’t build the gate,” Brees said. “I know you think it’s the right thing to do, but it will kill us all.”

"If these keys unlock the last heartwood tree, then I won't. I promise"

"What if they don't?" Brees said.

"I still need the final two struts," she said.

"I would advise against using the keys," Ormond said. "Or at the least, wait until I'm far away from here before you do."

"What do you mean?" she said.

"The trove and the emperor are linked," Ormond said. "If anyone other than the emperor attempts to open the cache...."

"What?" she said.

"Boom," Ormond said. "You die, I die, along with half of Zen."

"Is that true?" she said.

"I've no reason to doubt the story's authenticity," Ormond said. "The information came straight from the emperor."

She bit her lower lip and gazed toward the keyholes. The world couldn't wait any longer.

"I can shield us," Jeremy said.

Ormond chuckled. "You've no idea the power the emperor wields."

"We should walk away," Brees said. "Walk away and find another way to beat the plague. A better way."

"I disagree.” Jeremy glanced between her and Brees. “Trace is a liar, and I don’t believe he’d risk destroying his most prized possessions."

She gazed into Jeremy's eyes. "Why can't I feel your certainty?"

"We're here," Jeremy said. "You can't let Trace guide your actions from a thousand miles away."

She stared at the symbol taunting her from across the room. The elemental orb’s steady hum buzzed in her ears. She’d come so far.

"What's it going to be?" Brees said.

She tightened her grip on the keys. She had to make a choice. The right choice.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

A New Path

Cold rain sprinkled the dead littering Harlech's streets.

Tara ambled ahead, numb to the dead humans and troopers piled at her feet.

The low groans of the living came amid the corpses. In the street ahead, flickering torchlight cut through the gloom.

She stumbled past two guards who searched for the wounded among the bodies. She didn't care if the guards recognized her. Whether she lived or died made no difference. She made no attempt to block the rain spattering her face. Her rain-soaked clothes clung to her body, and her blond curls lay in a limp heap atop her head.

"Excuse me miss. Are you okay?" A guard said.

She ignored the man and sloshed forward through ankle-deep mud puddles.

Brow furrowed, a second guard stared at her. "Do you need help miss?"

The help she needed, these men couldn’t provide. She needed the curse lifted from her body. She needed a new life.

Dark silent buildings lined the street as if paying homage to the dead. The dead who had given their lives to protect hers.

She staggered forward without a destination. She paused outside a smattering of homes marking the town's outskirts.

Raindrops pattered against a tin roof. Candlelight flickered through the building's open doorway.

She remembered this kind of building from Porthleven. A chapel for those who worshiped Elan. She faced the circular building with its stained dome. If only she could talk to Elan for a moment and explain herself. She could explain the poor choices she’d made and ask for guidance. But, Elan had died to protect those he loved from her childish wrath. Why couldn't she do the same? Why did she feel the need to kill?

She entered the chapel and paused. Water dribbled from her dress and splattered against the wooden floor. Warmth from the chapel’s lit candles chased away the numbness in her cheeks and fingers.

She wiped away rain streaking her face and tucked her tangled blond hair behind her ear.

A half-dozen pews lined each side of the chapel. On the altar, candles glowed before a chipped clay statue. The statue depicted Elan wearing a flowing robe. Elan held an orb cradled atop open, outstretched palms.

The ache in her chest deepened. How many more demons would she face tonight?

In the last pew, a figure shrouded in a woolen blanket lay sleeping.

She ignored the figure and walked to the front of the chapel. With a glance to Elan, she settled in the pew before the altar.

Elan stared down wearing a face different from the man she remembered.

"I bet you're surprised to see me here," she said averting her gaze. "I've made a mess of things again I'm afraid. I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that."

Candlelight flickered on the altar while silence hung in the air.

"I don't know what to do." Her voice trembled. "I don't know where to go."

She turned her gaze upward and stared into Elan's eyes. "I never told you that I'm sorry, did I?" Tears rolled down her cheeks and her chin quivered. "But, I am." She closed her eyes and sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the heartache I brought on the world. I'm sorry for what I did to you. To Jo.” She wiped the wetness from her cheeks. “I’m sorry for blaming you for my actions. I’m sorry for acting like a spoiled child. If I could go back and change time,” her voice shook on the edge of breakdown, “I would. I should’ve listened to you. I should’ve heeded your advice. You were right about me." She leaned forward onto the altar and her body wracked with sobs. "I don't know what I've become, but I'm not the monster the world knows. I can love.” She choked on sobs for a full minute feeling Elan’s stare bear down on her. “The one friend I made in the world. The one friend who saw me for me, I turned away."

Outside, gentle rain pattered against already bulging puddles.

"I'll make it better." She stared into Elan's eyes. "I promise you that I’ll never take another life even if it costs my own. I will find a way to right the wrongs I've unleashed on this world. I'll find a way to stop the killing.”

She paused not daring to ask for anything in return, until she could no longer hold back. “Can you…?” Fresh tears welled in her eyes. “Would you find it in your heart to help me lift this curse? Can you reach Ronan and ask him? Ask him to help me?"

A warm hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and spun to face her visitor.

Before her, Jo stood wrapped in a woolen blanket. Tears streaked the girl’s red cheeks. "I'll help you," Jo said. "If you mean what you said, I'll help you find the king."

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

The Sansan

Ronan’s eyes fluttered open. He drew in a sharp breath and jerked his head upright. He sat in an ornate drawing room lined with rich woven carpet.

Bright tapestries hung from polished marble walls. Fine furniture huddled around him like ladies attending a formal tea party. Through a thin windowpane a sky colored shades of purple and green cast an eerie glow against the marble walls.

“Be at ease Elduin,” a female voice said.

A familiar voice both elegant and supple. He turned his head toward the woman's voice.

A stunning woman with golden locks cascading over bare shoulders stood near a bronze door. The woman tucked a loose lock of hair behind a curved ear ending with a soft pointed tip. The woman turned her gaze on him and their eyes met.

His heart beat faster. He held the woman's gaze for a long moment. “I know you.”

“You remember?” The woman’s eyes filled with expectation. “In all the times we’ve met, you’ve never remembered me.” The woman flashed a nervous smile setting his stomach fluttering.