The Key (19 page)

I nod to reassure her. ‘Our own King, Richard. He will help us.'

Everyone murmurs agreement.

When everyone quiets down, Arkarian asks, ‘So what do we do now?'

I take a deep breath and hope that my decisions will be the right ones. ‘Ethan, Isabel and Rochelle will go to the palace in Athens to bring back the key, and, hopefully, uncover the traitor. But, if identifying this traitor puts your own lives in danger, keep the name of this person secret and return to me.'

‘If Lorian doesn't know the key is in his own palace, what chance do we have of finding it?' Ethan asks.

‘Very little, but you are all resourceful, and Rochelle's hands will be invaluable.' I glance at her to make sure she understands, then realise I have things to say to her that are better not said out loud in case they're misconstrued. And so, using my new-found Truthseeing skills, I project my thoughts solely to her.
Don't think of your hands as evil weapons but as tools
.

My thoughts startle her and her eyes widen, but she remains silent. I go on quickly before the others become uncomfortable and possibly resentful at our silent communication.
There is a vast power that can yet be developed in them. Work on it, and don't be afraid. Just be careful
.

I turn to the others, quickly drawing their attention. ‘Arkarian and Dillon, you will come with me to Lathenia's palace to rescue Neriah.'

Dillon has a typical reaction, practically jumping out of his skin. ‘Yes!'

Jimmy looks across to me. ‘Matt, I'm not sure if you're aware of my talents –'

‘I've been briefed.'

‘Then you must see that I could be of great service to you in that palace.'

Jimmy's words bring a silent groan to my throat, which I try to swallow down. While the two of us have
never got along, and I've been resentful of his presence in my home, Dartemis holds Jimmy in the highest regard. That will have to be enough for me.

‘Right now your talents are more needed here at home,' I say. And to all of them I explain, ‘Lathenia has gained control of the middle realm. She has increased her army to include the souls of the lost. As you know, creatures of the dark world are already appearing on the earth. We have to do all we can to keep them from making human contact.' I look back at Jimmy to make sure he understands the mission I am assigning him. ‘There is a real threat to Veridian. If the ancient city is infiltrated, the situation could be devastating for us. Jimmy, go down there and fortify it. Find a way to protect it, should the worst happen. Bring me a plan. There is more to the city than what you see when you walk along its corridors and paths.'

‘I'll do my best.'

‘What do you want me to do?' Shaun asks.

‘With Arkarian gone, you have to watch the sphere. Lathenia is planning something huge, something that will have a devastating effect on the present and the future. Watch for signs of a portal opening. When it happens, we will have to get a team in there quickly.'

There is only one person left.

‘And me?' Mr Carter asks.

‘Marcus, you're needed in the Citadel. With six of us travelling through time, your co-ordinating skills are going to be essential. You're going to have to be more accurate than you've ever been before.'

Mr Carter drops us directly in the middle of that now familiar golden courtyard within the palace walls in Athens. It's night and the evening air is warm. Behind us, birds are singing, a melody of sharp clear notes. I spin around to see what breed could make such a pure, yet mournful sound. Even though their voices are the sweetest I've ever heard, it does nothing to prepare me for the actual sight of them. Beautiful beyond words, they take my breath away.

Isabel comes up beside me. Her eyes also become glued to the pair of lovebirds sitting side-by-side on a perch made of wood from an olive tree. ‘Have you ever seen anything so exquisite?'

‘Never,' I mutter back.

Ethan comes over. ‘What are you looking at?' Then he sees them. ‘Whoa! Are they real?'

‘They sound real enough,' Isabel replies as the pair pick up another melancholy tune.

An urge comes over me to lay my hands on the cage. I get the feeling that if I did, I would be able to ‘feel' their souls. The urge becomes so overwhelming that I can't resist it, and start to peel back my gloves.

A whooshing sound from directly behind makes me jump, and my heart starts beating hard. It's Lady Arabella. I tug my gloves back down. She comes and stands beside us, glancing into the cage.

‘I see you've found my birds.'

‘They're yours?' Isabel asks. ‘I didn't know you had birds, my lady.'

‘I found these just recently,' she says. ‘Or I should say, they found me. Aren't they beautiful creatures?'

All three of us nod, while Isabel asks, ‘Are their feathers made of real gold?'

‘It would appear so.'

‘And their eyes?' I ask. ‘Are they real diamonds?'

‘Pink diamonds, the rarest in the universe.'

Lady Arabella is hardly able to contain her own enthusiasm for her new-found pets. ‘I have to confine them for their own protection. When they came to me they were severely injured and unable to fly.'

Isabel gasps. ‘Who would do that to such beautiful creatures?'

Lady Arabella stares at her birds with wonder in her eyes. ‘Who knows, my dear?'

‘Would you like me to try to heal them, my lady?' Isabel offers.

Lady Arabella shoots her a surprised look, then says in a soft, yet firm tone, ‘Your offer is generous, but the birds are healing well enough in my care. They trust me.'

Ethan remains quiet, studying the birds now with a slight frown.

Lady Arabella notices. ‘Don't you like them, Ethan?'

‘They're amazing, my lady. It's just, I've never seen anything like them before.' And before he shuts off his thoughts, wayward ones come bursting out.
At least not
in this world! So where have you been wandering?

I step on his foot. His head jerks in my direction. He realises that I've heard him, and if
I
have, then it's possible Lady Arabella did too. She looks at Ethan for a long moment, her ice-tipped eyelashes fluttering uneasily. Finally she smiles. Relief washes through me. This mission is going to be tricky. We really have to watch every one of our thoughts. We've only been here a minute or so and already Ethan is having trouble accomplishing this.

Suddenly Lord Penbarin appears. ‘There you are!' At first I think he means Lady Arabella, but I soon realise he means the three of us. ‘Lorian requests your presence. Now. In his private chambers.'

A cold sweep of fear starts at my head and slithers through my entire nervous system. But Matt did warn us. There's not much that goes on here – or anywhere – that Lorian doesn't see or know about. Our task – to search for the key and uncover the traitor – will be almost impossible to accomplish. But we're here, and we're going to at least try. Anything we uncover could help.

As Lord Penbarin leads the way down one spacious corridor after another I pull Ethan back a little. ‘It might be a good idea if you stayed outside of Lorian's chambers.'

He gives me a hard stare. ‘Why?' And then he gets it, and as always gets mad at me. ‘You're reading my thoughts again! Can't you stay out of my head?'

‘I don't do it on purpose,' I try to defend myself.

‘Don't you have any control over your own powers?'

I hiss at him, ‘Of course I do! But you're projecting your thoughts as hard as if you're throwing tennis balls
at my head!'

‘Don't give me ideas!'

‘I shouldn't have to. You know, Ethan, it's dangerous.'

‘Maybe I just can't help it,' he says in a softer tone.

I try to keep my voice low too. ‘Don't you see, that's my point.'

Lord Penbarin glances around briefly, but thankfully decides to ignore our discussion. But Isabel wants to know what's going on. And even though I haven't heard any of Isabel's thoughts lately, I decide to check all the same.

‘How good are you at screening your thoughts these days?'

She gives a sniggering laugh. ‘You learn very quickly to master that particular skill when you start going out with a Truthseer.' She looks candidly at Ethan and adds in a whisper, ‘Maybe you should try it.'

I feel my face heat up at her suggestion. There aren't too many of us Truthseers around. Arkarian is one, Marduke another. Matt is one too now, and all the Tribunal members.

We arrive at a set of magnificently carved doors, etched in gold and silver. Lord Penbarin turns the handle and lets one open inwards. ‘Lorian wants to see all three of you. And you had better have a good reason for being here unannounced and uninvited.'

Well, that resolves the issue of whether Ethan should stay outside or not. One after the other, we go in.

The room turns out to be several rooms on different levels, separated by marble archways and alabaster rails. The walls are mostly white but the lamps burning in brackets here and there give them a golden glow. There are dark drapes hanging from a number of windows.
Some are closed tight while others are pulled back by braided ropes with hanging tassels. The furniture is elegant in its sparseness. A table made entirely from white stone sits in the centre of the first room surrounded by high-back matching chairs. There's also a deeply-cushioned lounge suite, again in white.

I start to wonder where Lorian is, when I see him making his way towards us. He is tall, and he's wearing a white floor-length tunic with silver trim around the neck and sleeves, which makes him appear taller still. He is incredibly striking. Arkarian introduced me to him once during my debriefing, but then he was wearing a cloak, his face practically hidden. Today, Lorian's hair flows around his shoulders, long and silver, while his pale, luminescent skin glows softly around deep violet eyes.

Tilting his hand, three high stools appear, topped with red velvet cushions. I'm not sure about Ethan and Isabel, but I'm grateful for their appearance. My legs feel like mush all of a sudden.

Lorian remains standing, and up close like this I find it too difficult to look at his face. There's a cold and angry aura about him. Isabel slides a concerned look my way. I carefully go over some of the reasons we came up with for our presence here.

‘Tell me why Matt's first meeting as leader was shrouded within a protective screen,' says Lorian.

At first the three of us remain speechless. We're not expecting this question. I urge Ethan to keep control of his thoughts. The silence stretches uncomfortably and the three of us start to squirm under the Immortal's intense violet inspection.

Eventually I speak.'It was Matt's idea.'

Isabel gives me a warning stare, probably wondering
where I'm going with this.

I try to keep my explanation casual. ‘He was just trying out one of his new powers.'

Lorian focuses his stare directly on me and I feel him probe right into my brain. Suddenly I have to close my eyes and concentrate on the simple act of bringing air into my lungs. I start to tremble and my head goes all fuzzy and light. From a distance I hear Ethan call out. ‘My lord, she's one of the Named now.'

The light-headedness starts to clear but I'm left feeling disoriented as if I'm falling. I hit the ground with a thump and Isabel and Ethan help me back on to my stool.

‘What happened?'

‘It's all right. It's over,' Ethan says.

When I look up I see Lorian's glow abating. ‘You have not been Initiated.'

‘No, my lord.'

‘What is the reason for the delay?'

Ethan explains. ‘Arkarian has been very busy. I'm sure he'll get to it as soon as he returns.'

Lorian is still not satisfied. And for a moment I lose concentration. My head is still reeling from the connection with Lorian's only moments ago, and my thoughts come tumbling out.
Because I am not trusted!

Oh, great! My head starts throbbing and feels so heavy I have to lift my hand to my forehead to keep it from dropping off. The throbbing quickly becomes unbearable. On top of this, a thrust of warm energy starts sifting through my head. I look up to see Lorian standing close in front of me, his hand hovering in the air. I feel compelled to close my eyes. I do so and almost instantly the gentle surge pulses through my entire body. It's over
in a second and Lorian steps back. I look up and notice everything is clear again, the headache gone. In its place is a contented feeling of warmth, and, stranger still, a sense of belonging.

‘You will be Initiated tomorrow at dawn.' And to Ethan, Lorian says, ‘In Arkarian's absence, will you stand in for him and present Rochelle to the Tribunal, so that she will receive their gifts and grow in the acceptance of her elders?'

‘Of course, my lord.'

‘Then it is settled. Now tell me what you are doing here.'

Ethan says, ‘We're here to update our King on the situation in Veridian. So much has happened, as I'm sure you are aware.' And then he adds, ‘Personally, my lord, I'm looking forward to meeting King Richard again.'

Lorian's head dips and his eyes flutter closed for a second. ‘In that you should, Ethan. Lord Penbarin awaits outside. He will show you to the North Wing, where you will find your King. Make yourselves comfortable while you are here. Tonight the palace is yours to wander around at your leisure.'

Outside Lorian's chambers, Lord Penbarin eyes us carefully. But things couldn't have gone better. We have Lorian's permission to look around! I try not to think about what's going to happen tomorrow at dawn. A concerned look must appear on my face, as Isabel touches my arm.

‘Don't worry about the Initiation. I remember mine. I was so nervous my knees were like jelly. But it was all right. And you already know Lady Arabella pretty well –'