The Key (11 page)

‘She's stronger than you all think.'

Mr Carter scoffs at this. ‘I would know, Rochelle. I'm with her at school every day. I'm monitoring her progress.'

‘And you treat her as if she's made of glass. It's a mistake. Sure, she's cautious. Look at how she was raised – private tutors, guards watching her every movement. Now that she's in a normal school, it's natural that she would be shy. She's just not used to being around so many people. She's quiet, not weak.'

‘Just how much does she know?' Matt asks.

‘She knows that her Initiation will …
complete
us.'

My words are followed by silence, where everyone looks around at each other.

‘The uniting of the Named,' Arkarian whispers.

Heads begin to nod.

‘There's something else.'

‘Go on,' Arkarian says.

‘She has concerns.'

His face forms into a deep frown. ‘Then we shall listen. When will she be here?'

‘She's coming now.'

Arkarian uses his wings and disappears before our eyes. He's going to meet her on the outside. He doesn't do this often; it's too dangerous for him to be seen circulating in our world. But he's back in only a few minutes, opening the door. And Neriah walks in.

Shaun is first to get up and greet her. He kisses the air on either side of her face. ‘You have grown into a beautiful young woman, the image of your mother. How is she these days?'

‘She is well, thank you.'

‘I'm glad we have this opportunity to meet at last. I have many things I would like to talk to you about.'

Neriah looks at Shaun astutely, her deep brown eyes narrow in contemplation. ‘I know you were the one who disfigured my father's face. Please do not worry about the past. You were just the catalyst for what had to be.'

‘You are as kind as your mother.'

Shaun sits down as Jimmy exchanges places with him and gives Neriah a welcoming hug. The rest of us know her, having seen her at school for the past few weeks. Arkarian produces a chair for Neriah and she sits next to Shaun on the other side of the table. She glances at me and smiles, letting me know how grateful she is to be here.

Arkarian takes control of the meeting again. He looks around the circle at each of us. ‘So, now we are nine. And,' he adds, ‘the news from Athens is that King Richard is completely healed and can take his place at the Tribunal circle. At last Veridian has its own king.'

Ethan's face lights up. ‘Yes!' He punches the air with his fist.

Well, he should be excited. He was the one who saved King Richard's life in the past and shifted him through time physically.

Matt is also excited, but for different reasons. He breathes a strange sigh of relief. ‘At last! Then you don't need me any more.'

Everyone knows where Matt's coming from, but he's wrong, and everyone knows that too. Arkarian explains, ‘Matt, King Richard will rule from afar. He is Veridian's representative on the Tribunal – our governing body. According to the Prophecy, you will lead the Named –
the nine of us here in this room – into battle.'

Matt thumps the table and turns his face to the wall.

Arkarian gets back to the meeting, explaining his reason for calling us together. ‘Yesterday, Rochelle and Matt and I travelled to the underworld to find the key to the treasury of weapons.'

Among the murmurs, Mr Carter's is the loudest. ‘Excellent! Did you find it?'

Arkarian groans beneath his breath. ‘Unfortunately, we were too late.'

‘Are you saying Lathenia has it now?' Shaun queries.

‘We think she has it secured in a vault in her palace.'

‘And the plan is?' Jimmy asks. ‘You know I'm good with locks and things.'

Arkarian smiles at Jimmy. ‘Yes I do, Jimmy. And yes, there is a plan. Some of us will be going to Lathenia's palace on Mount Olympus, but we don't stand a chance of being successful until …' He pauses, and the tension in the room catapults. He glances across to Matt. ‘Until Matt comes into his powers.'

‘Oh great!' Matt exclaims. ‘Well, we all know that could be for ever!'

‘Matt,' Arkarian says softly. ‘How do you think you were able to cradle that explosive pack of dynamite against your chest, curling your body around it like a plasticine ball, and walk away with only a few scratches?'

Matt stares up at Arkarian with wonder in his eyes.

‘You have power, Matt. And your new mentor will show you how to unleash and control it. You leave tomorrow.'

Everyone starts murmuring.

Isabel, still looking exhausted, asks first, ‘Can I go with him?'

Arkarian rests his hand on her shoulder and stares at her with such tenderness, such adoration, no one in the room could possibly be unaware of his great love for her. ‘The only thing you'll be doing tomorrow is resting.' He turns to address the rest of us. ‘This is a journey Matt has to make alone. And when he returns, we will go to Lathenia's palace and bring back the key, and at last the Guard will have the balance of power back in our hands.'

Arkarian looks to Neriah and asks if she would like to address the meeting. Glancing around the table with a nervous little smile, she gets to her feet. ‘At home last night there was a breach in security.'

‘What happened?' Arkarian asks, sitting down.

‘It happened when Rochelle came over.'

Mr Carter interrupts at the sound of my name. ‘Well, doesn't that explain it then?'

‘Marcus!' Arkarian attempts to shut him up.

I go on to explain, ‘I was walking through the grounds when I heard someone's thoughts nearby, but when I searched for the source, I saw something that resembled an animal. It threw me because I was expecting a person.'

‘So what do you think it was?' Arkarian asks.

‘It could have been a dog. Its eyes glowed a silver colour.'

‘Was there anything else that stood out about this creature? Something unusual perhaps?' Arkarian prods further.

‘When it realised I could see it, it ran off across the yard.'

Jimmy calls out, ‘When it ran across the yard did it still resemble a dog? Or did it gather itself and leap? Or
maybe hop like a rabbit?'

I think about this for a moment, remembering those eerie glowing eyes and how the head turned, followed swiftly by the rest of it. ‘All I remember was that it was sleek, graceful and fast.'

Arkarian says to Neriah, ‘I'll organise a thorough check of the grounds, and step up security, doubling your mother's guard. But Neriah, you must be careful too. Your mother's life isn't the only one in danger.'

‘My father doesn't want me dead, Arkarian. But he does want to murder my mother. He is driven by revenge, and my mother is high on his list.'

I think Neriah's confidence in her own safety is naïve. ‘But Neriah, Marduke tried to kill Isabel, and she didn't do anything to him.'

‘She was part of his plan to exact revenge on Shaun. He uses people as if they are merely instruments at his call.'

Her accurate assessment of Marduke's character raises a comment that I can't help airing. ‘You seem to know a lot about someone you haven't seen since you were a toddler.'

She glances down at her fingers resting lightly on the table top and her face starts turning red.

Mr Carter jumps to her defence. ‘What's that supposed to mean?'

‘Nothing,' I reply quickly. ‘It's just, I know Marduke. He's manipulative. He can …
persuade
you into doing almost anything.'

My comment raises a few eyebrows, but it's Arkarian who understands where I'm going with this. ‘When was the last time you saw your father, Neriah?'

She seems to hesitate, but her answer is decisive. ‘Not
since the morning he lost half his face.'

Nothing more is said and after an awkward silence Arkarian gets to the whole point of this meeting. He stands and everyone's eyes follow him. ‘When Matt, Rochelle and I went to the underworld, we saw something …' He pauses, gathering his thoughts. ‘We saw Marduke commanding an army of the living dead.'

‘What!' Mr Carter calls out. ‘That's abominable!'

‘Tell us what you saw,' Shaun says.

Arkarian holds his hands up to quiet everyone down. ‘You've heard us speak of the wren – creatures that are part human, part animal and part bird. For those of you who haven't seen one, they are easily identifiable by their red eyes and awkward-looking wings.'

Murmurs erupt, but quickly die down again as Arkarian continues. ‘There are other creatures there too. In fact, there are thousands, and they are all dead, according to human lore. More than likely Marduke will send out a division of scouts first. They may be wren, they may not. I want everyone to be on the lookout. If you see anything suspicious you should let each other know and let me know quickly.'

Jimmy asks, ‘What does this all mean, Arkarian?'

‘It means Marduke is planning to invade the earth with creatures that we can't kill with ordinary weapons.'

‘Then how do we fight them?'

‘Not with guns or ordinary swords.'

‘There must be something we can use!' Mr Carter sounds panicked.

‘The wren fear water.'

‘How do you know this?'

‘While locked away in his debriefing, Dillon has been a great informant. He was one of Lathenia's highestranking
soldiers and his knowledge at this level has been exceptional. He has not hesitated to share it with us. His debriefing is almost over. He will be joining you all soon as a member of the Guard.'

This is incredible news. Dillon has only been away for a short time. Around the table the others mutter and whisper among themselves.

‘Is this wise?' Mr Carter is first to make his opinion known.

Arkarian waits until the room falls quiet. ‘It is not for us to make that judgement. From what I have been told, Dillon's knowledge and experience will make him a valuable member. He has worked closely with the wren of the underworld, and has told us how they can be destroyed.'

‘Through water?' Shaun queries.

‘Their wings are cumbersome and quite useless. Under water they become clogged and heavy. They panic, and while submerged their own fear kills them.'

‘Well, that's a start. Is there any other way to kill these wren?'

Arkarian glances at Matt. Matt feels his stare and turns his head away. ‘We need the weapons in the treasury.'

‘For heaven's sake!' Mr Carter exclaims. ‘We don't have the blasted key! And we have to wait until Matt comes back from his journey to whereverland before we can even go looking for it! Do we have the time to spare, Arkarian?'

‘Probably not, Marcus. But whatever time we have, it will have to do.'

Isabel sleeps for eighteen hours without stirring. I don't want to wake her, but it's time for me to leave. Arkarian is waiting for me in his chambers. I shake her gently.

‘Isabel.'

She wakes with a start and grips the top of her quilt. ‘Is it Ethan?'

‘He's fine.'

As her mind starts to focus, it dawns on her what I'm doing in her room. She pulls herself into a sitting position and runs a hand over her dishevelled hair. ‘Are you going now?'

I nod and we sit side by side on the bed.

‘Do you know how long you're going to be away?'

‘No, but Arkarian says that where I'm going time is measured differently and that the people who live there take no notice of it. So I could be away for months or for just a few days. I've told Mum, since school is out for the rest of the week, I'm going up north to visit some friends and get away from this cold.'

She nods, but can't help keeping her concern from showing. She bites down on her lower lip and when she looks at me, there are questions in her eyes.

I wish she would tell me what's troubling her. I get the feeling it has to do with something that happened in the underworld. I don't want to leave her like this.

‘Ever since we came back from the underworld there's been a strange vibe between us, like we're hiding something from each other. But, Isabel, I don't have any secrets. Not from you.'

She takes a deep breath. ‘Then you really don't know?'

What is she talking about? ‘Know what?'

‘You're the oldest. You should remember stuff from our childhood better than me.'

‘Are you talking about Dad walking out? I remember that day.'

‘Not just that day, Matt. What about conversations you had with him? How far do your memories go back?'

‘I do have some odd memories of my childhood that don't make much sense.'

‘Tell me what you remember. Tell me everything.'

I glance away for a second at the movie poster on her bedroom wall. How much should I tell her? Some of my earliest recollections are too strange to say out loud. I decide to be honest; I'm tired of being confused. Who knows, maybe Isabel will know what I'm talking about. ‘My earliest memory is of the moment I was conceived.'

Maybe not. She looks at me as if I'm pulling her leg.

‘If you want me to stop …'

She reaches out and touches my arm. ‘No. Keep going.'

‘OK. It was as if I had been conceived with all-seeing eyes and fully developed emotions. I can even remember the thud of my heart's first beat.'

‘I'm not sure why, but I do believe you, Matt. It's just a strange concept. Tell me what you remember about … our father.'

My elbows slide to my knees and I glance away to the floor. How do I explain these feelings of guilt I have inside? And a strong suspicion that the reason our father walked out of our lives was my fault. ‘I remember that he loved you –
adored
you. And that he didn't love me.'

Her hand on my arm tightens its grip. ‘Remember when we were in the underworld, and we had to pass through that mountain of ice?'