AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The daemons bring the Omnikey
Which is kept close, where the heart should be.
For it opens doors, locks, and more,
A treasure to guard, forever more.”
“Kept close, where the heart should be…” I fiddled with my ring of ravens as I thought out loud. “Do we think that could be a metaphor? Heart could mean love.” I was remembering what Amon had told me about shifters exchanging rib bones when they mated as a symbol of love. Because the rib bones are close to the heart.
“Could it have something to do with Elvira? She was The Origin’s life mate, or true love, right? Is that what the poem could mean by where the heart should be?”
Amon looked thoughtful.
“Elvira is frozen in stone next to The Origin in the throne room of Ash Nevra’s palace,” he said. I tried not to outwardly wince. I’m sure it caused him pain to refer to it as Ash Nevra’s palace, when he knew deep down that it was The Origin’s castle.
“I have stood before them both many times and have not seen any key.”
“Maybe, yuh need to look wid di Lens” Conrad reasoned. “Maybe wi need tuh bring di lens tuh Elvira tuh see if di key is hidden close to har heart?”
Meredith nodded. “It’s possible. We can’t see the keyhole in the box of The Flute without The Lens, maybe the Omnikey is hidden in a similar manner on Elvira.”
Amon came forward and took the book from Kasha, reviewing the cover.
“The cover says that these prophecies were written in The Origin’s Court, between 1645 and 1663.
This was before he was frozen into stone. I’m beginning to think that he was the daemon who collected these objects and distributed them to these resting places. So that we might find them. He knew he was going to be petrified.”
“Den dat makes it even more likely, dat he would hide di Omnikey with Elvira. Him heart,” Conrad mused out loud. Amon nodded.
“Amazing,” he said, looking at me. “Great work team.”
“Hold up,” Rycon interjected, “That’s all fine, well and good, but you all just seemed to glaze over the fact that Elvira is frozen in stone in Ash Nevra’s fucken castle. How exactly are we supposed to get it from there without getting barbequed?”
Amon looked at him, and for a moment, I was worried they were going to get into it again.
“That… is an excellent point,” Amon said, his voice serious. “You are Rhoan, what do you think we should do?” Amon might as well have slapped Rycon. He gaped for moment, before quickly recovering.
“Kasha is a chameleon; can she not slip in disguised as someone else with The Lens and check out the statues?” He asked.
“It is not that easy for me to infiltrate Ash Nevra’s palace. I was a slave there for centuries, they would recognize my aura at the security check point, even if I dampen it. Besides, since Raven disappeared from Elvira’s stone womb, the statues are closely watched. I think the only time they are not guarded is when Ash Nevra is holding court.” Kasha explained.
“Is there a way that we can appear to be visiting for sanctioned reasons, and keep her distracted while someone creeps in to examine Elvira with The Lens?” Rycon wondered.
“Dat is… a good idea, Rycon,” Conrad said, as if he were surprised the words were leaving his own mouth.
Rycon snorted. “Don’t look so shocked, Obeah Man. I was a mercenary for years. That gig comes with a lot of problem solving.”
Conrad just shrugged, grinning. Suddenly, I had an idea.
“While I was healing after the battle at the docks, Amon told me that he went to Ash Nevra’s Court to smooth things over. She said he would have to prove I was dead or broken after the Quickening. She’s going to call for me to come anyway in a few days. Why don’t we use that as our excuse?” I suggested. Everyone went silent.
“We can go under the pretense that I am Amon’s prisoner. You’ve convinced her to let you take Kasha and Dossidian, and to allow you to release all the slaves in your court. We can make the meeting about you requesting to ‘keep me’, too.” Still, no one said a word. The temperature in the room dropped, and everyone looked at Amon.
“No.” he said. I frowned.
“What do you mean, no? We have to do something, and this feels like an opportunity to get in there and do what we need to do.”
Amon was suddenly in front of me, and it was as if we were the only two people in the room. His hands were on either side of my face. He met my eyes with such a fierce intensity, I tried to look away.
