AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did, too. Resolutely, I turned around and retraced my steps. Once I was back over the fence, I walked over to the gate and sat cross-legged on the ground, pressing my back against the sturdy metal structure. The magic that protected both the gate and this place ran up my spine and seemed to cocoon me. Hopefully, it would also protect me, because I was about to step onto the gray fields, and that meant leaving my body totally without protection. If Hunter had any suspicion that I might have come here, then I could be in big trouble.
Of course, I could—and probably should—have asked Tao to guard me. But he and the elemental’s truce was still relatively new, and I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. Asking him to walk away from the fire the elemental was desperate to protect might just throw their truce into turmoil. I’d rather risk my own safety than do that.
I took a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to calm the tension running through m
e. I might as well have tried damming a river with a feather. The Dušan stirred to life as I fought for calm; then her tail flicked out and wrapped itself around the small chunks of concrete I held in my hand. Ensuring, I realized, that the key was transported to the gray fields with us.
Awareness of everything around me began to fade. Ilianna’s charm flared to life, and a heartbeat later, my psyche pulled free from my body and stepped onto the gray fields. The key was in my hand, and this time it was a key—an old-fashioned metal latchkey, or the broken end parts of it, anyway.
The Dušan unraveled her tail from my hand, then exploded into being, her energy flowing through me as her serpentine form gained flesh and shape. She swirled around me, the wind of her body buffeting mine as her sharp ebony gaze scanned the fields around us. There was no sign of concern in her movements, however, no sense that danger was near. The Raziq were gone, and while I had no doubt there were other dangers in this place that I knew nothing about, right now they were not my concern.
I headed for the temple grounds, moving as fast as I could in this place, and yet aware that it wasn’t fast enough, that time was passing. And I had a horrible feeling that back in my own world, events were beginning to escalate.
It was tempting—so damn tempting—to exit out of here. But we’d fought long and hard—had shared blood and tears and lost friends—to gain this key, and I couldn’t walk away from the chance of keeping it safe.
No matter what the cost.
I hit the temple grounds but didn’t stop, moving on to the section that held the living quarters. The Dušan peeled away from my side as I did so, unable to enter this particular area. The ethereal and surreal buildings disappeared, replaced by a honeycombed tunnel along which ran various oddly shaped doors. Some glowed; some did not. I ran along the corridor until I reached the odd-shaped door that led into the rooms that had been both my father’s and Lucian’s. I pressed my palm into the middle of the door and it reacted instantly, emitting a warm, nonthreatening light that briefly scanned my hand.
The door clicked open. The room beyond was large and circular in shape, with ghostly honeycombed walls defining its area. There was no furniture or adornments—or nothing that I recognized as such. It felt empty, and yet there was an odd sense of expectation.
That is because those who gave it warmth are now dead, and she who will inhabit it in the future is not yet born.
I jumped and spun, Amaya instantly in my hand even as recognition stirred. It was the remnant who’d stopped Malin. Though I still couldn’t see him, his presence hovered near the still-open door.
Sorry, I said, lowering my sword. You scared me.
In this place, there are certainly things that should be feared, but I am not one of them. He paused. What is your purpose here?
I found the key. I raised one piece of it. And I want to store it in this room, if the magic that protects it from all but invited guests is still active.
For as long as there are those who carry the bloodline of either Hieu or his chrání are alive, this room will remain in existence.
Hieu or his chrání—my father and Lucian. Which meant . . . me, my son, and Ilianna’s daughter. So I can leave this key here?
You may. No reaper, soul, or even the darkest practitioner can enter this place. Not without some link back to those who created it.
Good. I spun around, walked to the center of the room, and deposited the key on the floor. I stared at it for a moment, oddly uneasy about leaving it simply sitting there, ready to be picked up by anyone who happened by. No one could, but that was beside the point. So I imagined a cage around it, one that was as strong and as ethereal as the temples themselves.
An orb-like filament of light formed around it, linked to the floor by a fiber no thicker than a hair. The key sat within it and seemed to emit a muted, brassy gold light.
I turned around and walked back to the door. The remnant retreated, allowing me to exit. The door closed softly behind me. I knew it would be a long time before it was opened again.
Now, I said, as I retraced my steps through the honeycomb hallway, I must return home.
And the piece of key you still hold?
Is bait for a monster we need to bring down.
And after?
I don’t know. The only thing I’m certain about right now is the need to keep the pieces separate. I returned to the main temple area; the Dušan swirled around me, her movements impatient, eager. And yet there was nothing here to fight.
Not here, the remnant agreed. She is eager to fight the foe in your world.
She can’t help me with that.
Normally, I would agree, but there is a magic and a presence in this one I have not sensed before. It might provide a solution to the problem you face.
