The Key

by Felicia Rogers

  Dad flipped over a page in the book stacked atop the pile in front of him, but suddenly stopped. “Okay, you’ve piqued my curiosity. What was the lesson about?”

  “Names and what they mean.”

  Dad tilted his head. “And?”

  “And my name means defender of mankind, a huntsman, and a dark chieftain.”

  “I already knew that. Go on.”

  “Dougal is a dark stranger who is lord of lochs.”

  “From your description of him, this doesn’t come as a surprise. Continue.”

  “And Maddie, well, she’s the key keeper for a high tower.”

  The book his father held slipped through his fingers and landed on the cluttered floor with a thump. “Just like in the dream,” he whispered. “This confirms what we thought. She must be from Arin’s line and she’s the only one who can open the tower. Our family has been destined to protect her. No wonder you keep changing when she needs help.”

  “What’s in the tower again?”

  “According to the ancient texts, the dark ones are in the tower.”

  “And we’re sure they’re Doran’s family?”

  “Based on what you’ve told me, I think so. Somehow he escaped imprisonment and he wants Maddie to open the door and release the prisoners.”

  “But why?”

  “I don’t really know. Maybe to rule the world? Maybe to destroy the world? Or perhaps just to have his family back?”

  Chase grimaced. “I wonder what Doran stands for.”

  Dad leaned across the floor, picked up a book from another stack, and flipped through a few pages. “Doran, of Irish origin, means pilgrim, stranger, exile.”

  ****

  “Doesn’t it bother you to hold your brother prisoner?” Gregory asked.

  “You’re not my brother,” answered Dougal. School had been atrocious and his head ached dreadfully. All he wanted to do was lie back on the chaise until the pain or the world vanished, and he didn’t much care which. Unfortunately, Gregory was in no mood to let that occur.

  “Oh, but I must be. For we are all related.”

  “Serena, can’t you make him shut up?”

  Serena threw something. Whatever it was clattered against the rock face then rattled to the floor. Nothing breakable, then. “I’m afraid not. If I could, I would’ve done so much earlier.” Even her voice seemed agitated.

  “Why should I be quiet? Free me and I’ll kill the girl, and you and I can rule.”

  “What good would that do? There could always be another. Cian and Arin were quite prolific, I understand.”

  Gregory scoffed. “Have you not heard? They’re all gone. She’s the last one. With her vanquished, the tower will never be opened.”

  Silence fell over the cave. Not even the usual draft whispered. Dougal opened his eyes and glanced around. The tension radiating from Serena was palpable.

  “He doesn’t know anything,” she said.

  Out of Gregory’s sight, Dougal wrung his hands. So there was something Serena hadn’t known. Could it be true that Maddie was the last key holder? The last eochair? The pain behind his eyes pounded harder.

  As if to hide her concern, Serena’s voice turned soft. “We don’t want to rule. We only want to reap the rewards of being on the winning side. For that to happen, the girl need only serve us with one small favor.”

  Gregory laughed outright. “What makes you think she’ll do anything for you?”

  “With the right motivation, she’ll be more than willing. Trust me.”

  The dark gryphon’s eyeroll spoke more than his words. “Doran, or Dougal, whatever you call yourself, why do you listen to this crazy woman? She’s brought you nothing but grief, I can tell. She’s only trying to fulfill her own desires, don’t you see that?” He threw out his hands. “What possible hold could she have over you?”

  Without responding, Serena stretched on the lounge and covered her face. Dougal watched her chest rise and fall with her breathing. She had no hold over him. He wanted the door open so he could have a relationship with his father, what he should have had as a young child. It was owed to him and he planned to have it. Whether he would sacrifice Maddie to get that relationship was becoming the difficult question.

  Being around her had awakened a need in him. He could remain human if he could find his true love. What if Maddie was the one he sought? What if she could make him human all the time without Serena’s spells? Was the paternal relationship he’d sought for years worth risking his ability to be human?

  That was the million dollar question.

  ****

  Maddie oohed and ahhed over Colton’s fossil collection while Carissa wound her way around them, setting the table. The boy was quite animated when he described something he enjoyed, but he didn’t notice when Maddie grabbed the silverware from Carissa and slid it into position beside the plates. He was too busy pointing out something fascinating on his largest fossil.

  Chase had disappeared. Carissa finally slid the last fossil from the tabletop to a nearby counter, then called everyone to dinner, and the family — including Chase and his father — gathered around, pulling out chairs and then tucking themselves behind their plates. Following grace, Maddie dove in elbow to elbow with everyone else, filling her plate. Chase smiled and sent her a thumbs up. Heat rushed to her cheeks and she let her hair cover her face.

  When dinner was finished, Carissa refused her help with the clean-up. Instead Maddie curled her feet beneath her on the living room couch and listened to Craig strum his new guitar. She’d never had any little brothers, nor any little sisters, for that matter. Funny, how much she liked them.

  “Are you ready to go?” Chase stood in the doorway, holding an overnight bag with fresh clothes.

  “Ah, don’t take her yet! I was just going to show her my newest song.”

  Chase collapsed beside her and snuck his arm across her shoulders. She snuggled into his side, enjoying the smell of his cologne while Craig warbled from one imaginative note to the next. When he finished his song, they clapped and whistled their approval.

  “Thanks,” said Craig, a flush covering his cheeks.

  “Now we really have to go.” Chase helped her stand. The electrical pulse that shot through her hand had a lower voltage than usual and she eyed Chase to see if he’d even felt it. His blue eyes burned brightly into hers and she gulped. He had.

  Shouldering her backpack, she said, “I’m ready.”

  Carissa and Alex stood at the front door and waved as the truck backed from the driveway and headed toward the hospital. Once there, Chase waited in the lobby and worked on homework while she visited with her now lucid grandmother. Irritated by her forced stay, she tried to convince Maddie to take her home right then but the doctor had other plans.

  On the drive home, Chase asked, “It’s a good sign that your grandma is finally awake, right?”

  “Most definitely. Dr. Gomez seems to think she’ll be able to come home in another day or so.” Maddie refused to dance on the truck’s bench seat, but it was a close-run thing.

  “What do they think happened?”

  But that question sobered her instantly. “They don’t know. He said he ran every test he could think of and everything came back negative.” She shrugged, watching his profile, little more than an outline in the truck cab as the world leaned toward sunset. “So maybe it was a spider bite, or perhaps she was just overly tired.”

  “Hmm.”

  Maddie shifted her gaze to the road. A shadow passed overhead, like an airplane. She twisted her neck and body around, struggling to get a better look.

  Behind the wheel, Chase shifted. “Did you see something?”

  She shook her head and settled against her seat. How could she tell him about the flying beasts that she kept seeing, without him thinking she was crazy?

  He let her get away with the non-answer and instead took a deep breath. “So what did you think of Mr. Stanley’s lesson today?”

  Now that was a topic
she could enjoy discussing. “It was interesting. Oddly enough, most of the meanings fit the person. I mean, Felicity is definitely a happy girl, always wearing that goofy grin, the typical bubbly cheerleader. And Kassandra, seducer of men, need I say more! And Mary! Whew! She is clearly the bitterest girl I’ve ever met.”

  “What did you think about the description of Dougal?” His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel and she swallowed before answering.

  “A dark lord of lochs? Oh, yeah, captured him perfectly. And you? Great dark chieftain, huntsman, and defender of mankind.” She didn’t mention herself. She didn’t want to draw attention, because the teacher calling her the keeper of the tower keys wasn’t her finest moment — not with that recurring nightmare.

  He cleared his throat. “And what of you? The keeper of the high tower’s keys?”

  He would ask. She swooped hair behind her ear and tried to be nonchalant. “Yeah, what a ridiculous description. My name means I keep keys. Why couldn’t I have been named Belle, which stands for beauty, or something like that? Instead I am a key holder. Perhaps I have a future career as a locksmith.” She laughed. Did her humor sound real? She hoped so. “Yeah, that’s it. Dougal is a Harley Davidson gang member, you’re a ninja, and I’m a locksmith!”

  Chase snickered. “Oh, Maddie, you’re too hard on yourself. Perhaps your name holds a deeper meaning that you’re unaware of yet.”

  They stopped in front of the house — how had they gotten there so fast? When had she quit watching the road? — and Maddie scooted to the middle of the bench seat. She stared into his eyes. “How do you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Always say the right thing? The thing that will make me feel better, I mean. Do you want to make out?”

  Chase spit and sputtered, and she used her hand to cover her mouth and stifle a giggle.

  “What did you say?” he asked.

  “Hmm, I’m not sure. I think I said you always say the right things and make me feel better.”

  “No, after that.”

  “Oh, I asked if you wanted to make out.”

  Her wide grin outweighed her seriousness. He nodded sagely, then leaned over and gave her a swift peck on the cheek before jumping from the truck. She leaned out the window and yelled, “Is that it?”

  “Yup.”

  She grabbed her things and rushed after him. But he froze in the doorway, blocking her view, and she had no choice but to stop short behind him.

  “Maddie, stay put.” And now there was no laughter in his tone at all.

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  She peered around him and gasped.

  ****

  Would he ever really be able to protect her from the evils that surrounded her?

  Ugly words of hatred, and one word he didn’t recognize, eochair, covered the living room walls. Someone had broken in — while her grandma was in the hospital, no less! — and sprayed graffiti everywhere. Not even very well; drips coursed down the walls from the straggling, malformed letters, as if the so-called artist hadn’t known how to taper off the spray. At least he hadn’t painted the floor, the drapes, or the furniture.

  She peered around him again. “Who would do such a thing?”

  He stared at her trembling frame and ran his hand through his hair. “We should call the police.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “My grandma doesn’t have the best reputation. They already think she’s a little odd. You should’ve seen the woman at the hospital when I told her who they’d admitted. She gave me this knowing look like my grandma was a frequent visitor but really belonged in a loony bin.”

  Maddie sucked in a ragged breath. “I think it’s probably best if we just keep this to ourselves.” She huffed a sigh and eased farther into the room. Timidly, she stroked the dried red paint. Pointing at the last word, she asked, “What does it mean?”

  “I don’t know. We can look it up… later.” He paused. “If you don’t want to call the police, then we need to straighten this up before tomorrow. Can you imagine how your grandma would react if she came home to this?”

  She whispered, “I can. Because it’s probably how I’m reacting right now.”

  They straightened the room, then tackled the walls, scrubbing with sponges.

  “This isn’t working,” said Chase, leaning back and studying their lack of progress.

  “You noticed?”

  “We’ve no choice. We have to paint.”

  Maddie stared at the floor.

  Clearly he’d said the wrong thing that time. Chase tilted her chin upward. “What’s wrong? It’s not like these old walls didn’t need a coat of paint anyway.”

  “It’s not that. It’s just, well, I don’t have money to buy paint and Grandma doesn’t give me access to her account.”

  Ignoring their sweaty clothing, damp from their scrubbing efforts, he encircled her waist with his arms, turned her around, and dragged her back against his chest. “Don’t worry. I have some money left over from a summer job. We’ll stop and get the paint tomorrow after school.”

  “Chase, that’s very generous, but—”

  “Don’t argue. I want to do it.”

  She turned in his embrace and snaked her hands around his neck. “Perhaps I can repay you for your kindness with something other than money.”

  Oh, he liked the sound of that! He raised a brow. “What did you have in mind? Maybe washing my socks? Or babysitting my little brothers? Or cleaning my room? Or…”

  She placed her finger across his lips. “I was thinking more along the lines of a few well-placed kisses.”

  “Hmm… that’s not a bad idea.”

  The phone trilled — right then, right then! — and he groaned. Maddie smiled and wiggled free. But while she listened, occasionally murmuring some form of agreement, varied emotions flitted across her face. Finally she hung up, passed him, and plopped onto the couch. “That was Dr. Gomez.”

  “And?”

  “And he said Grandma Draoi is as healthy as a horse, and her friend will bring her home tomorrow while I’m at school.”

  A million questions raced through his mind. Why couldn’t the doctors find anything wrong with a woman who had been at death’s door only a day before? And what of Draoi’s unexpected release? The doctor had just told Maddie a few hours ago that it would be a couple more days before she could come home, and now a friend was bringing her tomorrow?

  Skipping the complicated questions, he asked a simpler one. “What friend is bringing her home?”

  “I don’t know. I assume it’s the same lady who takes her shopping and drives us to church most Sundays.”

  Huh. “Do you think we should stay out of school and pick her up ourselves?”

  “The doctor insisted my grandma didn’t want me to miss school.”

  “Okay.” He sat next to her and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. A thought struck him and he spoke it aloud. “So this is our last night alone.”

  Chapter 31

  At Chase’s statement, all thought of painting over the vandalized walls fled from her mind. He was right. This would be their last night alone, at least for a while.

  “I’m not saying let’s ignore the damage,” Chase said. “But for now, let’s put it aside. Let’s do something to make tonight special.” Delicately he rubbed his hands along her arms.

  Maddie shivered beneath his touch. How had she lived so long without it? “Yes. What do you have in mind?” Her heartbeat echoed loudly in her ears. Their last night already. It didn’t seem right.

  He snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. There’s only one problem; I need to drive to town.” She groaned loudly and he laughed. “I promise I won’t be gone long.”

  “What should I be doing while you’re gone?”

  “Hmm, why don’t you take a hot bubble bath, dress in your fanciest dress, sweep up your hair, and wait on me?”

  Anticipation heated her cheeks. “Okay.”

&
nbsp; Maddie almost jumped up and down like a bunny as Chase raced out the door, only stopping once to blow her a kiss. A bunny? She groaned again. Had she actually thought that?

  Upstairs, she flung her closet door open and glanced at her gown choices. Grandma’s attic had rejuvenated her wardrobe and she had two gowns from that source that she hadn’t worn yet. So which should it be, the pale peach or the emerald green? Which should she wear? The peach hit right above her ankles; the emerald stopped above the knees in multiple layers of tulle and glitter.

  The full-length mirror hanging to her left reflected her bright jade eyes, making her decision for her. She laid the emerald gown on the bed. Next she shuffled through the closet’s bottom for the matching shoes, and giggled again at how little fashions had changed through the decades; her mother’s old shoes fit her just fine and looked like the latest fad. When everything was picked, she grabbed underthings and raced to the bathroom.

  She tapped her toes as the hot water ran into the tub, making a cascade of foamy bubbles. Chase had the best ideas.

  ****

  Out of sorts, Dougal had left the lair. The constant aggravation of Gregory and Serena’s pitchy whining had irritated his headache to a new level, and all he wanted was to feel the clean, cool wind in his face. Soaring through the night sky, finally finding release, he’d decided to check in on Maddie. By then she should have arrived at the farmhouse and found his handiwork.

  Now, hanging outside the window and peering through, he watched with envious eyes. This was not what was supposed to happen. He had vandalized the walls to get her attention. If she had called the police, or took time to figure out the Irish word for key, eochair, then she would have run out of the house, away from her defender and the druid’s protective spells, and been exposed. He could’ve taken her. He would’ve swooped in and rescued her, flying far away from everything and keeping her all to himself. But instead she was planning a private tête-à-tête with Chase!

  His blood ran hot as Chase ran from the house and climbed into the truck. The boy was whistling! Whistling! How could that be? Dougal had desecrated Maddie’s domicile, her sanctuary. Yet her defender acted as if nothing had occurred. It was outrageous.