The Keeper (The Endless Chronicles Book 1)

by Nikki Mccormack

  “What…” Naago hung his head, unable to finish the sentence.

  All at once, the room stopped spinning and came into sharp focus, every color brighter than it had been a moment ago. The effect was strongest with Kato whose scaled hide gleamed, as if lit from within, the gold of his eyes flickering like candle flames. His claws looked longer and sharper now and his wings rippled with continuous subtle waves of color. He was truly the most magnificent creature Deynas had ever seen and he was looking them all over shrewdly now, his color darkening to a deep maroon.

  “For as long as Endless can live, I would have expected you to be more patient,” Kato grumbled. “So be it. As you’ve noticed by now, there was something extra in your drinks. The Keeper will be able to enter the Halls of the Blooded beneath the ruins because her spirit resides within and because she is… unique. In order for you to enter, you need to see the world with the vision of a spirit.”

  “But the Blooded Women aren’t spirits,” Naago stated, his gaze zeroed in on one of Kato’s spectacular wings as he spoke.

  “The Blooded are spirits. The Blooded Women, however, are flesh constructs. Each group of six women has one blood spirit bound to it.” He held a hand up to silence the question forming on Deynas’s tongue. “We can discuss your questions later, Deynas-ra, if there is a later for you.” The gold eyes swept over them. “The Halls beneath the city belong to the blood spirits. The vision I have given you will get you inside, but it will not get you out again. The way out is unknown to me. You must enter the Halls knowing that you may not ever leave. You must be willing to risk your lives for her.” Kato looked at Deynas now. “Are you willing to risk that, Deynas-ra?”

  Deynas stood and inclined his head to the warlord. “I am.”

  Kato’s gaze flickered to the next seat over. “And you, Naago-ra?”

  Naago was a little slower to stand, but he also inclined his head once he was on his feet. “I am.”

  “As am I.”

  They all turned to Settek as the young crossbreed stood.

  Kato shook his head, a red so dark it was almost black cascaded down his scaled hide. “You are not going, Settek. This is not your fight.”

  Settek took a step forward. In the new sight the drug gave Deynas, the crossbreed’s mane rippled with shimmers of defiant gold. He was every bit his father’s son.

  “It is my fight, Father. I will stand beside the Endless and help the Keeper for my own reasons.”

  “It has taken a long time for you to find your worth, Settek. I would not choose to lose you now. Are you certain you want to do this?”

  “I must, Father, if I wish to keep that worth.”

  Pride and a hint of sorrow shone in Kato’s eyes when he inclined his head slowly to his son. “Then it shall be. Kaira will lead you to the entrance, but she will not go in with you.” He turned a firm gaze on his daughter. “Will she?”

  Kaira stood and held up her hands in a show of concession. “Of course not.”

  “Wait.” Settek scowled at his sister. “Why does she know the way?”

  Kato chuckled. “Because, until recently, I could not trust you with such knowledge. Go now. The drug will only last so long.”

  Settek set down his glass and stared at it for a moment. He smirked. “You knew I would go or you wouldn’t have had her put the drug in my drink.”

  Kato only smiled, the expression still tinted with sorrow, and gestured toward the door with one clawed hand.

  Deynas put the pendant around his neck then turned to follow Kaira out, but he felt a hand on his shoulder, holding him back. The other three continued out the door as he turned. There was no one close enough to have touched him.

  Kato regarded him solemnly from where he stood before his desk. “Naago-ra and Settek do this for the Keeper. Would you still do this if you found her in a new host? Would you be willing to die for her if the Endless woman you love was gone?”

  “Yes.”

  Kato shook his head. “I do not care what your answer is now. Think about it while you follow my daughter. If both you and Naago-ra are with the Keeper then the host’s umahk-ra will be complete and they will both be stronger for it. However, when you stand before the entrance to the Halls of the Blooded, if you have any doubt, do not go in. You will only do more harm that way.”

  “If this matters so much to you, come with us.”

  “I cannot. If you survive, perhaps I will explain this to you.” Kato turned his back to Deynas, putting his glorious wings on full display. “Now go.”

  Deynas inclined his head once before hurrying after the others.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  They followed Kaira down to the ruin level and through a long corridor that took them around behind the arena. Thick as the walls were, they did little to muffle the sounds of fighting and the bloodthirsty roar of the crowd. At the end of the corridor, she turned them away from a door that led, from the sounds of it, out into the stadium and gestured to a square slab of stone inset into the floor in an alcove. The alcove saw little use judging from the layer of dust over the slab.

  Naago and Settek knelt next to it, brushing away ages of dust to reveal finger holes.

  Deynas let them handle the heavy lifting. Although his shoulder felt much better, he saw no reason to test it yet. Kato’s words suggested there might be ample need for that soon enough. While they slid the heavy stone out of the way, Deynas fingered the staff grip at his belt. Despite the hit it had taken from the demon plowing into the ground with the weapon stuck in its spine, the staff was still fully functional. He wouldn’t have expected to be using it again after that. Of course, he was a little surprised to be doing anything at all after that encounter.

  Twice now he had fought to protect the Keeper and he had entrusted her with his mother’s pendant. Was it all just because she wore the body of the woman he loved? Was it because the Keeper was a revered creature of legend? Was there something deeper to it? If she wore another flesh, would he have risked so much to keep her safe? He couldn’t hate her, but how much of that was because he could see Argus bleeding through in candid moments? Was there any way to know the answer for certain?

  He glanced up to find Kaira watching him. She immediately turned her gaze to the dark hole Naago and Settek had finished uncovering. The stench of blood and waste wafted up through the opening, more concentrated than anything he’d smelled in the Undercity.

  “I’ll go first,” Settek announced, his nose wrinkling as he stared into the depths, his long hesitation betraying how he really felt about making the descent into the pungent region below the Undercity.

  Kaira nodded. “Naago, you come last and slide the stone back in if you can.”

  Settek stepped down onto the ladder and descended out of sight. Kaira started to follow, but Deynas cut her off.

  She batted her thick lashes at him. “Trying to be gallant?”

  He found himself grinning back and wondering if she had some of her father’s glamour ability or was simply that charming. Either way, she was a pleasure to be around. “Maybe a little.”

  She slid the shoulder pack she carried around behind her and tapped a dagger at her belt with one long fingernail. “I’m not completely helpless.”

  “Get a move on,” Naago snapped.

  Kaira turned a delighted smile on the other Endless man, perhaps pleased by the show of jealous temper, then she stepped back and gestured for Deynas to precede her down into the hole.

  Deynas shrugged the moment off. It made little sense to take offense at Naago’s jealousy, not when he would much rather see it directed at Kaira than at the Keeper. He stepped down on the ladder and began his descent. A hand caught his wrist as he passed below the level of the floor. He looked up at Kaira.

  She held a small silver ball down to him. “It’s a light. Right now, your spirit sight will help you see in the dark. When that goes away, you will be nearly blind down there. Keep this with you.” She turned it to show him a little silver bump. “Press and
rub the nodule here to turn it on.” She winked then. “For future reference, that turns me on too.”

  Deynas chuckled and took the ball, tucking it in a pocket as he resumed his descent. The rungs were narrow and the ladder creaked with each step. Looking down, he could see a large corridor opening up below his feet, the ladder dropping down in the center of a four-way intersection. Settek was stepping out of view down one corridor. When Deynas dropped below the ceiling of the corridor, Settek cried out and came flying back out of the dark as if thrown, landing hard on the floor. Something that looked like a large dog, only covered in white scales instead of fur, landed on his chest, sinking its teeth into the arm the crossbreed threw up in front of his face. Settek grabbed the beast around the neck with his other hand, claws digging in, searching for access to the softer flesh beneath the scales.

  Deynas shoved off from the ladder and landed hard next to the struggle. His staff grip was already in hand and armed by the time his feet hit the ground. With an overhead sweep, he brought the blade down through the beast’s neck, severing his head. The jaws slackened and the body slumped to one side, leaving the head hanging in Settek’s grip. The crossbreed stared wide-eyed for a moment at the blade of the staff where the swing stopped no more than a finger’s width away from his chest. After a second, he took a breath and turned the head in his hand, eyeing the cut a hairsbreadth back from his fingers.

  He tossed the head to the side and looked up at Deynas. “Very…precise. Thank you.”

  Deynas moved the weapon away and offered a hand. Settek accepted without any of the hesitation he had shown when their roles had been reversed in the village. Admirable. He was starting to like the bastard.

  Deynas pulled him up. His shoulder felt strong. Whatever Kaira had put in his drink, it was potent stuff.

  Kaira was hurrying down the ladder, hips swinging back and forth in a distracting way with each step down. The pants and shirt she had on hugged to her skin in such a way that he found it almost more arousing than the scanty bits of clothing she wore when working in the hotel.

  She glanced down over her shoulder at them. “I heard someone shout. Is everyone all right?”

  Blood flowed from the bite on Settek’s arm. The crossbreed sniffed at the wound and snorted. “Venom,” he growled. “I could use a dip in the medical kit.”

  Naago began his descent while Kaira gave Settek a vial of something to drink. She cleaned and wrapped the wound in the quick, efficient manner of someone familiar with minor injuries. With that done, she gave him a rag to wipe the beast’s blood off his chest.

  Deynas inspected the dead creature, its scaled hide leached of color by life underground. “What is it?”

  Kaira glanced at the beast. “Darro. Cave-dwelling canines. I’ve never seen one before, but I’ve heard of them. I thought they would be bigger than that.”

  Once on the ground, Naago gave the bandage and the blood-soaked rag a cursory glance. He met Settek’s eyes. “Place seems less then welcoming. Are you still fit to fight?”

  Settek nodded. “I’d be even better if this place didn’t smell like corpse rot.”

  Kaira started walking down one corridor. “It’s better when you get away from the fighting rings.”

  Deynas hurried after her, matching his pace to her long purposeful strides once he caught up. “How big is this place?”

  “These corridors are part of a natural cavern system hidden beneath the ancient Endless settlement. They were kept secret from the human races for a long time, protected by some of the spirits and demons that live here. There was no surface access from the city until Father had the arena in the ruins restored and an entrance cut down into them. A few other warlords have accessed this section since. They work well for moving illegal supplies if you can contend with the occasional beasts like the one Settek scared up. Father initiated a project to reinforce and improve the portion beneath the city. Farther out, the caverns are mostly untouched by such development. You could spend several weeks down here and not see as much as a third of the chambers and passages.”

  Deynas looked around the corridor. In places, new formations were growing on the walls, ceiling and floors. The natural cave working to reclaim developed corridors. Even the steel pillars set at regular intervals along both sides of the passage had developed a layer of new growth over their surfaces. In many places, the new growth bore stains of red and brown due to the blood and filth draining down from the Undercity.

  He tried not to breathe the rancid odor of the Undercity waste in through his nose, but breathing through his mouth made it so he could taste the filth on his tongue. Better to smell it, he decided.

  “Kaira is our guide and I understand why Deynas and I are here. Why are you here, Settek?”

  Kaira gave Naago a cutting glance. “Don’t pester him.”

  “It’s fine. All our lives are in danger here. He has a right to ask.”

  Settek fell into step beside the other Endless and Deynas dropped back next to them, curious. The crossbreed met his eyes for a moment, the bright gold in his gaze dimming. The change sent sorrow through Deynas in a slow wave. Settek also shared some of his father’s mood altering glamour it seemed.

  “When the demons took the city five years ago, Kato told our mother to flee with the other Endless. She refused. She told him she would rather die than live her life without him.”

  Naago gave a derisive snort and Settek grabbed his arm, jerking the man around to face him. The crossbreed’s claws pressed against Naago’s skin, his arm trembling with the effort of restraint, and Deynas couldn’t help remembering how easily one of those claws had sunk through the fabric of the chair in the temple.

  “If you are unable to believe an Endless woman could love a demon that deeply than I would ask that you keep your bigoted hands off my sister. I will only ask nicely once.”

  Naago jerked his arm free, cutting himself on Settek’s claws as he did so, and reached for his sword. Settek’s gold eyes were on fire, his mane flaring bright, but he didn’t make a move for his own weapon. Deynas dropped his hand to his staff grip, a little shocked to realize he meant to use it in the crossbreed’s defense if necessary.

  “Stop!” Kaira stomped one boot in a manner that might have been charming if the situation were less serious.

  Settek’s blazing eyes stayed locked on Naago, but the elder Endless man turned his pale gaze to Kaira. After a moment, he moved his hand away from his sword and faced Settek again.

  “I apologize. It is because of your sister that I know such love could be possible. I just haven’t quite reconciled the idea with so many years of trained prejudice. I have lived a very long time and yet it seems that I still have much to learn. Please go on.”

  After a few more tense seconds, Settek nodded and they continued walking, though Deynas found himself walking between the two now, his hand still poised near the staff grip. Damp ground squished under their feet and the steady dripping of water sounded in the dark.

  “Mother asked Kato to end her life, knowing that end would be gentler than anything the invading demons would do to her. He granted her wish. I think that is the only time I’ve ever seen him cry. I remember him kneeling over her, his scales faded to a wretched charcoal. How I hated him at that moment.” A flare of dark red swept down Settek’s mane as he spoke those words. “Then the Keeper appeared. She looked confused and said that she’d heard him calling her. What he said to her then has always stayed with me because the words seemed so odd. He said, ‘I beseech you, keep her spirit. Please. For all the times I tried to help you and all the years I have cared for you, I ask only this one thing.’ She did as he asked and kept Mother’s spirit.”

  “Umahk-ra,” Deynas corrected under his breath.

  Settek nodded, his expression rife with remembered sorrow. “Yes. Father used that word when he spoke to the Keeper. When she was done, the Keeper fled. She seemed to become agitated and uncomfortable in his presence. He said that it was because the Blooded Women
didn’t want her near him. That was the last time I saw her in that host. Father never told me anything more about his relationship with the Keeper, but I knew from his voice and his color when he spoke to her that she was very important to him and he to her, even if the Blooded Women wouldn’t allow her to remember why. Because of those things, though I do not fully understand them, she is also important to me and I would see her freed from her captors.”

  Ahead of them, Kaira sniffed and wiped at her eyes. Naago trotted up beside her and put an arm around her shoulders, whispering something in her ear. Deynas warded off a spark of jealousy when she leaned into him by calling the Keeper up in his mind, her smile and her odd, yet beautiful silver-black eyes.

  “The Keeper told me she had kept Endless before, though she couldn’t remember the circumstances. If Kato helped create her, it makes sense that she would be drawn to him when he called and be willing to keep the woman he loved.” In Naago’s defense, it did feel odd to speak of a demon loving an Endless woman. If one listened to the tribe elders, children like Settek and Kaira only ever came from rape and were born unredeemably corrupted by the loathsome circumstances leading to their conception. Settek’s story contradicted that.

  “I suppose that makes her almost family.” Settek visibly pushed down his sorrow and bared his pointed teeth in a friendly grin.

  Deynas almost smiled back, then the image of the crossbreed nodding to his companions while they were having their duel, a gesture that had led rather directly to Misa’s death, flashed in his head. Because of that, they would never be friends. Deynas hoped Misa would understand the circumstances that brought them to be on the same side in this. If things hadn’t gone so badly that day, he could easily learn to like Settek, but then they probably wouldn’t be traveling together now. That was how life worked.

  “You all right?”

  The muscles in his shoulders tightened at the concern in the crossbreed’s tone. He shrugged his shoulders, forcing the tension away. “Fine. How long did it take you to forgive Kato for killing your mother?”