The Skeleton Key Guild (The Doorknob Society Saga Book 5)

by MJ Fletcher

  “What?”

  ‘He said when the time came I was suppose to tell you that you had to return home to find your answers. I think he was talking about now.”

  “Home?”

  “Cape May.”

  “The family house? He left me something there?”

  “That house has secrets you’ve yet to discover, my dear.”

  “Tower already has a Grimm with Uncle Thomas and now I know why he wants Erin and me so badly. He thinks one of us must be the Artifact.” That had to have something to do with it, or it could be my father’s brother, Uncle Archie. I would need to get in touch with him and see what he might know about all this.

  “Regardless,” Rosalita said, “we know why Tower is after you now and we need to make sure he doesn’t get his hands on a Masters.”

  This is why he wanted control of Erin? Did he think she was one of the Artifacts? For that matter could it be me, after all I was a Polymorph. Maybe this was why my abilities always came so easily to me. My mind was spinning with possibilities of what all of this could mean for me and my family, and I didn’t like the implications. “There is something else,” Rosalita said in a whisper, as if about to confess a secret.

  “What?”

  “According to the legends, the power is so overwhelming, so consuming that it eventually becomes too much for the person to contain... and destroys him.”

  I thought about Uncle Thomas and how it was consuming him just like it had my mother. If he hadn’t been imprisoned in a Timelock, he would have never survived. He would have slowly burned away from the amount of power he was trying to contain.

  “Wonderful, any more good news?”

  “I’ll keep looking, but that’s all I have so far.”

  “I think that’s plenty.” I shook my head not wanting to consider what all this meant.

  “What now?” DeAndre asked, standing next to the table where Darla was resting quietly.

  “Looks like it’s time to go home,” I said.

  “The question is how the hell do we get out of the Hollow without them tracking us?” Rosalita asked while sliding books into a bag as she prepared to leave.

  “They added more patrols. We saw them all over the Hollow,” DeAndre reminded.

  “The patrols didn’t seem as heavy around here though, why?” I scratched at my chin.

  DeAndre tilted his head considering the question. “Well, this is the oldest and least used section of the Hollow. It’s also the one you wouldn’t want to be caught in alone at night. I doubt even the guards want to take a chance patrolling here at this time.”

  “We can use that to our advantage,” I suggested.

  “How so?”

  “If there are light patrols around here, it’ll get us that much closer to a portal where we can make a break for it.”

  “It’s going to be hard making a break for it carrying Darla.”

  “We’ll make do.” I didn’t give a damn what it took, no one was getting left behind. I had enough of that already.

  “I can walk.” Darla was pushing herself up to sit, her face ashen and her lips drained of all color. She looked about one step away from a zombie.

  “You sure?” I asked.

  “I can do it.” She nodded, swinging her legs off the table and pushing herself onto unsteady feet. She gripped the edge of the table to keep herself standing.

  “Here,” DeAndre said as he stepped up and slid his arm around her waist, taking the majority of her weight.

  “The closest portal is still several blocks away,” Rosalita informed them as she finished tucking away the books she needed and closed her pocket dimension.

  “We better get going then.” I turned and headed for the exit. They followed behind me, Darla being supported by DeAndre while Roslita slung her bag over her shoulder, her bracelets jangling and sounding more like tolling bells in the empty building. I glanced at her over my shoulder. “Those things aren’t really good for sneaking around?”

  “Agreed.” She laughed and slipped them off, dropping them into her bag.

  We reached the front of the library and I wrapped my fingers around my mobile phone and pulled it out. I tapped the screen, bringing it to life. I ran my finger along the screen checking my messages and saw no new texts or calls. I huffed, my mind wandered to Nightshade. I’d hoped I would have seen him in the Hollow or at least heard something about him. Now that I hadn’t, I was beginning to worry that something had happened to him. Maybe it was because of my own experiences, but I couldn’t help but feel that even though I’d found my sister, the other shoe was about to drop.

  I tapped his name on the screen and typed a quick text, and then hit the send button before I had a chance to second guess myself. I dropped the phone back into my pocket and opened the door.

  I checked up and down the street and not seeing any patrols, stepped out into the shadows of the night. We hurried along, avoiding the street lamps that illuminated the road every couple of yards. At the end of the block we came to a stop by a corner building and I looked to DeAndre. He pointed toward where we would find the portal.

  I held my hand up, motioning for them to stay put and edged further along the road. As I made it about half way toward the next road, my stomach turned. I froze in place as I felt the hairs on my neck rise... someone was activating a device. I pulled back into the shadows and gripped my Skeleton Key.

  Blue portal energy erupted in the middle of the street, forming a doorway that swung open.

  A man stepped out looking around, and then three more people followed out behind him.

  “Come out, come out, wherever you are, Chloe!” the man yelled.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Status: Once, just once, I would like things to go well.

  “Crap,” I whispered under my breath.

  I recognized the man instantly as Jasper, Faith’s sometimes boyfriend and pain in my ass. He’d been responsible for kidnapping my friend Val and causing me all sorts of trouble. He paced back and forth in front of the portal flanked on either side by his goons. The others I couldn’t get a good look at. Including him, they had five people and we only had four since Darla was far too injured to be any good to us in a fight.

  I needed a plan and I needed it quickly, or this was going to go bad very fast.

  “Show yourself you coward,” Jasper sneered and quickened his pacing.

  “You looking for someone?” DeAndre stepped out of the darkness onto the road.

  I gritted my teeth. What the hell was he doing?

  “You’re the tracker?” Jasper walked toward him.

  “Yes, and who the hell are you exactly?” DeAndre stood his ground as he came to a stop right in front of him.

  “I work for Mr. Tower and I’m looking for Chloe Masters.” His voice dripped with venom, but DeAndre didn’t flinch.

  “You’re DS, what the hell are you doing in the Hollow?” He took a step toward him, but Jasper didn’t budge.

  “Looking for a criminal, who my sources say is here right now. What would you know about that? You do know you’re out beyond curfew, don’t you.”

  “The last time I obeyed a curfew was when my mom gave me one and that was a long time ago.”

  “You might want to rethink that tracker.” Jasper flicked his wrist and the people with him began to fan out around DeAndre.

  My fingers clenched around my Skeleton Key, and I held my position. I had to give him a chance to get out of this, but if he couldn’t, I intended to be prepared.

  “This isn’t a fight you want to pick.” DeAndre’s voice remained smooth and calm as always. His body language was an entirely different story. He drew his shoulders back, his chest growing broader and he parted his feet just enough to plant them firmly, gearing up for a fight.

  “You Guilders all need to be taught a lesson, and I think you’ll be the perfect example.” Jasper smiled as he activated his Doorknob, a faint blue glow surrounded him and my body tensed.

  This was n
ot going well, if I wanted to help DeAndre I was going to have to do it quickly while I still had surprise on my side. That would be my only chance since they outnumbered us.

  “I doubt you and your little bunch can teach me anything,” DeAndre wisecracked and I smiled.

  The men with Jasper each activated their devices, and the area glowed brightly with energy. The hairs on my neck stood on end, something was wrong. My stomach churned and I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was more than a reaction to the coming fight.

  “That was a mistake.” DeAndre chuckled and glanced around at the men surrounding him.

  “And why is that?”

  A sound echoed down the dark streets. It was low at first, but grew in intensity. It was coming toward us. Rosalita shook her head and a quick smile played across her lips.

  “That’s why.” DeAndre pointed over Jasper’s shoulder, and he turned toward the approaching sound. Stepping into the light was a group of people, each carrying a Skeleton Key lit up with portal energy.

  “What are you all doing out beyond curfew?” Jasper yelled at them.

  “What the hell are you doing here, DS bastard?” one of the men called out.

  “Go back to your homes,” Jasper shouted and took a step back, his hand clutching his Doorknob, and his voice trembling, “by order of Mr. Tower.”

  “We don’t take orders from the DS!” someone shouted from the crowd.

  “This is by order of Mr. Tower,” he reiterated as if the name would protect him.

  “Tower is a Guild traitor!” another shouted.

  Jasper moved further away from the crowd and the men surrounding DeAndre did the same, they all backed away. The crowd was angry, everything that had been happening was bubbling over. The uneasy feeling I had felt was the Hollow, it was reacting to DS energy being used en masse in this dimension. The curfew, the presence of other Societies here, it was too much for most Guilders and this was the last insult. A Guilder being accosted by DS members, it was one step too far.

  Jasper twisted his Doorknob and it pulsed with energy. He’d done something, but I wasn’t sure what. The crowd didn’t notice, all they cared about was stopping the DS members in their midst.

  “We need to get out of here,” I said to Rosalita over my shoulder.

  “Agreed,” she said nodding.

  The air around us crackled with energy and the sounds of the crowd died away. My body trembled and all at once each of my abilities went off like alarm bells screaming in my head.

  “What the hell is that?” I asked.

  “Oh no,” Rosalita whispered.

  A crimson portal appeared in the middle of the road and the door swung open. For a moment a dark silhouette stood in the frame, and then stepped out. The crowd took a collective step back while many simply turned and ran away.

  “What is this?” Mr. Tower stood in the middle of the road, his entire body crackled with power. He wasn’t holding back anything. I could feel the flow of all of his powers. It was as if he was an open conduit for each and every one of his abilities. I wondered if that’s what it would be like if I activated all my abilities at once.

  “They are refusing orders, sir.” Jasper stepped forward with a smile on his face.

  “Is this so?” His voice boomed and the people cowered before him. “I will not have this from the Guild. You will obey the laws which I’ve laid down. Is that understood?”

  “No!” The voice cut above the crowd and my blood ran cold.

  “Who said that?” Tower shouted.

  The crowd split like the Red Sea parting for Moses, and there standing on the other end of the makeshift Red Sea stood...

  Nightshade smiled his crooked grin. “I did.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Status: Damn, my boyfriend’s back.

  “James Nightshade, isn’t it? I’m surprised you’d come back to the Hollow considering you’re a traitor.” Tower stared down his hook nose at Nightshade.

  “The only traitor I see here is you.”

  I almost laughed aloud. At least I wasn’t the only one who could make a bad situation worse.

  “You dare accuse me of being a traitor?” Towers sneered.

  “It’s not an accusation... it’s a fact.”

  “I’ll hear no more of this, take him.” He waved Jasper toward Nightshade who didn’t budge.

  “Are you an upstanding member of the Guild, Mr. Tower?” Nightshade asked.

  “What did you say?”

  “You heard me,” Nightshade said.

  He’d used the exact words Gran had used when she questioned Nightshade. He’d said that was a formal way of testing someone.

  “How dare you,” Tower responded.

  “You’ve broken Guild Law!” Nightshade shouted and the crowd around him began to buzz with murmurs.

  Jasper stopped, not taking another step, as some of the spectators began to surround Nightshade.

  “You little brat,” Tower seethed.

  “You’ve allowed DS members into the Hollow in violation of Guild Law and have given them authority over us. I name you betrayer of the Guild and call for your expulsion.” Nightshade’s words cut into the crowd like someone throwing free money. Whispers turned to shouts and curses as people hurled insults at Tower.

  “Who are you to accuse me?” Towers demanded.

  “James Nightshade of the Quorum,” Nightshade announced with a smile.

  Tower’s brow furrowed in anger. “Liar, you’re not a member of the Quorum.”

  Nightshade pulled his Skeleton Key off the chain that hung around his neck and activated it. “Call me a liar again.”

  “You insolent thug.”

  “At least I’m a Guilder.”

  “And who will expel me from the Guild?” Tower raised his hand and pointed a long thin finger at Nightshade. “You?”

  “Damn straight.” Crimson energy surged around Nightshade as he raced forward, a curved scimitar blade glimmering in his hand. He dove into the air arcing it toward Tower who stood as still as a statue. The weapon swung down and smashed with an explosion of light and fury that hurled Nightshade back into the crowd.

  “No one can stop me.” Tower walked forward, a shield of pure energy surrounding him.

  “Get the traitor!”

  The scream came from beside me as Darla stepped out on the street and pointed toward Tower. He spun toward us, his eyes focusing on her as she rushed forward. I reached out trying to grab her arm, but my fingers slipped off her shirt.

  She activated her Key and attacked, swinging it at the shield. It didn’t make a dent, sparks of electricity simply showered around her. Tower turned a smug smirk on her while Jasper reacted. He raced in and attacked, his own blade smashing into Darla’s and pushing her back with force.

  Nightshade was up and coming back for another attack, but now the crowd joined him. They surged forward and attacked. The DS members did their best to hold them back, but their numbers were too great.

  “Damn it,” I said as I raced out to join the fight. I activated the Skeleton Key and went straight for Darla and Jasper.

  Jasper continued forcing her back with a blistering attack. Darla’s key shimmered and looked to be fading. It wouldn’t last long. I launched myself at them and stuck out my Key forming a curved blade that was the mirror image of Nightshade’s and blocked the latest blow.

  Jasper switched tactics and went after his newest target... me. His sword came in swiftly, but I countered each blow and returned a few for good measure.

  “Nothing I like better then kicking Guilder ass.” Jasper laughed as he moved in on me.

  I realized that he hadn’t recognized me with the black hair and glasses. Not that it was easy with how quickly we were both moving. Plus, I wasn’t as good with a blade as I was with my whip. I needed more practice or maybe what I needed was an advantage.

  “Is that so?” I slipped my hand into my pocket and my fingers found the edges of my Doorknob. I pulled it out and activated it. Inste
ad of my trusted energy whip though, I created a second curved blade to match the crimson one. I spun them in unison, leaving trails of red and blue light in the air.

  “What?” Jasper stumbled back.

  I took advantage slashing with my blades and cutting along his right arm and chest. He howled in pain and anger then raced toward me and I leapt forward to meet him. I brought both blades in, shattering his Doorknob and sent him careening away. He regained his footing and snarled at me.

  “Don’t do it,” I warned him.

  “Die you bitch!” he yelled activating the last piece of his Doorknob into a jagged blue stake and rushed at me screaming.

  I spun on my heel and brought both blades in an arc, shattering his weapon, and then felt the crimson blade connect with his side. His momentum stopped and he struggled to pull himself off the blade and stumbled backwards. Blood dripped from his side, coating his clothes, he grasped at the wound and fell to his knees.

  “You killed me,” Jasper chokeed.

  “No, Jasper, you did this to yourself,” I said.

  His eyes widened as he looked closely at my face, he finally recognized me. “Faith will make you pay.”

  “I’m looking forward to it,” I said as I walked away.

  Jasper fell forward, his face smacking the ground, one more First Kind not to worry about.

  Tower was backing away from the advancing crowd attacking his shield. His face was twisted in frustration. The DS members who had come with Jasper were fighting a losing battle, some had already lost.

  The thought that we could possibly end this here and now by taking down Tower had me spinning my blades and charging back into the fight.

  Tower snapped his fingers and new portals opened with First Kind stepping out of them to join the battle.

  “Chloe,” a weak voice called out to me.

  I turned to Darla lying in the street, her hand reaching out to me. I cursed myself and deactivated my devices and hurried to her side. I took her hand and held it firmly, and saw that her face had lost all color.

  “I’m here, Darla.” I went to my knees and lifted her head to rest in my lap.