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

by MJ Fletcher

  “Not something I think Mr. Tower cares about,” I said.

  “So I get my father back just for them to take him away all over again.” Jess threw her head back and let out a short snort of laughter.

  “We’ll get him back,” I insisted.

  “How the hell are we going to do that?” Jess demanded.

  “I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “It’ll be okay.” Edgar slipped his hand over Jess’ knee, patting it reassuringly.

  She closed her eyes and I wanted to grab her and hug her myself. It seemed that the last few years nothing ever worked out for her.

  “Thanks, Edgar,” Jess said quietly.

  “Now we need to figure out the other thing as well,” Edgar said.

  “What other thing?” I asked.

  “We need to find the Doorknob Society Artifact.”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Status: Holy crap!?!

  “I’ve lived in this house off and on most of my life. I think I would have run into an Artifact by now,” I said as I dropped down on the couch. We’d been looking for a few hours and had come across just what I had expected... nothing.

  “Where do you think your family would have hidden such important information?” Edgar had his goggles on and was staring at the walls, running his hands over them and trying to find hidden access panels or something like that.

  “I don’t know. I called my grandparents and they said they had no idea about our family having anything to do with the Artifact, neither does Uncle Archie. So if the Masters were like the Grimms, you would think they would know it.”

  “Could there be another branch of the family who had the Artifact travel through them instead?” Edgar asked.

  “You mean like distant cousins or something? I doubt it. My grandfather was an only child and he only had my dad and Uncle Archie. I mean maybe like super far back, but how would we even know that?” I shrugged unsure of how to proceed.

  “No, it has to be you or your line, otherwise Tower wouldn’t be after you. I highly doubt a man like him would plan everything and not keep track of which family might have the Artifact he needs.” Edgar was now on all fours, his face nearly touching the carpet as he slowly went over every inch of it.

  “Maybe it died with Bodie?” Jess wondered aloud.

  I had thought about that as well. Bodie had tried to help me in everyway, maybe he let the Artifact die with him.

  “Not if it worked like the Grimm curse.” Gran walked into the room, collecting dirty glasses and empty plates. “The curse would pass to the next closest relative when the person who possessed it died.”

  “You mean a child or sibling?” Edgar looked up from the carpet.

  “What an awesome birthright.” Jess’ voice dripped with sarcasm.

  “No, literally, the closest in proximity,” she replied as she carried the dishes from the room.

  “Interesting, so it isn’t a direct lineage, the power has to transverse space and time to reach its next host. Makes sense that much power needs to be contained, so it wouldn’t be able to travel long distances.” Edgar was in one of his thinking modes where it didn’t matter what anyone said to him. He was working it all out in that super brain.

  “You’ve got an odd sense of whats interesting,” Jess chided him, and then waved in my direction. “Are you going to talk to your sister?”

  “I will, I just need a little time... I don’t know what to say.”

  “About your mom?” Jess asked.

  That was part of it. I needed to tell Erin that our mother was dead, not only that, but that she’d been under the First Kind’s control.

  “I mean how the hell do I explain everything to her?”

  “Be honest, it’s all you can do.”

  “Small comfort.”

  “It’s more than anyone else has been with her in her life.”

  “True,” I sighed, though it was not a conversation I was looking forward too.

  “As the genius said,” —Jess smiled and pointed at Edgar— “it’ll be okay.”

  “I hope so, though it’ll hold until she wakes. We could all use some sleep.” I figured I could at least put it off until morning.

  “Chloe.” Edgar had his face plastered against a section of carpet in the far corner of the room. His goggles pulled down on his face, the gears on either side spinning and whirring as he flipped through their different abilities. I assumed he was x-raying the floor.

  “What?” I replied.

  “What?” Edgar responded.

  “You called me, Edgar,” I chuckled.

  “No I didn’t, I was just reading your name.” He shook his head as he kept moving.

  “You read my name in the carpet?” I thought perhaps Edgar had finally crossed over into the mad genius category.

  “Yeah,” he pointed back to the corner he had already moved on from, “it’s in the floor boards over there.”

  “What are you talking about?” I stood and walked over to the corner, Edgar joining me.

  “It’s carved into one of the floor boards. You must have done it when you were a kid.”

  “I don’t remember ever carving my name in the floor.”

  “You sure, Cuz, you said yourself that you’ve spent a lot of time in this house?” Jess moved beside us, her hands on her hips.

  “Yeah, I have, but this carpet has been here as long as I remember.” We looked back and forth between each other.

  “You get that edge,” Jess said as we both went to the corners and grabbed at the carpet and began pulling.

  My fingers slipped around the edge and I yanked hard, dislodging the old carpet from the tack board. Jess did the same and a billow of dust shot up around us as we rolled it back revealing the old wooden floor boards beneath.

  Sure enough, on one of the smaller planks was my name carved crudely into the wood like someone had been in a hurry when they did it. I knelt down beside it while Edgar and Jess stood over me as my fingers traced over the carving.

  It must have been Bodie. He was the only one who knew I would be here. He must have left it for me to find. I rubbed my fingers along the board and found it was loose. I dug my fingernails in and pulled at the plank, removing it and revealing a space. I brushed away the cobwebs and reached into the darkness, my fingers brushing against something. I grabbed it and lifted out a small case. It was wrapped in an old oil cloth and I sat down cross- legged on the floor. I unwrapped it and flipped the top of the case open. Inside was a small rectangular tin. I reached in and when my finger touched it a spark shot out and I dropped the box.

  The small tin floated out of the box and hovered in mid-air as it unfolded like a piece of paper growing until it was poster size. I knew it must be an Impossible Engineer device, though older. It had a patina of age and use on it.

  The surface shimmered and flickered and suddenly someone appeared on it. Bodie was standing there right in front of me dressed in his suit, his hair slicked back and looking as handsome as the last time I had seen him. I wanted to reach out and hug him, but this wasn’t like the Looking Glass. This wasn’t us talking; it was a recording he had left me.

  “Chloe, if I am using this thing right, you’re seeing me and I’m most likely dead. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to tell you about this through the Looking Glass, but I had hoped there wouldn’t be a need to, though now isn’t a time for regrets.

  “I’m about to leave for Storm Reach and I wasn’t able to reach you through the Looking Glass so I am left with this, I can only hope you’ll be the one to find it.

  “I believe part of what the Darkwatch has been hunting for is something our family has been hiding for generations. The Masters’s line is very old, Chloe, we go back to the First Kind. It was Dustin Masters who helped close the portal to Accadia and since then our family has guarded the Artifact that opened the portal. In truth we became the Artifact, passing it down from one generation to the next just as the Grimm family has done for the Skeleton K
ey Guild.

  “But unlike them, we found a way to remove it from a person and place it back inside of a device. I’ve done just that as I can’t risk bringing it to Storm Reach and allowing them to get their hands on it. If what I think is going to happen and you’re the one who will finish this battle, you need the Artifact more than anyone else in the family.

  “I’ve hidden it so that it can come down to you undetected by anyone else. You’re my true heir, so I’ve made it into an heirloom for you.” He held up a ring and smiled as he looked at it. It was beautiful with a small diamond and a simple band.

  “This is my wife Rose’s engagement ring. She has no idea I’ve turned it into an Artifact. It has been in my family for generations and Rose will make sure it makes its way down to you, though she will think it nothing more than an heirloom. This needs to remain secret and hidden until you find it. It is too dangerous for anyone to possess. I’m sorry I am leaving you this burden but it is your birthright, like it was mine. To anyone else the ring will appear as nothing more than a family heirloom. Only a Polymorph will be able to access the Artifact. I hope you have it on you right now. All you need to do to activate it is open up all of your Polymorph abilities, and then the Artifact will attach to the Masters nearest to it. Be very careful that no other Masters are nearby. A Polymorph has a much better chance of containing the energy than an Old Kind. Remember that.”

  I clenched my hands as he spoke. I didn’t have the ring and had no idea where it could possibly be.

  “But most of all, Chloe, remember how much I love and believe in you, you do the family proud. I know the future is going to be wonderful because you’ll be there. Good luck.”

  He shook the ring at me and my breath caught in my throat as he lifted a small container to his lips and kissed it. A small electric shock shot off the box as it opened and he slipped the ring inside. He slapped it shut and winked at me, and then his image disappeared.

  “Where the hell could it be?” Edgar asked his goggles now shoved up along his head, forcing his hair to stand out in all directions.

  “I know exactly where it is,” I said with a grin.

  “Where,” Jess asked.

  “Here,” I replied as I pulled ut the box my mother had given me from my hoodie pocket. It was the same box Bodie had just placed the ring in. I’d had it with me all this time and didn’t know it.

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Status: I’m a total jack ass, yup I admit it.

  The small box rested in my palm and we all stood in a circle staring at it. I had kept this thing with me every day since the moment I’d lost my mother, always wondering why she had thought it was so important. I’d assumed it had something to do with finding Erin. But if she’d known what Tower was up too, then maybe she was trying to prepare me for it.

  “Well?” Jess gestured toward the box.

  I took a deep breath and leaned forward. My lips pressed against the cool surface and I felt a small shock hit my mouth as the top of the box flipped open. Sitting inside was the ring that Bodie had just shown me in the message. I slid my fingers around it and lifted it out, staring at it.

  “Where did you get that?” Gran was standing in door way to the kitchen.

  “This?” I held up the ring.

  “Yes, your mother’s engagement ring.”

  “Engagement ring?” I chuckled. Dad must have given her the family heirloom as an engagement ring. “This is what Dad gave her?”

  “Yes, your dad told your mom that it had been in the family for generations.”

  “Did he now?”

  “You better not lose that,” Gran admonished before returning to the kitchen.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Here it was—a Key—to one of the Artifacts. Finally, after dealing with Tower for so long, there was a chance that I just might have the upper hand.

  “Are you going to try it?” Edgar had already pulled his goggles down and was inspecting it.

  It was obvious that he wanted to see how it worked, but I didn’t think it would be a good idea to give it a trial run right now. And I wasn’t sure if it could act like a flare to Tower, announcing come and get me. No, for now I needed to keep this under wraps. Bodie had saved my ass once again.

  “Not yet,” I informed him.

  “Oh.” Edgar’s shoulders sagged in disappointment.

  Damn if I didn’t feel like I’d just let the air out of a little kid’s balloon.

  “I’m sure you’ll be there when she uses it for the first time.” Jess elbowed his arm and that seemed to cheer him up.

  “That’s true.” I didn’t want to mention that if I did have to end up using it that it could very well be during a very nasty time. I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t really have to use the ring, but who was I to burst Edgar’s bubble. “I’ll make sure you’re there.” I smiled and it seemed to satisfy him. “Now let’s all get some sleep before we pass out.”

  I left the living room and walked into the foyer grabbing the railing to the stairs and was about to head up when my phone rang in my pocket. I recognized the ring immediately and pulled it out of my pocket and stepped out onto the porch to answer the call.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Nice of you to let me know where you were heading, boss.” Nightshade’s voice dripped with annoyance and I stopped in my tracks and dropped my head back. I’d completely forgotten to tell him where I was going.

  “What, you missing me?” I tried to deflect as much as I could.

  “Cute side step there. Is this going to be a recurring theme with you?”

  “Look I had to come and see my sister, you know that.”

  “Yes, I do but all I said was let me know where you’re going. I’m a little busy over here as well, if you didn’t notice.”

  “No need to get annoyed, I mean it’s not a big deal.”

  “We’re in the middle of a war and you are our enemy’s number one target. Knowing where you are is kind of important, Masters.”

  “Is that the only reason you care?” I couldn’t help but needle him.

  “Is there another reason I should?”

  “Real nice, Nightshade.”

  “What? Tell me... is there another reason?”

  “Not funny,” I said annoyed he was somehow turning this around on me.

  “Not trying to be funny, I’m asking.”

  “So is that how our relationship is going to be?”

  “Relationship,” his voice was calm.

  I could visualize the smile he now had on his face and I wanted to punch him. He had walked me right into that one. “You know what I mean.”

  “Right, we’re in a relationship, one where you don’t have to tell me where you are.”

  “You are so damn infuriating, you know that?”

  “You’re the one in a relationship with me.”

  “I am going to kick your ass when I see you.”

  “Promise?”

  “Don’t you have something better to do than annoy me?”

  “Well, I am kind of in the middle of a war.” He laughed and I could have sworn I heard the sounds of fighting in the distance.

  “Are you kidding me? You’re calling me from an actual fight?”

  “What, it’s not like I am going one on one with someone. It is all strategy and watching people.”

  A boom rattled through the phone and I had to move it away from my ear. “Would you please stop antagonizing me and try not to get yourself killed.”

  “That wouldn’t be good for our relationship now would it?”

  “Keep it up, Nightshade, and this relationship will be nice and short.”

  “We’ll see about that. Keep in touch, boss lady.”

  The phone clicked and I shook my mobile in my hand and thought about smashing it on the porch. As much as I loved that man he drives me nuts more often than not. But he was also right. I wasn’t the best at relationships and somehow he had gotten me to admit we were in one which was huge for me.

&n
bsp; The sounds of Jess and Edgar laughing drifted out from the living room. I wanted to join them, but I also needed to think. I should be running upstairs and talking to Erin, but I had to admit I was terrified of the idea.

  I wanted to take a moment and slow down. I’d been running and fighting for so long now it seemed like forever. I walked down the steps of the porch and slipped my hands into my hoodie pockets.

  Cape May was calm and quiet this time of night. I walked down Mission Way and stopped at the end of the block looking up and down the street. Victorian homes lined either side of the street. I walked some more until I found myself across from the Cape Beanery.

  I crossed over and smiled as I approached the café. I’d spent so much time there that it was like a second home to me. Of course, it didn’t hurt that they had the best coffee in the world.

  I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, the bells above jangling as I entered. The delicious scent of coffee beans and chocolate blended together to form their own aroma that clung to the place.

  I walked up to the counter and quickly placed an order. I didn’t know the girl working there, but she moved quickly and I slipped my money across the counter as she handed me a mug. Steam floated above it as I walked slowly over to table by the front window and sat down. I’d spent many hours at this table doing homework and meeting with friends.

  I sipped at the coffee and the warm liquid brought a smile to my face, it was as good as ever. The only thing missing was someone to talk too.

  My smile grew and I pulled my phone from my pocket. If I was going to hide out here before having my talk with Erin, I needed someone to chat with and I had the perfect person in mind.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Status: Coffee, friends, and family

  The bells above the door jangled again and I looked up to see a tall blond man entering the shop. He was broad shouldered and had a wide smile as he turned to face me.

  Declan winked at me and from behind him I heard a familiar voice.

  “Could you move please?” Val Hobson asked as she pushed her elbow into Declan’s side and moved him aside. Her long curls bounced around her shoulders as she ran forward and threw her arms around my neck.