Finn tensed as he took in the ruin around him. A scorched table and chairs were tipped on their sides and spinning in circles a few inches off the floor. The bed had been cut open. The soft, white down from the pillows covered everything like a light layer of snow. The chamber robot had been ripped in half, one piece near the door and the other flung to the opposite wall. Burn marks darkened the walls, as if someone with a flamethrower had been playing a game of cat and mouse with Gerdie.
44
Allow Me To Introduce Myself
FINN’S THROAT CONSTRICTED AS he moved through the debris, searching for Gerdie’s tiny form and dreading what he might find. “She’s not here.” He breathed a sigh of relief, but it was a momentary respite. Whoever did this, must’ve taken her.
“Who would do thisss?” Sithias said from the doorway. “And why?”
“I have my suspicions.” Eustace turned on his heel and stormed from the room.
Finn matched his stride. “Was it Brune? She’s not to be trusted, you know. She left Gerdie all alone with a child-eating monster and she had her own grandmother burned at the stake.”
“It wasn’t Brune.” Eustace was still walking fast. “She returned from her last mission with an infection. She’s currently very ill and unconscious.”
Finn jogged alongside. “Take me to her. I want to see for myself. That mingy woman’s a snake–no offense, Sithias–and she’s not to be trusted.”
“None taken.” Sithias flapped to catch up. “Though after everything I’ve heard of Brune, I’d prefer you call her something else, please.”
Eustace slowed down. “Brune’s in no condition–”
“Do you know about the Rod and Orb of Aeternitis, and how obsessed Brune was with them?” Finn said. “She spelled Fate into getting the Rod for her. Please tell me Fate didn’t give it to her.”
“No, Fate kept the Rod. She still has it, though I’d have liked to have seen it go under lock and key, rather than keeping it on her person.” Eustace stopped in his tracks.
Sithias bumped into him. “Oopsss.”
Eustace barely noticed. “Come to think of it, Gerdie’s been carrying the Orb around–also against my better judgment. She took it from Brune when she was….well, rotting.” His eyes widened with concern. “You’re right, if anyone’s in need of the Orb, it’s Brune. We need to get to the infirmary.” He increased his pace to a full trot.
Eustace and Finn burst through the doors and entered the sterile room. Half a dozen beds lined one side. Only the first one was filled, and it wasn’t Brune lying there. It was some doped up guy Finn had never seen before. He looked like an anime character by the way his black hair stood in straight spikes.
Two silver and white robots with medical apparatus built into their chest plates emerged from behind a white screen at the far end of the room.
“Where’s Brune?” Eusatace asked.
Anime guy raised his head and pointed his thumb at the screen. “Behind there. Couldn’t stand to look at her anymore. It was seriously freaking me out.” He blinked groggily at Finn and Sithias. “Who are these dudes? One of them’s a snake.” He flopped back down. “I must be dreaming.”
“You’re not dreaming, Mason,” Eustace reassured him. “This is Finn, and yes, Sithias is a snake.”
Mason waved at them.
“Is Brune awake?” Eustace asked.
“No, she’s more out of it than I am. But I gotta warn you, she’s not Brune anymore.”
Eustace looked at the divider screen, moved toward it and pulled the panel back.
“Oh my!” Sithias recoiled from the sight. “What is that? It’s hideousss!”
Finn stood rigid, every muscle taut as revulsion churned in his gut. What lay on the bed was an abomination. The pale, blue-tinged face was still human, but the scaled, flesh-colored neck was splayed like a cobra. The skin around the shoulders and chest was a web of hardened, purple veins. Where hair used to be, a thick nest of tiny black snakes writhed drowsily around her head.
“Dear, lord,” Eustace said under his breath. “She’s turning into a Gorgon.”
“A Gorgon?” Sithia shuddered and retreated to the other side of the room. “Why would you keep one of those around? They’re dangerousss!”
“I’ll say.” Instinct pushed Finn to destroy the thing on sight. He reached for his flute, more than ready to transform the harmless item into a wind sword. The best thing he could do was cut the monster down before it woke. “What the hell are you thinking, keeping something like this around?”
Eustace recoiled. “I assure you, this is a new development.” He raced over to the intercom by the door. “Farouk, get to the infirmary immediately. We have an emergency.”
Finn walked over to Sithias. “At least we know Brune doesn’t have the Orb and she obviously didn’t take Gerdie. Which begs the question…who did?”
Eustace joined them at the opposite end of the room. “Before Fate left, she informed us of a new and imminent threat. Apparently, the builders, in all their wisdom, so many thousands of years ago, left us with a rather deadly legacy. She showed us a rather distressing recording of a priestess who merged with a chaos entity. She was transformed into a goddess of sorts, but this deity abandoned the priestess to spread itself across the universe. She was left mortal and has been in some kind of stasis ever since. But she’s awoken, and she’s after the Orb and Rod of Aeternitis so she can restore herself to the goddess Kaliena.”
Sithias gasped. “This is exactly what Aradif predicted.”
Shocked by the echo of the Djinn prophecy in such short time and with so much distance between the Keep and the Marajaran Desert, Finn froze with dread.
“What’s this about?” Eustace asked.
When Finn remained quiet, Sithias explained for him.
“This is more than a little disturbing,” Eustace agreed after Sithias finished. “The danger Kaliena poses must be unimaginably powerful for someone that far away to sense her awakening.”
“I refuse to be thrown about on the winds of someone else’s destiny,” Finn seethed. He scowled at Brune–the one person responsible for everything that had happened thus far. “I’m the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.”
Eustace and Sithias turned to him.
“Don’t mind him,” Sithias whispered to Eustace. “He’s been abused and made–”
“Someone else’s drudge,” Finn growled.
Eustace nodded. “Fate told me.”
“Well, I’m done being anyone’s puppet.” He paced back and forth. “I want to know everything you have on Kaliena. If there has to be a showdown, it’s going to be here in the Keep. Not at some undisclosed date and time in the Marajaran Desert.”
The clanking of Farouk’s cage echoed down the hall. The three of them stepped aside to allow the wide apparatus through the entrance into the infirmary.
Farouk stopped his cage at the halfway point when he saw Brune, obviously too disturbed to move any closer. “She’s a Gorgon.” He pressed one of the buttons on his control panel, turned his cage around and frowned at Eustace. “How did this happen? I thought you were working on a restructifying cure.”
Eustace frowned. “We were…are. It takes time to look through all the volumes we have on Gorgons. But this isn’t the only reason I called you here. Gerdie’s missing. Her room’s been torn apart and I fear she’s in terrible danger.”
Farouk held onto his tail as he glanced over his shoulder at Brune. “Gerdie had the Orb.”
Eustace pressed his finger against his temple like someone staving off a headache. “Yes, I know. We thought it might’ve been Brune at first, but she’s obviously out of the running. Which leads me to believe Kaliena is the one who attacked Gerdie.”
“This is not good. Not good at all.” Farouk turned to one of the robots. “No more mediphoric potions for that one. Administreat a stimutonic. Mason, your recoverence is over. It’s time to soldier up again.”
Mason pushed himself off the pillow w
ith a grumpy expression. “Hold on, I need those pain meds. I’m still healing.”
Farouk turned away, even as he spoke to Mason. “Your bones set with the first round of curifications. The healing is completified. Any pain you think you feel is a result of hyponeurosis.”
The medical robot trundled over and shot Mason in the arm with an air injection syringe full of neon-orange liquid. The tonic appeared to hit his system instantly by the way his eyes widened and his back straightened.
“What’s in that stuff? I’m jacked!” Mason jumped out of bed and stood in pajama bottoms covered with pink hearts. “Where’s my uniform?”
Farouk typed into his control panel. “On the way.”
Mason glanced over at Brune and made a face. “So what is it you want me to do?”
“Put Brune in beltstraints,” Farouk instructed. “I want her under guard at all times. And wear your goggles. We don’t know how completified the monstramorphosis is yet.”
A butler robot walked in with Mason’s uniform and armor.
Mason jumped on one foot then the other as he slipped his pants over his pajamas. “What do I do if she wakes?”
“Do whatever is obligessary to keep her from leaving this room,” Farouk ordered.
Mason buckled the last piece of his armor over his uniform then walked over to Brune. He gingerly took one of her wrists and tightened a strap around it. “Are you saying I should shoot her if she gets out of these?”
“If it comes to that, then yes, expirate her.” Farouk shifted gears, jerking his cage into motion and marched out of the infirmary.
“Where’re you going?” Eustace called after him.
“Back to the sanctuary for a predicamergency meeting.”
“Shouldn’t I be there too?” Mason called after him with a hopeful look.
Farouk ignored him.
“What about the library?” Sithias asked with a little too much disappointment. “Don’t we need to explore every nook and cranny of that wealth of knowledge to confirm Gerdie’s not there?”
Farouk continued down the hall without looking back. “I messaged Steve and Darcy to investispect the library. They confirmated Gerdie is not there.”
Troubled and deep in thought, Finn fell in step with Eustace. He hadn’t expected to be swept away by a series of urgent events the moment he arrived. He’d had a very different picture in mind–one of Fate running into his arms and him burying his face in the sweet softness of her neck. Had he been delusional to think he could reunite with her and enjoy at least a few hours of bliss? Why was he always coming up against obstacles when it came to being with her? Were they cursed to be apart forever?
Steve and Darcy were waiting in the sanctuary when they arrived.
“What’s happening?” the Goth girl asked. “Is Mason alright?”
“He’s out of bed and guarding Brune,” Eustace told her. “It would seem she’s turning into a Gorgon.”
Her black-rimmed, red mouth dropped open. “You left my injured boyfriend behind to be turned to stone by a Gorgon?”
Eustace stared at her stiffly. “Uh, Mason’s fine. He’s completely healed.”
“Since when?”
“Since his first treatment.”
Finn could see she knew the truth, but she was being over-protective. Aha. That explained the pink heart pajamas.
“Mason needs time to recover. You can’t go putting him in danger all over again!” Darcy yelled.
Eustace sighed. “He’s currently in no danger. Brune’s still unconscious.”
“That’s just great,” Darcy grumbled.
“Is that what the meeting’s about?” Steve asked.
Eustace walked over to the table. “Only part. We believe Gerdie’s been taken by Kaliena.”
Steve tilted his head to one side. “That’s a leap. What makes you think it was Kaliena?”
“As you know, Gerdie had the Orb of Aeternitis, and Kaliena needs it to restore herself,” Eustace explained.
Finn watched Steve’s carefully poised expression. Something about the guy grated on him. He was hiding something behind that mask of carefully applied makeup. Finn sensed duplicity in him. The cracks in his façade, like small fissures, leaked the energy of lies into the air. “Weren’t you the last to see Gerdie?” Finn kept his tone carefully neutral.
Steve fixed his gaze on Finn with one eyebrow raised. “Hmm, I suppose I was.”
“Gerdie’s room was torn to pieces. Scorch marks everywhere. The only time I’ve ever seen that was when I was dealing with a sorcerer who liked throwing fireballs. It’s kind of a thing with them.” Finn eyed him. “Isn’t that what you’re dressed as?”
“A warlock actually.” Steve’s grip tightened on his cane.
Finn shrugged. “Warlock, sorcerer. It’s all the same really.”
“Would you just spill already? What’s all this about?”
Finn moved closer. “Well, Steve, I just met you, but I’m willing to bet you aren’t who you say you are.”
Finn pushed his senses outward, probing deeper. The muscles around Steve’s eyes twitched. The cracks of his shield widened as Finn touched the darkness and power lurking inside. The energies recoiled in an attempt to stay hidden.
“Who are you?” Finn said under his breath.
Steve broke away from Finn’s stare and laughed, more of a derisive snort, as he glanced around at the others. “Is this dude for real? What’s he getting on with?”
Eustace stepped forward. “I’m not sure. Finn, please explain yourself.”
Finn eased his flute from the side-pocket in the leg of his pants, ready to turn it into a wind sword if need be. “He’s been lying to you about who he is. He’s a sorcerer.”
Steve laughed silently, his body shaking with amusement and only the briefest hint of a smile. “And here I thought I was the one with the wild imagination.”
Finn blew two piercing notes into the flute. A sharp blade of air flared from one end. Moving toward Steve, he whipped the wind sword back and forth. “Show yourself.”
A contemptuous spark lit Steve’s eyes, before he shifted into feigned fear and cowered behind the table. “Why are you doing this?”
“Who are you?” Finn yelled.
“Nobody!” Steve cried. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“Finn!” Eustace shouted. “Stop this at once. Steve has done nothing to deserve this. He’s one of us.”
Easing his wind sword down to one side, Finn turned to Eustace. “You have no idea what’s real here. He can’t be trusted, he’s–”
Red flames slammed into Finn, throwing him across the room. He smashed against the metal wall and dropped to the floor. Waves of pain crashed through his body as he struggled to breathe. Dazed, Finn rolled over and lifted his head.
Steve rounded the table with a fireball hovering over his open palm. He removed his top hat and gave Finn the slightest bow. “Allow me to introduce myself.”
He let the hat fall to the floor and unleashed the power he’d been holding back. An aura of energy simmered against the rim of his body as his black overcoat transformed into a crimson robe with gold-plated armor covering his shoulders. The ebony color of his hair drained away into snow-white strands. His ears tapered to delicate points and jutted through his long silvery locks. At the same time, his cane elongated into a silver staff with a red jewel encrusted into the tip. He used the staff to steady himself and Finn quickly saw why. Cinched to his thigh, was a false leg cast in silver from the knee down. “I am Wodrid.”
Gasps rose from Sithias, Eustace and Darcy. Farouk grabbed the bars of his cage, his slanted fox eyes wide with shock.
Fighting the sudden dizziness that flooded his skull, Finn’s mind reeled around the name. Clenching his fist over his wind sword, he gripped the wall and moved to stand.
Wodrid tilted his head to one side. “I’d stay down if I were you.”
Finn ignored him, though everyone else in the room scrambled toward the door.
Wodrid hurled the fireball at him.
Finn invoked Air, deflecting the fire with a rush of wind back at the sorcerer with even more force. Wodrid absorbed the deadly energy but he buckled at the waist, visibly weakened by the blow.
Taking advantage of the opening, Finn rushed at him with his wind sword, intent on cutting Wodrid’s other leg out from under him. But the sorcerer saw him coming. Using his staff, he drew energy from the air in red, glowing waves and aimed the tip at Finn.
Finn launched himself off to one side, fully expecting to fly. He belly-flopped onto the floor. Shocked and gasping for air, Finn rolled behind a cabinet, narrowly missing another blast from Wodrid’s staff.
“That was graceful,” Wodrid remarked with a snicker. “Fate did the same thing. It was all I could do to keep from rolling on the floor laughing. I suppose you both assumed you’d keep all your powers after you left the Book of Fables and its field of influence behind.” He laughed again. “Sorry, but that’s not how I designed the curse, or the Words of Making.”
Finn fumed silently. He’d forgotten Wodrid was the one who had cursed the Book of Fables by forcing unwary readers into changing the endings of each fairy tale into its mirror opposite. He hadn’t realized the Words of Making had also been Wodrid’s creation.
“Well, you didn’t have anything to do with the Elder race runes I got while I was in there,” Finn informed him. “That’s all I need to end you.”
Wodrid moved to the breaching door, the fall of each step interrupted by the drag of his silver leg. “Yes, you do still have that rather significant trick up your sleeve,” he admitted. “In truth, we’re well matched, you and I.” He hit the button to open the hatch. “We could literally be at this all day. Which is why I’ll take my leave.”
Finn leaned forward, peering past the cabinet to see what Wodrid was doing. The sorcerer jumped through the hatch, dropped out of sight, then rose slowly, his red robe billowing around him.
“Unlike you, I can fly,” Wodrid gloated.
Finn rose to his feet, calculating whether he could close the gap fast enough to leap through the hatch, grab hold of the arrogant jerk, and put his blade to Wodrid’s throat.
Fate's Keep (Fate's Journey Book 2) Page 34
