Jane Doe and the Key of All Souls

by Jeremy Lachlan

  If we don’t crash and burn, of course.

  The Leatherheads are in a frenzy, sprinting from their dwellings and leaping into their vehicles as we soar over the cliffs again, back to the dune sea. Elsa and Aki take us out wide, preparing to line us up with the gateway. I can see it through a back window. It’s propped open by rusty beams and buttresses, big enough for us to shoot on through. Sheer terror aside, I wonder how Elsa feels, being back here. This is where she was first captured by Roth all those years ago.

  This is where her nightmare started.

  The tanks and planes open fire again. Rockets streak past us, trailing white smoke. More bullets tear through the cabin, shattering windows, blowing another engine to bits. Elsa and Aki swoop us down and swing Betty round, not so nice and steady. The dunes whip past the windows. The gateway’s in our sights now, dead ahead, looming closer by the second.

  ‘Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap …’

  ‘What the hell are you doing?’ Elsa glares over her shoulder. ‘Sit down right now!’

  We clamour to the bench and strap in: Violet, me, Hickory, Yaku.

  ‘After we land, stay close to me,’ Violet shouts. ‘Still got the keys?’

  I nod. ‘Still got the arrowhead?’

  She smiles and holds my hand. ‘We’ve got this, Jane. We’re nearly there.’

  Hickory grabs my other hand. ‘I’m really starting to regret my decision to help you two.’

  Yaku closes his eyes, muttering some kind of prayer.

  Aki click-clacks his throat. Elsa shouts, ‘Here we go – easy now – hold on!’

  I clench my eyes shut. Squeeze Violet’s and Hickory’s hands as tight as I can, and –

  SMASH.

  We hit the ground and explode through the gateway. Betty’s wings are ripped from her sides. We scream and shout, clinging to the bench and each other. My eyes flick open as the back of the plane snaps off in a shower of sparks, and still we careen through the corridor, crashing through who knows what. The lights cut out. Betty bounces, scrapes the ceiling, lands again. The wheels snap off and she lurches, jarring my neck and knees. We skid and spark, grind to a halt.

  And, just like that, it’s over. We’re alive. Back in the Manor at last.

  Now for the hard part.

  HOMECOMING

  My ears are ringing. My head’s hammering. The rope binding us to the bench comes undone, and I collapse onto the floor in a daze, coughing and gasping. I can’t see a thing. Someone tugs my arm. Says my name. Helps me to my feet and holds me. We stagger through the smoke to the back of the plane. Gunshots fire somewhere. Somebody screams.

  ‘Violet,’ I gasp. ‘Hickory?’ The person holding me grips me tighter. ‘Slow down …’

  ‘Here,’ they shout. A man. ‘We’re over here! I’ve got her! I’m on your side!’

  A jangle of beads. A bony arm digging into my side.

  Masaru’s dragging me from the plane.

  ‘Gerroff me. Get. Off!’ I shove the old man, slip out of his grip, trip down the broken ramp and land in a heap on the floor. Manor candles dance and spin. Sparks burst from Betty’s crumpled hull, lighting up the corridor like miniature fireworks. A stampede of boots echoes around me. Leatherheads click and clack. A Tin-skin barks furiously. Chains rattle.

  ‘Here,’ Masaru cackles, clawing at my clothes, my hair, my neck. ‘Praise be to Roth!’

  The old man waves his arms and jumps up and down like an excitable goddamn dog, until – WHAM! –Hickory shoves him aside and helps me up.

  ‘Time to go.’

  ‘Violet,’ I say. ‘Where’s –’

  The Leatherheads open fire. Bullets ricochet around us, sparking off the wreck, blasting the corridor to pieces. We duck into a nearby hallway, leaping over debris. Elsa’s red-cloaked guard’s already here, wide-eyed, panicking, babbling things under his breath.

  ‘Jane,’ Violet cries out from inside the wreck. ‘Run!’

  I try to help her, but Hickory grabs me and pulls me back into the hallway as another volley of rifle-fire tears the corridor apart. ‘Let – me – go! We have to save her!’

  ‘Get out of here,’ Violet screams. ‘Hickory, if you’ve got her, go!’

  ‘You can’t save her if you’re dead,’ Hickory says, pulling me further down the hallway. ‘Run now, fight later. We’ll get her back, Jane. I promise.’

  Hickory’s right. The Leatherheads are swarming around the crash site.

  ‘Run now,’ I whisper, ‘fight later.’

  We dash down the hallway, following the frantic red-cloak. My knees ache. My back, too. My body’s still recovering from the crash, but I can’t stop. Judging by the racket behind us, a Tin-skin’s caught our scent.

  We take a right, a left, leap down a stone staircase and come to an archway boarded up with long, rotted planks covered in faded red crosses.

  ‘Not a good sign,’ Hickory says.

  But we can’t turn back. The Tin-skin’s almost here.

  We prise a plank away. I’m about to squeeze through when the red-cloak shoves me aside and scrambles into the darkness first.

  ‘Oi,’ I shout, ‘slow down – you don’t know what this place is like!’

  Chandeliers flicker to life, illuminating a long, downward-sloping corridor and the red-cloak bolting down it. Me and Hickory squeeze through after him, telling him to be careful. We scan the walls and floor for traps and triggers, but our pal’s already found one.

  A stone-slab switch in the floor.

  The corridor rumbles. We turn around as a panel above the archway slides to the side, revealing a gigantic, perfectly round boulder. A boulder that’s already rolling forward.

  ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me,’ I mutter.

  ‘Run!’ Hickory shouts.

  The Tin-skin bursts through the planks. The boulder squashes it at once, crashing into the corridor and bowling towards us, scraping the walls, knocking the chandeliers. There’s no way we can get around it, no way we can jump it. Forward is the only way, and fast.

  We run. The corridor gets steeper – the boulder picks up speed – but the end’s in sight. I’d like to think we’re in with a shot, but the red-cloak’s skidding to a halt up ahead, and for damn good reason.

  A trapdoor’s opened at his feet. A gap in the floor a couple of metres long.

  ‘Don’t stop,’ Hickory yells. ‘Jump, jump, jump!’

  I step up the pace. Focus on the glowing chamber beyond the trapdoor. The red-cloak backs up, takes a run-up and jumps just as we reach the edge. The three of us leap over the gap as one and land together safely on the other side. I spin around just in time to see the boulder fall into the seemingly bottomless pit, scraping down the sides.

  Hickory sits up and grunts. ‘So nice to be back.’

  I collapse onto my back. ‘At least we got away from the Tin-skin.’

  Thrilled by our escape, the red-cloak leaps to his feet and cheers. But the party ain’t over yet. We’ve landed in a small torch-lit chamber full of statues armed with serrated swords. And as the boulder hits the bottom of the pit with an almighty crash, the final mechanism of this infernal device is triggered. A huge stone tablet rolls into place over the chamber’s archway, sealing our retreat. I shout, ‘Duck,’ pull Hickory to the floor, and clench my eyes shut as the statues swing their blades. One of them slices so close I feel the air brush past my cheek. I hear the red-cloak hit the deck a second later, and after that – nothing.

  I refuse to look. ‘Um … Hickory?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Is he –’

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Oh.’ We lie in silence for a bit, catching our breath. I don’t know what to say. Technically, he was one of the bad guys, after all. One of Elsa’s goons. It’s a bit awkward, really. I mean, we’ve gotta get moving. Gotta get back to the others. ‘We should probably –’

  ‘Go,’ Hickory says. ‘Yeah. There’s another door across the way. Just watch your step. He’s … all over the place.’

&
nbsp; TAKEN

  ‘Maybe they got away,’ I say, telling myself as much as Hickory. ‘Violet can take care of herself. She has Aki. And Yaku. I bet they’re waiting for us near the plane. Hiding.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Hickory says, but I can tell he doesn’t believe it. ‘This way … I think.’

  We climb a winding stairwell, a bunch of Manor candles lighting the way. It feels so strange being back here, knowing everything I know now. I hold the two keys dangling around my neck as we walk. Run the fingers of my free hand along the stone wall.

  I’m part of this place. This place is part of me.

  All those years I hated it – all those years I was afraid of it – the Manor was waiting for me, haunting my dreams, calling me back. Now I’m here at last, armed with the truth. Question is, how far will I have to go to save it? The Makers poured their life force into the foundation stone. Am I supposed to do the same?

  What if I’m walking to my death?

  ‘So,’ Hickory says, ‘we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?’

  ‘What elephant?’

  ‘The Cradle entrance. It’s in the snow, right?’

  ‘How did you – I mean, maybe? No. I’m not supposed to say.’

  ‘I know.’ Hickory pauses at the top of the stairs, makes sure the coast is clear, and waves me forward. ‘But Elsa said the booby trap with the crushing columns was near the end of the Cradle path. And you said you’ve been to the hall with the spike pit floor before. You. Not we.’ He shrugs. ‘The snow’s the only place you were alone for a while.’

  Damn it. ‘Hickory –’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m not asking for specifics. Violet was right when she said not to tell anyone. I can help you get back to the snow, but it’ll be a long journey. Too long. Too risky. You’re gonna need to speed things up when the time comes.’

  ‘What do you mean, speed things up?’

  ‘You’re the third key. The Manor can shift rooms. Stands to reason you can, too.’

  ‘Me?’ I stop walking. ‘How?’

  ‘No idea. You’re the child of the Makers – you work it out. But once we rescue the others, we may not have a lot of time, so I’d get thinking good and hard.’

  ‘Oh, sure,’ I grunt, ‘I’ll get right on that.’ Cause quakes. Shift rooms. Heal the Manor. I wish I came with a goddamn instruction manual.

  ‘You’ll figure it out.’ Hickory holds up a hand – stop. Waves it – go. ‘You’ve got both keys, and you have way more control of your powers than you did a few days ago.’

  ‘I don’t know about that,’ I say. ‘I mean, yeah, I stopped that truck from hitting the plane, but once the power takes hold, it’s …’ I want to say brutal and terrible and actually kinda wonderful, but I don’t. I can’t, not ever. ‘Scary,’ I settle on instead. ‘And dangerous.’

  ‘So take it easy. Whenever you’ve caused quakes in the past, you’ve been a little … worked up, right?’

  ‘That’s putting it lightly.’

  ‘You’ve been scared. Angry. If those feelings cause you to tear stone apart, maybe’ – he shrugs – ‘maybe the opposite ones might mend it.’

  I blink at him. ‘Think happy thoughts? Really? That’s your big theory?’

  ‘I’m just saying, take a step back,’ he says. ‘Relax. Try to cause a quake when you’re in control of your emotions and see what happens. Focus on something good.’

  Something good. Easier said than done when you’re being hunted by an army.

  ‘First things first,’ I say. ‘We’ve gotta get back to Betty and –’

  The sound of trucks, rumbling in the distance.

  Me and Hickory pause, share a look, creep quietly down a corridor to our left, and duck behind a balcony balustrade overlooking a vast, smoky hall. Roth’s road cuts right through it. There are Leatherheads everywhere; marching, hauling crates, standing guard around a line of cloth-topped trucks. Tin-skins bark and gnash their teeth. Torches and fire-drums throw nightmarish shadows upon the walls.

  ‘Get your stinking hands off me!’ Violet’s being forced towards one of the trucks, hands tied behind her back. I wanna save her. Right now.

  Hickory grabs my arm. ‘Don’t even think about it,’ he whispers. ‘Wait. Watch.’

  Yaku’s right behind Violet, black-eyed and bloody-lipped, but walking with his head held high. Elsa’s being marched to the trucks, too: resigned, silent. Masaru’s last in line, pleading with the Leatherheads, pulling frantically on his chains. Aki’s nowhere in sight.

  ‘What’s the plan?’ I whisper to Hickory. ‘Create a distraction? Sneak down and set ’em free? I don’t know if I’ll be able to cause another quake just yet, but I can give it a shot.’

  Hickory frowns, goes to say something, thinks twice.

  ‘What is it?’ I ask. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘It’s just …’ He looks out over the hall again. ‘We have both keys. You know where the Cradle is. You could claim it right now. Shouldn’t we just –’

  ‘Leave them? Uh-uh. No way.’

  ‘We can beat him, Jane. We can beat Roth.’

  ‘And then what? Roth has my dad. I’m not letting him get Violet, too. Besides, she has the arrowhead – unless the Leatherheads have taken it off her. Roth gets his hands on it, he’ll chuck it in the lava and truly be invincible. We have to save her. You promised, Hickory.’

  ‘And if they catch you, too?’ he says. ‘If Roth gets his hands on –’

  ‘The keys!’ Masaru cries out, down in the hall. ‘I have the keys! Look, look, look!’

  I turn back to the balustrade so fast I smack my head on the stone. ‘Ouch. What the …’

  Masaru’s nodding down at his cloak. ‘Naika de kaya. The hem. The hem! I fooled them. De kaya. There. Look, look!’

  A Leatherhead looks Masaru up and down. Grabs the hem of his cloak, feels around for something inside, then grabs a blade and slices it open.

  ‘No, no, no,’ Hickory mutters.

  The Leatherhead holds something up to the light. Two small, thin, metallic things that catch the firelight and gleam.

  The Cradle keys.

  I grab the keys around my neck. ‘Fakes. That son of a …’ I feel sick. Like I’m sinking into the stone. He must’ve swapped them in secret, after the council meeting. Always one step ahead, just like Elsa said.

  The Leatherheads click and clack and fire their rifles into the air in celebration. Violet screams. Yaku scowls. Elsa tries to kick Masaru as he’s marched past them to a truck further up the line. They’re taking him to Roth right now, along with the keys. That settles it, then.

  ‘Hickory –’

  ‘I know,’ he says through gritted teeth. ‘We don’t have a choice. Follow me.’

  We back away from the balcony, stand and turn around together –

  And come face to face with a Leatherhead.

  ‘Oh,’ I say. Crap. ‘Um. Hi.’

  Its rifle’s pointing right at me. I can see myself reflected in its glassy gas mask eyes.

  Click-clack-click, it goes, about to raise the alarm, when – THWUNK!

  Another Leatherhead cracks it over the skull from behind with a crowbar. Our assailant gurgles, sways, drops its gun and collapses. We raise our hands in surrender, just in case, till Captain Crowbar snickers, rattles his throat and pulls the gas mask from his head.

  Praise the Makers, it’s Aki.

  And he’s got the bow and arrow, too.

  THE GODS OF CHAOS

  We’ve come up with a plan. Good one, too, as far as last-minute plans go. Hell, step one – commandeer a truck – has already gone off without a hitch, thanks to Aki. Soon as we sneaked downstairs, he wandered up to the last truck in line, hopped inside and unleashed hell. The truck shook. A window cracked. Ten seconds later, the door flew open and both Leatherheads came flying towards us, almost dead.

  ‘So glad he stuck around,’ Hickory said as we dragged the bodies clear.

  Now we’re sitting in the back – shielded by the cloth-to
p, surrounded by crates of weapons, no less – rumbling along with the rest of the convoy towards the fortress.

  Towards Roth.

  Leatherheads stomp around the truck at every checkpoint. We hold our breath and grip our weapons tight but pass through each of them undiscovered.

  I should be trembling, but a strange sensation’s come over me. A feeling that this is how it was always supposed to be. We’re gonna save everyone. Not just Violet, Yaku and Elsa, but the rest of Roth’s prisoners, too. I’m gonna find Dad, hug him, free him at long last.

  Every passing second brings us closer together.

  I snap the chain around my neck and ditch Masaru’s fake keys. Useless bloody things. Grip the arrow tight and run a finger over the tip. It’s so sharp I nearly draw blood. Far as we could work out from Aki’s rattles and hand gestures, Violet threw it to him while she was being captured. Told him to find me. Everything depends on this. We’re only gonna get one shot.

  ‘Let’s run through the plan,’ I say.

  Hickory’s stocking up on weapons. Knives, guns, grenades, you name it. ‘Again?’

  ‘Again.’

  He sits back against the cloth-top and sighs. ‘Once we’re through the main gate, Aki’ll follow the rest of the trucks to the garage, beneath the main keep. Violet and the others’ll be marched to Roth’s throne room, on the upper level of the fortress.’

  ‘Ugh, trust Roth to make himself a throne room.’

  ‘We,’ Hickory continues, ‘will head to the cell block. It’s on the upper level, too.’

  I nod. ‘We free as many prisoners as we can. Arm the strongest and storm the throne room. I’ll distract Roth. Make sure his eyes are fixed on me.’ I hand Hickory the arrow. ‘You fire this, but only if you have a clear shot at his heart. Sure you can handle that?’

  Hickory tucks the arrow into his belt and pats Violet’s bow, rattling on the floor of the truck by his side. ‘I’m two thousand years old. Pretty sure I can fire one measly arrow.’