The Last Keyholder

by Jamie Summer

  “If that’s what they meant with the clue, that going to her grave is the one thing I must do in order to get her back, I need to try.” I hated the way he flinched at my words, but he had to have known they were coming. Rationally, I knew there was no way it was going to be that easy, but I had to try. “If it means they won’t kill us, I need to go there.”

  Nathan’s brows pulled together. “No, you don’t. We’ll fly home and that’s it. End of discussion.”

  I admired Nathan for his determination, but I’d already made up my mind.

  “Oh, I’m gonna fly home, but it’s not where you’re thinking.”

  Nathan’s stern expression fell, obviously realizing it was a lost cause to argue.

  I was going home. To the one place I’d wanted to leave behind.

  I had no idea why, but something about going to my parents’ place felt like an actual end. As if all those cities we’d visited were merely the beginning and I’d come full circle. As if this had been their game plan all along.

  “You’re not going there by yourself.” Nathan’s voice pulled me back to the present, and I carefully watched every line on his face. Memorized it so I could tuck it away in a special place in my heart for all eternity.

  No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn’t let him go with me. I couldn’t let him be there with me at the end. This was something I needed to do by myself.

  “I need to. I am thankful for everything you’ve done for me, but you need to let me do this last bit by myself.”

  “Why? Why would you want to go there by yourself? There’s a chance these people will kill you. Wouldn’t it make sense to have someone with you?”

  “They want me to find the keyholder. They won’t kill me on sight.” The thought wasn’t as comforting as I’d hoped, but I pushed the doubts to the very back of my mind.

  “You shouldn’t be alone. You shouldn’t be alone at all.”

  I couldn’t take him, though. He almost got killed for something that didn’t involve him, and I couldn’t have any more death on my conscience.

  “I’ll go and rebook my flights,” I said.

  Without another look at him, I walked away from the only person who believed in me. The only person I fell for with all my heart.

  While I knew, deep down, it was the right decision, my heart broke with every step I took.

  Until it was a shattered mess on the floor.

  I didn’t see Nathan after that. I didn’t go and search for him, and he didn’t try to find me. I rebooked my flights, boarding an hour later. I’d wanted to call Nathan, but I had no idea what to say.

  He’d messaged me a few times, begging me to reconsider, but I’d deleted them so I wouldn’t be tempted to follow his advice. I knew his plane wasn’t leaving until after mine, so there was always the chance of him simply showing up at my gate. Thankfully, he didn’t.

  The trip home was uneventful, yet it took so much longer than I’d wanted. All those hours in the air made me think way too much…and doubt every decision I’d ever made.

  I hated Nathan for putting the seed of doubt in my mind. I hated him for making me care.

  This journey was supposed to be about getting my sister back. About finding the mysterious keyholder so he could bring back the one person I couldn’t live without. Then Nathan threw everything out of balance.

  My sister had been there for me from the first moment. No matter how much Nathan meant to me, how much my heart had shattered the moment I walked away from him, my family always came first.

  The plane touched down at Jefferson Airport. Butterflies occupied my stomach like a swarm of bees. I hadn’t eaten anything in hours, the mere thought of returning home making my stomach churn.

  I got off the airplane and powered on my phone, slightly disappointed to see there hadn’t been any more messages from Nathan. It was no surprise, considering I hadn’t answered his previous messages, but the hope never died.

  The baggage claim brimmed with activity and I joined the people already waiting for their bags. It took a half-hour for the carousel to get moving, then another twenty minutes for my bag to show up. I grabbed it, took a deep breath, and walked through the exit.

  The airport looked the same. Dull, gray, and generic. Nothing about it was appealing. I’d just spotted the sign for the cabs when my eyes caught sight of something else.

  Something I hadn’t expected to see in a million years.

  My mom and dad stood to my left, ten feet separating me from the life I’d left behind. There were tears in my mother’s eyes as she spotted me in the crowd. She nudged my dad, who followed her line of sight. I felt my throat constrict. All those memories I buried deep in my soul threatened to bubble up.

  I slowly put one foot in front of the other, but it was as if my body weighed a ton. My mom wrapped her arms around me so suddenly, I forgot to breathe. My dad joined in, and for the first time since leaving this place behind, I felt like I was home.

  Chapter Twenty

  I sat in the back seat of my parents’ car, not feeling any of the worries or dread I had felt earlier. The overwhelming joy my mom and dad showed when seeing me erased all doubts I had. I hadn’t planned on seeing them, hadn’t even planned on stopping by, yet they showed up at the airport. When I asked them how, they said a man called and told them I was on my way home and gave them specifics about which flight I would be on. They didn’t hesitate before getting into the car, driving two hours to pick me up.

  I wasn’t certain who the mysterious caller was, but I could make an educated guess.

  I’d apologized over and over to my parents, letting loose all the guilt I’d bottled up inside. They listened and assured me there was no way they ever blamed me for what happened. For the first time since the accident, I started to accept the fact myself. I started to see there were few things I could’ve done differently. Yes, I should’ve taken the keys from her. Yes, I should’ve made sure she was capable of driving, but there was no way I would’ve been able to prevent the truck from hitting us. No way I could’ve prevented Jess from dying that day.

  As much as it pained me, as much as the guilt stayed and brimmed under the surface, it wasn’t the heavy load it had been when I left this place.

  “Welcome home.” My dad smiled as he unlocked the door to my childhood home. I reveled in the warm and homey feeling it gave off the moment I stepped over the threshold. The inviting, beige décor made it feel as familiar as the old wooden chairs in the hallway. I’d once told my mom they absolutely did not belong there, but she was adamant about keeping them.

  I walked through the kitchen into the living room and sat down, closing my eyes to take in the scent of fresh apple pie and cigar smoke.

  We spent the rest of the evening talking about what we’d missed in each other’s lives. Conversation flowed easily, despite us not having talked far longer than I cared to admit. I missed this. Being with my parents had always brought me peace, and it did the same now.

  For the first time since I left this place, I didn’t have the urge to run. Or hide.

  While we talked, I left out my real reason for being here, telling them I’d finally been able to move on. I also told them about Nathan. My mom got all glassy-eyed the moment I did. She asked about marriage and kids before I could tell her it was over before it had even started.

  It was way past two in the morning before I went to bed, and the comforting silence of my bedroom lulled me to sleep the second I hit the pillow.

  The next morning was a flurry of activity. My mom made me work for breakfast, and we’d whipped up a pie and pancakes before the clock struck eight. My dad had gone out to get some groceries and was back by the time breakfast was ready. After we’d eaten, I knew it was time to face the reason for coming home. I told my parents I wanted to go visit Jess’ grave, and they nodded, sadness in their eyes. They knew I hadn’t been back since the funeral, so this was a huge step for them. It was the same for me, but if it weren’t for seeing those graves in Dublin
, I may not have made it back here in the first place.

  “Do you want one of us to come with you?” my mom asked, worry etched in her pretty features. Even though she would be sixty next month, her hair was still a bright shade of blonde and her blue eyes shone as if she were not a year over twenty. My dad, his own black hair thinning and the dark edges around his eyes showing his years of manual labor, always said laughter was what made my mom seem as young as she did.

  “No, thank you,” I replied. I knew they meant well, and part of me wanted to have them along. However, I had no idea what awaited me at the graveyard, so I didn’t want to risk anything. I’d sent Nathan away, so I wouldn’t put my parents in the possible line of fire.

  Five minutes later, I was out of the house and in my parents’ car. The drive to the cemetery took ten minutes. Ten of the longest minutes of my life.

  As it came into view, I instantly hated the fact that it looked beautiful. The green was lush and vibrant, flowers accentuating the various graves throughout the area. I wanted it to look dark, decayed, and depressing, but it didn’t.

  I hated it.

  I parked and slowly walked up to the entrance, hoping the more time passed, the less likely the end of my journey was right here. I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and the closer I walked toward the center of the cemetery, the less I believed I’d been right. Maybe it wasn’t my sister’s grave the clues had pointed to.

  I still knew exactly where she was buried, my feet unconsciously taking me there. Someone had maintained the grave. There were fresh flowers, and not a blade of grass was out of place. All I smelled was the fresh daisies on her gravestone. Even after her death, my parents did an amazing job of taking care of my sister.

  I knelt and touched the granite in front of me, my fingers moving slowly over every letter of my sister’s name. Tears streamed down my face as I remembered the amazing and brave person she was. A person who didn’t deserve to die at such a young age. A person who should’ve been alive today.

  In the years we had together, I remembered days of sunshine and joy, as well as clouds and storms. For the first time in years, I let the memories come and didn’t do anything to stop them.

  I sobbed, letting every good memory flow through my mind. The day of our fifth birthday when we finally got the jacks we wanted. The first day of school when we walked hand in hand, letting everyone know there was nothing separating us. The Homecoming dance when we were both crowned queen.

  There were so many beautiful memories involving my twin, and I needed to remember each and every one of them.

  A noise startled me back to the present and I glanced around, searching for what had pulled me from my trip down memory lane. I didn’t see anything at first, but when my eyes grazed over the entrance of the cemetery, a dark silhouette caught my attention. The person moved in my direction. While he could’ve been visiting his own family, something told me he wasn’t. I studied the frame carefully, realizing there was something warmly familiar about it. Something that made my heart race in anticipation. As the silhouette came closer, I saw he wore blue jeans and a coat to ward off the cold. Though he wore a cap that hid most of his face, the blond strands of his hair beamed like gold in the soft, sunny glow on the horizon.

  He came to a stop right behind Jess’ grave and watched me with those silver eyes that always seemed to know too much.

  “I couldn’t let you do this by yourself, no matter how much you wanted me to.”

  I should’ve been angry with him, should’ve yelled, but the relief I felt at seeing Nathan’s beautiful face made me forget about it.

  He was here. Because of me.

  I got up and closed the distance between us. He took my face in his hands, pulling it to him for a kiss. I had no idea how much I missed him. The hole in my heart when I left him in Dublin suddenly filled with warmth and love. The sheer determination I saw in his eyes was enough to let me know that no matter how much I’d yell and scream at him for following me here, he wouldn’t have done it differently.

  “What a lovely picture you two make,” a voice said from behind me. We quickly separated and I spun toward the newcomer.

  I briefly closed my eyes at the sight, sure they were deceiving me. When I opened them again, he still stood there.

  It couldn’t be. There was no way.

  Nathan was absolutely still behind me, but I felt anger coming off him in waves. He moved up, pressing himself closer to me.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d pull through, little brother. I always thought you were the weak one of the two of us, but turns out you do have a little bit of a fire in you after all. Pun completely intended.”

  What the heck? Nathan still hadn’t said anything as I stared at his doppelgänger in front of me.

  The guy was the exact replica of the one behind me. Blond hair, silver eyes, same height, same build. The only difference between the two? The soulless stare in the newcomer’s eyes. There was nothing remotely human in them.

  “I can see the wheels turning in your head, sweet Emlyn, and I don’t blame you. Dealing with one of us is already trouble enough, but two? Oh boy. That’s what my parents always said. They referred to us as the good and evil twin. No idea where they got that from. I like to consider myself the more charming and definitely better looking one.”

  I tried to make sense of the words coming out of his mouth, but I had a really hard time keeping up.

  “Oh my, where are my manners? I haven’t even introduced myself. Joseph Holwell.” He bowed deeply, as if he were something out of a medieval movie. “And you’ve already met my twin brother, Nathan.”

  Twins? I turned to glance at Nathan. His eyes weren’t focused on me, though, but on his brother.

  “What are you doing here?” he hissed. It didn’t take a genius to notice there was no love lost between the two.

  “Oh, you don’t remember?” Joseph mocked. “That’s right. You had that unfortunate accident where you’ve lost part of your memory.” I faced Joseph again, disbelief on every part of my face. “It’s a good thing you did, too. Well, not really, but you would’ve figured everything out way too early. Where would the fun have been in that? I am, however, happy you brought her here. It was your mission, after all, and that part of your memory seemed to have survived.”

  His words were like a sucker punch to my stomach. My heart, filled with relief at seeing Nathan seconds earlier, had turned to ice before it broke into a million pieces.

  “The mission?” I croaked out, trying to rein in the emotions coursing through me.

  “That’s a lie!” Nathan yelled from behind me. His feet crunched on the gravel as he passed me and came to a stop right in front of his brother. “I had no mission.” There was barely an inch between their faces. Nathan’s hands fisted, his knuckles turning white, and for a moment, I thought he’d take a swing at him. Joseph, however, didn’t seem disturbed in the slightest.

  “Oh, but you did. Like I said, the knowledge might have been erased, but deep down, you always knew what your job was. And you’ve fulfilled it. Excellent work.”

  Several other guys came out from behind the church, flanking Joseph on all sides. They were all dressed in black.

  “It was good that I sent Gregor to find you in Dublin to remind you of exactly what was going on. It seemed you got a little…off track.”

  I gasped, remembering the man Nathan had spoken to in Temple Bar. The one he didn’t tell me about.

  “Lies,” Nathan said, but his voice had gotten quieter. He remembered, too.

  Joseph looked at me. “You don’t recall our first meeting, do you?” I furrowed my brows. “I can see you don’t. Too bad. I rather enjoyed it myself. The look on your face when I gave you that letter. It was excitement, curiosity, everything all wrapped in a nice little package. I was sad I couldn’t stay to chat some more. I would’ve loved to see the expression on your face once you opened it.”

  That first day… The day I was handed the letter. It was Josep
h who came into the bakery, not Nathan.

  I looked at Nathan. “That’s why you didn’t recognize me the next day. It was your brother, not you.” Nathan nodded before focusing back on the man in front of him.

  “Yes, that was me. Too bad it was such a short meeting, but my job was to merely get the ball rolling. Nathan stepped in to do the rest,” Joseph explained.

  “I didn’t do anything!” The force behind Nathan’s words made me flinch.

  “I know you didn’t. Well, unless you count going with Emlyn on her trip, making sure she continued and got out alive. And you most certainly did just that,” Joseph remarked with a smirk. My gaze moved between the brothers, unable to decide on the truth behind the words.

  “I went with her because I wanted her safe. I told her to leave the quest more than once,” Nathan countered through gritted teeth.

  “A very clever tactic, I must say. She would never back down from a challenge. You learned that quickly, so telling her to stay away was a brilliant move. It made her resolve stronger.”

  In a sick, twisted way, Joseph was right. The more Nathan talked about going home, the more I wanted to keep working on the quest.

  “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. You’re here, we’re here. It’s all good.”

  I had the sinking feeling nothing about the situation was good. There was a dangerous air around Joseph. I wanted nothing more than to escape it. I should've listened to Nathan when he said I needed to go home.

  “Thank you for leading us here, Emlyn. We’ve had bits and pieces of the location of the keyholder for centuries, but we’ve never gotten quite as far as you did.” My eyes widened. “Don’t look so surprised. You didn’t think you were the first one to look for the mysterious legend, did you?”

  I didn’t. I had found evidence on the internet of others. What surprised me was that parts of the location had been known.

  Joseph sidestepped Nathan and walked over to me. I glanced up at him, the dark abyss of his eyes the only thing reminding me that this was not Nathan.