Alban had told Nate everything he knew about the Sentinels. How they were so well trained in magic because Sentinels held their positions for a thousand years—a predetermined set of years bestowed upon them by some other mysterious magic that even Alban knew nothing about. Nate wasn’t sure he believed it, but he knew the longer he stayed in Galamore, the more he had to accept such ludicrousness as truth.
When he wasn’t trying to look into every room, Nate watched the faces of his companions. Marum looked like she was ready to pounce, as if someone was planning to jump out at them at any moment. Rachel seemed tired and uninterested for the most part. But Alban was alive and invigorated by what he saw. Nate wasn’t quite sure, but he could guess that this little tour of the Sentinel Keep was a dream come true for the man. Seeing Alban’s wide eyes and a grin on his face made the corner of Nate’s mouth go up in a slight smile. The older man was like a child, giddy at seeing a fairytale come true. As they walked through the halls, he asked Jamin questions incessantly and the guard was kind enough to answer each one.
Most of the questions fell on Nate’s ears in muffled tones as his thoughts drowned out the noises. Jesse walked steadily beside him, his eyes fixed on the ground in front.
“Thank you for getting us in here,” Nate whispered. “I’m not sure they would have ever let us in without you.”
Jesse looked up quickly and nodded his head. “When I saw you and your group at the tavern I got nervous for you. Surprised to see her in a public place so freely.” He looked at Marum when he said this.
“We thought we were safe this far south,” Nate said.
“It doesn’t matter where you are, you’re never safe if the president means to catch you.” Jesse’s sharp eyebrows lowered as he shook his head. “Not sure what you’re expecting of the Sentinels. They don’t really like to involve themselves with wanted criminals, innocent or not.”
The company was here under a false pretense, though unintentionally so—Marum didn’t really seek the aid of the Sentinels. Nate wondered if they would be angry when they discovered that Marum was simply here to rest for the night and be on her way back to her brother the next day. Would they be blindsided by Nate who sought after The Ancient Books? Of course, Nate wanted to leave this world a different way if possible. Perhaps they might know how.
Nate had a list of questions about his brother, perhaps more importantly about Tyler Montgomery. He was the man who started all this in the first place. He was the man who hired Nate on that fateful night in El Paso, Texas. He’d told him about a safety deposit box that needed robbing. He’d given Nate half the money for the job up front. Then, when Nate’s group robbed the safety deposit box, they found the book with no title or author—the magic book with endless pages and words that scrolled in ink without use of a hand or pen. If the Sentinels couldn’t give Nate the answers he sought, Tyler Montgomery could. And he was here somewhere. Here being the entire country of Galamore.
Finally, Jamin led them to a hallway, this one with a dead end unlike so many of the others, and stopped. He turned to them and forced a smile. “Each of you are allowed your own room. There is a library at the end of the hallway should you get bored in the evening, though I suspect you’re tired and may like to sleep early tonight. Outside this hallway is a guard, his name is Terrance. Your chambermaid is Hilda, and she will bring dinner to your rooms tonight. Are there any questions?”
“Thank you so much for your hospitality,” Alban said.
Jamin nodded slowly. “Yes, well, the Sentinels will summon you in the morning. Try not to go wandering through the corridors. Terrance will stop you from leaving this hallway, but I suspect you will not get bored here for only one night.”
As nice as they seemed to be, Nate didn’t like this. More and more it felt like a prison. Sure, the guards seemed nice enough, but Nate wondered how nice they would be if they caught him trying to wander the halls in the middle of the night. Of course, he was going to sleep as much as he could. There was more of a danger of Alban trying to snoop than any of them.
Jamin nodded to them and walked away slowly, and almost immediately a woman popped out from on one of their rooms, smiling. She was a plump woman, her curly hair jutting out in many directions, a bead of sweat running down the side of her cheek.
“I’m Hilda,” she said in a voice that seemed too low for a woman. “You can take your pick of the rooms, they’re all the same. We try to make our guests as comfortable as possible. I will be bringing your supper in a couple of hours.”
Nate quickly let go of the idea that he was in a prison. Sure, they might not have been allowed to leave the hallway, but what did that matter? He had no reason to worry, and every reason to sit back and relax for the first time in weeks.
Jesse left them with a nod and assured them he would see them in the morning before their big meeting with the Sentinels. Despite the generosity, the comfortable rooms, and the hot dinner, Nate felt so out of place. Late into the night, when he should have been asleep, he found himself in the library at the end of the hall.
The room was large and bright. Shelves lined the walls, filled with books that Nate had no intention of reading. On the far side wall, he was surprised to see a window. It was the first he’d seen in the entire keep. It was a large, carved out hole in the wall that was sealed with thick glass, overlooking the land for miles and miles. In front of a platform, the glass curved outward, giving Nate the impression that he stood in a large orb. Being nighttime, he couldn’t see a whole lot, but could point out fires and small towns in the distance. From here they looked like tiny sparks no bigger than a match head.
His body was tired, but his mind was racing, not allowing him the sleep he required. He sat himself on a long couch that faced the window, trying to look past his reflection and into the darkness, but he couldn’t help but see himself. After supper, he’d had the chance to shave and take a bath. He looked clean for the first time in a long while, but bathing couldn’t wash away his sunken, dark eyes. He didn’t know if he looked worse than he felt or the other way around. Either way, he was ready to be done with this trip. He’d had a plan all along—to disappear into the mountains of Montana. And that was what he intended to do. He didn’t care about much else. Sure, back home he was a wanted man, but the way he saw it, anyone looking for him would have given up looking for him by now. He’d literally disappeared. As far as he knew, the longer he stayed here, the better it might be for him. It kept him off the minds of people who wanted a fat purse by bringing him in or killing him. This was all assuming that time worked the same way here as it did back home. What if an hour here was a year there? What if an hour there was twenty years here? He had no doubt that either scenario was possible, but it wasn’t for him to worry about, he knew. There was magic in this world. He didn’t pretend to understand it.
A sound behind him broke into his thoughts. He turned to see Rachel standing in the doorway with a startled look on her face.
“I didn’t know you were in here, sorry,” she said.
She started toward the hallway, closing the door with her, but Nate called out. “Wait,” he said. “It ain’t much of a view, but it’s still pretty neat to see.”
Rachel hesitated, but when her eyes caught the window, her features softened and she let go of the door. “Wow,” she said. “I suppose you never know how high up you really are unless you can see it with your own eyes.”
Nate nodded and looked back out at the fires below. “I bet all five of the Sentinels have a window like this in their rooms.”
“You’re probably right,” Rachel said. She sat on the edge of the sofa a couple of feet from Nate. She looked uncomfortable, sitting so straight Nate thought she might fall over.
“Why are you so uptight all of a sudden?” he asked. He shook his head. “I mean, I guess it ain’t all of a sudden. You’re pretty uptight all the time.”
Rachel scowled at this.
“I scared you off, didn’t I?”
“Wh
at?”
“Ah, you know,” he said. “The last time you and I talked alone, I told you a little about my past. You sure haven’t talked to me much since then.”
“I suppose I haven’t had much to say,” she said, looking out the window.
“I’m sorry you had to come on this trip,” Nate said. “I know you didn’t want to.”
“My father believes there is something special about you,” Rachel said.
“And what about you? You think the same thing?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either,” Nate said.
Rachel looked up at him. “Really?”
“Yeah,” he answered. “I’m just a man who was at the right place at the right time, or the wrong place at the wrong time. I still haven’t figured out which. But to happen upon a man who was so willing to just drop everything and go on a month-long journey, two months if you count going back, well, that’s something else.”
“My father is a great man,” Rachel said. “He has only ever been giving.”
“That is something I see clearly,” Nate said.
“It’s just,” she shook her head, hesitating. “I don’t know. The closer we got to the mountain, the more fearful I got. And now I’m petrified.”
“Of what?”
“That’s just it, I can’t quite point it out. I’m scared of a lot of things, I guess. I wonder if we will ever be allowed to go back to our home. I fear that this trip is too much for my father. I’m scared we might make too many enemies. Look at our narrow escape from the mob in Bathevar. If it hadn’t been for Jesse…”
“We would’ve had a fight on our hands,” Nate finished for her. “But that don’t mean we would’ve been killed, Rachel. I’m not sure if you understand, but I can handle myself in a fight.”
“It only takes a single bullet to take the greatest of men down,” she said. “To take any of us down.”
“No truer word has been spoken. And I’m happy to hear you think I’m the greatest of men, though I should tell you, there are some greater.”
Rachel sat straighter if that was possible and shook her head quickly. “That’s not what I meant. I…”
Nate held his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I’m just kidding around. Sit back, it hurts my spine just to look at you.”
Slowly, Rachel relented and eased into the couch. The two of them stared out the window together. A minute or two passed in silence before Nate finally looked at her. “Nothing’s going to happen to us. They ain’t after you or your father. They ain’t even after me, really. And the argument could be made that Marum is off the hook as well. Especially if she gets back to her brother.”
“I’m not sure that would be a good thing,” Rachel said. “Droman is dangerous.”
“Not to you,” Nate said. “I’m not going to pretend I know anything about the political motivations of the president or the gray elves, but I think it’s all a bit bigger than us. They all have a lot more to worry about than a few outlaws who tried to escape.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Rachel said. “If they find out you’re after The Ancient Books and you succeed at getting the relic keys, word will spread quickly.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because no one has ever done it. And everyone wants that power. If you succeed with The Ancient Books, be prepared to be the most wanted man in Galamore.”
Nate sighed and sat forward. He pulled off his hat and set it on his knee, then rubbed his fingers through his thick hair. “Can’t say it’s something I’m not already accustomed to. But I’ve got a feeling it ain’t gonna come to that.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because there’s another way,” Nate said. He looked toward the window again, uttering the words almost out of desperation. “There has to be another way.”
Joe
Summer, 903 A.O.M.
Joe felt sick to his stomach. The idea of obtaining The Book of Time had been a simple one. Fergus knew someone who had it. Before, he had made it sound like his contact, Gerd, was just going to hand it over. Now, it seemed that they were about to rob a bank while the Okoro gang ransacked the entire city of Somerled. Joe pulled Clive away from Fergus and talked to him privately in a booth. Fergus remained at the bar, tapping his fingers nervously against the wood.
“We can’t be implicated in this,” Clive said.
“Implicated? You mean we have to stop it!”
“We’re not heroes, Joe. We’re not here to save these people. We’re here to get the book and get out.”
“At the cost of losing everything we’ve accomplished,” Joe said. “Clive, if you let this happen, the Renegade reputation will be tarnished forever.”
“That’s why I’m not going to be a part of it.”
“You’re not listening!” Joe said it too loudly, but a quick look to his sides revealed no one was paying him any attention. “The attack is about to happen, regardless. If the Okoro gang attacks, and Fergus can’t make good on his promise, don’t you think they might mention that we had something to do with it? We can’t have our name lumped in with people like that.”
Clive sighed and stroked his beard. “What do you want to do?”
“Make Fergus call them off. I don’t know how, just make him do it. We don’t need the book that bad.”
Clive thought for a moment, staring at something past Joe’s shoulder. Then, he nodded and stood from the booth. Joe followed him, but kept a slower pace, not knowing what to think. They should have never taken this proposition. Fergus was a snake and Joe had seen it from the beginning. He had let the idea of possessing The Book of Time blind him.
“Do ya’ll hear that?” asked a man in the middle of the room. He had been passed out drunk with his head resting on his crossed arms, but something had alerted him.
That something was the sound of gunfire.
“It’s too late,” Fergus said. The look on his face showed Joe that he got no pleasure from being in the wrong. For a second, Joe thought Fergus had done what he thought was right. But it was only a second and his thoughts were replaced with the idea of murder.
“What have you done?” Clive said. This time, his pistol was out and Joe wasn’t trying to stop him.
“You can kill me if you want,” Fergus said, “but the truth is, it’s already started. Shoot me or use this to our advantage and go after that book you want.”
Joe watched as Clive weighed the options in his mind. He then looked at the others in the saloon. Nobody was even looking at them. Even the bartender was at the windows of the saloon trying to see what the commotion was about outside. None of them had any idea that the reason the city was under attack was because of the three men standing at the bar.
“How many are attacking?” Clive asked.
“What does it matter?” Fergus said. “We’ve got to get going!”
“How many are there?” he repeated more severely.
Fergus shook his head. “A hundred maybe.”
Clive swore.
“As much as I hate to admit it, Clive, Fergus is right. If we’re going to act, we better do it now.” Joe felt nervous, fidgety even. It wasn’t often that he felt this way, but seeing as this situation could go a number of different ways—none of them good—he figured it was normal to feel this way. But he was determined to keep his cool. He just hoped Clive could keep his too.
Clive held up a finger in front of Fergus’ face. “You better get one thing straight. You ain’t gonna dictate what we do. You ain’t gonna bring gang members to the Renegades.”
Joe wanted to add that there wasn’t any way Fergus would be a commander with the Renegades, but that would surely keep the scoundrel from getting them to the book.
“It won’t happen again,” Fergus said. A nervous sweat broke above his eyebrow.
Clive looked up at Joe and shook his head, their eyes locking onto each other for a moment. To Fergus, the look might have meant, are you ready, but to Jo
e it meant, we’re going to kill him. But they needed to get to that book first.
“Lead the way,” Clive ordered.
Fergus lead them out of the saloon and Joe brought up the rear. All of them ignored the warnings of the people inside the saloon as they walked out onto the street. Joe looked to his right and saw a cloud of dust down the road, hearing the shouts of rowdy men and gunfire. When a woman screamed out in terror, it felt like too much for Joe. He wanted to go in there and stop them. This wasn’t supposed to happen. The streets were chaotic. If the Okoro gang wasn’t shattering shop windows, they were firing rounds into entire groups. From this distance, Joe could already see dead bodies on the ground, and they weren’t gang members.
“If they pin this on us, the Renegades are finished,” Clive muttered as they crossed the street.
Joe wondered what concerned Clive the most—the death of innocent people or being blamed for it.
“Get out of the street!” a man yelled from a building to their left. “Yer gonna get yerselves killed!”
They were already across by the time the man finished his sentence, and none of them even acknowledged him. Their eyes were set on the commotion up ahead. Fergus led them to wooden porches that lined a series of storefronts. The empty streets made for full stores as people crowded around the windows to try and get a good look, forgetting that glass wasn’t a protective shield against stray bullets. Joe wanted to yell for them to get back, but he didn’t. Instead, he followed Clive and Fergus, gun in hand.
“I can’t guarantee that any of the Okoro boys will recognize us,” Fergus said, looking back at Joe. “So be mindful. They might accidentally shoot one of us if we’re not careful.”
“They’re the ones that ought to be careful,” Clive said through clenched teeth.
Joe wasn’t so sure. Smoke was rising in the distance. They’d set a building—no two buildings on fire now. And with torches in hand, it looked like they were going after more.
The Outlaw's Quest (Keeper of the Books, Book 2) Page 5
