Fate's Keep (Fate's Journey Book 2) Read online

  Still reeling from the book’s harmful emanations, Finn backed away until his strength returned. What the hell was O’Deldar doing with a sorcerer’s grimoire concerning the Sidhe? Druids keep to the earth and are strictly forbidden from interacting with the fae. The Order’s rules were in place for good reason. Finn had learned that lesson first hand when he and Fate had been captured by the dark faery in the Book of Fables. Why would O’Deldar have such a book? Had he been dabbling in the dark arts?

  No. Finn refused to believe the druid priest was anything less than honorable. He would’ve sensed if the man had been an oath breaker of the Druidic Order when they’d first met. There had to be a sensible reason for holding onto the book.

  Finn stared at the grimoire with increasing revulsion, but also with reluctant curiosity. What if the answers he was searching for were inside the book? The thought of opening it made his skin crawl.

  But desperate times called for desperate measures.

  Finn grabbed the silk and sniffed it. He recognized the pungent smell of juniper and the sweet citrus scent of agrimony. Both plants were used for fending off evil. Smart. O’Deldar had soaked the cloth in the plant oils to keep the dangerous energies from leaking out of the book.

  Feeling slightly more confident, Finn used the cloth like a pot holder and lifted the book off the floor onto the table. But he’d need a lot more protection than the cloth could provide. Scanning the shelves filled with herbs, incense and talismans, Finn gathered his arsenal together and placed all the necessary items around the grimoire. After the last candle and incense were lit, he wrapped his hand in the silk and unlatched the strap holding the book closed.

  As soon as he pried the cover back, a shadow filled the room and a hiss, like that of many snakes, emanated from the pages. Fear streaked along Finn’s spine. He hated snakes, but even more than that, he loathed exposing himself to any kind of evil.

  Especially after his recent battle with the darkness he’d been possessed by. He’d come horribly close to succumbing to the dark side. His actions toward Fate during that time had been unforgivable. Even now, he could barely face what he’d done. Was all this really worth the risk?

  The first of the Order’s moral codes asserted itself: Every action has a consequence that must be observed and one must be prepared to compensate for the action. There was no way of knowing what he might set loose if he delved too deep. Some actions can never be remedied.

  “Stay Whole.” Finn ground his teeth as he shoved the warning aside. He didn’t see any other option. He had to forge ahead.

  Bracing himself, he flipped each page, scanning illustrations of plants and the making of dangerous tinctures and potions, skimming the details of questionable rituals, all while being careful not to read any of the text aloud. Finn knew too well the power of the spoken word. Fate’s use of the Words of Making, and the trouble they had caused, were proof of their power.

  Finn had no idea of what he was searching for, but he felt certain he’d recognize it on sight. Unfortunately, that meant going through the entire book page by page.

  Somewhere around the halfway point, Finn stopped when he came to a diagram of two worlds with a wall of fire between them. At the center of the firewall was a gateway in the shape of a triangle. Each point was marked by a Sidhe symbol. Was this the Triad?

  A queasy feeling came over him as he turned to the next page. He read through an exhaustive description of how to prepare the summoning and ultimate negotiation with the Triad, the gatekeepers in charge of opening the portals between worlds.

  The ball of dread forming in his stomach eased slightly. Surprisingly, the author of the book didn’t appear to be an evil sorcerer. He was a monk who once walked both sides of the old world and the new. He called himself a keeper of the Holy Magic, a very dangerous magic that invoked creatures of fae to do his bidding in the name of truth and light. He went by the belief that humankind was made in the image of the one true god and therefore had the right to command all other creatures. Only there was one major catch. The spell caster must be beyond reproach and be someone of pure heart, who had thus far remained untouched by any invasion of evil.

  Finn gulped. “Guess that rules me out.”

  11

  This Can’t Be For Real

  BRUNE TOOK AIM AS something hurtled into view.

  “No wait!” Fate shouted.

  Brune wasn’t listening.

  Fate leaped at her, knocking the laser gun’s beam straight up. The deadly red ray scorched the bronze ceiling, melting metal, leaving a deep glowing groove in its wake.

  Recovering her balance, Brune swung around with a punch to Fate’s ribs. The blow hurt, but it wasn’t enough to knock the wind out of her, thanks to her leather armor.

  “Hey!” Eustace yelled.

  Fate waved him off. “It’s okay, I’m fine.” She would’ve returned Brune’s invitation for a good fight, but Jessie slid into Fate’s legs.

  Blinking in shock, Jessie gave her a little wave. “Hi.”

  Fate offered a hand to help her onto her feet. “Jess, I told you to stay behind.”

  Jessie teetered in place. “That’s what I did. But the door never closed.” She glanced away with a guilty look. “On account of my foot being in the way. All I did was take a look inside. When nothing happened, I sorta walked into the janitor closet and still nothing happened. But then Darcy and the others came into the storage room. I was trying to hide from them to keep your secret. When it looked like they might find me, I took one extra step backwards, that’s all. Then blam, I was shooting through some crazy wormhole.” She rubbed her arm. “And it wasn’t fun at all. It was really scary. And painful.”

  “I know. But you’ve got to go back.” Fate turned to Farouk. “Fire it up again, Jessie’s going home.”

  Brune barred her way. “Nobody’s leaving.”

  Jessie shrank from her. “Who’s she?”

  Fate stepped in between them. “Jessie, meet Brune, best remembered as the zombie.”

  “Really?” Jessie looked Brune over. “Who Dorian Grayed her?”

  “I did.”

  Jessie’s eyes grew huge and round as she took in her surroundings. When she saw Farouk, she gasped and pointed. “What’s that?”

  “Not really sure what that is,” Fate said, “but it’s calling itself Farouk. And it talks weird.”

  “I’m not an it. He will suffice,” Farouk snapped as he continued to struggle with the lever for the door.

  Brune pointed her laser gun at Jessie. “I can’t allow you to leave. We have a secret to protect.”

  Eustace placed his hands on Jessie’s trembling shoulders and moved her behind him. He held his chin high as he glared at Brune. “You will not harm this girl.”

  Adrenaline shot through Fate’s heart as Brune aimed the gun at Eustace. “You shoot my dad, and I’ll have you wishing you’d died of old age.”

  Eustace looked at Fate with renewed fear in his eyes. “Fate, don’t–”

  Gerdie stomped over to Brune and kicked her hard in the shin. “Drop the gun or I’ll swallow the Orb.” She popped the Orb into her mouth.

  Brune stared at Gerdie in horror. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I would.”

  Brune dropped her aim. “Alright, but she’s here for good now. There’s no letting her leave. If the world finds out about–”

  “I think it already has,” Farouk yelled. “There are more coming through!”

  All eyes turned to the blazing, churning portal as it spewed a clump of bodies into the sanctuary. Groans of pain came from the tangle of limbs before Fate recognized one of the voices.

  “Get off me, jerk!” Darcy yelled as Lincoln continued to lie on top of her.

  Mason lifted his head off the floor, but he couldn’t move. He was pinned under Steve. “You heard her. Get the hell off my girl.” He jerked his shoulder to jar Steve. “You too. Move your junk before I lose it on you.”

  Steve shifted onto all fours and hovered o
ver Mason as he shakily glanced around.

  Fate shot Jessie a frown. “You told them?”

  Jessie’s mouth dropped open. “No, I swear I didn’t!”

  Brune grabbed Lincoln, jerking him to his feet. “Hands on the wall!” She waved her laser gun at the others to do the same. Within seconds, she had the demon goblin, warlock, witch and shadow elf facing the wall with their hands raised. Each of them looked confused and a little nervous, but not nearly as scared as they should be.

  Brune stormed over to the portal, grabbed the lever and thrust it down. The iris spiraled inward until it ground to a tight stop. She sneered at Farouk. “And that’s how it’s done.”

  Crossing his furry arms, Farouk dropped into his seat, silently mimicking her smug expression.

  Darcy twisted around as far as she could, while still keeping her hands pressed to the wall. “I demand to know what’s going on. This is America, we have rights.”

  Brune strolled over to her captives. “That’s rich. You couldn’t be further from the truth, or America, for that matter. And let me tell you about your rights. You lost them the moment you stepped into my domain.”

  Anger stirred in Fate. If the Keep belonged to anyone, it belonged to her now. She was the new guardian. Not Brune. Yet her great aunt was acting like the changing of the guard had never happened.

  But it had. Fate had signed her life away and taking the oath had changed her. Something new boiled in her blood. She felt protective of the Keep, and with it, a terrible sense of imminent danger that was growing worse.

  Still, there was much she had to learn about this place and her new position. It was painfully obvious she needed Brune to at least teach her the basics. She would have to tread lightly. “Brune, you don’t need to be so heavy handed about all this.”

  Brune turned to her. “Heavy handed?” she scoffed. “Look, greenhorn, you have no idea what’s at stake here.”

  “Farouk filled me in about the scavenger.”

  “That’s only part of it. There are other things loose in the Keep.”

  “Like what?”

  Brune glanced at Farouk. In that instant, Fate detected a hint of shame in Brune’s eyes. “We’ll get into that later. Right now, we need to figure out what to do with these intruders.”

  Darcy dropped her hands and turned all the way around. “Intruders? It’s not our fault your portal thingy sucked us up and dumped us here.”

  Brune turned to her with an icy stare. “It’s not my fault you stuck your nose in where it’s not welcome.”

  Darcy threw up her arms. “Fate, WTF?”

  Steve snorted. “I think in this case, the abbreviation lacks a certain punch.”

  Darcy ignored him. “This can’t be for real. Are we being punked? Like, really. What’s going on?”

  The others dropped their arms, chiming in with questions, some laughing nervously.

  Lincoln removed his vampire fangs and skin cap, revealing a cropped afro gelled into random spikes. He looked to be about sixteen, a lanky version of a young Will Smith. Right down to the mischievous grin. “Dude, thish ish one crazay prank,” he said, surprising Fate with a lisp she’d blamed his plastic fangs for. “Were we on a shlide? And thoshe lightsh! Talk about trippy. My brothersh will be jelly when I tell them about thish!”

  Mason snapped shots of Farouk with his phone. “And what about this little dude? Killer animatronics, man. I gotta blog this!”

  Steve squeezed his cane as he studied the sanctuary with nervous excitement. “Guys, I don’t think this is an amusement park. The books in here look like collectibles. Expensive ones.” He glanced at Fate. “This is a secret vault inside the bookstore. It’s where you keep all the really good stuff, right?”

  Their reactions reminded Fate of her own initial response when she’d first been thrown inside the Book of Fables. She’d thought she was dreaming, or worse, insane. It had taken a long time to accept the unbelievable. “Guys, you’re all way off base. This isn’t some elaborate hoax or fancy amusement park, of which I could never afford to build. Steve’s the closest to what this is, but it’s nowhere near Fables Bookstore. Or Earth. We’re on the other side of the universe. This is really happening.”

  “Ooh, so scary,” Darcy said, faking a shiver. “Come on. You expect us to believe that? We all know your motto: Reality sucks. Make-believe rocks. But really, enough’s enough.”

  Mason frowned at his cell phone. “Hey, I’ve lost service. You got wi-fi here? What’s the pass?”

  Fate walked to the breaching door. “Fine, if you won’t believe me, believe your own eyes.” She swept her hand over the control panel as Farouk had done. The others gathered around as the glimmering light spread over the wall, turning it transparent to reveal the sprawling Keep down below and the glittering stars beyond the gigantic sweeping hoops.

  Silence fell over the group and mouths gaped open as they stared out at the incredible sight. Fate couldn’t help staring either. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to what she was seeing.

  Mason pocketed his cell phone. “How are you doing that? It’s gotta be some sort of projection.” He glanced over his shoulder, searching for the source.

  Jessie stomped her foot, startling everyone. “Guys, this isn’t being faked. I had a hard time swallowing it all too, but believe me, everything’s for real.”

  “Nobody’s talking to you, sidekick.” Darcy’s glower fixed on Fate. “Look, you’ve proven yourself to be the ultimate queen of cosplay and larping, all rolled up in one big fancy package. We bow to you. But it’s time we get back to the convention. I’ve got people waiting for an awesome night and the only way to do that now is to let them in on this. Plus, it’s the only way I’ll forgive you for hijacking my venue.”

  Fate threw her arms up in exasperation. “You got me. This is all one big joke. And if you try to leave, Brune is only going to laser tag you with her plastic ray gun. She’s a real hog for points.”

  “Count me in. I’ve been thirshty for a game of lasher tag,” Lincoln said.

  Darcy folded her arms and scowled at him. “We’re not playing laser tag. I’ve got a cosplay contest to judge as soon as we get back.”

  “I’m down for some laser tag,” Mason said, avoiding his girlfriend’s glare.

  “Give me a gun, let’sh do thish.” Lincoln bounded across the sanctuary, pushing books aside, tipping jars over and poking around the bookshelves in search of laser guns.

  Brune stormed over, grabbed him by his purple robe and slammed him against the table. “Stay out of my stuff.”

  “The name’sh Lincoln, beautiful. But you can call me Lincbaby.”

  “I don’t care if you’re name’s God, keep your mitts off my things.” She turned to everyone else. “That goes for all of you!”

  Lincoln raised his hands in surrender and laughed. “Whoa, I like how you’re gettin’ into your role.” He looked her over appreciatively. “I reshpect that. Go ahead, rough me up all you want.”

  Brune’s face wrinkled with disgust. “You’re nothing more than troll slop to me.”

  He laughed again. “Game on, girl.” He glanced from side to side. “So where’sh the gunsh?”

  Brune whipped her laser gun out and stuck it under his chin. “Right here, little boy. How’d you like your skull aerated. One hole, or two?”

  “How about a kish firsht?”

  Mason stepped in next to Fate with worry in his eyes. “The gun’s not real, right?”

  Fate flapped her arms in defeat. “Yeah, no worries. It’s only lethal if she pulls the trigger.”

  Mason shot Lincoln a concerned look. “Dude, quit messing with her.”

  Brune shoved Lincoln and stomped over to Fate. “Do something with these…pests, or I will.”

  Fate stared her down. “What do you expect me to do? You won’t let them leave.”

  A sneaky sort of smile spread on Brune’s face. “I say we let them loose in the Keep. Let them get their game on out there.”

  F
ate fumed silently as she stared into the face of the person who had so callously thrown her into the Book of Fables. She already knew Brune didn’t hold blood relations in high regard, which made everyone else nothing more than bugs to be squished.

  Gerdie appeared next to Fate and pointed. “Uh…I think somethin’s out there.”

  Fate followed the line of Gerdie’s hand, staring into the distance as she stepped closer to the transparent wall. A dark shape skimmed over the rotating landscape. At first glance, it looked like a small helicopter, except that it didn’t move right. The sweep of gigantic wings heaved the body through the air. Was it some sort of enormous bird? But even as she thought the question, her gut clenched with fear. A distant roar echoed across the Keep, muffled only by the walls of the sanctuary. “What the heck is that?”

  Brune stepped in beside her. “That would be a Chimera.”

  “As in fire-breathing lion with a snake for a tail and big bat wings?”

  “Pretty much, give or take a little goat and hawk.”

  Everyone clustered close to the wall, watching the beating wings of the beast as it flew straight for the sanctuary. Within seconds it was upon them, filling their field of vision. The beast growled and flames splashed against the wall, before it rammed against the breaching door. The deafening impact and terrible scrape of claws resounded through the metal walls.

  Screams filled the sanctuary as everyone scrambled away from the sight of the thrashing beast. Darcy clung to Mason as he shakily filmed the monster with his phone, while both Steve and Lincoln dashed for the back wall of the sanctuary and hid behind the table.

  “Game over, man! I want off thish ride!” Lincoln screamed.

  “Is it gone?” Steve asked as he peeked over the table’s edge. He slowly stood when he saw that the Chimera had retreated.

  “Promptdictable as always,” Farouk said, ‘It’s been doing that every hour, since you first led it to the door, Brune.”