The Key Read online

  “Grandma!” said Maddie as fiery red color mingled with her freckles.

  Chase held his hand out and grasped the old woman’s firmly. “I’m Alexander Chase Donavon, or Chase to my friends. I’m a military brat, so I come from a little bit of everywhere. And Maddie and I are friends.” At least for now.

  “If you say so,” said her grandma, cocking a brow.

  Maddie breathed a sigh of relief and Chase smiled. She wasn’t so tough.

  “Grandma, Chase asked if I might be allowed to go home with him tomorrow and study some for a test.”

  Her grandma glared again. “Will you two be alone?”

  He laughed. “Hardly. I have four younger brothers. Plus my mother is always home.”

  “Okay, Maddie can go. But I expect her to be returned in the same condition you found her.”

  “Grandma!”

  The old woman cackled. “I’m just playing with you, sonny. My name is Draoi Casey-Brennan. I’m Maddie’s great-grandmother, on her mother’s side.”

  “Do I detect an Irish accent?”

  “Aye, laddie, ye do indeed.” She thickened her accent and Chase smiled. With a wave, she said, “You better be gettin’ home. Your parents might be worried.”

  Chase thought about explaining that they knew his whereabouts, but she seemed eager for him to leave. Maddie escorted him to the porch and he asked, “Would it be okay if I pick you up tomorrow morning?”

  “I’d like that.” She twisted her hands. “And Chase?”

  “Yes?”

  “Thanks.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  He skipped down the steps, stopped at the truck bed and hauled out her bike. He rolled it to the porch and propped it on the kickstand before climbing into the cab and rolling down the window to yell, “Bye, Maddie.”

  “Bye, Chase.”

  ****

  “He seems nice.”

  “He is,” replied Maddie.

  “Do you not want to talk about him?”

  “Oh, Grandma, I’m sorry. It’s not that. I’m just very distracted.”

  “Did something happen at school?”

  “I guess you could say that,” said Maddie, gnawing her lip and twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

  “Tell me about it.”

  Maddie hesitated, but Grandma Draoi had a way of dragging information out of her and she found herself saying, “There’s this guy.”

  “Another one?” Grandma Draoi asked in a shocked tone.

  Heat flushed her cheeks and Maddie wished she could hide her head in a hole like an ostrich. “No, not like Chase. He’s new to school, too, and we have similar classes and he, well, he stares at me and flirts with me, like all day. He follows me to class. He offers to carry my books. Just normal stuff, I guess.”

  “Hmm.” Grandma stalked around the kitchen stacking clean dishes. Over her shoulder, she asked, “What’s his name?”

  “Dougal Lachlan.”

  A plate fell and splintered on the shiny tile floor. Maddie drew her bare feet up in the chair and covered her head with her hands. When the shards settled, she stood on the chair, took a big step, and reached her flip-flops. Feet protected, she joined her grandma. Silently they cleared up the broken pieces. A strange look settled on Grandma’s face.

  Maddie gnawed her lip before whispering, “Grandma?”

  Her expression changed and her lips lifted, but the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Yes, dear?”

  Maddie’s heart hammered against her ribs. Something didn’t feel right. “Do you know him?”

  Maddie thought she wasn’t going to answer, but she said, “I once knew a man named Dougal. But he lived a long time ago.”

  “Then it couldn’t possibly be the same guy.”

  “Of course not.” Grandma’s tone held a hint of skepticism. She stood and carried the full dustpan to a cardboard box.

  Maddie sat back on her haunches, confused.

  “That was a good supper. Wasn’t that a good supper? I think I need to go check on the garden. Don’t wait on me.” Grandma vanished out back, holding up one hand in passing to keep the glass door from slamming behind her.

  Maddie rose to her feet and dusted off her pants. She scrunched her face at the door. Beyond it, Grandma paced the squash patch and mumbled under her breath. Occasionally she would lift her hands to the sky and close her eyes, then she would lower them and start pacing again. It was a good thing no one was watching; they might have thought her grandma had lost her mind. Maddie kind of thought that was the case herself, but she let it go. Old people did weird things, right?

  Turning her back on the odd scene, Maddie climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Sitting at her desk, she finished her homework, then stared at the bed. She hated going to sleep. The shrink had said the dreams would fade with time, but after six months they were no less vivid. The sparkling tower, the smell of smoke, her parents’ death… nothing had changed.

  She sighed. She was blessed to have a home with Grandma, but sometimes it was so boring. There was no cable, no computer, and no car! A friend took Grandma shopping once a week. Other than that, Grandma Draoi never left the house. The place was not the ideal environment for a teenage girl, even if she did think so herself.

  Sketchpad spread out on the table, she held her pencil aloft. Visions of Chase and Dougal danced before her eyes. The first stroke of the pencil felt awkward. She dropped it and palmed her chin. She just wasn’t in the mood to draw.

  Maddie grabbed a book and sprawled across the bed. She would just read a little. Her eyelids grew heavy and she shook her head. Words blurred before her…

  ****

  Dougal swooped onto a nearby tree. Branches filled with evergreen needles hid him from view. Wings tucked to his sides, he shuffled back and forth like a bird. The branch wiggled beneath him and he tightened his grip.

  Chase had left in his ancient truck and Draoi and Maddie had settled down to dinner. Potent aromas had drifted through the open window. He had salivated; the acid drool dripped onto his talon and he’d grunted.

  Moving closer to the tree trunk, he kept watching. Maddie spoke, but he couldn’t make out her words. What he had noticed was a brief expression of fear that passed across Draoi’s face. Moments had passed and then Draoi excused herself.

  She paced in the meager garden. The once beautiful druid had aged considerably. Her bright fiery red hair had changed to a stunning silver, and her formerly lithe body carried extended girth about the middle. However, one thing hadn’t changed… her power.

  Grace and poise oozed from her ambling form. Words of incantation were almost visible as they left her wrinkled lips. The invisible blue veil, more a suggestion of color than something he actually saw, thickened its coating around the house, yet he could still see through it. Serena’s own spell kept him from being locked out.

  Why would Draoi be strengthening her protection spell? What could Maddie have said to worry her grandmother? Had she mentioned him? Even if she’d said his name, how could Draoi possibly remember him? Their one chance meeting had occurred years ago when her own daughter had been born.

  He’d hidden then, too, behind the doubly thick glass windows, and sought a glimpse of the newborn Casey. She’d been beautiful, with dark hair and bright green eyes. A blue aura of protection had glowed around her. He’d touched the glass and it had practically hummed.

  His heart had hammered in his chest when the door to the nursery had opened and a shadowy figure had entered. In the dark, an unrecognizable creature had hovered above the child, a dagger in hand glinting in the nightlight’s glow. Dougal had screamed and banged against the window until the creature became scared and fled.

  After that he had covertly watched the young Casey. He’d waited in anticipation of her maturity. For a time when he might be able to convince her that her role as the key was beneficial to all, but that time had never come. Before he’d been able to succeed in his mission, she’d given birth to a girl of her own and t
ransferred her powers.

  A whistling sound reached Dougal’s hearing and he peered through Maddie’s window. The curtains fluttered and he caught a glimpse of her sitting at her desk. He would love to fly over to her window, hang from the frame, and get a closer look, but with Draoi in such close proximity and so worked up, the idea seemed riddled with flaws. Perhaps another time.

  When Draoi turned her back, Dougal jumped from his position and flew into the sky.

  ****

  She turned around and around in the dark wood. Sounds — a growl, the flap of wings, the hiss of hot air. Her heart pounded. A creature landed before her. Wings flared on either side. Venom dripped from pointed fangs. She gulped and ran.

  Branches smacked her face, cutting her skin. Her long flowing white dress billowed behind her. Tree limbs snagged her as she raced to escape.

  The hot putrid breath of her pursuer closed in. She looked over her shoulder and screamed…

  “Maddie, wake up!”

  She struggled to open her eyes, clawing the air around her. A cool hand caressed her forehead and it slowly drew her back. She fluttered her lids open. Grandma Draoi stared down with a face full of concern. Behind her, the window still showed the night.

  Maddie gulped and rubbed sleep from her eyes. “I’m okay. It was only a dream.” Of all the nights for Grandma to keep her hearing aids in place…

  “Yes, only a dream.” Grandma paused. “Why don’t you go wipe your face and then lie back down?”

  Maddie managed a nod. She felt Grandma’s stare on her back all the way to the bathroom, and she couldn’t quite bring herself to close the door between them. But the mirror — it reflected a harrowed young girl. Auburn hair lay in a mass of tangles above her shoulders. Rounded jade eyes stared back at her. Maddie shook her head, and her hair moved. It showed… She touched her face and gasped.

  A thin moist line marked her pale cheek. She was bleeding.

  ****

  Chase awoke in a cold sweat with his father shaking him.

  “Chase, are you okay?”

  Breathing heavily, he stared at the ceiling and tried to calm his racing heart. For a moment longer the white-clad form fled into the forest…

  “Chase, talk to me.”

  He shook his head, shook it off. “It was only a nightmare,” he croaked.

  “It wasn’t just a nightmare. You were screaming.”

  “I was?”

  “Yes. What were you dreaming?”

  “I’m not sure.” A figure in white, a forest… he held onto the dream’s last vestiges but kept them to himself. Dad had enough on his mind already. Chase rubbed his eyes and struggled up, sitting on the side of the bed.

  Mom stood in the doorway, her face white as a sheet. “Alex?”

  “Carissa, he’s fine. Go back to bed.” She left and Dad asked, “Do you remember anything?”

  He shook his head again.

  Dad pulled up a chair and handed him a glass of water.

  Chase took it gratefully. The cool liquid soothed his dry throat. “Thanks.”

  “Do you feel better?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dad patted Chase’s shoulder. “Okay. Why don’t you lie down and see if you can go back to sleep? I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Chase nodded and handed over the empty cup. The door clicked shut, and Chase pulled the covers to his neck. He closed his eyes and willed the nightmare to stay at bay.

  ****

  “Do stop jumping,” crooned Serena from a pallet on the opposite side of the cave.

  Dougal sat up and wiped sweat from his brow. The dream of Maddie had been so vivid, he wasn’t sure it hadn’t been real. He’d landed before her in his transformed state and she had run. She had fled like a scared rabbit being chased by a hay baler. He’d pursued. He’d wanted to stop her, to explain, to tell her he wouldn’t hurt her, he couldn’t hurt her. He needed her. But she’d awakened before he could.

  He ran a hand through his hair and dropped his elbows on his knees. He wasn’t a saint, but he wasn’t a monster, either. Well, maybe he was. He’d done some terrible things, very terrible things. If only he’d…

  There was no need to rehash old memories. What was done was done. The dream was just a small indication of how much harder he would have to work to make her comfortable before they could claim her help. Somehow he would convince her that, by helping them, she was doing the right thing. She would see. They all would.

  Chapter 7

  The next morning, the truck’s engine rumbled outside early. Before he had time to exit his truck, Maddie placed a peck on Grandma’s cheek, grabbed her backpack from the kitchen floor, and skipped down the steps. She dropped her pack in the truck’s floorboard and buckled up.

  His initial smile morphed to a frown. “What happened to your cheek?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Maddie said, allowing her hair to fall forward and cover the neutral-colored bandage. At least Grandma’s first aid kit had been well supplied and she hadn’t had to wear neon pink or cartoon characters or anything seriously dorky.

  “Why does it need a bandage if it’s nothing?”

  “Okay, so it’s something.”

  “Well…?”

  “It’s silly, really. I scratched myself in my sleep. No biggie.”

  “Humph. That was some sleep.” Chase drove the truck out of the driveway. “Were you dreaming?”

  “Um, yes.”

  Chase grew quiet and flashed a glance much like the one Grandma Draoi had given her.

  The rest of the trip passed in silence. They arrived at school, and Chase was testy and moody. He gathered Maddie and her stuffed backpack and marched her straight to his locker. Handing her a small slip of paper, he said, “Here’s the combination. I don’t know how I got a locker and you didn’t, but until you get one, we can share.”

  “They probably just forgot me. That happens a lot. But Chase, are you sure?”

  “Yep, I’m sure.”

  She kept the books she needed and shoved the rest inside before making her way to homeroom. The students seemed subdued, like something bad had happened and they were all afraid to speak. She swallowed. As if her dream had spread its wings across the entire town of Coal Creek.

  Studying the roomful of students, she frowned. Dougal was missing again.

  ****

  Chase followed Maddie to homeroom and took his seat. He reviewed the dwindling memories of his nightmare. He’d stood on the sidelines and watched as a girl swathed in a gauzy white dress was chased through the woods by a horrifying creature, kind of like a gryphon from legends, with the lower half of a lion and the upper half of a massive eagle. He’d tried to yell when he first spotted the beast, but his screams had been silent. He’d tried to help her when she ran, but it felt as if roots held him to the ground. There was nothing he could do but watch, and he hadn’t even been able to get a good look at her. And then the vision had blurred and faded. The girl disappeared. The gryphon stood in a clearing and looked around in bewilderment. And then Chase had awakened with Dad calling his name.

  The bell rang and he went through the motions. During the classes he shared with Maddie, he kept staring at her. Something wasn’t right. The scratch on her cheek oddly matched the place the girl in the dream had been struck by a branch.

  By lunchtime Chase had settled it in his mind; Maddie was definitely the girl from his dream. He needed to talk with her about what he’d seen, what he’d experienced, the strangeness that seemed to surround them. But not here. Maybe at his place, after they’d studied for the test? It should be quiet there, with his brothers outside playing.

  That felt like a good idea and he breathed a sigh of relief. The remaining three classes passed in a blur as his mind totally focused on Maddie and their afternoon plans.

  ****

  It was kind of odd when she thought about it, but Maddie found herself actually missing Dougal as the rest of the uneventful day passed. His presence had brought excitement into her normally
boring school life.

  After school, Chase drove them to his house. He grimaced when he turned the knob and the front door didn’t automatically open. The key rattled in his hand as he used it.

  They stepped into the foyer of the Colonial-style home. A broad staircase led upstairs. A hall ran along either side. Black and white shiny tile covered the floor.

  A middle-aged woman with warm eyes, whom Maddie presumed was Chase’s mother, ran toward them, covered head to toe in bubbles, and slid to a halt, leaving wet skid marks on the tile. “Oh, Chase, I’m so glad you’re home! I was bathing Max and he jumped out of the tub. Can you help me catch him?”

  “Sure.”

  The woman thrust a soap-covered hand toward her. “Carissa Donovan. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Maddie Clevenger. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Even if her hand did need wiping afterward.

  A large dog brushed past Maddie’s legs and she couldn’t help it; she squealed. Chase smiled, dropped his books on a hall table, and charged after the mutt. Maddie regained her balance and followed Chase as he raced through the living area, into a dining room, and through a set of sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. Maddie took a position on the porch as Chase wrapped his arms around the dog’s middle, but Max slid right through. She covered her mouth and giggled.

  Chase looked at her and his lips twitched. “So you think this is funny?”

  “No,” she replied, her body shaking with unrestrained laughter.

  Chase stalked over, scooped her into his arms, and crushed her to his soapy chest. Surprised and a little shocked, she squirmed and kicked, but he squeezed tighter. And lifted.

  “Chase! What are you doing?”

  His smile broadened and an almost devilish look covered his face as he headed further into the yard. Wait — over his shoulder she could see… She squirmed harder, trying to break his hold. “Chase! I don’t have any dry clothes!”

  “You can wear mine.”

  Whoa. The thought sent a tingle through her body and she stopped struggling. Maybe she could distract him from his goal. She leaned into him and brushed her lips against his. A current shot between them. Double whoa!