The Key (10 page)

‘I don't remember seeing that room.'

But I do. Somewhere amidships. Somewhere in the middle. Ethan joins me in the cabin, and within seconds he has his hands on a suspiciously loose board. Jimmying the panel open, the explosives are soon revealed – six thick rods bound together with string. ‘It's dynamite,' he mutters. ‘Trust the Order to play to their own rules every time.'

‘What are you talking about?'

He glances up for a second. ‘Dynamite hasn't been invented yet.' He notices an old-fashioned timepiece at the centre. ‘Look at that. It's set to go off in three minutes!'

‘We have to get rid of it.'

‘Yeah.' He gives it a tug, but it doesn't move. ‘First things first.'

‘Right.'

Working carefully Ethan holds the bomb as I attempt to cut the straps holding it in place. It seems to take for ever with the clock ticking loudly in my ears. When it finally comes loose too much time has passed. We only have fifteen seconds left!

‘Just enough time to get this baby into the water,' Ethan says with amazing calm, considering he's holding a pile of explosives in his hands.

But it just isn't turning out to be our day. Hicks makes an appearance, with two other sailors close behind. ‘Hey! What are you two doing here? You're up to no good, aren't you? Good grief, what's that you're holding?'

Ethan looks at me and shakes his head. ‘No time to explain, sir,' he calls out. ‘Just let us through!'

No one moves out of the way. ‘Here, you're not going anywhere. Not with that! I thought there was something funny about you two.' Hicks calls over his shoulder, ‘Lock ‘em up!'

I glance at the timepiece in the centre of the bomb, my heart sinking. Five seconds. ‘What are we going to do?'

‘We'll have to take it back with us.'

Four …

‘What? The bomb? But it's going to explode! And those three over there will see us disappear.'

Three …

‘We can't worry about that now. It's a risk we have to take,' Ethan explains.

Two …

He adds quickly, ‘If we don't, this bomb is going to kill everyone on the
Endeavour
and the two of us will die in the past. We can't risk that.'

One …

Without conscious thought I snatch the bomb out of Ethan's hands and call,
‘Arkarian!'

Arkarian transports us back to the Citadel, but in the split second after transit begins, the bomb explodes. Heat, light and fire catapults the two of us into a rapidly darkening oblivion.

My eyes open and I find myself on a hard floor in a room with black, crumbling walls, the remnants of the explosion littered all over me.

Arkarian grabs my shoulders. ‘Are you all right?'

‘Huh?' I glance down at my chest, patting it a couple of times quickly. ‘Yeah, I think so.'

‘Are you sure?'

I nod and he spins and looks around. I follow his eyes. ‘Oh no,' he mutters, running across the room.

Ethan is lying in a massive pool of blood. I crawl across the floor to him, dread growing deeper with every movement.

Arkarian picks Ethan up and starts carrying him to the door. I get up quickly and run after them. ‘Where are you taking him?'

We run through one corridor after another. ‘To a healing chamber.'

Up ahead Lady Arabella is standing holding a door
open. ‘Quickly, in here.'

Arkarian lays Ethan's body down on a narrow crystal table. Lord Penbarin appears, doing up his bright red gown. ‘Let me see the boy!'

All three examine Ethan, then Lady Arabella whispers to Arkarian, ‘We need Isabel.'

Arkarian turns around and looks straight at me. ‘This is what we're going to do.'

But my thoughts are only with Ethan. ‘Is he all right? Is he …?'

Arkarian grabs my shoulders with both of his hands. ‘Matt, listen to me.'

‘But –'

‘Listen!'

The urgency in Arkarian's voice breaks through and I focus on his face, on his deep violet eyes. ‘I'm listening.'

‘All right. Firstly, I'm going to transport you back to your own body in your own bed and wake you up. OK?'

I nod, understanding.

‘Then I want you to get Isabel, go up to my chambers, and call my name. Loudly. Just like you did on the
Endeavour
when you grabbed that bomb out of Ethan's hands. OK?'

‘Yes.'

‘Then I will transport you here, and Isabel can work on healing Ethan. It's his only chance to pull through this. Be quick.' Arkarian's hand comes up over the top of my face. ‘Now go.'

A second later I wake in my bed, my heart thundering against my ribs. And for a mad second I think I'm dreaming, a horrible nightmare. Isabel comes running into my room, the door banging behind her. Still caught in the thought that I'm moving within a freaky dream,
my mind trips out and I see her as an angel or a spirit. Her hair is out, flying around her face, and she's wearing a long white nightgown.

But her words soon bring my thoughts crashing back to reality. ‘What happened? I felt something. Are you all right? Is Ethan all right?'

‘No. He's not.' I get out of bed and start running for the door. ‘Ethan needs you. Come quickly. We have to go now!'

In the hallway, the door to Mum's bedroom opens. Jimmy is there and he throws me something. They're keys. ‘Take my jeep. You'll get there faster.'

Long minutes later we're halfway up the mountain and climbing out of the jeep. It occurs to me that Arkarian is not inside his chambers. ‘How is the secret door going to open when Arkarian is at the Citadel?'

‘Arkarian can open it from anywhere. Come on!'

As she speaks the doorway opens. As soon as we're both inside she calls his name. Instantly we're transported. We end up standing outside the healing chamber door where Arkarian is waiting. Isabel rushes towards it as if she can walk straight through both Arkarian and the closed door. Arkarian pulls her back and makes her focus. ‘Isabel, take a deep breath.'

‘Arkarian, let me go to him. Precious seconds –'

‘– are important for you to get your thoughts together. You have a lot of work to do in there and you need to be able to concentrate. Clear your head now, Isabel. I need you to prepare yourself … before you see him.'

‘How badly is he injured, Arkarian?'

‘You will need to use your powers like never before. Not only do you have to heal him, but for Ethan to survive, you're going to have to …
restructure
his vital organs.'

I'm the first to arrive for the scheduled meeting. Not even Arkarian is here, though I have no problem getting into his chambers. I walk around trying different doors, looking for one that is set up for our conference. The rooms are mostly bare, although some have gym equipment inside with mats and bars. The central chamber, distinctive by its octagonal shape, is completely dark. The sphere is motionless.

Something has happened. Something terrible. Stirrings of fear start surging inside me. I try to recall everything I know about last night's events. There was a lot of activity. Jimmy and Mr Carter had a mission, while Ethan and Matt were going to rescue Captain Cook. As for Isabel and Shaun, I have no idea if they were doing anything. I was with Neriah, and she seemed all right, despite the intruder.

A noise in the hallway has me spinning around. It's Jimmy. Without saying a word he opens a door to his left. ‘The meeting's in here.'

I follow him in and see a round table surrounded by chairs, all made of wood. I touch the table top and instantly know its heritage. It comes from a tree more
than a thousand years old. Oak. English. ‘What happened last night?'

‘There was an –
incident
.'

A lump rises in my throat. ‘Was anyone hurt?'

As I ask this question Shaun and Mr Carter walk through the door. Straightaway I feel the tension in Shaun. Though his thoughts are a scrambled mess, his distress is clear. Distress for Ethan!

‘Shaun, what's wrong? What's happened?'

He looks across to where I'm holding the high back of a chair. ‘There was an explosion.' He swallows deep in his throat, flicking a nervous glance to no one in particular.

Inside, my chest feels as if it has been enclosed in a straitjacket ten sizes too small. ‘How is he, Shaun? Is Isabel with him?'

He leans heavily on the table top with open palms and groans, his eyes weary and troubled. ‘Isabel has been with him for hours. I'm told that we'll know his condition soon.'

Matt walks in looking a complete mess, his clothes dishevelled, hair askew, as if he has spent the last few hours trying to pull it out. But it's his eyes that give away his grief.

Shaun practically jumps at him. ‘Tell us what you know.'

But Matt has nothing to give. He drops into the nearest chair. ‘Arkarian sent me away hours ago. He wanted me to rest and put me in a quiet room. I haven't seen him since.'

I look at each of them, anger brewing inside. ‘Someone has to know something! Where is Arkarian? He will tell us!'

Hands suddenly grip mine. They're Jimmy's. But as soon as he touches me he springs back with a jerk. ‘Whoa, girl. Look what you're doing!'

I glance down at the chair. Beneath my fingers the timber has partially disintegrated. A smell of burning wood fills the room.

Everyone stares at me and I feel like a freak. I throw my hands behind my back. Out of sight they settle into a calmer state of energy.

Silence follows that nobody feels inclined to break. Feeling the intensity leave my hands, I carefully pull out an undamaged chair, sit in it, and wait.

At last Arkarian materialises. Before anyone gets to ask their first question, it's clear that someone else is coming. It's Isabel. Her form takes shape more slowly beside Arkarian, as if she is weary beyond belief. The instant she stabilises, Arkarian supports her with his arm.

Isabel looks exhausted. This is definitely not a good sign.

Shaun and Matt jump to their feet. Isabel touches her brother's arm gently. He holds out a chair for her and she collapses into it. Arkarian holds up his hand for everyone to be quiet. But this is too hard. I need to know if Ethan is all right, and I need to know now!

Arkarian hears my thundering thoughts and glances at me. He catches sight of the disintegrated chair and frowns. My thoughts scream out to him to forget the chair. Just tell us how Ethan is!

Hell, I'm making such a fool of myself. But I can't seem to help it.

At last Arkarian announces, ‘Everyone, Ethan is OK.'

The room fills with the sounds of sighs and murmurs.
The relief is palpable.

‘He's just getting his thoughts together and will be here soon.'

Such relief washes through me that I can't help a flood of tears from springing to my eyes. Ethan suddenly begins to materialise before us. I quickly turn away. I don't want him, or anyone here, to see my tears. In the background I hear the others greeting him. I wish I could be with them. I just want to let Ethan know how glad I am he's all right. But what would he do if I embraced him like the others, only with tears clinging to my lashes!

Eventually everyone begins to quieten and at last I get my emotions under control. I turn around and, because my legs feel like liquid, sit down quickly. Ethan glances at me and I say, ‘Welcome back.'

He nods an acknowledgement, then notices the damaged chair beside me. ‘What happened? That chair looks worse than I did a couple of hours ago.'

‘Oh, that?' I reply before anyone else gets in. I hold up my flashing hands for a second. ‘Unexpected burst of energy. I'm still getting used to them.'

Ethan accepts my explanation, then briefly closes his eyes.

When he opens them, the chair is repaired, as good as new.

It has everyone around the table clapping and cheering. Prior to the enhancing of our powers, Ethan's skill with animated objects was entirely manipulative, like in the way he first caught Isabel's attention by making a pen spin. The other day he moved that space rock right off Mr Carter's legs when the rescue workers' machinery couldn't. It seems that now he can reconstruct objects.

Among the cheering Mr Carter's voice calls out, ‘What on earth were you doing holding a stack of dynamite in your hands?'

Ethan glances back at him. ‘But I wasn't.'

‘Huh?'

Arkarian breaks the silence. ‘If Ethan had been holding the bomb when it went off, he wouldn't be here right now.'

Mr Carter doesn't let the story end there. ‘Tell us what happened, Ethan.'

‘What does it matter?' Matt interrupts in a sharp tone meant to discourage further conversation.

Mr Carter doesn't take the hint. ‘Of course it matters. Tell us, Arkarian. It sounds like a fascinating story.'

‘No!'

Mr Carter freezes and Matt softens his tone, ‘Look, thanks to Isabel, Ethan is fine now. That's all anyone needs to know.'

In an attempt to ease the awkwardness in the room Arkarian distracts everyone by starting the meeting. ‘Firstly I want to thank everyone for coming, especially after the trying circumstances of last night.'

As he speaks I remember what I promised Neriah last night, just as I was getting into the car. ‘Ah, there's something I need to tell you.' Arkarian glances across at me, and the eyes of all the others follow. ‘I invited Neriah.'

‘To this meeting?' Arkarian asks through a surge of murmurs.

‘I went over to her house last night.'

‘But Rochelle,' Mr Carter says smugly. ‘Who do you think you are, making such important decisions on everyone else's behalf?'

Arkarian flicks him a glance accompanied by a wince.

‘What Marcus means, is what makes you believe Neriah is ready to join us?'