Unlocking Adeline (Skeleton Key) (15 page)

“So this is my fault. I didn’t listen, and Locke found me. My dad was trying to warn me, and I was selfish. I went out and walked straight into his hands.”

“Locke found ye way before that night, child. He found ye at age twenty. I cannot answer why he took so long to show himself and summon ye home, but he’s known for some time.”

He found me? A whole year before he finally took me? That news shocks me even more. I think about the past year and if I ever remember noticing him. Did he come into the diner? Did he see a movie I was at, or walk past me on the street? Then it hits me. His scent. Last night when I smelt him, it was strangely familiar. He had been near me. Close enough for me to recognize his scent.

That son of a –

“So ye see? He knew ye would end up here, no matter if he got caught or not. He struggled with coming back. Because he didn’t want them to find ye any sooner than what his future told him. But yer mother was dying. So he made a choice. He couldn’t change yer fate. But he could yer mother’s. When the key appeared for ye on yer nineteenth birthday, he used it to save yer mother. Would ye have wanted to see yer mother die, then be ripped from yer home
and
thrown into another realm?”

Even mentioning the thought of my mom dying guts me. I miss her so much. “And what if I don’t want to be Queen? Choose to refuse the marriage and go home? Hide, so no one can ever find me? What if?”

“That I cannot answer ye. Yer father paid the price of knowing his future. He had to live his entire life, knowing that the daughter he loved more than anything would leave him. And it was out of his hands. He was born into this world. He could choose to leave it, but he couldn’t deny his duties.”

Well, there is one thing I am not and that’s my dad. I am not going to accept this as my life. No one is going to tell me who or what I am going to be. I stand quickly, done with this conversation. I just need to find that damn key and go home. I will run, for the rest of my life if I have to. I am not bowing down to some book of legends bullshit.

Just as I turn to leave, Greta’s timer goes off. She pops up with us, and brushes past me, ignoring my attempt to flee. “She looks just delicious!” She beams pulling her cake out of the oven. As much as I want to run out of here, the scent of vanilla hits my nose and my stomach instantly growls.

“Now, now, don’t just stand there, help me take these KitKats out of the wrapper. A new pin is posted every .003 seconds. We mustn’t stall on this cake too long. Many more things are waiting to be made!”

No words.

And I mean,
no
words. As we walked back to the castle, Ellie tried to talk to me and every time she opened her mouth, I told her to shut it. That visit did not go anywhere near as planned. Even though I am walking away with a belly full of peanut butter KitKat cake, which was
fabulous
, I just can’t digest what she told me. Is it the truth?
But why would she lie to me
? What she revealed has me just as lost. I think about how long Locke knew about me. And why it took him so long to make himself known. Did he follow me into that bar that night? Or did I unconsciously lure myself in. Maybe it
was
my fate.

No. Screw that!

I take a sudden halt, causing Ellie to trip. “Is something wrong?”

I look at her as if
I’m
the one gone completely mad. “Yes, Ellie!
Everything
is wrong!” How can she be so blind? First off,
hello
? That woman has better technology and appliances than I do at home! She was watching soap operas for crying out loud, made the best cake I have ever eaten, and I actually enjoyed the music she claimed she created from some garage band app on her iPad! Gahhh!

“Ellie, I know you see nothing wrong with this situation, and that’s fine. Well, no, actually it’s not. But I need some help grasping at how everyone just goes about their lives pretending that there isn’t another world out there.”

“Well, there are very few who have seen outside of Wren. Most don’t care to, and the few that have, chose to keep their stories to themselves. Locke is a man of few words, as I’m sure ye have seen, and does not share his times outside of Wren.”

“Oh heck with Locke!” I scream, throwing my hands up. “The next time I see that big ole—”

Just then the sounds of hooves clashing against the hardened dirt sound behind us. We both turn to see a group of men, being led by Locke and Christof, heading our way. “Oh what great timing,” I snarl, as I turn away from the castle and head toward the stables.

“Miss, I would maybe wait till supper to address this. He is with his men. It would not look well of ye to disrupt him.”

I would tell Ellie to shut up, but I’m too far ahead of her. I don’t give a rat’s ass what his men think of me. This guy is going to get a piece of my mind, and it’s going to be right now.

“Locke!” I yell his name and watch everyone turn. Christof sees me and his huge smile almost calms me enough to rethink my actions. But then I see the annoying snarl covering Locke’s face, and it brings me back to the fire I need to go off.

“You!” I point straight at Locke as I march toward him.

“Miss Adeline, wait!” I hear Ellie in the background.

“Get off that horse now! I have some choice words for you!” His snarl changes into a mischievous one. As if he knows a secret that I don’t.

“Oh please, come closer and make me, sweet Princess,” he taunts me.

“Oh, I will, you big oaf!” I speed up, ready to yank him off that saddle and choke him with his own shirtsleeve.

“Miss Adeline, wait! Don’t go any farther!” I turn abruptly, because I am sick of Ellie yelling at me. “Jesus, Ellie shut up! Just go back to the castle.” She clearly doesn’t know me, because I can fight my own battles. Turning back, I latch eyes with my enemy and before I’m able to spit out anymore words, I step right and fall right into a mud puddle.

I hate everyone.

“Oh my dear! I tried to warn ye, Miss Adeline. The mud swamps are hidden. It is hard to tell between the dirt road and the swamps.” She tries to stick her hand out to help me, but I swat it away. I am completely covered in brown muck. I brush my face, so I can see without wet mud covering it.

“Ye were saying, Princess? I’m sorry, I didn’t catch the last bit.” Locke chuckles.

“Ye are an arse, Brother.” I hear Christof say, jumping off his horse and coming to my aid. “Are ye alright?” he asks, not worried about getting muddy. He helps me to my feet, trying to squeeze some of the mud from my dress.

“I’m fine.” Which is a lie. I am about to commit murder, and make him brother-less.

“I’m sure ye are, but let me get ye inside and make sure a bath is ready immediately.” I focus on Christof’s kind gesture. I allow him to brush his hands up and down my dress, wiping off mud. His hands work themselves over my shoulder blades and down my ribs. Its then I notice Locke. His eyes are on fire. And they are watching every place Christof puts his hands.

Hmmmm… Interesting.

“Oh, thank you. Please, can you do the back of me?” I ask as sweet as pie. Two can play at this game, ass wipe.

“Oh yes, yes, the less mud we drag in the better.” He turns and begins brushing his palms on my behind. Yep, that does it. Winner for me. Looks like one of them will be brother-less and it might be Locke.

When Christof is done, he stands once again. I notice that all my ducks are in a row, so I go for it. I lean in and offer Christof the sweetest kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, you are so kind. I know I might be heavy, but I may have hurt my ankle. Is there any way you can carry me inside?” As Christof looks concerned, Locke’s expression is glacial.

“Oh yes, of course. Come now,” he says and lifts me up in his arms and begins carrying me to the castle. It’s when I offer my best smile at Locke, then snuggle my face into Christof’s neck, that I feel just a little bit better.

I don’t go down for dinner, mainly because I’m a sissy and I’m afraid to run into Locke. I probably shouldn’t have teased Locke, and I also shouldn’t lead on Christof. My dad has done enough harm to this family. I would hate to put out false hope then disappear just as my father did. The other reason is because my emotions are all over the place. I wish I could talk to my dad. See my mom. I even miss my annoying little brother.

I need to find a way out of here.

I spend the night grilling Ellie on rooms in the castle. Where are the offices? Where does Christof or Locke keep their things? All questions that if she were smarter would really scream, ‘Where do they keep the glowing portal to other realms key?’ It turns out that there is a captain’s quarters, as she described it, where they conduct business. They keep stock of fancy liquor, ledgers, and keys of importance. I mean, who says that and doesn’t fill in the blanks?

I send her on her merry way, telling her I won’t need her anymore this evening. Her horrible secret keeping has done well, and she can have the night off.

I wait until the sounds in the castle die down, and people are fast asleep in their beds. There is no way I can spy and sneak around in a flipping ball gown, so I change into my night dress, since it’s only one layer and doesn’t drag along the floor. Two deep breaths and I open my door. I peek out to see the hallway empty. No guards, maids, or angry ogres in sight. I race through the hallway, taking the stairs two at a time. Instead of going to the right toward the ballroom, I head left which leads into the business quarters. I stop behind a huge statue, trying to listen for sounds or people. Once I feel like I’m in the clear, I continue on down the hallway. The corridor is dark, so I have to use the glowing torches to guide my way into the room I’m looking for.

One, two, third door down is the one I am looking for.
Bingo.
I reach for the handle and with a deep breath in, I turn the knob. It opens without a hitch. I slide myself into the room and shut it just as quickly. My heart is about to beat out of my chest. I need to calm down or else I will risk getting caught. I head toward the gigantic wooden desk and begin to search for the key.

“Come on, come on.” It has to be in here somewhere. Ellie said that all the desks have hidden drawers where they would hide secret ledgers or money. I’m going to assume that is where I will find the key.

I open the second drawer to the bottom, and push aside some papers when I feel it. My heart rate spikes as I wrap my hands around a glass key, shaped in a skeleton bone.

“
Yes
,” I whisper, feeling the excitement. I pull the key out of the drawer, and as I go to jam it into my corset, I remember I don’t have anything on but my thin nightdress.
Shit.
Okay, plan B. I take the key and wrap up my hair, using it as a pick. Stuck nice and tightly, I shut the door and back away from the desk to leave. I turn and—

“Have ye found what yer looking for?”

If I were wearing panties, I would have just peed in them. The sound of that deep, alluring voice jolts my body, and I jump two solid feet in the air. Before landing and falling over the chair, two strong arms wrap around my waist to steady me.

“Jesus Christ! What are you doing scaring me like that?” I yell whisper. I don’t need to see Locke to know it’s him. Besides the voice that has my body breaking out in goose bumps every time I hear it, his scent gives him away. The lingering smell of spice and leather.

Pure solid male.

“What are ye doing in here, Addie?” he hums into my ear. God, his voice, and he just called me Addie.

“N-nothing. I was looking for some paper. To write a letter to an old girlfriend,” I babble. His breath is hitting my neck. I might not be able to clearly see him in the dark room, but I know he is no more than an inch or two away.

“Searching for paper or on another one of yer adventures? Trying to find hidden treasures?”

“What?
No
, like I said, I was looking for paper, now, why don’t you let me go so I can go back to my room. I’m very tired.” His grip only tightens, his hands so warm against my almost bare skin. It’s then I remember I am in just a thin nightgown.

“Oh, I bet ye are extremely tired from yer long afternoon. Before ye go, I wanted to ask how ye were enjoying yer stay so far. Are ye, Addie? Enjoying the company of my brother?”
His brother?