The Key (#1 of Anna Kippling Series) Paranormal romance by A.D. Duling (10 page)

“
Is it safe to go to the
glowing tree?” she whispered to it.

Yes, proceed
.
It answered her.

She put it away and continued on. When she
reached the tree, she leaned over and peeked inside.

“
Hello Anna…” A voice
spoke from behind her.

She turned around and found a woman; whose
body was glowing and pure white hair.

“Who are you?” she asked her.

The woman smiled in response. “I am Linden
and I am the protector of the trees. They have asked me to give you
a gift.” She walked over to the glowing hole and reached her arm
inside. When she pulled it out, there was a silver bag in her hand.
She then handed it to Anna.

“Inside this bag are beads; that when eaten
will replenish your health.” She explained. “One life ring from a
tree is required to create such a bead; hence a year of life is
taken from the tree.”

Anna opened the bag and looked inside. “The
beads glow constant, so you will have to eat one quickly if you are
trying to stay hidden.” The woman informed her.

“
Please thank the trees
for such a sacrifice.” Anna told her.

The woman nodded. “We are thankful for your
sacrifice as well, Anna Kippling.” She leaned over and kissed her
cheek. “We wish you great luck on your conquest.”

She then stepped back and disappeared; the
glowing from inside the tree did as well. Anna stood silent for a
while before she made her way back towards her sleeping
companions.

Sleep did not come as easily as before; too
many thoughts clouded her mind. She was apprehensive of what lay
ahead of her.. When the sun began to peek above the horizon, she
gave up on the prospects of sleep and went for a walk until the
other two woke up. After a while she walked over to a tree and sat
down underneath it. She pulled her little companion out and blankly
stared at its pages.

“
Why is it only I can save
the Empress?” She finally asked.

Words quickly formed on
the page;
only the chosen one can and you are the
chosen one.

“Why am I the chosen one?”

Y
ou simply are.
It
wrote.

“You told me I had to kill the Chancellor to
stop him; how do I do that?” She asked next, frustrated.

W
hen the time comes, you will know what
to do.
Its words came again.

“Why do your answers have to be so
uninformative?” She shot her question at it.

A
n answer does not always come in the
form you want it.
It replied.

“Ugg!” she yelled and threw it down, angrily
pondering over its words. Afraid, she asked her question; “How do I
save Hayden?”

G
ive up your life for his.
It told her.

“
I have to give up my
life!” She squealed, “When does this happen?”

In two nights, she will kill him
and you will give up your life for his
.
It
answered her.

She was stunned by its response. “Who is
she?” she asked the book.

“
Anna!” Hayden called out
to her.

She quickly put her book away and stood up
as he jogged over to her. “You were asking it questions again,
weren’t you?” He asked.

She nodded.

“
What did you ask?” he
probed.

“
I asked about any major
dangers on our way.” She lied.

“
Oh and what did it say?”
He asked, suspicious.

“
It said to be cautious
every step of the way.” She lied again.

He knew she was lying, but didn’t pry.

“
Then cautious we will
be.” He said.

She turned around and watched the sun
continue its rise. He stayed with her and watched too. It was a
beautiful sight!She looked over at Hayden and watched him for a
while; he didn’t notice. She would never have enjoyed this moment,
any more, on any other day, than with him on this one.

Chapter 15

R
ight from the outskirts, the Forest of Darkness lived up to
its name. Its trees leaned and their branches loomed over them as
the traveled through, as if to claw at them! Their wide trunks were
lined so close to each other and the thick mud of the ground made
it impossible to travel through unless on foot. They had to leave
the horses tied to an outside tree. From the start their progress
was slow; the thick mud of the ground swallowed them up to their
knees. Barely a mile inside the miserable forest and they were
already stopping to rest.

“
There has to be a better
way to cross through this place!” Anna shared her
thoughts.

“
Why don’t you ask the
book?” Hayden suggested.

She pulled it out and opened it, “Is there
an easier way to travel through this forest?” she asked.

H
e can ask the trees for help.
It answered.

She read what it wrote aloud to them and put
her book away.

“
These trees are creepy.”
He spoke out.

“
They’re still trees…” Val
pointed out.

He pondered her words for a minute and then
finally stood up and walked over to a nearby tree. Anna and Val
watched him. He leaned in and whispered to it; they strained to
hear, but his words were too soft for them. He then stepped back
and waited, they waited as well. Minutes ticked by, but nothing
happened.

“
So what is supposed to
happen?” Anna asked.

“
I asked it for help, it
told me to wait.” He answered.

“Wait…they talk back to you!” she asked,
surprised.

He gave her a stern look. “Yes Anna, they
talk back to me.” He responded.

She shrugged her shoulders; “I was only
asking!” she responded and smugly crossed her arms. Just then they
heard a noise. It sounded like thunder and they waited to hear it
again. When it came again it had sounded closer. The noise
repeatedly came again and again; moving closer to them each time.
All three were now standing up and looking around.

Anna reached down and put her hand on the
handle of her sword, her heart beating.

“
Look up, over there!”
Hayden yelled to them and pointed ahead of them.

They looked and found their “thunder” to be
the trees linking their heavy branches together towards them. Then
the tree nearest them reached one of its large branches down and
rested it upon the ground.

“
What do we do now?” Anna
asked.

“
We climb!” Hayden
said.

“
It’s a bridge, Anna!
They’ve made a bridge for us to cross!” Val exclaimed.

“
Amazing…”Anna
responded.

Hayden walked over and started climbing, “We
better hurry up, before they grow tired of us!” He yelled back.

The girls quickly climbed up behind him and
they made their way along. Amazingly they were able to walk along
with ease! The trees had considerately manipulated their smaller
branches to make guard rails for them. They traveled along for
another mile and came to the end with the last tree doing just as
the first with its branch.

When they climbed down, they were relieved
to find the ground sturdy! As soon as Anna stepped off;
instantaneously the trees returned to their former positions, the
thundering noise echoed throughout the forest.

Hayden walked over to the last tree and
spoke a word of thanks to it before they moved on. Now that they
were deeper and now lower into the forest, they realized its name
was literal. The light barely reached past the cluttered branches
and they could barely see a few feet in front of them.

“
It would be wise to
travel without our lights; having no clue on how much further the
Chancellor’s castle might be.” Val suggested.

“
But we can barely see…”
Anna pointed out.

“
She’s right Anna, we are
just going to have to walk carefully and feel our way through.”
Hayden interjected.

They traveled through in silence and very
cautiously. One or the other would stumble on something along the
way, but not long after, a very large structure soon loomed out
ahead of them.

When they were close enough, Val led them
over to a nearby log and they crouched down behind it.

“
We need stay low and find
a way to slip inside unseen.” She whispered to them.

“
I could ask my book.”
Anna whispered back.

“
Good idea.”

She pulled her book out and asked it.

On the west side of the castle, a few yards
away from the wall there is a drain leading out from underneath the
ground; it will lead you up inside.

They read over her shoulder.

“
Ok then, let’s go.” He
said.

They stayed low and trying to make as
minimal of noise as they could. Just as the book had said; they
found the drainage pipe peeking out from the hill side right where
it said it would be. There was a gate on its end and it was locked.
Val picked up a rock and hit the lock; breaking it. She then opened
the gate and climbed in. She looked back them, “I’ll go ahead and
check it out, I’ll knock if it’s clear.” She told them.

They nodded and watched her head down the
pipe. After a few minutes there came a knock. Hayden went to climb
inside, but Anna grabbed his arm.

“
Hayden wait, something
isn’t right.”

He stopped and looked back at her. “What are
you thinking, Anna?” he whispered.

“
This just seems too easy.
Why would a Chancellor allow such a flimsy lock to be the only
security between him and any intruders?” she explained.

“
But your book directed us
here, wouldn’t it have known?” he asked and stepped out.

She nodded. “Good point, but we also didn’t
ask it that.” She pointed out.

“
Your right; Maybe I
should get Val back here.” He told her and went to climb back in,
but she grabbed his arm again.

“
No, wait!” She
whispered.

He stopped, “What now?”

“
I think Val may have
something to do with this. I think she’s leading us into a
trap.”

“
Val is my friend, Anna. I
trust her.” He whispered.

“
I know! I believe she is
doing this against her will.” She explained.

“
How do you know this?” he
asked.

“
The book had told me
earlier about a “she” betraying me. I think its Val.” She explained
more.

“
How do you know for
sure?”

“
I don’t, but I can ask
the book.” She suggested. He nodded.

She pulled the book out and asked it. With
night nearing there and even less light, the words were even harder
to read, but she managed.

Y
es, it is Valencia
.
It answered her.

She read it to Hayden. He sighed.

“
She can read minds Anna,
she will know as soon as we get near her.”

“
What can we do to prevent
her from reading our minds?” she asked the book.

T
he Chancellor has stricken her with an
illness, she is slowly dying. She is incapable of reading minds
anymore
.

They somberly looked at each other; another
knock came down the pipe.

“
We have to save her,
Anna.” He told her.

She nodded, “We will.”

He nodded and climbed inside. She
followed.

“
What took you guys so
long?” Val asked when they finally reached her; it was pitch black
inside the pipe.

“
We thought someone was
coming and had to hide.” Hayden quickly lied.

She stood silent a moment before responding,
“There’s a light up ahead, it could be the way up.” She whispered
to him.

They slowly crept up to the spot; above them
was a metal grate. Through the bars they could see it was a room.
They waited in silence for a few moments, listening. Having heard
nothing, they went ahead and pushed up the grate; gently and as
quietly as they could. Hayden climbed up first then reached down
and helped them up.

They returned the grate to its place, to
prevent from being discovered. Hayden then pressed his ear to the
door leading out of the room and listened.

Having heard nothing again, he slowly turned
the knob and opened it just a crack. He peeked through and then
slipped his head out to better look around. He pulled it back and
shut the door. He turned to them, “It’s clear, but there’s a turn,
no way to know what’s around it.”

“
Yes there is!” Anna said
and pulled the pendant out from under her shirt. She rubbed the
stone and said the words: “Conceal me.” and disappeared.

“
Good job Anna!” He
whispered. “Go and check ahead, then come back and tap on the door
if it’s clear.” He spoke to the air. “Ok.” He heard and the door
quietly opened and shut again. A few minutes later there was a
light tap on the door and they left the room.

“
It leads into a room that
is empty with two adjacent corridors.” She whispered to
them.

They nodded.

“
Reveal me.” she spoke and
then appeared.

“
Welcome back.” Hayden
told her.

She smiled and they cautiously headed down
the small corridor. The room was still empty and they walked
inside.

“
Which way do you think we
should go?” she asked them both.