Key of Valor
Page 8
To look closer yet was to see the three keys worked cleverly into the painting. One, disguised in the shape of a bird, seemed to fly through the cerulean sky. Another hid itself within the lush green leaves of the forest. And the third reflected deep in the pool behind the daughters who were sharing their last moment of peace and innocence.
He’d seen how they’d looked after the spell. White and still as death in the crystal coffins as Rowena had painted them.
He’d bought that painting, titled After the Spell, months before he’d even come back to the Valley or known of this guest and these women. Been compelled to buy it, he thought now, as he’d fallen in love, or into fascination or obsession—he wished to God he knew—with Zoe’s face.
“Two keys are found,” Rowena began. “Two locks are opened. Now there is but one.” She moved to stand under the portrait as she spoke, with the fire snapping gold and red flames behind her.
“You agreed to this quest because you were curious, and you were each at a point where aspects of your life were unsettled and dissatisfying. And,” she added, “because you were paid. But you’ve continued to quest because you’re strong and you’re true. No one else, not in three millennia, has come so far.”
“You’ve learned the power of art,” Pitte continued, and stepped over to join Rowena. “And the power of truth. The first two journeys bring you to the third.”
“You have each other,” she said to the women. “And you have your men. Together you make a chain. You must not let him break it.” She stepped forward and spoke to Zoe as if they were alone in the room. “It is for you now. It was always for you to finish.”
“For me?” Panic wanted to gush into her throat. “If that’s true, why did we pick before? With Mal and Dana?”
“There must always be choice. Fate is the door, but you choose to walk through or turn away. Will you walk through?”
Zoe looked up at the portrait, and nodded.
“Then I’ll give you your map, your clue to the key, and pray that it guides you.” She walked over and took up a scroll.
“Beauty and truth,” she read, “are lost without the courage to hold them. But one pair of hands can grip too hard, so that the precious slips through the fingers. Loss and pain, sorrow and will, blaze the rough path through the forest. Along the journey there is blood, and there is the death of innocence and the ghosts of what might have been.
“Each time the path forks, it is faith that chooses the way or doubt that blocks it. Is it despair, or will it be joy? Can there be fulfillment without risk of loss? Will it be an end, or a beginning? Will you move into the light, or return to the dark?
“There is one who stands on either side, with hands held out. Will you take one, the other, or close your hands in fists to hold what is already yours until it’s ground to dust?
“Fear hunts, and its arrow strikes heart, mind, belly. Without tending, wounds fester, and scars too long ignored harden into shields that block the eyes from what needs most to be seen.
“Where does the goddess stand, her sword in hand, willing to fight each battle in its time? Willing, too, to lay down the sword when the time comes for peace. Find her, know her power, her faith, and her valiant heart. For when you look on her at last, you will have the key to free her. And you will find it on a path where no door will ever be locked against you.”
“Oh, boy.” Zoe pressed a hand to her stomach. “I can keep the paper, right? I’m never going to remember all that.”
“Of course.”
“Good.” She worked hard to keep her voice calm and even. “It sounded a little . . .”
“Violent,” Dana put in.
“Yeah, that.” Zoe felt better, considerably, when Dana’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. “But, it seemed, compared to the others, that my clue was more a lot of questions.”
Rowena held out the scroll. “Answer them,” she said simply.
WHEN they were alone, Pitte stood beside Rowena, studying the portrait.
“He’ll come after her quickly,” Rowena said. “Won’t he?”
“Yes. He’s had more time to study her, to learn her weaknesses, to understand her fears and her needs. He’ll use them against her.”
“The boy is safe. Whatever we do, whatever it costs us, we must keep him so. He is a sweet boy, Pitte.”
Hearing the pain, the longing in her voice, he drew her close. “He’ll be safe. Whatever the cost.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “He won’t touch the child.”
She nodded and, turning her head, stared into the fire. “Will she trust, I wonder, as completely as I trust you? Can she, with all that has gone before, and all she has to risk?”
“Everything comes down to the courage of one woman.” He tipped her head up, let his thumb graze her jawline. “If she has even a glimmer of yours, we will win this thing.”
“She hasn’t had you. She’s had no one. They’ve all come to touch my heart, Pitte. I never expected to feel this . . .” She laid her fingers to her breast. “Attachment. But she most of all, brave little mother, she touches me.”
“Then trust in her, and her army. They are . . . resourceful and clever. For mortals.”
With that he made her laugh, and lifted her mood again. “Three thousand years among them, and still you find them a curiosity.”
“Perhaps. But unlike Kane, I’ve learned to respect them—and never to underestimate a woman. Come.” He swept her up in his arms. “Let’s to bed.”
LONG after she’d put Simon to bed, Zoe found dozens of things to occupy her around the house. Long after Simon stopped whispering to the dog, long after Zoe heard Moe clamber up on the bed and Simon’s desperately muffled laughter, she wandered around, looking for something to occupy her hands, her mind.
Her quest started at sunrise, and she was afraid she was going to be awake to see it, and the day, begin.
It was hardly her first sleepless night, she reminded herself. She had countless others to her credit. Nights Simon had been fussy, or sick. Nights she’d tossed and turned, worried about bills. Nights she’d filled with a dozen chores because the day simply hadn’t been long enough to get them finished.
There had even been times she hadn’t been able to sleep because she was too happy to close her eyes. Her first night in this house, she remembered, she’d spent hours walking around, touching the walls, looking out the windows, making plans for all the work she wanted to do on it, to make a home for Simon.
He’d seen how they’d looked after the spell. White and still as death in the crystal coffins as Rowena had painted them.
He’d bought that painting, titled After the Spell, months before he’d even come back to the Valley or known of this guest and these women. Been compelled to buy it, he thought now, as he’d fallen in love, or into fascination or obsession—he wished to God he knew—with Zoe’s face.
“Two keys are found,” Rowena began. “Two locks are opened. Now there is but one.” She moved to stand under the portrait as she spoke, with the fire snapping gold and red flames behind her.
“You agreed to this quest because you were curious, and you were each at a point where aspects of your life were unsettled and dissatisfying. And,” she added, “because you were paid. But you’ve continued to quest because you’re strong and you’re true. No one else, not in three millennia, has come so far.”
“You’ve learned the power of art,” Pitte continued, and stepped over to join Rowena. “And the power of truth. The first two journeys bring you to the third.”
“You have each other,” she said to the women. “And you have your men. Together you make a chain. You must not let him break it.” She stepped forward and spoke to Zoe as if they were alone in the room. “It is for you now. It was always for you to finish.”
“For me?” Panic wanted to gush into her throat. “If that’s true, why did we pick before? With Mal and Dana?”
“There must always be choice. Fate is the door, but you choose to walk through or turn away. Will you walk through?”
Zoe looked up at the portrait, and nodded.
“Then I’ll give you your map, your clue to the key, and pray that it guides you.” She walked over and took up a scroll.
“Beauty and truth,” she read, “are lost without the courage to hold them. But one pair of hands can grip too hard, so that the precious slips through the fingers. Loss and pain, sorrow and will, blaze the rough path through the forest. Along the journey there is blood, and there is the death of innocence and the ghosts of what might have been.
“Each time the path forks, it is faith that chooses the way or doubt that blocks it. Is it despair, or will it be joy? Can there be fulfillment without risk of loss? Will it be an end, or a beginning? Will you move into the light, or return to the dark?
“There is one who stands on either side, with hands held out. Will you take one, the other, or close your hands in fists to hold what is already yours until it’s ground to dust?
“Fear hunts, and its arrow strikes heart, mind, belly. Without tending, wounds fester, and scars too long ignored harden into shields that block the eyes from what needs most to be seen.
“Where does the goddess stand, her sword in hand, willing to fight each battle in its time? Willing, too, to lay down the sword when the time comes for peace. Find her, know her power, her faith, and her valiant heart. For when you look on her at last, you will have the key to free her. And you will find it on a path where no door will ever be locked against you.”
“Oh, boy.” Zoe pressed a hand to her stomach. “I can keep the paper, right? I’m never going to remember all that.”
“Of course.”
“Good.” She worked hard to keep her voice calm and even. “It sounded a little . . .”
“Violent,” Dana put in.
“Yeah, that.” Zoe felt better, considerably, when Dana’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. “But, it seemed, compared to the others, that my clue was more a lot of questions.”
Rowena held out the scroll. “Answer them,” she said simply.
WHEN they were alone, Pitte stood beside Rowena, studying the portrait.
“He’ll come after her quickly,” Rowena said. “Won’t he?”
“Yes. He’s had more time to study her, to learn her weaknesses, to understand her fears and her needs. He’ll use them against her.”
“The boy is safe. Whatever we do, whatever it costs us, we must keep him so. He is a sweet boy, Pitte.”
Hearing the pain, the longing in her voice, he drew her close. “He’ll be safe. Whatever the cost.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “He won’t touch the child.”
She nodded and, turning her head, stared into the fire. “Will she trust, I wonder, as completely as I trust you? Can she, with all that has gone before, and all she has to risk?”
“Everything comes down to the courage of one woman.” He tipped her head up, let his thumb graze her jawline. “If she has even a glimmer of yours, we will win this thing.”
“She hasn’t had you. She’s had no one. They’ve all come to touch my heart, Pitte. I never expected to feel this . . .” She laid her fingers to her breast. “Attachment. But she most of all, brave little mother, she touches me.”
“Then trust in her, and her army. They are . . . resourceful and clever. For mortals.”
With that he made her laugh, and lifted her mood again. “Three thousand years among them, and still you find them a curiosity.”
“Perhaps. But unlike Kane, I’ve learned to respect them—and never to underestimate a woman. Come.” He swept her up in his arms. “Let’s to bed.”
LONG after she’d put Simon to bed, Zoe found dozens of things to occupy her around the house. Long after Simon stopped whispering to the dog, long after Zoe heard Moe clamber up on the bed and Simon’s desperately muffled laughter, she wandered around, looking for something to occupy her hands, her mind.
Her quest started at sunrise, and she was afraid she was going to be awake to see it, and the day, begin.
It was hardly her first sleepless night, she reminded herself. She had countless others to her credit. Nights Simon had been fussy, or sick. Nights she’d tossed and turned, worried about bills. Nights she’d filled with a dozen chores because the day simply hadn’t been long enough to get them finished.
There had even been times she hadn’t been able to sleep because she was too happy to close her eyes. Her first night in this house, she remembered, she’d spent hours walking around, touching the walls, looking out the windows, making plans for all the work she wanted to do on it, to make a home for Simon.
