Key Trilogy Read Online Free PDF Page B

as Zoe moved beside Malory. “How can they?”
    “Good question.” And suspicion in Dana’s. “How did the three of us come to be used as models for what is, obviously, a portrait of the three sisters in the story you just told us?”
    “It was painted before you were born. Before your parents, your grandparents, and those who sired them were born.” Rowena walked toward the portrait, stood below itwith her hands folded at her waist. “Its age can be verified through tests. Isn’t that so, Malory?”
    “Yes. Its approximate age can be authenticated, but whatever its age, you haven’t answered Zoe’s question.”
    The smile that spread on Rowena’s face seemed to hold both approval and amusement. “No, I haven’t. What else do you see in the painting?”
    Malory reached in her purse, took out a pair of black-framed, rectangular glasses. She slipped them on and made a more thorough study.
    “A key, in the right corner of the sky. It seems to be a bird until you look closely. A second one there, on the branch of a tree, almost hidden by the leaves and fruit. And the third, just visible under the surface of the pool. There’s a shadow there, in the trees. In the form of a man, maybe a woman. Just the hint of something dark watching them. Another shadow, just sliding onto the silver tile at the edge. A snake. Ah, and here, in the far background.”
    She lost herself in the painting, forgot herself and stepped up onto the hearth. “There’s a couple—a man and a woman—embracing. The woman is robed, richly, with the purple symbolizing a woman of rank. And the man is garbed like a soldier. A warrior. There’s a raven in the tree just above them. A symbol of impending doom. Just as the sky here is darker, with storm lights. A threat. The sisters are unaware of the threat. They look forward, grouped together, the crown of their ranks glinting in the sunlight that washes this area of the foreground. There’s a sense of companionship and affection between them, and the white dove here, on the edge of the pool, is their purity. Each wears an amulet, the same shape and size, with the jewel reflecting the color of their gown. They are a unit, yet individuals. It’s magnificent work. You can almost see them breathe.”
    “You have a discerning eye.” Pitte touched Rowena’s arm as he nodded at Malory. “It’s the prize of the collection.”
    “And still,” Dana pointed out, “you haven’t answered the question.”
    “Magick couldn’t break the spell that locked the souls of the king’s daughters in a box of glass. Sorcerers were called, and wizards and witches from all the worlds. But no magicks could unbind the curse. So another was cast. In this world, in every generation, three women are born who will come together in one place, at one time. They are not sisters, they are not gods, but mortal women. And they are the only ones who can release the innocents.”
    “And you want us to believe that we’re those women?” Dana’s brows arched. There was a tickle in her throat, but it didn’t feel like laughter. “That we just happen to look like the women in this painting?”
    “Nothing just happens. And whether you believe or not changes little.” Pitte held out his hands toward them. “You are the chosen, and I am charged to tell you.”
    “Well, you’ve told us, so now—”
    “And to make you this offer,” he continued before Dana could finish. “You will each have, in turn, one phase of the moon to find one of the three keys. If within the twenty-eight days the first fails, the matter is done. If the first succeeds, the second’s time begins. But if the second fails within her time, the matter is done. If all three keys are brought to this place, before the end of the third moon, you will be given a boon.”
    “What sort of boon?” Zoe asked.
    “One million dollars. Each.”
    “Get out of town!” Dana snorted, then stared at her two companions. “Oh, come on, ladies. This is just