The Key Read Online Free PDF Page A

He should have some answers, at least answers to what happened back there at school. Ethan says Arkarian knows everything. But Arkarian thinks I’m one of them. So Ethan’s theory can’t be true.
    Mr Carter is on his way to the hospital, but they won’t find anything wrong with him. Somehow he’ll avoid unwanted attention. There’s enough turmoil with that bizarre meteorite shower for him to slide into obscurity soon enough.
    Rochelle is taking care of Neriah. If I didn’t feel so strongly about seeing Arkarian, I would have volunteered. There’s just something about that new girl that invokes a strange protective impulse inside me. It’s not like how I feel about protecting my sister Isabel. That’s a responsibility I wouldn’t have any other way. But with Neriah it’s as if she’s made of everything that is soft and beautiful and … strangely real. But why I feel this way,or how this can be, I have no idea. I’m not looking for a relationship, and, well, Neriah is Marduke’s daughter. And he’s the opposite of anything good.
    Beside me Ethan and Isabel are quiet, and my thoughts drift back to Neriah. I start to wonder what it would be like to be together in a girlfriend–boyfriend kind of way. But who am I kidding? This will never happen. No girl is going to have free access to my heart ever again.
    We arrive at the secret entrance to Arkarian’s chambers, halfway up the mountainside. He knows we’re here; an opening the size of a small doorway forms before us. Ethan and Isabel hurry inside, but now that I’m here, I’m not in such a rush. Maybe the answers to my questions are not what I want to hear. If there has been a mistake, and I’m not really
named
, do I want it confirmed? I’ve been involved in the Guard for over a year now. I’ve seen things, some of them stranger than life itself, especially when I was in the underworld. And while I haven’t been allowed to go on any real missions yet, the thought that it might never happen fills me with dread.
    I take a deep breath and go through the opening. Instantly the rock wall reforms behind me and I’m swamped with that uncomfortable feeling again. The same one I always get when I’m in Arkarian’s chambers. I’m not quite sure why. I’m not claustrophobic or anything. Maybe it’s because this otherworldly stuff suddenly becomes real and I have to face it. The technology Arkarian uses to monitor the past is just one example.
    Isabel comes back down the candle-lit hallway towards me. ‘Are you OK? I turned around and you weren’t there. This morning didn’t freak you out toomuch, did it?’
    â€˜Yes, it did,’ I reply honestly, but with a small smile.
    She yanks on my sleeve. ‘Come on.’
    She’s in a hurry. A hurry to see Arkarian, of course. He’s there waiting for us in his octagonal chambers, surrounded by soundless hi-tech machinery. The 3-D holographic sphere illuminates the room from its centre, humming with the rhythm of a softly-beating heart.
    Arkarian is talking to Ethan, but looks preoccupied, and keeps glancing towards the hallway. When he sees Isabel his whole face breaks into a wide grin, his violet eyes softening and creasing at the corners.
    Isabel runs over and jumps into his arms. The power of her embrace propels them backwards. They stumble and look for some privacy behind a silver screen. It’s hardly enough. Arkarian’s vivid blue hair affords more of a screen as it falls across Isabel’s face. They kiss, and well, keep kissing. Ethan glances at me, grins and shakes his head. I can’t help but groan and look away. My sister’s relationship with Arkarian makes me uncomfortable. Their relationship has developed in intensity just a little too quickly for my liking. Everyone knows they’re soul-mates. They have the rest of their lives to be together. So what’s the