CHAPTER TWENTY

"You're kidding me," Cassandra said after a moment. "Jade just happened to fall into the woods that house the tomb? That's a little too perfect."

"There are no coincidences," Alex replied. "Maybe Jade's desire to run was actually because one of us needed to find this, and this was the best way for fate to make that happen."

"Are we sure it's really the tomb?" Arnie asked skeptically. "I mean, this thing was sealed a while ago, and that poem not only completely sucks but sounds like it was written recently. Also, it's the English words that rhyme, not the Latin translation."

"He's right," Jade agreed. "The etching on the stone was recently done, too. It's way too clear. If it had been written when the tomb was sealed, the effects of weathering would have made it almost impossible to read, like some of the stones in the Burying Point."

"There are spells to prevent that," Spencer said, "but I agree. I think this was written recently. I do think it's the tomb, though. The energy is overwhelming. What else could produce this kind of powerful, dark aura?"

"Why would someone write that poem now, then?" Arnie asked. "It doesn't make any sense.

"It does, actually. The poem is poorly written and seems suspicious. It was designed to make people suspicious. Everyone is looking for this tomb. Whoever found this obviously didn't have the key yet," Spencer said. "They didn't want someone else to believe it was truly the tomb and find a way to open it, so they etched the poem into the door to make it seem suspicious."

"That makes a lot of sense, actually," Cassandra decided. She paused. "Alright... We found the tomb. Now what?"

"Now, we get everyone together, and if we're lucky, we find the key," Alex replied. "It's time to put a stop to this apocalypse."

~*~

Within an hour, everyone gathered in Alex's living room. Beth immediately flung her arms around Jade.

"Don't you ever run off like that again, Jade!" She scolded her. "I was so worried!"

Jade sighed and hugged her gently. "I'm sorry I scared you, Beth," she replied softly. "I was just trying to keep you and everyone else safe."

"By leaving us?"

"I didn't see another way. That doesn't matter right now. We have news." She turned toward Alex.

"Jade ended up coming across something when she ran," Alex began. "She found the door to the tomb."

"Wait... Seriously?" Jesse asked.

"You really found the tomb?" Beth added in awe.

"Yeah, but we haven't found the key, which is the important part," Cassandra replied. "We can't do anything without it."

"We'll find the key soon. I'm sure of it," Cierra said. "I feel like we're really close to it. It's almost like one of us has come into contact with it and didn't even know."

"How could we miss it? It's a key. A magickal key," Dylan pointed out with a laugh. "You'd think it would stand out."

"Well, Margo told us that Benny thought-" Cierra suddenly paused. "Oh God... I'm so sorry, Aideen," she said quickly. "I didn't mean to bring him up."

"No, go on," Aideen replied. "My dad deserves the credit. Don't get all weird about mentioning him, Cierra. My dad is dead, but he lived a good life, and that should be recognized."

"Right... So, Benny thought that the key had changed form into something other than a key. If that's the case, we might not recognize it for what it really is."

"That's a very good point," Alex said.

"What form do you think it took?" Jesse asked.

"I don't know. Energy can take a lot of forms. It could be a door now, for all we know, or it could have even become human," Cierra replied.

"Human? How could that have happened?" Randy asked in confusion.

"Well, not exactly human, but human energy that can be channeled by a human."

"So, what, the key might be hiding inside of someone?" Melissa asked.

"Yes, I think that's possible," Cierra replied. "It might even be the most likely hiding place for something so powerful. A human's complex energy signature would mask it better than an object's energy ever could."

"That's a whole new level of bizarre," Arnie said. "I mean, a key that possesses people? Bad key! Possession is naughty! No cookies for you!"

"No, this wouldn't be like a possession," Cierra clarified. "The person would have to willingly allow the key to become part of his or her energy... They would essentially have to give up their own existence to the key."

"Who the hell would do that? I mean, what could they possibly achieve?" Dylan asked.

"Power," Spencer replied.

"Yeah, that's what it always comes down to, isn't it?" Randy asked.

"Basically, yes," Spencer agreed. "And by becoming the key's vessel and unlocking this tomb, they would gain tremendous power."

"Do you guys really think it's a person?" Beth asked. "I mean, it's so hard to believe that anyone would agree to this."

"You'd be surprised to learn what some people will do for power, Beth," Jesse replied.

"I think it's safe to say that we shouldn't rule this theory out," Alex added. "We also shouldn't give up on other possibilities."

"We'd better figure it out soon," Jade said. "Something tells me the key is going to be discovered in the immediate future, and if we aren't the ones who find it, there's going to be trouble."

~*~

Moira was crying hysterically as Renee continued to beat her. She was seriously wounded, but her sister hadn't inflicted any potentially fatal injuries yet. "You stupid, worthless piece of trash!" Renee shouted. "How dare you try to betray us?"

"He's just a little kid, Renee!" Moira protested.

Renee kicked her in her side, causing Moira to cry out in pain again. "Where did you hide him, you little twit?" Renee demanded.

"I won't tell you! He's safe now. That's what matters," Moira replied firmly, earning her another painful kick. The heel of Renee's stiletto embedded itself in Moira's flesh for a moment before Renee pulled her leg away.

Of course, Moira had not hidden Joey anywhere. He'd vanished before her very eyes. She had no idea how he'd done it, or if he was safe, but at least he'd escaped from Renee.

Suddenly, a book flew off of the shelf and hit Renee in the head. "Ouch!" Renee cried out in surprise. Another book flew at her head, making her unleash a slew of curse words. This was followed by another, and another, until she was forced to duck for cover.

"What the hell is going on?" Renee demanded.

The sound of a little boy's laughter filled the room. "Joey?" Moira asked softly in confusion.

"Mean lady say ow!" Joey's voice replied. He was still giggling. Moira couldn't see him and wondered if her head was injured enough to cause a hallucination.

Renee screamed as another book hit her head. She quickly fled from the room. Several books chased after her.

A moment later, Joey appeared in front of Moira. "You okay?" He asked her.

"I'm alright," Moira lied.

"You hurt. Need help," Joey protested.

"I'll be okay, really... Joey, how did you do that with the books?" Moira asked him.

"I look. They fly. Cool!" Joey declared.

"You're telekinetic," Moira realized.

"I like Mama. She do this, too," Joey explained.

"You really aren't an ordinary kid," Moira said in wonder.

"No, I Joey!" He agreed cheerfully.

"Joey, where did you go?" Moira asked gently.

"My world. No one get there 'less I bring."

Moira raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing else about it. "Let's get out of here before Renee figures out that it was you," she said nervously.

She gently guided the extraordinary little boy out of the house, praying they could escape before Renee recovered or Keither returned home.

~*~

Keither was stunned when Renee came running out of the house. She headed toward him with frizzy hair, fresh bruises and cuts, and a frazzled expression on her face. "What happened to you?" He asked.

"I was attacked," Renee replied.

Keither was stunned. "Someone attacked you? Are you okay? Who the hell had the nerve to do this?" Renee's cheeks and forehead had scratches on them. Her makeup was a mess. Considering the pride she normally took in her appearance, that detail was even more alarming than the scratches were.

Renee mumbled a response Keither couldn't understand. It sounded like she said something about hooks, but that didn't make much sense.

Keither frowned and asked, "Renee, who or what did this to you?"

"I was attacked by flying books. Don't you dare laugh at me!" She snapped.

That made even less sense, but Keither was too afraid of his cousin to laugh at her. He simply helped her get herself together, even trying to fix her hair a bit after he took care of the scratches on her face.

"Moira hid the brat somewhere," Renee said. "The cult is going to flip out... We need to get him back, but we can't wait any longer to head to the tomb. We have to use the key, before the warlocks go back on their word."

"Alright, but we'd better be careful," Keither replied. "We're working with some really dangerous magick here, and our so-called allies are fond of stabbing people in the back."

"I basically just said that! Whatever. We'll be fine, Keither. We're more than capable of handling this. Well, I am, anyway, but lucky for you, I'm here to make sure the demons don't eat you."

Yeah, Keither thought. Lucky me, I have a backstabbing corrupt slayer to protect me from an army of demons and a bunch of backstabbing warlocks... I think I'd rather take my chances with the demons than trust Renee or the warlocks... I am so doomed.

~*~

"Oh no... Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no!" Joanna said suddenly.

Skip tensed and sat up straighter, immediately on high alert. "What's wrong, Jo?" He asked.

"They have the key... They have the key, and the battle's going to happen tonight," Jo replied. "They're not ready, Skip... The kids are in danger."

Skip cursed under his breath. "Call Dylan," he said. "We already know the Silver Society is supposed to be there. We can't interfere, but we can at least warn them about what's coming."

"Right." Joanna replied before she hurried off to call Dylan.

Shooter walked by the office and frowned. "What's up, Boss?" He asked.

"They're going to try to open the tomb tonight," Skip replied. "Judging by Jo's face, this may not end well."

"How bad is this, on a scale of one to we're screwed?"

"It has the potential to surpass the latter."

"Awesome," Shooter replied dryly. "So are we fighting or drinking tonight?"

"Neither yet... This is part of the Silver Society's destiny. I have faith in them, but we're on standby if they need us."

"Right. I'm keeping two bottles ready. We'll drink whiskey if they fail and champagne if they succeed."

"Shooter-" Skip began to protest.

"Relax, Boss," Shooter replied with a smirk. "Either way, I'll make sure to clock out first."

~*~

Arnie was picking the lock of the door that would lead them to the tomb. They knew that only the magickal key would open the door to the actual tomb, but at least this would get them closer to it. Hopefully, the bad guys wouldn't be able to do it before they got there.

"Got it!" Arnie announced. He pulled the door open. This revealed a ladder. "Follow me, guys, one at a time."

He climbed down the ladder first, finding solid ground in under a minute. His eyes adjusted quickly to the dark tunnel he found himself in.

There were torches further down the tunnel, eternally lit by magick. As the other Silver Society members appeared in the tunnel, they each took in the impressive sight before them.

"Remind me again why it was a good idea to bring everyone?" Aideen asked, eyeing the non-slayers.

"The entire Silver Society needs to be here to destroy the key," Dylan replied. "Skip says it's written in a prophecy, and Jo saw us all here tonight."

"Half of the people here can't defend themselves," Aideen pointed out.

"That's why the slayers are here. We'll keep each other safe," Alex replied. "Besides, most of us can defend ourselves with magick if not physical strength."

"And what about Beth? She's empathic," Aideen argued. "What the heck is she going to do to protect herself? Hug the bad guys into submission?"

"I'll protect Beth," Jade replied firmly. "Don't worry about her."

"Are we splitting up?" Arnie asked.

"Yeah, we'll cover more ground that way," Cassandra replied. "I want two groups, no more. We need to stay as united as possible, just in case."

"Okay, let's see," Alex said. "Aideen, Arnie, Cierra, Randy, Jesse, and Melissa, you guys are one group. Spencer, Dylan, Jade, Beth, and Cassandra, you'll be with me, okay?"

"How are you guys on weapons?" Aideen asked.

"Well, the slayers have stakes and swords," Cassandra replied.

"Here," Aideen said, tossing Jade a .9mm handgun. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"Actually, yes," Jade admitted.

"Somehow, I knew that. Be careful and cover Beth, okay? Spencer, do you have a weapon?"

"I don't need one," Spencer replied firmly. He had a personal reason to dislike using guns, and Aideen understood that.

"Okay, that's true enough, but neither does Jade normally. Look, I know you won't use a gun, but what about using a sword? I've seen Arnie and you sparring. You're pretty comfortable with a sword."

"Alright, fine," he conceded.

Aideen tossed a sword to Spencer. He caught it easily. "Does everyone else have a weapon?" Aideen asked.

"I don't," Beth replied quietly.

"Yeah, and you're not getting one, either," Aideen said firmly. "That's why I gave Jade the gun."

"What makes you assume that I can't handle a weapon?" Beth asked with a frown.

"Beth, you're a sweet, popular country club girl who didn't even know about any of this until last week. Don't even try to tell me that your parents taught you how to use weapons, because I know your dad. He'd have heart failure if his little girl ever picked up a gun or a sword."

"Well, no, I haven't been trained, but-"

"No butts. You're not getting a weapon. Without training, you're more likely to hurt yourself than whatever you try to defend yourself from, and I'm not willing to risk that. Keep your blocks up... If you've developed any, that is... And stay with Jade. She'll keep you safe."

Beth was partially offended and partially relieved that she was being denied a weapon. She kept her mouth shut and went with relief.

"See you guys later," Aideen said. "Don't get killed." She led the way for her group. They went to the right. Alex led the others to the left.

This is it, Aideen thought. It's time to finish what Dad started.