The World Keys (The Syker Key Book 2) by Aaron Martin Fransen Page A
Authors: Aaron Martin Fransen
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repercussions around the world. Europe was nearly wiped off the map, and in fact the land bridge that had connected Britain to Europe had been washed away.
Greece, the other world Capitol, had been mostly spared of the massive waves that swept over Europe, but even it could not evade the pieces of the comet that struck the planet.
John watched in horror, remembering, as billions of lives were lost. The fragments were mostly concentrated over North America, but some snaked their way around the planet. In a matter of hours, large swaths of the Earth were wiped clean.
The first of several Dark Ages had begun.
He also knew what kind of person he was when last he bore the Key, and he wasn’t terribly impressed. Initially he’d had a romanticized view of his previous life, that he was almost like a holy man with a mission to protect his home. It was a hard lesson to realize that was not the truth.
He was in the past a violent man. Not vicious in person, perhaps, but he certainly had no qualms about using the Key to attack the Greeks. It was not encouraging, and he was determined to never become that man.
But he didn’t know if the Key would help or hinder that decision.
***
For two years it had been like this, Jessica realized. John would go off for days at a time into the wilderness, exploring everything the Key had to teach him. After he had taken in as much as he could, he would sit there and absorb it all in, sometimes even forgetting to eat.
Of course, it hadn't really been all that different for her when she first became bearer, but certainly she didn't spend two years figuring it out. She spent thirty.
In a way she was jealous. John was far more powerful than she had ever been, but of course he was also calling on long lost memories of a time when he was actually trained on how to use the damned thing; she'd had to learn it the hard way.
At least the investigation was over.
The police apparently don't take too kindly to when one of their own goes missing, but there was a mountain of evidence pointing to John's late partner Will not being a very nice guy. That at least kept the pressure off of John, mostly anyways, though the Walkers came under far more scrutiny than they were comfortable with. It had been a very long time since they had had to defend themselves with the authorities, and they were tempted several times to simply disappear, as they had so often in the past.
The difference now was that Zack and John would have had to disappear as well, and all the complications that would entail.
But they chose to stay, not least of all for Jessica's benefit. There would never be a wedding ceremony, she knew that, it was too dangerous to have those kinds of records sitting around. It was apparent to everyone though that she and John were, almost literally, made for each other.
However, John did quit the police force, and worked with them in the restaurant, helping Arthur in the kitchen. She was glad to be near him, but these days there was a sadness in him, like something else was tugging at him. But he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, say what it was.
Jessica had been in love twice before, and with one of those men she had actually begun the process of introducing him to the Key, of the possibility of immortality. Only Pan had saved them that time as he had, unbeknownst to them, dug into his past to find the truth. He had been planted to allow Jessica to fall in love with him, for the express purpose of getting his hands on the Key.
In the end, Pan had been forced to destroy him. It was the last time Jessica had allowed herself to feel that way. That was three centuries ago.
In many ways loving John was easy; he had taken the responsibility of bearer on his own, without any coercion on her part, and he truly was the good man she had sensed early on. As much as she had wept at being deceived all those centuries ago, she wept now, on occasion, at the relief of being able to share the burden.
Zack was another
Greece, the other world Capitol, had been mostly spared of the massive waves that swept over Europe, but even it could not evade the pieces of the comet that struck the planet.
John watched in horror, remembering, as billions of lives were lost. The fragments were mostly concentrated over North America, but some snaked their way around the planet. In a matter of hours, large swaths of the Earth were wiped clean.
The first of several Dark Ages had begun.
He also knew what kind of person he was when last he bore the Key, and he wasn’t terribly impressed. Initially he’d had a romanticized view of his previous life, that he was almost like a holy man with a mission to protect his home. It was a hard lesson to realize that was not the truth.
He was in the past a violent man. Not vicious in person, perhaps, but he certainly had no qualms about using the Key to attack the Greeks. It was not encouraging, and he was determined to never become that man.
But he didn’t know if the Key would help or hinder that decision.
***
For two years it had been like this, Jessica realized. John would go off for days at a time into the wilderness, exploring everything the Key had to teach him. After he had taken in as much as he could, he would sit there and absorb it all in, sometimes even forgetting to eat.
Of course, it hadn't really been all that different for her when she first became bearer, but certainly she didn't spend two years figuring it out. She spent thirty.
In a way she was jealous. John was far more powerful than she had ever been, but of course he was also calling on long lost memories of a time when he was actually trained on how to use the damned thing; she'd had to learn it the hard way.
At least the investigation was over.
The police apparently don't take too kindly to when one of their own goes missing, but there was a mountain of evidence pointing to John's late partner Will not being a very nice guy. That at least kept the pressure off of John, mostly anyways, though the Walkers came under far more scrutiny than they were comfortable with. It had been a very long time since they had had to defend themselves with the authorities, and they were tempted several times to simply disappear, as they had so often in the past.
The difference now was that Zack and John would have had to disappear as well, and all the complications that would entail.
But they chose to stay, not least of all for Jessica's benefit. There would never be a wedding ceremony, she knew that, it was too dangerous to have those kinds of records sitting around. It was apparent to everyone though that she and John were, almost literally, made for each other.
However, John did quit the police force, and worked with them in the restaurant, helping Arthur in the kitchen. She was glad to be near him, but these days there was a sadness in him, like something else was tugging at him. But he wouldn’t, or couldn’t, say what it was.
Jessica had been in love twice before, and with one of those men she had actually begun the process of introducing him to the Key, of the possibility of immortality. Only Pan had saved them that time as he had, unbeknownst to them, dug into his past to find the truth. He had been planted to allow Jessica to fall in love with him, for the express purpose of getting his hands on the Key.
In the end, Pan had been forced to destroy him. It was the last time Jessica had allowed herself to feel that way. That was three centuries ago.
In many ways loving John was easy; he had taken the responsibility of bearer on his own, without any coercion on her part, and he truly was the good man she had sensed early on. As much as she had wept at being deceived all those centuries ago, she wept now, on occasion, at the relief of being able to share the burden.
Zack was another
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