Keystone (Gatewalkers) by Amanda Frederickson Read Free Book Online Page A

Gate, and it was sealed shut.
    The Mara followed her instincts to the Gate as familiar to her as that of her own home world.
    The blood seal held fast, keeping the Gate and its surrounds unmoving, unchanging for centuries. The seal itself pulsed in living ribbons of crimson across the Gate, but a thin crack ran through its center. That crack had been just wide enough for her to slip free at last.
    Before the Gate knelt its vigilant guardian. Encased in black and silver armor, his feathered wings spreading behind him like a storm cloud of grey and lightning, he held a flaming sword before him and shielded the sealed Gate at his back. He, too, had gone unchanged for centuries, preserved by the timelessness of the bridge, still bearing the wounds of his final battle, the blood wet on his armor. Guarding his king’s lifeblood.  
    The Mara had never been a warrior. Her weapons were deception and magic. Yet, the Gate taunted her with its nearness, her lord trapped behind its crimson surface.
    “Soon,” she whispered. Princess Maelyn, with her tormenting green eyes that were so beloved and so hated and her blood that tied her to the sovereignty of the kingship, might yet provide the key to the Gate.

CHAPTER THREE
    Into the Labyrinth

    Charlie popped the “Seinne Sonne” data key into the reader and felt a fresh surge of giddy excitement. As she stepped into the room, she felt a sharp, dizzy jolt as if she’d missed a stair. Her foot met ground, but for a second she still felt like she was falling. The air rippled around her, turning warm and moist, tinged with the salty tang of seawater. Bright sunlight surrounded her.  
    Her sneakered feet sank slightly into sandy ground. She stood on a hill covered in tall, undulating grass. Beyond the rise of the surrounding hills ahead of her, grey-blue ocean stretched to meet the pale horizon. Seagulls screamed nearby.
    Charlie glanced down at herself. She still wore her cade uniform, complete with sneakers. Wasn’t this supposed to be a sword and sorcery? Odd. The game had skipped straight past character creation, unless this was the tutorial phase. At least she hadn’t started out as a prisoner.
    This was no low budget production either. Some company had put major hours into this game. Most productions didn’t bother with such vivid sensory detail because most of the subtle nuances would be lost in the home editions, and that was where they made most of their money.  
    Charlie paused to enjoy it, breathing deeply of the beach-side air, then descended the hill to head toward the ocean. It was as likely a starting point as any. She felt the tensions of the day flaking away like a crusty shell, leaving her feeling light and feathery.
    Once clear of the hill, Charlie could see boats on the ocean. A lot of them were small, fishing types, but there were also several full-masted beauties. She always loved this part. It was just like stepping back in time. Like stepping into another world.  
    There was nothing of the ordinary and everyday left; no cars, no jets, no mag rail, and for a little while, no policy changes or store managers.
    A fair hike down the beach line, where the ocean curved inland to meet a river, the walls of a small castle rose above the hills. The smaller buildings of a town peppered its shadow, and more masts bristled in the small harbor fronting it.
    Civilization was always the best place to start. Charlie struck out for the town.
    ***
    The pixies collapsed in a puddle on the beach.
    “We made it,” Tom moaned, and spread out his arms to dig into the sand of their own world.  
    “That was worse than the first Gate.” Good thing they’d slipped through the Gate practically on their hero’s heels, because it snapped shut right behind them, catching them in a back wave and nearly sending them in between . Lallia shuddered and clung to Tom.
    “I never want to leave Seinne Sonne again.”
    Lallia wasn’t so sure about that, but she very much agreed that she