The Seven Keys

Chapter 4

     The next two days went relatively the same as the others. Avery's brain was being packed full of information that wouldn't have seemed anywhere near believable a few days ago. She tried telling herself that she should feel privileged that the Prophecy chose her, but how could she? It seemed like a major burden, especially at only fifteen.

     Eventually, Damian would be teaching her how to be on the lookout for prophecy items and some basic self-defense skills which may be necessary. She was told that it would be impossible to predict what or who could be guarding a valuable key for the banishment ritual. The Whispering Necromancer was known for his devious tricks, so Avery had to be as prepared as possible. She was looking forward to learning self-defense, but she wasn't sure if this entailed skills like hand-to-hand combat, or spell work since the Whispering Necromancer was a spirit.

     Avery didn't mind the amount of time she was putting into learning and research, or staying with Aunt Hilda because she knew it meant that she was safe. It was nice not having to run all the time and look over her shoulder. Damian always tried his best to make the lessons as enjoyable as he could. The books were full of difficult and made-up sounding words and stories that didn't make a drop of sense, so a joke or visual reenactment was nice every now and then.

     Aunt Hilda told a new story to Avery every day and often talked about the amount of time she had dedicated to deciphering the Prophecy. She couldn't help but wonder how they felt about dedicating their lives to research everything they possibly could to one day end it all. It seemed exhausting and like a life not worth living to her, but she was grateful they had. Avery took in every bit of information as if her life depended on it, and it did, but she was worried that with every new thing she learned, she would forget something else. She took notes and asked questions in every new lesson because forgetting things could cost her her life.

     Avery began training several times a day with Damian for hours at a time. She now knew how to defend herself in a one-on-one combat fight and almost beat Damian who had been training and fighting for the better part of his life. Beating Damian was a goal she set for herself early on because she knew that if she could beat him, then she might have a fighting chance. Learning this type of self-defense was only the beginning because soon she would need to start learning combat spells in case those were necessary as well.

     Although the self-defense training was going well, her training for locating the items was moving at a much slower pace since they didn't have a prophecy symbol item in their possession. This meant that only discussion and reading could prepare her. So far, she has learned that when she was within a certain distance from the object she would be able to hear a ringing to help her find the general location of the object. Once she was close enough, the item would emit a soft golden glow, a distinct smell, or a powerful feeling. In someone's hands other than hers, the item would appear to be just what it is with no additional purpose or meaning.

     Damian had told her that based on his research and recent travels, he believed that there was one item in each city of The Otherworlds. He strode over the bookshelf and pulled a thin, but tall book off the shelf. Placing it on the nearest table, he opened it up and beckoned for Avery to join him. In front of her was a large map of The Otherworlds. Avery knew that there were other cities, but she hadn't ventured very far outside of River Ridge.

     "There's your city, River Ridge," Damian said as he placed his finger on the map.

     "Wow, it feels so much bigger than it actually is," Avery reveled. "Where are we now?"

     "Here," he pointed to an even smaller city than River Ridge on the map.

     "Secret Steppe. Hmm," she said. She found it to be a fitting name.