Era of Ezri

The Gatekeeper

Blaze

As soon as the day began, despair had gripped my heart like an orange in a tight fist. I struggled to get my thoughts in order and remember my mission for the day as I got changed and headed to the witch's yard.

Her home was located in the heart of Gloria Bridge but was hidden in plain sight, the hat shop was anything but conspicuous with its steady stream of customers and beautiful exterior.

I'd come at sundown, just as the store was closing. I'd visited Lex on the day I'd met Moira but the witch told me she couldn't help me herself but knew someone that could.

'The Gate Keeper' was the name of the person she'd given and that was who I was about to meet today.

The extravagant purple door opened on its own accord as I approached it, clearly Lex had seen me coming.

A small animal skittered past my feet towards another door at the far end of the shop behind the till, leading to the backroom I'd previously been in the last time I came.

I could only assume that the Togan, a grey feline covered in layers of long hair was Lex's Legend, a small animal that aided their witch in dire situations.

Walking past hat stands, I found my way into the backroom filled with stock and then through a small curved door leading to a luxurious room fit for a king.

Black velvet curtains guarded one large stained glass window that replicated the style and colour of the magnificent chandelier hanging over a transparent abstract coffee table and silver rug. There were long red candles almost everywhere and the place stunk of incense sticks and smoke, typical for a witch. 

Lex sat on a grand black velvet sofa with her legs stretched and her bare feet resting on the lap of a large brown-skinned man. He wore dark leather pants and a black hooded cloak that concealed most of his face, but from here, I could see a gold septum peaking out.

I'd seen this guy before.

Refusing to let the stranger escape my grasp once again, I quickly withdrew the staff resting against my waist and pointed it at the individual.

"Who the hell are you?!" I snarled.

"Blaze!" Lex exclaimed, "What do you think you're doing?" She asked in outrage as she shot up from her seat.

"Who is he?" I demanded, refusing to look in her direction as the man who remained seated stared me down with his roguish eyes.

"The Gatekeeper!" Lex replied sharply, running both hands over her bald head frustratedly.

"I've seen him before," I muttered.

"Well that's because he's a Gate Keeper, he can open portals wherever and whenever he likes."

"Is that true?" I jabbed the man's shoulder with my staff.

"Get that stick outta my face." He snapped, his voice extremely deep, but quiet.

"Yeah, he's here to help."

I glared at Lex, upset with her for having made this potential spy feel welcomed in my faction.

"Do you have a name then, Gatekeeper?"

The stoic man looked as though he was considering telling me who he was before he stood and spoke.

"Samson." He grumbled.

Samson was easily taller than six feet and likely a few years older than me based on his slightly tired appearance, he looked like he'd been through plenty.

Examining his appearance, I noticed brandings on the back of his hands which was a custom for Pinkett men. What business did this bloodsucker have in Gloria?

"I'm only here to help find the girl. Lex is a friend, she asked for my help, so I came." Samson spoke.

"You were in Gloria long before the girl went missing, so what other business do you have in my faction?"

"Blaze!" Lex hissed, "Samson's not the enemy. Forget about whatever you think he's capable of and remember why you asked for my help in the first place."

"Ezri," I muttered.

"Is that the girl's name?" Samson asked.

I nodded.

"I believe she escaped the clutches of The Plague and found her way to the Grand Square, but shortly after she escaped, they came for her. The only lead I have is the Truman Estate which is protected by a Contract, preventing anyone from entering.

"I see," Samson spoke.

"Do you have a solution?"

"I do, Lex already filled me in on the loophole." The Gatekeeper replied. 

"What's your price?"

"No charge," Samson responded, immediately. "I've been held against my will in the past. I won't leave another to be subjected to the same fate."

It appeared the stranger wasn't as cold as he looked.

"So, how do we do this?" I asked, walking over to the sofa where Lex had been sitting. Samson slowly returned to his seat and Lex followed shortly, attempting to sit on the Pinkett man's lap, to which he pushed her away and directed her into the seat next to his.

"Did you bring the blueprints?" Lex looked at me in question.

I pulled the blue A4 sheets from my inside jacket pocket and placed them on the low table in front of me.

I'd looked through my father's old office after Lex had told me that I'd at least needed to have some idea of the layout of the property. Luckily enough, Brok had provided my father with plans of the structures he was supposed to construct and although Mr. Truman hadn't held up his end of the bargain, he'd still given my father blueprints including the layouts of the homes already built there.

"So," Lex started, "because of the contract, we can't access the property physically but we do have two other options. One, we hope that there are magical objects inside the property and Samson channels their energy, allowing him to open up a series of gates inside the home. This method means we'll only be able to see through the circular windows Samson's opened and we'll be limited to the places that we can explore but, there's no chance of being spotted. The gateways are like one-way mirrors.

Or two, Samson opens a dimensional gate. This way, we'll be able to travel through the whole of the property as though we're actually there, however an outline of our forms will be visible and in spirit form, we won't be able to do anything to protect ourselves, making us vulnerable to attacks from magical objects. And if our spirits are damaged enough, there's a high chance that our physical bodies will reject our non-physical forms when we try to return."

"So we'd die," I spoke.

"Yes. Oh and one more thing, because we're separating our spirits from our bodies, we may lose parts of ourselves along the way."

"Parts like limbs and organs?" I asked uncomfortably.

"No, like memories and emotions, they'll eventually find their way back to you if someone doesn't accidentally pick them up first, the transparent orbs are unseeable to the eye. And the amount of parts you'll lose depends on how long you remain in spirit form." Lex finished.

The idea of losing a couple of memories or emotions didn't sound too appealing but if it could save Ezri then it wouldn't matter, I just had to get in and out as fast as possible.

"Are you coming?" I asked Lex, who shook her head in response.

"If it's The Plague we're talking about then I want no part in this."

It seems the bandits had not only managed to instil fear into the Collectors but the Witches as well.

"Fair enough," I said, "when's the best time to do this?" I asked Samson. 

Author's note

Okay, sooo, I'm back to updating consistently and I'm committed to publishing one chapter a week 😊😄. 

Happy days. 

-Y