Key of Knowledge

Chapter One

DANA Steele considered herself a flexible, open-minded woman, with no less than her fair share of patience, tolerance, and humor.

A number of people might have disagreed with this self-portrait.

But what did they know?

In one months time, her life had, through no fault of her own, taken a sharp turn off its course and into territory so strange and uncharted she couldnt explain the route or the reason even to herself.

But wasnt she going with the flow?

Shed taken it on the chin when Joan, the malicious library director, had promoted her own niece by marriage over other, more qualified, more dependable, more astute, and certainly more attractive candidates. Shed sucked it up, hadnt she, and done her job?

And when that completely undeserved promotion had caused a squeeze resulting in a certain more qualified employees hours and paycheck being cut to the bone, had she pummeled the despicable Joan and the incessantly pert Sandi to bloody pulps?

No, she had not. Which in Danas mind illustrated her exquisite restraint.

When her greedy bloodsucker of a landlord raised her rent to coincide with her pay cut, had she clamped her hands around his scrawny neck and squeezed until his beady eyes popped?

Again, she had demonstrated control of heroic proportions.

Those virtues mightve been their own reward, but Dana enjoyed more tangible benefits.

Whoever had come up with that business about a door opening when a window closes hadnt known much about Celtic gods. Danas door hadnt opened. It had been blown clean off its hinges.

Even with all shed seen and done, with all shed been a part of over the last four weeks, it was hard to believe that she was now stretched out in the backseat of her brothers car, once again heading up the steep, winding road to the great stone house of Warriors Peak.

And what waited for her there.

It wasnt storming, as it had been on her first trip to the Peak after receiving that intriguing invitation for “cocktails and conversation” from Rowena andPitte —an invitation that had gone out to only two other women. And she wasnt alone. And this time, she thought, she knew exactly what she was in for.

Idly, she opened the notebook shed brought along and read the summary shed written of the story shed heard on her first visit to Warriors Peak.

The young Celtic god who would be king falls for a human girl during his traditional sojourn in the mortal dimension. (Which I relate to spring break.) Young studs parents indulge him, break the rules and allow him to bring the maid behind whats called either Curtain of Dreams or Curtain of Power, and into the realm of the gods.

This is cool with some of the gods, but pisses others off.

War, strife, politics, intrigue follow.

Young god becomes king, makes human wife queen. They have three daughters.

Each daughter—demigoddess—has a specific talent or gift. One is art or beauty, the second is knowledge or truth, the third is courage or valor.

Sisters are close and happy and grow to young womanhood,tra -la-la, under the watchful eye of the female teacher and the male warrior guardian given the task by god-king.

Teacher and warrior fall in love, which blinds the eye enough that it isnt kept sharp on the daughters.

Meanwhile, bad guys are plotting away. They dont take to human or half-human types in their rarefied world, especially in positions of power. Dark forces go to work. A particularly evilminded sorcerer (probably related to Library Joan) takes charge. A spell is cast on the daughters while teacher and warrior are starry-eyed. The daughters souls are stolen, locked in a glass box, known as the Box of Souls, which can only be opened by three keys turned by human hands. Although the gods know where to find the keys, none of them can break the spell or free the souls.

Teacher and warrior are cast out, sent through the Curtain of Dreams into the mortal world. There, in each generation three human women are born who have the means to find the keys and end the curse. Teacher and warrior must find the women, and these women must be given the choice of accepting the quest or rejecting it.

Each, in turn, has one moon phase to find a key. If the first fails, game over. And not without penalty—each would lose an undisclosed year of her life. If she succeeds, the second woman takes up the quest, and so on. An annoyingly cryptic clue—the only help teacher and warrior are allowed to give the three lucky women—is revealed at the start of the four-week cycle.

If the quest is completed, the Box of Souls will be opened and the Daughters of Glass freed. And the three women will each be awarded a cool one million dollars.

A pretty story, Dana mused, until you understood it wasnt a story but fact. Until you understood you were one of the three women who had the means to unlock the Box of Souls.

Then it just got weird.

Add in some dark, powerful sorcerer god named Kane who really wanted you to fail and could make you see things that werent there—and not see things that were— and the whole business took on a real edge.

But there were good parts too. That first night shed met two women who had turned out to be really interesting people, and soon she felt as though shed known them all her life. Well enough, Dana reminded herself, that the three of them were going into business together.

And one of them had turned out to be the love of her brothers life.

Malory Price, the organized soul with the artists heart, not only had outwitted a sorcerer with a few thousand years under his belt but had found the key, opened the lock, and bagged the guy.

All in less than four weeks.

It was going to be hard for Dana and their palZoe to top that one.

Then again, Dana reminded herself, she andZoe didnt have the distraction of romance to clog the works. And she didnt have a kid to worry about, asZoe did.

Nope, Dana Steele was footloose and fancy-free, with nothing to pull her focus away from the prize.

If she was next at bat, Kane had better set for the long ball.

Not that she had anything against romance, she mused, letting the notebook close as she watched the blaze and blur of trees through the window. She liked men.

Well, most men.

Shed even been in love with one, a million years ago. Of course, that had been a result of youthful stupidity. She was much wiser now.

Jordan Hawke might have come back toPleasantValley , temporarily, a few weeks ago, and he might have wheedled his way into being part of the quest. But he wasnt a part of Danas world any longer.

In her world he didnt exist. Except when he was writhing in pain and agony from some horrible freak accident or a debilitating and disfiguring illness.

It was too bad that her brother, Flynn, had the bad taste to be his friend. But she could forgive Flynn for it, and even give him points for loyalty, since he and Jordan and Bradley Vane had been pals since childhood.

And somehow or other, both Jordan and Brad were connected to the quest. It was something she would have to tolerate for the duration.

She shifted as Flynn turned to drive through the open iron gates, angled her head so that she could look up at one of the two stone warriors that guarded the entrance to the house.

Big, handsome, and dangerous, Dana thought. Shed always liked men who were—even if they were sculptures.

She scooted up, but kept the long length of her legs on the seat—the only way for her to ride comfortably in the back of the car.

She was a tall woman with anamazons build that wouldve suited that stone warrior. She combed her fingers through her long swing of brown hair. SinceZoe , the currently unemployed hairdresser and Danas new best friend, had styled it and added highlights, it fell into that casual bell shape with little or no help from Dana. It saved her time in the morning, which she appreciated, as morning wasnt her best time of day. And the cut was flattering, which suited her vanity.

Her eyes, a deep, dark brown, locked on the elegant sprawl of black stone that was the house at Warriors Peak. Part castle, part fortress, part fantasy, it spread over the rise, speared up into a sky as clear as black glass.

Lights shimmered against its many windows, and still, Dana imagined, there were so many secrets in the shadows.

Shed lived in the valley below for all the twenty-seven years of her life. And for all of them, the Peak had been a fascination. Its shape and shadow on the rise above her pretty little town had always struck her as something out of a faerie tale—and not the tidied-up, bloodless versions either.

Shed often wondered what it would be like to live there, to wander through all the rooms, to walk out on the parapet or gaze down from a tower. To live so high, in such magnificent solitude, with the majesty of the hills all around and the charm of the woods only steps beyond the door.

She stirred herself now, shifting around so her head was between Flynns and Malorys.

They were so damn cute together, she thought. Flynn with his deceptively easygoing nature, Malory with her need for order. Flynn with his lazy green eyes, Malory with her bright, bold blue ones. There was Mal, with her stylish coordinated outfits, and Flynn, who was lucky if he could put his hands on a pair of matching socks.

Yes, Dana decided, they were perfect for one another. She thought of Malory as her sister now, through circumstance and fate. And really, wasnt that how Flynn had become her brother all those years ago when her father and his mother had married and merged families?

When her dad had gotten sick, shed leaned hard on Flynn. She supposed theyd leaned hard on each other more than once. When the doctors had recommended that her father move to a warmer climate, when Flynns mother had shoved the responsibility of running the Valley Dispatch into Flynns hands and hed found himself the publisher of a small-town paper instead of living his dream of honing his reporting skills in New York.

When the boy shed loved had left her.

When the woman hed intended to marry had left him.

Yeah, theyd had each other—through thick and thin. And now, in their own ways, they each had Malory. It was a nice way to round things out.

“Well.” Dana laid her hands on their shoulders. “Here we go again.”

Malory turned, gave Dana a quick smile. “Nervous?”

“Not so much.”

“Its either you orZoe tonight. Do you want to be picked?”

Ignoring the little flutter in her stomach, Dana shrugged. “I just want to get going on it. I dont know why we have to go through all this ceremony. We already know what the deal is.”

“Hey, free food,” Flynn reminded her.

“There is that. Wonder ifZoes here yet. We can dive into whatever our hosts, Rowena andPitte , picked up in the land of milk and honey, then get this show on the road.”

She climbed out the minute Flynn stopped the car, then Dana stood with her hands on her hips, studying the house while the ancient man with a shock of white hair hurried up to take the keys.

“Maybe youre not nervous.” Malory came to stand beside her, linked arms.

“But I am.”

“Why? You dunked your shot.”

“Its still up to all of us.” She looked up at the white flag with its key emblem that flew atop the tower.

“Just think positive.” Dana drew in a long breath. “Ready?”

“If you are.” Malory held out a hand for Flynns.

They walked toward the huge entrance doors, which swung open at their approach.

Rowena stood in the flood of light, her hair a firestorm falling over the bodice of a sapphire velvet dress. Her lips were curved in welcome, her exotic green eyes bright with it.

Gems sparkled at her ears, her wrists, her fingers. On a long braided chain that hung nearly to her waist was a crystal as clear as water and as fat as a babys fist.

“Welcome.” Her voice was low and musical and seemed to hold hints of forests and caves where faeries might dwell. “Im so pleased to see you.” She held out her hands to Malory, then leaned forward and kissed both of her cheeks in turn. “You look wonderful, and well.”

“So do you, always.”

With a light laugh, Rowena reached for Danas hand. “And you.Mmm , what a wonderful jacket.” She skimmed her fingers along the sleeve of the butter-soft leather. But even as she spoke, she was looking beyond them and out the door. “You didnt bring Moe?”

“It didnt seem like quite the occasion for a big, clumsy dog,” Flynn told her.

“Its always the occasion for Moe.” Rowena rose on her toes to peck Flynns cheek. “You must promise to bring him next time.”

She slid her arm through Flynns. “Come, well be comfortable in the parlor.”

They crossed the great hall with its mosaic floor, moved through the wide arch to the spacious room glowing from the flames in the massive hearth and the light of dozens of white candles.

Pittestood at the mantel, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. The warrior at the gate, Dana thought. He was tall, dark, dangerously handsome, with a muscular and ready build that his elegant black suit couldnt disguise.

It was easy to imagine him wearing light armor and carrying a sword. Or sitting astride a huge black horse and wearing a cape that billowed at the gallop.

He gave a slight and courtly bow as they entered.

Dana started to speak, then a movement caught the corner of her eye. The friendly smile vanished from her face, her brows beetled, and her eyes flashed pure annoyance.

“Whats he doing here?” “He,” Jordan said dryly as he lifted a glass, “was invited.”

“Of course.” Smoothly, Rowena pressed a flute of champagne into Danas hand. “Pitteand I are delighted to have all of you here tonight. Please, be at home. Malory, you must tell me how plans are progressing on your gallery.”

With another flute of champagne and a gentle nudge, Rowena had Malory moving toward a chair. After one look at his sisters face, Flynn chose the better part of valor and followed them.

Refusing to retreat, Dana sipped her champagne and scowled atJordan over the crystal rim of her glass. “Your part in this is finished.”

“Maybe it is, maybe it isnt. Either way I get an invitation to dinner from a beautiful woman, especially if she happens to be a goddess, I accept. Nice threads,” he commented and fingered the cuff of Danas jacket.

“Hands off.” She jerked her arm out of reach, then plucked a canapй from a tray. “And stay out of my way.”

“Im not in your way.” His voice remained mild, and he took a lazy sip of his drink.

Even though Dana wore heeled boots, he had a couple of inches on her. Which was just one more reason to find him irritating. LikePitte , he could have posed for one of the stone warriors. He was six-three, every inch of it well packed. His dark hair couldve used a trim, but that slightly curly, slightly unkempt, slightly too long style suited the power of his face.

He was, always had been, lustily handsome, with blazing blue eyes under black brows, the long nose, the wide mouth, the strong bones combining in a look that could be charming or intimidating depending on his purpose.

Worse, Dana thought, he had an agile and clever mind inside that rock-hard skull. And an innate talent that had made him a wildly successful novelist before hed hit thirty.

Once, shed believed they would build a life side by side. But to her mind hed chosen his fame and his fortune over her.

And in her heart she had never forgiven him for it.

“There are two more keys,” he reminded her. “If finding them is important to you, you should be grateful for help. Whatever the source.”

“I dont need your help. So feel free to head back toNew York anytime.”

“Im going to see this through. Better get used to it.”

She snorted, then popped another canapй. “Whats in it for you?” “You really want to know?”

She shrugged. “I couldnt care less. But Id think even someone with your limited sensitivity would be aware that you bunking at Flynns is putting a crimp in the works for the turtledoves there.”

Jordanfollowed her direction, notedHynn sitting with Malory, and the way his friend absently played with the curling ends of her blond hair.

“I know how to keep out of their way, too. Shes good for him,”Jordan added.

Whatever else she could say aboutJordan —and there was plenty—she couldnt deny that he loved Flynn. So she swallowed some of the bitterness, and washed the taste of it away with champagne.

“Yeah, she is. Theyre good for each other.”

“She wont move in with him.”

Dana blinked. “He asked her to move in? To live with him? And she said no?”

“Not exactly. But the lady has conditions.”

“Which are?”

“Actual furniture in the living room and he has to redo the kitchen.”

“No kidding?” The idea had Dana feeling both amused and sentimental at once. “Thats our Mal. Before Flynn knows it, hell be living in a real house instead of a building with doors and windows and packing boxes.”

“He bought dishes. The kind you wash, not the land you chuck in the trash.”

The amusement peaked, bringing shallow dimples to her cheeks. “He did not.”

“And knives and forks that arent plastic.”

“Oh, my God, stemware could be next.”

“Im afraid so.” ,

She let out a roll of laughter, toasted to her brothers back. “Hook, line, and sinker.”

“Thats something Ive missed,”Jordan murmured. “Thats the first time Ive heard you laugh and mean it since Ive been back.”

She sobered instantly. “It didnt have anything to do with you.”

“Dont I know it.”

Before she could speak again,Zoe McCourt rushed into the room, steps ahead of Bradley Vane. She looked flustered, irritated, and embarrassed. Like a sexy wood sprite, Dana thought, whod had a particularly bad day.

“Im sorry. Im so sorry Im late.”

She wore a short, clingy black dress with long, snug sleeves and an abbreviated hem that showcased her slim and sinuous curves. Her hair, black and glossy, was short and straight with a long fringe of bangs accenting long-lidded amber eyes.

Behind her, Brad looked like some golden faerie-tale prince in an Italian suit.

Seeing them together made Dana think what a stunning couple they made—if you didnt count the frustration emanating fromZoe , or the uncharacteristic stiffness in Brads stance.

“Dont be silly.” Rowena was already up and crossing to them. “Youre not at all late.”

“I am. My car. I had trouble with my car. They were supposed to fix it, but… Well, Im very grateful Bradley was driving by and stopped.”

She didnt sound grateful, Dana noted. She sounded pissed, with that hint of theWest Virginia hills in her voice giving the temper a nice little edge.

Rowena made sympathetic noises as she ledZoe to a chair, served her champagne.

“I think I couldve fixed it,”Zoe muttered. “That may be.” With obvious gratitude, Bradley accepted a drink. “But youd have ended up with grease all over your dress. Then youd have needed to go home and change andyoudve been even later. Its hardly a slap in the face to accept a ride from someone you know whos going to exactly the same place at the same time.”

“I said I was grateful,”Zoe shot back, then took a deep breath. “Im sorry,” she said to the room in general. “Its been one of those days. And Im nervous on top of it. I hope I havent held anything up.”

“Not at all.” Rowena brushed a hand over her shoulder as a servant came to the archway and announced dinner. “There, you see? Right on time.”

* * *

IT wasnt every day you ate rack of lamb in a castle on a mountaintop inPennsylvania . The fact that the dining room had twelve-foot ceilings, a trio of chandeliers sparkling with white and red crystal drops, and a ruby granite fireplace big enough to hold the population ofRhode Island certainly added to the perks.

The atmosphere should have been intimidating and formal, yet it was welcoming. Not the sort of place youd chow down on pepperoni pizza, Dana reflected, but a nice ambience for sharing an exquisitely prepared meal with interesting people.

Conversation flowed—travel, books, business. It showed Dana the power of their hosts. It wasnt the norm for a librarian from a small valley town to sit around and break bread with a couple of Celtic gods, but Rowena andPitte made it seem normal.

And what was to come, the next step in the quest, was a subject no one broached.

Because she was seated between Brad and Jordan, Dana angled herself toward Brad and spent as much of the meal as possible ignoring her other dinner partner.

“What did you do to makeZoe mad?”

Brad flicked a glance across the table. “Apparently, I breathed.”

“Come on.” Dana gave him a little elbow poke. “Zoesnot like that. What did you do? Did you hit on her?”

“I did not hit on her.” Years of training kept his voice low, but the acid in it was still evident. “Maybe it annoyed her that I refused to muck around in her engine, and wouldnt let her muck around in it either, as we were both dressed for dinner and were already running late.”

Danas eyebrows rose. “Well, well. Seems she got your back up, too.”

“I dont care to be called high-handed and bossy just because I point out the obvious.”

Now she smiled, leaned over and pinched his cheek. “But, honey, you are high-handed and bossy. Thats why I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” But his lips twitched. “Then how come weve never had wild and crazy sex?”

“I dont know. Let me get back to you on that.” She speared another bite of lamb. “Guess youve been to a lot of snazzy dinners like this, in snazzy places like this.”

“There is no other place like this.”

It was easy for her to forget that her buddy Brad was Bradley Charles Vane IV, heir apparent to a lumber empire that had built one of the countrys largest and most accessible home improvement and supply chains,HomeMakers .

But seeing how smoothly he slid into this sort of sophisticated atmosphere reminded her that he was a great deal more than just the hometown boy.

“Didnt your dad buy some big castle place inScotland a few years back?”

“Manor house,Cornwall . And, yeah, its pretty incredible. Shes not eating much,” he murmured and gave a little nod towardZoe .

“Shes just nervous. Me too,” Dana added, then cut another bite of lamb. “But nothing kills my appetite.” She heardJordan laugh, and the deep male sound of it cruised along her skin. Deliberately, she ate the lamb. “Absolutely nothing.”

* * *

SHE was spending most of her time ignoring him, and taking swipes with whatever time she had left over. That,Jordan thought, was Danas usual pattern when it came to him.

He should be used to it.

So the fact that it bothered him so much was his problem. Just as finding a way to make them friends again was his mission.

Theyd once been friends. And a great deal more. The fact that they werent now was his fault, and he would take the rap for it. But just how long was a man supposed to pay for ending a relationship? Wasnt there a statute of limitations?

She looked incredible, he decided as they gathered back in the parlor for coffee and brandy. But then, hed always liked her looks, even when shed been a kid, too tall for her age and with thatpudge of baby fat still in her cheeks.

There was no baby fat in evidence now. Anywhere. Just curves, a lot of gorgeous curves.

Shed done something to her hair, he realized, some girl thing that added mysterious light to that dense brown. It made her eyes seem darker, deeper. God, how many times had he felt himself drowning in those rich chocolate eyes?

Hadnt he been entitled to come up for air?

In any case, hed meant what hed said to her before. He was back now, and she was just going to have to get used to it. Just as she would have to get used to the fact that he was part of this tangle shed gotten herself into.

She was going to have to deal with him. And it would be his pleasure to make sure she had to deal with him as often as possible.

Rowena rose. There was something in the movement, in the look of her, that tickled something at the edge ofJordan s memory. Then she stepped forward, smiled, and the moment passed.

“If youre ready, we should begin. I think its more suitable if we continue this in the other parlor.“

“Im ready.” Dana got to her feet, then looked atZoe . “You?”

“Yeah.” Though she paled a bit,Zoe clasped hands with Dana. “The first time, all I could think was dont let me be first. Now I just dont know.”

“Me either.”

They moved down the great hall to the next parlor. It didnt help to brace himself,Jordan knew. The portrait swamped him, as it had the first time hed seen it.

The colors, the sheer brilliance of them, the joy and beauty of subject and execution. And the shock of seeing Danas body, Danas face—Danas eyes looking back at him from the canvas.

The Daughters of Glass.

They had names, and he knew them now.Niniane ,Venora ,Kyna . But when he looked at the portrait, he saw them, thought of them as Dana, Malory, andZoe .

The world around them was a glory of sunlight and flowers.

Malory, dressed in a gown of lapis blue, with her rich gold curls spilling nearly to her waist, held a lap harp.Zoe stood, slim and straight in her shimmering green dress, a puppy in her arms, a sword at her hip. Dana, her dark eyes lit with laughter, was gowned in fiery red. She was seated and held a scroll and quill.

They were a unit in that moment of time, in that jewel-bright world behind the Curtain of Dreams. But it was only a moment, and even then the end was lurking.

In the deep green of the forest, the shadow of a man. On the silver tiles, the sinuous glide of a snake.

Far in the background, under the graceful branches of a tree, lovers embraced. Teacher and guard, too wrapped up in each other to sense the danger to their charges.

And cannily, cleverly hidden in the painting, the three keys. One in the shape of a bird that winged its way through the impossibly blue sky, another reflecting in the water of the fountain behind the daughters, and the third secreted among the branches of the forest.

He knew Rowena had painted it from memory—and that her memory was long.

And he knew from what Malory had discovered and experienced, that moments after this slice of time, the souls of the daughters had been stolen and locked away in a box of glass.

Pittelifted a carved box, opened the lid. “Inside are two disks, one with the emblem of the key. Whoever chooses the scribed disk is charged to find the second key.”

“Like last time, okay?”Zoe gave Danas hand a hard squeeze. “We look together.”

“Okay.” Dana took a slow breath as Malory stepped up, laid a hand on her shoulder, thenZoes . “Want to go first?”

“Gosh. I guess.” Closing her eyes,Zoe reached into the box, closed her hand over a disk.

With her eyes open and on the portrait, Dana took the one that remained.

Then each held her disk out.

“Well.”Zoe stared at her disk, at Danas. “Looks like Im running the anchor lap.”

Dana ran her thumb over the key carved in her disk. It was a small thing, that key, a straight bar with a spiral design on one end. It looked simple, but shed seen the real thing—shed seen the first key in Malorys hand, burning with gold, and knew it wasnt simple at all.

“Okay, Im up.” She wanted to sit, but locked her shaky knees instead. Four weeks, she thought. She had four weeks from new moon to new moon to do if not the impossible at least the fantastic.

“I get a clue, right?”

“You do.” Rowena took up a sheet of parchment and read:

“You know the past and seek the future. What was, what is, what will be are woven into the tapestry of all life. With beauty there is blight, with knowledge, ignorance, and with valor there is cowardice. One is lessened without its opposite.

“To know the key, the mind must recognize the heart, and the heart celebrate the mind. Find your truth in his lies, and what is real within the fantasy.

“Where one goddess walks, another waits, and dreams are only memories yet to come.”

Dana picked up a snifter of brandy, drank deep to untie the knots in her belly. “Piece of cake,” she said.