Novel Keys Novels & Stories

Aunt Lan measures disasters by how many bowls, blankets, and fools they require. Aunt Lan wanted the children fed, the floors swept, and the gods to stop acting as if mystery excused bad manners. Wanting that made every order harder. Power felt more dangerous when there was an ache under it, when a system reward could not quite cover the bruise it left behind. [Fourth Key Core location confirmed.] [Warning: removal will assemble Ava Monroe as complete threshold key.] [Warning: complete key can open Final Gate.] [Warning: complete person may refuse.] That last line was in my mother's handwriting.

Shadow Land was no longer an easy place to get in or out of. The crystal key had the power to seal the portal to Shadow Land forever if in the hands of the right people, or open it in any time dimension to the point it could never be sealed if in the hands of the wrong people. Along with the other parts of Lucy’s life the amnesia also stole recollection of the key. It was believed she hid it somewhere in the great house before she was taken, but no such crystal was ever found.

My mouth drops open. Bingo. The whole back wall is a board with keys that have numbers above them. Shit, shit, shit, I’m going to get caught. I quickly scan for the one I want. Where is it? Where is it? My eyes dart around frantically, and finally, on the bottom right corner, I find the first one and then the other. 1140 and 1289 I take the keys and I walk back to the door and look back. Damn it.

Why was there no salt on these steps? On the landing he pulled out the keys that Karan gave him from his front jeans pocket. Two keys. An old Volvo key and a house key. Hell, even he had more keys on his keychain. Bike key, room key, house keys to his mother’s condo and siblings’ houses. Two keys. What woman only had two keys?

The day I finish my college entrance exam, I drag my suitcase back to my parents' house downtown. When Mom opens the door, the first thing she says is, "Now that your college entrance exam is over, stay home for a while." She says a while, not for good. There are three children in our family. My older brother, Samuel Stroud, and my younger sister, Isabelle Stroud, have always lived with our parents, while I was raised by my grandparents. Samuel has his own study, while Isabelle has her own bedroom. I sleep in the living room. Everything they give me is temporary. My toothbrush is disposable, my slippers are disposable, and even my towel is disposable. I don't even have a key to th

Richard had told me Adrian used seven differently in the games he made for me. "Seven meant substitute a word." “What word?” Mercer asked after I explained. “Richard said it depended on the puzzle.” “That seems inconvenient.” “Richard said it was designed by a man who thought ordinary treasure hunts lacked intellectual discipline.” I searched the old notebook. Page after page contained my childish handwriting, Adrian’s corrections, and rules Richard had explained to me. Then I found a list titled HOUSE KEYS. One meant gate. Three meant road. Five meant water. Seven meant old. “Old,” I said.

Grey asks, his head tilted back to look up at Julian. "New locks," Julian says, his voice calm, level, treating the question with absolute seriousness. "We are changing the brass cylinders on the doors so the keys are completely fresh." Grey considers this for a moment. He taps the yellow crayon against his chin. "Are the old keys broken?" "Not broken," Julian replies. "Just old. Sometimes it is better to have new ones that only belong to this house." Grey nods once. "I can help. I have a screwdriver in my toy bin. It is green."

The new message appears slowly. Like a machine carefully choosing its words. REVISED HYPOTHESIS: THE KEY IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL. Matteo whispers beside me. “Oh… that’s interesting.” The message finishes forming. THE KEY IS A NETWORK NODE WITH HUMAN ANCHORS. Ezra exhales slowly. “They finally figured it out.” The beams fade slightly. Not shutting off. Reconsidering. Then the final line appears. The one that makes the entire planet hold its breath. EXPANDED INTEGRATION PROTOCOL REQUIRED.

“Very well, let us take that plan of yours and see the end of it.” Somewhat unconvinced, no, having a bit of a doubt by the detailed plan that Kyle just said. He played it safely, looking at Kyle’s eyes so that He above all else will know if He is lying or not. But then He didn’t see such a thing. Making Him trust Kyle a bit more, which is a trap, the scheme, and Kyle’s game. All to have the perfect destruction of the last and seventh loop. “Excellent.” “THE SEVEN KEYS’. With the ones that are needed for you to find, I want you to concentrate on the ones that are needed to be made and perfectly.”

She checked her system for a minute, nodded, and handed me a key. “Top floor, Room 10. We offer spa services, and there’s a rooftop hot tub if you’d like it.” I returned the smile and headed for the elevator. As it rose, I allowed myself one small expectation - that the room would at least justify being here. The elevator pinged on the last floor and slid open. I stepped out, scanning the door numbers until I found ten. Holding my breath, I swiped the key. God, I hated disappointments. Please don’t be one.