Keychain's Destiny

By Kayla Brown

The Purge of Magic was believed to have destroyed all that was magical.

When the Black Army arose to power, there was no way to stop them. Their armor repelled anything that was fired at them. They struck fear into the land. With no way to stop them, people stopped fighting back. They hid away but only to be discovered again. Randy, a young man who was brought back to life by his sister and the use of magic, but at the cost of his own sister's life, takes matters into his own hands. However, he is defenseless against the slaughter that is caused by the Black Army. He turns to the same source as his sister, but he himself is unable to use magic. With a very complex GPS device, Randy is able to pinpoint one magical person, a young sorceress who has no clue how to use her powers.

Keychain is different. She is the only one in her whole town that has red hair. Locked away from the outside world, the gene pool didn't seem to offer the red color. Not only that, but she knew she was different. The Elders knew she was different. She no longer wanted to stay in the village that would ultimately be her undoing. Before she can make the proper arrangements to leave, the Black Army destroyed her home and place she felt safe.

Now, with nowhere to go, Keychain must learn how to use her own powers. She must learn to fight back. Keychain must aquire allies, like Aqua--a female assassin who ends up being pulled into a cross fire between Keychain and the Black Army--and adapt her powers to every situation. The key to unlocking her strength relays on her learning of the past and finding the truth, for it is Keychain's destiny to shine a new light on the fears of magic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kayla Brown
• Release date: Jul 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310879227

Kayla Brown

I started writing when I was twelve. Well,okay, maybe then it really wasn't writing, more like stick figures with dialect. I improved from there. At one point I had completed one book, but as I read through it, I was unhappy with the way it was, and scrapped it. I kept telling myself that I would get back to the story, it's old name was Keychain and Luis, now it's Keychain's Destiny.Currently I am attending college to obtain a photography degree. On my down time, I write. However, lately I have had a block in my mind. Maybe it's due to stress, but once it's gone, I get a flood of information that I just want to write down. My thoughts run faster than what my fingers can go.I'm mainly a fantasy writer, but I'm open to trying new things. I like to create stories where there is at least one strong and sensible woman, however. I don't like the whole damsel in distress situation. It's just so old fashion.

Book preview

Keychain's Destiny

Kayla Brown

Copyright 2014 by Kayla Brown

Smashwords Edition

For those who have always supported me, from my friends to my family.

Thank you.

Chapter One

It’s been ten years. Ten years since Randy first started to search for the one person to help stop the rampage that was known as the Black Army. The Army was unstoppable. There was no way the current police force or even the military of the country could stop them. The Black Army was a brute force. Whatever they didn’t kill, they stole. The range of what they stole was from precious jewels to actual people, from children to adults. It’s how their cruel and savage cluster grew so quickly. They forced people into their Army, either by force or by manipulation. There were those who tried to escape. Most were unsuccessful. The only two were alive to tell the tale were sitting in Randy’s living room, listening to the screams outside his boarded up home. It looked abandoned from the outside, but Randy made it livable and safe for him and a few people. Only a few, for too many would reveal them.

Randy’s head was tucked beneath a heavy blanket. The stench of his own breath gathered around him, but he did not dare lift his head for a breath of fresh air. He had a device, no bigger than his hand that had a blue light reflecting back at his face. It searched all over again for the person he needed. At this point, his original list was dwindled down to nothing. He was becoming desperate for aid. Towns were starting to become abandoned. There was no hope left if the list didn’t pick up something, anything. All he needed was some powerful magic. He didn’t care how inexperienced the person was. He would train them if he needed to. The power of the Black Army was spreading, and soon it would end up in the region of the Seven Kings across the sea.

He was losing hope that he would ever find anyone with enough power to fight back. The sorcerers and sorceresses were almost hunted out of existence. People hunted them mainly out of fear. They were different, too different. Their powers struck fear with each lightning bolt in the sky, with each tornado that spun through the air. People feared everything after the magical powers were discovered. Now it was forbidden. And now there was no one to help them out.

Suddenly, a soft ping released from the device. Randy sucked in his breath, holding it in for a few moments as he listened. There was no change in the air. The echoing screams of individuals outside could be heard, but no one came stomping to his door. He sighed just as his device shut off. For a brief moment, as the screen turned bright white, he saw his reflection. A face that he barely recognized stared back at him. He saw curly brown hair that was becoming shaggy and heavy after days of being unwashed. His skin looked bright, almost glowed, when he knew that it was just oils that sat on top of his olive skin. His glasses, even though they looked to be functional, were just to put up a mirage of him having dark brown eyes. His eyes were truly only a soft, ghost-like white. It reminded him of who he really was, and what his purpose was to do.

He had to find the sorceresses named Keychain Lithium Innocence.

Hey, Keychain, come look at this, Luis said as he stood at the stairway.

Keychain stopped in her tracks. She had planned on going up to her bedroom. She was planning on disappearing for a few hours, going to her secret spot like she liked to do during the summer. Her brother, however, had a different plan. Not wanting to argue, she pivoted her footing and went back down the stairs.

Luis was standing before the front window in the living room. It looked over the forest and the beaten dirt path that lead to town. His attention was fully on the window. As Keychain rested a hand on his shoulder, he had jumped. Surprised by his reaction, Keychain decided to look out the window as well. There were very few occasions that pulled Luis’s attention away from the world completely. He always had one ear open for anyone who might come up behind him.

She gasped as soon as she saw what he was looking at. Over ten men came from the forest, trudging down the path to the town. They were all stoic, walking in a formation. Their footsteps were in sync with one another. Each one was tall, taller than any average man Keychain had ever seen before. Their expressions were stern and mean. One man looked close to snarling. They were all wearing the same outfit. Every single one of them had stiff black clothing. If Keychain didn’t know any better, she would have thought that they were wearing some sort of metal uniform. But metal was an ancient form of protection, back during the era when chain mail was popular.

What do you think they are wearing? her brother whispered.

With a simple shrug, Keychain continued to stare. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around what she was seeing. Not only were they strangers, they were also coming from the forest. The town that they lived in was secluded from the outside world. The Elders found no need to have it named, however. It was just one big town that was surrounded by a mist. When outsiders tried to enter, they would find themselves lost in a mist. Before they knew it, they would be on the other side of the town, not even knowing that they might have passed through a town. It was considered magic, but the Elders said it was for protection and was only used once. The townspeople felt safer not knowing the truth, the truth that Keychain knew. As Keychain drew nearer and nearer to the day that she would be put into her own field of work through the choice of the Elders—after years of observation, of course—the more secrets she knew about the town that was dubbed as so perfect by the people. It might be safe to those who didn’t know the whole truth, but Keychain saw through it all with the secrets that she knew that were locked away in her mind.

One of the secrets was that any outsider could enter if they knew what they were looking for. These strangers, the tall and scary looking men, were looking for their little town that was hidden away from the world. All Keychain could ever wonder was why they would ever want to come to such a place. What else could she not know?

Kids, their mother hissed, get away from the window and come over here!

Their mother was huddled with their younger sister, Annie, near the stairs. The pair ended up pulling themselves away from the window and sitting next to their mother. From the angle that they sat, they could see out the window but no one could see them, unless they approached the window and peered in.

Keychain tucked herself behind her mother. Her knees were drawn up and folded against her. She looked down at her mother. Her mother’s creamy corn stalk colored hair was starting to fade to a gray. Keychain looked over at her sister, with her wild blonde hair. Her brother used to have the same blonde color, until one day he witnessed Keychain being bullied for her hair color, and thus decided to dye it a bright shade of red. That red color he had kept for over five years now.

Pressing a hand against her own hair, Keychain couldn’t help but to wonder why she had such dark, rich red hair. It pooled down past her shoulders to waist. It was unnaturally dark for red hair. Even then, it wasn’t the only difference between her family and herself that she had noticed. Keychain knew that her family had rounded ears while hers had a slight point to them. Her eyes were bright blue, while her whole family had brown. She had a slight purple ring around her iris as well. None of her family had that feature.

Her brother’s whisper broke the silence in the air, the running thought in Keychain’s head. Who are they?

Their mother just looked at them all painfully. I don’t know. . . And with that said, she hung her head, holding Annie closer.

Annie was the youngest of the children. She had just turned fourteen recently. Keychain was turning eighteen in only a short few months, but her career choice was arriving before her birthday. Luis was turning twenty-two, the oldest of all of them.

He had his own house. Luis was living on his own with his own career in the lumberyard. Rarely did he ever stay at the house with the family. It was only as their aging father took his duty to examine the structure of the protective wall did Luis ever stay at the house.

It’s been two weeks since Luis first started staying at the house. Their father had yet to return home, even for one night. Granted, the town was large. It took their father on average to check the maintenance of the wall a whole week. Sometimes he was late by a day or two. Even as he was becoming older, he was still able to make the trip around in a week. He even had to check around the Ruins, a place that is only a skeleton of steel and rot from the former town that was originally in the region.

Could it be about dad? questioned Annie. She looked up and around at her mother and siblings. Young wonderment was in her eyes. She had yet to know about the outside world. Keychain could only guess what was going through her head as she thought of the men who were walking in a rigid formation.

I hope not, sweetie, their mother replied. She pressed a kiss against Annie’s head.

They waited on the stairs for a while longer. The clock ticked loudly against Keychain’s eardrum. It made her heartbeat thump against her chest. At any moment she felt like her heart was going to explode through her chest. Outsiders in the village were never a good sign. Keychain could barely remember the last time an outsider came in. Her mother told the story more than once. A man, a reporter, came in with a purpose to ask questions. He was answered by having his head cut off. Annie had yet to hear the story. Keychain first heard it last year. Her younger sister still had a few years to go.

I think it’s safe now, their mother declared. As the three of them stood up, Keychain sat on the stairs still. She unwound her legs from the tight grip she had on them. The stretched with pain. Her whole body was numb with pain. She hadn’t even noticed the cramping until after the fear began to fade.

Does that mean I can go outside and play? questioned Annie. She looked up at their mother with her big doe eyes.

With a faint smile, their mother nodded. The gleeful Annie bounded out the door. She was so happy to be outside and free that she had forgotten her shoes. Shortly after, with a sigh, Luis followed after her with her sandals.

I’m going to go into town, declared Keychain.

Her mother jolted with surprise. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. Are you sure? Don’t you want to wait some time before you go into town? Annie does need a play friend.

She has Luis to drag into playing tag or hide-and-go-seek with her. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I just want to see if those blue raspberries are being sold. They were delicious when I had them last year and I believe right now is their harvest.

Her mother looked skeptical. Of course she would be. As much as Keychain would hide it, she knew her mother and knew that any secret she tried to hide would one day be revealed. Her mother trusted her to one day tell her, though. Keychain would never dare to. She loved exploring the Ruins too much to ever have that spoiled from her.

Be safe, her mother said. She wrapped Keychain in a hug. And if you see one of those men at all—

I run into the forest and run as fast as I can, Keychain finished. She knew the sentence all too well. Keychain was a natural runner. She was able to sprint faster than any of her classmates. It was the only thing they ever respected her for. Everything else about her they either feared or were disgusted by. Her hair and eyes were a part of the disgust. What she could was what they feared.

Right, her mother whispered. She pressed a kiss against Keychain’s hair before releasing her. Be careful. Remember everything your father and I taught you.

Keychain smiled. Of course.

And with that said, Keychain turned around and bounded up the stairs. She ran to her room and slid to a stop. Her bedroom floor was only wood that had been sanded and covered in a shiny product. She didn’t know what it was, the product has long been gone from the shelves due to the harmful effects it had to towards nature. The flooring made it easy to slide around. She found it faster that way, even if she did end up with a splinter or two lodged in her foot.

Keychain pulled out a chest from under her bed. It was locked with a key that hung around her neck all the time. She pulled the chain over her head and unlocked it. The chest popped open to reveal a worn out book. Pulling the book from the chest, Keychain hugged it to her chest. It was her most prized possession.

It was also her most secretive possession. The book contained spells and stories from centuries ago. It was a collection from when the sorceresses existed. The pages filled with hand written notes were her sanctuary. She felt safe when she had the book in her hands. It was as if the people, who were undoubtedly long deceased, understood everything she was going through.

Keychain tried to hide her secret. Only her brother really knew who she was and why she was constantly going to the Ruins to explore. Ten years ago, out of fear of being attacked by a wild animal, Keychain summoned fire from her fingertips. It was a shock to her. It was a shock to the animal, for it had ran away after being singed with the flame. However, it was a very dry day. There had been no rain for over a week. The grass and trees were dying of thirst. Her fire started a brush-fire. It would have spread, too, if Keychain hadn’t of also stopped it. The town, in a panic, wanted to know what had happened. Some still believed that Keychain had been playing with matches. Others, with their sneers and glares, knew what Keychain really was, but didn’t dare to utter it, for after that day, Keychain became a favorite to the Elders. No one was able to lay a finger on her.

There were days she wished she was invisible to them.

The Elders revealed secrets one by one to her. Each one she learned became far more horrifying. The latest one predicted her fate, and she wanted to find a way out of the town before she ends up struck dead by the very people who decided to favor her over others.

The town was discovered over three hundred years ago. It was right after the Purge of Magic. People were still terrified that magical people were roaming around. Average people could do magic, but risked the consequences of becoming contaminated with it. The sorcerers and sorceresses were able to avoid that. Their body was able to adapt. Their bodies, after autopsy revealed, showed that as they had their circulatory system of blood vessels and lymph nodes, they had a third part to it all. It was believed that was how they were able to have magic so pure. It was never named, however, since it was believed they were wiped out.

After years of practice, Keychain knew her fate. She would stare at her reflection, see that purple ring around her iris and start to spite herself. It was only recently did she realize that magic was akin to her. If she stayed in the village, the Elders would take it from her, and when they did they would also take her life.

The Elders were the original leaders from the original building of the town. They preserved their life by finding a sorcerer or sorceress to become their newest subject. First they would use them to rebuild the walls around the village, for every fifty years they would become weak to the point of destruction. After that, they would drain the person of their magic. Magic, however, is connected to the person’s life. Ultimately, by giving their life, they are giving the Elders youth forever.

There was always a price, however. Due to the Purge of Magic, there were fewer people who were getting the genetic basis that caused the growth of the magical network. It was believed to be a mutation at first, but Keychain was starting to believe it differently. If it was a mutation, it would have popped up more in the limited population. Keychain didn’t even know how she had gotten it. Maybe it was the cause to why she looked so different from her other family members.

The Elders were going to kill Keychain before she had the chance to live. The book in her arms was the answer to how she could stop that. She hugged it close before her finding her travel bag and slipping it inside. The travel bag had some neat compartments. The bottom of it was stiff, and had a false bottom for her to slip the book into. She then shrugged it on to her shoulders.

Before her mother could even blink, Keychain had bounded down the stairs and out the door. Her footing was balanced as she ran down the path. It stayed that way as she cut through the trees. Keychain liked to avoid the village as much as possible. She never liked the stares. She didn’t like how any of them treated her. It also helped her avoid the Elders. The only reason why her family was away from the town was because they originally raised livestock for the village to eat. Now her family only sold chickens, but they stayed up near the hill. The chickens liked it better. Keychain liked it better that way.

More than once did Keychain catch herself before a root tripped her. Keychain felt like the trees were coming to life every day. She took a similar path, but it seemed like as more roots were beginning to grow above ground, winding and creating loops that Keychain jumped over.

Even if she believed that the trees had a chance of uprooting themselves, she didn’t ever believe that they would make crunching noises on their own needles. Keychain froze where she stood and listened. Her ears rang from the silence. Thinking that she might have heard it, she took a step forward carefully. And then she heard another crunch, followed by a snap.

Heart racing, Keychain sprinted to the nearest open path that she could think of. Even if she didn’t like the thought of the stares from the townspeople, she would at least still be alive. Without looking back, Keychain continued to run.

She ran downhill and into the village. The market was bustling. People were packed together. Soon, Keychain found it hard to squeeze through the crowd. She ended up slowing down. She twisted her spine in different directions as she moved around people. She was a very short individual. Even as she tried to move around with ease, she found herself going backwards, being shoved left and then being shoved right. The market was never her favorite place to be.

Finding herself winded by the time she got out of the crowd, Keychain