The Lost Key: A YA Science Fantasy Novella by Marie-Hélène Lebeault

Author:Marie-Hélène Lebeault [Lebeault, Marie-Hélène]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beaches and Trails Publishing
Published: 2024-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter

Six

The sun climbed higher in the sky as Lola and Jackson made their way across the grounds to a small stone cottage nestled near the edge of the property. Inside, they found Jack Dixon, Jackson’s grandfather, hunched over a collection of tools, his hands working deftly as he fixed a sewing machine.

Jack looked up, his eyes meeting Jackson’s with a knowing glint, as if he saw something familiar in the young man’s face. Wiping his hands on a cloth, he stood and offered a nod. “Well, don’t just stand there,” he said, a faint smile breaking the lines of his face. “Come in.”

They settled into two old wooden chairs across from him, and Jackson tried to steady his nerves. “Mr. Dixon⁠—”

“Call me Jack,” he interrupted with a wave. “Now, what brings you here?”

Jackson glanced at Lola, who gave him a small, encouraging nod. “We… we’re here to understand more about the Dixon family history and its connection to the Evers family,” he began. “I’ve heard there may be more to it than just the caretaking role the Dixons have filled over the years.”

Jack’s face grew thoughtful, his gaze distant as he recalled old stories. “Who told you that?” he asked, pouring each of them a glass of sweet tea.

“Morris Evers,” Lola answered smoothly. “He’s my uncle. It’s for a school project—family ancestry and such.”

Jack mulled this over, apparently satisfied with the explanation. “Well, Morris is right,” he said, his voice measured. “The connection goes back to when my grandfather, Jacob Dixon, worked here. His youngest son, Benjamin, grew up alongside the Evers children and fell in love with Cordelia Evers, the youngest sibling.”

Lola’s eyes lit up, sensing they were on the trail of answers. “Cordelia Evers… she wasn’t a Custodian, was she?”

“No,” Jack replied, his gaze sharpening. “She wasn’t the Custodian, so her parents didn’t oppose the match. When she died in childbirth, her Key should’ve returned to the Evers family Repository. But somehow, my father held onto it. Likely, the Evers didn’t object because no one else could have used it. When he turned thirteen and it still didn’t work for him, he put it away in a box of souvenirs. When he died, the box came to me, and I never fussed with the Key.”

Jackson absorbed this, a mix of awe and quiet intensity in his expression. He pulled the Key from his pocket. “Is this the Key?”

Jack peered at it and nodded. “Sure looks like it. How did you get it?”

Lola and Jackson exchanged a glance, stalling for time. Jack held up his hands. “I don’t need to know. But I’ll tell you this—my father always said the Key would work if a Dixon married an Evers. There was talk of having my boy, Gerald, marry Morris’s daughter Phyllis when they were older. I wasn’t so sure about it. It hadn’t been long enough since Cordelia, and… well, I worried about inbreeding.”

Jackson and Lola exchanged a look, the pieces falling into place. “So,” Lola said, her voice

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