The Second Bell Tower. This hidden city sprawled below Delilah and the others as they came in for a landing. It was much like the city of the First Bell Tower, with the tallest building and primary landmark being the Bell Tower itself at the center of the city. But where the First Bell Tower sat beneath a bright, clear, white sky, the Second Bell Tower was bathed in a sky reminiscent of twilight. Beautiful deep blues and purples and a dark, calm sea gave the city an atmosphere of mystery and sleepy calmness.
They once again landed outside town on a high hill, and walked together into the city.
It was when Delilah entered the city properly that she realized this place wasn’t at all like the First Bell Tower.
The streets were nearly empty. She saw someone up ahead, a man in a dark suit, and when he saw her group approaching, he turned the other way and ducked inside a house, closing the door behind him.
“Giving us the cold shoulder, huh?” Alice asked. She walked with hands shoved in her pockets, black eyes observing everything.
“It’s fear,” Marcus said.
“They’re afraid of us?” Delilah asked.
“Afraid of all outsiders, most likely,” Marcus said. “Unlike the First Bell Tower, this and the Third are carefully hidden, places that rarely see visitors.”
“And after what we heard from Alexander about the misuse of the Key…” Maribelle said.
“They’re scared of anyone doing the same thing again,” Isabelle said. She sat atop Maribelle’s shoulders, sighing sadly as she reached over shoulder with one hand to pat Teddy’s head poking out of her backpack.
So their walk to the Bell Tower itself was much less pleasant than the one to the First Bell Tower, but it also went quite quickly, since there were no crowds to weave through. The silent walk also gave Delilah time to think.
Both cities are so clean, so peaceful. You can barely tell anything bad has happened here. But perhaps the hurt runs deeper than what can be seen. The only physical blemish at the First Bell Tower was a crack in the Bell.
And this and the Third Bell Tower are hidden away, impossible to find unless you’ve rung the First Bell and spoken with the First Bellkeeper. They wouldn’t see visitors very often, and the last time the First Bell was rung…
Yes. That must be it.
There were no visible scars, but there didn’t need to be. The invisible hurts often cut the deepest and lingered the longest.
They reached the Tower, its white stone bathed in purples and blues by the majestic sky. The gates stood closed, and inside no one could be seen. But there was a small bell by the gates, so Delilah rang it lightly.
A light turned on inside, its warm orange glow silhouetting the tall, slender individual who approached the gate. He walked with the slightest hint of a limp, but otherwise had a proper, elegant bearing with perfect, upright posture. His rectangular glasses were the first detail visible, glinting in the outside light, and he stopped not quite close enough for Delilah to see his face.
“What brings you here?” the man inside asked. His beautiful, silky baritone voice struck Delilah into silence. With his voice alone the man was both intimidating and captivating, and she fumbled for words. It was a light elbow jab from Alice that helped her gather herself, and she pulled forth the Key around her neck, holding it out.
“We’ve rung the First Bell,” she said, “and met with Alexander. He sent us here.”
“The Keybearer, hmm?” the man asked. “Do you have any proof you are Delilah Iris Greyson?”
Delilah fished into her bag, pulled out her wallet, and showed her photo ID. “I’ve cut my hair since the picture was taken,” she said.
“So I see,” the man inside said. “Why did you ring the First Bell?”
“The Endless Night is coming,” Delilah said. “We believe the Key of the World’s power is the only thing that can stop it.”
Another “hmm” from the man inside. He stood silent for a long time, and Delilah struggled not to say anything. She felt any disturbance of the man’s process would hurt their chances of being admitted into the Tower.
“All but one of you are Paladins,” the man finally said. “And the little one is a Sub-Paladin.” They weren’t questions, but Marcus and Maribelle nodded in reply. “A Council of Light was called. If this is the only way to stop the Endless Night, why is the Prime Paladin not here herself?”
“You very likely know why,” Marcus said. “She fears what the Key can be used for.”
“For she has seen its abuse with her own eyes,” the man inside said, a coldness seeping into his tone. “And while she believes there is another road to victory, you come here. In flagrant rebellion, no doubt.”
“All we wish is to stop the Endless Night,” Delilah said.
“All?” the man asked.
“All we wish from the Key,” Delilah said. She held it tight, close to her chest. “I’ve seen its power misused, too. It was used to trap Solla, to turn Lunos into the Doomed Beast. I never want to see such things again.”
“You have seen but a shadowed echo of its power’s abuse,” the man inside said. “You are but a Human, and a mere child at that. What do you know of the evils power can wreak?”
“Sure, play the age card without knowing anything about us,” Alice said, folding her arms. “We’re not Paladins for nothing, you know? And we’ve risked our lives against the Sons of Night.”
“Pride is a vicious sickness,” the man inside said.
“As is regret,” Marcus said, a gentle hand on Alice’s shoulder stopping her retort. “Alexander was not alive when the Bells were last rung and the Key abused. But you were.”
“You know something of regret?” the man asked. He tilted his head slightly, the gleam on his glasses shifting from purple to blue.
“I do,” Marcus said. “And of power abused. Of power itself, and the vicious lust for it. I once failed to turn my dearest friend away from such a path. It cost me nearly everything.”
“Nearly,” the man inside said. He nodded once, a small gesture. “Yes. And yet there was a time you wished it had cost everything.”
Delilah stared in shock at Marcus. But Marcus didn’t waver, nodding back to the man. “Indeed,” he said.
“But that time has passed for you,” the man said. Another nod from Marcus. “And why is that?”
“I found hope,” Marcus said with a gentle smile.
“You are the one who found the Key she wears,” the man said. “And you gave it to her, rather than carrying it yourself.”
“Perhaps you cannot see in her what I saw,” Marcus said. “What I see every day. But you need not trust me. Trust the Key. For it did not trust those who came before, correct?”
“It is true,” the man inside said. “Those vicious usurpers of the Key’s power twisted it for their own ends. Thieves and murderers. Yet you stole the Key to protect it, and willingly gave it up to another. And it entrusted itself to this child.” The man bowed his head, silent for several long moments. Suddenly, he stepped aside, starting up the stairs within as the gate slowly opened. “I will trust you.”
Delilah followed, and the others with her. The interior of the Tower was much the same as the First, with long, spiraling stairs leading up to the open chamber of the Bell. All the way up, Delilah walked close behind the man, who she presumed was the Second Bellkeeper. He walked quickly, despite his slight limp, with a long stride that skipped several stairs with every step.
Delilah had only seen the gleam on his glasses. She still hadn’t seen his face. And he didn’t seem keen on allowing it. The stairs were dark, and the high chamber where the Bell resided was dark, too. That wasn’t such a bad thing here, Delilah thought — the darkness wasn’t a wicked thing here, but a natural dimness of twilight, spreading a sense of sleepy quietude.
The Bellkeeper stood to the side, by the rope for the Second Bell, his face still shadowed. “If you listen closely,” he said, “you can still hear the faint echoes of the tolling of the First Bell. It will continue to ring out, awaiting the tolling of the Second, and those together await the tolling of the Third. Once this Bell is tolled, I will give you instructions on reaching the Third Bell Tower. The Third Bellkeeper will explain things further.”
“Wait, that’s it?” Alice asked.
“Alexander likely told you much,” the Bellkeeper said. “The Third will tell all you still need know. My work is best done by seeing you swiftly to her.”
“Thank you,” Delilah said quickly, as the Bellkeeper placed his hands on the Bell’s rope. “I know… that this is a lot of power to be entrusted with. But I swear I won’t abuse it. And I won’t allow it to fall into the wrong hands. I won’t let the horrors of the past repeat themselves.”
The Bellkeeper tilted his head slightly to the side, and the gleam on his glasses slid aside, so that Delilah could see his eyes for the first time. They were dark, intense, but also…
Haunted.
“The Key has entrusted itself to you,” the Bellkeeper said. “I will trust in its judgment.” He turned away, and pulled the Bell’s rope. There was something in his posture, in the way he moved, that showed each pull was careful, reverent, filled with a lifetime of respect and love for this seemingly simple job.
The Second Bell tolled once, twice, three times. Each peal was different, and each was full of more than just sound. They were clearly a response, a response to the two peals of the First Bell, the sounds of which still echoed in Delilah’s heart. But they were also a cry of their own, reaching far across time and space, requesting an answer.
“Come,” the Bellkeeper said when he’d finished, striding past them to the stairs and starting down. He moved so quickly, yet without seeming to, that Delilah had to hurry to follow. “A simple map, as Alexander provided for you. It will get you to the Third Bell Tower, and to the end of your journey’s prelude.”
“Prelude?” Isabelle asked. “So this really is just the start?”
“The Bells are the first, and greatest, safeguard over the Key of the World’s power,” the Bellkeeper said. “They are not the last.”
At the desk in the Tower’s lobby, the Bellkeeper handed over a map similar to what Alexander had given them at the First Bell Tower. Then he turned away, opened a door, and stepped through it, closing it behind him.
He didn’t return.
“So that’s it?” Alice asked. She walked beside Delilah through the streets of the Second Bell Tower, hands folded behind her head. “He sure wasn’t friendly.”
“You’re not very friendly either, to say something like that about him,” Isabelle said with a frown.
“What’re you picking on me for?” Alice asked.
“He was obviously hurting,” Isabelle said. “You can’t expect everyone to act the way you want them to.”
Alice, to her credit, was silent for several blocks. “Huh,” she finally said. She unfolded her hands, tucking them in her pockets.
“It’s all right,” Delilah said with a smile. “He gave us everything we needed.” She looked up at Marcus. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything of note,” Marcus said. He had a faraway look in his eyes. “I merely… saw a kindred spirit. Who I once was. Or perhaps… who I could have become.”
Together, they climbed aboard Solla, who rejoiced at their return. Delilah sat, both hands splayed out against the warm, smooth skin of Solla’s back, and laughed at the song she heard and felt. Such a joyful, wonderful song.
“Everyone ready?” she asked. Everyone was, so Solla took off, soaring into the sky. As she did, Delilah gazed back, down at the city of the Second Bell Tower. One thought struck her as she left it behind.
I never did get to see his face.