Page 67 of Forgotten Promise

So these were the keyholders. Kailani Iona, Preston Kim, and Selene Tanaka.

The three keyholders fell in step together and walked toward her.

Lachlan raised a hand to his ear, murmuring something to Levi and Tate, the other Warrior Scholars who were here to provide added security.

There was movement above and to the right, and Rose looked up in time to see Tate appear on a balcony high above them. He looked casual in his aloha shirt, but he wasn’t gazing in awe at the sunset. He was watching the grounds. Rose wondered if he had a gun.

Lachlan must have had Makani Iona on the comm channel too because he appeared near the entrance to the hotel’s famous outdoor bar. He was smiling politely and had a hotel name tag pinned to his mandarin-collar shirt.

Kailani eyed her suspiciously when she got close. Good.

“You don’t know me,” Rose said in place of a greeting. “But we don’t have time to play secret handshake and obscure questions.”

Kailani’s mouth tightened. “No, we don’t.”

“I’m one of the Grand Master’s counselors. I’m here to help and advise whichever one of you is about to become ringmaster of this nightmare circus.”

Selene Tanaka snickered, but Preston nodded solemnly while Kailani just looked grim and anxious.

“I’m Lachlan Howard. A few friends and I, who are here, serve as the Grand Master’s on-call bodyguards, security force—”

“And fixers,” Rose cut in.

Lachlan raised one big shoulder. “We’re here to provide security.”

“My brother Makani is in charge of security,” Kailani said.

“We’ve spoken with him, but he has to look out for the hotel and your guests too.” Lachlan nodded, and Kailani looked over to where her brother stood.

“Okay.” Kailani looked at Rose, then Lachlan. “Thank you for being here…but you can’t be a part of what comes next. That’s only for the keyholders.”

Rose nodded. “Of course.”

Kailani glanced at Selene and Preston. Then Rose watched, an odd but familiar combination of dread and calm filling her, as the keyholders walked away.

* * *

Preston gingerly leaned back to give Kailani room to work. He’d helped her roll a heavy metal shelving unit away from the wall in the small office. He was conscious of not wanting to knock the shelves and send plates and pitchers and other restaurant necessities tumbling.

Kailani finished opening the door to the large wall safe that had been half blocked when they first walked in.

He hadn’t expected that the wall safe was the waihona. That was far too simple and straightforward for the Trinity Masters.

The door swung open and he wasn’t disappointed.

The safe was actually a doorway, and when Kailani stepped through into the small space on the other side, lights clicked on, illuminating a spiral staircase.

“Okay, that’s cool.” Selene peered through the door, craning her neck to look up.

“Follow me up,” Kailani said.

Preston eyed the wall-safe door. “What if this door closes behind us?”

“Don’t worry, there’s a handle on the inside.”

Preston was cautious enough that he checked, grabbing the lever mounted to the inner surface of the door and turning it, watching the bolts retract. By that point, Selene was halfway up the stairs, only her legs visible, so Preston followed her.

The spiral staircase ended in a small landing. Not enough room for the three of them so he stayed several steps down. The door was dark wood, like the walls, and though there was some light in the stairwell, their bodies blocked most of it, making the door a shadowy, dark thing.

---