The Silver Key at Twilight is Chapter 1 of The Enchanted Porch Chronicles.
The Silver Key at Twilight…Clara Mae Moonwood knew something unusual was about to happen when the porch lantern turned violet.
The Silver Key at Twilight begins on an unusually still evening at Moonwood House. Before the night ends, Clara Mae, Juni and Sebastian will discover that their three secrets are connected.
The evening air was still. Not a single leaf moved in the garden, yet the wooden rocking chair beside her began swaying gently.
Clara Mae placed her teacup on its saucer and watched the empty garden path.
“Juni,” she called through the screen door. “You may want to come outside.”
Juniper Larkwhisper appeared with her traveling bag over one shoulder and a slice of cake in her hand.
“Did you call me because something magical is happening,” she asked, “or because you finally decided I may have another piece?”
“The cake can wait.”
Juni looked toward the lantern. Its usual golden flame had developed a violet edge.
Her wings immediately lost some of their glow.
“That is not a friendly color, is it?”
“It is a warning,” Clara Mae replied. “But I do not yet know for whom.”
The First Choice in The Silver Key at Twilight
A small parcel rested on the porch steps.
Neither woman had seen anyone deliver it.
The package was wrapped in faded paper and tied with a thin silver cord. No name appeared on the outside.
Juni leaned closer. “It smells like rain, old trees and trouble.”
“Trouble has a smell?”
“Most kinds do.”
Clara Mae carefully untied the cord. Inside the package, they found an old silver key, a folded map, and a message written in shimmering violet ink.
At that moment, Clara Mae understood that The Silver Key at Twilight was more than an unexpected delivery. It was an invitation the Crossroads Porch had already accepted
When the third traveler arrives, the first doorway will open.
The map showed Moonwood House at its center. Three paths extended from the porch, but only one was marked with a destination.
Evermere.
Juni dropped her cake.
That key belongs to Sebastian Ashenwyck.
“You know him?”
“I know what the Evermere Council says about him. He tried to steal the Heart Tree’s magic.”
Clara Mae studied the silver key. It was cold, even in the warm evening air.
“Councils do not always tell the complete story.”
Before Juni could answer, footsteps sounded beyond the garden gate.
A tall man emerged from the shadows.
The Third Traveler Arrives
Sebastian Ashenwyck wore a dark Victorian coat and carried a battered leather satchel. A pocket watch hung from his waistcoat, and an identical silver key rested near his heart.
His eyes moved from Clara Mae to Juni and finally to the key on the tea table.
For the first time, his calm expression disappeared.
“Where did you get that?”
“It arrived a few moments before you did,” Clara Mae said. “You appear to be expected.”
“I assure you, I was not invited.”
The key on the table began to glow.
Behind Sebastian, a narrow doorway formed between two trees. Violet light moved across its surface like ripples on dark water.
Juni stepped backward.
“You opened it.”
“No,” Sebastian replied. “Someone used the second key.”
Clara Mae looked at the matching key hanging from his waistcoat. “How many silver keys exist?”
“There should only be one.”
The doorway widened.
A dark figure stood on the other side, holding a silver key of his own.
Close the Porch
“Clara Mae,” Sebastian said quietly, “close the porch.”
“I cannot.”
“You are the keeper.”
“Yes, which means I follow its rules. The doorway opened for someone with a genuine need.”
Sebastian reached for his key.
Juni caught his wrist. “If you turn that key, what will happen?”
“I may be able to close the doorway.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Sebastian looked away.
Clara Mae noticed the small journals inside his open satchel. Each was labeled with a date and a place.
“The key takes memories,” she said.
Juni released his wrist. “How many?”
“One each time, usually.”
“Usually?”
“This doorway is stronger than the ones I have opened before.”
The figure stepped closer. A gloved hand emerged through the violet light.
Clara Mae’s moonstone brooch began to burn against her skin.
“Neither of you will use magic until we understand who is coming through,” she said.
Sebastian stared at her. “You cannot welcome every creature that knocks at your door.”
“No,” Clara Mae answered, rising from her rocking chair. “But I can ask its name before deciding it is my enemy.”
The Stranger Beyond the Doorway
Clara Mae approached the doorway.
The figure on the other side appeared to be a woman wearing a silver-gray cloak. Her face remained hidden beneath its hood.
She held out the second key.
“Clara Moonwood,” the stranger whispered.
Clara Mae stopped.
Very few people called her Clara. Her grandmother had been one of them.
“Who are you?”
The stranger lifted her head. Clara Mae could not see her face clearly, but she recognized the moonstone fastened at the woman’s throat.
It matched her own.
The stranger pressed the silver key into Clara Mae’s hand.
“Your grandmother is alive.”
The doorway trembled.
Sebastian stepped forward. “Where is Beatrice Moonwood?”
The stranger turned toward him.
“You already know.”
Sebastian’s face went pale.
The violet light collapsed before anyone could ask another question. The garden became still, and the doorway disappeared.
Only the second silver key remained in Clara Mae’s hand.
A Memory Hidden in the Key
Juni hurried to Clara Mae’s side.
“Was that woman from Evermere?”
“I do not know.”
Sebastian stared at the place where the doorway had been.
Clara Mae held the new key toward him. “You recognized her voice.”
“No.”
The moonstone brooch glowed more brightly.
Clara Mae raised one eyebrow.
Sebastian sighed. “I recognized the way she spoke my name.”
“Who was she?”
“I cannot remember.”
Juni folded her arms. “That answer is becoming very convenient.”
Sebastian removed one of the journals from his satchel and searched through its pages. Near the back, he found an entry written in violet ink.
He read it twice before handing the journal to Clara Mae.
If a second silver key reaches Moonwood House, Beatrice has found the way back. Do not allow Clara to follow her until the three lights are reunited.
Beneath the message was a drawing of three objects:
A moonstone brooch.
A golden fairy crystal.
A silver key.
Clara Mae looked at Juni’s pendant and then at the key hanging near Sebastian’s heart.
“The three lights have already found one another,” she said.
Sebastian shook his head. “The silver key is not a light.”
As if answering him, both keys began glowing.
The mystery of The Silver Key at Twilight had brought three powerful objects together at Moonwood House. Clara Mae’s moonstone, Juni’s golden crystal, and Sebastian’s silver key were now glowing in answer to one another.
The Silver Key at Twilight Appears
The First Choice in The Silver Key at Twilight
A new line of violet writing appeared beneath the drawing:
Before the next twilight, choose the first doorway. Evermere or the Forgotten House. One may be saved. The other will be lost.
Juni grabbed the journal.
“Evermere is dying. We have to go there.”
“My grandmother may be inside the Forgotten House,” Clara Mae said.
Sebastian closed the journal.
“This is not a choice. It is a trap designed to divide us.”
“Then what do you suggest?” Juni asked.
“We find a third path.”
Clara Mae returned to her rocking chair. She poured three cups of tea while Juni and Sebastian watched in disbelief.
“You are serving tea now?” Juni asked.
“Important decisions should not be made while frightened, angry or hungry.”
Sebastian accepted a cup.
Juni retrieved her abandoned cake from the porch floor, examined it and placed it on the table.
“I suppose that means we are staying together.”
“For tonight,” Sebastian said.
Clara Mae looked toward the trees where the doorway had appeared.
The porch lantern returned to gold, but the moonstone at her throat continued to glow.
Somewhere beyond the Crossroads Porch, Beatrice Moonwood was waiting.
Before the next twilight, Clara Mae, Juni and Sebastian would have to choose which doorway to open.
None of them yet understood that someone else had already made the choice for them.
The mystery that began with The Silver Key at Twilight will continue in Chapter 2 of The Enchanted Porch Chronicles.
The Silver Key at Twilight was written by Karen Weatherford as part of the PBSV Performance Blogging Story Universe™.
Do You Enjoy a Real-Life Mystery?
Readers who enjoyed The Silver Key at Twilight can explore Fun Saver Mystery Boxes and discover how a little real-world mystery can add fun to an ordinary day.
Clara Mae’s mysterious package contained a silver key and an invitation to an unexpected adventure. Real-life surprises may not open doorways between worlds, but they can still add a little fun to an ordinary day.
From the front porch: When every choice appears impossible, take time to look for the path no one else can see.
