“I’m sorry,” I said sympathetically. I remembered her mother. She and my mother were friends, which was part of the reason Amber and I spent so much time together when we were little. I leaned in close to her, putting my hand on hers, trying to comfort her.
“Thanks,” She replied. “My father came just in time to save me, but he couldn’t save my mom. She had been killed protecting me. Dad used some of the magic from the book to give us enough time to run for a door. He got injured in our escape, but just as he came barreling through the door and into the dark cabin of our summer home, a flying dagger hit him. We had escaped for the time being. It was at the cabin where he told me about the key and the book. He told me the only way to stop the Dark Men from taking the key’s power was to destroy the key. While my father was explaining the key and Dark Men, they caught up to us. Dad led the Dark Men away so I could escape.”
A silent tear rolled down her cheek, but she continued, “That’s was my first trip with the key, too.” She whipped a few tears from her face with the napkin. “I’m going to destroy the key. The Dark Men can’t have it,” she said with bitter resolve.
I nodded solemnly. I thought about what Amber had lost because of the stupid key; her freedom, her safety, and even more importantly, her family. I didn’t ask her any more questions that night. I got the feeling she hadn’t had much time to actually mourn the loss of her mother and father. She was still dealing with their loss while on the run. She silently lay down beside me, turned over, and cried herself to sleep. I gently lay her down, using my jacket as a pillow and I lay down beside her. Eventually I fell asleep beside her.