Fablehaven the complete.., p.179
Fablehaven: The Complete Series, page 179
Raxtus flew them up to the keep. The heavy doors had been blasted to splinters.
“There was magic at work here,” Bracken said.
Kendra instantly pictured Mirav.
“You can wait out here with Raxtus,” Bracken offered.
“I’ll come with you,” Kendra said.
The cavernous hall was built around a long hearth where embers still smoldered. Huge trophy heads of exotic magical creatures stared down from the walls—triclopses, wyverns, trolls, and strange horned beasts. Kendra regretted joining Bracken the moment she entered the room. She had never imagined such carnage.
A score of armored men lay butchered among a host of fallen foes. Kendra saw dead minotaurs and cyclopses, as well as a grisly variety of goblins and hobgoblins. Arrows or spears protruded from many of the bodies. Some limbs were missing.
Seated in a throne on a raised dais at the far side of the room, a carbonized cadaver presided over the massacre. A slain tiger lay beside the throne, fur matted with gore. Kendra tried to pretend she was looking at a phony scene on a gruesome carnival ride, but the smell kept persuading her otherwise.
“Quite a fight,” Bracken murmured.
“Yes, it was,” answered a masculine voice.
Kendra jumped. For a moment, she had a horrible certainty that the charred corpse on the throne had spoken. But then the tiger arose.
Bracken drew his sword and strode forward. “Who are you?”
“Peace, unicorn,” the tiger said in a slow, tired voice. “I assume you are no friend of the raiders.”
Bracken kept his sword out. “We came to warn Roon.”
The tiger sighed. “Would that you had arrived last night.”
“They attacked at dawn?”
“Two hours before sunrise.”
“Who?”
“A wizard. Several skilled warriors. Some lycanthropes. And the rabble you see strewn around the room. Minus the wizard and a couple of the more skilled warriors, we would have won the day. Roon always loved a brawl.”
Bracken stepped closer. “Who are you?”
“I am Roon’s guardian. He called me Niko.”
“May I approach you?”
“You wish to verify my identity? Considering the circumstances, I will take no offense.”
Bracken crossed to the tiger. Despite the deep, rational voice, it was still a tiger, and Kendra reflexively clenched with fear as Bracken knelt and placed his hands on the large paws.
After staring the tiger in the eye, Bracken backed away. “You’re a shape-shifter.”
“Correct,” Niko said. “Which is how I survived. I had retained this form throughout the skirmish. Once Roon fell, I pretended to succumb to my injuries.”
“Healing yourself internally while leaving some external damage,” Bracken said.
“You have the idea.”
“Tell me about the battle,” Bracken invited.
“First tell me more about your purpose here.”
“A demon called Graulas has taken control of the Society of the Evening Star,” Bracken said.
“I remember Graulas. Shouldn’t he be dead?”
“It’s a long story. The short version is that he’s healed. The Society now possesses all five artifacts. They’re using the Oculus to track down the Eternals.”
Niko arose, shaking his fur as if shedding water. His wounds disappeared. “I have been waiting here to see who might come. I honestly did not expect allies.”
“You wanted a bite of whoever planned this,” Bracken said.
“Something like that. You desire knowledge of the battle?”
“Please.”
The tiger stretched, claws extending. “As a glance at the walls will reveal, Roon son of Osric was a master hunter—a giant of a man, with a magnificent beard and a taste for mead. For centuries, this stronghold has served as his private hunting ground. He maintained two other secret hunting arenas not far from here. On all of his properties, he bred extremely dangerous game. The men who served him came here as apprentice huntsmen. To serve Roon meant to renounce the outside world. He never shared his secret, but they knew he had an unusual arrangement with Death. He drew the best to him. One to three perished every year on the hunts, but still they came.
“Blindsided, outnumbered, his men stood with him in the end. Old and young fought fiercely and died bravely. We all tried to save him. Roon felled more foes than any of us, first with bow, then with spear, then with mace, then with sword. His silver knife slew the pair of lycanthropes on the steps of his dais. But magic made the fight unfair. In the end, the woman whose arrows were fletched with phoenix feathers found her mark. In crimson flames Roon fought on, until alone, finally beaten, he staggered to his throne to die.”
Kendra had never pictured a tiger shedding tears.
“Tragic,” Bracken said solemnly.
“Hunting alongside Roon was the joy of my existence,” Niko said. “In the end, I failed him. There were too many foes, several of them powerful. This is a dark hour. Putting my personal bereavement aside, the loss of another Eternal is the real tragedy today.”
“Two left?” Bracken asked.
“Two left.”
“You don’t happen to know where we might find them?”
“To what end?”
“They must be warned,” Bracken said. “They still imagine concealment to be a protection. Instead, I will encourage them to travel to Wyrmroost, where Agad now resides. Walls that strong might protect them.”
The tiger began to pace. “Perhaps fortune smiles amid calamity. I am the single being in the world who might be able to help you. You see, I am the chief guardian of the Eternals, appointed by Agad eons ago. As such, I can sense the positions of the other guardians. Our lives are bound to those we have sworn to protect. When they die, we die. Except for me. I live on as long as any of the Eternals remain.”
“Can you be killed?” Kendra asked, speaking up for the first time.
“I can,” Niko replied, “although none of my opponents have proven clever enough to succeed yet.” The tiger regarded Bracken coolly. “Tell me about your fairy princess.”
“Her name is Kendra,” Bracken said. “She’s fairykind, and here to help.”
“I can see. Does she know who you are?”
“She knows enough.”
“And the dragon who was nosing around earlier?”
“Our ride.”
“I’ve never seen a dragon like him.”
“He’s one of a kind.”
The tiger growled. “Our enemies have struck a crippling blow. Roon was the mightiest of the Eternals. We must hurry before our cause is lost.”
“Tell me about the other Eternals.”
“I know of them,” Niko said. “I lack specifics. The wizards kept the details secret. But I can sense the location of their guardians. One of them was in South America for years, until recently fleeing to North America. That one is now in Texas, near Dallas. The other is an inveterate wanderer. That guardian has been around the globe dozens of times, but is currently in the Los Angeles area.”
“Both in the United States,” Bracken said. “That could be fortunate. They could be much farther from Wyrmroost.”
“But not much farther from here,” Niko said dryly.
“Can you assume human form?” Bracken asked.
“I lack that ability,” Niko said. “No humanoids. Closest I can get is an ape. But I can do a variety of animals approximately my size. I can fly. I can swim.”
“We don’t have paperwork to travel,” Bracken said. “We may have to cross the Atlantic using old-fashioned means.”
“How long will it take our adversaries to find the others with the Oculus?” Niko asked.
“I don’t know. We have an inside man at the Society, but he has been out of touch. Our problem is that Graulas may place the Oculus into the hands of Nagi Luna.”
The tiger roared. The outburst made Kendra jump, awakening a primal fear. She felt like her heart must have paused. Raxtus poked his head in. “Everything okay?”
“It will not take Nagi Luna long,” Niko snarled. “We must depart at once.”
“Who’s the tiger?” Raxtus asked.
“He helps guard the Eternals,” Kendra explained.
“Can you fly us across the Atlantic?” Bracken asked Raxtus.
“Like to America? Sure. We’ll want to follow shipping lanes so we can rest as needed.”
“How quickly?”
“What’s the destination?”
“Texas or California.”
“Carrying you two, if we go hard, maybe three days.”
Bracken turned to Niko. “Could you keep up?”
“No. But I’ll follow as fast as I can.”
“We’ll want to keep in touch. I’ll leave you with a communication node.”
“Very well.”
“Roon must have an impressive armory,” Bracken said. “Mind if we comb through it to better equip ourselves? We recently escaped from a dungeon.”
“Help yourself,” Niko said. “I’ll show you the way. Have you a name, dragon?”
“Raxtus.”
“Dragon fire would be a suitable way to consume these fallen warriors.”
“I’d be honored, but I have no fire,” Raxtus said awkwardly. “I’m something of a disaster as a dragon. My breath makes plants grow.”
“I see,” the tiger said. Transforming into a hulking gorilla, Niko walked over to the throne and retrieved an iron key ring. “Follow me.”
The gorilla led them out of a door in the rear corner of the hall, then underground by way of a winding stairwell. In the gloomy hall at the bottom, the gorilla used a key to open an iron door, then changed back into a tiger. Bracken conjured up a light.
Beyond the door they found a room stocked with weapons and armor. Kendra gawked at the racks of halberds, spears, javelins, tridents, axes, cudgels, maces, mauls, and an endless supply of arrows and quarrels. The armor ranged from heavy plate mail that would transform the wearer into a human tank to light leather pieces that would hardly hinder movement. Shields of countless shapes and sizes hung on two walls.
“Who is in here?” the tiger snarled. “I could smell you from the corridor. Come out at once!”
A pile of shields in a far corner of the room shifted and clattered as a shamefaced man stood up. He wore black leather armor studded with iron. His thick black hair fell in a braid to his waist. A long mustache drooped around his mouth.
“Jonas,” Niko accused sharply. “How could you?”
“I fear no beast,” he said, rough voice quavering, his English heavily accented, “but sorcery dissolves my courage.”
“You were his sworn man!” Niko bellowed.
Jonas hung his head. “I am an oathbreaker.”
“You are an undertaker,” Niko said. “I task you with disposal of the remains of the fallen, friend and foe. The cairn for Roon had best be a monument to outlast the ages. After that, go where you will, but take nothing with you. May you never forget the shame of this day. Pray we never meet again.”
“As you say.” The man bowed stiffly and exited the armory, avoiding any eye contact.
“I suppose there had to be one coward in the bunch,” Niko grumbled. “Jonas was never the most eager man on a hunt. He tended to hang back when things got dicey. He should at least have enough sense to erect a proper cairn.”
“Are any of the arms off-limits?” Bracken asked.
“Take what you need and more,” Niko offered. “I can envision no more fitting use for these armaments than to wreak vengeance upon our destroyers.”
Bracken turned to Kendra. “Let’s get you fitted into leather armor. We have work to do.”
Chapter 21
The Singing Sisters
Before embarking on this trip, Seth had forgotten how fast Vanessa drove. Now she was zooming along Missouri back roads near the Mississippi River. As they careened around corners, he swayed back and forth, held in place only by his seat belt. Several times he had felt certain that the enormous pickup would flip over, but the tires had remained flat on the road, seldom even squealing.
After leaving Fablehaven in an SUV with the satyrs in the back and Hugo sprawled on the roof, Vanessa had driven nearly an hour to reach an old contact who dealt in high-end automobiles. A few minutes on a computer informed Vanessa that four of her seven false identities had been compromised, but she assured Seth that the remaining three personas had valid passports and licenses, as well as access to millions of dollars.
Transferring the funds electronically, Vanessa had purchased a powerful black pickup with an extended cab and burly tires. Seth had felt like he needed a stepladder to climb into the passenger seat. The satyrs enjoyed plenty of room in the backseat, and the presence of Hugo in the bed did not seem to strain the formidable engine. At first Seth had felt exposed with the golem in the back, until Vanessa reminded him that to most people, Hugo looked like a pile of dirt.
So far, they had slept only in the truck. Seth and the satyrs dozed whenever they wanted. Vanessa caught a few hours here and there when they stopped for fuel or meals.
Finally slowing her aggressive pace, Vanessa pulled off to the side of the road. They had come south from St. Louis on I-55 for some distance before leaving the highway. Now she consulted her GPS, the letter from Patton, and a detailed map of the area.
The letter from Patton had plenty of details about finding the Singing Sisters, but lacked much information about what to do once they got there. After the many specifics Patton had shared about handling Cormac, Seth felt disappointed to have considerably less advice for the bigger challenge. All he knew for sure was that he needed to strike a bargain with the Sisters or they would take his life.
“Want me to drive?” Newel offered. “Then you can concentrate on navigating.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Vanessa replied calmly.
“I can’t be a crazier driver than you,” Newel pouted.
“It’s more complicated than it looks,” she replied. “I think we’re almost there.” Shifting the truck into drive, she set the map aside, accelerated, and turned onto a rutted dirt road.
“Can we get more fast food?” Doren asked.
“After,” she answered tersely.
“I want burritos,” Newel said.
“No way,” Doren disagreed. “Cheeseburgers and curly fries.”
“Toasted ravioli,” Newel countered.
“Those were interesting,” Doren conceded.
Thanks to Vanessa’s illegal speeding and indefatigable driving, they had only been on the road two days since leaving Fablehaven. Every time the satyrs had spotted a fast food joint that they recognized from a commercial, they had hollered for a meal break. Vanessa had not always conceded, but whenever an opportunity was presented, Newel and Doren had inexhaustibly consumed milkshakes, burgers, sandwiches, tacos, nachos, pretzels, nuts, beef jerky, trail mix, soda, doughnuts, candy bars, cookies, crackers, and aerosol cheese. Of the fifty most impressive belches Seth had witnessed in his life, all had occurred on this road trip.
“I hate to interrupt the feasting,” Vanessa said, “but we did come here for a purpose. Let’s try to focus on something besides sweet fat and salty fat for the next little while.”
“Some of us have fast metabolisms,” Doren mumbled.
“We just want fuel in the tank before we risk our necks,” Newel complained.
“You want nutrition?” Seth asked. “Remind me to teach you guys about the food pyramid.”
“A pyramid made of food?” Doren said reverently.
“We are your humble pupils,” Newel pledged.
Up ahead, the Mississippi River came into view again. Perhaps twenty yards across the water, a long island paralleled the shore. The dirt road ended at a sprawling, ramshackle shack roofed with aluminum siding. A rusted, antique truck sat on blocks off in the weeds. Beyond a dusty tire swing, Seth spotted a run-down dock and a weathered raft.
Several dogs ran up to the pickup, yapping and snarling. Vanessa brought the truck to a stop. When Hugo climbed out of the back, the dogs ran away yelping. Apparently they didn’t require magic milk to sense that the golem meant trouble.
The door to the shack swung open, and an old man emerged, bald on top with white stubble around the sides of his head. He wore fading black trousers with suspenders and no shirt. Gray hair curled on his wrinkled chest. He stood on the sagging porch, a carved walking stick in one hand.
