During the stunned pause that followed, Kendra felt her insides sink and shrivel. They were doomed.
"Scatter!" Grandpa cried.
An instant later, weighted nets started falling from the sky.
Kendra heard the twang of bowstrings and the hiss of blowguns. Hoarse shouts echoed from all directions. Somewhere above and behind, the roc shrieked with enough power to rival the roar of any dragon. Amid all the commotion, Kendra recognized the eerie chanting of Mirav the wizard.
The members of the strike force tumbled to the ground as they sought in vain to flee, tangled in nets, drugged by darts, and hampered by spells. Frozen with terror and despair, Kendra watched as the others fell. She glimpsed Trask slashing a net with a short sword. She heard Grandpa growling with effort, dragging himself a short ways along the ground before slumping into unconsciousness.
Dazedly, Kendra realized that she remained unscathed. Perhaps her inaction amid all the commotion had prevented their enemies from targeting her. Perhaps she was perceived as the least threatening member of the party. Perhaps it was dumb luck. She fleetingly wondered if she could be enjoying some form of magical protection. No, they were trespassers here. Their protection had been secrecy, and the dwarf had betrayed them.
Collapsing to the ground, Kendra faked unconsciousness. Maybe if she was sneaky, she could crawl away while the others were being rounded up. Nobody could see better than she could in the dark. If she could slither free, she might be able to find a way to help.
She heard rapid footsteps approaching, voices whispering, bushes rustling. Should she move? Should she wait?
"This one is awake," said a dry voice above her.
Kendra opened her eyes and found herself staring up at Mirav. Reaching out a long-nailed hand, he sprinkled glittering powder in her face.
Kendra felt an insistent tickle, as if she had to sneeze, but the sneeze refused to come. Instead, the world rocked, then spun, then darkness enfolded her.
***
Kendra awoke reclining against a plush, squarish cushion. The Sphinx sat opposite her, cross-legged on a mat. Kendra pushed herself upright. They were on a wide, tiled, torch-lit balcony. A glorious mist of stars sparkled overhead.
"Welcome to Living Mirage," the Sphinx said pleasantly.
Kendra felt surprisingly alert. No grogginess lingered from her unconsciousness. Here she sat, alone with the man who had sabotaged her life and stolen her family. "Where is everyone?"
"All four of your grandparents are in my custody," the Sphinx said. "As are your parents, as is your brother, as are many of your friends."
"Is everyone all right?" Kendra asked.
The Sphinx offered a kind, white smile. "None of them were harmed, and this despite several of them attempting to fight. Only Warren has not yet been captured, but Tollin told us where he left him. We will have him soon."
She despised his smile. She hated his friendly demeanor. "The dwarf betrayed us."
"Do not blame the dwarf," the Sphinx said. "All of this was orchestrated. The dwarf was merely a piece in the puzzle, an anxious servant willing to bring honor and comfort to his people."
"You saw us with the Oculus?"
"When your grandfather Hank sent his first message to his wife, your cause was ruined. I am very, very slow to trust, Kendra. My assistant caretaker was a competent man, but decades away from earning any real credibility. Steve, as Hank called himself, was constantly monitored. I cannot describe my excitement when I heard he had sent a homing canister. A spy who does not realize his cover has been blown can be a most valuable asset. My elation increased as I dug into his past and discovered he was a desperate spy, eager to rescue his relatives. Using the dwarf to spoil your incursion was simple. Even I was surprised by all we gained. I did not expect you to be joining them. May I offer you refreshments?"
Kendra's gaze strayed to a nearby low, round table crowded with food and beverages.
"No, thank you."
"The figs are exceptional."
"I just had a bunch of Italian food."
"Water, perhaps? Juice?"
"I'm fine. What are you going to do with us?"
The Sphinx folded his hands in his lap. "Your only task in the near future will be to relax. Your role in the coming events has concluded."
"You're really going to open Zzyzx?" Kendra asked.
The Sphinx fingered his grin. "It was inevitable. There is amazing power in single-mindedness."
"You're going to destroy the world."
The grin faltered. "You and your loved ones have fought hard because you believe that is the case. I bear you no malice. In the end, you will be released."
Kendra looked around the balcony, noticing the potted ferns and inhaling exotic fragrances. "Why have you brought me here?"
"I showed your brother the same courtesy. You children fascinate me. Your potential is extraordinary. Are you sure you will not have some food? The fare in the dungeon is not quite so fine."
"Is that where you're keeping us?"
"Consider it a mark of respect. Many of you are dangerous opponents. The stay will be temporary, I assure you. Our plans are nearing fruition."
Kendra walked over to the table and sat down on a mat. "Maybe I'll have some water."
The Sphinx joined her at the table. "Try the pear juice. It is very light." He removed a chilled carafe from a bucket of ice and poured the clear fluid into a goblet.
Kendra sampled the drink. The Sphinx was right. The cool liquid had a subtle, fresh flavor.
"Have you any questions for me?" the Sphinx asked.
"Not that you would answer," Kendra huffed.
"Try me. I made a similar offer to your brother. This is finally over. Some details are not yet tied up, but the game is done. I may not be an expressive man, but I am celebrating, Kendra. It relieves me to finally lay down the burden of my secrets."
"Okay, then tell me your next move," Kendra said, not expecting an answer.
The Sphinx compressed his lips. "I like to think that once you and your family truly understand me, your hatred will evaporate. My aims are noble, and my means are no more unsavory than necessary. Would you like to know the remaining steps to opening Zzyzx?"
"Sure."
The Sphinx selected a piece of fruit and took a bite. "I do not foresee how telling you this information can cause me harm. Yet it goes against my instincts to expose my plans."
"You told me to ask."
"I'm aware. And in many ways, I cannot wait to part with these secrets. Secrecy has been necessary for so long that the habit resists my tampering. If I reveal this information to you, as a token of goodwill, will you at least promise to consider the possibility that I am truly an ally?"
She wanted to fling the pear juice in his face. But no matter how hopeless their cause might seem, and no matter how confident the Sphinx was of victory, there was always a chance that this information could prove useful. "Sure, I promise."
The Sphinx studied her for a prolonged moment. "Do you really hate me so much?"
"Put yourself in my position."
"I understand." He straightened and grew serious. "Our first task will be to retrieve the Chronometer from Fablehaven. Do not worry, we should be able to accomplish this without harming any of your other friends there. Next I will go back in time with two companions. Only mortals can use the Chronometer."
"Okay."
He munched thoughtfully on his fruit. "I'm about to sum up centuries of research. To share secrets men would kill for. Secrets I have killed to protect. So enjoy. Zzyzx lies on Shoreless Isle in the Atlantic. The gateway into Zzyzx lies within a virtually impregnable stone chamber, a hollow hill. The stone of the chamber is enchanted, much like the Dreamstone at Obsidian Waste. In other words, a direct nuclear blast would harm it no more than a breeze, just as a meteor strike would fail to scratch it. There exists but a single weakness. The stone chamber on Shoreless Isle opens for a single day every thousand years."
"When did it open last?" Kendra asked.
"The late fifteen hundreds. So I can either wait almost six hundred years to open Zzyzx, or I can travel back in time."
"You're going to open it in the past?" Kendra exclaimed, horror seeping into her voice.
"That would be convenient," the Sphinx said. "Unfortunately, the masterminds who engineered Zzyzx did not design it with convenience in mind. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Chronometer will not transport objects into the past, and the other keys are required to open the prison, so opening the gateway in the past is impossible."
Working at the problem, Kendra scrunched her brow. "So you'll go back in time to the day the chamber was open, enter it, then return to the present and use the Translocator."
The Sphinx beamed. "Very good, Kendra. That was quick. Since the Translocator can take me anyplace I have been, it should provide easy access. My expectation is that I will then be able to open the stone chamber from the inside."
"Doesn't sound too hard," Kendra lamented.
"It is only the beginning," the Sphinx said. "A virulent plague resides inside the chamber. After we enter it, we will have to get back to the present quickly to be healed by the Sands of Sanctity. Then, in the present, I will use the Translocator to transport some seeds inside. The plants that sprout will scrub the air and eradicate the plague."
"Wait a minute," Kendra said. "Before any of this, won't you have to get to Shoreless Isle? You'll have to go back in time from there, right?"
The Sphinx grinned. "One of the benefits of a long life. Mr. Lich and I are perhaps the only living men who have visited Shoreless Isle. The Translocator will take me directly there, along with the Chronometer and the Sands of Sanctity."
Kendra sipped some pear juice. "The five artifacts are also actual keys?"
The Sphinx nodded. "They are actual keys to the great door of Zzyzx. But they all serve dual purposes. Access to the great gateway would be impossible without them."
"I get the purpose behind the Chronometer, and the Translocator, and the Sands of Sanctity," Kendra said. "What else does the immortality artifact do?"
The Sphinx held up a finger. "I believe it is an item of practicality. The Font of Immortality enables a mortal to live long enough to solve this gigantic puzzle."
A realization struck Kendra. "And it lets you live long enough to go back in time far enough to get inside the chamber."
"Or to live long enough to wait for it to open again," the Sphinx added. "Kendra, if this were a job interview, I would hire you immediately."
"I'd have to turn you down," Kendra said. "What about the Oculus?"
"In many ways the Oculus is the most important item," the Sphinx said. "It helps locate the other items. And it will help me track down the Eternals."
Kendra had been hoping he might not know about them. She decided to play dumb. "Eternals?"
"Five mortals who must be killed before Zzyzx can be opened," the Sphinx explained. "I have already found and eliminated two of them."
"You have!"
"I found one before I had the Oculus. I eliminated another recently. Without the Oculus, finding them all would be nearly impossible."
"So once the Eternals are dead ..."
"Once the title eternal no longer applies to them, and once I have access to the chamber and have scrubbed the air of disease, I must only wait for the morning after a full moon to insert the keys and set the gateway ajar. Then I will negotiate with Gorgrog the Demon King. If he will not heed my terms, I will not fully open the door. He wants out. He will eventually agree. And a new age will dawn."
"And the name of that age will be The End of the World."
Smiling sadly, the Sphinx shook his head. "No, but it will be the end of prisons, and the end of inequality."
"Honestly, I hope you're right. Because I don't see how anyone will stop you. I'd take just about anything over the end of everything."
"Relax, Kendra. I have the minutia figured out. All you need do now is wait. Have you any other questions?"
Kendra plucked a grape and popped it in her mouth. "My brain is fried. I can't think of anything."
"Have you eaten your fill?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"Then the hour has arrived for you to become acquainted with your new accommodations. I will try to put you someplace where you may cross paths with your brother. I'm afraid the comforts are few, but unless I am mistaken, your stay will be brief." The Sphinx clapped his hands, and four armed guards came out onto the balcony.
"Don't do this," Kendra sobbed, surprised at the sudden surge of emotion. "You can still stop all of this. You should be protecting these artifacts, not using them."
"Be still," the Sphinx said. "I cannot be swayed. Do not waste your energy. I am fortified by the power of certainty."
A guard helped Kendra to her feet. "I hope somebody stops you," she said.
The Sphinx poured himself some pear juice. He took a sip, swallowed, and then spoke gently but firmly. "Hope for something else."
Chapter 13 A Promise Kept
Seth rested on his cot, staring at the web of cracks in the dim ceiling, listening to the constant dripping, wondering about the time. In the dungeon, there was no sunrise, no sunset, no way to keep his internal clock calibrated. Bracken, however, seemed to know innately when it was day or night. Some time ago they had separated to sleep. Seth had slept. Later he had wakened. And he now had no idea if it was time to get up or the middle of the night.