Of course, in those moments after Bracken had reclaimed his second horn, he had come across as otherworldly. But once the crisis was behind them, he had quickly reverted to his old self. He still couldn't assume his horse shape without his third horn. For all practical purposes he was human. And even if he was a little otherworldly, Kendra sometimes wondered whether she were entirely human herself anymore. After becoming fairykind, she could hardly view herself as a regular teenage girl.
Kendra leaned her head against the window. Was she really sitting here worrying about how Bracken felt about her when the world was about to end? How simple was she? What if he read her mind? She would be mortified!
"Can I have a pretzel?" Trask asked.
The question made Kendra jump a little. "Sure," she said, handing him the bag. "Are we just going to abandon the rental car?"
"They'll figure it out," Trask said. "We'll compensate them financially. The Knights of the Dawn always pay their debts, and a little extra. We do it anonymously because too often we'd get arrested otherwise, but we do it. Naturally, if the world ends, I think everyone will have more pressing issues to complain about."
"True," Kendra said.
She had grilled Trask about her parents and grandparents, but he had been kept in isolation at Living Mirage. She had asked Vanessa as well. The narcoblix had traveled into Tanu's body along with some of the others, but they were kept in separate cells, locked up day and night, so she had learned nothing except that they remained in the dungeon.
Having parked where they could observe the main road, Kendra and Trask sat up as a huge pickup truck approached at high speed. The truck zoomed past their SUV; then the taillights flashed brighter and the truck turned around. Headlights glaring, the truck came to a stop facing them, and Hugo vaulted out of the back.
Kendra and Trask got out of the SUV as Newel and Doren hopped down from the truck. "Told you!" Doren said, swatting Newel with the back of his hand. "Trust the golem."
Newel cracked his knuckles. "We were heading to the rendezvous when Hugo started to sense you guys. He led us here."
"We're two hours early," Doren said proudly.
"Seth," Hugo rumbled, pointing toward the lighthouse.
"He's fine," Kendra said. "He's just calling our ride. Warren, Bracken, and Vanessa are with him."
"You boys must have disregarded some speed limits to get here," Trask said.
Newel laughed. "That truck can move! We rarely went less than twice the speed limit."
"It was exhilarating," Doren gushed.
"Did you hit any speed traps?" Kendra asked.
"Twice," Newel said. "We pulled over politely. Both times the officer looked shocked to find a goat at the wheel without a human in sight."
"They searched the cat both times," Doren said. "It was easy to prick them with one of the darts Vanessa left us. They went to sleep, we put them back in their car, and no trouble ever caught up with us."
"I'm sure other officers responded when they stopped calling in," Trask said. "But they probably dismissed the report of a truck driven by goats as a hallucination."
"Vanessa had five spare sets of plates with corresponding registrations," Newel explained. "We swapped them after any trouble."
Trask chuckled. "That may have helped as well. We did some speeding to get here ourselves, but had better luck with speed traps."
Kendra regarded the satyrs. "You guys are really going to come to Zzyzx with us?"
"We've come this far," Doren said.
"Seth promised us our own flat-screen TV with a generator," Newel explained. "Besides, having front-row seats to the end of the world beats waiting for the disaster back at Fablehaven with the centaurs in charge."
"Seth told me about the centaurs," Kendra said.
"There will be a reckoning if we can survive the demons," Trask vowed.
"We have a chance," Doren said. "Seth has Vasilis. There are poems and songs about that sword."
"Not to mention a unicorn on our side!" Newel exclaimed. "They are the superheroes of the fairy world. They're not very outgoing, but when they decide to help, it can make all the difference."
"Don't join us buoyed by false expectations," Trask said. "Consider the enemy. We're talking about Gorgrog and his horde. We almost certainly will not be coming back."
"We get it," Newel said cheerfully. "If it's the end, so it goes. We had a good run. But can't we hope for the best?"
Trask shrugged. "I suppose we can hope."
***
Above the red brick base, visible in the cloud-muted moonlight, white and black stripes spiraled to the top of the lighthouse, making it look like a giant barbershop pole.
Vanessa led Seth to the door at the base and opened it quickly. He followed her inside.
They climbed the curving stairs, a small flashlight helping them see. Roughly thirty at a time, the stairs ascended to semicircular landings. Periodic windows granted higher and higher views. By the time they reached the top, Seth was panting.
An observation platform surrounded the top of the lighthouse. Vanessa and Seth stepped outside. The gibbous moon came out from behind a cloud, throwing silver highlights on the corrugated ocean and the vegetated coastline. The salty breeze and great height made Seth feel like he was in the crow's nest of some enormous ship.
"Is it time?" Seth asked.
"Close enough," Vanessa replied, checking her watch.
Seth took out the handbell and removed the leather muffle from the clapper. He shook the bell over his head vigorously. The bell rang loudly, but nothing about it seemed supernatural. Seth clanged the bell constantly until Vanessa told him to stop. Then he stepped forward to the railing and looked down.
Far below, Bracken flashed a light at him. After muffling the clapper, Seth tossed the bell over the edge. As planned, Bracken and Warren would now run the bell to the former site of the lighthouse and ring it again. Hopefully, ringing the bell at both locations, they could be more sure the ship would respond as desired.
Seth followed Vanessa down the long flights of steps and out of the lighthouse. She locked up, and they trotted back to where they had parked. Before they reached their vehicle, a huge humanoid shape came stomping toward them out of the darkness. After a brief fright, Seth recognized Hugo. He ran to the golem, who scooped him up in a rocky embrace.
"You made it!" Seth said.
"Drove fast," Hugo replied.
"Did the truck arrive in one piece?" Vanessa wondered. "Truck fine," Hugo assured her.
Newel and Doren gamboled over to them. Hugo set Seth down.
"I can't believe you guys made it," Seth said. "I expected you'd take your time, running up the credit card at fast food joints."
"Not a bad way to confront the end of civilization," Newel conceded. "But after enough fast food, it starts to all taste the same."
"Good, but greasy," Doren said. "Besides, driving fast is another new pleasure we both enjoy."
"We may not come back from this," Seth said seriously."We know," Newel said. "Everyone keeps warning us. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect you guys were trying to ditch us. Here's the thing---if we succeed, we don't just save the world. We save television. We save fast food. We save soft drinks and doughnuts and candy bars and ice cream."
"We save Frito-Lay," Doren said solemnly.
"You've enjoyed a lifetime of these marvelous conveniences," Newel accused. "You take them for granted. Doren and I are just getting introduced."
"Nobody is going to mess with Hostess," Doren said. "Not on my watch."
"We'll be honored to have you," Seth said.
"Hugo could pose a problem," Vanessa observed. "If the ship is sending just one launch to shuttle us aboard, the golem might swamp it."
"I don't want to go without Hugo," Doren said. "Did you see him beat up those centaurs with his bare hands?"
"Do we need to hijack a watercraft?" Newel asked.
"You'll have to be careful," Vanessa said. "These waters are famously treacherous. This area is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic for a reason. The shifting shoals off this coast have claimed hundreds of ships."
"Which explains the lighthouse," Newel said. "We'll figure it out. The golem should be able to discern your location. Come on, Hugo. We'd better hurry."
"See you on the water," Doren said.
The satyrs climbed into the truck, and Hugo settled into the back. Vanessa explained to Trask what the satyrs intended to do, and he agreed with the idea.
Kendra walked over to Seth. "How did it go?" she asked.
"I rang the bell. We'll see if it works."
"Want a pretzel?"
"I'm stuffed. I overdid it on the crab cakes." They stood in silence for a moment. "Do you get the sense that this is our last adventure?" Kendra asked.
Seth rubbed the hilt of Vasilis. "Yeah. You too?"
She nodded. "It's sort of obvious since we haven't even prepared a way back. We couldn't stop any of this when we had a chance. And we had lots of chances. The artifacts. The Eternals. Now we're out of chances. I guess going to Zzyzx is better than nothing. It will be better to die bravely among friends than to die in hiding."
"You don't have to go," Seth said.
"Neither do you."
"I'm going. That was the whole point of getting Vasilis. If I'm going to die, I'll die fighting demons, not running from them. It helps to imagine what Patton would do. It helps to think about Coulter."
"I'm going too," Kendra said. Her lip trembled. "I wish I could say good-bye to Mom and Dad."
"Don't think like that," Seth said. "Think about winning. Think about protecting the world."
His sister managed a faint smile. "I'll try."
When Bracken and Warren returned, everyone got into the SUV and the sedan and drove to the location marked on Patton's map. After checking their gear, they walked down to the edge of the water and waited for the proper time to start blowing the whistle.
Seth noticed Bracken sitting down beside Kendra. He couldn't resist casually eavesdropping.
"I'm sorry about Vanessa earlier," Bracken said. "She was trying to lash out at me for embarrassing her."
"Don't worry," Kendra said. "I get it."
Bracken took Kendra's hand, regarding her intently. "Vanessa wasn't wrong."
Seth knew it was time to stop listening. Thrusting his hands in his pockets, he strolled up the beach. He could not help dwelling upon what Kendra had said about this being their last adventure. Alone in the dark, he had to admit she was right. Vasilis was cool, and Hugo was tough, and Bracken probably had some tricks up his sleeve, but then he considered the raw power of Bahumat, pictured Olloch the Glutton tearing off Hugo's arm, and recalled Graulas demolishing the house at Fablehaven. Demons were nightmarishly powerful, and Zzyzx held the worst of them in huge numbers.
What if Raxtus succeeded in getting Agad involved? A wizard could be useful. Especially if he brought some dragons. But supposedly the horde inside of Zzyzx was even more powerful than dragons.
"Strange time to roam this beach," a conversational voice said behind Seth.
He whirled to see a grayish man with a bristly beard wearing a hooded slicker and sturdy boots. He had not heard the man approach. "I'm here with some friends."
"So I noticed," the man said, staring out to sea. "Word to the wise: This beach may be getting some unsavory visitors shortly."
This was no ordinary man. When Seth stared hard, the stranger seemed slightly translucent. "I know," Seth said. "I called them."
"Sure you want to be doing that?"
"I need to get somewhere."
The man turned his head and looked at Seth. "There are plenty of ways to get around."
"Not where we're going," Seth explained. "We have to reach Shoreless Isle. Some demons are going to open Zzyzx."
The man looked back out at the water. "Can't say I know much about that. Sounds like you have your reasons. Watch yourself when negotiating passage. She can be unreasonable."
"You have any advice?" Seth asked.
The man looked at him again. "I don't mean to intrude."
"Please."
"You have quite a sword there. Don't forget it, if she gets temperamental. Some people only respect those who might do them harm. Myself, I would steer clear of the Lady Luck altogether."
Bracken came jogging down the beach. Seth took a step toward him, waving him over. When Seth turned back, the gray man was gone. There was no place he could have hidden. Chills tingled across Seth's shoulders.
"Did you see him?" Seth asked as Bracken came near.
"An apparition," Bracken said. "He's what brought me this way. Benevolent, by the feel of him. Some sort of guardian spirit."
"He talked to me about the Lady Luck," Seth said.
"I hope you listened," Bracken said. "You all right?"
"Good enough. I saw you chatting with my sister."
"Vanessa made things uncomfortable. Some words had to be exchanged."
Seth grinned. They walked back to the others together. Once there, Seth kept his eyes on the water, hoping to see Hugo, Newel, and Doren show up in a stolen boat. The six of them sat in silence. Kendra leaned her head against Bracken's shoulder. Trask and Vanessa dozed.