"I wish I could do more for you. Please do not obsess over choices you cannot change. Mistakes happen. Learn from the past, but concentrate on the present and the future. Difficulties like I have never faced await you. I don't want to guide you toward harm, but when the world is about to end, the only real option is to save it. With a threat like the opening of Zzyzx impending, no safe choices remain. This message will repeat if you uncork the bottle again. It will play only for you. Good luck."
The gaseous form of Patton returned to the bottle in a rush. Once the gas was inside, Seth pressed the cork into the mouth.
So much to digest! Too much! Seth squeezed his head. For some reason, it was one thing to tell himself he was going to try to save the world, and quite another to receive that assignment from Patton, as if everything really did depend on him. Too much was at stake!
But Patton was right. All safe choices were gone. And trying to hide from the responsibility would be a choice as well. A bad one. At least Patton had shown him a path to follow. He would do his best, one step at a time.
Crossing to the desk, Seth found an envelope with his name on it in the second drawer he checked. Beside it he discovered the dungeon keys. Opening the envelope, Seth scanned the pages inside. He saw the promised latitudes and longitudes, along with accompanying explanations and descriptions. At the end he read about the Eternals and the final steps required to open Zzyzx.
Satisfied that he had everything Patton had promised, he folded the papers back into the envelope and tucked it in his pocket. "Come on, Hugo," Seth said. "Let's go see if those satyrs have shown up."
As the golem followed him out of the grotto, Seth reconsidered using the coin to contact Bracken. It would be painful and embarrassing to explain how he had lost the Translocator, but Bracken could possibly find ways to help. After all, he was at Living Mirage, and he seemed like a resourceful guy. Who knew when a well-timed prison revolt at the Sphinx's headquarters might provide an important diversion? At this stage, Seth could not afford to ignore any possible assets.
Chapter 16 The Sealed Shrine
Near the top of the stairway, Bracken grabbed Kendra by her upper arm. "Your brother is contacting me," he whispered.
"Is he all right?" she asked.
Bracken paused, listening inwardly. "He's unharmed. He's devastated by how Nagi Luna used him to free Graulas. The sentiment comes through in more than his words. Your friend Coulter has perished."
"No," Warren said, reflexively rejecting the news.
"My condolences, but Seth seems certain," Bracken said. "He feels tremendous guilt, potentially enough to break him. I am telling him he was used, tricked, and that there is nothing to be done about it now."
Kendra tried to choke back her tears. How could Coulter be gone? He was supposed to be safe back at Fablehaven! Warren watched Bracken expectantly.
"Seth says Graulas destroyed the foundational treaty of Fablehaven."
"He needs to get out of there," Warren said.
Bracken nodded, holding up a finger. "Seth says he will depart soon. Apparently he has received advice from an ancestor of yours, Patton Burgess, and Seth is now preparing to embark on a quest."
"Patton would have provided sound guidance," Warren said.
"I'm telling Seth that you two are with me. He's thrilled to hear it. I'm telling him we're in the middle of an emergency of our own, and am advising him to contact me again soon. I'm advising him not to fret about losing the Translocator. I can tell he appreciates the support, but he is still wrestling to come to terms with the crisis resulting from that loss. He longs for a way to make restitution. He has put away the coin."
"Will he be all right?" Kendra asked anxiously.
"I think so," Bracken said. "Evidently your ancestor gave him an ambitious assignment. We didn't go into specifics, but if Seth can channel his energy into an active endeavor, it should help him cope. He will hail us again soon. We must press on."
They continued upward. The stairway had been tunneled through smooth, dark stone. Warren ran a hand along the wall. "No digging into this stairway," he said.
"These walls are harder than steel," Bracken agreed.
The stairway ended at a blank wall. Warren recited an unintelligible phrase, and the wall faded, almost vanishing. "Should I extinguish my light?" Bracken asked. "Keep it shining," Warren said.
They passed through the ghostly wall into a cave composed of sharp, angular rocks. Bracken's light glared off the glossy black stone. Glancing back, Kendra noted that the wall appeared solid again.
Farther along the cave, a creature stood at the edge of the light. It had the body of a large bull and the head of a bearded man wearing a bronze crown. The creature spoke in a garbled language.
Bracken answered with equally strange speech.
"Don't worry," Warren whispered to Kendra.
The creature spoke again.
"What is it?" Kendra asked in hushed tones. "What is it saying?"
Bracken took her hand, and the garbled words became instantly untangled. The creature was still speaking.
"... many years it is a relief to have a shred of hope."
"We will do our best," Bracken promised. "You have met Warren. This is Kendra."
The creature bowed his head politely. "Greetings."
"Kendra, this is Halad," Bracken continued, "one of the proud lammasu enslaved by the Sphinx."
"He is no sphinx," Halad stated in his strong, calm voice. "Call him the Ethiopian."
"Halad stands guard over this secret entrance to the dungeons," Bracken explained. "He is not an evil being, but he would be bound by covenant to slay us if we trespassed here without permission from the Ethiopian."
"I take no pleasure in my assignment," Halad said stoically. "Nevertheless, a sworn sentinel must perform his duty."
"Any sense of what lies beyond the cave?" Bracken asked.
"My vision is restricted to my domain," Halad answered. "As you shall observe, my domain here is insulting. I am a prisoner guarding a prison."
"We thank you for safe passage through your domain," Bracken said.
"I lament the loss of your horns," Halad replied. "Go in peace."
Bracken released Kendra's hand. "Off we go."
"No trouble?" Warren asked.
"Just exchanging pleasantries," Bracken explained.
They advanced quickly. The lammasu stepped aside to let them pass. Halad was so large that Kendra doubted she could reach the bottom of his beard even if she jumped. Once beyond the lammasu, Bracken put his glowing stone away. Warren led the way out of the cave into the predawn light. They crouched behind some jagged boulders to survey the vicinity.
"Living Mirage contains a lot of land," Bracken whispered to Kendra. "In fact, the careful observer will find more land inside the surrounding fence than there should be."
"Several of the preserves are like that," Warren added. "Kind of like the knapsack but on a larger scale."
Bracken nodded. "A long, fertile valley runs north to south through Living Mirage. We're just barely in the northern half of that valley. The sealed shrine lies farther north where the valley narrows."
"The Sphinx suggested a course that should get us past most patrols and around the most dangerous areas," Warren said. "He has wraiths herding the undead away from our route."
"How do you know so much about Living Mirage?" Kendra asked Bracken.
"I first came here to investigate why the shrine had been sealed. I had some time to explore the area before I was captured. "
"What kind of dangerous creatures are here?" Kendra asked.
Bracken shrugged. "Beyond the ordinary I know of jinn, various demons, manticores, a chimera, steppe giants, sphinxes, river trolls, sirrushes, and of course the simurgh."
"He means the roc," Warren clarified. "Which is hunting a lot lately to feed three enormous hatchlings." He drew his sword. "The Sphinx warned that an actual sphinx guards the sealed shrine. It will pose riddles to us."
"Let me handle the riddles," Bracken said.
"The Sphinx seemed to think you'd have that covered."
"I've been around a long time," Bracken said. "I would almost prefer if the puzzles surprised me. I suppose we'll skirt the river, try to get cover from the trees."
"That was the route he described," Warren confirmed.
"We should walk, not run," Bracken said. "Haste draws attention."
"I'm with you," Warren agreed. He handed Kendra a glove. "That belonged to Coulter. It will make you invisible when you hold still."
"I remember it," Kendra said.
"Take the key as well," Warren said, handing her a short rod with a complicated shape at the end. "If the need arises, I'll draw off attention so you two can reach the shrine."
"We'll all escape together," Kendra insisted.
"Right," Warren said, trying to be patient. "We'll all try-to make it. But if we have to choose, let's get the people to the shrine who can actually communicate with the Fairy Queen. Some of us would get blasted into sawdust if we dared to tread upon her sacred ground."
"We should move," Bracken said. "You lead, Warren."
For the first five minutes, Kendra expected enemies to descend on them with every step. As they proceeded without incident, and as the cover offered by the trees became better instead of worse, she started to unwind. She began to wonder how the Fairy Queen could help them escape. Could she admit them to her realm? Kendra was pretty sure that was forbidden under any circumstances. The realm where she ruled had to remain unspoiled or it could mean the end of all fairydom.
Kendra kept an eye out for fairies. If she could recruit a few of them to act as scouts, it would improve their chances.
At one point, where the trees became sparse, the roc soared across the sky, outstretched wings temporarily blocking out the rising sun. A huge beast thrashed in its claws.
"Does it have a rhinoceros?" Kendra asked, shielding her eyes as the sun reappeared behind the gigantic bird.
"A karkadann," Bracken corrected. "Bigger than a rhino, with a sentient horn. Pray we don't cross paths with a karkadann out here unprotected."
"I have my sword," Warren objected.
"And I have my little knife," Bracken said. "Neither would avail us if a karkadann charged. What I need are my horns."
"How did you lose them?" Kendra asked.
Bracken hesitated, as if uncertain whether to respond. He broke his silence after a small shrug. "The Font of Immortality is fashioned from my third horn."
"One of the five artifacts?" Warren exclaimed.
"How old are you?" Kendra asked.
"From your point of view, ancient," Bracken said. "Among unicorns, I'm still considered young. I have walked many roads, and I have seen much, but I still feel young. Like fairies, unicorns are youthful beings."
"You surrendered your horn?" Warren asked.
"I was willing to do anything to help lock those demons away," Bracken asserted. "I gave my first horn as a gift years ago. Many of my kind do not retain their first horns once the third has grown. My second horn was taken when the Sphinx captured me. I have no idea what he did with it."
"He should return it to us," Kendra said.
"It would help," Bracken said. "I can feel my horns out there. None have been destroyed. Without them I feel like a shadow of myself. They house much of my power."
"Your third horn is irretrievable?" Warren wondered.
"If the Font of Immortality is ever broken, it will disappear and re-form elsewhere, taking the horn with it. That horn would be retrievable only should Zzyzx open. Without my third horn I'm trapped in human form, but I would much rather live this way than see Zzyzx breached."
They continued in silence. Several times they crouched or fell flat or hid behind tree trunks as Bracken sensed creatures in the area. Kendra glimpsed lions with the heads of men and scorpion tails. She caught sight of vicious packs of scaly flying dogs. She observed burly, armored nomads half the height of the surrounding trees, laughing loudly and brawling without provocation. But all of these potential threats were viewed from a distance. Many of the hazards Bracken detected were never perceived by Warren or Kendra. Their little group would simply hide in silence until Bracken suggested they proceed.
After hours of fitful progress, Warren squatted behind a fallen log to confer with them. With the sun now high, the day was growing uncomfortably warm. Ahead, at the far side of a clearing, Kendra observed trees with foliage of remarkable colors. "The Beckoning Grove lies ahead," Warren said. "The Sphinx gave specific warnings about this stretch of our route. To go around to the left would take us along the river-bank through a community of river trolls."
"They would consider us extraordinary delicacies," Bracken said. "We would be devoured with much ceremony."
"To loop around to the right would take us into the domain of the chimera," Warren said.
"Which would also mean certain death," Bracken said.
"And if we go through the grove?" Kendra asked.
"The fruit smells are unbearably tempting," Warren said. "All have harmful effects. Most are lethal. The Sphinx said one might liquefy your bones, another might make you a lycanthrope, a third might cause you to burst into flames."
"I'll take fruit over trolls or a chimera," Bracken voted.