At least now she was an active part of the effort to deal the Sphinx a major blow and hopefully help Warren and her parents in the process. After months of wait and worry, it felt good to be doing something, even if it was dangerous. Under tutelage from Tanu, Coulter, and occasionally Vanessa, she and Seth had trained with swords, bows, and other weapons over the past few months, so she felt more empowered than ever. Nevertheless, although she and Seth were now both full-fledged Knights of the Dawn, she had been surprised when Grandpa, as Captain of the Knights, had included them on such a risky mission. In the end, the essential roles their abilities had played on past assignments had won out. Their presence underscored the desperate need for success.
Kendra yawned, trying to get her ears to pop. The plane was descending. Trask unbuckled his seat belt, rose, and retrieved Seth from the cockpit. As Seth found a seat, Trask stood at the front of the cabin to address everyone.
"We'll be landing in about fifteen minutes," he announced. "I've set up several spells to prevent outside eyes and ears from spying. The magic should divert anything short of the Oculus. Now would be an appropriate time to review our mission."
Trask paused, brooding eyes roving the cabin. He cleared his throat. "Most of us have worked together before, so we'll skip introductions, except for Vincent, who is a new face to some of us, though not to me."
"I'm Vincent," the Filipino man said, half rising from his seat. "I'll be your guide at Obsidian Waste. Over the past ten years, I have spent several months there."
"How do we know you're not a monster in disguise?" Seth asked bluntly.
Vincent gave a weak chuckle. "I know we've all been dealing with unprecedented betrayals lately. The Knights of the Dawn have never seen infiltration and upheaval like the past year has provided. But as Trask can attest, I'm a Knight to the core, have been since my teenage years, when my parents were murdered by the Society."
"Trust has been running thin lately," Trask acknowledged, "but I'd let Vincent watch my back any day. Part of the reason this particular group was assembled was because we have been through enough together to trust each other. I have no doubts or hesitations that Vincent belongs in this circle of trust."
Kendra gazed at Vincent. She was glad her brother had spoken up. She wanted to believe Trask. But what if Trask himself was a traitor, patiently waiting for that vital, heartbreaking opportunity? Probably not. But Kendra had learned that "probably" wasn't always good enough. From now on, she wanted to be ready for anything.
"Our object is to retrieve the Translocator," Trask continued. "I have withheld some of the specifics until now. We believe we understand how the artifact functions. If our intelligence is correct, the device can transport an individual to anyplace he or she has visited previously."
Elise raised a hand. "Can it take passengers?"
Trask gave a nod. "Thanks to Vanessa and Coulter, we understand it can transport up to three people, along with their belongings. The device is a platinum cylinder, set with jewels, divided into three rotating sections. The user twists the sections to bring the jewels into alignment, activating the artifact. Whoever holds the center section controls the destination, and needs to focus mentally on that location as the other sections slide into place. Each intended traveler would grasp a different section."
"What if not all the passengers have been to the destination before?" Seth asked.
Trask shrugged. "Based on the recovered information, Coulter thinks only the person gripping the center section needs to have been to the desired location. But we won't be sure until we test it out."
"What if you teleport into solid rock?" Seth asked. "Or a hundred feet into the air? Or in front of a speeding train?"
The jet shuddered momentarily, and Trask raised a hand to brace himself until the turbulence passed. "The device carries unknowable risks, but given the sophistication of these artifacts, we can reasonably assume that the Translocator was designed to minimize those dangers."
Elise raised a finger. "We'll go into the vault tomorrow?"
"The plan is quick in, quick out," Trask confirmed. "We'll spend the night at the main house to get over our jet lag, then proceed to the vault in the morning. Hopefully, by tomorrow evening, we'll be flying home."
"If the artifact works right," Seth pointed out, "maybe we can skip the flight home."
Trask's mouth twitched and his eyes smiled. "We'll see. Our first order of business will be to make preparations at the main house tonight."
"Do we know where the vault is located?" Kendra asked. "The vaults at Fablehaven and Lost Mesa were well hidden."
Vincent answered. "The vault at Obsidian Waste gave the preserve its name--an immense monolith of obsidian overshadowing the surrounding plain. We know the location of the vault, and even where to place the key. But no rumors hint at what dangers await inside."
"Since the vault is so obvious," Trask said, "we must be prepared for the traps inside to be all the more deadly."
"The lack of camouflage may be related to the strength of the obsidian," Vincent observed. "We're not talking about regular stone. Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to drill, chisel, and blast entrances to the vault. So far nobody has scratched it."
"Why hide when you're invincible?" Elise muttered.
The intercom from the cockpit interrupted. "We're on final approach," Aaron announced. "The air is a little choppy, so I'm going to recommend you all take your seats for the duration."
"I'll pass around some walrus butter to make sure our eyes are open to the magical creatures of Obsidian Waste," Trask said. "We'll speak more at the house." He returned to his seat as a prolonged vibration rattled the aircraft.
Kendra didn't need magical milk or walrus butter to pierce the illusions that shielded most magical creatures from mortal eyes, so she passed it back to Elise without sampling any. Kendra checked her seat belt and peered out the window. Down below, the shadow of the jet fluttered over uneven ground. She observed mostly flat terrain, with scrubby bushes, low ridges, and shallow ravines. A pair of jeeps caught her eye, the vehicles kicking up dust as they moved along a dirt road on a diagonal course to intercept the descending jet. She was low enough to see a figure driving each open-topped jeep, but their features were unclear.
Gazing along the road behind the jeeps, Kendra noticed a wall. Actually, it was more the idea of a wall. At regular intervals, pyramids of stones stood in lonely piles, stretching away from the road in opposite directions. Nothing connected the rock piles, so they formed a boundary without creating an actual barrier. But Kendra recognized a shimmer in the air above the line formed by the rock piles, and she realized that it must be the distracter spell shielding Obsidian Waste.
Beyond the orderly stacks of stone, Kendra could see the sweeping loops of a meandering river, and, in the distance, a huge black stone shaped like a shoe box, its rectangular lines unnaturally regular. A tremor ran through the aircraft, and for a moment the jet wobbled sickeningly left and right. Kendra turned away from the window, facing forward, her hands gripping the armrests. The plane bucked and shuddered again. Kendra felt the tingling sensation that accompanies the initial plunge of a fast elevator. She had never been on a flight with this much turbulence!
Glancing across the aisle, she saw that Trask appeared unperturbed. Of course, he was tough to ruffle, and would probably wear that same impassive expression if the airplane disintegrated and his seat were plummeting alone toward the outback. The thought made Kendra smile.
Despite a few more bumps and jiggles, a minute or two later, the private jet landed smoothly. After taxiing shortly, the aircraft came to a stop. Kendra shouldered her backpack and waited while Tanu opened a door that swung out and down to become a short staircase. Kendra followed Seth down the steps. The isolated airstrip had a single runway, a ramshackle hangar, and a small office topped by a flapping wind sock.
After deplaning, Trask, Tanu, and Vincent started retrieving gear from the luggage compartment. Mara wandered off to one side and began a fluid routine of elaborate stretches. From the door of the plane, Elise studied the area through hefty binoculars. The sun hung high and bright overhead.
"Welcome to Australia," Seth announced in his best local accent, gesturing at their barren surroundings. After surveying the area for a moment, he frowned. "I expected more koalas."
"Which way to the baggage claim area?" Kendra asked. Seth chuckled. "Not one of the fancier airports I've seen. This is more like some smuggler's hidden landing strip."
"What do they smuggle?"
"Boomerangs, mostly. And kangaroos. Poor little fellas."
"Here comes the welcoming crew," Elise reported. "Two vehicles, each with a single occupant."
Before long a pair of jeeps rumbled into view. Painted a military green, the rugged vehicles had oversized tires and growling engines. After the jeeps pulled to a stop beside the luggage compartment, the Indigenous Australian drivers climbed down. One was a young man, the other a young woman, both in their early twenties, dark-skinned and long-limbed. The woman had white ribbons tied in her innovative hairdo.
Vincent charged over and greeted them with enthusiastic hugs. He was half a head shorter than the woman and a full head shorter than the man. Kendra and Seth drifted over for a closer look. Trask approached the drivers and shook hands with them.
"I'm Camira," the woman said to everyone, "and this is my brother Berrigan. Don't pay any attention to him. His head is full of pudding."
"At least I'm not a know-it-all with a poisonous tongue," Berrigan replied with an easy smile, one hand resting on the large knife strapped to his waist.
"We're here to escort you to the house," Camira went on, ignoring her brother. "I suggest the ladies ride with me, or his smell might be the end of you."
"I recommend the guys ride with me," Berrigan agreed, "or you'll arrive at Obsidian Waste with no self-esteem."
"You two never stop going at each other," Vincent laughed. "You're exactly as I left you!"
"And you're still about the size of a termite," Camira teased, rising up on her tiptoes.
Kendra noticed that Camira wore colorful sandals decorated with flashy stones. "I like your shoes."
"These?" Camira asked, holding up a foot. "I made them myself. They say I put the 'original' in 'Aboriginal.'"
"I say we should get on the road instead of chirping about footwear," Berrigan groaned. "These people are tired."
"Forgive my brother," Camira apologized. "We don't normally let him out of his cage when guests are present."
Working together, it did not take long to transfer the luggage to the jeeps. True to the drivers' suggestions, Trask, Tanu, Seth, and Vincent piled in with Berrigan, while Kendra, Elise, and Mara rode with Camira. Aaron stayed behind to perform maintenance on the jet.
Camira hit the gas hard, and her jeep roared onto the road first. Glancing back, Kendra saw the guys choking on their dust. Open-topped vehicles were not made for caravanning along dusty trails!
The jeep rocked and jounced as Camira sped along the imperfect road. She swerved to dodge the worst rocks and ruts, heedless of the huge plumes of dust kicked up by her wild maneuvers. The other jeep fell back, leaving room for some of the dust to dissipate before they passed through it.
Despite the bouncy ride, Kendra studied the arid landscape as best she could. The scraggly shrubs and barren rocks looked no more hospitable than the terrain surrounding the Lost Mesa preserve in Arizona. She supposed the people who had hidden these sanctuaries would have kept an eye out for unfriendly environments that might deter visitors.
Up ahead, the row of piled rocks came into view. Kendra did not mention the rocks or the shimmer in the air, because she knew that an ordinary person would not have been able to focus on them.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Elise shouted over the road noise.
"You're just feeling the effects of the distracter spell that shields the preserve," Camira answered. "I feel it too. We're on the right road. As long as I focus on staying on the road, we'll be fine. The sensation will pass once we're beyond the barrier."
Kendra felt no such effects, but she knew better than to reveal her immunity to a stranger. Sure enough, once they passed the row of rock piles, everyone in the jeep relaxed.
Beyond the rocks, the terrain became more welcoming. Wildflowers brightened the ground, the shrubs looked more robust, and trees came into view. Kendra saw a few mothlike fairies flitting around on speckled gray wings. Near a muddy water hole, she spotted a pair of animals that looked like large, striped greyhounds with long tails. "What are those?" Kendra asked, pointing.
"Thylacines," Camira responded. "Tasmanian tigers. We have many of them here. They're extinct elsewhere. Some have the power of speech. Look up that slope, by those bushes."
Kendra followed Camira's gaze and saw a hairy humanoid figure. As Elise shaded her eyes, squinting up-slope, the creature withdrew from sight.
"What was that?" Elise exclaimed.
"A Yowie," Camira said. "Kind of like a Sasquatch. They're timid, but curious. Elusive creatures. You often glimpse them, but they'll flee if you show too much interest."
"It seemed sad," Mara observed.
"Their songs are mostly forlorn," Camira agreed.
As the jeep neared the top of a gradual rise, the main house of Obsidian Waste came into view off to the left. Occupying high ground, the wooden house had numerous steep gables and a generous porch. An enormous barn was visible behind the house, along with a wide stable connected to a corral.
