The Fairy Queen had once warned Kendra that before approaching a shrine, she should search her feelings to check if her presence would be acceptable. Aside from the creepiness of the staring astrids, she felt calm and confident. And she had a genuine need, not only to find the directions to the Dragon Temple that Patton had left, but hopefully to get some additional advice. With no sixth sense warning her away, she boosted herself onto the ledge and looked to the far side where water bubbled up out of the rocks. The water trickled into a shallow pool, hardly more than a puddle, before drizzling off the ledge. Near the spring stood a tiny white statuette of a fairy beside a golden bowl.
Where could Patton have left the directions? At first glance she observed no sign of a message. How might he have conveyed the information? It was almost certainly written in the secret fairy language. He might have jotted it on paper and stored it in a container. Or chiseled it onto a rock.
Kendra glanced at the miniature statue. The thought of petitioning the Fairy Queen suddenly made her shy. The astrids had a point--the last time she had solicited help from the Fairy Queen, it had led to the destruction of the shrine at Fablehaven. She worried the Queen might be resentful.
But this was no time to be bashful. At best, Seth and the others had been captured. At worst, they were dead. Navarog lurked outside the gates of Wyrmroost. Or perhaps inside by now. She could not let him get the key. The Sphinx had too many artifacts already. Kendra needed help. Surely the Fairy Queen would appreciate the severity of the situation.
Kendra knelt beside the tiny statue. "I need help," she whispered.
The air stirred. A cool breeze ruffled her hair, smelling as though it had passed over snowy slopes to reach her. The refreshing scent intensified, then became richer and more varied. Kendra smelled pine sap, wildflowers, decaying wood, honeycombs. She inhaled the earthy aroma of a cave and the salty tang of the sea.
Kendra Sorenson.
The words entered her mind almost as if they had been spoken aloud. A distinct feeling of comfort accompanied the thought.
"I hear you," Kendra whispered. "Thanks for saving me when I was peering into the Oculus."
A
risky endeavor. Not only can your mind drown amid the flood of stimulation, but as you peer through the Oculus, you leave yourself vulnerable to be observed by others, as I saw you.
"I never wanted to use it," Kendra said earnestly. "The Sphinx made me."
A
dangerous man.
"Did you see him when he used the Oculus?" Yes.
His mind was temporarily open to my scrutiny.
"What did you learn? Did you find a weakness?"
I was surprised to discover that he is a man, not a creature in disguise.
"How could he be so old?"
Magical tampering, how else? I could not identify the exact means.
But I saw that he truly believes his cause is just.
"Freeing demons? Is he nuts?"
Misguided. He knows that no prison can stand forever. He fears that one day, others less capable than himself will release the demons and fail to bridle their power. He trusts himself to do it right, to hold their ferocity in check. But his motives are impure. In connection with his other motivations, he craves the power. He thinks he can bend the demons to his will, but he is mistaken. The world will pay if he breaches Zzyzx.
"What else did you see about him?" Kendra asked, fascinated.
Little else. With more time I
could have learned much. Someone helped him awaken from his trance, as I helped you. Not someone near him. One who reached him from afar. I
could not sense who roused him. As soon as the Sphinx released the Oculus, my link to him was sundered.
Kendra wondered who might have helped the Sphinx awaken. No candidates came to mind. Her thoughts turned to her present situation. "I need help. Navarog is trying to get the key to a vault in Australia that holds part of the key to Zzyzx. The vault key is inside the Dragon Temple here at Wyrmroost. We're trying to get it before our enemies have a chance, but a bunch of griffins nabbed Seth, Trask, Tanu, Mara, Dougan, and Gavin. Warren is with me but he's badly injured. A dragon named Raxtus is helping us."
I
understand your need. Beholding the Sphinx's ambitions helped illustrate the gravity of this predicament. Sadly, I am nearly blind at Wyrmroost. Very few fairies dwell there, most of them reclusive and sullen. I did not know you were at the sanctuary until you approached my shrine.
"What about the astrids? Maybe they could help."
Rage washed over Kendra. She felt angry and hurt, the bitter residue of an unforgivable insult. It took her a moment to realize the furious emotion was not her own. It emanated from the Queen.
I
have no interest in their manner of aid. You would do well to ignore them.
Kendra struggled to separate herself from the wrathful emotions conveyed by the Queen. She wanted to punch somebody. "How long ago did they mess up?"
Eons ago. Their failure did irreparable damage. Time has not dulled my agony. The consequences of their negligence were permanent, and so shall be their exile.
"But after all this time they keep serving you. What about forgiveness?"
The hot fury ebbed, replaced by a cooler, more cerebral emotion.
Your desire to extend mercy is a tender product of your innocence. You cannot conceive of all that was lost. The tragedy was so painfully preventable.
"Did they betray you on purpose? Was it deliberate?"
No.
Careless. Weak. Devastating. But not premeditated.
"Weren't they some of your best servants?"
My elite champions. My most able agents. Pride blinded them to their vulnerabilities. A small amount of caution would have prevented the disaster.
"I bet they've learned that lesson."
Not all have remained loyal.
"Don't forgive those six, then." A cold, suspicious emotion took hold of Kendra.
You speak out of self-interest. You are desperate for any aid, even theirs.
"I'm desperate for aid because I'm trying to save the world. Not because I'm selfish."
The emotion warmed into weary indifference.
My astrids would not be the servants they once were. I stripped them of their power. They are hardly shadows of their former selves.
"You could give it back."
No, I cannot.
Their energy now resides elsewhere.
Kendra tried to gather her thoughts. She had run out of words. It seemed stupid to let a grudge persist for eons. She fought with Seth all the time, but they were smart enough to make up afterwards, and they were only kids.
When at my shrines, you need not speak for me to hear. You have expressed yourself eloquently on behalf of the astrids, and, despite my potent emotions to the contrary, I deem it sound counsel. Unpleasant, infuriating, but sound. My people have not been able to communicate with the astrids since the King was taken. I will remove that barrier.
"Raxtus could hear them."
Correct. Raxtus is not formally a member of my kingdom, although he was my ward for a time, and I
regard him as a friend. Perhaps he can aid you here at Wyrmroost. The dragon has more strength than he realizes.
"Can the astrids help me too?"
Spells and treaties prevent all but dragons and mortals from entering the Dragon Temple. Furthermore, in my astrids' present state, the help they can lend you will be limited. You must arrange any assistance from them on your own. I
remain unready to contact them directly. The barrier between myself and the astrids will endure.
"Is there any other help you can give me?"
You seek the location of the Dragon Temple. Patton inscribed instructions on a stone tablet and threw it into my pool. But I can show you better. The temple is not far. Climb down from here toward the east, and then continue toward the tallest pinnacle to the northeast.
For a moment, everything went black, although Kendra's eyes remained open. Then a vision unfolded. She soared down a slope away from the shrine, then curved toward a vertical finger of rock. The vision dissipated into mist, and her regular sight returned.
"I see where to go."
Drink from the spring.
Kendra intuited that the Fairy Queen meant for her to use the golden bowl. She collected water from the bubbling fountainhead until the bowl was halfway full. Lifting the cold metal to her lips, she drank. The fresh water was flavored by minerals and had a slight metallic tang. But then the fluid tasted like citrus juice, and honey, and saltwater, and grape juice, and milk, and raw eggs, and apple juice, and cream of wheat, and carrot juice--all those flavors at once but somehow separate and distinct.
Now my astrids will hear your mind, and you will hear their thoughts in return. But they will not hear mine. Go in peace, Kendra.
Warm feelings buoyed Kendra better than a physical hug. "Thank you."
Kendra stood and turned. The astrids perched on the brink of the ledge, regarding her solemnly. Raxtus waited farther down the slope. Stepping between the astrids, Kendra hopped off the ledge, then swiveled to face them.
"How do I talk to you?"
That will suffice.
Multiple voices responded together in her mind, the same way she heard the Fairy Queen.
Thank you for advocating our cause. We have waited so long for some acknowledgment from our Queen.
"Happy to do it," Kendra said. "Did you hear about my problem?"
We could hear you, but not the Queen.
"Do you always speak in unison?"
We are a cadre of twelve. We have shared our minds for so long that it requires little effort to think as one.
Their telepathic voices were different from the Queen's. No emotions accompanied the words, and the tone came across more grim and masculine even without Kendra's physically hearing anything. Now that Kendra could perceive their inner voices, she decided the smooth faces must be male after all.
"You can think on your own as well, though."
We can do what we will.
"I need your help."
We are indebted to you, but we cannot enter the Dragon Temple. Raxtus could, in theory.
"But he's a dragon. We shouldn't tell him I mean to go there."
He hears our thoughts. He already knows.
Kendra turned and looked down the slope at the gleaming dragon.
He says not to be afraid.
"Why can't I hear his mind?"
Who can say? He can't hear yours, either.
Kendra bit her lower lip. "Can't you do anything to help me?"
You will have what support we can lend.
"Thanks." The twelve somber faces were unsettling. Did she even want eerie mutant owls as allies?
We are not all we once were.
"I'm sorry," Kendra blurted. "I didn't mean to think ungrateful thoughts."
We understand.
Kendra turned and hustled back toward Raxtus, regretting that the owls could read her mind, and feeling embarrassed that they could perceive those regrets. She heard wings flapping, and glanced back to see several astrids flying away in different directions.
"You mean to enter the Dragon Temple," Raxtus said. "I should have known you were up to something terrible. That's how my luck goes. Kendra, if I fail to stop you or at least report your intentions, I become an accomplice and could be killed for treason."
"I'm only trying to recover something a friend hid there," Kendra explained. "I have no other motives."
"The astrids told me telepathically. They can hear your mind now. I trust them, and I trust you. You must be an incredible person to be fairykind. You're very personable. I'm sure you and your friends really need this key. However, no other dragon will care about your motives. The Dragon Temple isn't casually off-limits--access is strictly forbidden. Don't fret, I won't turn you in. But I would love to talk you out of it."
"I have to try," Kendra insisted.
"Alone? Have you any idea the obstacles you would have to overcome to reach the treasure vault? Three invincible guardians block the way."
"Do you know any tricks to get by them?"
Raxtus laughed nervously. "Nobody knows anything about the guardians. Except there's a widespread rumor that the first is a hydra. Which is almost worse than not knowing. How could you possibly hope to get past a hydra?"
"What's a hydra?"
Raxtus lowered his head and closed his eyes. "You don't even know? Kendra, you have no business going up against these kinds of creatures alone. Even with your whole team, going into the Dragon Temple will be a one-way trip. Just leave the key in the treasury. Let your enemies die trying to get it."
"The Sphinx has Navarog on his side, and he knows the key is here. If I do nothing, the Sphinx is sure to claim the key."
"Navarog is bad news," Raxtus conceded. "The owls relayed our dilemma to you?"
"The basics, yeah."
"What if you help me? This isn't just for me or my friends. We're trying to save the world from a man who wants to unleash a horde of demons."
The dragon turned away. "Honestly, you're nice, and your reasons sound legitimate, but you don't understand me. I tried to explain what a coward I am. I wasn't being modest. And I'm not only afraid of us dying. It would be so illegal for me to venture into the Dragon Temple. It would be a betrayal of my whole species." He swung his head back around to gaze into her eyes. "I may be pathetic, but I've never lost my honor. My involvement in this would end poorly. On top of losing my honor, I would be useless to you. It would be a disaster."
"The Fairy Queen said you have more strength than you realize."
He perked up. "Really? She said that?"
"Her words."
"Well, that's encouraging. Although, she's basically my fairy godmother. An endorsement from a parental relative is nice, but hard to put on a resume. Look, I'll pretend I never heard where you were going. I'm pretty good at deluding myself. But don't ask me to join you. I just can't go into the Dragon Temple. Life is short enough without chasing certain doom. Kendra, you seem determined, I can read it on your face. If you insist on going through with this, I won't stop you, but my involvement will have to end. I've already shamed my dad by what I am. I can't risk shaming him further by what I do."
