Newel raised a finger. "Doren and I actually have an escape clause. We're free to withdraw our support and flee at any time."
Vanessa gave him an incredulous glance. "Keep in mind that by the time you know you should flee, it will probably be too late."
"Noted," Newel said.
"Seth will be doing the most dangerous work," Vanessa went on. "If he falls, we'll all cut and run."
"No more cheerful thoughts," Seth said. "All this optimism is giving me a headache. Now, I want to know if a wraith can beat up a bunch of centaurs."
"A wraith in the sunlight would fall to centaurs," Vanessa said. "But in the dark, or underground, or in a building, a hundred centaurs would retreat from a wraith."
"Then I need to go to the Hall of Dread," Seth said. "Can you help me figure out which ones are wraiths?"
"I can."
Seth led the way to the bloodred door. Although they had to walk some hallways and round a couple of corners, the Hall of Dread seemed much nearer to the Quiet Box than it had before his time at Living Mirage. The instructions from Patton explained that he had to say some words before turning the key to open the door to the Hall of Dread. Seth opened the letter and found the words. They were not in English.
"Can you read these?" he asked Vanessa.
She peered at the letter. "Yes. Give me the key." She inserted the key into the keyhole, placed a palm against the door, muttered a few incomprehensible words, turned the key, and pushed the door open. She handed Seth the key and the letter.
The air in the hall felt chilly.
"We'll stand guard out here," Newel said stoutly.
Vanessa gave him a knowing look. "Probably for the best." Newel avoided eye contact. Seth and Vanessa entered the hall. "I feel strong presences here," Vanessa said.
"How can you tell the difference between the dark creatures?" Seth inquired. He could hear them whispering about hunger and thirst, pain and loneliness.
"Experience, mostly," she said. "There are two basic types of restless beings: corporeal and ethereal. The corporeal entities have a physical form, like wights and liches and zombies. The ethereal beings are more ghostly, like specters or phantoms or shades."
"I can hear them gibbering," Seth said. "I've spoken to one of these prisoners before. It offered to serve me."
"Might be a good place to start," Vanessa said.
Seth hurried down the hall, passing many doors on either side. Forlorn voices babbled in the darkness. He paused at the last door on the left. Ahead was the blank wall where a secret passage could take them farther.
"I've returned," Seth said, facing the door.
The other voices went silent.
"I have been waiting, Great One," came the attentive response. "How may I serve you?"
Seth turned to Vanessa. "Can you hear him?" She shook her head. She looked pale. "Can you tell me what he is?"
She edged stiffly forward and peeked through the peephole. Seth assumed she was feeling the effects of the magical fear to which he was immune. She backed away. "Jackpot," she said. "It's a wraith. A strong one. Be sure it is bound by oath to serve you or we will all perish together."
"I will be your greatest servant, Strong One," the wraith promised.
"I could use your help," Seth said. "I need a, um, servant to stand guard over this dungeon. Any who draw too near would be yours to claim."
"Let me perform this duty," the wraith asked fervently.
"You would have to leave those who belong to this house unharmed, like my grandparents or my sister."
"I sense your intent. I understand."
"You would have to return to this cell upon my command."
"Yes, yes, anything you ask. Release me and I am yours."
"Swear to do these tasks and to follow my orders in all things," Seth said.
"By solemn covenant, I swear fealty to you, Wise One. I vow to obey word and spirit of all your commands."
Seth glanced at Vanessa. "I think he swore. He seems really eager."
Her brow twitched. "Make sure he's alone in there."
"Are you alone in that cell?" Seth asked.
There came a pause. "I am not alone. Two of my lesser brethren accompany me in my confinement."
Chills tingled down Seth's back. It had been a trap! One wraith swearing loyalty while two others waited in ambush. In the end, with the "master" killed by the unsworn wraiths, they would all have gone free!
Seth had to seem in control. "Would the other wraiths care to serve me?"
"They would serve you," came the reply. The eagerness was gone.
"I would send one of them to protect the old manor. The other to protect the stables and the livestock. They would be under the same terms and conditions as the first."
"I pledge fealty, and to perform your commands," affirmed a new voice.
"I pledge fealty, and to embody your commands," promised another new voice.
"Swear to me that no ambush or deception will come from you or others of your kind," Seth said. "Promise to protect me and my friends and my cause from harm."
"We swear it," answered three voices in unison.
"This woman, Vanessa, and the satyrs, Newel and Doren, are with me, and under my protection. If centaurs should come anywhere near these properties, they are yours to claim."
"We understand," answered three voices. "Release us, Mighty One."
"You understand the places I want protected?"
"We can see them in your mind."
Seth turned to Vanessa. "I think we're ready."
"Is there a key?" she asked.
Seth fished out a separate key and the letter from Patton. "There are new words also."
Vanessa took the letter and approached the cell door. She inserted the key, placed her palm against the door, and mumbled unsteadily. Turning the key sharply, she backed away.
The cell door swung open. A wave of cold spilled out as if the room were an industrial freezer. Three dark forms emerged, upright, gliding forward with shadowy grace. One stood a little taller than Seth, the two others almost a head shorter. It was hard to discern details. The flashlight did not illuminate them. Their whole beings seemed to swallow light, making them indistinct.
Seth glanced at Vanessa. She crouched, head down, utterly immobilized. "You three wait here for now," Seth said. "Let me clear out my friends before you take your positions."
"As you say," the tall wraith pronounced in a low voice as hard and cold as ice.
Seth took Vanessa by the hand, her fingers coming back to life at his touch. Straightening her posture, she stared at Seth in astonishment. He led her down the hall and out the door to where the satyrs awaited them.
"Something feels unnatural," Doren said.
"Whatever you released are no common wraiths," Newel agreed. "Took all we had to stand our ground."
"You three should go," Seth said. "Wait for me with Hugo."
Both satyrs offered Vanessa their arms. Back in full possession of herself, she shunned them both, striding briskly down the hall. The satyrs scampered to keep up.
Seth waited until they were out of sight. Then he counted to a hundred, forcing himself to keep it slow. "Okay!" Seth called. "You can come out now!"
The three wraiths glided to the doorway, arriving more quickly than Seth had expected. "Just a second," Seth said.
The tallest wraith drew close to him. "Do you feel nothing in my presence?" the wraith asked.
"A little cold," Seth said. "But the others have a hard time around you guys."
"Truly you are powerful," the wraith said, exuding almost worshipful esteem.
"I'm a social person," Seth replied, feeling awkward. "I don't discriminate. You seem pretty powerful yourself. What would your chances be against the Demon King?"
"None," the wraith answered, the harsh word cutting like frozen steel.
"Gotcha," Seth said. He closed the door to the Hall of Dread. "When you take your positions, try to avoid my friends."
"As you command," all three replied.
Silently as shadows, the wraiths started forward, simultaneously walking and sliding. Seth could not keep pace with their odd, gliding gait, and they soon drifted out of view. When Seth finally reached the stairs to exit the dungeon, he noticed the tall wraith standing guard. No words were exchanged.
Seth found Vanessa and the satyrs on the back porch near Hugo. "We felt the wraiths go by," Vanessa said.
"Did they seem to be going in the right direction?" Seth asked.
"Looked that way," Newel replied. Seth stared out into the yard. A few glimmering fairies bobbed in the darkness. He had a feeling the night was nearly spent. "What if I assembled a huge army of wraiths and creepy things to fight the demons?" Seth mused.
"It would be like trying to fight sharks with seawater," Vanessa said. "Our best hope lies in walking the path Patton outlined."
Seth unfolded his letter from Patton and used the flashlight to read about the leprechaun. "The letter says the best time to catch the leprechaun is in the afternoon."
"You should get some sleep," Vanessa suggested. "You'll need your strength. Hugo and I can keep watch."
Seth did feel weary. "All right."
The satyrs started improvising beds out of ripped couch cushions. Using the flashlight, Seth went to the garage and retrieved a couple of sleeping bags.
"May I borrow your light?" Vanessa asked when he returned. "While you sleep, I want to forage."
Seth handed over the flashlight.
"Get some sleep," she said gently.
Hugo cleared a spot in the rubble. Seth unrolled the sleeping bag, unzipped it part of the way, and burrowed inside. He wished somehow sleep could make all of this go away.
Newel and Doren began to snore magnificently. At first Seth thought they were teasing him, but eventually he realized it was no joke. He tried to tune out the droning duet. For some time he lay there struggling to get comfortable, shifting and turning, striving not to obsess about the future, wondering if sleep would ever come. Eventually his exhaustion overpowered all other variables and he sank into a troubled slumber.
Chapter 18 Flight
Warren, Kendra, and Bracken sat with their backs against the iron wall of the dome, legs stretched out in front of them, feasting on pomegranates. Kendra plucked red arils until she had a small handful, then slapped them into her mouth, chewing lazily. The cool juice inside had a faintly sour aftertaste.
The fairies had once again provided them with an abundance of nuts and fruit. One industrious group of fairies had even gone back and retrieved Warren's sword from the Beckoning Grove. Bracken had heaped praise on them for their efforts, making the fatigued fairies blush with pleasure. After the display, a second team of fairies brought them a rust-cankered dagger, and a third fetched a moldy gauntlet. Bracken toned down his enthusiasm, but accepted the offerings graciously.
When the luminous pond began to churn and bubble, Bracken scrambled to his feet for a better view. Warren and Kendra did likewise.
"Will our help come out of the pond?" Warren asked.
They had expected the promised assistance to enter through the hatch. With the implication that help might arrive through the pond, Kendra had a sudden suspicion who the Fairy Queen might be sending. She had only heard of one being who could travel between fairy shrines.
A sleek, winged form burst out of the water surrounded by luminous spray. The undersized dragon wheeled through the air and landed in front of Bracken, silver-white scales reflecting a faint rainbow sheen.
"Raxtus!" Kendra exclaimed.
The dragon shook his head briskly, expelling water from his burnished snout. "Hello, Kendra," the dragon replied, panting. "Greetings, Bracken. You look well. And, wait a minute, small world! You're Warren, the guy who had the punctured lung." The dragon gave a nervous chuckle. "Glad you found a competent healer. And a barber. Sorry about the whiskers."
"This is our reinforcements?" Warren asked in concern.
"Think of me as your transportation," Raxtus said. "You'll feel less disappointed."
"We're very happy to see you," Bracken said.
The dragon dipped his head respectfully. "It's been too long. I'm glad you're out of confinement."
"You know Kendra and Warren?" Bracken asked.
"We met at Wyrmroost." Raxtus looked around. "I've been here before. The sealed shrine. Is that little door the only way out?"
"I'm afraid so," Bracken said.
Warren considered the door, then glanced back at Raxtus. "You're small for a dragon, but not that small." Kendra tacitly agreed. Raxtus had a body the size of a large horse. Even with his wings fully tucked, it didn't look like his midsection could fit through the hatchway.
Raxtus sighed. "I'll figure it out. Once you get really acquainted with humiliation, the dread starts to fade."
"What humiliation?" Bracken inquired.
"Take your pick," Raxtus grumbled. "I was referring to my avatar."
"Your avatar is a unique wonder!" Bracken cried.
"My avatar is a wimpy little fairy boy," Raxtus corrected.
Kendra stifled a giggle.
"I didn't have time to learn your whole situation," Raxtus said. He seemed intent on changing the subject. "The Fairy Queen stressed that haste was paramount. What's the plan?"