Fablehaven: The Complete Series (188 page)

“My attack caught the dragon completely off guard. When I rose to my feet and cut him with a return stroke, I left the beast nearly decapitated. The dragon reeled away, belching sweet fog and bleeding profusely. He retreated into a gloomy cave and died. I went in after him to verify his demise, and finished parting his head from his body.”

“You killed a dragon,” Kendra said in awe.

Tanu laughed. It may have been the Samoan’s voice, but the laugh belonged to Vanessa. “I suppose I did.” It was strange to hear Tanu speaking with Vanessa’s inflexions. “I may be the sole living dragon slayer. Not that I deserve to brag. That was handed to me. You don’t often find the exposed neck of a dragon moving sluggishly overhead. And there I was, with a sharp sword in my hand. It hadn’t occurred to the beast that any of us could possibly be conscious. He was carelessly taking his time.”

“Should I help you get the others?” Kendra asked.

“No. The sleeping gas still hangs heavy in the air. I’ll have to bring them. You can wait here and help wake them.” Tanu handed Kendra the tiny bottle that had helped her snap awake. He craned his head back to study the lofty ceiling. “This is no simple dragon lair. Where are we? You place us in greater danger by not telling me.”

“On what side of the ravine was the dragon’s cave?” Kendra asked.

“That side,” Tanu pointed. “Back that way.”

The answer helped Kendra orient herself. “There’s a hydra back beyond the dragon cave. And somewhere up ahead an unknown guardian awaits.”

Tanu scowled. “Is this a Dragon Temple? What have you gotten yourselves into?”

“Long story,” Kendra said.

“I’m sure you have your reasons,” Tanu muttered. “Look, I’ll collect the rest of your team. You’d better put in a good word for me with your grandparents when you get home.”

“Is it far to the others?” Kendra asked.

“A good distance. The mist is widely dispersed.”

“There’s a knapsack. It has a room inside. If you’re strong enough to carry people down into the room, it might be faster. Maybe not.”

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll be back.”

Kendra waited alone, trying to muster her courage. They had survived a dragon. Maybe they would actually make it out of the Dragon Temple. Uncapping the small bottle, she tried a little sniff and felt a spicy tingle penetrate her sinuses, triggering tears. The invasive smell left a metallic aftertaste on the roof of her mouth. She was just beginning to wonder what was taking so long when she heard Tanu returning. He drug Trask over to her and laid him on his back. The knapsack hung from his shoulder.

“Anybody in the sack?” Kendra asked.

“Mara, Gavin, Seth, and Warren,” Tanu said.

“Was Warren asleep as well?”

“And badly wounded. I found him crumpled at the bottom of the ladder.”

“He was already injured,” Kendra said. “He was inside the knapsack when the dragon put us to sleep. He must have tried to climb out and help us.”

“When he tried to emerge, the sleep gas knocked him out and he fell,” Tanu finished. “Serves him right. Warren was always so cocky. I’m not going to try to lug any of them back up the ladder.”

“Right,” Kendra said. “I’ll climb down to wake them up.”

“I’ll go back for Dougan. He was too heavy to move into the knapsack. When we’re done, I’ll relinquish my hold on Tanu and you can wake him as well.”

Tanu walked away.

Kendra squatted beside Trask, uncapping the bottle and waving it beneath his nostrils. She recalled how her name had been the first word to register. “Trask,” she said. “Trask, wake up. We’re in the temple, Trask. You have to get up. Trask. Come on, Trask.”

He did not stir. Kendra took another quick whiff from the bottle. Her eyes immediately teared up and her sinuses burned. How could he sleep through that sensation? Wiping away tears, she returned the mouth of the bottle to his nostrils. He showed no reaction. “Trask! Trask, come on, get up. Trask, dragons! Hurry, Trask, wake up!” She prodded his cheek. She pried open an eye only to see it languidly roll back. She shook him. She shouted. Nothing elicited a response.

Kendra continued to speak and shout persistently. When Tanu returned with Dougan, Trask still had not stirred.

“Is there a trick to this?” Kendra asked.

“It took a good twenty minutes to awaken you,” Tanu said. “Time away from the fumes must be part of the equation. Once you get Trask awake, I’m sure the others will rouse faster.”

“How did you know which potion to use?” Kendra asked. “Can you see Tanu’s thoughts?”

Tanu shook his head. “Trial and error. I knew he must have some compound akin to smelling salts.”

Kendra put the bottle beneath Trask’s nostrils. “Wake up, Trask. Come on, get up, we have dragons to fight. Trask? Trask?” She jostled his shoulder.

“I’ll wait to release Tanu until Trask wakes up,” Tanu said. “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“Thanks, Vanessa. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t forget to put in a good word with your grandparents.”

“I will,” Kendra promised. “If we ever make it out of here.” She returned to trying to rouse Trask.

Kendra had no way to confirm how long it took for Trask to start awakening. It felt like more than twenty minutes. At last he began to hum and moan as she shook him. Not long after that his eyes opened. With her hand on his shoulder, she felt him tense up.

“What happened?” he asked.

Kendra explained. By the time she was done, Trask was on his feet.

“Vanessa Santoro,” he said grudgingly, shaking hands with Tanu. “We’re indebted.”

“Believe it or not, I’m actually on your side these days,” Tanu replied. “Now that you’re awake, Lieutenant, I’d best return your potion master to you. I’ll be watching. If you should fall asleep unnaturally again, I’ll be back.” Tanu reclined on the ground. “You should have good luck awakening those in the knapsack by now. Save me and Dougan for last. ’Bye, Kendra.”

“’Bye.”

Tanu closed his eyes and his body slackened into a deep sleep.

Trask stood guard while Kendra descended into the storage room. It took only a few minutes to awaken Seth. Gavin and Mara woke even faster, and Warren sat up on his own. It turned out the fall had broken both bones in his forearm. The others carefully helped him back to his resting place.

After everyone in the storage room understood what had happened, Kendra led the way up the ladder. Using the pungent scent from the little bottle, she awoke Dougan and finally Tanu. The Samoan had a big grin on his face by the time they finished recapping what had transpired.

“Glommus was an old dragon, and blind,” Gavin said. “I had heard of him. His reputation was renowned. He was truly one of a kind. Once I understood who we were facing, I knew we were in trouble. That b-b-breath of his will put anything to sleep—even other dragons!”

“I managed to break a smoke grenade before I went down,” Tanu put in.

“Which explains why Glommus had to get so close to smell us,” Gavin said. “We really lucked out. Without that narcoblix, we would be dragon food.”

“I know Vanessa gets the credit,” Tanu said, repressing a grin, “but it’s pretty cool to think I took down a dragon. My body, at least.”

“Good thing you had one of the adamant-edged swords,” Seth observed.

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Trask reminded them. “We have another guardian ahead of us, and the hydra behind. We’ve overcome a major obstacle, but now we have to refocus.”

They set about getting their gear in order. Tanu descended into the knapsack to check how Warren was faring and discover what additional attention he might need.

Seth wandered over to Kendra. “So why do you think Vanessa picked Tanu instead of me?”

“Would you have wanted her to pick you?” Kendra asked.

“Well, I would have sort of been a dragon slayer.”

“You know, I don’t think Vanessa meant it as an insult. She’s controlled Tanu before. Plus Tanu is bigger.”

Seth looked mopey. “She bit me too.”

Kendra rolled her eyes. “Cheer up. You may not have killed dragons, but you’ve gotten to see dragons. And who knows, you might still get eaten by one!”

“I’m glad I’ve seen some,” he admitted.

Kendra huffed. “Are you really glad? Truly? It freaks me out. We almost died.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to pretend I wasn’t freaked out too. I thought we were doomed. But if dragons weren’t freaky, they’d be . . . disappointing.”

Kendra patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry. There should be plenty of freaky stuff ahead of us. We still might not even survive.”

Trask decided their group had been too clustered when Glommus had attacked, so he strung them out more as they resumed their journey. He and Gavin took the lead. Mara and Tanu followed fifty yards back. Then Kendra, Seth, Mendigo, and Dougan stayed back another fifty yards at the rear.

They traveled a long distance, generally sloping upward. The ravine narrowed and widened. It became deeper and shallower. It turned several times.

Kendra scrutinized every shadow, worried about another cave or offshoot containing a hidden dragon. Up ahead, Trask and Gavin searched the walls of the ravine high and low with bright flashlights. Kendra stayed ready for disaster to strike at any step. She knew that any minute Trask and Gavin could be engulfed in a fiery inferno.

She tried to guess what the final guardian might be. Another dragon? A giant? A huge demon like Bahumat? Some more deadly creature they had never heard of? The possibilities were endless.

When they rounded another corner, steps became visible up ahead. The beige stone stairs reached from one side of the ravine to the other, leading up to a pillared structure. Bronze statues of dragons flanked the top of the steps. The massive building had no front wall, and was plenty large enough to accommodate dragons or giants.

Trask and Gavin waited for the others to catch up just short of the wide stairway. “Looks like we’ve reached the temple proper,” Trask said. “Gavin has volunteered to scout ahead. We’re assuming the third guardian awaits us inside.”

“He’s scouting alone?” Kendra asked.

“I’ll follow twenty yards back,” Trask said. “I’ll keep him covered with my crossbow. Tanu, trail along behind me. The rest of you hang back and await my signal.”

Kendra watched Gavin mount the steps and disappear into the gloomy building. Trask was halfway up the steps when Gavin came running back out, waving Trask away. Gavin raced down the stairs two at a time and sprinted toward Kendra. She involuntarily drew back as he came into the light of the nearest glowing stone. His skin had taken on a bluish cast, almost black around the neck and lips. He gazed at her with horribly bloodshot eyes. “The horn,” he murmured, collapsing.

“He’s poisoned,” Seth realized, diving into the knapsack.

Kendra could have hugged her brother for moving so quickly. Sitting beside Gavin, she took his hand to console him. It felt cold. Black eyelids had hooded his eyes. A buttery discharge leaked from below the closed lids like gooey tears. He began to quiver and twitch. His veins were becoming increasingly visible, black lines beneath his blue, clammy skin.

Tanu knelt beside the knapsack, his head and one arm inside the storage room. She heard him call, “Throw it!” A moment later the Samoan was approaching with the unicorn horn in his fist. He touched the tip of the horn to Gavin’s blue-black throat and held it there.

The convulsions stopped instantly. The black veins faded and the blue hues drained from his skin. Gavin coughed and opened his eyes, a sweaty hand closing around the horn. “That was close,” he breathed.

“Is he all right?” Trask asked.

“The horn purifies,” Tanu said. “If it was poison, he should be fine.”

“I’m great,” Gavin said, sitting up. “It was p-p-poison. We’re in serious trouble.”

“What did you see?” Trask asked.

“Not much. I barely glimpsed her. I didn’t speak with her. Didn’t have time. The poison hit hard and moved fast. But I didn’t need a conversation to know who she was. The third guardian is Siletta.”

“The poison dragon,” Tanu groaned.

Gavin nodded. “She didn’t breathe on me or anything. The whole atmosphere in there is tainted.”

“I’ve never heard of a poison dragon,” Trask said.

“Many thought she was just a legend,” Tanu explained. “Or if not, long dead. Dark potion makers fantasize about her. She is utterly unique.”

“Poison to the core,” Gavin said. “I once spoke to a dragon who knew her anciently. Her breath, her flesh, her blood, her tears, her excretions, everything is deadly poison. You saw how I looked? That was simply from being in the same room with her. Everyone should touch the horn. Even out here we may be getting exposed.”

They all crowded together to place a hand on the horn.