Fablehaven: The Complete Series (236 page)

Cormac brushed a finger along the side of his nose and gave the satyrs a wily glance. “Fauns have no business consorting with human youths,” the leprechaun scolded. “Tell you what—free me from the boy, and I have a crock of gold for each of you!”

“Take off the coat,” Seth ordered.

Newel hesitated. After Doren nudged him, he started unbuttoning the frock coat.

Cormac twisted and hollered. “Side with the humans, will you? This won’t be forgotten! Mercy! Leave me my coat!”

“No,” Seth said. “You had fair warning.”

Newel tugged off the coat. The leprechaun was left pouting in a dark yellow shirt with a patterned vest.

“You’ll get it back if you cooperate,” Seth said. “Next step is we shave your beard.”

“You’ve bedeviled me enough!” Cormac spluttered. “Set me down by that door.” He pointed at the one he meant.

Keeping hold of his beard, Seth placed the leprechaun beside the door. Cormac knocked three times and snapped.

“Is that all?” Seth asked.

“Open it,” the leprechaun said.

Seth picked up Cormac and opened the door, revealing a closet cluttered mostly with empty bottles.

“Close it,” Cormac instructed. “Then open it again.”

Seth complied. When he reopened the door, the closet was gone. Instead he found himself looking down a long tunnel.

“One more time,” Cormac sighed.

Seth closed the door again, then opened it to reveal a large room full of shelves, crates, and chests. Sundry treasures crowded the shelves, including fine porcelain figures, strands of pearls, enameled urns, ivory carvings, jeweled goblets, and an extensive collection of snuffboxes. Old paintings hung on the walls in gilded frames. Three heavily ornamented suits of plate mail stood together in a corner beside a rack of halberds.

“Where are Patton’s items?” Seth asked.

“The case on the bottom shelf,” Cormac said with a gesture. “Help yourself.”

Keeping a hand on Cormac, Seth crouched and pulled the wooden case from the shelf. Unfastening the catches, he opened the case to reveal a handbell, a music box, and a slender whistle, each housed in a velvet-lined compartment contoured to match its respective shape. Satisfied, he closed the case and exited the room.

“Success?” Doren asked.

“Looks like it,” Seth replied. He gave Cormac a squeeze. “If you cheated us, we’ll be back.”

“I never lie when I deliver on a captor’s request,” Cormac said. “That’s what keeps my kind alive. Those are the items Patton left with me.”

Seth pointed at the satyrs. “Return their gold and we’ll leave you alone.”

“I brought the sack,” Doren said, shaking it open.

“I’ll need my coat back,” Cormac said. “The coins are inside.”

“I couldn’t find any,” Newel said, handing the dapper coat back to the leprechaun.

Raising his eyebrows, Cormac slipped his arms into the sleeves. “Hold me by my feet and shake me over the sack.”

Seth turned the leprechaun upside down and began bobbing him up and down above the open mouth of the bag. Cormac’s deft little hands reached into the coat, and a cascade of gold coins began to pour into the sack with a musical shimmer of clinking. The cascade eventually slowed, a few final stragglers plunking onto the rest.

“Feels about right,” Doren verified, hefting the sack.

“Tell you what,” Newel said, extending the flask to the leprechaun. “Keep the whiskey.”

Cormac brightened. “That is right neighborly of you.” He accepted the flask. “I’m sure you three can find your way out.”

“You need to escort us out,” Seth said. “Patton warned us. Then we’ll quit bothering you.”

“Fine, let’s get on with it,” the leprechaun groused.

Seth went down the corridor toward the waterfall. At the end they reached a blank wall. Seth held Cormac’s beard, the leprechaun snapped his fingers, and the wall folded open to reveal a light rainfall.

Seth stepped out and hurried to the side of the streambed. Newel and Doren paused at the mouth of the tunnel.

“What’s the holdup?” Seth asked.

Newel eyed the sky. “This rain is going to mess up my hair.”

“Your hair?” Seth cried incredulously.

“He wants to look good for Vanessa,” Doren explained.

“So do you!” Newel shot back.

“I could provide a proven love tonic for a hundred gold coins,” Cormac offered.

“You guys are starting to act like Verl,” Seth said.

Newel and Doren shared a disgusted glance, then hurried out into the rain. Newel raked his fingers through his hair, messing it up. Doren rubbed some mud onto his arms.

“Are we finished?” Cormac asked, exasperated.

“Yes,” Seth said, setting him down.

The leprechaun sprang like a toad to the mouth of the tunnel and snapped his fingers. The waterfall began to spill over the ledge again, masking the disappearance of the tunnel.

A sudden flurry of hoofbeats made Seth whirl. Six centaurs cantered toward them, led by Cloudwing and Stormbrow. Cloudwing held an arrow nocked to his bowstring. Stormbrow clutched a huge mace. The other centaurs carried weapons as well.

The centaurs had evidently been waiting for them. Where were Vanessa and Hugo? Seth had a sword at his waist and a shield over his shoulder, but he did not want to test them against centaurs. Cloudwing had given them until nightfall. Hopefully he could talk his way out of this.

“You lied to us,” Cloudwing accused without introduction. “You are in league with darkness.”

“Did you have trouble trying to claim our property?” Seth asked innocently.

“You have unleashed unnatural fiends on centaur lands,” Cloudwing said. “Surrender as our prisoner or die. Same goes for your mangy entourage.” His tone called for immediate compliance.

“You gave us until sundown,” Seth protested. “Are centaurs liars?”

“We gave you until sundown to depart,” Cloudwing said sternly, “not to make preparations for war against us. Your aggression nullifies our concession.”

“My aggression?” Seth blurted, getting mad. “Did I send wraiths against you? Or did you run into wraiths when you tried to steal our property?”

“The locations in question were abandoned,” Cloudwing said. “You loosed evil on territory under our protection. We will not risk the possibility of more mischief.”

“But you are risking the possibility of more mischief,” Seth said, unsure what to do besides bluff. “Do you really want to deal with an undead army?”

“We do not,” Cloudwing said. “Which explains our presence. As our prisoner, you will order the wraiths to depart. At the first sign of undead aggression, you will die.”

“Enough empty words,” Stormbrow snarled. “Fleetfoot, Edgerunner, seize them.”

Two of the centaurs began to trot forward. Cloudwing slapped his neck as if bitten by an insect. He swayed unsteadily, dropped his bow, and flopped to the ground.

“Hold,” Stormbrow ordered, raising a fist, eyes scanning the surrounding trees. A centaur with bluish fur stooped to examine Cloudwing, while the other three turned defensively to survey the area. The light rain pattered down, making leaves wag. Stormbrow flinched and cursed. Inspecting his meaty shoulder, he plucked out a small, feathered dart. He held out his mace in the direction the dart had come from. All eyes raised to Vanessa, well concealed high in a tree, reloading her blowgun.

“Ambush!” Stormbrow roared, forelegs buckling. Mud splattered as he slapped the ground.

Hugo came charging out from among the trees. Three of the centaurs wheeled to face him, brandishing their weapons. The bluish centaur threw a javelin at Vanessa, who dropped gracefully to a lower branch to evade the projectile. Producing his sling, Newel crouched, grabbed a smooth stone, and sent it hissing into the back of a blond centaur’s skull, making him stagger.

Two of the centaurs galloped to meet Hugo’s charge, one holding a spear as if jousting, the other brandishing a longsword. Hugo batted the spearhead aside and then lunged forward, his extended arms brutally clotheslining the oncoming centaurs. The longsword ended up buried in the top of the golem’s shoulder. Hugo pulled the weapon free and tossed it aside.

While the bluish centaur prepared to hurl a second javelin, a blowdart lodged in his chest, dropping him within seconds. The centaur Newel had tagged with the stone fixed his eyes on Seth and charged, holding aloft a double-bitted battle-ax. Doren launched an arrow, but, turning his ax like a shield, the centaur deflected the shot.

Dropping the case with Patton’s items, Seth drew his sword and held up his shield. Hugo was coming his way, but was not close enough to stop the centaur. Vanessa was reloading. Newel grasped for another rock. Doren reached for a second arrow.

There was no time. Seth would face this charge alone.

Bending his knees, Seth angled his shield and held his sword high, hoping the centaur would believe he meant to meet the charge head-on. As the furious centaur bore down on him, Seth dove and rolled. The ax swished through the air above him.

The centaur turned to come at him again, but was suddenly moving sluggishly. Seth saw the small, feathered dart protruding from his cheek. A moment later, the golden-haired centaur collapsed.

Vanessa used another pair of darts to silence the centaurs Hugo had injured. Descending from the tree, she ordered the golem to keep watch. Then she approached Seth. “Are you all right?”

“Better now,” Seth replied. “Those darts really knocked them out.”

“You know how I love putting people to sleep,” Vanessa said. “While foraging last night, I came across a sleeping toxin Tanu derived from Glommus, the dragon I killed at Wyrmroost. It’s the most potent I’ve ever encountered.”

“You slew a dragon?” Newel said in awe.

“What a woman,” Doren mouthed.

“You got Patton’s items?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes,” Seth said, picking up the case and brushing it off.

“Excellent,” Vanessa said. “We need to get away from Fablehaven. We bested those centaurs thanks to surprise. Sorry to use you as bait, by the way. Once they had tracked you to the leprechaun’s cave, it seemed the most prudent strategy.”

“It worked,” Seth approved. “How long will these jerks sleep?”

Vanessa walked over to Cloudwing and prodded him with her toe. “It was a small dose, and they are powerful creatures. Still, they should be out at least a day. The substance Tanu derived is truly amazing. Our problem is that other centaurs undoubtedly knew of this mission and will come snooping. Next time the centaurs will attack us in much greater numbers.”

“But we’ll be gone,” Doren said.

“That’s the hope.” Vanessa knelt beside Cloudwing, opened her mouth, and latched on to his neck. After holding the pose for a few seconds, she pulled back, wiping her lips.

“Are you going to control him?” Seth asked.

“In a minute.” One by one, she bit the other centaurs. “The penalty for claiming six will be the same as claiming one. You never know when a muscle-bound brute might come in handy.”

Vanessa stretched out on the rain-dampened ground and closed her eyes. Cloudwing stirred and then rose to his feet. Newel and Doren scampered away several paces.

“Wow,” Cloudwing said, flexing his arms, biceps clenching into swollen mounds. “I’ve never inhabited a centaur before.” Cloudwing reared, lashing the air with his front hooves. “I could get used to this.”

“Don’t we need to hurry?” Seth reminded her.

“Right,” Vanessa said through Cloudwing. “Drape my body over the back of the centaur. I’ll need someone to ride with me and steady me.”

Newel and Doren immediately raised their hands.

“I’ll keep you steady,” Doren assured her.

“I could lash you in place,” Newel said, taking a length of rope from his pack.

Stooping, Cloudwing retrieved his bow. “Newel, I like the idea of using rope.” Cloudwing raised his voice. “Hugo! Come! We must depart.”

Hugo placed Vanessa’s unconscious body on the centaur, and Newel bound her to the back of the human torso as well as to the horse. “I’ll ride with you to be certain,” the satyr added, attempting a casual air.

Hugo picked up Seth and Doren. Seth looked down at the five sleeping centaurs. “I wish we had saddles,” he said. “I’d love for them to wake up wearing saddles.”

Newel and Doren cackled.

“We should give them embarrassing tattoos!” Doren cried. “Maybe kittens. Or mustaches!”

“Cut off their tails,” Newel suggested.

“Trust me, guys,” Cloudwing said, not even cracking a smile, “they’ll be mad enough.”

“I think Vanessa is becoming a centaur,” Doren laughed.

“Their sense of humor is rubbing off on her,” Newel teased.