Fablehaven: The Complete Series (244 page)

“I’m fine,” Kendra said.

Sheathing his sword, Bracken plucked an arrow from his shield. “We were so close!” He glanced at the sky, then at Raxtus. “How many wyverns did you get?”

“All five. Two in the water, three in the air. Hardly a fair fight. Their claws couldn’t penetrate my scales, and I was invisible. They have this really fragile spot, right where the neck joins the back of the head. My dad taught me that.”

“What happened to Tux?” Kendra asked.

“He changed into a falcon and tried to help,” Raxtus said. “The shape-shifter turned to dust along with Mark.”

Bracken kicked the army jacket. “Blasted craven! If only I’d been a little quicker.”

“They were watching,” Raxtus said. “They knew just how to thwart us. If we’d been a little faster, they might have still tracked me and gotten Mark.”

“How did that sword kill him?” Kendra asked. “I thought it had to be phoenix or dragon fire or unicorn horns.”

“He had magic swords,” Bracken said bitterly. “The hilts were made of dragon teeth, and the blades were enchanted. The magic must have been equivalent to dragon breath.”

“Torina was with them,” Kendra noted.

“She had a few arrows fletched with phoenix feathers,” Bracken said. “Magical as well. They would have done the job too.” He pulled the other arrow from his shield and held it up. “She didn’t bother to use the special ones on me.”

“They ran from you,” Raxtus encouraged.

“I expect they were running from you,” Bracken said. “As well they should. You’re becoming quite formidable. I’d give chase, but it could be a trap, and our only priority now is the Eternal in Texas. We could waste time pursuing these clowns while another hit squad moves in on our last hope.”

Raxtus exercised his wings. “After our last trip, Texas is just around the corner. Hmmm. Might be time to make an exit.”

“The police are coming,” Bracken said.

After the comments, Kendra noticed the distant whine of sirens. She looked over to the pier. “People must have seen us.”

“I’m not sure what I look like to bystanders,” said Raxtus. “Not sure about the wyverns either. But onlookers certainly could have glimpsed people flying around and firing arrows and stabbing each other. Bracken left a couple of bodies on the beach. The police probably received multiple calls. It’s time to flee.”

“You’re right,” Bracken said. “I’ll try to contact the Sphinx. Meanwhile, get us out of here.”

Chapter 23

Vasilis

Seth sat on the rocky hillside while Vanessa consulted the hand-drawn map he had received from the Singing Sisters. She compared it to a second map, consulted her compass, and checked the GPS reading. Up ahead, Newel and Doren were fencing with their walking sticks, wood clacking sharply as they slashed and blocked and stabbed. Hugo loomed over Seth, waiting silently as Vanessa got her bearings.

After leaving the paved roads of British Columbia, Vanessa had driven almost tentatively. Seth supposed isolated dirt roads that skirted sheer drops of hundreds of feet would make anyone a little cautious. Vanessa had piloted them along obscure, pitted roads for hours, winding among rugged mountains and picturesque bodies of water until, with dawn approaching, the latest road had ended at a small camping area, where she had proclaimed they would proceed on foot.

“We’re close,” Vanessa said. “If I’m correlating these maps correctly, around this hill, we should find a long valley that narrows into a ravine. The Totem Wall awaits at the end of the ravine. Let’s make this a real break and have a snack.”

“Foo-ood!” Seth called. The satyrs quit their duel and trotted over, opening their packs.

“Would you care for a sandwich, Mike?” Newel asked, referring to the false passport Vanessa had used when bringing Seth over the Canadian border. It was the same passport he had used when traveling to Obsidian Waste. Elise had held their documents, so his passport had made it home to Fablehaven with her. Vanessa had recovered it during her foraging at Fablehaven, and had added forged documents establishing her guardianship. Her extensive experience with international travel had come in handy.

“Pretzels, Mr. McDonald?” Doren asked, using the last name from Seth’s passport. He held out an open bag and shook it enticingly.

“Sure,” Seth said, accepting a pretzel. “At least I didn’t have to walk over the border and then get picked up on the far side.”

“Best to assume the Canadians would have objected to foreign goats,” Newel said, handing Seth a deli sandwich.

“Or a huge dirt pile in the back of the truck,” Doren added. “Or weapons. We did you guys a service, kept all the possible contraband out of your vehicle.”

Newel flung his arms wide, stretching. Appraising the nearest mountaintops, he filled his lungs with the cool morning air. “I’m surprised more people don’t live up here. This is some of the prettiest country I’ve seen, and it’s also the least populated.”

“Harsh winters,” Vanessa said. “We’re lucky they seem to be having a gentle spring. At higher altitudes or farther north I bet we could still find deep snow.”

Seth compressed the tall deli sandwich with his hands and bit into it, crisp lettuce crunching. The satyrs had kept the sandwiches in a cooler, so it was chilled. The sandwich had more mustard and pickles than he liked, but helped satisfy his hunger nonetheless.

Doren tossed pretzels at Newel, who caught them in his mouth. Vanessa ate half her sandwich, then leaned back and closed her eyes. After all the driving she had done, she had to be exhausted.

Seth tried not to obsess about the upcoming task. He wished they could reach the Totem Wall and get started. The anticipation was driving him crazy.

The satyrs returned to fencing with their walking sticks. Vanessa didn’t stir. Seth supposed she had earned a brief rest. To distract himself, he pulled out the coin Bracken had given him.

“You hear me?” Seth mouthed.

I hear you. I should have tried to reach you earlier. We failed to protect another Eternal. Only one left. We’re on our way to Texas. How are you?

“I’m about to carry out one of the hard parts of my mission. If I succeed, maybe we can meet up before long. Is Kendra all right?”  

We’re all fine. Uninjured, I mean. Just a little discouraged. Hopefully we’ll both have more success in the near future.

“I’ll be in touch,” Seth whispered.

Keep that coin handy.

“Talking to Bracken?” Vanessa asked, sitting up.

“They lost another Eternal,” Seth said. “Only one left.”

“Which makes our role in this ever more important.” Vanessa arose. “You shouldn’t communicate too much with the coin. With our enemies in possession of the Oculus, everything we say and do can give away our purposes.”

“I’ve been keeping my language vague,” Seth assured her. “For all we know, they’ve been watching us all along.”

“Not so,” Vanessa said. “I expect their gaze has been directed elsewhere. To the Eternals, mostly, and to Zzyzx itself. If they knew what we were after, we would have encountered opposition long before now. Thanks to all they’re dealing with, our little road trip seems to have escaped their notice thus far. Of course, that could change at any moment.”

Newel’s walking stick broke. Doren started chasing him around the hillside, poking him in the back.

“No fair!” Newel cried. “I’m unarmed!”

“Touché!” Doren exclaimed with each new stab.

“We need to move on,” Vanessa said.

“This game was just getting interesting,” Doren complained, halting the pursuit.

Newel pointed at Doren. “I’ll remember this.”

“You’d do better to forget it,” Doren advised. “It looked humiliating.”

Hugo scooped up Seth and Vanessa. She gave the golem directions, and the satyrs fell into step behind them.

They found the valley where Vanessa had expected, and, as predicted, it narrowed to a steep, dry ravine. When Hugo reached an invisible barrier that prevented him from proceeding, they knew they had almost reached their destination. Hugo set down Seth and Vanessa.

“I guess this is where I go forward alone,” Seth said.

“We have only one favor to ask the Totem Wall,” Vanessa said. “We mustn’t risk the rest of us encountering it.”

“I have my instructions from the Sisters,” Seth said. “Can’t be too bad, right?”

Vanessa arched an eyebrow. “It might be pretty bad. But I’ve developed faith in you. Bring back the sword.”

“Should I take my sword?” Seth asked. He had buckled on his adamant sword and brought his adamant shield when they had left the truck.

“I don’t know much about the Totem Wall,” Vanessa said. “It’s old magic. Considering what the Sisters shared with you about what lies beyond the wall, I’d guess you might want a sword. Just don’t use it to make any powerful entities unnecessarily angry.”

“Take the sword,” Newel seconded. “Chop up anybody who gives you trouble.”

“I’ve heard it’s easier if you break their weapon first,” Doren added, earning a punch in the shoulder from Newel.

“Okay,” Seth said. “See you soon. You might as well take naps, let Hugo stand guard.”

Seth turned and started walking along the ravine, treading carefully due to the many loose rocks. He looked back once and caught the others watching him somberly. They immediately cheered up and waved, but his initial glance had revealed a level of concern that his companions had been hiding. He wished he hadn’t looked back.

The meandering ravine grew shallower and steeper as he proceeded. Back where the others waited, Seth thought he could have scaled the walls. Now an attempt to climb would be impossible.

Up ahead, a totem pole came into view, brightly painted, as if created recently, standing straight and tall in the middle of the ravine. The stacked images included a squat, chubby warrior on the bottom, three fierce faces above him, and a winged eagle at the top. The grotesque caricatures leered at him, wooden teeth bared, and on some instinctive level, Seth realized the elaborate pole was a warning.

Passing the pole, Seth grew more anxious. The ravine seemed unnaturally silent. He heard no buzzing of insects, no birdcalls, no rustling leaves. The air felt still and heavy. He sensed eyes spying, but could detect nothing to confirm the suspicion. He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword.

Around the next curve, the ravine abruptly ended, and Seth beheld the Totem Wall. Six times his height, built into the rear wall, the Totem Wall spanned the entire ravine like a dam. Hundreds of faces made up the seamless wooden monument, weatherworn, timeworn, but well crafted, each face still very recognizable. A wide variety of animals were represented—bears, wolves, deer, moose, elk, lynxes, beavers, otters, seals, walruses, eagles, owls, and many others. People were depicted in even greater diversity—male and female, old and young, fat and thin, fair and hideous. Some looked friendly, others furious, others wise, others ridiculous, others crafty, others ill, others smug, others frightened, others serene.

Seth had never seen anything like it. He could imagine the Totem Wall as the featured exhibit in the world’s finest museum. It was that impressive, that detailed, that unique.

A low stump dominated the ravine in front of the Totem Wall. Seth approached it curiously. No higher than his chest, the stump was at least eight paces across. Seth tried to imagine how tall the tree might have been before it was cut. Judging from the countless visible rings, it must have been thousands of years old.

His intuition told Seth that he should address the wall from atop the stump, using it like a stage or platform. As he climbed up, he noticed that some of the exposed rings were spaced wider than others. He walked to the center, standing on the cluster of concentric circles that formed the innermost rings.