Chapter Two
As the moon began its descent through the night sky, Seth climbed carefully out his bedroom window. Since Kendra had turned eighteen, she was officially an adult and the protection spells wouldn't work for her, so she had moved to a room downstairs and Seth had the attic to himself. It was weird, not having to worry about waking his sister when he snuck out, but she wasn't even in the house that night anyway. This was the main reason Seth had chose that particular night for his moonlit escapade.
A small portion of the roof jutted out underneath the window. Seth cautiously put his weight on it, and, when he was certain it would hold him, stood up. The next bit would be easy, since the roof had a gentle upward slope, giving the attic its pointed ceiling. Testing each shingle before he stepped on it, Seth climbed to the top of the roof.
During a major power outage due to a snowstorm the previous winter, Seth had developed the ability to see in the dark. Just when he thought he'd exhausted the powers he could have as a shadow-charmer, something new surprised him. This ability was especially useful, because the climb on top of the house would have been much more dangerous if he'd needed to use one hand to hold a flashlight.
Seth slowly climbed along the very tip of the roof, a steep drop on either side of him. If someone had told him three years ago that someday he would crawl along the top of a two-story (not counting the attic) building, in the middle of the night, without a flashlight, for fun, he would have laughed in their face. But here he was. His adventure tonight was not entirely for fun, though – he was up here to talk to someone. He might not get another chance with his sister around.
Finally, Seth reached the far side of the roof. There was a nice alcove here where the roof met the tower. It was a great place to sit in to think, if you enjoyed that sort of thing. Apparently he did, since Seth had seen him sitting up here the previous day.
"Bracken," Seth hissed.
There was a flickering of light in the alcove, and Bracken appeared. Seth raised his eyebrows, impressed. He hadn't known unicorns could go invisible.
"Seth? What are you doing up here this late?" Bracken asked.
"I wanted to talk to you without Kendra breathing down my neck," Seth explained. "Anyway, I could ask you the same question. We thought you weren't getting here until tomorrow!"
Bracken scooted over and motioned for Seth to sit next to him. He obliged, pulling his knees up to his chest.
"I needed some time off to think, Bracken said. "Working on the Fairy Queen's new realm – I feel like I'm never alone."
"Is it about Kendra?" Seth asked. He mentally cringed, wondering if he had gone too far.
Bracken seemed unsurprised. "Among other things," he admitted.
"Does she know you're here?" wondered Seth. If she did, he thought, she had a great poker face. Or maybe she wasn't fazed by her immortal crush anymore.
He gave a small smile. "Not yet. I'm planning to surprise her when they get back."
"She'll be ecstatic," Seth said truthfully.
The smile widened. "I hope so."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes. The moon appeared from behind a cloud, illuminating Bracken's fair features and turning his silvery hair pure white.
"They haven't returned yet, have they?" asked Bracken. He almost sounded worried.
"Nope." Seth checked his watch and added, "It's only one, though. Give them time."
"I saw lights at the fairy shrine about half an hour ago," Bracken muttered. "Surely they're almost finished."
"Cool, what did it look like?" Seth asked. "Any fireworks?"
"No, nothing you'd find interesting," Bracken said with a grin. "More like a soft glow. Of course, I'm pretty sure it wasn't on this spectrum anyways."
Seth rolled his eyes jokingly. "There's a lot of invisible light out there that I can't see," he complained.
"Maybe you need glasses," Bracken teased.
Seth chuckled. Man, it felt good to kid around with someone. Everything had been about Kendra, Kendra, Kendra for the past few days. His sister had even monopolized their friend on his previous visits, of which there had been exactly two. Not that he blamed her, really. Bracken was easily likeable.
"We should go inside," Seth suggested. "It might be best not to surprise your hosts as well as Kendra."
"I suppose that would be the polite thing to do," Bracken agreed.
Seth was about to ask Bracken how he'd gotten up here when he stood up, vanished from the roof in a flash and reappeared in the yard below. Smiling up at Seth, Bracken waved.
"Show-off," Seth muttered, and began the perilous climb back to his window.
Since Kendra had first been introduced to the magical world at Fablehaven, she had been kidnapped twice, not counting the time she'd been captured as a result of a failed rescue mission. So far, she appeared to be much better off now than on either of the previous occasions. First of all, even though her limbs were bound and she was sitting in the back of an SUV going who-knows-where at insane speeds, she wasn't gagged, so she was able to cuss out her kidnappers using any words she chose. Second, and perhaps most importantly, she had Gratiana for company. Her new friend was still in phoenix form, trapped in a birdcage on the seat next to her. The cage was magically enchanted to prevent Gratiana from transforming into a larger animal and breaking the metal bars, but at least they could converse secretly in a fairy language neither of their kidnappers understood.
Also on the plus side were the facts that no one had replaced her with a stingbulb, so her friends and family might actually realize she was missing, and that those same people hadn't been captured as well, like when they had tried to rescue Seth from Living Mirage. So for now, Kendra sat tight and waited, exchanging a few words of comfort with Gratiana.
After a few hours – Kendra couldn't be exactly sure how long, since she had chosen not to wear her watch to the ceremony, saying that the band clashed with her dress – the SUV screeched to a stop. She looked eagerly to the window to see if she could identify any landmarks that would tell her where they were. The SUV had pulled up to an iron gate that was at least ten feet tall, but no matter how hard Kendra strained her eyes, she couldn't see anything beyond the fence. She frowned – she had never encountered a distracter spell that worked on her since becoming fairykind, and she had even managed to resist the spells at Wyrmroost, a well-protected dragon sanctuary.
One of the men in the front seat laughed. "You won't see anything out there," he called back to Kendra. He had a faint accent – Southern, she guessed. "Even if you could see in the dark, there ain't much to see."
Smiling to herself, Kendra asked Gratiana, "Can you see anything?"
The phoenix craned her neck, trying to get a better angle. "Beyond the fence, you mean?" she confirmed. "No, nothing. It's quite peculiar."
"Shaddup!" cried the other man. "I'm sick and tired of listening to you two gabbing in Latin or whatever."
"Well, hurry up and call the boss," the first man complained. "The sooner we get through this gate, the sooner we can ditch the prisoners, and the sooner we get paid."
"Right, of course." The second man flipped open a cell phone and dialed. A few moments later, Kendra could hear it ringing as they waited for "the boss" to pick up.
One the third ring, someone answered. "Yes?" a voice asked faintly from the other end. Kendra couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman speaking.
"We're at the gate," answered the man with the cell phone.
A long silence followed his words. Kendra wondered if the call had been disconnected somehow.
She heard the roar of an engine from somewhere behind them and the interior of the car gradually became illuminated by the lights of a sleek and shiny sports car that pulled up next to them.
"Yeah, she's here," the man said into the phone.
"Dang, she's fast," muttered the first one. "I thought for sure we ditched her in the last hundred miles. And how did she fit all four of 'em in there?"
"The pigeons fly over the moon," the man on the phone said. Kendra guessed this was a code word of some short. With a quiet beep, the call ended.
Kendra exchanged a glance with Gratiana; no words were needed. What the heck? her expression said. Gratiana shrugged, a gesture Kendra hadn't known birds could make.
The gates slowly swung inward, creaking as metal grated on metal. The SUV pulled forward inch by inch, the sports car following it at the same pace, until finally there was an opening wide enough. The SUV shot forward.
Peering out the window, Kendra blinked in amazement. She could see everything clear as day in front of them, as she usually could, but behind the cars there was only the unyielding wall of blackness. Shivering, Kendra turned her gaze back to the front. They drove along a winding, bumpy path through a forest. She thought she saw a dryad flitting among the trees for a second, but it was gone when she took a second look. Between the roots of a tick oak tree – was that a family of brownies? And there, sitting on an immaculately trimmed hedge – a sleeping fairy! With a jolt, she realized that they were probably in a preserve. No wonder it had been so heavily protected! But why the wall of darkness?
The SUV halted again, this time in front of a massive mansion. Despite the weathering shown plainly on its façade, it was styled in a modern fashion, quite unlike the old manor at Fablehaven. Everything was made from the same smooth, pale brown stone. Ivy crawled up a good part of the building; with a homesick smile, Kendra thought that Seth would love it. The leaves and vines snaked up to a number of windows and looked sturdy enough; a convenient way to get from room to room if you were sneaking around.
The man riding shotgun opened his door and hopped out, then came around to Kendra's door. "Get out," he said gruffly. "I'll carry the bird." Gratiana ruffled her feathers indignantly as he picked up her cage.
Since her feet were still bound, Kendra hopped awkwardly out of the car. She thought she would made a pretty decent landing, but tripped on a medium-sized stone and, without her arms untied to catch herself, fell flat on her face. She cried out as a stone grazed her check.
"Get up, get up," the Southern man growled. As Kendra struggled to her feet – no small feat with her arms behind her back and legs together – he started up the path to the mansion. The other man grabbed Kendra by the arm and together they stumbled after him.
Looking back, Kendra could see a stunningly beautiful woman getting out of the sports car and was instantly reminded of Vanessa. The woman opened another door and helped a short man get out. His hands were bound but he could walk freely. Eyes wide, Kendra realized it was Jim, one of the other Eternals!
"Jim!" Kendra cried out.
The man, still keeping a tight grip on her arm, reached up and slapped her across the face. "None of that!" he said angrily.
Jim looked around, startled. "Who said that?" Catching sight of Kendra, he exclaimed, "Who are you? How do you know my name?"
What's wrong with him? Kendra wondered. Did they brainwash him? "I'm Kendra! One of the Eternals!" She planted her feet firmly and refused to be dragged any farther.
Her captor glared at her. "Hush up now!" he barked.
Jim shook his head vigorously. "No, no – there are only five Eternals. You must by lying."
Antoinette emerged from the sports car next, her hands also tied behind her back. Seeing Kendra standing on the path ahead of her, she said, "Ha! Ze child has been captured, too!"
"She claims to be an Eternal!" Jim muttered indignantly. "Please tell me she's crazy – or deluded – or something."
Antoinette laughed again. "Ha! She eez more of an Eternal zan zat eempostor you defended during the ride."
Much to Kendra's surprise, the Sphinx exited the car after Antoinette. "I'm getting tired of repeating myself," he said, frustrated. "Warren, Kendra, Eric, Antoinette, and I are the Eternals." He turned to Jim. "I'm not sure how you got caught up in this with the rest of us. I am truly sorry."
The beautiful woman emerged from the car again, juggling four cages made of the same metal as the one that trapped Gratiana. Inside each cage was an animal – each of the other Eternals' shape-shifters, Kendra realized. Eric followed her out, looking somewhat dazed.
"I'm with you for the most part," he said to the Sphinx. "I'm not entirely sure, though, why we drove for hours with a false Eternal. Warren is so lucky he escaped."
A tiny ember of hope flared inside Kendra – Warren had made it out! But it was quickly drowned by a tide of worry and confusion. Thinking back to the events that happened at midnight, Kendra counted. And recounted. There weren't five Eternals – there were six! Kendra, Warren, the Sphinx, Antoinette, Jim, and Eric. But each of them seemed to be unaware of one of the others… except for Kendra. She knew that they had all participated in the ceremony.
What on Earth was going on?
Seth reentered his bedroom in time to hear Grandpa banging on the door. "Seth?" Grandpa called. "Seth, where are you?"
After closing the window gently, he crossed the room in a bound and threw open the door. "Right here," he said.
Grandpa frowned. "Why didn't you answer the first three times I called?"
Seth shrugged. "I didn't hear you. Sorry," he apologized. He tried not to feel guilty – it was the truth. There was no way he could have heard Grandpa from up on the roof.
"Hmph." He could tell Grandpa knew there was more he wasn't saying, but he kept his mouth shut. Bracken would probably ring the doorbell in a sec and no one would ever know about Seth's midnight adventure.
"Why were you looking for me at one in the morning anyways?" Seth asked.
Grandpa let out a long, slow sigh. "Warren came back a few minutes ago, looking fairly beat-up. He said something happened, but wanted you to hear the full story, too."
Seth paled. "Yeah – wait." He paused. "I'm going to go down to the garden and get Bracken. He'll want to hear this." He brushed past Grandpa and started down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"What–" Grandpa began.
"Don't ask!" Seth yelled up the stairs.
He found Grandma waiting at the bottom of the staircase. "Don't ask what?" she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.
Seth gulped. Busted. He thought for a moment, selecting his words cautiously. "I saw Bracken out in the garden. He got here early," he said. There – not a lie. "I was going to get him. He'll want to hear what Warren has to say."
"Go ahead." Grandma stepped to the side. Seth hurried past her and opened the door to the back yard.
He gazed out at the flourishing flowerbeds and the neatly trimmed lawn, but saw nothing. "Bracken," he called softly. "You still out here?"
Moonlight flickered and Bracken appeared a dozen or so feet away, near the side of the house. "Yes," he said, walking swiftly towards Seth. "I was about to go around to the front and knock."
"I told them you were here. You should come in. You need to hear this."
Small creases appeared in Bracken's forehead. "Is something wrong?"
"Come in," Seth repeated, waving him forward. Bracken obliged. Seth shut the door behind them. "I don't have all the details," he continued. "Warren just got back, from what I've heard."
Bracken nodded. "I saw him go in. He was limping. I think there must have been some trouble. Do you think something went wrong with the ceremony?"
Seth shrugged. "I know about as much as you do. Let's go see what happened to Warren."
They found everyone sitting at the kitchen table – Grandma, Grandpa, Tanu, Vanessa, Scott, Marla, and Warren. Warren didn't look too bad – Seth had certainly seen him worse off at Wyrmroost. There were a couple of cuts on his face and his left leg was propped up on the chair next to him. A bruise was beginning to appear on one cheek.
"Warren!" Seth exclaimed when he saw him. "What happened?"
Warren smiled faintly. "You should've seen the other guy."
"What happened?" Bracken repeated. "Was the ceremony completed?"
He grimaced. "Yes, but that's not exactly a good thing."
"What happened?" Grandpa asked, echoing Bracken and Seth.
Warren took a deep breath and began to speak. "Everything went fine – we're all Eternals, all five of us. I was the first to leave the shrine. Leo and I swam to the mainland. Don't freak," he added, giving Grandma a sharp look. "The naiads were sound asleep. Didn't even rock the boat on the way over."
Grandma rolled her eyes. "I wasn't going to freak out," she said. "I was going to ask you who Leo is."
"Each of the Eternals has a shape-shifter companion," Warren explained. "Leo is my friend."
"Where is he now?" Tanu wondered.
"I'm getting to that. Let me finish," Warren said. "Leo and I swam back and we were about halfway to the yard when we heard a scream. Don't ask me how, but I knew it was Antoinette, one of the other Eternals. We ran to help her. She was being attacked by a bunch of people, but they all looked like the same woman – it must have been a witch who could duplicate herself or something. So I went to help – how, I'm not sure, since I didn't have any weapons – but one of the women threw this dust in Antoinette's face, and she fainted."
"What became of her shape-shifter?" Vanessa prompted when Warren paused.
"They nabbed him – or her – in an enchanted sack, I think. Anyway, two of the duplicates started fighting me while another carried Antoinette off. I was nearly finished – they had me pinned – but then they vanished. I think the witch must have turned herself back into one person. After they disappeared, I searched the woods near the shrine thoroughly, and couldn't find a trace of any of the others. I did find this, though." Warren pulled a small scrap of fabric from his pocket and offered it to Seth, who took it wordlessly. Examining it, he realized it was a piece of the white, lacy dress Kendra had worn for the ceremony. He choked back a sob. Grandma embraced him, her own eyes glistening with tears.
Bracken kept his eyes downcast. In the few years Seth had known him, he hadn't seen Bracken display much emotion. He was a brave, steadfast leader during the battle at Shoreless Isle and a tireless, dedicated son in helping the Fairy Queen rebuild her realm. He had even witnessed a few moments of passion between Bracken and his sister, but that was only twice. He usually kept his feelings hidden behind a flawless mask of serenity.
Seth wondered if unicorns ever cried.
"Where's Leo now?" asked Grandpa.
"As soon as we guessed what happened, Leo turned into a falcon and flew above the forest. We got super lucky – he spotted an SUV and an expensive-looking sports car driving away. He confirmed that the other Eternals were inside. He's following them by air now," Warren explained.
Bracken looked up. Seth thought he saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Isn't that risky?" Bracken asked.
"We decided it was worth a shot," said Warren. "We can communicate through a mental link. He says they're somewhere in New York state right now, heading north."
"I see." Bracken bent over Warren, muttering something under his breath. The swilling in Warren's leg went down abruptly, the cuts closed, and the bruise vanished.
"Wow, that feels great. Thanks!" Warren said enthusiastically.
"No problem," Bracken murmured. "We'll need you in good shape."
Eight pairs of eyes looked at him questioningly.
"As soon as Leo knows where they are, I propose we send out a rescue party," he suggested, "before they kill Kendra or the others. Or worse."
"What's worse than death?" Seth asked.
No one responded.
Author's Note:
I have decided to use this little space at the end of the chapter to express my feelings about the chapter in general.
I was really excited to start writing about Bracken, but it also made me nervous. His character was hard to describe. He was usually calm and composed, and a natural leader (I think I might have conveyed that in a paragraph above). To be quite honest - not the sort of character I'm used to writing about.
I noticed I had a tendency to use a lot of –s to offset something from the rest of the sentence.
So, as usual, I hope you liked it, and comments and critique are always welcome!
