Chapter 3: The Return of Murdred
Seth stared blankly into the eyes of the adlets, all three of whom were looming over him in the high school washroom. They were all breathing down upon him heavily, to the point were Seth could feel as each of them exhaled their pungent, dog-like breath.
Immediately, Seth noticed that the adlets were all wearing black crystals around their necks, as though they were pendants. Behind the adlets, Seth noticed that there was an open black portal situated against the far wall of the washroom. Obviously, they had been tracking him. But how?
"No..." muttered Seth. "Why are... How can you do this?"
"Lord Murdred has been looking for you," said Xipp. "And now, you are his for the taking."
Seth knew that he was in great danger if he didn't act fast. He then remembered that he still had the Pyruby in his pocket! However, before he could reach for it, Xeero dove at Seth's legs and wrapped his claws around them, throwing Seth off guard. The blue adlet then lifted Seth up by his ankles and slung the boy over his shoulder.
Now hanging over Xeero's back, Seth found himself unable to reach into his pockets with his hands. He proceeded to pound his fists against Xeero's back, only for their impact to be softened by the adlet's thick, blue fur. Why wasn't there a fairy angel around when he really needed one?
"Give it up," said Xeero, who didn't seem to be affected by Seth's retaliation.
Not knowing what else he could do, Seth attempted to mentally take control of Xeero using his shadow charmer powers. He focused as furiously as he could, but it didn't seem to be making any difference whatsover. The three adlets turned away from the sinks, so that they were now facing the portal they had entered through.
"LET ME GO!" shrieked Seth. "HELP!"
"Shut up," said Xillch. "We're taking you to see Lord Murdred, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"SETH!" screamed Ingrid at the top of her lungs. Turning his head towards the entrance to the washroom, Seth could see Ingrid, no doubt in shock upon laying her eyes on the adlets.
"YOU!" blurted Xipp. "You're not getting away from us!"
"INGRID!" cried Seth. "Get out of here! Go find the others! Get help!"
Ingrid turned back towards the door and quickly pulled it open. As it was closing, she slipped through it, just before it closed in the adlets' faces. Xipp then pulled the door open, and the three adlets emerged in the hallway of the school.
"Where'd she go?" asked Xeero.
"She went that way!" blurted Xillch, pointing back towards the corner that Seth and Ingrid had initially come through on their way to the bathroom.
Xipp and Xillch got down on all fours and proceeded to scamper around the corner, while Xeero continued to hold onto Seth.
"Get back here!" roared Xipp, as Xeero carried Seth around the corner.
"Put me down!" cried Ingrid. Although he was unable to see the commotion from his position, Seth could sense that one of the other adlets had captured Ingrid. As Xeero turned himself around, Seth could see that Ingrid had been caught by Xillch, and was being carried in the same manner as Seth.
"Come on," said Xipp, "let's get these two back to Murdred! He's been waiting to see both of you again!"
"I said let me go!" roared Seth, as he pounded against Xeero with his fists as fiercely as he could.
"That's enough," said Xeero, as he proceeded to grab onto Seth's wrists with his other claw, almost holding the boy as though he were a shawl being wrapped around his neck.
Seth knew that there was nothing that he or Ingrid could do at this point. The adlets were far too strong for them to take on bare-handed, and there was probably nobody else in the entire building who could hear them. Even still, if there was anyone who could hear them, they likely wouldn't be prepared to deal with three adlets at once.
"Someone help!" cried Ingrid.
"Shut up," said Xillch, as he and the other adlets proceeded to walk back towards washroom.
Seth and Ingrid fought to escape from the adlets, but were unable to free themselves. After entering the washroom, the adlets brought Seth and Ingrid across to the far wall. Suddenly, they passed through the still-open portal, moving out of the boy's washroom at Crossroad Pass High School and arriving in a room in Murdred's castle.
The sight of being inside Murdred's castle brought back memories to Seth, most of which were rather horrific. As Seth got his bearings, he was able to recognize the room. Judging by the doors and the tall walls, they had probably arrived in Murdred's throne room.
Xeero then lifted Seth off of his shoulders and proceeded to place his feet down on the floor in front of him. Now that he was facing forwards, Seth was able to see who was standing before him, Ingrid and the adlets.
Surely enough, Murdred and Helwic were standing in front of Seth. Seth gazed up at Murdred in horror. The monstrous, human-turned demon god held an imposing stance, as he glared down at Seth. He appeared to be in better shape than when they had last met, as his skin had returned to its proper inky black tone, and his white eyes were glowing intensely.
Helwic was standing next to Murdred. Although Murdred dwarfed her, the negafae had just as much reason to be feared as Murdred himself. Helwic's long, orange hair was by far the most vibrant feature between herself and Murdred, but it did not fill Seth's mind with any positive thoughts.
However, the most glaring sight were the crystals that Murdred and Helwic were wearing. Just like the adlets, both of them were each wearing a black crystal on a chain around their neck.
"At last," said Murdred, "we meet again, Seth Sorenson."
Seth turned back towards the portal, and watched as it inexplicably sealed itself up.
"Going somewhere?" asked Helwic, who had inevitably been the one that closed the portal.
In his mind, Seth was freaking out. This whole experience... It couldn't be real. It just couldn't. Seth was hoping that he would immediately wake up in his bed at Fablehaven, and that this whole thing would've just been a bad dream. But it wasn't. It was too real.
"I have big plans for you, Seth," said Murdred. "You'll see."
"I see you're no longer pink,"
"That was a sick-minded joke on behalf of your accursed sister. But she will rue the day she scandalized me!"
"How did you find us?" asked Ingrid.
"With... this!" said Murdred, as he closed his two main eyes. He then proceeded to open his third eye.
"DON'T LOOK AT IT!" blurted Seth, as he squinted his eyes shut. Although he was unable to see her, he hoped that Ingrid had done the same.
Murdred laughed. "I'm not wasting that power on you two."
Seth cautiously opened his eyes, and took a quick peak at Murdred. The demon god no longer had his third eye open. Instead, he was back to his regular two.
"Your eye," said Seth, "it's back..."
"No thanks to you. You see, after my defeat at Fablehaven, courtesy of her..." Murdred proceeded to point at Ingrid, "I was left with no choice but to drastically increase security around my castle, in case you deviants dared to infiltrate this place ever again. However, in the process, a cache of dark crystals were discovered underneath the grounds of the castle.
"Dark crystals?" asked Ingrid.
"These things," replied Murdred, as he fondled the black crystal that was dangling from his neck. The inverse of those wretched light crystals, dark crystals not only allowed me to regain my power and restore my third eye, but have also made me an even more formidable being to contend with. In fact, I should probably be thankful. Had you Knights of the Dawn not pushed me into better fortifying this castle, these dark crystals might never have been discovered."
"Is that how you found us?" asked Ingrid.
"It's how I found Seth. "My third eye is able to detect sources of darkness pretty well anywhere. Even in other worlds."
"What do you want with us?" asked Seth. "You got your crystals, what do you need us for?"
"I really only need you, Seth," replied Murdred. "But her..." he continued pointing at Ingrid again, "she will be destroyed."
"No!" screamed Ingrid. "You can't do this!"
"No one tells Lord Murdred what he can and can't do!" roared Murdred. "I am a god!"
Murdred advanced towards Ingrid, reaching his hands out towards her. She backed away, but Murdred was closing in on her.
"You leave her alone!" screamed Seth.
"Don't interfere!" hissed Xipp, as he and the other adlets stepped between Seth and Murdred.
"Enough!" snapped Seth. Remembering that he had the Pyruby on him, he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out the relic. Without a second thought, Seth proceeded to unleash his relic's power and shot a wave of fire at the three adlets.
All three adlets squealed in agony upon being blasted by the Pyruby, and proceeded to scamper around the room, no doubt trying to cope with the pain that the fire had inflicted upon them. Consequently, their actions had distracted Murdred from pursuing Ingrid.
"What the..." blurted Murdred, staring over at Seth as the adlets continued to try and soothe their burns. "Is that the... Pyruby?"
"It must be!" exclaimed Helwic. "I didn't even suspect that it had been found!"
Seth then shot a blast of fire from the Pyruby directly at Murdred, prompting the demon god to try and shield himself with his arms. Seth recalled that while it was still possible to inflict physical harm upon Murdred, the tyrant was ultimately immortal, and would rapidly recover from any damage he might receive.
"Enough already!" hissed Helwic, as she raised her hands into the air, allowing fireballs to form in her palms.
Without so much as second thought, Seth proceeded to blast Helwic with the Pyruby as well. Despite the fact that the negafae relied on fire of her own, she reacted to being hit by the Pyruby as well, and bolted away from where Seth had been aiming at her.
With all of his enemies momentarily felled by the fire of the Pyruby, Seth looked over at Ingrid, who in turn was looking back at him.
"Seth!" cried Ingrid, "what do we do?"
"I don't know! Let's just get out of here!"
Without a second thought, Seth and Ingrid dashed over toward the doors at the entrance to the throne room. Surprisingly enough, one of the doors had, for whatever reason, been left open a crack. Seth was relieved to see this, as he recalled that the doors of the castle typically could only be opened if an authorized voice told them to do so. Without any hesitation, the two siblings bolted out through the open door and into the castle hallway.
Seth and Ingrid then proceeded to run down the hallway, heading towards the top of the vast stairwell that was situated in the front of the castle. As they ran, Seth glanced back towards the throne room to see if they were being followed. So far, they were in the clear.
Once they reached the stairs, Seth looked down and was reminded of just how big each individual step really was. As the castle had been scaled for creatures somewhat larger than human beings, each step was well over one foot lower than the one preceding it. Fortunately, Seth and Ingrid only had to traverse down the stairs, so the size discrepancy wasn't such a huge issue for them.
After passing down a good dozen or so long flights of stairs, Seth and Ingrid finally made it to the ground floor of the castle, where they were now standing in the vast entry hall. Having not stopped since fleeing from the throne room, Seth and Ingrid took a fair bit of time to catch their breaths.
"Seth..." gasped Ingrid, speaking between breaths, "that was terrifying!"
"I'm surprised..." said Seth, "stopping to take a breath, "that they haven't gone after us already!"
"Well, I don't want to stay here to find out. Come on!"
Seth followed Ingrid across the hall and up to the large doors that served as the main entrance to the building. Unlike the ones in the throne room, these doors were closed.
"How are we supposed to get through here?" asked Ingrid. "We can't get these doors open by ourselves. It was dumb luck that the throne room doors weren't even closed. But this is."
"There's usually a sentry standing guard on the other side," said Seth, thinking back to the warthog-esque monster that was usually positioned outside the entrance to the castle. "Maybe if we make enough commotion, he'll open up the door to check on us, and we can make a break for it."
"What if it doesn't work?" asked Ingrid. "I know! You can burn through the door with the Pyruby! Duh!"
"I dunno," said Seth. "The doors are pretty thick, and we have no way of safely putting out the flames. Man, I wish Skyfrost were here. Or even Warren with the Sapphazure."
"Wait a minite," said Ingrid. "Forget this exit! What about that secret passage in the basement? The one that Malfunk showed us?"
"Of course! I don't think Murdred even knows about it! It goes underneath the lava moat and comes out on the other side. We won't even have to deal with that stupid guard!"
"Come on," said Ingrid. "I think the passage was down that way somewhere."
Agreeing with Ingrid, Seth and his sister scurried across the entry hall and ventured into a smaller hallway off to one side. As they passed by several closed doors, Seth continuously prayed to himself that nobody, be it Murdred, Helwic, or even the adlets, would catch them off guard.
"I've got to wonder," said Ingrid, "why do you suppose Helwic was affected by the Pyruby's fire? I mean, she seems to already be a fire elemental negafae."
"I have no idea," replied Seth. "Not that I'm complaining. I guess maybe it's because Helwic's fire has different properties than regular fire, seeing as how she uses it as a form of magic. Who knows? I wasn't even thinking when I attacked her. I'm just glad it worked."
Soon Seth and Ingrid came across a stairway that lead down into the lower levels of the castle. These stairs weren't quite a large as the ones in the main hall, but they were still considerably big.
"I sure hope this is the right way," said Seth. "I seem to recall it being down here as well, so I'm inclined to agree with you."
Seth and Ingrid continued down the spiraling stairwell, which went considerably deep. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairwell, the brick walls of the castle had been replaced with solid rock, implying that they had gone beneath the castle's lowest floor.
Seth and Ingrid continued down the tunnel that they had emerged in, but soon came across a four-way intersection.
"Uh, which way do we go?" asked Ingrid.
"I can't remember," said Seth. "We only came through here once before, and we were going the other way at the time."
"Right or left?" asked Ingrid, taking a moment to peer down in both directions.
"I dunno. Right?"
"Might as well try it," said Ingrid, as they made their way down the passage to the right. After passing around a corner, they found themselves faced with a dead end.
"Guess it was left," said Seth, as he and Ingrid turned around and backtracked towards the crossroad, where they instead proceeded down the other path.
"How will you know when we've found the door?" asked Ingrid.
"I'm not sure," said Seth. "The door was more of a secret passage, disguised as a rock. I think I'll know it when I see it."
"At least this place doesn't seem to be as bad as that Dungeon of Despair. That place gave me nightmares!"
"Oh, and I suppose this place is what dreams are made of, ain't it?"
"Bad dreams, yes," said Ingrid. "But somehow, as scary as the maze was, that cyclops seemed like less of threat than Murdred."
"The cyclops was aggressive by nature. But Murdred? He's aggressive by free will. Of course he's going to be worse."
"Even if we get out of this castle, how will we escape from the Demon Domain?" asked Ingrid.
Seth shook his head. "I don't know. But at least we won't be trapped in this stupid place."
Seth and Ingrid continued down several more twists and turns, running into a few more dead ends. However, Seth sensed that they were making progress, when they arrived at a large, metal door.
"I remember this!" exclaimed Seth, staring at the currently closed door that stood before him.
"Of course!" said Ingrid. "This is where Murdred held Stargleam, Windshear and all those fairies captive! It's where we found Kendra after she got separated."
Seth took in a deep breath. "This place is dreadful. I'm so glad we were able to help them. But you know what? I remember that this room was near the secret passage! Come on! We're almost there!"
Ingrid followed Seth back the way they came, where he opted to turn down another path. Surely enough, at the end of the path, there was a large rock formation sticking out of the wall.
"This is it!" exclaimed Seth. "Hopefully we can get it open by ourselves."
Seth and Ingrid both grasped onto the rock, and attempted to pull it out, away from the wall. Although it was fairly heavy, the two of them managed to slide it back enough to create a space wide enough to slip through. Seth figured that without Ingrid's help, he might not have been able to move the rock at all.
Once they passed through the opening, Seth and Ingrid grabbed onto the grooves that were on the back of the rock and pulled it forward, effectively closing the passageway. They then turned around and continued down the tunnel.
As the tunnel began to slope downwards, Seth and Ingrid came to a sudden halt, when they saw what lay before them. At the bottom of the incline was a pool of red-hot lava, effectively blocking their escape route.