Chapter 9

Dale's knee was bouncing up and down. He couldn't sit still and was extremely pale. His restlessness was obvious and, honestly, was stressing Seth out even more. "Are you okay?" the boy asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm… I'm fine," Dale answered, continuing to fidget. Nervousness was blatantly apparent in his tone of voice.

"Are you sure? You're looking a little pale."

Dale seemed to become even paler at that comment, if that was possible. "I'm okay." He folded his hands and placed them in his lap, but he kept moving his legs up and down.

Seth looked around the airplane to check on everyone else. Tanu was quietly reading a book to himself. Mara had reclined her seat back as far as possible and appeared to be sleeping. The new guy – Vincent – had laid down across a row of seats and was also asleep. In the very back of the tiny aircraft, Elise and Trask were huddled together, apparently talking about something serious.

With one last glance at his very antsy cousin, Seth stood up and made his way toward the back of the cabin. Elise and Trask noticed his movement and they both sent him questioning looks. "What's wrong?" Trask asked his question at the same time that Elise asked, "How's Dale?"

"Well…" Seth turned toward Dale again. His cousin had leaned his head back against the headrest, his eyes shut tightly and his face in a screwed-up expression. He kind of looked like he was trying not to cry. "I think he's having a panic attack."

Trask rubbed a hand over his face. "I was afraid something like this would happen." Elise frowned and nodded her head.

"What?" Seth asked.

"Dale isn't an adventurer," Elise explained. "He can't handle the stress. It's not his fault – missions like this just aren't everyone's cup of tea. They're probably not most people's, actually."

"He volunteered to come, though," Seth stated.

"There is very little that Dale wouldn't do for Warren," Trask said. "Just like there is little that you wouldn't do for Kendra. This might be more than he can handle, though."

A momentary pause in conversation prevailed, and then Seth spoke. "He's really afraid, isn't he?"

Elise stood up and gave Seth a sympathetic smile before she walked over and sat down next to Dale.

Trask motioned toward the seat that Elise had just vacated, and Seth accepted the older man's silent offer to sit. "Dale is a good man. He has a golden heart and a solid, reliable spirit. He's also a very anxious person when he's taken out of his area of comfort." Trask motioned toward the man in question, who had now buried his face in his hands while Elise patted his back. Seth couldn't hear what she was saying, but he assumed that she was trying to comfort him.

"Stan and Ruth were worried when Dale said he wanted to take part in this mission, but they couldn't find it in their hearts to stop him." Trask took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I hate to turn him away, but I think I'm going to have to. Our team needs to be in peak condition for the task ahead."

"There's nothing wrong with Dale," Seth objected.

"I didn't say there was," Trask replied. "What I'm saying is that everyone on this team has to be able to focus and concentrate on the end goal. We have to stay clear-minded and ready for the unpredictable. Dale doesn't have that type of experience, and he is not naturally attuned to missions and adventures. The idea of the unpredictable is causing him tremendous stress already – what is it going to be like when we're in the middle of a life-or-death situation?" He sighed. "I have to think about the well-being of the entire team, Dale included."

Seth hated the idea of leaving Dale behind. He knew how much this mission meant to his cousin, and understood on a deep level the feelings of helplessness and the desire to do something to help recover his sibling. Still, Trask's words did have a certain level of sense to them. He had to admit, if merely the thought of adventure turned Dale into the nervous wreck he currently was… what would his cousin be like in the middle of one?

A certain type of dread filled Seth's gut. If Dale had a panic attack in the middle of a trial… he might not survive. And if the team tried to help him through it…

It could mean death for all of them.

Oh no.


"Better. That time was better. You're getting close," Bracken encouraged. "Very close."

"I feel weird when I try to hide my light," Kendra said. "It's like… I don't know how to describe it. Like I'm floating? But I'm not actually floating. I don't know. It sounds crazy."

"It's not crazy," he replied. "You contain an immense amount of energy within your body. It's not crazy to feel odd when you're concealing your light." He tapped his leg in thought. "That time, your overall aura was really dim. Let's see if we can get it down to regular human levels. What were you visualizing this last time? That worked well."

Kendra raised her knees and hugged them to her chest, the rested her chin on top of them. "Honestly? I was thinking about this place." She looked up at Bracken. "It's stifling here."

Bracken's silver-blue eyes seemed to dim at her words. "Yes, well… there is certainly no lack of inspiration in that area here, is there?"

Silence fell over them. Kendra decided that now was a good time to ask a question she'd asked in the past but hadn't received a real answer to.

"How long have you been here?"

He made eye contact with her. "If I'm being completely honest, I stopped keeping track once I reached 300 years."

Kendra's jaw dropped. "What?"

Bracken sighed, then scooted backward until he could lean against the nearby wall. He straightened his legs out in front of him and crossed his ankles, then launched into his story.

"This preserve contains a shrine to the Fairy Queen," he began. "A long time ago – I'm uncertain now as to exactly how long ago it was – a large, magical dome was placed over the shrine, effectively sealing it off from the rest of the preserve. The fairies who live at this preserve could no longer communicate with the Queen, and many fairies were trapped inside of the dome.

"I discussed the situation with the Queen. She warned me not to investigate, but I felt it was the correct course of action. Our sisters could not commune with their Queen and the rest of fairydom; something had to be done.

"I'd been to this preserve in the past and knew of a few different ways to enter it. I followed one of those routes, which I'm certain has since been discovered and sealed off as well, and made my way to the shrine. The dome is unmistakable – it's an eyesore on the preserve, and I wasn't incredibly far from it when I infiltrated the area.

"This is also an extremely hostile preserve. I overestimated my abilities and the Sphinx found and captured me. He took my second horn from me – as a shadow charmer, he was immune to the psychological effects which attack anyone who tries to steal a unicorn horn. I was wounded, bound, and cast into prison, and I've been here ever since."

"Bracken, I'm so sorry," Kendra said, quickly moving to sit next to him. "I had no idea."

"It's not your fault," he replied.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm still sorry it happened to you."

Bracken placed one of his hands on top of hers for a moment, gave hers a quick squeeze and then let go. "Don't pity me. I'm undeserving of your concern."

"What are you talking about?" Kendra asked. "Undeserving? You're a good person, Bracken. You deserve a whole lot more than some basic concern."

"I'm 'the broken son of the Fairy Queen,'" he insisted. "My strength and power has been taken from me. I couldn't even protect you from Navarog in his human form. At his weakest."

Kendra placed her free hand on Bracken's other shoulder and crouched down awkwardly in front of him; his legs were in the way, so she sat down on the floor next to them and looked him in his eyes.

"You are not broken," she stated.

He didn't answer her, but maintained eye contact.

"Okay? You're not broken. Gav-… Navarog said you were broken, but you're not. Don't believe his lies. He's a liar. All he does is… is lie. You're not broken. Don't let him win."

Bracken bowed his head, then returned to meet her gaze again.

"You're not broken, either," he told her. "And you're not weak. I know you believe you are, but you aren't."

Kendra released Bracken's shoulders and placed her hands in her lap while she rolled her eyes at him. "Sure," she said. "I've seen you on those pinball machines. Your reflexes are ridiculous. And I watched you fight Navarog. Me, on the other hand? I speak languages and I'm trying to learn how to not be a homing beacon to my enemies. Super useful skills when it comes to fighting bad guys."

"You don't even know how strong you are, Kendra," Bracken marveled. "Your magic – your power – it's instinctual. With persistent study, practice, and meditation, you could become one of the greatest warriors for the cause of light. You're already a formidable force to be reckoned with."

"Well, then, so are you."

Bracken chuckled at her persistence. Kendra smiled in response.

"Shall we get back to practice?" he asked.

"Yeah." Kendra backed away from him a bit, then crossed her legs in front of her and rested her hands on her knees. Before she could close her eyes and begin putting effort into trying to draw in her light, Bracken grabbed hold of her arm for a moment. She looked up at him in question.

"Thank you," he said. "For believing in me."


In the end, their efforts hadn't made a real difference. They were attacked pretty much as soon as they stepped foot onto the preserve. Perhaps it was for the best that Dale hadn't been allowed to go with them – at least someone in their group had been able to avoid capture. Or death.

Seth reflected on his team's failed mission while he walked through the shadows, guards on either side of him. He thought about Vincent, the man who'd either frozen or drowned to death right in front of him. He heard Trask's voice urging everyone forward, to continue on. Saw Mara's grim expression when the wizard Mirav had shown up with the Gray Assassin in tow. Relived the bitter disappointment he felt when at long last his team had obtained the Translocator, only to clearly see that it was indeed in need of recharging. The sheer anger which overcame him when he realized that Gavin the Traitor was there, fighting against Seth's team.

"Where is she!? Where did you take my sister!?"

"Your yelling is grating on my nerves."

"Tell me where she is!"

Everyone had been forcibly apprehended. Everyone. No exceptions. The whole thing had been a set up; a trap. Once captured, Seth had been knocked out and, when he woke, he found himself lying on a pile of cushions and being addressed by the Sphinx.

He didn't know the whereabouts of his teammates and he'd left the Sphinx's presence with more questions than answers. What he did know, however, was that he and the others had played right into the Sphinx's hands. Again. And now he was in a dungeon, maybe for the rest of his life. He hoped the others were alright. His heart sank at the thought that he'd failed.

One of his goblin guards gave him a rough shove forward. "Hey, watch it!" Seth said. "I'm walking – no need to push me."

The goblins exchanged glances. "He speaks our language," one said to the other.

"Yeah. I do."

The second goblin shrugged and opened a cell while the first goblin unceremoniously pushed Seth through the doorway. "In you go," it said. Seth stumbled over his feet and fell onto the floor of the cell, but caught himself with his hands and knees before he could truly faceplant into the hard stone. The door was slammed shut as soon as Seth crossed the threshold.

A growl of frustration escaped from Seth's throat. He stumbled to his feet and threw himself against the door before he sank back to the floor.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he miserably asked himself.

"Who are you?" came a commanding voice.

His eyes snapped open at the realization that he wasn't alone, and he found a decently tall young man standing in the middle of the room.

"Who wants to know?" Seth retorted.

The young man opened his mouth to respond, but halted when a girl stepped out from behind him.

Seth's heart stopped.

"Seth?" the girl asked. She sounded cautiously optimistic.

Kendra. It was Kendra.

His jaw dropped and he stood to his feet right as Kendra crashed into him and wrapped him in a bone-crushing embrace which he enthusiastically returned.

"Seth. Seth! Is it you? Is it really you? How did you get here? What happened? Are you okay? Is anyone else here, too?"

He laughed while he cried. "You're alive," he stated. "You're alive. I've found you. Oh God, Kendra, you're alive!"


And now we really start to move forward with the plot. :)

Please keep in mind… I love Dale. I really do. I promise.