Chapter 25: Out of Sight

Kendra proceeded to open her eyes. As the world around her suddenly blurred into view, she saw that she was back in the attic at Fablehaven, lying down on her bed. No longer was she freezing to death in a hole that she had produced in Antarctica; she was safe and warm back in the comfort of her own bed.

Taking a moment to reminisce about the previous night, Kendra recalled that she had been rescued by her allies, who in turn brought her back home. She couldn't remember much, except that she had taken a very warm bath, then drank a mug full of tea before plopping down in her bed and falling asleep.

Now that the experience was nothing but a bad memory, Kendra got out of bed and stretched, feeling completely refreshed. Looking over at the bed that was against the opposite wall of the attic, Kendra saw that Ingrid was still asleep in it.

Kendra glanced at her bedside clock and saw that the time was six fifty-three. She went over to Ingrid's bed and proceeded to gently shake her shoulder.

"What?" groaned Ingrid, wincing her head around as Kendra backed her own hand away. Ingrid slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Kendra. "Kendra! What do you want?"

"Last night..." said Kendra. "What happened?"

Ingrid let a slight moan. "Don't you remember? You were in the snow when we found you. We brought you back here. You took a hot bath, had some tea, then fell asleep almost immediately. Are you feeling okay?"

"I feel fine."

Ingrid smiled. "That's a relief. You looked like you were about to pass out when we found you."

"How did you all find me?" asked Kendra. "I was able to speak to Bracken with my coin. But like me, he was stranded, and we figured that the rest of you were as well."

"I don't know everyone's side of the story entirely," said Ingrid. "Let's get dressed and washed up, then we can speak to the others at the breakfast table."

Kendra and Ingrid both washed up in the bathroom, then changed into fresh clothes before making their way down into the dining room. All of the adults appeared to already be sitting down at the table, including Bracken and Clover.

"Glad to see you two are up bright and early," said Grandma, nodding at the girls as they stepped into the dining room.

"Kendra, do you feel all right?" asked Mrs. Sorenson.

"She seems to be a lot better than the condition we found her in last night," said Ingrid.

"That's a relief," said Mr. Sorenson. "I'm just glad that the worst of this is over."

"I'm afraid that isn't the case," said Bracken. "While we may have survived our run-in with Ronodin, the warlock himself is still at large."

"Seth better come down here soon," said Grandpa. "The sooner you guys can get back to business, the better. It's exactly why all of us are already up and at the table."

"I'll get him," said Dale, as he got up from his seat. "I bet he just needs a little wake-up call."

"Seth, get up," said Dale.

Feeling as his entire body was being shook around, Seth opened his eyes and that Dale was hovering over him. Seth was in his bed, and felt rather groggy.

"What's your problem, Dale?" whined Seth.

"Your grandfather wants you downstairs right now."

Seth let out a sigh. "What's his problem?"

"Now, Seth," said Dale, as he pulled the entire top sheet off of Seth's body and draped it over the foot of the bed.

"Fine..." grumbled Seth, as he rolled out of bed. Once Dale left the room, Seth changed into a fresh set of clothes and made his way downstairs to the dining room, where the rest of the family was sitting at the table.

"Thank you for joining us," said Grandpa, as everyone else at the table greeted him.

"No thanks to Dale," muttered Seth, glancing at his cousin, who in turn rolled his eyes in response.

"Never mind him," said Mr. Sorenson. "We need you to be up and ready right now. Find yourself something to eat. Ronodin still needs to be dealt with."

Seth helped himself to a bowl of cereal, which he proceeded to eat. Once everyone was finished their breakfast, Mrs. Sorenson began to clear away people's dishes.

"Now that we've all eaten, does anyone have any questions about last night?" asked Grandpa. "Kendra?"

"How did you guys find me?" asked Kendra. "Or anyone?"

The group took turns explaining about how they had all been separated, and how Warren was able to escape using the Translocator and recruit Clover. From there, they talked about finding Seth, then sending out the reindeer to help find the others, including how Seth became an angel to find Ingrid. They also told Kendra about how Prancer was unable to find her, and how Seth used the Oculus to do so.

"I never expected anyone to come looking for me," said Kendra. "Especially not one of the reindeer."

"It's not your fault," said Grandma. "It's just one of those things that happened."

"I'm just thankful that all of you made it back in one piece," said Grandpa.

"But I'm still curious about one thing," said Kendra. "Seth, what did Ronodin intend to do with you? Is he still just fixated on obtaining your power somehow?"

"I think so," replied Seth."I told you about when he spoke to me last night. He made a big fuss about my powers, obviously."

"Did he do anything to you?" asked Ingrid.

"Not that I'm aware of. But, before he left, he said if I wasn't going to be of any help to him, that he would have to turn to someone else more willing."

"Someone else more willing?" asked Grandma, who displayed a confused look on her face. "Like who?"

"Oh my gosh," gasped Clover. "I hope he isn't referring to another angel, like Hope."

"Relax, sweetie," said Warren, placing a hand on Clover's arm. "If Ronodin could've gotten into Wingadoon, I'm sure he'd have done so already, rather than going after Seth."

"I know. Wingadoon's never been breached by an outsider. At least not without the assistance of an angel or pegasus. But who knows what Ronodin is fully capable of."

"Do you want to go back to Wingadoon?"

"Kind of," said Clover. "I know it's to early to jump to conclusions, but I'm concerned. On the other hand, I still want to help all of you. Ronodin is stronger than we imagined, and I feel that you could use my help."

"I understand," said Bracken. "And we appreciate the support."

"What about the fairies that are in Wingadoon?" asked Kendra. "Who'll look after them? Besides Hope and Air Flair, that is."

"I'll speak to Mother and see what we can do to help them while Clover is with us," replied Bracken. "Perhaps the other fairy angels can take turns checking in on them."

"That would be great," said Clover, nodding in approval. "But one thing still concerns me." She then looked around at the others who were sitting at the table. "When we found Seth, as well as the others, it was in the middle of the night. Ronodin might not have noticed Seth's absence when we initially rescued him. But that was hours ago. He's undoubtedly discovered that Seth is gone by now."

"So who's knows where Ronodin even is at this point?" asked Warren. "If he was so intent on capturing Seth, I wouldn't expect him to just sit around and do nothing after discovering that he's suddenly gone. For all we know, he could be miles away from World's End as we speak, planning to find a way to come after Seth again."

"Who's to say for sure?" asked Kendra. "We don't know what Ronodin could be up to right now. He might be running around somewhere, trying to get back at us. Or, he could be biding his time back at World's End."

"So, what should even be done at this point?" asked Mrs. Sorenson. "The fairies from here are still trapped at World's End. But we have no way of knowing whether Ronodin is around to even guard them."

"Duh!" exclaimed Seth sarcastically. "Why are we fretting like this? We can just check up on Ronodin with the Oculus!"

"Except that didn't work before, remember?" asked Kendra.

"Maybe I can utilize my angel powers while searching for Ronodin. It worked for finding Ingrid."

"It's worth a try," said Grandpa. "That should clear things up for us for sure. Dale, would you mind going up and getting the Oculus for us?"

"Not at all," said Dale, as he got up from his seat and made his way out of the dining room. His footsteps continued through the house as he made his way upstairs and walked along the second floor.

A moment later, Dale returned to the first floor and made his way back into the dining room, holding in his hand the Oculus.

"Great," said Grandma, as Dale walked over to Seth and presented the Oculus to him.

"All right," said Seth, clenching the artifact firmly within his hands. "Now we can get to the bottom of this."

"Whenever you're ready, Seth," said Grandpa.

Seth closed his eyes and began to envision Ronodin in his mind. He knew exactly what he was looking for. Long, brown hair, sharp blue eyes and a well-built physique. After struggling for a few moments, Ronodin failed to materialize within Seth's mind.

"It's not working," muttered Seth. "I'm looking for Ronodin, but I can't find him!"

"Let me try," said Kendra.

"What difference will that make? I know how to use this thing, thank you very much. Besides, I was the last one of us to see him. He's freshest in my mind."

"So, why can't you find him? What about your angelic powers?"

"Just shut up and let me try it again!" snapped Seth.

As he had done so just a moment ago, Seth began to envision Ronodin in his head a second time. He tried as hard as he could to focus on Ronodin. However, the dark unicorn failed to manifest within Seth's vision.

"This isn't working!" groaned Seth, as he opened his eyes and slammed the Oculus against the top of the table.

"Seth, what's wrong?" asked Grandpa.

"I can't get the Oculus to locate Ronodin! But, I don't know why. And before you ask, Kendra, I know what I'm doing."

"There are some things the Oculus simply cannot locate," said Kendra. "It didn't have the power to locate Murdred, or anything within or from the Demon Domain."

"But why can't it locate Ronodin?" asked Ingrid. "You two were able to locate him with the Oculus just recently! Now it suddenly doesn't work? Why?"

"Because he's a unicorn," replied Warren. "That alone grants him some sort of immunity to being detected by the Oculus. Kendra found him inadvertently when she searched for Passion."

"Then how come Seth was able to locate Bracken in Antarctica with it?" asked Ingrid.

"It may have been because I had exhausted my strength while I was down there," replied Bracken. "With reduced power, perhaps I lost the strength to shield me from being detected by the Oculus. In a way, I had inadvertently enabled you to make finding me a possibility."

"Man, I never even thought of that when I was looking for everybody," said Seth.

"So, how are we supposed to locate Ronodin, then?" asked Kendra. "With three powerful horns at his disposal, it doesn't seem like his power is going to run dry any time soon."

"Guess the Oculus is out of the question, then." said Ingrid.

"Then what should we do?" asked Seth. "Searching for Ronodin doesn't seem like it's even possible."

"Maybe searching for Ronodin is where we're going wrong," said Grandma.

"What do you mean?" asked Ingrid.

"It's pretty obvious that trying to find Ronodin by use of the Oculus is a lost cause. So try not searching for him. Try searching for something related to him. Like that orange wyvern he was riding on, or that fairy he was with. Or one of our own captured fairies."

"I got it," said Seth, as he proceeded to pick up the Oculus again and clenched it within his hands. "I'll just search for Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod. I know what they look like and everything, so this'll be a cinch!"

Seth closed his eyes and began to envision Larissa in his mind. He thought about Larissa, and how she was mostly blue, including her hair, dress, crescent moon-shaped wings and overall sheen. However, the blue fairy did not appear for Seth.

"Are you finding anyone?"

"I couldn't find Larissa," said Seth. "I'll try Goldenrod."

Seth began to focus on Goldenrod. He pictured the fairy, complete with her wavy, canary yellow hair, dress, and wings that resembled flower petals. As had been the case with Larissa, Seth was unsuccessful in spotting Goldenrod.

"What's wrong, Seth?" asked Grandpa.

"Goldenrod's not showing up for me either."

"Something must definitely be wrong with the Oculus," said Kendra. "Or rather, with something that Ronodin has done to hamper its power."

"I guess we can rule out trying to look for Passion as well, then," said Warren.

"If neither Larissa nor Goldenrod could be seen, then it's probably safe to assume that Ronodin has done something to obscure all of the fairies that are trapped at World's End from the Oculus," said Grandma.

"Then maybe we should just search for something else," said Ingrid. "Like that strange fairy. Or that wyvern. Or heck, just the preserve itself. As long as long as someone can just see into the preserve, they can look around at their leisure."

"Let me try," said Kendra, as she grabbed the Oculus out of her brother's hand, only for him to begrudgingly let go of it. "I'm the only one who's had a good look at both the fairy and the wyvern."

"Fine," said Seth, knowing that trying to resist his sister's request at this point would seem utterly pointless. He found himself unable to think of any reason not to.

Now in control of the Oculus, Kendra held it firmly within her hand, Immediately, she began to focus on the unknown fairy figure whom she had spotted with Ronodin on her previous searches through the Oculus. She thought about the fairy's purple hair and clef-shaped wings. However, nothing was coming into her view.

"See anything, Kendra?" asked Bracken.

"No," replied Kendra. "Seth may be onto something though. I can't find that fairy, and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm unable to find that wyvern too. I'm going to just search for the preserve in general."

Kendra shifted her focus from that of the mystery fairy to the landscape of the World's End preserve. Despite being situated in an enormous underground cavern, the preserve actually gave off a vibe of being beautiful when the group had gone done there, full of luscious plant life, hills and streams.

Ultimately, the preserve itself was failing to come into view, prompting Kendra to shake her head and open her eyes.

"This is really strange," said Kendra, as the living room shifted into view. "I can't even search for the preserve as whole. It's like the Oculus is unable to locate the preserve, or anything within it. Ronodin must have the whole preserve under some sort of protective spell. I think it's safe to say that he's done his homework."

"His spell can only go so far," said Warren. "Kendra, try searching for the entrance to the preserve. You know, the area on the surface that leads into the tunnel. I don't believe that it's technically part of the preserve."

"Okay, I'll try."

Kendra closed her eyes, this time focusing on the above ground entrance to World's End. She thought about the antarctic landscape, complete with the entrance of the long tunnel that led into the preserve.

Surely enough, a snowscape came into Kendra's field of vision. It was the entrance to World's End, and she could see the tunnel that went underground.

"This is working," said Kendra. "I couldn't get in to World's End directly, but I was able to land myself outside of it."

"Yes!" exclaimed Warren. "We just had to think outside the box. Or outside the preserve, anyway."

Kendra shifted her viewpoint around, so that she was able to advance herself forward and into the tunnel. She proceeded to move down the tunnel, in hope that she would soon be able to pass into the preserve proper once she reached the end.

After progressing for a minute or so, the end of the tunnel came into view. Kendra could see the edge of World's End coming into her sight, as indicated by the trees that were in the distance at the end of the tunnel. At the rate she was progressing, Kendra was only mere seconds away from coming out through the end of the tunnel.

Just as Kendra reached the end of the tunnel, everything suddenly went black. Kendra was in shock. No longer could she see the world around her. It had all inexplicably disappeared. She tried to focus on what she had seen, but it wasn't doing anything.

"Something weird just happened," said Kendra, as she opened her eyes and brought herself back to the real world.

"What's that?" asked Bracken. "Couldn't you get into World's End?"

"No," said Kendra, shaking her head. "I was able to get to the entrance all right, but when I tried to pass into the actual preserve, the world around me just... disappeared."

"This does not sound good," said Grandpa. "It's as if World's End really is under some sort of protective spell. One that it preventing unwanted eyes from looking into it. And possibly Ronodin and the others as well."

"So where does that leave us?" asked Seth.

"It's risky, but at this point, the only viable option would be to return to World's End and see what you can do this time."