Based on characters from Fablehaven© by Brandon Mull. The original characters and plot details are my property. No copyright infringement intended.
Seth could follow Unleea's telltale shadow movements as they made their way across the room. Her tutelage on remaining cloaked in a crowded situation made him feel more at ease as they listened to muttered conversations.
Unleea's thought pulled him into a corner alcove.
"That one is suspicious." Her shadow pointed toward a little man who just leaving the hall. "There is a clouding in his mind," she whispered.
"You will have to teach me that one too!" he whispered.
"Of course," she whispered, her mental smile was very wide. "We need to follow him?" she asked.
"Yes, let's see what he has to say for himself," Seth replied quietly and they left the alcove in stealthy pursuit.
Unleea pushed again at the man's mind as they followed his slow shuffling gait down the hallway. She heard nothing of the man's own mind.
"His mind is well controlled by someone other than himself," she whispered.
Seth listened also and agreed with her.
"Let's get him alone somewhere and have a talk with him and whoever is in his mind," he suggested.
They followed him around the corner and down an empty hallway. Unleea made her way around in front of the man. She gestured toward a doorway. Seth shrugged unsure of what she was suggesting. Unleea sighed, walked back behind the man. She reached up with her small hands and pressed against the man's neck as he walked. After a few steps, he staggered and she pushed the man into the room.
Unleea pushed him into a chair and held his head in her hands.
"I can't get him to talk. Shadowmaster, you can do it. You can get him to talk," she said when she dropped her hands from his head. The man sat in the chair unconscious, his eyes closed and his mouth agape.
Seth cleared his mind and pushed into the mind of the unconscious man sitting in front of him. He felt another mind there also, one that was conscious elsewhere. Possibly a narcoblix like Vanessa.
"Speak the truth, why are you here?" he pushed and commanded, a pain flared in his head as he commanded. The pain started in the front of his forehead and wrapped around the back of his head. Tears formed in his eyes, as he listened to the voice coming from the little man.
The man sat up. Although his eyes were still closed and drool was dripping from his mouth he began to speak.
"We thought we would be hearing of the death of the little fairy dragon. He was getting too reliable. He impressed his father with his stealth and invisibility. He was dangerous to us because of it. He was getting close to his father and we knew that Celebrant was suspicious of us. His father would eventually use him to spy on us. He could sneak in and find out our secrets.
"We knew of his dislike for his avatar so we set the greedy young shadow charmer the task to find the scroll. We knew that if the spell was read over him while he was imbued with fairy magic that it would kill him. Not immediately but soon enough.
"When our spies heard that he left the building we were very happy. We presumed he had wandered off to die. Since he wasn't found we thought maybe he had died in a cave or drowned.
"Then we heard that he may have used his invisibility. If he used his invisibility he would become visible when he took his last breath. Predators on a preserve would destroy the evidence promptly after it appeared. The longer he was missing the longer Celebrant would be distracted and leave us alone to finish our work.
"We thought maybe the call was for mourning the little dragon, not his mother."
"What is your work?" Seth asked seething with anger and pain he pushed hard against the narcoblix's mind. Pain ramped up in his brain also.
"Arrhh…." The little man drooled, the blix was unable to finish. The man's body twitched and fell limp in the chair again.
Seth felt used. He was so angry at the foul way that he was used he remembered the revenants abilities and used them. He put a shadow of fear on the narcoblix's mind and released the link, the pain subsided slowly.
Let someone take care of him or not, he won't be making plans to do evil again,he thought.
"This man may be innocent but I can't help him," he said rubbing his temples. He left the little man sitting in his chair.
"Now what?" he asked Unleea gruffly, still angry. Tears welled in his eyes from the anger and pain of the link. He rubbed the back of his neck where the pain seemed to want to remain.
Unleea looked at Seth; tears in his bloodshot eyes. He was agitated and his face was red with anger. Never before had she heard of anyone linking with a blix much less leaving a shadow in its mind through the link. He was a terrifyingly strong Shadowmaster. She was afraid but proud to be his servant.
Seth looked at Unleea when she didn't answer. Her fear of him was evident in her gaze. She looked at him as if he was a dangerous being. He felt badly that she was scared of him.
"Well I guess we go back to the main hall. We aren't going to find out anything else now," she said in a little voice.
"No I suppose not," he sighed, dampening his anger because of her fear filled gaze. "Sorry, if I frightened you." He apologized.
"No, I'm not scared… much. I'm just really awed. You are so powerful. You have much more power than I ever heard Kelmar or any Shadowmaster had. I am lucky to have lived until now," she said looking at him will less fear and more admiration in her eyes.
"Hmm," Seth said not knowing if what she was saying was true. He wasn't going to let her description of his deeds go to his head. He couldn't be cocky. This was a dangerous road he was on and he needed to take it slow.
"Let's go," he said, and stealthily led the way out the door.
Leander waited. He and the dragon listened for the noise of someone, anyone heading their way. So far the only noises were the soft sounds coming from the egg, the drip of water in the distance and the dragon's breathing.
Leander knew that these dragons had not gotten to the cavern the way he and the dryad had come. They couldn't go down that narrow and steep staircase. He wondered if Celebrant would come soon.
Noises were reaching them now, someone was running. Leander held his breath listening and the dragon covered the egg with her body. A growl lingered deep in her throat as she waited for the intruder.
"It's me Ligar," she called from the walkway. "I told him." The dryad burst into the cavern. "He's coming and he is bringing the fairy prince with him," she said with awe and excitement.
"What? What is he doing here?" the dragon asked confused.
"I think he is the one that told him about Axezeles bones," she loudly whispered. "He is walking with him, the long way around, which will take them a few more minutes."
Leander realized that Celebrant was coming as a dragon to view the hatching. Why Bracken was accompanying him, he didn't know. He would have to wait to find out.
A loud crack came from the egg and the dragon pulled away from her protective hover to view the progress of the hatching.
"Almost here, little one," she cooed. "I wish they would hurry."
Then almost on cue the noise of someone walking through the cave became noticeable. Leander heard the tap of claws on stone and the click of heels. He also heard Bracken's voice but couldn't understand what he was saying. They were getting close.
"I need to leave now. I hope you get your wish," the dryad said cordially. She scrambled down the cliff, over a large boulder and disappeared through an entrance on the far side of the cave, one Leander had not seen earlier.
"We cannot know for sure until it hatches," Celebrant said, his voice echoed. They were very close now.
"I heard that you can tell early now instead of waiting until they mature," Bracken replied.
"Yes, we have learned much in the last five hundred years," Celebrant said solemnly.
"Zeltreth, it's me Celebrant," he called from the cave as they neared the cavern entrance.
"Come quickly, he is almost broken free," she called in return.
The rustling of dragon claws, human footfalls and swishing scales drowned out the sound of cracking eggshell as Celebrant and Bracken quickly entered the cavern.
Something about the sound of the cracking egg was familiar to Leander but he wasn't sure. Maybe he was remembering Raxtus' hatching. He shrugged it off; too much was happening all at once.
Celebrant stepped down to where Zeltreth was and watched as the egg rocked and cracked. Bracken stood on the cliff edge watching. Leander hopped down from his hiding spot and walked to stand next to Bracken.
"I'm here," he whispered as quietly as he could but did not get too close to his ear, he didn't want to startle him. Bracken would hear him or not.
"Hmm," Bracken acknowledged the whisper.
"No one has tried to enter," he whispered closer to Bracken's ear. "I thought I had a lead but it led me here."
"Huh," he huffed in reply. It was interesting that of all places, Leander would follow someone here.
A loud crack stopped the whispered conversation. They watched the eggshell fall away as the baby dragon pushed its head through the shell.
Leander thought that Shiara would like this baby dragon. It was a bright blue color.
Bracken walked closer to the edge of the cliff and watched as the baby dragon stretched and pushed again and the shell fell away. The dragonet lay on the cavern floor exhausted from its labors.
"He is a fine looking dragonet," Bracken stated smiling.
"Come and listen. I will show you what we have found out," Celebrant invited him, looked away from the hatchling up at Bracken with a dragon grin on his face.
Celebrant was more forthcoming than Leander thought he would have been. It was amazing to him that his father would share dragon information with Bracken, fairy prince or not. Leander was interested in what they had learned in over five hundred years of study so he carefully followed Bracken down the cliff.
"If we are here when they hatch we can observe some very indicative information. See how he is breathing? Is it warm or cool in here to him? He will react to the surrounding temperature and let us know. It is cool in here, the floor is cold and yet he seems comfortable. If he wasn't he would be shivering. He is definitely on the cool side. Now let's try something."
"You won't hurt him?" Zeltreth asked, trusting but still concerned.
"No, this will not hurt him. We will leave you two alone to rest shortly," Celebrant said compassionately.
Concern and compassion weren't feelings Leander expected from any dragon much less his father. Their reaction to the hatchling shocked and confused him.
"Let me have that piece of glass I had you pick up," he asked Bracken.
Bracken pulled a round disc of glass from a pocket and held it out for him to grasp with the claws on his front foot.
Celebrant held it in front of his own nose and breathed on it, his heated breath caused it to fog up. He then placed it in front of the dragonet's nose. The hatchling opened its eyes at the smell of dragon breath so close to him and he let out a breath of his own. The glass fogged up. When Celebrant lowered his head to the glass his eyes flashed in surprise, because a fine crystalline icing of frost covered the glass.
"What does it mean?" the she dragon asked.
"He is an ice dragon and that is very good. He will rest comfortably here in the cool caverns," Celebrant lied. "We will leave you to rest now."
Bracken climbed back up the cliff wall followed closely by Leander. Celebrant just stepped up to the cliff top. They left the cavern in silence and Leander followed them. They did not speak of the hatching all the way to the main hall. Leander's curiosity to know what it all meant was itching like the stitches in his scalp.
When they reached the main hall, Celebrant invoked his avatar and reentered the room they had used earlier. Kendra was still there, she rushed to Bracken's side when he entered.
"Well? How's the baby?" she asked concerned at their worried looks.
At that moment, Seth and Unleea chose to appear.
"What's this about a baby?" Unleea asked curiously.
"A baby dragon just hatched in the caves below," Bracken stated. "We went to the lower nursery and checked out the hatchling. The dragonet is an ice dragon, very possibly a frost dragon. This is good news but we need to keep it to ourselves."
Both Leander and Kendra gasped at the same time fortunately for Leander because he'd forgotten to rein in his volume.
"Infant Ice dragons usually freeze the moisture on the glass into a solid even ice coating. He frosted it, the flowing ice crystals were obvious and so I am hopeful," Celebrant said optimistically. "This may be the first one in over two hundred years. I will watch his progress and if confirmed, he will have to go into hiding for a while. At least until we find the conspirators and thanks to you we know there are conspirators," he said to the group.
"Did you find out anything?" Celebrant asked Seth pointedly.
"No," Leander whispered into Seth's ear.
"No, we followed a few but it didn't lead us to anyone," Seth said disappointed that Leander found nothing also.
"That is too bad. I will have my own investigators keep an ear out for information," Celebrant said, sad again. "How is that young man doing in his search for Raxtus?" he asked curiously.
Leander noted that Celebrant's attitude was very different from when they first arrived and more open than Leander thought he would be. This was not a side of Raxtus' father he had seen before.
"As well as can be expected. He has been looking for a dragon that may be invisible. Raxtus went somewhere. He might have gone back to sleep in a cave somewhere. You never told me how long he was supposed to rest," Bracken answered him.
"I know I didn't," he admitted sourly. "That is because I don't know. You used the old term in the scroll, what we used before humans came up with the word hibernation. It can last months or years. I didn't want to upset you before you cast the spell. I was very troubled when you told me he had disappeared. I thought that he would have stayed in one place the entire time," he said shaking his head. He was letting down his guard a little, showing that he did care about Raxtus if not because he was his son, at least because he was a fellow dragon.
