Chapter 29: The Unstoppable Tyrant
Standing upon the edge of the moat, Kendra and Seth, along with the rest of their allies, all stared off at Murdred's castle, which was looming on an island in the center. A vast sea of lava was the only thing separating the group from the castle.
"This is it," said Raxtus. "Once we cross the moat, we'll be at the barrier. Is everybody ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be," said Warren, as he climbed up onto Firesquall's back.
"What if there are still monsters lurking in the lava?" asked Ingrid, as she got up onto Skyfrost.
"We'll just have to avoid them if there are any," said Geminus. "Hopefully, when we get to the other side, it won't take too long to penetrate the barrier, if it even is possible."
"And if we can't get through, I guess I'm not going anywhere."
"Seth, how can you say that?" asked Ingrid. "If we can't get through the barrier, you're staying with us!"
"No, Ingrid," said Seth, shaking his head. "I have to stay here. I'm too much of a hazard back home. Look, I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get this over with already."
With their riders all seated upon their backs, the four dragons all extended their wings, then took off into the air, flying directly over the lava-filled moat.
The flight across the lava proved to be fairly short, and no monsters made any effort to reveal themselves to the group. Before long, the dragons had stopped in midair, and were now hovering only scant yards before the front doors of the castle.
"The barrier still seems to be in place," said Raxtus. "Okay, Kendra. Do your thing."
"Wait," said Seth, who felt as though he could sense the barrier. To him, it felt as though the magic protecting the castle was almost tangible.
"What is it?" asked Kendra.
"I don't know," said Seth. "It's the barrier. I can really feel it!"
"What about it?" asked Warren.
"Just let me try something!"
Before anyone could respond, Seth held out his hands. Even though there was nothing in front of Seth for him to grab onto, he still got the sensation that he had grasped onto something in midair. Unable to so much as theorize as to what he was even doing, Seth pulled his hands apart, as though he was ripping something in half.
Suddenly, the strange sensation that Seth had been experiencing completely vanished. As though he had just destroyed it all on his own.
"Did you feel that?" asked Ingrid.
"You felt it too?" asked Kendra, who for some inexplicable reason felt somewhat more confident and secure.
"I can't sense the barrier anymore," said Raxtus. He proceeded to glide over towards the entrance to the castle, then came down for a landing on the entry platform. Before the moat had been expanded, one end of the bridge that connected the castle to the other side had been positioned here. Right now, the entryway served as little more than an alcove in the wall of the castle that contained the front doors.
"Seth, what did you do?" asked Kendra, as Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all landed on the entry platform next to Raxtus and herself.
"I don't know," replied Seth, as he and his fellow knights all got down from atop their dragons. "It just felt like I could manipulate the barrier somehow."
"That's not good," said Warren. "It may have gotten us past the barrier, but the fact that you can even do such a thing... it worries me. It's a sign that your darkness is only getting worse and worse."
"Please don't lecture me! We're here now, aren't we? Let's just rescue the Singing Sisters and get out of this place already!"
Skyfrost and Firesquall used their wings to grasp a handle on the two wooden doors that stood before the group and pulled on them, opening up into the vast entry hall of Murdred's castle.
"It's not all bad," said Kendra. "At least the fairies didn't exhaust their energy on the barrier."
The group cautiously entered the castle. As they took in the sights of the main stairs, high ceiling and branching hallways, memories of previous visits went rushing through Kendra and Seth's heads, none of which were desirable.
"Which way is it to the sub-basement?" asked Warren.
"Let me think," said Seth, as he glanced around the entry hall, looking down the many halls that led to different sections of the castle. He then pointed to the hallway which he believed would lead to where the Singing Sisters were being held. "I think it's down that way."
The group proceeded to walk through the across the hall. This was it. They had finally made it back into Murdred's castle. At last they could rescue the Singing Sisters! Seth was so elated. Right now he didn't care even if the sisters would ultimately be unable to help him in his predicament. At least he would go down whilst trying to do the right thing.
The group was now only steps away from the hallway that stood before them. However, a wall of bricks seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and was now blocking off every last inch of the hallway.
"What the..." exclaimed Kendra.
"And just where do you think you're going?" asked a deep, furious voice from the rear, which caught everyone off-guard.
Everyone in the group turned around. As Kendra and Seth had feared, standing before them were none other than Murdred and Helwic. Every member of the group was simply too startled to think of anything to say to the Demon God. Just his mere presence was enough to make them tremble in fear.
"I really do not appreciate what you've done," said Murdred, his two visible eyes both glowing intently. "Sneaking into my home in the middle of the night. Penetrating my protective barrier. I don't know what you did to get through, but by doing so, you set off an alarm. An alarm that woke me from my sleep. You think I enjoyed being woken up like that?"
"You're one to talk," said Seth. "You're the one who just released a demon into Fablehaven!"
"Because I could. And I did so immediately before going to sleep, just to test the portal. I didn't expect the demon to actually devastate the entire preserve. It was outnumbered. I anticipated its eventual downfall. But so what? It's only one demon. If I could send one demon through tonight, I could send a hundred through tomorrow."
"How could you do this to me?" asked Seth. "Altering my body. Changing who I even am? Why? What do you even want from me?"
"Surely you'd have figured it out by now," said Murdred. "You're a shadow charmer. And I'm the Demon God. Therefore, you are a rightful subject of mine. Yet you continuously keep going against my desires and beliefs, when instead you could ally yourself with me. Putting your abilities to a better cause. Well no more! Your little game ends here!"
Part of Kendra wished that this whole ordeal could just be a bad dream, and that suddenly, she would safely wake up back at Fablehaven. Inevitably, that was not the case. She knew she would have to stand up to Murdred, and that was that. Kendra was feeling very tempted to become fairyprime, but was unsure if the time was right. She wasn't confident that she had the power to do anything, even if she were to become fairyprime.
"Warren," whispered Ingrid, "what do we do?"
As the knights spoke, Helwic seemed to be eyeing them very intently. She then glanced at Seth and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the Pyruby appeared in her hand.
"What the..." muttered Seth, as he reached around in his bag to see if Helwic was playing a trick on them. As he was unable to feel the Pyruby, it was clear that Helwic had used her magic to steal it.
"Why thank you, Seth," said Helwic, as she fondled the Pyruby. "I sensed that this relic was on your person. And it was. It's the real thing, Lord Murdred."
"Give it back!" snapped Seth, as Helwic admired the Pyruby that was in her hand.
"Now, Seth," said Murdred. "You had your chance. I allowed you to leave the Demon Domain, and you were to bring me back both the Pyruby and the Diavolt. But instead, I catch you sneaking into my castle, no doubt coming solely to abduct the Singing Sisters."
"There's more where that came from," said Helwic, as she snapped her fingers again. This time, the Sapphazure, Emerock and Diavolt all appeared in her hands. "It paid to analyze the Necromaster. It gave me a feel for the wavelengths of the other relics."
"Yes!" blared Murdred. "At last! All the relics are mine! Give them to me, Helwic!"
"No!" roared Seth, as he charged towards Helwic. The negafae snapped her fingers, causing some sort of translucent, black force field to appear before her, which Seth crashed into. To Seth, it felt as though he had just ran into an invisible wall.
Helwic handed all of the other relics, including the Necromaster, over to Murdred. The Demon God proceeded to connect the relics together. The round Necromaster served as the center piece, while the other four triangular relics wee set around the side, forming a four-sided star.
"At last!" said Murdred, as the assembled Necromaster glowed in his hands. "The Necromaster is finally complete!"
This was the moment. Kendra couldn't hold out longer. It was now or never. "Fairies!"
At that moment, every single fairy who had been traveling alongside the knights in secret suddenly appeared around the group. With all of the additional numbers that the fairies brought, the group now completely outnumbered Murdred and Helwic several times more than they previously did.
"You need to make me Fairyprime," said Kendra. "Now!"
The fairies all nodded, and their bodies began to glow in multitudes of varying colors. Seth watched as the fairies, along with Ingrid, Warren, Raxtus, Geminus, Skyfrost and Firesquall all turned into glowing balls of light. The balls immediately all flew into Kendra.
Kendra then experienced her Fairyprime transformation, for the first time in a while, too. She could feel energy flowing through her body, while wings sprouted out from her backside. Lastly, her hair changed from light brown to streaks of rainbow colors. Now that the transformation was complete, Kendra noticed that Seth did not join in. It was just as well, though.
"I don't fear you," said Murdred. "Not here. Not now."
Power flowing through her veins, Kendra held her hands forward and harnessed as much energy as she could towards them. Once enough power had been accumulated, a rainbow came flying out of Kendra's palms, which collided directly into Murdred.
Murdred laughed as the rainbow's light energy flowed into his body. "Is that all you've got?"
It wasn't working! Whatever the reason, Kendra's strength, even with the support of so many powerful fairies, including their very own queen, just wasn't powerful enough to overwhelm Murdred.
Murdred closed his two main eyes. His third eye slid open, and released a beam of white energy at Kendra. Upon being hit, Kendra's rainbow dissipated, as she found herself being hurled across the entry hall and landing on the stone floor. The impact wasn't all that painful, but it did make Kendra feel uneasy.
"Kendra!" cried Seth, as he watched his sister get back up onto her feet.
"I didn't even need the Necromaster to deal with her," said Murdred.
"Then what do you need it for?" asked Seth. "Are you going to go on a killing spree or something?"
Murdred shook his head. "Hardly. Did you really believe that I wanted the Necromaster so badly just so I could kill a bunch of people? Perish the thought!"
"Then, why?"
"For its power. The Necromaster is a tool of sheer dark power. Just by holding it in its functional, assembled form, I can at last feel how strong it truly is."
"And just what are you going to do with this power?" asked Seth nervously, as Kendra walked up next to him.
"With it, I'm increasing my own. Even right now, as we speak! My power is growing stronger and stronger! And as my power increases, my influence grows with it. And soon it will be time. Time for me to invade your miserable world and transform it into a world of my own design!"
"You can't!" exclaimed Kendra. "You just can't!"
"Don't tell me what I can't do! Helwic! Increase my size! Now!"
"As you command, Lord Murdred," said Helwic
The negafae held out her hands and shot a blast of fire at Murdred. Upon being hit, Murdred began to glow, as his body started to expand in size. Although Murdred had normally been a fair bit larger than a normal human to begin with, he soon ballooned up to a height of over twenty feet.
Kendra and Seth stared up at Murdred in awe. Although they had seen creatures of far greater size, Murded was a whole other story. Even at his normal size, the Demon God was perpetually emanating fear. At this size, the vibe seemed to only be stronger. It was as though an increase in size didn't even seem necessary for Murdred.
"What are you doing?" asked Kendra.
"Showing you I mean business!" retorted Murdred. "Helwic, open a portal to New York City!"
Before either Seth or Kendra could question Murdred's request, Helwic proceeded to conjure up a portal situated upon the floor. However, it was not large enough for the Demon God to fit through.
"Bigger!" hissed Murdred.
"Of course," said Helwic. "I'm not used to making larger portals."
"Get used to it," said Murdred.
Helwic used her magic to enlarge the width of the portal. As it expanded, the portal passed underneath Seth's feet, causing him to fall through it.
Seth immediately found himself coming out the other end of the portal, and was now falling down through the night sky. Looking down, he could see the island of Manhattan below him, all lit up by the lights of its innumerable towers. His heart was founding furiously in terror.
Kendra came barreling out of the portal and swooped down towards Seth. She hastily wrapped her arms around Seth, and proceeded to fly back up towards the portal.
"Kendra," said Seth. "Thank you! But, you're going back?"
"If we don't stop Murdred, the world that's below us will be doomed!"
Kendra flew back up through the portal, returning to the entry hall of Murdred's castle, where she landed by the edge of the portal.
"Are you out of your mind, Murdred?" blurted Seth, who was still emotionally recovering from the fall.
"I knew you couldn't bear to lose your brother," said Murdred, glaring at Seth.
"This is awful," said Kendra. "Murdred can travel to and corrupt New York City in seconds!"
"Yes," said Murdred. "New York is such a diverse and integrated city. A real melting pot. And it sickens me. However, it is also a nexus of human society. By devastating a city of such magnitude, my influence will spread throughout the mortal realm like wildfire!"
"You can't!" exclaimed Seth. "You mustn't!"
"I will! Once I become powerful enough, I will invade not only New York, but other diverse, influential cities of the world. Los Angeles. London. Berlin. Toronto. Paris. And more. They will all feel my wrath. But that's not all. I still have plans for the both of you."
"What do you mean?" asked Kendra. "Seth, I can understand. But me?"
Murdred laughed. "Kendra, you are to take my hand in marriage."
"What?!" gasped Kendra. "Marriage?"
"You really are bonkers, Murdred," said Seth.
"This has nothing to do with love," said Murdred. "Kendra, if she knows what's best for her, will marry me."
"Why?" asked Kendra. "Why would I ever marry you?
"The Singing Sisters may not have divulged the whereabouts of the Diavolt, but they did share other tidbits of information with us. Yes, I know all about Kendra and her status as a handmaiden. How she is the rightful heir to the fairy throne."
"What are you getting at?" asked Seth.
"It's simple," replied Murdred. "I marry Kendra. Kendra then orders Brillia, the regent of the Fairy Kingdom to relinquish the throne to her, making Kendra the queen. And as Kendra's husband, I'll become king! I'll be the legal ruler of the Fairy Kingdom, and all the fairies will answer to me!"
"No!" said Kendra, shaking her head. "You can't! You won't! I'll never marry you!"
"And who's going to stop me? You? You couldn't stop me before. And with my increased power, YOU NEVER WILL!"
Murdred proceeded to open his third eye, then shot another blast of white energy directly at Kendra. Once again, Kendra went flying back several yards, and fell down to the floor. This blast felt different than the first. It made Kendra feel... weaker.
Suddenly, a few balls of energy went flying out of Kendra's body. Before she could react, the balls transformed back into Ingrid, Warren, Skyfrost and Firesquall.
"What happened?" asked Skyfrost, propping himself up with his wings, as he shook his head in disbelief.
"That blast..." said Ingrid. "It was so powerful, it forced us out of Kendra's fairyprime form."
"Even I couldn't withstand it," said Warren. "I'm just not powerful enough."
"Of course you couldn't!" said Murdred. "The four of you are the ones I fear the least. You're the weakest of them all!"
"Nobody calls us weak!" exclaimed Firesquall. "Come on, Skyfrost! Let's get him!"
Skyfrost nodded, and the two wyverns both proceeded to unleash their fire and ice breaths towards Murdred. However, both of their attacks fizzled out upon making contact with Helwic's force field, which was protecting both herself and Murdred.
"Is that the best you've got?" asked Murdred. "I'll show you power!"
Murdred opened his evil eye again, and shot two blasts of energy in quick succession, each of which hit one of the wyverns. Within seconds, Skyfrost and Firesquall both lowered their heads. Next, their blue and green bodies quickly faded to greyish hues. It looked as though the wyvern twins had stepped out of a black and white photograph.
"Skyfrost?" said Seth. "Firesquall? Are you guys okay?"
Murdred let out a wicked laugh. "I've corrupted their minds! They don't care about anything one way or another! And as my power grows even stronger, those who feel it will be under my complete influence! They will respect my values, and reshape the world how I see fit! Including you, Kendra! Not only will I seize control of the mortal world, but when you become my wife, the Fairy Kingdom will be mine as well. And there's nothing you can do to stop me! Not this time!"
Kendra, Seth, Ingrid and Warren all stared at Murdred with theirs mouths open wide in aghast. Murdred was right. The Demon God was becoming more powerful by the minute. And as far as they were concerned, they really couldn't stop him. Lord Murdred had finally won.
