Bracken & Kendra's Perspective
They arrived at the temple around midnight. It was a circular structure made of white stone built around a reflective silver lake. When they approached the water they were able to see a reflection of the moon. The same feeling came over Kendra as when she looked at the glass of water. Her veins started to glow bright white and her eyes glowed white. The water glowed before changing from its reflective silver to crystal clear, revealing a room beneath. She stepped forward and dived into the water. The sudden drop from the water to the ground jolted her out of her daze. She looked around and saw she was in a large circular room made of the same white stone as the temple. She looked up to see if Bracken was diving in after her but the water was gone. The ceiling was made of the same stone, carved with a spiral of crescents and stars. There were no doors or any other way out but as Kendra looked around for one she noticed what was in the middle of the room. It was displayed on a stone figure of a woman on top of a set of raised steps. A silver necklace with a circular, pristine, white stone. There was a matching ring and shield on the arm. Kendra approached them and they started to glow, the light in the room fading as it caused the stones to glow brighter and brighter until the light molded into the shape of an old woman. She was clinging to a staff as if it was the only thing keeping her standing. Her eyes were scrunched in pain and her robes sagged over her bony frame.
"Oh my god." Kendra said. "You're...Celene."
"I am." Despite her voice being labored there was a power behind it that could only belong to a god.
"How are you here without a vessel?"
"Simple. I'm not."
"What do you mean?"
"I suppose I should start from the beginning. You know of the first war between Senkrad and Hemera?"
"Yes."
"What you probably don't know is that The Fairy Queen was losing the war. So much so that defeat seemed inevitable. In order to gain an advantage she had to break an ancient rule. She hosted two gods at the same time; my sister, Hemera, and me. She was able to win but it came at a tremendous cost. She was dying from the strain of channeling both of our power. And since all three of us committed the crime the rest gods decided we were to pay with our lives and cast a spell to separate and kill us. But we pooled our strength together and found a way around it. She bound herself with Hemera and created the Fairy Realm as a refuge. So long she stays in her realm the connection strengthens and prevents the gods' spell from taking its toll. As for me, the Fairy Queen couldn't go on living if she were to keep hosting me so I went against our plans. I bound myself to my sacred talismans. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to cast the entire spell before the Fairy Queen and Hemera tried to stop me so instead of strengthening my bond with the talismans, it decayed over time. Over millennia I've felt myself slipping away to nothing. When I knew I couldn't hold on any longer, I sent a part of my essence to a baby that was recently born. The only way to buy myself more time was to bind myself to you."
"Me?"
"Yes. A fragment, not enough to make too much of a difference. But enough, I suspect for Hemera to notice when you came to her shrine to ask for aid. When you drank the potion you were tasked with making I felt you receive power from me and Hemera. It was just enough for me to hold onto this world."
Kendra's eyes widened. So much started to make sense now. Her abilities with auras and magic weren't a product of being fairykind in any books she'd read and no one had ever been able to explain exactly why she had them. "I've been able to use magic recently that's a lot more powerful than normal. But...when I do I feel like...I'm dying."
"You can access my powers now, but the fragment I've given you isn't enough to give you the energy it takes to use them. You're using your own supply to perform godly feats. The fact that you're still standing is amazing."
"So, I'm really hosting you. A goddess."
"Yes. I'm sorry to have done this to you without your permission, but it's the only way I could hold on."
"Are you okay now that you were bound to your talismans again?"
"No. After you die it will be just like before, I'll fade away over thousands of years. But I will fade. That's why, I suppose, Hemera and the Fairy Queen sent you to collect my talismans. They would allow you to access enough power to use the abilities you get from me. But what I imagine she was hoping for is for you to host me."
"What? Host a goddess."
"You already are in a way. And, as the goddess of wisdom and foresight, I can sense a darkness on the horizon. There is a god who's taken my sister, Amora, hostage. Hemera will soon be in danger. Your family is in peril-"
"What peril? What's going to happen to my family?!"
"Demrus's influence grows, that is all I can see for sur-"
"What does that mean?"
"I don't know yet. If you will let me speak you'll find that I can help you. Allow me to host you. I can give you enough power to fight this darkness, moreso than you can now. And I would be lying if I said I wouldn't like to be able to survive a little longer."
"Didn't you say the gods cast a spell to separate you from your host?"
"From the Fairy Queen, not you. My inner eyes can see you will have a long life. If you become an eternal I can give you the wisdom of trillions of years to help you survive and you can extend my life until I find a way to break the spell on me. I find it to be an arrangement that can benefit both of us."
"I know what happens to people to host gods. It's like they're not human."
"Some people seem to lose their humanity because they've given the god complete control of their bodies, like your friend Bila did."
"She's a goddess?"
"Yes. But the Fairy Queen is very much in control of her body. Her and Hemera work in harmony, just as I'm sure we could."
"I...I don't know if I can do this."
Celene sighed. "I didn't want to tell you this because I didn't want you to feel pressured, but your family. They will soon be overwhelmed by dark forces and even with you and the Fairy Prince's help you won't be able save them alone."
"What? What is it?"
"The details are hazy, that's all I know now."
"So I have to host you or my family will die?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"I won't let anything happen to my family. How do we do this?"
At Fablehaven
For breakfast, Reylen had made a feast the likes of which could rival the world's greatest chefs. The eternals had gotten back from training with Agad so the house was full enough to eat everything he made. Waffles, pancakes, french toast, regular toast, homemade jellys of all flavors, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashed browns, crepes, oatmeal. If it was a breakfast food, it was on the table. He was just bringing in a pitcher of orange juice and spatulas to serve the food in the dining room, catching the middle of the conversation going on.
"No matter how hard I try I can't use the ice anymore." Seth was saying.
"Well maybe that's a good thing." Warren said. "We don't know what consequences that ability might have."
"But you have to admit it would be totally cool." Seth said. "What if I could fly around on an ice slide like Killer Frost."
"Seth, you're lucky we let you keep that shadow." Scott (AN: I totally forgot that Seth's dad had a name) said. "And that was a gift from the Fairy Queen. This ice thing sounds dangerous."
"Your father's right." Grandpa said. "The Yuki-onna's abilities require the constant consumption of heat, even if it causes a human being to freeze to death."
"Okay, okay, I get it. Don't try to make ice start spewing from my hands" Seth said. "Now can we start eating yet?" Seth looked at the spread of food before him and his mouth watered. Or it should have. His hands, on his cup coated in ice and became transparent.
"Seth, what did we say!" Marla scolded.
"I didn't try-" A loud rumbling sound was heard as the house shook. Once. Twice. On the third time there was a banging sound.
"What was that?" Alisa asked.
A goblin burst through the wall and swung its club at Vanessa. She pulled a dart from her sleeve and pricked it, sending it to sleep.
Reylen said, "Speed of Hermes." He quickly scooped up Ruth, Marla, Stan, Scott, Dale and Tanu before running out of the door at lightning speed, returning in seconds with everyone's weapons, tossing them to their owners.
The goblin woke up and Warren stabbed it with his sword.
"That was enough poison to make a full grown whale sleep for weeks." Vanessa exclaimed.
"Where did it come from?" Sora asked.
"I took everyone to the attic, Stan is checking the registry." Reylen said. "I think that guy was from the dungeon. If so, we can expect more to come."
Annabel took her wand out of her purse and said, "I'll draw some runes outside to keep the barrier around the house from falling just in case."
A bipedal wolf jumped through the hole made by the goblin. Annabel threw a bottle of wine at it. When it shattered and soaked the wolf vines started to grow around its body, trapping it to the floor like a net. Seth stabbed the wolf with his dagger. Annabel left, with Sora following her as his powers were less effective indoors. Everyone decided it would be best to go into the living room so they would have more room to move around. As they passed through the kitchen three trolls appeared and charged at Reylen. Reylen's eyes went red and he screamed, "FOR ARES!" His Kiss the Cook apron now said I dare you to try and kill the cook as he grabbed a spoon and meat tenderizer and jumped into battle. The trolls fell easily and he ran through the rest of the house alone, screaming for challengers to face him.
When they entered the living room they saw fox spirits, a mongoose the size of a couch, two flying snakes, human-sized imps and at least a dozen trolls or goblins.
Alisa drew a sword and jumped into the wooden coffee table, disappearing. When a snake flew past it her arm shot out and cut off its head. She then jumped out of another table and launched herself at the closest thing she saw, a goblin.
Vanessa ducked out of the way as the imps immediately ran at her. She had bought an elongated blowgun recently so she used it as a miniature staff to hit when she could while she dodged their blows. Warren joined her and with his sword he was able to take down an imp.
Seth tried to summon the ice again but his hands were visible now and had lost the frost coating them earlier. He used his bow to shoot a flying snake and aimed at a goblin Alisa was grappling with, the shot narrowly missing. He was thinking about why he could use his new powers a few moments ago but they were lost to him now. Could it be the glass he was holding? Despite the troll who swung a vase at him his mind drifted back to the amazing feast and his mouth watered. That's when he felt the air around him grow colder and his hands let off a chilly aura. "The Yuki-onna's abilities require the constant consumption of heat." his grandfather had said. Seth said. Hunger. That's the trigger. Okay, think-think about a pizza, a bacon pizza. And popcorn at the movie theater. And-and a deep fried funnel cake. Seth's skin slowly turned transparent and ice coated the floor around him. He ran up to a troll, unnoticed thanks to the fact that he was nearly invisible and grabbed its hand, absorbing its body heat until it was frozen solid.
"Everyone go into the hallway." Seth yelled.
Despite not being able to see him, they trusted him enough to fight their way into the hallway. Seth followed them to the door and turned to the room full of intruders. He held his arms forward and pushed out all the ice he could summon. The room flashed blue and everything and everyone inside was frozen solid. Seth turned around and everyone looked at him in shock.
"What?" Seth said, coating himself in ice so he was more visible. "I finally got the hang of it."
They all walked through the hall, finding Reylen on top of the stairs. He joined them and they made their way to the front door, coming across all kinds of creatures of darkness who's been beaten with kitchen utensils.
"Sorry." Reylen said. "I get a little excessive when I call on him."
"We could use excessive right now." Warren said. When they left the door they all gasped.
Annabel was holding her wand up high, runes glowing around the garden's perimeter. Every creature of darkness on the Fablehaven preserve, it seemed, was outside of the cracking barrier. Some of them Seth knew and had developed relationships with but now they were unrecognizable, throwing themselves ferally against the dome.
"Since when are they this powerful?" Alisa asked.
"This doesn't look good." Warren said.
The barrier cracked and shattered, Annabel fainting as it did. Everything that was outside the dome descended on the heroes, charging at full speed. A potion was launched from a window of the house, which exploded, slowing the approaching army. Seth looked up and saw his mom, dad, grandma and grandpa launching potions that Tanu was supplying out of the windows on the second story. Poison gases, freezing liquids, exploding powders, sleep inducing gels. Hugo approached with Dale who carried two axes, the two of them coming out of the garage to join the fight.
"Seth," Reylen said, "You're sure you have this ice thing under control?"
"Yeah." Seth said.
"And you need heat to use it, right?"
"Yes."
"Good." Reylen pointed at Seth and said, "Light of Apollo, shine upon us." The sun shone brighter and a patch of light shone around Seth, almost searing his skin with the intense heat. He thought of something to make him hungry and he absorbed the heat until Reylen couldn't call anymore. Sora said, "Eta Carinae, I need you." A miniature star appeared in front of Seth, burning hotly. Seth absorbed its heat until it disappeared.
"Thanks. This is gonna be awesome." Seth said. His heart was beating out of its chest. He was shaking with energy. His skin was completely clear and ice surrounded the ground around him. He shot a blast of cold, making a trail of ice that cut through the army. He slid along it into their ranks and shot blasts of cold that froze them solid or spears of ice that pierced straight through them. He poured out just half of his store of heat, turning it into cold and at least a two hundred of the invaders were frozen into ice all the way through. He whooped and propelled himself on a cold wind into the air before coming back down, infusing ice and shadow into his arms as he descended and punching the ground after he landed, creating a shockwave of cold and darkness.
In The Fairy Realm
The Fairy Queen was in her room, a servant fixing her hair, when she felt a dark presence surround her. "Excuse me." was all the Queen needed to say for everyone in her room to stop what they were doing and leave immediately. She faced her mirror after they all left and a face appeared in it.
"Demrus." The Fairy Queen said. "How dare you come before me in my realm."
"Technically I'm not in your realm." Demrus said. "And I don't think you'd be so rude to me if you knew what I was going to tell you."
"Unless you want me to know you've decided to go back to the prison you belong in, I don't see anything that you could say that's worth bothering me."
"Well that's unfortunate. My own Aunt refuses to speak to me. I suppose Amora will have to die then."
"What do you mean?" The Fairy Queen's voice was calm, a scary sort of calm that was only used by queens who were contemplating ways to end their enemies.
"I mean she's in a prison my mother escaped a few hundred centuries ago. It was one of her longer periods of confinement so there are all sorts of nasty little demons ready to tear Amora into billions of tiny whore pieces."
"You will watch your tongue."
"Sorry, I forgot how sensitive you were. But I understand...we should have respect for the soon-to-be deceased." Demrus smiled wickedly. "Because she will die. Horribly. Painfully. She's not strong like you are, she may be able to stall her fate but she won't survive for long."
"You evil-"
"Before you insult me again know that I'm in a generous mood. I might just let her go."
"What do you want for her life? You've never been generous."
"It's simple, really...just a trade."
"Of?"
"You take her place in captivity."
"WHAT?"
"I wouldn't blame you if you don't take the offer. Sacrifice her life for yours. She's only been your loyal servant of how many eons? Long enough to watch the beginning and endings of how many worlds? Leaving her for dead is the most logical choice, I know it's what I'd do."
"You're lying. You'll just trap her and me."
"For once I'm not. I'll admit I was hoping I could do that: lure you in after her and lock you both inside. But, unfortunately, you and the rest of the gods enchanted the prison so that only the power of a god other than my mother can call the door, one god can enter, and one god can exit. You remember that, don't you? In my current state I can't change that so, you can be assured there are no tricks. You trade places, Amora goes free. That simple."
There was a long period of silence. "I will need time to consider."
"Fine. You have two human hours. In the meantime, I suppose I'll go let your daughter, Amora, know you have to consider whether her life is worth saving or not." He laughed as his face disappeared from the glass.
