A/N: OKAY, so thanks to my awesomely awesome new co-author Black Moon Falling, this
fic is going to be awesomer. And many thanks to my new beta SarcasticProcrastinator-AMLF.
And THANK YOU for the wonderful idea, Katpryde of keeping Gavin as Navarog to have a romance between and evil dragon and Kendra. Because it sounds hot. And the more reviews I get,
the faster I update! So thank you my faithful reviewers! And SOO Sorry for the whole Seth/Todd thing,
my beta will fix that I think. Haha. I'm babbling…just read my chapter!
Wait! For early updates and a look at what's going to happen next, go check out my Blog or my LiveJournal. On my profile. Thanks! NOW you can read.
. . .
Seth was woken early the next morning by a voice in his head.
Come to me Seth. This cannot wait.
It was Graulus. Seth just knew it was. He glanced at the clock.
1:23 A.M.
He decided to get up anyway. He slipped on his socks and shoes and walked out of his room. He quietly slipped away into the night.
. . .
Seth got out of the house with little trouble, thanks to all his practice in sneaking out. When he got to the edge of the yard, he hesitated. Should he really be doing this? Acting on impulse before had led to trouble.
"Seth. Come to me."
Seth decided to listen. He crept through the forest as quietly and quickly as he could. Once he heard movement behind him, but he bolted, and whatever it was didn't give chase. Soon he found himself at the entrance to Graulas's lair.
He paused to catch his breath, the walked in without hesitation, trying to mask the fear he suddenly felt inside him.
It was pitch black. He heard the raspy, rattled voice he knew belonged to the demon.
"You came." It sighed, barely more than a whisper.
"Wasn't that the idea?" Seth asked, trying harder than ever to put up a brave front. "What do you want?"
"I think the question is what do you need."
Seth racked his brain. The first thing that came to mind was the horn... could he trust the demon with that information? He knew what Grandpa's- and everyone else's- answer would be- no. But they weren't here right now. He was. Did he trust the demon? No. But he needed this. Not just for him, but for them all.
"I need the first horn of a unicorn from the centaurs." He finally admitted.
"I know. And what do you plan to do about that?"
Seth stared. What did he plan to do? "Well, it's kind of tricky to get to." He finally said.
Graulas snorted. "For one of your status? How so?"
"My status?" Seth asked, completely shocked. His brave front fell momentarily.
Graulas laughed. "Tell me Seth, what guards the horn?"
Seth recounted all he could remember. "A Tauran maze, a mountain troll, huge boulders, and oh yeah, the entire centaur population of Fablehaven would kill me just for trying."
Graulas laughed. Not just a quick laugh- a long bout of laughter that riveted the entire domain.
"Seth. The boulders move. And what is the rest to a shadow charmer?"
Seth stared at the blackness where the voice came from. "Shadow charmer?"
Graulas sighed. "Seth, do you know not what the nail did to you? You are a friend of the darkness now. Why did you think you could hear the voices in the hall?" Graulas noticed Seth's reaction to the mention of the hall. "Yes, I know of it. Why can you hear me when I call to you? Why could you see shadows? Do you honestly think you are a mere human?"
"Umm... yes?"
"Seth. You are the only one who can do the deed you need done. Who can navigate a Tauran maze? One who can see it. Keep to the left. Who can get past a mountain troll? One who can befriend it. Make the situation a joke. And who can escape unnoticed? The one who can blend into the night. Go, get your prize dear boy. Chase what you think matters."
Seth was still. Him? He tried to keep in mind this could b a lie to send him to his doom. But it seemed too real. So true...
A few minutes later, Seth had decided he would take the risk. He was cradled in Hugo's arms at the moment, being transported to the entrance. Hugo had come looking for Seth of his own accord, and Seth convinced him to help.
Hugo set him down. For a moment, the moving boulders transfixed Seth. Then he snapped into action. They had just begun marching, if his watch was right. Seth instructed Hugo to go to the yard, then strode confidently into the maze.
It looked like a normal maze to him. High brick walls kept him from seeing the end destination. He felt bad for whoever tried to navigate it without seeing though. The turns were sharp and unpredictable. He stayed to the left as much as he could.
After fifteen minutes, Seth passed a banana tree. Inspiration struck, and he gathered one from the ground before turning the corner.
And he had thought the gobbling in his room was ugly! This monster was terrible in comparison, and as big as Seth's house back home almost twice over. He felt queasy.
The troll took notice of him to, and started to waddle over. Only then did he notice the cave entrance behind it- it ha been completely hidden by the enormous troll. Seth spoke as calmly as he could mange to it.
"Hey buddy. what's up?"
The troll looked surprised, looking at Seth with new eyes. "You speak?"
"Yeah! I'm Navarog. You want to help me with the ultimate prank?
Seth ran back as fast as he dared, the horn hidden under his shirt. The troll had bought it completely, even showing him a quicker way out. Seth hadn't realized what path he was on, though, with the secret exit, until he came upon Warren's cabin.
Which was no big deal... except Warren was outside, looking at him.
"Hi." Seth squeaked, terrified. Warren's eyes raked over Seth, catching the shape of the object under his shirt. He grinned, then threw a flat, long object at Seth.
Seth caught it instinctively. It was the knapsack.
He turned to Warren, a grin spreading over both their features.
***
Kendra left early the next morning with Warren, Tanu and her duffel bag. They were driving to a hotel near the airport so that they could meet with Dougan, Mara and Gavin.
"How much longer?" Kendra asked.
"About an hour or so." Warren replied.
"Ugh." Kendra said.
"You're beginning to sound a bit like Seth." Warren said.
Kendra rolled her eyes.
"How long will the flight be to Northern Canada?" Kendra asked.
"I thought we were flying to China. Why would we be flying to Northern Canada?" Tanu said.
"China is where the preserve is. The key to it is in the dragon sanctuary." Kendra said.
"There are seven sanctuaries, Kendra." Warren said.
"Oh." Kendra said.
"So the dragon sanctuary you're talking about is the one in Canada. It's one of the three closed off from human visitors." Warren said.
"We'll need to get the key to get into the sanctuary." Tanu said.
"A key?" Kendra asked.
"The first horn of a unicorn." Warren said.
"How are we supposed to get that? Those are extremely rare." Tanu said.
"Don't worry." Warren smiled. "I've got it covered."
. . .
Kendra, Warren and Tanu met up with Dougan, Mara and Gavin in the hotel. They walked up the stairs into Kendra and Mara's room and decided to talk about what they were going up against.
"You should have told us soon, Warren." Dougan said.
"Yes, but it wouldn't have mattered if we didn't have the key to the fifth preserve." Warren countered.
"Well you should have told The Knights of Dawn anyway." Dougan said.
"But you guys would have discussed it openly and some of the Knights are traitors! They could slip information to the Sphinx!" Warren said.
"How about we discuss how we're going to get to the Dragon Sanctuary?" Kendra suggested, getting in between the two men.
They both looked at her and nodded.
"We need the key." Dougan said.
"I've got it covered." Warren said again.
Dougan looked at Warren suspiciously, but didn't push it.
"Alright. How many dragon tamers do we have?" Dougan asked.
"Me." Gavin said automatically.
"And me." Mara said.
"Um, I can talk to Dragons, but I don't think I can do anything else." Kendra said.
"Alright." Dougan nodded.
Gavin looked over at Kendra.
"I d-d-don't think Kendra s-s-should g-go." Gavin said.
"Why not?" Kendra asked, her expression hardened. She couldn't believe that Gavin just said that he didn't want her to go. Was it because she was a girl? No, because Mara was going. Did he like Mara more than her?
"Because I d-d-don't w-want you to get h-hurt." Gavin said.
Kendra's expression softened a bit. He cared about her.
"But I have to go." Kendra replied.
"W-why?" Gavin asked.
"Because the way to the sanctuary is covered with distracter spells and Kendra is the only person who won't be affected by it." Warren stepped in.
Gavin raised his eyebrow.
"Oh, r-r-really now? And how is t-t-that p-possible?" He asked.
"That's a private matter, not for us to discuss in a public area where anyone can overhear us." Kendra said, trying to sound serious.
"I see." Gavin said.
Kendra looked at the ground.
Dougan looked at the two and shrugged.
"How about we get some shut eye, now? We have a big day ahead of us." He said.
And with that, they all went back to their rooms to restore their energy.
After all, a day of dragons galore wasn't exactly what most of them wanted, but they all knew they had to go.
. . .
Again, I would like to thank my totally co-author to this story Black Moon Falling because I would
NOT have been able to finish this without you!
XoXO_*OOTF!