NicoleDaughterOfPoseiden – Molea is what the Fairy Queen calls herself in The Grip of the Shadow Plague.
Disclaimer: Brandon Mull owns the rights to the Fablehaven series.
As Kendra sat cross-legged on the gazebo floor she idly watched the thick fog swirl about the surface of the pond. The early light was diffused by the gloom, causing everything to glow. Kendra had to put a hand over her eyes in place of a visor to shield her wandering gaze from the glare. The various inhabitants of the immediate area were nowhere to be seen.
Her thoughts were hazy and muddled.A dull ache in her chest reminded her that she was supposed to be feeling something important. She was anxious to remember what it was.
As she sat there puzzling over the ache, Bracken appeared from the fog and joined her on the gazebo floor. They sat in silence for a moment. Without looking at her directly, Bracken reached over and took her hand, interlacing their fingers. His palm was cool, his touch refreshing, against her sweaty skin. She hadn't realized how hot she was until that moment.
Something was not right.
She turned to him in confusion. "Bracken, how did I get here?"
The unicorn boy pursed his lips. "The others and I brought you home a few days ago."
"Did you?" She shook her head. "The last thing I remember is…" She struggled to call forth the memories that were evading her. In a flash a tidal wave of images – Anata Boga laughing, her brother, covered in grime, begging her to wake up, Gavin's cold, dragon-eyed gaze, the collapse of the prison – beset her, and she knew what it was she had forgotten to feel.
She looked down at the words on her chest, the damning marks. She became aware of the fever, the thumping of her taxed heart, and the subsequent pain pinpointed in her temples.
"How am I not dead?" she asked shakily. Then, in pale-faced dread, she gulped. "Is Gavin here?"
Bracken's forehead scrunched in concern forming delicate lines of worry across his flawless skin. "You're not exactly here, Kendra. This is a dream."
Kendra cocked her head at him. "I thought you said I you brought me home? Am I at my parents' house?"
"No, that's not what I meant. You're at the preserve. You and I are alone on the shrine," he gestured out across the pond to the lonely little isle.
Kendra furred her brow. "How are you here in my dream?"
Bracken smiled with a blush. "Do you never dream of me?"
Kendra felt the heat rush to her face. "I didn't mean it like that. You just seem very real to be a figment of my imagination."
Bracken smiled sympathetically. "It's called a meeting of the minds. You have experienced it before, not long ago. Do you remember?"
Kendra thought back. It took her a moment, but she was able to summon a recollection of a dream she'd had before she'd arrived at the prison. "Yes. Vaguely. You were there and I was falling."
Bracken nodded solemnly. "Whenever one of the Fairy Queen's realm is in distress you can project a vision in your unconscious state that will ensnare the nearest subject of mother's in it. This particular meeting was prearranged though. Mother's magic was used to elicit a meeting of the minds."
He looked back to her, and his grip on her hand tightened. "As for your second question, Navarog is at my mother's shrine in Brazil. The connection between the shrines is a two-way life line for you and him." Which, Kendra noted, Bracken did not sound the least bit excited about.
"I didn't know the extent of my tie to Fairy Queen's realm," Kendra admitted. "I thought my title was more so honorary."
"You are one of her handmaidens. You belong with us." His expression softened. "With me."
Kendra blush flared back into life, burning tenfold.
"Bracken, I know you know what's happened to me. I won't ever be able to belong with anybody but him now." Tears of despair welled in her eyes.
Bracken eyed her thoughtfully. "Kendra, I have come here to tell you that mother found a way to break the spell."
Kendra choked back a cry. "I – you must – that can't be – I don't…" she spluttered. She stopped herself, took a deep breathe, and then tried again. "How is that possible?"
"It's a long story." Kendra indicated with a motion of her free hand for him to go on.
Bracken sighed. "What has been engraved into your soul is the language of Chaos. The language of Creation was spoken into the Abyss at the Beginning. It is said that in horror of Order, the Nothingness made Sound to try drown out the Music of the Words. That sound eventually evolved into the language of Chaos. The language of Chaos is at the root of all evil things. The language of Creation is the only force capable of countering it."
"Many powerful demons, and a few others, know some phrases of the language of Chaos, but it is hard to learn because there is no reason or sense in it. Similarly, few people have the capacity to learn the language of Creation because it is so profoundly simple and honest. Because she is molea, mother is one of few in the universe who know the language of Creation. Anata Boga should have foreseen this, but we think that he had planned on her not knowing enough of the language to undo his curse. In truth, she cannot speak it fluently; but, she believes she has found the right words to release you from bondage."
"Then why hasn't she spoken the words already!" Kendra cried.
Bracken fidgeted uncomfortably. "Because of the nature of the language of Creation, as well as the specific kind of magic that must be worked to unknot the tie between you and Navarog, all parties involved must be willing participants. Their desires must align with the desires of the others."
Kendra's heart sank with a deafening thud. "Gavin will never agree to it. With the bond in place he has the upper hand. There isn't a thing in world that would ever make him give up a shred of power," she said glumly. With an effort she met Bracken's sad, kind gaze. "And we cannot be allowed to live so long as he has access to the Fairy Queen's realm."
Bracken did not contradict her. Kendra didn't expect him to, but she had rather wished he would. Instead, he asked her, "You would willingly give up your life for the sake of my mother's people and their home?"
Kendra nodded ruefully. "Bracken, I understand that a threat to the Fairy Queen's realm is a threat to the world, and I wouldn't want to live in a world without the light of her kingdom in it."
Bracken released her hand, and cupped her chin. "You're so brave," he said in a hushed, awed tone that made Kendra long to feel the brush of his lips against hers once more.
Gently, but firmly, she took her hands and freed her face from his grasp. She was painfully aware of the hurt look and confusion in his eyes, but she would not have him undergo false hope. It was too cruel.
"Give your mother my regards, and tell my family -" Kendra shivered under the cool touch of regret. "Tell my family I love them. I would say tell Seth to stay out of trouble, but I won't waste my breath. Make sure it's you who brakes the news to Raxtus. I'm worried he may take it hard -and Verl might too. Tell Seth to lay off of him for a little while." Kendra pushed her bangs into place as she slowly stood.
She studied Bracken's handsome face from above. "And tell Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson that I'm sorry I couldn't be there for them when Grandma and Grandpa Larsen passed."
Bracken blinked. He stood to face her. "Kendra, what on earth you talking about?"
Kendra read through his bafflement. "They aren't dead then? Gavin lied to me. Big surprise," she mumbled. "That's good, though. That they're not dead, I mean. I'm glad that my grandparents will all be able to look to each other for comfort."
Bracken put his hands on her shoulders. "Kendra Sorenson, I love you."
Kendra hesitated.
"And I am about to tell you why it is okay for you tell me that back."
Kendra sucked in sharply. "What?"
"He's agreed to do it."
Kendra's eyes widened. "That's impossible."
Bracken's face lit up with smug triumph. "Mother made him a deal and he accepted."
"He would rather die than be defeated," Kendra insisted. "And he doesn't care at all about dying. Bracken…" Kendra began but a curious collage of anamneses stopped her: the frightful, saddening expression on Gavin's face after they'd danced; the feeling she'd had when she'd last seen him; her certainty of his desire for something more than what he had been given in his life. What was it that Gavin needed?
Kendra hardly noticed that Bracken had slipped his arms around her waist. "What did your mother offer him?" she asked, the words pouring out of her quickly.
Bracken raised a quizzical eyebrow at her, answering, "She offered him life in isolation in a location she wouldn't disclose to me, with the dwarf. The dwarf has apparently become attached to Navarog."
"The dwarf? Do you mean T.C?" Kendra frowned.
"The dwarf who found us in the jungle, and put us back on the right track to saving you," Bracken confirmed.
Kendra brightened momentarily. "He's alive! He must have made it out the same way Gavin did! Oh Bracken, that's great news!" Her smile dissipated. "But why would he want to go with Gavin?"
Bracken shrugged.
Kendra mulled it over, and opted to dismiss the strangeness for the time being. She would ask the Fairy Queen about her dwarf friend later.
She turned her thoughts back to Gavin. An idea occurred to her.
"So she offered him his freedom?" Kendra asked Bracken.
"In a manner of speaking yes, she did."
"Oh," Kendra sighed in relief feeling the weight lift off of her chest. "That's alright then."
"Why wouldn't it be alright otherwise?" Bracken asked her.
By way of answer, Kendra ignored his petty jealousy. She moved out of his embrace to go lean over the rail of the gazebo.
She reviewed the situation. "When?" she asked, her back to him.
"As soon as you're ready to wake up."
"Will we have to travel to Brazil?"
"No," he said firmly, as though he'd already discussed this with someone else. "You almost didn't survive the trip to Fablehaven. I won't risk another long journey. We will communicate with mother from here."
Kendra gripped the rails. She couldn't believe that her nightmare was finally coming to an end.
She turned around to look at the boy she loved. Bracken watched her, but didn't come to her side. She was behaving out of character, and he wasn't sure how to handle the situation. Bracken's expression was guarded, but the wide-eyed stare still betrayed his innocent concern for her.
In a few short strides, Kendra flung herself into his arms. She could feel his gratitude as his warm arms wrapped around her. She closed her eyes, and inhaled the fresh scent of his garments.
"Alright, Bracken. I'm ready. Wake me up."
*.*.*.*.*
When Kendra opened her eyes she immediately closed them again, savoring the lovely sensation of his lips upon hers. Kendra suddenly smelt the smell of blossoms. Oh dear, she thought, and at the same moment she heard the clear words in her mind:
Am I interrupting?
Bracken pulled back and stood up. A pink tint colored his cheeks. He smiled down at the similarly blushing Kendra, and helped her to her feet. They looked to the fairy figurine that lay a few feet beyond them.
"Mother – not at all. We were just – erm… right. We should proceed."
Yes, we should.
Kendra had the sudden childish urge to hide her face in her hands at the bemused tone of the Fairy Queen, who had caught her son kissing her handmaiden. Then she remembered.
"Um, may I ask a question first?"
You desire to know the state of your dwarf friend. The cursed one.
Kendra's heart lurched. "Yes. How did you know he was cursed?"
It is obvious to me that he has been under an enchantment placed on him by a witch for an age. I would remove it, but doing so would kill him. He wants to stay with Navarog, for reasons I cannot fathom.
"You were able to communicate with him?"
I was able to ascertain what I wanted to know from him.
Kendra didn't know what to make of that. "What about Gavin? How can we know he won't he hurt T.C?"
Navarog bears no ill will towards the dwarf.
Kendra thought this over. If he's where he wants to be, I won't say anything otherwise,she resolved.
"Alright," she said at last. "What do I have to do?"
Kendra, I trust Bracken has informed you of the situation. When the time comes I want you to repeat exactly what I say. It won't take long to say what needs to be said, but your complete concentration is vital.
Navarog is at my other shrine in Brazil, and will be doing the same as I tell you. He does not know that I will be speaking the language of Creation, though he may guess it before the end. It would be dangerous for me to admit to having utility over such power.
"Why?" Kendra asked her.
Because my ability would serve to the greater part of the dark creatures to desire to destroy me all the more. They would double their efforts to undermine my authority. It would place my sisters in grave danger.
"Then won't the chaos in Gavin try to stop the magic?"
Most likely. But Creation is stronger than Chaos. The air you breathe, the ground upon which you stand, testify to this.
I will repeat to you what I have said to Navarog. If you falter the magic will fail, and we may not be able to try it again. It requires an exorbitant amount of concentration and power on my behalf. I have to drain the energy from three of my shrines around the world to do this.
"If it were anyone else you wouldn't be doing this," Bracken added, looking to Kendra, as though to inspire confidence in the face of sacrifice. Kendra studied him. The unicorn showed no signs of concern. To him the bond between Gavin and Kendra was as good as broken. Kendra, on the other hand, was a little less optimistic. Gavin was strong, but he was also volatile. She was nervous that he would change his mind half-way through.
That is correct, the Fairy Queen conceded. I would also not have my son age his appearance irrevocably for any one person; especially for a mortal, human girl.
Kendra's eyes roved over a blushing Bracken. Over the years, she had thought she'd noticed that his face had lost some of its boyish qualities, that is his body seemed more angular, like that of a grown man. However, none of her friends or family ever remarked on this, so she supposed she was projecting wistful imaginings on him. The changes she thought she saw were minor enough to be explained away as such.
Yes, Kendra. Bracken has aged himself for you, the Fairy Queen said, reading Kendra well. In our family, immortality comes with the gift of choosing how old one wants to appear. However, once one of us has allowed the age of our bodies to increase, the process cannot be reversed. Bracken has made it so that he has grown with you.
Kendra matched Bracken's embarrassment. She was stunned by the strength of feeling in this gesture.
As I said, normally I would forbid a permanent decision from being made for temporary compensation. However, you, Kendra, have continued to prove to yourself of irreproachable character.
Kendra smiled a watery smile at the Queen's warm praise. Then, the atmosphere sobered.
And it is a good thing, the state of your integrity. Today may very well be the greatest test you ever face. This process will be both painful and scarring. I will not be able to mediate the assailment that will befall you. And neither will my son. Bracken cannot stay with you for this battle.
This was news to Bracken. He gaped indignantly at the statue, as though it were his mother incarnate. "But, Mother –"
"It's alright, Bracken. Go. I will be fine." Kendra nudged him in the direction of the island's shore. Bracken's head dipped dejectedly, and he drifted off to find the boat.
Kendra stood in the silence of the island for a short time. She did her best to clear her mind of everything – Bracken, her family, her friends, Gavin – so that she could devote the entirety of her thoughts to the task before her.
He has gone. Are you certain you're ready to begin?
Kendra balled her shaking fists at her sides. She felt woozy from standing so long. Apart from feeling apprehensive about Gavin, she worried she may be too weak to withstand what the Fairy Queen was about to do. If things went wrong, both Kendra and Gavin would die, and it seemed very likely that something would go wrong.
"Sometimes we do what we must," Kendra echoed the Fairy Queen's words to her all those years ago. She could feel the Fairy Queen's regard for her.
Then let us have done with this evil.
*.*.*.*.*
"I'm not getting any younger here," Gavin growled. Since he'd given the Fairy Queen his answer several hours ago not a word had he heard from her. He was becoming impatient, and because his impatience was straining his nerves. The combination of strain on his nerves and the sickness he was feeling – the fever, the rapid pounding of his heart, the headaches – were all causing him to become undeniably irritable.
No reply from the statue. He swore heatedly under his breath, and rearing back his leg, he made to kick the fairy figurine.
Kindly don't vandalize my shrine, came the cold voice of the Fairy Queen. You're already desecrating the area with your presence.
"How long does it take to tell someone that they're going to be released from bondage? Hm? Could you kindly explain that to me?"
Kendra is ready, the Fairy Queen stated, pointedly ignoring his mockery. Are you, Navarog, Demon Prince?
"You know, now that I've had some time to think about it, I'm starting to have second thoughts."
Of all of a sudden the air around him became frigid.
Do not jest lightly. If you so much as doubt yourself in the most base way, the entire operation will fail.
Gavin rolled his eyes. "The problem with you creatures of light is that you're so easily riled."
Are you ready, or are you not?
Gavin ground his teeth. "Yes," he hissed. "I am ready."
Gavin closed his eyes as the Fairy Queen had instructed. He focused on the sound of her voice. Without further ado, the molea began.
A word was breathed into existence. The word was familiar to him, but he couldn't have spoken it; nor could he have captured all that it entailed if he tried to describe it with a million words, in a thousand languages.
There was a tune fused into the word, which rippled rhythmically in the air. The music of it was beautiful but harsh, like light too bright and blinding. The earth beneath him trembled in ecstatic prescience. It coursed through Gavin, overwhelming him and bringing him to his knees in the whole of a second.
The word made Gavin look at the beauty around him. The beauty of light and purity, the truth implicit and explicit in all things. It coaxed unwanted tears to his eyes. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear anything but the word. When he opened his mouth to cry he could taste the consonance.
That was the first word.
The second word was a different tune. It was shorter, not opting to linger as the first had, and sharper. It asked – no, it demanded of him that he see himself for what he was. Previously, he had wondered how the Fairy Queen's magic was going to undo what his Master had done. He had imagined an unraveling. But this was not what was taking place. The magic was restoring him by denying the bond's right to have ever existed.
Gavin had to look at who had been, the centuries of evil that he had permeated. He was forced to accept his love for Amana. He did not deny that he mourned her passing. He could not escape his fondness of Kendra, his wish that she felt strongly for him, and his ensuing bitterness that her heart had already been claimed. He gnashed his teeth, his roars reverberated off of the very atoms in the air, resounding great, abysmal booming vibrations throughout the surrounding jungle which sent the terrified birds airborne and set the petrified animals and creatures bolting away from the Queen's shrine.
His deep love and searing hatred for his Master was laid bare. His self-loathing claimed him. He was the troubled boy who fought demons of his own devices daily, but in the hidden cellars of his heart, the phantom figures of his desire to become someone else took form in the flesh, and it was called Gavin. But he was not broken, sniveling on the ground, by this truth.
No. Because he was also Navarog Demon Prince, steward of the Lord of Chaos. He was proud and cruel, unapologetic. He acquiesced to the second word's demand of him. He fully accepted himself for all that he was.
He was feeling the release and confidence that comes with the understanding of one's self when the third word was spoken.
The third word was the final word. He could feel it, and once heard Gavin knew he would never forget the melody till the end of his days. The arrangement of the third word was a brought together by the tunes of the two which had been spoken prior. It was even shorter in the saying than the second, but it lingered longer than the first. To describe the what change it wrought in the boy who was both Gavin and Navarog, Demon Prince, would be an impossible undertaking. Suffice it to say, that when the aria of the third word was done, he felt more alive than he could ever remember feeling.
A great white flash decided the finality of the process. Gavin looked down at his chest. The words were gone. No remnant of them remained.
There was silence for a time. The figurine marking the Fairy Queen's shrine had vanished. Gavin stared at the ground where it had been.
"I know what it was that you spoke, molea," he said quietly to the empty air.
A rustle in the trees called his attention to the two astrids who warily approached him with the naked dwarf in tow between them.
"Is this yours?" one of the guards queried in brusque askance, gesturing to the ever-smiling skin-changer.
Gavin eyed the dwarf. The dwarf smiled, and exaggeratedly winked at him.
Gavin was aware that the just course of action would be to let the dwarf return to Kendra and her friends, where they could perhaps remove whatever magic was on him.
Of course, he had never been one to make decisions based upon their moral implications.
"It would seem so," he smirked wryly at the astrid.
The guard's lip curled in distaste and he pushed the dwarf toward Gavin. "I've been instructed to inform you that the dwarf has been placed under temporary enchantment, as have you. You won't be able to alter your current forms until you have arrived at your new home. Once there, you will have a restricted amount of air space to fly in so that you can stretch your wings."
"How thoughtful," murmured Gavin sourly.
The astrid's eyes narrowed. "My brother and I will escort you to Silvermoor. The Queen told me it would be needless to remind you that if you tried to escape, or tried to harm us, your deal with her will become void."
Gavin's countenance sobered. "She was right," he said. "As she always is." The astrid looked at him in suspicious confusion for the boy's tone conveyed no mockery or sarcasm.
"Will you need to rest?" the other astrid asked gruffly.
Gavin shook his head. "I've waited long enough."
Neither of the astrids could puzzle this statement out. They subtlety shrugged at one another, and set about walking. Gavin followed a ways behind them, and the dwarf matched his stride.
The dwarf patted Gavin's back. "Los malditos," he remarked, nodding his head solemnly. The gesture spoke volumes of the dwarf's empathy.
"Hm," Gavin replied noncommittally. He was struck by the fact that he didn't so much mind the dwarf. He was reluctant to admit to himself that, even though he no longer desired the society of others, the company of such a stolid figure was appealing.
"I think I'll call you Mal," he said down to his new-found cohort. "As in, 'bad'. What do you think of that?"
"Los malditos."
Gavin nodded satisfactorily. "I'm glad we're on the same page."
Together the dwarf and the boy walked off in the congenial silence of old friends, starkly different in every aspect of their persons, but strikingly similar in their steps. How so? Both strode with the confidence of individuals who have divined their purpose.
One walks unaware of what awaits him, but is nonetheless content; the other goes forth with full knowledge of what the next day will hold, and is inwardly brimming with a peculiar suppressed zeal.