Based on characters from Fablehaven© by Brandon Mull. The original characters and plot details are my property. No copyright infringement intended.
"I'd never want to be a magic user," Leander sighed and took a deep breath. "I just want to be normal," his voice was a loud whisper as he said the words with conviction.
"That isn't going to happen or at least I hope not," said a familiar voice.
Seth flinched at the voice and Bracken turned to see the human form of Celebrant walk through the door.
Leander's heart jumped and began pounding in his chest as he recognized the voice of his father's avatar. Already weak from the stress, the additional tension made him pass out.
Bracken moved away from Kendra and stood protectively in front of the group pulling his sword from its hip sheath.
"Celebrant? How did you get in here?" Bracken asked suspicion dripping from every word, his other hand slowly moving toward the second sword on his back. The thought that Celebrant might have the power to control a wraith from Wyrmroost, had already entered his mind.
Celebrant raised his eyebrow at Bracken's defensive stance and tone but he remained close to the door.
"I brought him," said another familiar voice. The Fairy Queen walked in behind him.
"Mother? What is going on?" Bracken asked. His stance relaxed but he still held his sword.
She smiled and glanced at Celebrant gesturing for him to speak.
"I came as soon as I knew that the demon was headed here. I found a few good leads after you left the Keep. Several wily creatures are loyal to me and let me know about the demon. I followed him but I couldn't get through the distractor spell so I had to petition the Queen. I am relieved that you were able to take care of the problem yourselves," Celebrant told the group. "Nice job whoever did that," he commented as he looked out the door at the still burning pieces of demon ice.
Bracken looked beseechingly at his mother. She had no comment as she smiled at her son and moved closer to him. She looked at the injured children on the ground, even Seth looked a little ill. She crouched next to Kendra, stroked her forehead and sighed.
She noticed that Leander was unconscious and placed her hand on his head.
Leander awakened feeling some strength entering his body. He opened his eyes and smiled at the welcome sight of the Fairy Queen. His heart settled into a regular rhythm but he was still terribly weak, even the Fairy Queen could not restore what the spell had drained from him.
Bracken sheathed his sword and sat on the floor next to Kendra. The Fairy Queen lifted her hand from Leander and turned back to him and Kendra. They began silently communing over Kendra's condition.
"Tracker, why do you want to be normal? Normal is boring," Celebrant said. Pulling his attention back from the burning spectacle scattered across the lawn, he looked at Leander.
"What do you care?" he replied in a hoarse whisper still unable to move.
"You found my mate and I wanted to thank you. You are an extraordinary tracker, so I am wondering why you want to be normal. Maybe I should know more about you, Leander," Celebrant said suggestively, looking down at the young man with interest.
"You're welcome and… no, thank you," Leander whispered weakly, cringing at his father's words.
"He was getting ready to leave the sanctuary since he no longer has a job. He was going back to his regular life when the demon attacked us," Seth answered for his weakened friend.
"You were the missing dragon's father?" Leander asked in an almost breathless whisper, remembering that officially he had never met Celebrant and his verbal confession of disliking dragons. Even though it was difficult and his mind was fuzzy, thinking was about the only thing he could do at the moment. Movement was out and speaking was only marginal because he had to move his mouth.
"Yes," Celebrant answered sadly, the news of Raxtus' apparent demise had arrived just moments before he had found out about the demon. He hadn't had time to accept the truth of the news; he was still in denial.
"Sorry for your loss but everything is okay," he raised his voice above a whisper. "Now…you can leave," his said letting his anger show.
"Thank you, but it looks like you need help getting anywhere," he grinned at Leander's rather impotent hostility.
"We are doing okay," Seth said nervously eyeing the two supernatural celebrities. He sat protectively next to Leander. "We can handle Leander and Kendra. We just need to get them back to the house so they can rest. Bracken healed both of them. Right, Bracken?" Seth tried to get Bracken's attention but he was still hovering over Kendra with his mother.
"I suppose we could use the help to get them back to the main house," Bracken conceded, watching his mother. "The distractor spell was a concern. I was going to have to take them one at a time." Seth glared at him in disbelief.
The Fairy Queen nodded and stood. "You carry Kendra. I'll walk with Seth and assist Celebrant who will carry Leander," she decreed – no one ever argued with her.
Celebrant walked to where Seth was sitting with Leander. Leander squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain, refusing to look at the man walking toward him.
Seth stood up staring at the big man. He backed up and watched as Celebrant crouched and easily lifted Leander from the floor.
Leander didn't want to talk to his father. He was dying to know how much of their conversation the pair had heard before they entered the building. He realized that he probably only heard the last sentence because of Bracken's shield. Until he was in the doorway, he probably would have heard nothing.
"That was some spell. Who cast it?" Celebrant asked Leander.
He did not answer and kept his eyes closed.
"Why don't you want talk to me?" Celebrant asked, looking down at the young man.
"Tired... was poisoned… when it happened… don't know …anything," he replied in a breathless whisper, telling a half truth.
"You are leaving Fablehaven?" Celebrant tried again to start a conversation with him.
"Runt dragon … dead… not needed," he whispered curtly.
"My son's name was Raxtus and I will miss him. I am grateful for the search and the results that you found," Celebrant said sadly.
Leander's was surprised at his statement and found it hard to believe.
"I had a job, tried my best. Seth and Bracken found the clues you needed," he whispered, hoping the conversation would end so he could rest. His strength was very slow to return.
"You don't need work? What if I need a tracker?" Celebrant continued to try to engage him in conversation.
"I did this for my friend Bracken. I don't track for dragons," Leander whispered coldly, his anger giving his voice more strength.
"You seem mad at me in particular. Why?" Celebrant asked curiously.
Leander took a deep painful breath and continued in his thin whisper. "You're a dragon and I don't like dragons – in particular. A demon just attacked and poisoned me. I'm hurt and angry. If I bother you… you can leave me here and be on your way. My friends can take care of …" his weary whispered voice trailed off.
Leander could feel that they were moving but he refused to open his eyes and see where they were heading. He could almost feel the distractor spell pushing at him but it was nowhere near the powerful feeling it had been when they had entered earlier.
Celebrant didn't seem to have any problems hearing Leander's breathless, basically silent whispers. He was pleased that he had kept the boy talking, even with his animosity towards him. Leander was bitter against dragons for some reason. Celebrant guessed he had suffered because of dragons at sometime. Still, the boy had excellent tracking abilities. Though he had not found Raxtus' body, he had located his mate and he was grateful for that.
"I think you are more than a tracker. I saw the results of the spell someone cast. I heard you say you didn't want to be a magic user. Why wouldn't you want to be a wizard or sorcerer if you could wield power like that? Is that what did this to your body?" Celebrant's voice was powerful and he did not lower his voice in response to the young man's whispered answers.
Crap, Leander thought, he did hear the comment about not wanting to be a magic user. Leander knew that everyone was listening to their conversation. He only wanted to maintain his identity. He was just Leander, a human tracker who disliked dragons, nothing else. Period.
"Demon poison did this to me. Um, wait, I thought dragons hated wizards?"
"Most do," Celebrant replied casually. "What makes you think you are a wizard?" he asked his voice curious again.
"I don't. I wouldn't want to be a magic user. I'm just glad to be a tracker. I may change my mind about this career too if stuff like that is going to happen often. What makes you think I am? Did you get the wrong idea from my senseless words mumbled after being attacked by a demon?" His whispered question was curious. He wanted to maintain his pose as a human tracker but if there was something else, some small indication that he was something more, he needed to know that too.
"I'm sorry. I am just looking for something I may not find. I keep hoping Raxtus is alive somewhere, maybe in a human avatar. You showed up shortly after he disappeared. I thought that he would probably be angry with me and since you are, you seemed a likely candidate. You tracked and found his mother. I mistakenly surmised there might be a link between you two. I apologize for pushing you," he said apologetically. Seeing the boy in person definitely crushed his hope that he was Raxtus' avatar. "A person normally doesn't get lucky twice in a lifetime and finding Axezeles was a miracle. I suppose finding my mate after all these years had me hoping for even more good luck."
"Sorry, I can't help you," Leander sighed. He was safe in his lie so far. He relaxed as they made their way to the Fablehaven headquarters and fell into an exhausted sleep somewhere before they reached it.
Celebrant looked at the frail young man sleeping in his arms. While it was almost impossible for anyone to tell if a human was an avatar, there were telltale signs that he had noticed over his long years dealing with various avatars. The boy was thin and light. Though he looked a lot like Bracken, Celebrant dismissed the likelihood of a familial relationship or link to the fairy realm. A unicorn or other creature capable of invoking a human avatar would be much more robust, the boy in his arms was definitely a fragile human. The red burns on his hand, the sign of recent stitches on his face and deep wounds on his neck were clues of his human fragility. His recent wounds were fading, but it was an indication of Unicorn healing power.
Celebrant wanted to know who cast the spell that destroyed the demon because it was a great feat of magic. He hadn't seen anything like it since Morisant was around. It was ridiculous to think the boy could have done it, unaltered human's had minimal spell casting abilities. Celebrant was grasping at straws, but the children were covering for someone but whom? He hoped that Bracken would tell him later.
Celebrant walked behind the group now that they were out of the distractor field. Fairies swarmed around them, all fueled by their affection for the Queen, Bracken and unexpectedly the fairystuck girl. Several dozen fairies flew away after speaking to the Fairy Queen. He took a closer look at the girl in Bracken's arms. Her recently reddened skin looked unharmed quite a difference from what he had seen earlier.
The fairies ignored the boy as Celebrant ignored the one that had landed on his shoulder. Leander had passed out in the little barn, if he had had milk earlier it was no longer working for him. In this state, he was unaware of fairies surrounding them and they knew that he couldn't recognize them. Avatars didn't need milk to see the magic realm. It was the last clue that dashed Celebrant's hopes that Leander was Raxtus.
Seeing the tenderness and concern in which Bracken carried the girl, he started thinking about Axezeles. She would be at the house when they arrived. He was nervous and excited. So many centuries had passed, he had changed but had she, locked in a dragon version of stasis? He couldn't wait to see her. He had seen her avatar only once, and he wondered if he would recognize her.
Fairies swarmed the house making enough noise for Ruth and Marla to rush outdoors. Dale came running to the house from the barn. The fairies told them that the Fairy Queen was coming, but they couldn't get any real information from them before they all disappeared into the forest again. Ruth ran back into the house, got on the two-way radio to Stan and Scott. She told them to rush home something big was happening. She also called the Larsen's and asked them to come over quickly.
Mendingo rushed down the path toward Bracken ready to assist if needed but he had nothing to do but follow along, his metal joints jangling with anxious excitement. Doren, Newel and Verl another satyr came running toward them, attracted by the commotion. Verl started crying when he saw Kendra lying unconscious in Bracken's arms. Doren and Newel rolled their eyes at his reaction, they constantly teased him about his crush on Kendra. They were hoping to get the scoop on what happened since they were Seth's friends but the presence of the Fairy Queen stopped them in their tracks with stupid grins on their faces.
Stan and Scott arrived in the cart pulled by Hugo; closely followed by the Larsens in their truck. Their excited questions to the family found no answers. The entire family rushed to the edge of the garden. There was confusion and the forest was teeming with life with the Fairy Queen's arrival. Fairies were swarming everywhere.
Ruth wondered what had happened to cause all this fuss? They had just gone for a walk. Leander lay unconscious in Celebrant's arms and Kendra unconscious in Bracken's arms. The Fairy Queen was walking with them.
Maeve and Unleea stood by the house, out of the chaos of family coming and going, the rushing about. There was major uncertainty of what was happening and why the Fairy Queen was involved.
She wondered what had happened to the children.
Maeve smiled when she recognized Celebrant. She had seen his human form many times.
"Who is that?" Unleea tugged on Maeve's shirt, pointing. When she got no answer she looked up at Maeve who was staring at them too, a smile on her face.
Maeve was preoccupied watching Celebrant walking toward the house.
"Who is that?" Unleea tugged on Maeve's shirt again.
"What?" she asked, finally responded to the girl.
"Who is that? The beautiful lady standing next to Bracken," Unleea asked, pointing.
"Oh, she is the Fairy Queen," Maeve replied casually.
Unleea lost her balance and abruptly sat on the ground, stunned that she was actually seeing the Fairy Queen in person. She was speechless. Eyes wide and silent, she watched the group at the edge of the garden.
The Fairy Queen stayed on the pathway. She bid farewell to her son and gave Kendra one last healing touch.
"Take good care of her," she said to Bracken her concerned expression slowly turned to a radiant smile as she looked at her son.
"Yes, I will," he smiled in return.
She acknowledged the Sorensons and Larsens, who were rushing forward, with a nod but turned away heading down the path toward the Pavilion Garden. All the fairies and many other creatures, including Doren, Newel and Verl, escorted her to the shrine.
Unleea saw her turn to leave and she tried to follow but Maeve held on to the girl's arm telling her she couldn't go it was dangerous. The Fairy Queen was not a social being.
Celebrant recognized everyone except one woman. That must be her, he thought. She stood back close to the house; her jet black hair glistened in the sunlight. She was beautiful and he was more nervous than ever, thanks to his human body's reaction to the 'woman' he loved.
Celebrant and Seth continued toward the house.
"What happened?" Stan converged on them.
"Uh, a demon attacked us and his poison got the two of them," Seth mumbled. "Bracken healed them but they are demon stunned and still a little out of it."
"Demon here? How?" he demanded. "Not even a major demon should be able to enter without permission."
Both Celebrant and Seth shrugged. Seth had thought they were all in Zzyzx anyway.
Stan turned his attention to Kendra and Bracken. Celebrant and Seth continued through the hedge into the garden. Celebrant's attention became totally focused on Maeve as they neared the house.
When Maeve and Celebrant got about ten feet apart Celebrant stopped. They stood staring at each other.
At Seth's urging, Dale approached Celebrant and took Leander from his arms. Dale followed Seth up to a second floor guest room where Leander would rest for now. Seth figured the attic was too far from the help he might need. Kendra's room was next to this one. Bracken would have the guest room on the other side of Kendra's room. Everyone else was very involved with Kendra's condition. Granted she was family and she did have more visual symptoms, her skin was still red, but Seth felt a little bitter because it seemed that only he was concerned with Leander's welfare.