Chapter 7: Destitution
In spite of the havoc that had been going on in the Demon Domain, the family back at Fablehaven was completely unaware of just how bad things had gotten. Wanting to get her mind off of the whole situation, Kendra had taken to spending some time with Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod in the garden.
Presently, Kendra was sitting down on a garden chair, her hands covering up her eyes.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty!" said Kendra, removing her hands from her face. "Ready or not, here I come!"
Kendra stood up from her chair and proceeded to look around the garden. She had agreed to play a game of hide-and-go-seek with the three fairies. Kendra had offered to be "it", as she figured that the tiny fairies would make much better hiders within the garden than she ever would.
Kendra got down on her knees and gazed between the stems of flowers that had been arranged in a flowerbed in an attempt to locate one of the three fairies. Like her brother, Kendra wasn't one to play hide-and-seek since she was no longer a young child, but the fact that the three fairies were fairly juvenile kind of made it appropriate.
"You three better be somewhere within the garden," said Kendra, getting back onto her feet. The idea to play hide and seek had been Passion's idea. Kendra wondered why she had never thought to play with the fairies like this before. It probably had to do with the fact that normally, the garden was brimming with fairies, making a game such as this a lot more difficult.
"Where are you girls?" asked Kendra, as she continued to look around.
One of the reindeer, who happened to be wandering near the garden, slowly walked up to Kendra.
"Hey, Vixen," said Kendra. "I'm in the middle of looking for Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod."
Vixen nodded, then turned her head and looked down at nearby rock next to a small pond within the garden.
"Over there? Vixen, don't give their location away! That's cheating!"
The reindeer whimpered and lowered her head.
"I'm not upset," said Kendra, patting Vixen on her head between the antlers. "But I was trying to challenge myself."
Kendra continued to look around for the three hiding fairies. Without any warning, a portal appeared on the lawn only a few yards away from where she was standing, nearly scaring her half to death.
"What the...?" asked Kendra, watching as Warren, followed by Bracken and Bright in their unicorn forms, all made an emergence from the portal.
Kendra was quick to notice Warren's ripped, blood-stained shirt. She could also tell that the two unicorns looked to be quite exhausted.
"What's going on?" asked Kendra, as Bright turned around to face the portal and expelled some magic from her horn to close it. With the portal now closed, Kendra suddenly realized that Seth was no longer with the group. "Where's Seth?"
Warren shook his head, holding up Vasilis and Seth's dropped pouch in his hands. "Seth got... abducted."
Kendra felt as her heart missed a beat, then dropped her jaw. "What... how?"
"The monsters..." gasped Bracken. "They were... too overwhelming!"
"They could've killed us," noted Bright.
"Your mom is gonna kill us," said Warren, staring at Kendra.
Kendra shook her head. Warren and the two unicorns looked like they were about to faint. "This is horrible! How did this happen? Are you three... okay?"
"We need to... regain our power," said Bright, as she lost her balance and collapsed onto the grass.
"All the garden fairies are gone..." said Bracken wearily, as Passion, Larissa and Goldenrod flew up to the unicorns.
"What happened to you?" asked Larissa. "Are you hurt?"
"We need... light energy," said Bright. "More than you three fairies would have put together."
"We need Clover," said Warren. "And the dragons."
Kendra needed to act fast. She looked around and saw that two reindeer were standing nearby.
"Vixen," said Kendra. "I need you to go to the pond and get Clover back here. Comet, you go find Raxtus and Geminus. Hopefully they're in their lair."
The two reindeer nodded, then galloped into the air and soared off in different directions.
"Kendra, stay with the unicorns," said Warren. "I'm in okay shape, so I'll go inside and get the others."
Kendra knelt down and observed the two unicorns that had crouched down into their sitting positions. They appeared to be all right physically, but why did they act as though they had been weakened so greatly? She proceeded to place the palm of her hand upon Bracken's forehead. In response, the unicorn nodded his head in approval.
A moment later, various family members made their way out of the house and came up towards where Kendra and the others had been waiting. At around the same time, Vixen returned with Raxtus and Geminus, who had brought Vanessa along with them.
"This is serious," said Geminus looking down at the two unicorns.
"What happened to them?" asked Raxtus.
"Please just give them some of your strength," said Warren. "Ask questions later."
The two fairy dragons stepped up before Bracken and Bright. Bending their heads down, they both opened their mouths and exhaled white and pink sparkling mists of some nature. Their breaths settled upon the two unicorns and seemed to dissipate on contact.
After a few seconds had gone by, Bracken and Bright both let out joyous neighs, then reverted to their humanoid fairy forms.
"Thanks!" said Bracken, as he stood up in unison with his sister.
"I feel much better now," said Bright, nodding in approval.
A moment later, Vixen made her return, followed closely by Clover.
"Why are you back?" asked the green fairy angel, as she and Comet descended next to the group. "What's going on?
"We may have fixed a small problem," said Warren, "but we still have a far more critical one to contend with."
"Seth has been abducted," said Mr. Sorenson.
"In the Demon Domain?" gasped Clover.
The others nodded.
"How did that even happen?" asked Mrs. Sorenson, who was shaking her head and had placed an arm around her husband.
"The more time and magic we use up in the Demon Domain," replied Bracken, "the weaker Bright and I become."
"The monsters there are powerful," said Warren. "And the best weapon against them is light energy. Unfortunately, light energy doesn't seem to last all too long there."
"We used up most of our energy trying to fend off a trio of adlets," said Bracken. "It weakened them, but not enough. They made off with Seth. We didn't have the power to keep going."
"Adlets got Seth?" asked Kendra. "And for that matter, what exactly is an adlet, anyway?"
"Large, wolf-like, demonic monsters that typically walk upright," replied Warren. "There didn't seem to be anything we could do to stop them. They ran off with Seth, but Bracken and Bright were too weak to give chase."
"And by that point," said Bright, "we barely had the combined strength required to even a open a portal back to Fablehaven. We would've been stranded in the Demon Domain, only for our power to diminish even further."
"Or we'd have been devoured by the natives," said Warren. "Whatever would've come first."
"What about the Translocator?" asked Grandma.
"It wasn't working," said Warren, holding up the artifact. "The darkness of the Demon Domain seems to have depleted its power, not unlike the effects that the Skullifier has."
Warren presented the Translocator to Kendra, who proceeded to place her fingertips on it. She could suddenly feel energy flowing out of her body and into the Translocator, seemingly recharging it.
"I believe I restored it," said Kendra, removing her hand.
"So, what's your plan now?" asked Geminus. "What are you going to do about finding Seth, or stopping Murdred?"
"I don't know," answered Bracken. "Even though we're healed now, traversing through the Demon Domain just seems to be too taxing on us."
Grandpa scratched his chin. "Just a theory, but perhaps being in the Demon Domain with a shadow charmer seated on your back isn't the best thing in the world for you."
"Too bad that shadow charmer is the one who needs to be there more than the rest of us," noted Warren.
"True. But if you reenter the Demon Domain without Seth, Bright and Bracken might fare better."
"I don't know if it'll make that much of a difference," said Bright. "Bracken and I surveyed the darkness that was flowing throughout the land. It's everywhere."
"If they're going back to look for Seth," said Kendra. "I want to come."
"Kendra, gasped Mrs. Sorenson. "Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure."
"It was enough for us to lose one of our children... again!" said Mr. Sorenson. "Why should you risk your life in a world that totally clashes with your very soul and spirit?"
"Because I won't let anything stand in the way of the love that I have for Seth," said Kendra. "With the help of my friends, we took on insurmountable odds to free Seth from Navarog and came out on top."
"I'm with you Kendra," said Warren. "We can't just... give up. But there's still the issue as to what we should do to help Bright and Bracken. Nothing will change the fact that creatures of light are susceptible to the darkness that flows through the Demon Domain."
"We could try having some sort of distractor spell to shield ourselves with," noted Bracken. "Just have Clover or somebody cast it the moment before we enter the Demon Domain."
"A distractor spell cast with light magic would ultimately deteriorate in a place like the Demon Domain," said Bright. "Still, it's better than going completely unprepared."
"The less magic we have to use on this trip, the better," said Bracken.
"Maybe some more healing potions?" asked Warren, holding an empty vial upside-down.
"It'd be better if we didn't have to use those," said Bright. "And fighting as few monsters as possible would be the best way to ensure that."
"What about Vasilis?" asked Kendra. "Didn't that work?"
"When Seth used it, he was unable to unleash its actual power," replied Bracken. "It was no different than using an ordinary sword. It wasn't enough to overwhelm the large beasts that confronted us. Its power was likely hindered by being in the Demon Domain."
"I don't mean to sound brash, but I've always had more success with Vasilis than anyone else, poissbly due to me being fairykind. I might as well try it."
"Fairyprime!" said Goldenrod. "Why not just let Kendra become fairyprime and storm the Demon Domain! We could help, even!"
"It'd be way too risky," said Bracken, shaking his head and waving his hands. "Kendra may be quite powerful in her fairyprime form, but we don't know what we'd be up against in the Demon Domain. Not to mention she'd have to travel to the Demon Domain while already in that state."
"It'd be like cutting grass one blade at a time," said Warren. "In theory, it might be possible. But eventually, you'd get tired or simply give up. And if somehow you actually managed to cut every last blade, the first ones would've just grown back by that point."
"I don't see what other choice we have," said Grandpa.
"So what do we have to do, exactly?" asked Kendra. "Should we go back to the spot where Seth was kidnapped and pick up from that same point?"
"I'm afraid we can't," replied Bright.
"Why not?"
"When we open a portal to the Demon Domain, we've got no control over where exactly the other end of it will appear," stated Bracken. "There's no surefire method of returning to where we last left off."
"I don't mean to rain on your parade," said Dale, but if the fairies can't control where in the Demon Domain that their portals will lead too, then finding Seth would be like trying to win the lottery. I mean, the Demon Domain is an entire world."
"If it's anything like the Fairy Kingdom, then perhaps not," said Bracken.
"That place is anything but the Fairy Kingdom," said Bright.
"I know. But I got the impression that the Demon Domain is the dark equivalent of our own homeworld. And while the Fairy Kingdom is a whole other realm, separate from the mortal realm, it's nowhere near as large."
"True," said Bright. "It's nowhere near as vast as the mortal realm on Earth is. In fact, it's actually quite small."
"So you're saying that the Demon Domain might not be too large either?" asked Grandpa.
"We can't be sure," said Bracken. "If that's the case, then tracking down Seth might not be as impossible as it seems. Our real problem still lies in the fact that fairies like us can't withstand the darkness of the Demon Domain."
"So none of your magical tools were functioning in the Demon Domain?" asked Grandma.
"Correct," replied Warren.
"But why would simply being in the presence of the Demon Domain be enough to neutralize the powers of the artifacts?" asked Kendra. "Or Vasilis?"
"The artifacts have always been fueled by light energy, have they not?" asked Grandpa. "Usually, it's you, Kendra, who's been the one to start up the artifacts with your magical touch when they're dormant."
"So exposing the light-powered artifacts to the Demon Domain only strips them of their power," said Bright. "Similar to the effect of the Skullifier it would seem."
"What about Vasilis?" asked Kendra. "It never needed charging."
"Vasilis is a sword of light and darkness," stated Grandpa. "We're not too certain as to how it works, but if I were to take a guess, it's that it too was overwhelmed by the darkness within the Demon Domain and ceased to work, even when Seth truly needed it."
"I've got a question," said Geminus. "If the Demon Domain is cancelling out light energy left and right, then why were Bright and Bracken still capable of using their powers, let alone staying alive?"
"I'm not sure, myself," replied Clover. "When we did our brushing up on the Demon Domain, the texts stated that fairies would succumb to the darkness of that world in time, but not instantaneously."
"Of course," said Bright, "one needs to bear in mind that we fairies are living, sentient, creatures. The artifacts and Vasilis, while capable of wielding great power, are essentially just glorified tools with no free will of their own. So while they do incorporate light energy into their power, they lack any form of heart."
"You think there's a chance of them working any better if I were to come along and use them myself?" asked Kendra.
Bracken rolled his eyes. "I doubt it, Kendra. No offense or anything. I understand where you're coming from being fairykind and all, but if royal unicorns like Bright and I were unable to restore those artifacts while we were in the Demon Domain, what makes you think that you'll fair any better?"
"I think I might still have a chance," said Kendra. "Of course I do have a theory about all this. However, I could easily be wrong."
"What is it?" asked Bright.
"Well, when the three of you returned from the Demon Domain, you unicorns were a lot weaker than Warren was."
"What about that?" asked Bracken. "We expelled our power to counter the monsters there. We had to "
"Yeah, but you said that simply being in the Demon Domain weakened your power. And Warren, did you ever feel yourself getting weaker?"
"Only when I got attacked by those monsters," replied Warren. "But hey, can you blame me?"
"But Warren, you're fairystruck," said Kendra. "Which makes you a human being with minor ties to the fairy race. But that didn't seem to be a hindrance to you. I'm fairykind, which is a greater balance between human and fairy. Maybe it's this balance that could give me an advantage in the Demon Domain. I wouldn't be as susceptible as a true fairy because I'm human, but I'd still have significant advantages."
"This is purely speculation on your behalf," said Grandpa. "But still, I prefer any theory as opposed to no theory at all."
"Look, we're going back for Seth," said Warren. "Even if the odds aren't exactly in our favor."
"But even that won't be enough," said Mr. Sorenson. "That Murdred still needs to be vanquished, does he not?"
"Seth might already be dead," said Mrs. Sorenson, wiping away tears from her eyes.
"The Oculus!" said Kendra, suddenly remembering that she could still use it. "Let me try the Oculus."
"Being in the Demon Domain probably caused it to lose its power like the other artifacts," said Warren. "But it should work so long as you recharge it."
Warren removed the Oculus from Seth's dropped pouch and presented it to Kendra. Once the artifact had been placed in her hands, she could feel energy from her body flowing into the magical orb.
"Hopefully this works," said Kendra. "It's one thing for it to not work in the Demon Domain. It's another for it to not let one see into the Demon Domain from our world."
Kendra clenched the Oculus in her hand and began to focus on her brother. Finding him should be easy. She knew Seth and what he looked like all too well. Kendra had undoubtedly spent more time in her life looking at Seth than her own face. If that was the case, then why was she seeing nothing but black? Wanting to make sure it worked, Kendra envisioned Doren instead. Suddenly, she could see the satyr and his friend Newel watching a talk show on television whilst inside a small cave.
"It's not working," said Kendra, opening her eyes. "I can't see Seth."
"I had a feeling it might not work," said Bracken. "The energy of the Demon Domain is too powerful for a fairy-powered artifact like the Oculus to piece through."
"Unless Seth is no longer himself," said Mrs. Sorenson. "He could be dead, or transmogrified... Who knows!"
"I don't know what happened to Seth," said Warren. "But I'm not going to give up hope."
"I think a bit more preparation and reassessment is in order," said Grandpa. "Now that you have some idea of what the Demon Domain is like, you can at least try to better ready yourselves for your return visit."
"The sooner we can get back to find Seth," said Kendra, "the better."