Chapter 9: Out of Bounds
Kendra ran her hands through her hair as she sat back in a cushioned chair. She was currently in the parlor at Fablehaven, seated before one side of an exquisite, square-shaped, wooden card table.
Sitting across from Kendra was Warren, while Bracken and Bright were seated to her right and left respectively. Spread out across the table were an assortment of papers, potion vials and various little trinkets.
"Do you really think we stand a chance, going back into the Demon Domain?" asked Bright.
"I'd never want to have to go back to that place," replied Warren. "But we have to. For Seth."
"You guys didn't last there very long last time," said Kendra. "How's another trip going to play out any differently?"
"We'll have distractor spells cast upon us prior to entering," replied Bracken. "Hopefully, they'll succeed in not only keeping demons away, but will prevent them from even so much as detecting us in the first place."
Kendra picked up a light fragment from atop the table and rotated the white crystal around in her hand. At one point, Trask had explained that light fragments worked as crystallized light energy.
"Your power is also limited while in the Demon Domain, right?"
"Unfortunately," said Bright. "And something such as a light fragment isn't going to do us a lick of good. It doesn't have any life to it. One of these things is probably going to fail on us the minute we step through another portal, just like the artifacts."
"So, what can we bring?" asked Kendra, setting the light fragment back down on the table.
"You can't go wrong with potions," said Warren, pushing several vials together into one small cluster. "Too bad there's no kind of potion out there that restores light energy."
"The problem is that light energy is... well... pure energy," noted Bracken. "It can't really be contained as a fluid for someone to drink."
"And even if it could, I'm willing to bet that it still wouldn't work in the Demon Domain," said Bright.
"Kendra, you've got Vasilis and I've got my own sword," said Warren. "Bright and Bracken can fight with their horns. I don't know of any way for the unicorns to conserve their power, so they should only use their magic as a last resort."
"If all else fails, we open up a portal and get out of there," said Bracken.
"I hope we make it this time," said Kendra. "I hope we can rescue Seth. If he's even still alive."
"Those monsters we fought didn't seem interested in killing him," said Warren. "I just pray that Murdred isn't interested either."
Once they had packed up all their gear, Kendra, Warren, Bracken and Bright all headed back out onto the front lawn, at the same spot where the portal they had used to initially access the Demon Domain had been.
"Are you guys sure about this?" asked Clover, floating over towards the group and landing next to Warren.
"It needs to be done," said Warren.
"Then let me come with you. And Raxtus! And Geminus! From what I understand, you'll need all the help you can get in the Demon Domain."
"We'd rather you didn't," said Bracken. "The fewer fairies that go out to risk their lives in this place, the better."
"But what if something happens to you?"
"That's just going to have to be a risk that we need to take," said Warren, giving Clover a kiss on the lips.
"I don't want to worry about any of you. Please let me come."
"Clover, I'd prefer it if you stayed here and watched over Fablehaven. Besides, we need someone to cast the distractor spell and activate the portal for us, so that Bracken and Bright don't have to use their power."
"I understand," said Clover. She stood before Kendra, Warren, Bracken and Bright, then raised her hands into the air. Green sparkles flew out of Clover's hands and soon engulfed the group in a cloud of mist. Kendra could feel as her body seemingly absorbed the sparkles that had surrounded her and watched as Warren, Bracken and Bright experienced the same sensation.
"Now, the portal." said Clover, as she turned in one direction and used her power to conjure up a portal. "I only wish I had control over where exactly this thing will lead you."
"Any way you can help, we appreciate," said Warren, patting the fairy angel on her back. "Well, let's do this."
Warren stepped through the swirling vortex, followed by Bracken and Bright. Kendra followed behind, looking back at Clover. She could sense that the fairy wasn't happy about the situation. Soon Kendra's view of Clover had been replaced with the other end of the portal.
The portal then closed shut, no doubt courtesy of Clover back on the other side.
Kendra looked around and at last had the chance to see the Demon Domain with her own eyes. The place sounded just as intimidating and dreadful as the others had described it. Kendra could see the red sky, the smoky clouds and the the dreary, rocky terrain.
"Where is this?" asked Bright, trying to figure out at where exactly they had ended up.
From what Kendra could see, the group had arrived on a flat, elevated ledge of some sort, no more than a few yards in diameter. In the distance, there appeared to be craggy taupe mountains in every direction.
"Wonder if we can get down from here without having to fly," said Bracken, as he and Bright used their power to transform into their unicorn forms.
Kendra stepped over towards an edge of the platform, then peered down. They appeared to be standing on the top of a spire. Roughly fifty feet beneath her, there appeared to be a small lake of glowing orange and black lava surrounding the spire.
"Whoa!" said Kendra, backing away from the ledge. Even though she was being cautious in her movements, Kendra was afraid that she might slip off and plunge to her death.
"Hoo boy," said Warren, looking down at the lava. "Looks like we're completely surrounded by lava."
"Isn't lava supposed to be really hot?" asked Bright.
"Yup," replied Warren. "Normally people can't even get this close to lava without boiling to death."
"Then how are we still alive?" asked Kendra. "It doesn't even feel that hot right here."
"Must be an effect of the Demon Domain," said Warren. "The heat of the lava must be more restrained than in our world. When we went to Vertigo Volcano, we had to drink special potions to withstand the heat. But, I'm willing to bet that this lava would still roast you to a crisp if one were to fall in."
"We can't climb down," said Bright.
"Maybe we should go back to Fablehaven and try another portal," said Kendra. "See where that one takes us."
"That would probably only waste energy," said Bracken. "Not to mention, time. We'll just fly a short distance to safety."
"Okay," said Kendra, climbing up onto Bracken's back. Likewise, Warren mounted himself atop of Bright.
"There's a cliff over there," said Warren, pointing off in one direction. Kendra looked where he had been pointing, and could see the aforementioned cliff probably a hundred feet or so away.
"We can do this," said Bracken, as he galloped into the air and proceeded to fly off the spire. Bright followed his lead.
Holding onto Bracken as tightly as she could, Kendra looked down at the sea of lava beneath them. There were several smaller spires jutting out of the molten rock, but beyond that, no real safe spots. Now that they were in the Demon Domain, Kendra was afraid that Bracken might lose his power in mid-flight, causing them to fall to their deaths.
Once they were slightly more than halfway across, the group could hear screeching coming from the lava below.
"What was that?" asked Kendra.
"As long as it's down there and we're up here, I don't want to know," said Bright.
"Look out!" yelled Warren, as the source of the screeching started to rise upwards.
Bracken and Bright made a beeline towards the cliff and soon their hooves made contact with the edge of the surface. As they turned around, they saw what could best be described as a large, flaming bird, flapping its large, fiery wings to stay aloft over the lava.
"Is that a phoenix?" asked Kendra, as Bracken slowly backed away from the blazing monstrosity.
"If it was in lava, it may be a lavocet," said Warren nervously.
"How'd it spot us?"
"The distractor spell only prevents others from sensing our radiant light energy," replied Bright. "If we just so happen to cross paths with another creature, it won't help."
The lavocet, which probably had a wingspan of close to twenty feet, unleashed a loud screech, then spewed out a stream of fire from its beak towards the group.
"Come on!" yelled Bracken, as he proceeded to run away from the lavocet as fast as his four legs could carry him. Bright galloped along right by his side.
Kendra looked back and could see that the lavocet was chasing after them, blasting fire in their direction.
"We can't outrun this bird forever!" exclaimed Bright.
"And I don't have a practical weapon for something like this!" said Warren. "Man, there's never a fire extinguisher around when you really need one."
"Vasilis," said Kendra, drawing her sword. "Maybe I can get it to work here."
Kendra reached her hand towards the scabbard she was wearing on her back and withdrew Vasilis from it. Clenching the sword's hilt firmly in her hand, she tried to focus, hoping to ignite the weapon's true power.
"Come on, Kendra," said Warren. "We don't have all day!"
"Whoa no!" cried Bracken, as he abruptly stopped before what appeared to be a river of lava, at least thirty feet across. Only several feet away from the lava, Kendra could now feel a fair amount of heat radiating from the river.
"I can't get Vasilis to work!" gasped Kendra, as the lavocet neared in towards the group. "There must be too much darkness here that's overwhelming it!"
"Bracken, we can use those rocks as stepping stepping stones!" said Bright, pointing her horn at a series of boulders that were sticking out of the lava.
By this point, the lavocet had caught up with the where the group was. It was floating only a few feet above the ground, screeching furiously.
"Enough!" cried Bright, as she used her magic to conjure up a blast of water from her horn. The water spurted out at the lavocet, causing it to squawk in agony.
"Take this!" neighed Bracken, as he too shot some water from his horn at the lavocet.
Still screeching and squawking, the lavocet turned around and flew off in a mad rush.
"Showed him!" said Warren. "Thanks, you two!"
Bright panted. "Luckily that actually worked. Bet that lavocet doesn't get exposed to water all that much."
"Yeah, and it wasn't too taxing on our power," said Bracken.
"But it's power that you unicorns can't restore as long as we're here," said Kendra.
"I think we can keep going," said Bright.
"We're going to have to," said Warren. "We won't be making any progress if we don't."
"So, where to now?" asked Kendra.
"This was the direction we were travelling in, before we were so rudely interrupted. But if this way will get us any closer to Seth or not, I have no idea."
"We'd better not cross the river if we don't have to," said Kendra. "We don't really know where we're going, anyway."
"We've come this far," said Warren. "We may as well continue to explore and hope for the best."
Bracken and Bright carried Kendra and Warren down the shore of the lava river. Even though the heat wasn't much of an issue, the two unicorns kept a fair distance away from the edge, just as a precaution.
"Aside from that lavocet, this spell seems to be working," said Kendra, observing the barren landscape around her.
"I bet we would've been targeted a lot more by now if we'd have come here without it," said Warren.
"Invisibility would've given us an even greater advantage," said Bracken. "But without the Disapirit, which wouldn't work here anyway, it would be too much trouble for our magic between trying to see each other and draining our own power."
After walking along unprovoked for several minutes, the unicorns came to the edge of a cliff, overlooking a vast canyon, the bottom of which was over one-hundred feet deep and filled with lava.
"This looks like a dead end," said Bright. "We'll have to turn around."
Kendra looked around and saw an inclined path nearby, running along the edge of the cliff which they could continue down. "Look, over there," she said, pointing off to one side.
"We might as well try it," said Bracken, as he walked over to the incline, which turned out to be a path leading down the side of the canyon.
The group continued down the path, walking down the side of the canyon. The path itself was fairly narrow; barely enough room for a unicorn to turn around on. Despite their current circumstance, the view from up where they were was actually quite vast and breathtaking.
"Let's face it," said Bright. "We're lost."
"Not as lost as Seth," said Warren. "We can't let him suffer like this. You guys always came through for me when I needed help."
"I know," said Kendra. "But at least that was help we were capable of."
"I thought I'd never get out of that knapsack," said Warren. "But unlike me, Seth isn't in a secluded area. We can't keep him waiting. We may not know where to find Seth, but it's no reason to admit defeat."
They soon reached an area where the two sides of the canyon nearly converged closely together. Connecting them at one point was a long, winding ledge, serving as a bridge of sorts that intersected with the path the group had been travelling down.
"We could cross over here," said Bracken, as he stopped next to the ledge, turned to his side and faced it.
"Seems sturdy enough," said Bright, pounding her hoof down onto the ledge, which was wide enough to be traversed. "We might as well try it."
Bright and Bracken proceeded to walk along the ledge, which looked to be maybe ten or so yards across to the other side.
Just then, a large figure leapt down onto the far side of the ledge, screaming like an angry monkey. The figure, which was brown and looked a lot like a giant gerbil with beetle-like mandibles on it's snout, was no more than six feet tall, and possessed an equally long tail. The creature raised its front claws and unleashed a loud hiss from its mouth, revealing a fearsome set of sharp teeth.
"What is that thing?" shrieked Bright, as the creature bent down on all fours and slowly crept over towards the group.
"I don't think close range combat is ideal for this thing," said Kendra, eyeing the creature's mandibles. "Looks like it could snatch a sword with those mandibles."
"Behind you," said Bracken, as he turned around. Standing on the other end of ledge was a massive red serpent, which had coiled itself completely around the ledge, with its head poised upwards.
The gerbil monster slowly crept closer towards the group, snapping its mandibles open and shut fairly rapidly.
"Back off!" snapped Kendra, instinctively drawing Vasilis from the scabbard on her back. She knew her chances against the two monsters were not all that great, but it was better than sitting around and panicking.
Kendra leapt down off of Bracken and walked up towards the nearing gerbil-like monster. She didn't know enough about the inhabitants of the Demon Domain, but Kendra figured that a rodent was likely less hazardous than a snake.
"Careful," said Warren sternly, as Kendra readied Vasilis in her hand. Standing no more than two feet away from the monster, Kendra swung Vasilis directly at it.
The monster retaliated by closing its mandibles, successfully clenching Vasilis with it in mid-swipe. Kendra tried to pull Vasilis out of the monster's grasp, but its hold was too tight, no matter how much she fought. Kendra then lost her grip on Vasilis, as the monster swung it out of her reach.
"Kendra!" said Warren's voice from behind. "Get out of the way!"
Not knowing what Warren had asked of, Kendra moved to the side of the ledge. Just then, she saw a barrage of bullets flying from Warren's direction and into the creature. Kendra could see that Warren was unleashing an assault on the monster by blasting it with a machine gun. The monster, which was now full of bleeding bullet holes on its front side, collapsed face down on the ledge, dropping Vasilis.
"Is it dead?" asked Kendra.
"I would hope so," said Warren, stuffing the small machine gun back into his bag.
"Wait, what about the serpent?"
"Already taken care of," said Bracken, as Kendra turned her head back to where the serpent had perched itself. It was no longer there.
"You used your power to scare it off?" asked Kendra. "We were so preoccupied with the serpent, I didn't even notice what had happened."
"We had no choice," said Bright. "It would've attacked us otherwise."
"You fairies might want to consider using guns," said Warren, receiving irritated looks from Bracken and Bright. "Kidding... Just kidding."
"What matters now is that we're all still here and alive," noted Bracken.
"It took a fair bit out of us," said Bright. "But it's no reason to just give up now."
Kendra looked back at the gerbil monster, which was now laying down on the ledge unconsciously, surrounded in a puddle of its own blood. Kendra bent down and picked up Vasilis. Observing the blade of the sword, Kendra presumed that it had been completely unscathed, save for a bit of monster blood which had come in contact with it. Wiping off the blood as best she could, Kendra placed the sword back in her scabbard.
"Well then," said Warren, using his sword to slide the monster off of the ledge and into the chasm below. "We'd better keep moving onwards."
"Seth," said Kendra to herself, "where are you?"