Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(107)

"You mean kill three people?" Seth asked. "Kill a relative?"


"Yes," Berna said.


He tried to think of a relative he would be willing to sacrifice in order to save the others. Nobody came to mind. "Why do you care if I kill a relative? Why not have me kill three enemies?"



"Our needs are simple," Berna said. "We principally care about the price you pay. We only aid those who are willing to prove how highly they value our assistance."


"Don't explain so much," Wilna snapped.


"He's so young," Berna said.


He remembered that the old sentinel had suggested they would each make a proposal. "Is there any other choice?" Seth asked.


"We can give you three trials," Wilna said ominously. "If you succeed and survive, we will grant your request."


"What are the trials?" Seth asked.


"You must agree in order to know," Wilna replied.


"The trials are rigged," Orna blurted. "Nobody ever survives. They're just for our entertainment."


"Orna!" Wilna shrieked.


"They are!" Orna protested.


"Orna, really," Berna chastised.


"I'd take trials over killing a friend," Seth said. "Any other offers?"


Wilna gave him a hard stare. "Did somebody tell you to expect multiple offers?"


"You'd know," Seth said.


Wilna scrunched her nose. "The sentinel. He should know better."


"The boy is disarming," Orna said.


"Enough out of you, sister!" Wilna spat, "This negotiation is on sandy ground. Seth, you do not get to pick and choose. Do you accept the bargain offered by Berna? Yes or no."


"No."


"Do you want the trials?"


"No."


Wilna nodded at Orna.


"What?" Orna asked, still hurt from being reprimanded. "Now I can speak? Are you sure?"


"Go ahead," Wilna said.


Orna cleared her throat. "In return for information on how to retrieve Vasilis, one year after you acquire the sword, you will return to us as our lifelong servant."


"Too generous," Berna scoffed.


"I like him," Orna said.


Seth considered the offer. Would a lifetime of slavery to these sorceresses be worth saving the world? Probably. But what if he could get a better deal?


"Can I make an offer?" Seth asked.


"We will hear a proposition from you only if you turn down Orna," Wilna said.


"Take the offer," Orna said. "You look too much like him to become maggot food."


Seth pondered. Even if he succeeded in recovering Vasilis, he would probably be killed when Zzyzx opened. The chances were that he would not live to carry out this sentence of servitude. Accepting the deal would guarantee access to the sword.


But what if he somehow survived the opening of Zzyzx? The goal was not to fail. Patton had dealt with the Singing Sisters without becoming their lifelong slave. He must have worked out his own bargains.


"I turn down the offer," Seth said, going with his deepest instincts.


Orna pouted.


Wilna glowered. "If you do not have a better alternative, then we will have to terminate this interview."


"Let me get something straight," Seth said. "Part of the reason you're asking for so much from me is because Vasilis is so valuable."


"Yes," Berna said. "The worth of the prize influences the price."


"How would you like Vasilis?" Seth asked. "Is that your offer?" Wilna questioned. "I'm just curious," Seth said.


"It would be quite a trophy," Orna said, "but you want it much more than we do."


"No hints," Wilna hushed.


"It would cost me a lot to give up a powerful magic sword," Seth said. "That's part of the point, right?"


"Partly," Orna said.


Seth could tell that the sword alone would not be enough. He tried to think what else would be hard to give up. He tried to imagine what might please them. What could they use?


"An offer," Wilna stated flatly.


"Okay," Seth said, rubbing his hands. "Let's mix some ideas. Within a year after finding Vasilis, I will bring it here to you. And I'll bring you a wraith, to use however you like." Orna nodded, quietly urging him to offer more. "And, um, at your request, using the sword, I will serve as your champion, to retrieve whatever item you desire."


"What say you, sisters?" Orna asked briskly.


"This is Patton all over again," Berna muttered.


"The offer is meager," Wilna said. "He denied our proposals. Only one option remains. The boy must die."


"Yours is not the only voice here," Orna carped. "Being the pushiest does not make your opinion matter more. You demanded the death of our last petitioner. How entertaining was that? What say you, Berna?"