Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(148)

Celebrant and three other dragons--the smallest of the foursome had to be Raxtus--swooped to the rescue. While the other three dragons defended their fallen comrade and helped him get back into the air, Celebrant opened his mouth and released a blinding blast of white energy at Brogo. The energy split open his mask and knocked the colossal brute to the ground. Tucking his wings, Celebrant rammed the titanic demon, raking and biting ferociously. When Celebrant returned to the sky, Brogo lay crisscrossed with deep lacerations and had lost an arm.


Elsewhere, the final team of astrids defending the shrine turned and fled, wings flashing. Orogoro hobbled near the front of the demonic host, using his battle-ax as a crutch.


Following his lead, the demon horde began pouring into the pool and vanishing.


"Oh, no!" Kendra exclaimed.


"This is part of the plan," Bracken said, watching in grim silence. "I ordered our forces to withdraw."


The Fairy Queen came up beside them. "The demons have always dreamed of conquering my realm. It is a kingdom of light and purity. Nothing will please them more than to ravage it."


"Wait," Seth said. "You hoped this would happen?"


"Mother destroyed all of her other shrines," Bracken said. "She has evacuated all of her people along with what talismans and energy she could bring. Her kingdom is now empty and has a single gateway."


Kendra watched the demons flood into the shrine. "Out of one prison and into another," she realized.


"If all goes as planned," Bracken confirmed.


"We have good reason to hope," the Fairy Queen said. "Their leaders are going. The others will follow. It will take some time for them to discover how completely I have sealed off my realm."


The dragons stopped attacking, content to circle over the demonic exodus, casting menacing shadows. As she regarded the dragons, once again Kendra picked out the smaller form of Raxtus darting among the larger creatures. Even without further violence, the threat of the many dragons overhead seemed to hurry the demons along.


For more than three hours, Kendra and her friends anxiously observed the procession of demons exiting the rift in the dome and entering a new realm through the shrine. The sheer quantity of demons left Kendra astonished. The others had been right. There was no way they could have defeated these demons in combat. For every demon they killed, a thousand more would have emerged.


"Don't they know it's a trap?" Kendra finally asked Bracken.


"They must know something is wrong," Bracken said. "They march into a realm they have dreamed of possessing since the dawn of time. But the realm is empty, undefended. It was handed to them with only token resistance. As we speak, they are tearing it apart. The smart ones know it's too good to be true. But their king has fallen, and his heir is injured. The sun is high. They don't want to face Vasilis. They don't want to face the dragons, especially Celebrant. They don't want to fight the unicorns, or the astrids, or the other fairy folk. And they probably are bewildered by the increased atmosphere of unbelief in the world. When many of these demons departed this world, they were universally feared. Now, most of humanity considers their existence a joke."


"They could have overcome all of this," the Fairy Queen said. "They could easily have destroyed this world. But providing access to my realm offered them a tempting, effortless option. They seem to have taken the bait."


"So you will lose your realm," Kendra said.


"It is no longer my realm," the Fairy Queen asserted. "It will become the new demon prison."


As the last demonic stragglers arrived at the shrine, a long gold and red dragon came gliding toward the ridge on two sets of wings. Seeing his lion's head, complete with a crimson mane, Kendra recognized the dragon as Camarat from Wyrmroost. At his side flew Raxtus. Kendra took Seth's hand as the dragons landed near them, and she saw that Agad sat astride Camarat in an elaborate saddle. Camarat crouched low as the wizard dismounted.


"Raxtus!" Kendra shouted as the dragon came near. "You brought reinforcements!"


"I did!" the dragon replied. "I even helped in the combat!"


Seth nodded toward Agad, who was walking away from Camarat. "I thought dragons didn't allow riders!" he said. Camarat spread his wings and returned to the sky.


"We make exceptions on occasion," Raxtus said. "Camarat and Agad are brothers."


"How did you convince the dragons to help?" Kendra asked.


"Agad promised to make Celebrant caretaker of Wyrmroost after all of this is over. The dragons of Wyrmroost have dreamed of governing themselves for centuries. Plus, I told my father how Navarog had vowed that the demon horde would slay him. I think that helped. He let me fly to battle with him for the first time!"


Agad came forward and knelt before the Fairy Queen. All eyes watched the wizard. "You have made an enormous sacrifice," he uttered reverently.


"It was necessary," the Fairy Queen replied. "My realm would have withered and died if the demons had claimed this world. Can you lock them inside?"


"If I may have use of the five artifacts, these noble dragons who accompany me have agreed to help me bind your last shrine much more securely than Zzyzx. I have had centuries to consider all that I wish I had done long ago. Now I can implement those improvements."