Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(42)

Tanu grinned. "Helps if you're a potion master."


Kendra ate quietly, content to enjoy the banter. Hearing the others joke and tease helped the day feel more normal. To make the meal last, she tried to pace herself, but after a few pancakes and some orange juice, she could stomach no more.


Warren checked his wristwatch. "It's five hours later in Scotland. We might as well get rolling."


"You ready, Kendra?" Tanu asked.


Kendra took a deep breath. Part of her wished they had opted to spring this assignment on her at the last minute. Planning it yesterday had given her too much time to worry. She tried to shake off her insecurities. "Ready as I'm going to get."


"Relax, Kendra," Grandpa said. "If anything feels wrong, just have them bring you right back here. That's the beauty of instantaneous travel."


"We'll watch your back," Warren assured her, buckling a sword around his waist. "You'll do great."


Grandpa opened a drawer and took out the Translocator.


"You're keeping it in a kitchen drawer?" Kendra asked.


Grandpa shrugged. "Just for this morning. I wanted it handy."


"He wants you in Scotland before the post-pancake euphoria wears off," Coulter said, wiping his chin with a napkin.


"Something like that," Grandpa admitted, passing the Translocator to Tanu.


"Are we going straight to the shrine?" Kendra asked.


"We've both seen the shrine at Stony Vale," Warren said. "We've never actually approached it, or we wouldn't be here. But I've stood as near as any sane mortal would dare. We'll start you out very close."


"I haven't been quite as close as Warren," Tanu said. "Probably because I'm a little saner."


"Considerable thought went into this," Grandpa assured" Kendra. "We selected Stony Vale because the preserve is secure and you'll have extremely convenient access to the shrine."


Kendra stood beside Warren. "Let's get this over with."


Tanu gripped one side of the Translocator, Kendra the other, and Warren twisted the middle. Kendra felt like she was folding in on herself. When the vertigo passed, she was standing in tall grass surrounded by knobby, gray trees. She realized she had been braced for her breath to get knocked out of her, but of course this was the Translocator, not the Chronometer.


Ahead through the trees, she beheld a large, glassy pond wrapped like a horseshoe around a narrow peninsula that gradually widened as it stretched farther from the shore. At the end of the peninsula were two rough, rectangular standing stones spanned by a third heavy stone. The formation instantly brought to mind pictures of Stonehenge.


Kendra heard the ring of steel as Warren drew his sword. Tanu clutched a crossbow in one hand, the Translocator in the other. It was past noon in Scotland, but the sun was still high, shining through a partly overcast sky. The still air felt cool but not cold. Beyond the pond and the surrounding trees, Kendra glimpsed low, rolling hills.


"Is the shrine on that peninsula?" Kendra asked softly.


Tanu gave a nod. "We can't venture out there with you, but we'll stand guard near the shore."


Flanked by Warren and Tanu, Kendra started forward. As she neared the peninsula, her companions hung back.


She felt generally peaceful about proceeding, and decided the absence of an identifiable warning meant the Fairy Queen would welcome her visit.


A pair of tall women stepped out from behind the trees, blocking her path. One had flowers braided into her auburn hair; the other had leafy vines twisted into her dark plaits. Their layered gowns reminded Kendra of springtime foliage shimmering with dew. Each woman held a heavy wooden staff.


"Where did you come from?" asked the woman with dark hair, her voice a resonant alto.


"You tread on sacred ground," warned the other.


Warren and Tanu hustled up beside Kendra. Tanu was a large man, but these women stood half a head taller.


The woman with dark hair arched an eyebrow. "Would you threaten us with weapons?"


From both sides and behind, other dryads emerged from the trees.


"We are friends," Kendra said. "I have urgent business with the Fairy Queen."


"This one has a queer aspect," whispered the dryad with the auburn hair.


"Indeed," the other dryad whispered back, "and she speaks our tongue."


"I speak many languages," Kendra said.


The dryads looked stricken. "Even our secret dialect?" asked the one with auburn hair.


Kendra stared up at them, hoping her eyes displayed more confidence than she felt. "I am fairykind, a servant of the Fairy Queen. These are my companions."


The dryad with the dark hair narrowed her green eyes. After a moment, her posture became less threatening. "I apologize for our abrupt greeting. These are troubled times, and it has long been our task to protect this shrine. We've heard of you, but did not recognize you. We have never encountered a mortal quite like you. We now see that you belong among us."


"Thank you," Kendra said. "My friends can't come to the shrine with me."