Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(46)

The coin went dark, and the connection to Bracken's mind dissolved. After the recent brightness, the cell seemed pitch-black. Seth smacked his lips, trying to get the sleepy taste out of his mouth. His eyes began to adjust. The coin remained in his hand. It had been a gift at the end of his previous meeting with Bracken. Not only did the coin normally serve as a light source, it also functioned like a magical walkie-talkie.


Seth still did not wholly trust the supposed unicorn, but deep down he would be shocked to learn that his new friend was a fraud. Bracken hadn't tried to ferret any information out of Seth, and, by all appearances, he had been busily planning an uprising with Maddox and others.


Seth absently rubbed his thumb against the foreign coin. It felt good in his hand, somewhat larger and thicker than a quarter. More like a half-dollar. Minted from silvery metal, the tarnished currency displayed a griffin framed by unfamiliar glyphs. With the Sphinx coming, he should hide the coin. Relying on touch as much as sight, Seth lifted his cot and set the coin under one of the legs.


What could the Sphinx want with him? Had he arranged some sort of prisoner exchange? Was that too much to hope? Did the Sphinx want to grill him for information? Torture him?


The sound of approaching footsteps increased his anxiety. Maybe the Sphinx had other business down here. Bracken could not know for certain that the Sphinx was coming for Seth.


A guttering torch appeared outside Seth's peephole. A key rattled in the lock. The door opened. The Sphinx entered, surveying the room.


"Not the grandest accommodations," the Sphinx said.


"Great toilet, though," Seth responded.


"You are, after all, a prisoner," the Sphinx said. "Come with me. Somebody wishes to speak with you."


"I'm not feeling very chatty today," Seth said. "Rain check?"


"Not a good day for jokes," the Sphinx said. "Don't make this less pleasant than it has to be."


The Sphinx sounded serious. Deciding he would rather walk than get dragged to their destination, Seth followed the Sphinx out of the room. A pair of torchbearers accompanied them, large men dressed in leather armor studded with iron. Unless Seth was mistaken, the direction they were taking would lead them deeper into the dungeon.


"Where are we going?" Seth inquired.


"Nagi Luna wishes to meet you in person," the Sphinx said.


Seth slowed. "That sounds bad."


The Sphinx shrugged. "I see little value in the exercise, but she insisted."


"She's still in the same place?" Seth asked. "In the bottommost cell?"


"She has resided there a long time," the Sphinx said.


They reached a filthy iron door. One of the torchbearers thrust in a key. The hinges protested as it opened.


"Do you come down here much?" Seth asked.


"While at Living Mirage, I can speak with Nagi Luna mind to mind, so there is little need."


"Is she always in your head?"


"No more than I allow."


They descended a long staircase and passed down a hall, around a corner, and through a formidable iron door with three locks. After another flight of stairs, the corridor grew narrow and winding. They passed many tangled intersections, the floor sloping constantly downward. At last they reached a squalid chamber with a grate in the floor.


"Leave us," the Sphinx told the guards, accepting a torch from one of them. Both guards looked pale. One was shivering. Both men hurriedly retreated down the hallway out of sight.


"Is this the place?" Seth asked.


The Sphinx spoke with quiet gravity. "For your sake, be polite, and say no more than you must. You are about to address an ancient being of incomprehensible power. Although I have dealt with her for centuries, I never enter her presence lightly."


Seth nodded. Even without the warning, he already felt apprehensive. As the Sphinx unlocked the grate, Seth fought to suppress a queasy nervousness.


The Sphinx lifted the heavy grate and unrolled a rope ladder. He started down first, the torch in one hand. Seth struggled a little getting onto the ladder, but once he started moving, the descent was no problem. Dust fumed up from where his feet landed. The cool room smelled musty. Several sets of oxidized manacles dangled from the rough stone walls.


Seth's eyes were drawn to the Quiet Box. Although it looked older than the Quiet Box at Fablehaven, the knothole-riddled wood unvarnished and unornamented, the cabinet appeared solid. On the flagstone floor, a metal circle, half obscured by dust, created a perimeter around the Quiet Box.


"Where is she?" Seth whispered, eyes sweeping the room.


The Sphinx nodded toward the Quiet Box. A small, shriveled woman shuffled out from behind it, a woolen shawl draped over her hunched shoulders. She did not look quite human. Her blotchy skin was purple and maroon. Thin ear-lobes sagged almost to her shoulders. Gray claws tipped her gnarled hands, and her yellow eyes had a strangely slanted shape.


Nagi Luna tottered to the near edge of the circular boundary. Only then did she fix her fierce eyes on Seth. "What are you called, boy?" she croaked, her voice a hoarse whisper.


"Seth."