Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(64)

"Coulter gone," Hugo rumbled heavily.


Seth backed away from the corpse of his friend. Despite the words of comfort from Coulter, he could not avoid the conviction that he had caused this. Sure, the demons had designed and carried out the plot, but Seth had been the idiot they could design it around. Both Graulas and Nagi Luna had known he would do the wrong thing, and he had, and now Coulter was dead, Fablehaven was in ruins, and the artifacts were gone.


The weight of his regret threatened to crush him. Thanks to his lack of judgment, the Society of the Evening Star now had all the keys to the demon prison.


Chapter 14 An Unexpected Ally


T here seemed to be some confusion regarding where to put Kendra. She spent a lot of time waiting in smoky guard rooms as men and goblins haggled. When her escorts had finally resolved on a cell, just as she was being ushered inside, a stumpy goblin with squinty eyes and a face like a catcher's mitt showed up waving a written order. A tall, armored man and a potbellied goblin with a severe under-bite studied the parchment.


"Came straight from the top," the squinty goblin rasped importantly.


"I can see that, pugface," snarled the goblin with the underbite. "Why that cell? We haven't had a chance to properly examine it yet, what with all the commotion."


"You telling me no?" the squinty goblin challenged.


"I'm saying it don't add up," the other goblin groused.


"Not our place to do the math," advised the armored man. "Boss always has his reasons."



"There's some sense," applauded the squinty goblin.


"This way," the armored man said to Kendra.


They escorted her deeper into the bowels of the dungeon, finally opening a thick wooden door. The potbellied goblin motioned for her to enter.


"You're sure?" Kendra asked.


"Don't get smart," the goblin spat.


The door banged shut behind her and the guards tromped away. When she had first been led away from the Sphinx, her captors had made her take off her shirt of adamant mail. She felt much more vulnerable without it. Feeble torchlight seeped in through a peephole, but Kendra didn't need it. To her eyes, even the deepest shadows of the room were dim, not dark.


The only furniture in the dank space was a flimsy cot. Water dripped steadily in one corner. A hole in the floor appeared to serve as a latrine. What most caught Kendra's eye were the messages scratched on the wall. She roamed the cell, reading the crudely inscribed phrases.


Seth rules!


Welcome to Seth's House.


Seth rocks!


Seth was here. Now it's your turn.


Seth Sorenson forever.


Enjoy the food!


If you're reading this, you can read.


All roads lead to Seth.


Is it still dripping?


Seth haunts these halls.


You're in a Turkish prison!


Seth is the man!


Use the meal mats as toilet paper. And so forth.


Cold, hopeless, and alone, Kendra found herself giggling at the messages her brother had scrawled. He must have been so bored!


Kendra sat on the cot. Where had her brother gone? One of the guards had mentioned that the cell needed to be inspected. Did that mean Seth had escaped? It fit the discussion she had overheard, but seemed too much to hope. Escaped to where? After all, they were on a hostile preserve in Eastern Turkey.


Should she search for a way out? Could Seth have dug a tunnel? He had been captured less than a week ago. Unlikely or not, it seemed faithless not to look. She probed the walls and floors, tapping, pulling, trying to dig her fingers into cracks. She scooted the cot aside, in case it helped mask some kind of false panel. Her attempt at optimism began to wane. If Seth had excavated an escape tunnel, could he possibly have hidden it so well?


The Sphinx had suggested she might cross paths with her brother. What had he meant? Remembering the bickering guards, she assumed that the Sphinx had taken an active role in selecting her cell. Was the point for her to see the messages on the walls? That was sort of like crossing paths.


Would he have deliberately assigned her to a cell with an escape tunnel? Not likely.


She began to really worry about Seth. If he hadn't escaped, what had they done with him? Could the cell be faulty in a dangerous way? Would she cross paths with her brother by dying from the same type of accident? She studied the stone roof, half expecting it to cave in at any moment.


Search as she might, the dismal room offered no clues. She detected no means of escape, and perceived no particular threats. Maybe Seth had had the right idea. Maybe her time would be best spent scratching messages on the walls for the benefit of the next occupant.


From the back of the cell came a deep grating of stone on stone. Kendra watched in startled awe as a portion of the wall slid aside. Had she inadvertently stepped on a hidden trigger?


An unapproachably attractive young man with a white light in his hand ducked through the gap left by the sliding wall. He froze when he saw Kendra, wincing and tilting his head away. He raised a hand to shield his eyes.


"Who are you?" Kendra challenged.


"One of the neighbors," the stranger said. "I thought my sources must be mistaken when I heard they had already filled the vacancy here."