Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(80)

With their fairy entourage scouting ahead, they made faster progress than before, advancing without hesitation. Occasionally warnings would be passed back to them by their escorts, and they would pause or alter their course accordingly. More fairies joined the group, bringing Bracken nuts and berries and sips of water or honey cupped in fragrant leaves. Bracken shared these offerings with his companions. Eventually the steady parade of minute portions filled them and he had to ask for no further food to be brought.


At length, with the sun past midday, fairies returned reporting a sphinx up ahead guarding the sealed shrine. Bracken assured the fairies that a confrontation with the sphinx was necessary and asked them to hang back. Part of Kendra hoped that he would invite her to hang back as well, but Bracken made no such offer.


The iron dome came into view through the trees. The size surprised her. It was several stories tall, and looked big enough for a circus to perform inside. Devoid of any signs of corrosion, the dull, black iron absorbed the afternoon sunlight, reflecting nothing.


As they drew nearer, Kendra spotted the sphinx lounging in front of the dome, tail swishing back and forth. The sphinx had the body of a golden lion, with feathery wings tucked at the sides, and the head of a woman. She had large, almond-shaped eyes the color of jade, and wore a self-satisfied expression.


Bracken approached her, flanked by Warren and Kendra. The sphinx made no movement aside from her languidly waving tail.


"We want access to the dome," Bracken said.


"Consider two sisters," the sphinx intoned in a sultry voice. Audible to the ears, the words also penetrated directly to the mind. Though she spoke in a subdued manner, each word somehow arrived with the force of a shout. "The first is born of the second, whereupon the second is born of the first."


Bracken glanced at Kendra and Warren. Kendra had no idea.


"The sisters born of each other are day and night," Bracken replied.



The sphinx gave a sage nod. "I surround the world, yet I dwell within a thimble. I am outside of--"


"You are space," Bracken interrupted.


The sphinx compressed her lips and gave him a hard stare. She spoke again. "In the morning I walk on four--"


"Stages of a man's life," Kendra blurted. All eyes turned to her. "It's a famous one," she apologized. "In the morning I walk on four legs, in the afternoon on two, in the evening on three--the more legs I have, the weaker I am. Something like that."


The sphinx was fuming.


"Knock, knock," Warren said. The sphinx glared at him.


"Don't take offense," Bracken placated, stepping in front of Warren diplomatically. "We have had a taxing day. There are three of us, we answered three riddles. May we pass?" He bowed politely.


"You may pass," the sphinx allowed, serenity returning.


"Say no more," Bracken whispered to Warren.


Warren struggled against a grin.


Kendra felt like the eyes of the sphinx were boring into her back as they passed her and walked to the dome. Bracken led them to a hatch in the side that had a large keyhole. As Kendra studied the hatch, she recalled that the Fairy Queen had recently destroyed three of her shrines. What if this was one of the shrines she had eliminated? It seemed a likely candidate since it was sealed.


Deciding she would have an answer to her concern soon enough, Kendra inserted her rod, jiggled it until it caught, and then twisted. The lock clicked, and Warren pulled the hatch open.


Fairies crowded toward the open portal from all directions. Bracken stepped through first, followed by Kendra, who felt fairies brushing past her as she entered. The dome cut out all daylight except what filtered in through the hatchway, but the inside of the dome was also lit by scores of glowing fairies and the steady radiance of a luminescent pond. Kendra gazed at the vibrant variety of fairies, wondering how many years they had been trapped in here. As Warren came through the hatchway, more fairies poured in, twittering at long-lost friends.


The oblong pond took up nearly a quarter of the room. Water trickled down from the top of a conical island in the center of the pond. Five terraced mounds surrounded the glassy water, blooming with exotic flowers despite the lack of sunlight. From one side of the pond, white stepping-stones created a somewhat precarious walkway from the shore to the island.


"This is where I sit on the sidelines," Warren said. "I'll stay back and guard the hatch."


"Fair enough," Bracken said. He led Kendra over to the stepping-stones, lightly leaping to the first, which Kendra thought had been placed a little too far from the shore. He stepped to the next stone and waited for Kendra. Not wanting to look scared, and trying not to think about what guardians might lurk beneath the surface of the glowing water, Kendra sprang to the first stone. It was slick, but she landed well. Bracken reached back to steady her. They proceeded along the rest of the stones without difficulty and reached the steep, grassy shore of the island.


Bracken led the way around to the back of the island. As they went, Kendra saw that water actually trickled down from the top of the island along three different routes. The drizzling flow of water on the far side of the island collected in a pool halfway up the back slope. Beside the pool stood a tiny figurine of a fairy beside a bronze bowl engraved with delicate patterns.