Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(86)

The air in the hall felt chilly.


"We'll stand guard out here," Newel said stoutly.


Vanessa gave him a knowing look. "Probably for the best." Newel avoided eye contact. Seth and Vanessa entered the hall. "I feel strong presences here," Vanessa said.


"How can you tell the difference between the dark creatures?" Seth inquired. He could hear them whispering about hunger and thirst, pain and loneliness.


"Experience, mostly," she said. "There are two basic types of restless beings: corporeal and ethereal. The corporeal entities have a physical form, like wights and liches and zombies. The ethereal beings are more ghostly, like specters or phantoms or shades."


"I can hear them gibbering," Seth said. "I've spoken to one of these prisoners before. It offered to serve me."


"Might be a good place to start," Vanessa said.


Seth hurried down the hall, passing many doors on either side. Forlorn voices babbled in the darkness. He paused at the last door on the left. Ahead was the blank wall where a secret passage could take them farther.


"I've returned," Seth said, facing the door.


The other voices went silent.


"I have been waiting, Great One," came the attentive response. "How may I serve you?"


Seth turned to Vanessa. "Can you hear him?" She shook her head. She looked pale. "Can you tell me what he is?"


She edged stiffly forward and peeked through the peephole. Seth assumed she was feeling the effects of the magical fear to which he was immune. She backed away. "Jackpot," she said. "It's a wraith. A strong one. Be sure it is bound by oath to serve you or we will all perish together."


"I will be your greatest servant, Strong One," the wraith promised.


"I could use your help," Seth said. "I need a, um, servant to stand guard over this dungeon. Any who draw too near would be yours to claim."


"Let me perform this duty," the wraith asked fervently.


"You would have to leave those who belong to this house unharmed, like my grandparents or my sister."


"I sense your intent. I understand."


"You would have to return to this cell upon my command."


"Yes, yes, anything you ask. Release me and I am yours."


"Swear to do these tasks and to follow my orders in all things," Seth said.


"By solemn covenant, I swear fealty to you, Wise One. I vow to obey word and spirit of all your commands."


Seth glanced at Vanessa. "I think he swore. He seems really eager."


Her brow twitched. "Make sure he's alone in there."


"Are you alone in that cell?" Seth asked.


There came a pause. "I am not alone. Two of my lesser brethren accompany me in my confinement."


Chills tingled down Seth's back. It had been a trap! One wraith swearing loyalty while two others waited in ambush. In the end, with the "master" killed by the unsworn wraiths, they would all have gone free!


Seth had to seem in control. "Would the other wraiths care to serve me?"


"They would serve you," came the reply. The eagerness was gone.


"I would send one of them to protect the old manor. The other to protect the stables and the livestock. They would be under the same terms and conditions as the first."


"I pledge fealty, and to perform your commands," affirmed a new voice.


"I pledge fealty, and to embody your commands," promised another new voice.


"Swear to me that no ambush or deception will come from you or others of your kind," Seth said. "Promise to protect me and my friends and my cause from harm."


"We swear it," answered three voices in unison.


"This woman, Vanessa, and the satyrs, Newel and Doren, are with me, and under my protection. If centaurs should come anywhere near these properties, they are yours to claim."


"We understand," answered three voices. "Release us, Mighty One."


"You understand the places I want protected?"


"We can see them in your mind."


Seth turned to Vanessa. "I think we're ready."


"Is there a key?" she asked.


Seth fished out a separate key and the letter from Patton. "There are new words also."


Vanessa took the letter and approached the cell door. She inserted the key, placed her palm against the door, and mumbled unsteadily. Turning the key sharply, she backed away.


The cell door swung open. A wave of cold spilled out as if the room were an industrial freezer. Three dark forms emerged, upright, gliding forward with shadowy grace. One stood a little taller than Seth, the two others almost a head shorter. It was hard to discern details. The flashlight did not illuminate them. Their whole beings seemed to swallow light, making them indistinct.


Seth glanced at Vanessa. She crouched, head down, utterly immobilized. "You three wait here for now," Seth said. "Let me clear out my friends before you take your positions."