Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(99)

"I see it now," Raxtus said. "My eyes kept straying away from there."


"I see it as well," Bracken said darkly. "The splintered gate is an ominous sign. Raxtus, take us down onto that ridge." He indicated a jutting spine of rock outside the breached wall.



Raxtus circled down. Kendra looked for movement inside the wall or around the keep, but saw none. The dragon landed gently.


"Would you like me to check it out?" Raxtus asked.


"Do you mind investigating?" Bracken asked.


Raxtus turned invisible. "It's a specialty. I'll be right back."


Kendra felt and heard Raxtus fly away. Bracken stared after him, seemingly following his flight path. "Can you see him?" Kendra asked.


"Barely," Bracken said. "You were wise to befriend him. There is a profound goodness to Raxtus that few dragons possess."


"Are we too late?" Kendra asked, eyes straying to the quiet keep.


"Almost certainly. I see no evidence of an ongoing struggle. The gate was destroyed recently. You can tell by the unweathered portions of the broken wood."


"You can see that from here?"


"Yes."


Kendra frowned. "Then what now?"


Bracken looked at Kendra, disappointment in his eyes. "Once Raxtus finishes his preliminary reconnaissance, we'll go see what we can learn, hope for some useful hints or clues. If all else fails, perhaps we'll rejoin Warren." Bracken sat down.


Kendra sat beside him. A chilly breeze ruffled her hair. "What's it like, being a unicorn?"


Bracken scrunched his brow. "Funny, I've never been asked that. Let's see. It's very different from inhabiting a human form. Peaceful. Almost passionless by comparison. We love, but from a distance. We experience extraordinary clarity. We wander, we heal, we serve. We're the guardians of the fairy world."


"So you feel different as a human?"


"I'm still the same being deep down. But my experiences as a human have changed me. Unicorns are generally solitary creatures. Spending all this time in a human form has helped me learn to socialize. At times I even enjoy it! I'm still trying to improve. Old habits die hard. But I would have liked you even in my former state. My kind have always had a weakness for virtuous maidens."


Looking down, Kendra willed herself not to blush. "Even in human form, you're not really mortal."


"No, I retain a connection to my horns. They would have to be destroyed for me to really age. I could be killed, but not by sickness or time."


"How exactly did you lose all of your horns? Is that too personal? You've told me the basics."


He grinned. "It's very personal. A unicorn's horn is his glory. But I'll tell you. It's almost impossible to take a horn from a unicorn. We normally have to give them. I gave my first horn as a gift to a man who saved my life. It has passed through many hands. I can still sense it out there.


"The next horn I gave away was my third horn. This was highly unusual. I'm not sure if any other unicorns have given theirs away, save perhaps Ronodin, the dark unicorn, who willfully corrupted his horns. To part with my third horn meant parting with my form as a unicorn, but it also meant sealing away the demon horde, so I surrendered it to Agad the wizard."


"Agad? The same Agad who lives at Wyrmroost?" Bracken nodded.


"He helped seal the demons away?" Bracken grabbed a pebble and tossed it off the ridge. "He was one of the five wizards who created Zzyzx."


"And you helped him?"


"Only by allowing my horn to be crafted into the Font of Immortality."


Kendra stretched her legs out. "And you've been stuck as a human ever since?"


"That was the price."


"Why did you care so much?"


He regarded her pensively. "Gorgrog, the Demon King, destroyed my father."


Kendra felt she had pried too deeply. "I'm sorry."


"It wasn't your fault. All of this happened long ago."


"No wonder you want to keep the demons inside of Zzyzx."


"Little matters more to me."


"What about your second horn?" Kendra wondered.


"The Sphinx took it when he captured me. I mentioned that it is almost impossible to steal the horn of a unicorn. The protections on our horns attack the emotions, but the Sphinx is a shadow charmer, and he was immune to the effects. He took my horn with impunity and cast me in a dungeon." His eyes were far away. "I tried to make the best of it, tried to bond with other prisoners, tried to find life down in the darkness. But my lifelong love is what now surrounds us: a fresh breeze, wild plants thriving, rushing rivers, the sun and moon and stars."


"It must have been hard being locked up," Kendra said, crossing her ankles. "Especially for a unicorn."


"Any creature hates a cage," he said. "And any creature can cope if he tries. The hardest part has been adapting to my human form. I had taken human shape before, but never for a prolonged period. After becoming human, for years-- centuries, really--I lived alone, wandering. The solitude was a hard habit to break. As the seasons changed and the years slipped by, my identity began to feel diluted. Over time I experimented with human society. I dabbled with friendship and duty. There are aspects of humanity that I have grown to cherish. I have worn many masks, filled many roles. It is difficult living as an unchanging being in a temporal world."