Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Fablehaven #4)

"I have been confined to this preserve for centuries," Graulas groaned groggily. "I lost interest in world politics ages ago. My memories are of ancient India and China. I know little of the Sphinx. When he visited Fablehaven, he seemed like a man. But it is hard to detect an avatar, even for me."

"You detected Navarog."

"I have met Navarog previously. And his avatar. It makes a difference."

"I may have to fight Navarog."

The demon snorted. "Do not fight Navarog."

"Does he have a weakness?"

Graulas opened his eyes to narrow slits. "Concentrate on the horn. Nero will teach you about shade walking and befriending trolls."

"Nero?" Seth asked.

A suave voice spoke from behind. "We meet again, Seth Sorenson."

Seth whirled, shining his light on the troll. He recognized the reptilian features, the bulging round eyes, and the glossy black body with yellow markings. "What are you doing here?"

"A shadow charmer," Nero simpered in an oily tone. "Who would have suspected? To think, I once saved you from a fall and almost had you as a servant."

"Don't you live a long way from here?"

A long, gray tongue flicked out of the troll's mouth and licked his right eye. "When Master Graulas commands, I obey."

"You're here to help me?" Seth asked. "You need a mentor. Graulas wants me to instruct you in a few matters and accompany you to Grunhold."

"You can't enter Grunhold."

"No. But as a mortal, you can. In fact, as a shadow charmer, you might even survive."

Seth turned back to Graulas. "Are you still awake?"

The demon smacked his lips. "Awake or asleep, I always listen."

"You really want me to go to Grunhold tonight?"

"There will be no better opportunity," the demon growled, rolling over. "Now give me peace, boy."

Seth faced Nero. "Okay. How do I survive?"

The troll licked his other eye. "As a shadow charmer, you can shade walk. Away from bright light you will be nearly invisible. Very, very dim. When you keep to the shade, even vigilant eyes will pass over you. Particularly if you hold still. This will help you approach the entrance."

"Will I be able to see in the dark?"

"Turn off your flashlight."

Seth complied. He could see nothing. "Apparently not." He switched his light back on.

Nero shrugged. "Your vision may not penetrate darkness, but other talents should emerge over time. No two shadow charmers are identical."

"What types of talents?"

"I have heard of shadow charmers who could quench flames. Project fear. Lower the temperature in a room."

Seth smiled. "Can you teach me?"

"These skills will emerge naturally or not at all. Back to the task at hand. Master Graulas tells me that a mountain troll awaits inside Grunhold. Along with a reputation for immense size and strength, their breed has a deserved notoriety for stupidity. The oaf will recognize you as an ally of the night. But he also has a charge to guard the horn. Show no fear. Take his friendship for granted, and you will probably win it. Then you must convince him that you are a trickster, and that stealing the horn is a prank. Mountain trolls love jokes." The troll held out his webbed hand.

"Is that a banana?" Seth asked.

The troll tossed the fruit over his shoulder and deftly caught it behind his back. "Your prank will be to replace the horn with a banana. The troll should like that."

Seth laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Entirely."

"Where did you find a banana?"

"I have suppliers. Some of the satyrs cultivate tropical fruit."

Seth folded his arms. "Invisible or not, the maze could be trouble, right?"

"The hardest part," Nero said. "If your instincts fail, the trick with mazes is to always turn left. Only veer right when you can't turn left. Eventually you will systematically cover all the ground in the maze until you find your destination."

"The entrance will only be open for an hour."

"As I already noted, the maze will be the hardest part."

Seth sat down on a filthy keg. "If I get trapped inside, I'll have to bide my time until the next night when the entrance opens again. My family will freak. How do we get to Grunhold?"

Nero rubbed his hands together. "The best way is through the marsh. I have a raft. I can land you near the southern side of the circle of stones."

"I hope I can convince Hugo."

"I saw you arrive with the golem. If he would bear us to the raft, it would save time. We should make haste--the hour grows late."

Chapter 14 Heart and Soul

"Up there on the left," Nero directed. "Perfect, you can put us down. I'll take it from here." Hugo set Seth on the ground. Seth clicked on his flashlight. The golem held Nero by his ankles. The troll hung upside down, staring into the stony hollows of the golem's eyes. "No hurt Seth," Hugo warned, the words coming out like massive boulders grinding against each other.

"You have my word," Nero pledged, placing a webbed hand over his chest.

The golem turned Nero around and placed him on the ground. He kept hold of one arm. Nero tried to tug away, but Hugo held tight.

"You can release me," Nero invited.

Leaning forward, the golem pinched Nero's neck between thumb and forefinger. "No hurt Seth."

"I'm on his side," the troll managed in a strangled voice. "I swear it."

"Let him go, Hugo," Seth said. The golem released the troll and stood up straight. "If he ends up harming me, you have my permission to squash him."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Nero gagged bitterly, rubbing his throat.

"Seth no go," Hugo rumbled.

"I have to try, Hugo. We've come this far. I need to finish what I've started."

"We must reach Grunhold before the warding stones start marching," Nero inserted. "You will need every second."

Seth gave Hugo a hug. The golem patted his back. "Hugo come."

Seth shook his head. "You're too big. You'll swamp the raft. And you don't hold together so well in water. Just wait here so you can take me home after we return." Seth followed Nero toward the raft.

The golem raised a hand in farewell. "Be safe."

"I'll be right back," Seth promised.

Nero pushed the raft into the water and leapt aboard. The rectangular craft was a little bigger than a king-size mattress. Without guardrails, the mooring cleats were the highest part of the vessel, a scant foot or so above the water. Clutching a long pole, the troll gestured for Seth to join him. Seth jumped onto the flat craft. Leaning on the pole, the troll shoved the raft away from the shore. Ripples spread over the dark, fuming water.

"Extinguish the light," Nero murmured. "From here on, we must avoid attention."

Seth turned off the flashlight. He could see nothing. He listened to the soft sound of water lapping against the raft. "You can see in the dark?" he whispered.

"I can."

"Can you see me?"

"Certainly."

"Shouldn't I be invisible?"

"Shade walking only works before you've been spotted. Once an observer sees you, dimness will no longer hide you."

Seth thought about that. "What if I snuck up on you later?"

"Then you might be cloaked to my eyes."

Seth sat down cross-legged. The air in the swamp felt less cold. A heavy, stagnant odor invaded his nostrils. "Why are you helping me?"

"You are an ally of the night," Nero said. "Graulas is demonic royalty. Long ago he served as the left hand to Gorgrog, the demon king. I owe Graulas a tremendous debt. He gave me my seeing stone."

"You'll wait for me while I snag the horn?"

"Whether you return tonight or tomorrow, I'll be waiting with the raft near the shore where I drop you. Silence. Something approaches." Seth listened intently, but could hear nothing. Nero crouched at his side and whispered in his ear. "Lie flat."

Seth sprawled out on his stomach. He could feel the troll lying beside him. A moment later, he heard something sloshing through the water in the distance. It was coming toward them. Seth wished for eyes like his sister so he could pierce the darkness without a light. What could it be? From the sound of it, something big. He held his breath.

The sloshing drew nearer. The rhythm of the splashes suggested a gigantic creature wading through the water. One leg sloshed forward, then the other, then the other, then the other...

Nero eased away from Seth. The swamp was totally black. As the sloshing continued toward them, ripples began to make the raft wobble. But then the raft began to glide forward, away from the path of the approaching threat. Seth heard noisy breathing above and behind them.

Unable to see, he closed his eyes and focused on quieting his own breathing. The creature passed directly behind them, never pausing, and soon the sloshing threat was moving away. The sound had completely faded before Nero resumed poling forward in earnest.

"What was that?" Seth whispered.

"Fog giant," Nero replied. "They don't see any better than you in the dark. They roam the marshes erratically. But if they find you, that is the end."

"It came close."

"Much too close. We're fortunate it failed to catch our scent or hear us. The brute must have had a destination in mind."

"The water isn't deep here," Seth said.

"The water is seldom deep in the marsh. Up to the thighs of a fog giant. Keep silent. Before long we will near the shores of the centaurs. If you are apprehended inside of their territory, they will kill you as surely as any giant would."

Seth stopped speaking. The anticipation of his mission helped offset the boredom. He was about to trespass alone into the centaurs' secret stronghold armed only with a banana. If the centaurs caught him, not only would he die but he would provoke a war. The thought was sobering.

Without warning, the raft ran aground, squishing against the muddy, reedy bank. "Here we are," Nero whispered. "Move away from the water. Keep to the shade. Go swiftly. The hour grows late."

"Thanks for the ride," Seth whispered back. "See you soon."

Seth sprang from the boat, reeds rustling as he landed. He froze, crouched, listening. When no furious centaurs descended on him, he crept forward, staying low and stepping with care. Up ahead, through the trees, Seth began to discern the wavering glow of firelight. He advanced toward the light.

The foliage at the edge of the swamp soon gave way to evergreens. There was little undergrowth, so Seth scurried from tree to tree until he obtained a view of a large hill. The monstrous silhouette of a colossal stone dominated the foreground. Cressets and torches burned on the hill, shedding warm auras of radiance and backlighting the megalith.

Seth took out his compass. He could barely read it by the wavering light of the distant flames. He found north and promptly determined which of the megaliths was the southernmost. It was the second monolith to the right.

By no means did the torches brighten the entire hill. The jittery flames merely provided periodic illumination. At first the area appeared deserted. Then Seth began to spot centaurs spaced around the base of the hill, lurking in pockets of darkness away from the flaming cressets. He counted three, and assumed there would be more on the far side of the entrance, Rather than cluster around the southernmost stone, the centaurs had opted to spread out, as if simply guarding the hill. Their positions showed no preference to any particular megalith.

Clearly the centaurs didn't want the placement of their sentries to give away the position of the entrance. The deployment could work to his advantage. It gave him some room to work with. The level area between the evergreens at the base of the hill lacked cover. But it was dim. If his ability worked as Nero had described, he should be able to slink forward, then sneak along the bottom of the hill to the southernmost megalith. If not, he would be apprehended the instant he crawled out from behind the trees.

Dropping to his hands and knees, Seth inched forward, eyes on the nearest centaur. The guard stood perhaps a hundred feet away, brawny arms folded. The cover of the trees was soon well behind Seth. At times, the centaur seemed to stare right at him; then the brooding face would turn away. So far, so good.

Seth had no idea how much movement might destroy his dimness and attract attention, so he advanced very slowly. He crawled toward the nearest megalith, stomach tight with worry. Once he was close enough to the huge stone, it would interrupt all lines of sight from the hill. Too bad the southernmost stone was still over a hundred yards away.

When he reached the megalith, Seth stood up, sweaty despite the cold. He started working his way around the gigantic stone to peek at the hill again. Just as part of the hill was coming into view, the ground began to vibrate.

Seth froze. The vibration grew into a trembling, the trembling into a quaking, and the megalith beside him began to rise. Seth fell flat and crawled on his belly toward the hill. He squirmed to the nearest bush and then held still, ready for a centaur to shout an alarm.

Abruptly the quaking stopped.

Glancing over his shoulder, Seth saw that the bottom of the stone was hovering about five feet in the air. The megalith appeared to have risen about fifteen feet, the lowest ten feet of the stone having been underground. A dark pit yawned where the colossal stone had rested. Slowly, the megalith began to drift sideways.

The clock was ticking.

Seth had one hour to get through the entrance, navigate the maze, befriend the troll, claim the horn, return through the maze, and exit unnoticed.