Kendra knelt beside the tiny statue. "I need help," she whispered.
The air stirred. A cool breeze ruffled her hair, smelling as though it had passed over snowy slopes to reach her. The refreshing scent intensified, then became richer and more varied. Kendra smelled pine sap, wildflowers, decaying wood, honeycombs. She inhaled the earthy aroma of a cave and the salty tang of the sea.
Kendra Sorenson.
The words entered her mind almost as if they had been spoken aloud. A distinct feeling of comfort accompanied the thought.
"I hear you," Kendra whispered. "Thanks for saving me when I was peering into the Oculus."
A
risky endeavor. Not only can your mind drown amid the flood of stimulation, but as you peer through the Oculus, you leave yourself vulnerable to be observed by others, as I saw you.
"I never wanted to use it," Kendra said earnestly. "The Sphinx made me."
A
dangerous man.
"Did you see him when he used the Oculus?" Yes.
His mind was temporarily open to my scrutiny.
"What did you learn? Did you find a weakness?"
I was surprised to discover that he is a man, not a creature in disguise.
"How could he be so old?"
Magical tampering, how else? I could not identify the exact means.
But I saw that he truly believes his cause is just.
"Freeing demons? Is he nuts?"
Misguided. He knows that no prison can stand forever. He fears that one day, others less capable than himself will release the demons and fail to bridle their power. He trusts himself to do it right, to hold their ferocity in check. But his motives are impure. In connection with his other motivations, he craves the power. He thinks he can bend the demons to his will, but he is mistaken. The world will pay if he breaches Zzyzx.
"What else did you see about him?" Kendra asked, fascinated.
Little else. With more time I
could have learned much. Someone helped him awaken from his trance, as I helped you. Not someone near him. One who reached him from afar. I
could not sense who roused him. As soon as the Sphinx released the Oculus, my link to him was sundered.
Kendra wondered who might have helped the Sphinx awaken. No candidates came to mind. Her thoughts turned to her present situation. "I need help. Navarog is trying to get the key to a vault in Australia that holds part of the key to Zzyzx. The vault key is inside the Dragon Temple here at Wyrmroost. We're trying to get it before our enemies have a chance, but a bunch of griffins nabbed Seth, Trask, Tanu, Mara, Dougan, and Gavin. Warren is with me but he's badly injured. A dragon named Raxtus is helping us."
I
understand your need. Beholding the Sphinx's ambitions helped illustrate the gravity of this predicament. Sadly, I am nearly blind at Wyrmroost. Very few fairies dwell there, most of them reclusive and sullen. I did not know you were at the sanctuary until you approached my shrine.
"What about the astrids? Maybe they could help."
Rage washed over Kendra. She felt angry and hurt, the bitter residue of an unforgivable insult. It took her a moment to realize the furious emotion was not her own. It emanated from the Queen.
I
have no interest in their manner of aid. You would do well to ignore them.
Kendra struggled to separate herself from the wrathful emotions conveyed by the Queen. She wanted to punch somebody. "How long ago did they mess up?"
Eons ago. Their failure did irreparable damage. Time has not dulled my agony. The consequences of their negligence were permanent, and so shall be their exile.
"But after all this time they keep serving you. What about forgiveness?"
The hot fury ebbed, replaced by a cooler, more cerebral emotion.
Your desire to extend mercy is a tender product of your innocence. You cannot conceive of all that was lost. The tragedy was so painfully preventable.
"Did they betray you on purpose? Was it deliberate?"
No.
Careless. Weak. Devastating. But not premeditated.
"Weren't they some of your best servants?"
My elite champions. My most able agents. Pride blinded them to their vulnerabilities. A small amount of caution would have prevented the disaster.
"I bet they've learned that lesson."
Not all have remained loyal.
"Don't forgive those six, then." A cold, suspicious emotion took hold of Kendra.
You speak out of self-interest. You are desperate for any aid, even theirs.
"I'm desperate for aid because I'm trying to save the world. Not because I'm selfish."
The emotion warmed into weary indifference.
My astrids would not be the servants they once were. I stripped them of their power. They are hardly shadows of their former selves.
"You could give it back."
No, I cannot.
Their energy now resides elsewhere.
Kendra tried to gather her thoughts. She had run out of words. It seemed stupid to let a grudge persist for eons. She fought with Seth all the time, but they were smart enough to make up afterwards, and they were only kids.
When at my shrines, you need not speak for me to hear. You have expressed yourself eloquently on behalf of the astrids, and, despite my potent emotions to the contrary, I deem it sound counsel. Unpleasant, infuriating, but sound. My people have not been able to communicate with the astrids since the King was taken. I will remove that barrier.
"Raxtus could hear them."
Correct. Raxtus is not formally a member of my kingdom, although he was my ward for a time, and I
regard him as a friend. Perhaps he can aid you here at Wyrmroost. The dragon has more strength than he realizes.
"Can the astrids help me too?"
Spells and treaties prevent all but dragons and mortals from entering the Dragon Temple. Furthermore, in my astrids' present state, the help they can lend you will be limited. You must arrange any assistance from them on your own. I
remain unready to contact them directly. The barrier between myself and the astrids will endure.
"Is there any other help you can give me?"
You seek the location of the Dragon Temple. Patton inscribed instructions on a stone tablet and threw it into my pool. But I can show you better. The temple is not far. Climb down from here toward the east, and then continue toward the tallest pinnacle to the northeast.
For a moment, everything went black, although Kendra's eyes remained open. Then a vision unfolded. She soared down a slope away from the shrine, then curved toward a vertical finger of rock. The vision dissipated into mist, and her regular sight returned.
"I see where to go."
Drink from the spring.
Kendra intuited that the Fairy Queen meant for her to use the golden bowl. She collected water from the bubbling fountainhead until the bowl was halfway full. Lifting the cold metal to her lips, she drank. The fresh water was flavored by minerals and had a slight metallic tang. But then the fluid tasted like citrus juice, and honey, and saltwater, and grape juice, and milk, and raw eggs, and apple juice, and cream of wheat, and carrot juice--all those flavors at once but somehow separate and distinct.