The adults exchanged glances.
"It might work," Gavin admitted.
"They're children," Trask objected.
"Children or not," Tanu vouched, "they've done some astounding things."
"Let me take the horn," Gavin volunteered. "It might have enough potency to d-d-defeat the dragon without jeopardizing Kendra."
"No," Kendra said, her voice quavering. "If anyone should use the horn, it should be me. Seth is right. We can't risk the horn running out of energy. We'll only get one shot at this."
"I'll not have children sticking their necks out for me," Dougan said. "Neither of them are even supposed to be here.
Kendra should be back at the keep, and Seth should be at Fablehaven. We can't risk losing Gavin. We need him as our ambassador to the dragons. If Tanu can bolster me against the dragon terror with a potion, I'll do it."
"Let me take this risk," Mara said. "I'm quick. I'm nimble. And I'm a dragon tamer."
"What about Mendigo?" Tanu proposed. "The puppet won't react to the poison. And he's uncannily agile."
"Mendigo could come with us," Seth said. "You know, as backup. But Kendra has to be there to make sure the horn stays energized. We all know it probably won't have enough power otherwise. And I have to be there for Kendra to be there."
"You just want to kill a dragon," Kendra accused.
Seth fought to stifle a guilty smile. "Maybe a little. But mostly I want to get that key and go home."
"Do you really think you can do this?" Trask asked, eyes flicking back and forth from Seth to Kendra. "The dragon won't sit still and let you touch her. If her poison doesn't take you out, you'll probably be clawed to death or eaten."
"I should carry a bag of dragonsbane," Seth said. "In case she swallows me."
Gavin shook his head. "Siletta is composed of poison. I wouldn't count on dragonsbane to do more than amuse her."
"We can pull this off," Kendra said stoutly. "Mendigo will have orders that if we fail, he's to pick up the horn and hold it against the dragon. This is easily our best chance. Since I want to live, that means I should do this. It needs to be me. It isn't as if Seth and I would be much safer waiting here while somebody else tries to fix the problem. Everything depends on this."
"We won't blow it," Seth promised.
"They make a solid argument," Trask said. "Objections?"
Gavin sighed. "If we mean to keep going forward, it's out best bet."
"If we try to retreat, Siletta may follow," Mara warned. "They're so young," Dougan protested weakly. "All right," Trask said. "Do it."
"At the top of the stairs you'll see a tremendous room with pillars throughout," Gavin described. "Use the pillars as obstructions to keep the dragon from leaping at you easily. When you make your move, go in hard and fast. Keep hold of each other."
"I have handcuffs in the knapsack," Tanu said. "Should we cuff them together?"
"Yes," Seth and Kendra answered at the same time.
Tanu climbed down into the storage room. Gavin handed Kendra the unicorn horn. Pulling Mendigo aside, Trask handed the puppet a sword and a flashlight.
"Mendigo," Trask began, "you will enter the temple ahead of Kendra and Seth. Tanu will give you four smoke bulbs. You will smash them in different parts of the room. You will stay in motion, cavorting around the room, but keeping the flashlight on the eyes of the dragon. As needed, you will use the sword to defend Kendra and Seth. Should they get killed or otherwise lose the horn, you will retrieve the horn and hold it against the dragon. Understood?"
Mendigo nodded.
Tanu emerged from the knapsack. "We'll put the horn in Kendra's right hand," Tanu said, cuffing Kendra's right wrist to Seth's left one.
"To avoid being poisoned, you'll both need to keep in constant contact with the horn as well as each other," Gavin said. He adjusted their grip until he was satisfied. Seth ended up holding the horn a little higher than Kendra, with his hand overlapping hers.
"My good hand is free," Seth said. "Should I bring my sword?"
"No," Trask said. "If you get close enough to use a sword, you'll need to be using the horn. But you could bring your crossbow."
Gavin gave Seth the weapon.
"Don't dwell on the crossbow," Dougan cautioned. "The horn is everything."
"Right," Seth agreed. "Off you go," Trask said. "Good luck," Tanu added.
"Come on," Seth urged, tugging Kendra forward.
"Settle down," Kendra complained.
Mendigo trotted ahead, reaching the stairs and bounding up them fluidly. Kendra glanced at Seth. "Don't stress," he said with a smile. "No matter how big the dragon is, all we have to do is touch her."
"Before she touches us with her claws or teeth," Kendra amended.
"Right. And we had better hope the horn works quickly."
Kendra's hand felt damp to Seth. Was it his perspiration or hers? Wouldn't that be wonderful if the horn slipped from her grasp? He and his sister would die blue, handcuffed together.
They started up the large steps. The bronze dragons glared down from above. As Kendra and Seth cleared the highest steps, the room came into view. Glowing stones in the walls and ceiling provided dull light. Smoke billowed inside the vast chamber where Mendigo had shattered bulbs. The left and right sides of the room were forests of wide pillars, with a spacious central aisle leading to a distant doorway.
Most of the way across the room, the dragon crouched among the leftmost pillars. Mendigo pranced along a good distance away from Siletta, keeping a bright flashlight trained on the dragon, the beam interrupted at intervals when blocked by columns. Lacking visible scales, Siletta looked like a giant salamander with translucent skin. Networks of dark blue veins tangled with purple and green organs. Large enough to swallow a car, her wide mouth contained multiple rows of slim, pale teeth, sharp and slightly curved.
In a flurry of motion, the dragon scurried toward Mendigo, long body lashing. The puppet danced away from the attack. Only now that Siletta had moved closer to a luminous stone did Kendra notice her incredible length, the elongated body supported by at least ten sets of legs.
Seth led the way to the neatest pillar on the left side of the room.
"I see you two," the dragon hissed in a voice like fierce, overlapping whispers. "Did you send this ludicrous puppet to pester me?"