Keys to the Demon Prison (Page 103)

"We have a chance," Doren said. "Seth has Vasilis. There are poems and songs about that sword."

"Not to mention a unicorn on our side!" Newel exclaimed. "They are the superheroes of the fairy world. They’re not very outgoing, but when they decide to help, it can make all the difference."

"Don’t join us buoyed by false expectations," Trask said. "Consider the enemy. We’re talking about Gorgrog and his horde. We almost certainly will not be coming back."

"We get it," Newel said cheerfully. "If it’s the end, so it goes. We had a good run. But can’t we hope for the best?"

Trask shrugged. "I suppose we can hope."

***

Above the red brick base, visible in the cloud-muted moonlight, white and black stripes spiraled to the top of the lighthouse, making it look like a giant barbershop pole.

Vanessa led Seth to the door at the base and opened it quickly. He followed her inside.

They climbed the curving stairs, a small flashlight helping them see. Roughly thirty at a time, the stairs ascended to semicircular landings. Periodic windows granted higher and higher views. By the time they reached the top, Seth was panting.

An observation platform surrounded the top of the lighthouse. Vanessa and Seth stepped outside. The gibbous moon came out from behind a cloud, throwing silver highlights on the corrugated ocean and the vegetated coastline. The salty breeze and great height made Seth feel like he was in the crow’s nest of some enormous ship.

"Is it time?" Seth asked.

"Close enough," Vanessa replied, checking her watch.

Seth took out the handbell and removed the leather muffle from the clapper. He shook the bell over his head vigorously. The bell rang loudly, but nothing about it seemed supernatural. Seth clanged the bell constantly until Vanessa told him to stop. Then he stepped forward to the railing and looked down.

Far below, Bracken flashed a light at him. After muffling the clapper, Seth tossed the bell over the edge. As planned, Bracken and Warren would now run the bell to the former site of the lighthouse and ring it again. Hopefully, ringing the bell at both locations, they could be more sure the ship would respond as desired.

Seth followed Vanessa down the long flights of steps and out of the lighthouse. She locked up, and they trotted back to where they had parked. Before they reached their vehicle, a huge humanoid shape came stomping toward them out of the darkness. After a brief fright, Seth recognized Hugo. He ran to the golem, who scooped him up in a rocky embrace.

"You made it!" Seth said.

"Drove fast," Hugo replied.

"Did the truck arrive in one piece?" Vanessa wondered. "Truck fine," Hugo assured her.

Newel and Doren gamboled over to them. Hugo set Seth down.

"I can’t believe you guys made it," Seth said. "I expected you’d take your time, running up the credit card at fast food joints."

"Not a bad way to confront the end of civilization," Newel conceded. "But after enough fast food, it starts to all taste the same."

"Good, but greasy," Doren said. "Besides, driving fast is another new pleasure we both enjoy."

"We may not come back from this," Seth said seriously.

"We know," Newel said. "Everyone keeps warning us. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you guys were trying to ditch us. Here’s the thing—if we succeed, we don’t just save the world. We save television. We save fast food. We save soft drinks and doughnuts and candy bars and ice cream."

"We save Frito-Lay," Doren said solemnly.

"You’ve enjoyed a lifetime of these marvelous conveniences," Newel accused. "You take them for granted. Doren and I are just getting introduced."

"Nobody is going to mess with Hostess," Doren said. "Not on my watch."

"We’ll be honored to have you," Seth said.

"Hugo could pose a problem," Vanessa observed. "If the ship is sending just one launch to shuttle us aboard, the golem might swamp it."

"I don’t want to go without Hugo," Doren said. "Did you see him beat up those centaurs with his bare hands?"

"Do we need to hijack a watercraft?" Newel asked.

"You’ll have to be careful," Vanessa said. "These waters are famously treacherous. This area is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic for a reason. The shifting shoals off this coast have claimed hundreds of ships."

"Which explains the lighthouse," Newel said. "We’ll figure it out. The golem should be able to discern your location. Come on, Hugo. We’d better hurry."

"See you on the water," Doren said.

The satyrs climbed into the truck, and Hugo settled into the back. Vanessa explained to Trask what the satyrs intended to do, and he agreed with the idea.

Kendra walked over to Seth. "How did it go?" she asked.

"I rang the bell. We’ll see if it works."

"Want a pretzel?"

"I’m stuffed. I overdid it on the crab cakes." They stood in silence for a moment. "Do you get the sense that this is our last adventure?" Kendra asked.

Seth rubbed the hilt of Vasilis. "Yeah. You too?"

She nodded. "It’s sort of obvious since we haven’t even prepared a way back. We couldn’t stop any of this when we had a chance. And we had lots of chances. The artifacts. The Eternals. Now we’re out of chances. I guess going to Zzyzx is better than nothing. It will be better to die bravely among friends than to die in hiding."

"You don’t have to go," Seth said.

"Neither do you."

"I’m going. That was the whole point of getting Vasilis. If I’m going to die, I’ll die fighting demons, not running from them. It helps to imagine what Patton would do. It helps to think about Coulter."

"I’m going too," Kendra said. Her lip trembled. "I wish I could say good-bye to Mom and Dad."

"Don’t think like that," Seth said. "Think about winning. Think about protecting the world."

His sister managed a faint smile. "I’ll try."

When Bracken and Warren returned, everyone got into the SUV and the sedan and drove to the location marked on Patton’s map. After checking their gear, they walked down to the edge of the water and waited for the proper time to start blowing the whistle.

Seth noticed Bracken sitting down beside Kendra. He couldn’t resist casually eavesdropping.

"I’m sorry about Vanessa earlier," Bracken said. "She was trying to lash out at me for embarrassing her."

"Don’t worry," Kendra said. "I get it."