Keys to the Demon Prison

Envisioning the cave where Graulas lived, Seth twisted the Translocator. The stench of putrefying flesh hit him like a physical blow. Gagging, Seth covered his nose with one hand. The demon sprawled on the floor, flies buzzing around his many weeping sores. His wheezy breathing came quick and shallow, like that of a panting dog.

Seth slid the Translocator into his pocket. "Can you hear me, Graulas?"

Grunting, the demon raised his head, festering eyes squinting in not quite the right direction. "Seth?"

"I brought the Sands of Sanctity," Seth announced.

"The pain …" Graulas moaned through cracked lips, his voice trailing off.

"Hang on, I’m here to heal you." Striding forward, Seth upended the teapot over the dying demon. Golden sand poured out, snapping and hissing like water on a hot griddle as it contacted the inflamed flesh. Acrid fumes rose from the pathetic, bloated form.

Pacing and swinging the teapot, Seth dusted the limitless supply of sand all over the demon until the sizzling smoke subsided.

"Oh-ho," Graulas said, sitting up, the tone of his voice deeper and richer than Seth had ever heard. In place of infected skin, short gray fur covered his arms. The drooping wattles had vanished from his face, leaving him with the head of a ram to match his curled horns. His misshapen body had become symmetrical, and now appeared muscular rather than lumpy. He stretched his thick arms forward, examining them. "Oh-ho-ho-ho!" he laughed exultantly.

"Feeling better?" Seth asked.

Graulas pounced at him, seized a shoulder with a hairy hand, and hoisted Seth off the ground effortlessly. Before Seth could react, the demon quickly tore the Translocator from his pocket, then dropped him on a pile of rubble. Landing roughly, Seth lost hold of the teapot, and the demon snatched it up. From his supine position, Seth stared up at the broad, bestial figure towering over him.

"Honestly?" Graulas rumbled. "This is the best I’ve ever felt." His rejuvenated voice had more growl to it than before.

"What are you doing?" Seth cried. His elbows were bleeding, and his back ached where a wooden knob had jabbed it.

"Many things, now, many things, thanks to you." The demon flung sand from the teapot over Seth, and his injuries vanished. "After all of these years, against all odds, I am now free! She was right. She may not be utterly sane, but she was right."

"Who was right?"

"Nagi Luna."

It took Seth a moment to find words. "You know her?"

"She contacted me using the Oculus," Graulas said. "She has not yet held it herself, but she can borrow some of its power when her captor uses it. Which is often. She harbored hopes of an opportunity like this for a long while, but only felt certain after she met you."

"What have I done?" Seth mouthed.

The demon grinned better than any actual ram could. "You still don’t fully understand. Of course you don’t, or this would never have happened. Seth, this disease has plagued me for thousands of years. It is what slowly ruined me. The sickness was my prison much more than this cave. Only the Sands of Sanctity could have healed me. I am old, yes, but now I am far from dying."

"And you have the Translocator."

"You begin to see. This area was designed to hold me in my weakened, diseased state. Now that I’m whole, I could probably defeat the barriers that contain me. But thanks to your thoughtful tribute, that will not be necessary."

Seth groaned, hiding his face in his hands. "Why am I so stupid?"

"Not the common breed of stupidity," the demon corrected. "You’re too trusting. Too independent. Too good of a friend, even to one who is by nature your enemy. These attributes were used against you."

"What happens now?"

"I will acquire the Chronometer and return to Living Mirage. I have been there before, you see, centuries ago. And at the end of his long years of scheming, the Sphinx will lose control of his endeavor. Before long, the demons of Zzyzx will be free according to my terms."

Seth still felt off balance. "Wait–wasn’t the Sphinx behind this trick?"

"Certainly not. Use your intellect. All the Sphinx needed to do was use the Translocator to collect the Chronometer. Why give it to you and risk losing it? Mirav the wizard left the artifacts in your cell, under strict orders from Nagi Luna. She communicates with him through the Oculus as well. Since the gambit paid off, I will go to Living Mirage in my full strength, free Nagi Luna, and take leadership of this endeavor. Tonight you have ushered in an age of demonic rule!"

Seth hugged himself miserably, gripping handfuls of his shirt. He wished he could stop existing. He had ruined everything!

"I will leave you with your life, Seth."

"Why bother?" Seth moaned.

"Because I sponsored your elevation to shadow charmer, and because you did me a great service. I owe you a debt of gratitude, and for that I will spare you, even though I know you will never serve me."

"Let’s be honest," Seth said. "I’ll try to stop you."

"Let’s be honest," Graulas countered. "Resourceful as you are, there is nothing you can do about this. Not a thing. You would be wise to put it out of your mind."

"Please," Seth said, fighting back tears of desperation.

"Please, I healed you. Don’t punish my family for it. Don’t punish Fablehaven. Go free, do whatever, but if my aid meant anything, don’t take the artifacts."

"My dear boy," Graulas said. "You do not comprehend the nature of demons. Your grandfather does, and some who work with him. It almost surprises me that you remain so naive. Did I ever bother to lie about my nature? I do not believe I did. Nagi Luna stretched the truth, perhaps, to make me seem more pitiable, and I acted somewhat more infirm than I felt, but I never misled you on this issue. Let me leave you with a final lesson. I am what you would call evil. Pure, deliberate, evil. I am aggressively self-serving. I take great pleasure in destruction. At times I cause harm to get gain, and at times I cause harm for the sheer enjoyment of breeding mayhem. So, will I take the artifacts? Seth, without a twinge of remorse, I will use them to unlock a season of devastation like the world has never witnessed. And, mark my words, I will revel in it."

Grinding his teeth, Seth tried to think of something to do. He saw one possible option. "Take me with you."

"No, no, my boy. Shadow charmer or not, I fully understand that you could never be my servant, except perhaps as part of a clumsy deception. Our destinies are no longer entwined. Should we meet again, it will be as enemies, all past debts settled. You will not be bored without me, Seth. There will be work enough to do here."