Keys to the Demon Prison (Page 74)

"No," Seth said. "We just want the items Patton left with you."

"And our gold back," Newel reminded everyone.

The leprechaun hung his head, his body limp. Then he jerked hard against Seth, who maintained a firm hold of his arm. Cormac bit Seth’s hand, but Seth held tight and flicked the leprechaun sharply on his ear. The little man howled as if he had lost a limb.

"Enough," Seth said angrily, shifting his grip to hold the leprechaun’s legs. "Take his coat off."

"With pleasure," Newel said, going to work on the tiny gold buttons.

Doren snatched away the whiskey flask.

"No!" Cormac bellowed. "Please! I submit! You’ll have the bell, the call, and the music box."

Newel kept working at the buttons, nimble fingers moving swiftly.

"And I’ll return your gold!" the leprechaun promised glumly. "No more trouble."

"That’s enough, Newel," Seth said. The satyr stopped unbuttoning the coat. Seth held up Cormac so they could stare eye to eye. "Any other trick, any other attempt to escape, the coat comes off, no questions asked. Then we’ll shave your whiskers. And then I might go ahead and use you as a fishing lure. Don’t test me. I’ve had a really bad week."

For the first time, the leprechaun seemed to stop acting. "You’ll have no more trouble out of me, lad. You can’t blame an old shyster for working a few angles? Tell me your name."

"Seth Sorenson."

"Well, Seth, for the first time since Patton Burgess, I seem to have met my match. I have not formally introduced myself. The name is Cormac."

"We’re not doing this for fun," Seth said. "We really need those items. We don’t mean to harass you."

"Which way to your lair?" Doren asked.

"Behind the waterfall," Cormac said.

"That one?" Newel asked, pointing upstream. "We’ve checked that waterfall for caves!"

The leprechaun gave him an exhausted stare.

"Right," Newel backpedaled. "Magic."

Seth carried the leprechaun upstream to where a curtain of water spilled over a twelve-foot ledge. Cormac tugged Seth’s sleeve. "This is the tricky part, youngster. I need my magic to open the way, but your keeping hold of me inhibits my powers. Would you consent to let me go momentarily? I’ll give you my word as a leprechaun not to slip away."

"Patton warned me that your promises mean nothing," Seth said. "And I warned you not to try any more tricks. I’ll hold you by your beard. Patton said that will free you to open your lair without enabling you to use magic against me." Seth set the little man down on a rock, pinching his chin whiskers between thumb and forefinger.

The leprechaun snapped his fingers and the waterfall stopped flowing. A tunnel, square with rounded corners, appeared in the rock face behind.

Seth picked up the leprechaun and pulled out a flashlight. Treading carefully over loose rocks, he ducked into the tunnel. The low ceiling forced him to walk in a crouch. Newel and Doren followed.

The earthy corridor reeked of pipe smoke. Large, uncut emeralds lay scattered on the floor and embedded in the walls.

"Look at those stones," Newel said. "I know a jeweler who could make them sparkle."

"Who, Benley?" Doren asked.

"No, Sarrok, the troll. No one at Fablehaven has a keener eye or a steadier hand." Newel crouched to study a dull emerald the size of a new bar of soap.

"The instructions warned us to touch nothing in here," Seth reminded them. "We must only take what Cormac gives us."

"Waste of resources," Newel grumbled.

The tunnel broadened into a rounded room with several wooden doors. Casks and barrels were stacked against one wall. A low table sat beside a still pool of water in the center of the room.

"The items," Seth prompted.

"Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have a crock of gold?" Cormac asked. "Much more traditional."

"We want the items Patton left with you," Seth said. "The whistle, the bell, and the music box. And Newel and Doren want their gold back."

Cormac brushed a finger along the side of his nose and gave the satyrs a wily glance. "Fauns have no business consorting with human youths," the leprechaun scolded. "Tell you what–free me from the boy, and I have a crock of gold for each of you!"

"Take off the coat," Seth ordered.

Newel hesitated. After Doren nudged him, he started unbuttoning the frock coat.

Cormac twisted and hollered. "Side with the humans, will you? This won’t be forgotten! Mercy! Leave me my coat!"

"No," Seth said. "You had fair warning."

Newel tugged off the coat. The leprechaun was left pouting in a dark yellow shirt with a patterned vest.

"You’ll get it back if you cooperate," Seth said. "Next step is we shave your beard."

"You’ve bedeviled me enough!" Cormac spluttered. "Set me down by that door." He pointed at the one he meant.

Keeping hold of his beard, Seth placed the leprechaun beside the door. Cormac knocked three times and snapped.

"Is that all?" Seth asked.

"Open it," the leprechaun said.

Seth picked up Cormac and opened the door, revealing a closet cluttered mostly with empty bottles.

"Close it," Cormac instructed. "Then open it again."

Seth complied. When he reopened the door, the closet was gone. Instead he found himself looking down a long tunnel.

"One more time," Cormac sighed.

Seth closed the door again, then opened it to reveal a large room full of shelves, crates, and chests. Sundry treasures crowded the shelves, including fine porcelain figures, strands of pearls, enameled urns, ivory carvings, jeweled goblets, and an extensive collection of snuffboxes. Old paintings hung on the walls in gilded frames. Three heavily ornamented suits of plate mail stood together in a corner beside a rack of halberds.

"Where are Patton’s items?" Seth asked.

"The case on the bottom shelf," Cormac said with a gesture. "Help yourself."

Keeping a hand on Cormac, Seth crouched and pulled the wooden case from the shelf. Unfastening the catches, he opened the case to reveal a handbell, a music box, and a slender whistle, each housed in a velvet-lined compartment contoured to match its respective shape. Satisfied, he closed the case and exited the room. "Success?" Doren asked.

"Looks like it," Seth replied. He gave Cormac a squeeze. "If you cheated us, we’ll be back."

"I never lie when I deliver on a captor’s request," Cormac said. "That’s what keeps my kind alive. Those are the items Patton left with me."