Keys to the Demon Prison (Page 88)

Mark clapped his hands over his ears. "You need that to be true. I get it. Here’s the problem. I am still a person. Like it or not, I have a will. All the guilt and all the accusations and all the compulsion in the universe can’t fully take that away. Is it wrong of me to have accepted this responsibility and then not follow through? Yes. Tux tells me, my heart tells me, a few others like you have told me. Wrong or not, it remains my promise to break. I’m not the one trying to end the world. If you want to blame somebody, blame them. I’m just a guy trying to finally move beyond a mistake I made centuries ago. You can try to force me to live. But since we’re talking about vows, let me make a new vow. First oath I’ve taken in a long time. If you drag me to a dragon sanctuary by force, I will immediately and without hesitation seek out a dragon to end my life. You’ll be putting me in a place with limitless opportunities. I’ll probably last longer if you leave me be."

"Please," Kendra said. "Think of all the lives that will be destroyed."

"I have," Mark said. "Believe me, darling, I grasp all aspects of this, I really do. But how much has the public I’m protecting worried about me? My sanity, my happiness, my right to find peace?"

"They made no promises," Bracken said. "They are not preventing the end of the world. Those who know about your sacrifice appreciate you immeasurably. Your life may not be fair, but it is absolutely necessary."

"Leave me alone," Mark growled. "I don’t need to justify myself to you. This conversation is over. Trust me, I have no feelings left to manipulate. You’d have better luck tickling a corpse. At least there’s one other Eternal. Hopefully somebody as tough as you, Mr. Unicorn. Take the other sucker, I mean hero, to your sanctuary. Leave me be."

Mark turned and ran. Bracken and Kendra watched him in silence. "Raxtus is following him," Bracken said. He crouched beside the cat. "What do you make of this?"

"I’m unsurprised," Tux said wearily. "This was the most likely response, but I quietly hoped the confrontation might go differently. I’m so familiar to Mark, like a nagging sibling; I hoped he might put on a bolder face for noble strangers. I was also hoping the prospect of actual impending death might shake him up. After this display, I’m convinced that

Mark really is as hollow as he claims to be. He was a good man, once."

"What now?" Kendra asked.

"We abduct him," Bracken said. "Raxtus will carry him to Wyrmroost. Agad will have to lock him up. Meanwhile, we’ll get a car and track down the last Eternal."

"I have to stay with him," Tux said. "If he gets too distant, I start to feel like a chain is dragging me toward him. I agree with you, by the way. Incarcerating us has become the only option."

"I don’t reach that verdict lightly," Bracken said, walking in the direction Mark had run. "I’ve spent time in prison. It’s inhumane. But prisons serve a necessary purpose. Prisons protect the freedom of the masses from those who abuse their freedom. On my scale, the freedom of the world outweighs Mark’s personal rights. He may have made a mistake in becoming an Eternal, but the rest of the world shouldn’t pay for his error. Like it or not, it remains his chore to pay for his decision."

"Amen," the cat approved.

"Are you in touch with Raxtus?" Kendra asked.

"I just told him to grab Mark," Bracken replied. "Okay, Raxtus has him. We’ll meet up on the beach so Tux can join him."

"This way," Tux said, hurrying. Bracken and Kendra broke into a jog.

Tux led them along a path to a footbridge that spanned the Pacific Coast Highway. They hurried onto the bridge. Cars zoomed beneath them, most with their headlights on.

The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving the hazy sky above the ocean streaked pink and orange. The footbridge led down to a deserted parking lot where pulverized glass glimmered in the fading light. A barren expanse of sand separated the lot from the foamy breakers. Unmanned lifeguard stations stood guard along the beach at regular intervals. Off to the left, a larger parking lot alongside the Santa Monica Pier contained dozens of cars and several people.

Mark lay sprawled on the sand not far from the water. Seagulls wheeled and cried in the air above.

Kendra, Bracken, and Tux crossed the parking lot and a jogging path and started across the sand. The way the sand absorbed each step made walking a little awkward. Kendra glanced over at the roller coaster on the pier. Between the beach, the pier, the shops, the weather, and the restaurants, this could be a really fun place under different circumstances.

They reached Mark. He glared up spitefully. From his posture, Kendra could tell that Raxtus was holding him down. "You’re thugs," he accused.

"And you’re a sorry joke of a man," Bracken said. "I’m out of patience. We’re going to save your life, so you had better get used to the idea."

Mark glowered at Tux. "What have you got to say for yourself?"

"Meow," the cat replied, pronouncing the word the way a human would.

"Raxtus, take Mark and Tux to Wyrmroost. Explain the situation to Agad. Give him this stone, so we can communicate."

Bracken held out a small pouch, and the invisible dragon took it. "Take an unpredictable route."

Raxtus flickered into view, his neck craning up. "We have company."

Kendra’s gaze went to the sky. A pair of large winged creatures were quickly approaching. "Wyverns," Bracken muttered.

Mark started laughing.

A Hummer screeched to a halt in the parking lot near the footbridge. "Fly!" Bracken urged, drawing his sword. "Take Kendra!"

"Wait," Kendra protested, reaching for her sword. Without hesitation, Raxtus turned invisible and seized her around the waist. Kendra, Mark, and Tux rose into the air, the unseen dragon’s fierce wingbeats stirring up gritty clouds of sand.

As they soared out over the water, Kendra looked over her shoulder at the people exiting the Hummer, at Bracken striding across the sand, and then up to the oncoming wyverns.

"More wyverns," Raxtus warned, veering up the coast.

Scanning the horizon, Kendra saw a wyvern approaching from out to sea. Another was coming toward the pier from the south. Yet another was streaking down the coast from the north. As Raxtus fought to gain altitude, the wyverns closed in from all directions. They had wolfish heads, batlike wings, and long black claws.

"Wyverns are quick," Raxtus panted. "They’re built like me. I’m not sure I can lose five, not with visible passengers."