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Vanessa stood up "I have been patient this long I can wait a while longer So can you, believe it or not Knowing the secret will hasten nothing" Vanessa raised her arht even earn Ruth’s trust"
"I’ else out of you, am I?"
"Sorry, Kendra Vanessa Santoro may not be perfect, but she kno to keep a secret"
Chapter 10 Nagi Luna
T he coin flared bright enough to awaken Seth Te sleep froht As his fingers closed around the coin, the brilliance di to mind
There you are! I was just alerted that the Sphinx is descending into our section of the dungeon All things considered, he’s probably couard up I’ll extinguish the coin
"Thanks," Seth whispered, trying to push the answer mentally toward Bracken
Don’t mention it And you don’t have to concentrate so hard, just let your thoughts flow to me We’ll talk later
The coin went dark, and the connection to Bracken’s htness, the cell seeet the sleepy taste out of his an to adjust The coin reift at the end of his previouswith Bracken Not only did the coin norical walkie-talkie
Seth still did not wholly trust the supposed unicorn, but deep down he would be shocked to learn that his new friend was a fraud Bracken hadn’t tried to ferret any information out of Seth, and, by all appearances, he had been busily planning an uprising with Maddox and others
Seth absently rubbed his thuood in his hand, soer and thicker than a quarter More like a half-dollar Minted froriffin fra, he should hide the coin Relying on touch as ht, Seth lifted his cot and set the coin under one of the legs
What could the Sphinx ith hie? Was that too rill hi footsteps increased his anxiety Maybe the Sphinx had other business down here Bracken could not know for certain that the Sphinx was co torch appeared outside Seth’s peephole A key rattled in the lock The door opened The Sphinx entered, surveying the roorandest accoh," Seth responded
"You are, after all, a prisoner," the Sphinx said "Come withvery chatty today," Seth said "Rain check?"
"Not a good day for jokes," the Sphinx said "Don’t make this less pleasant than it has to be"
The Sphinx sounded serious Deciding he would rather walk than get dragged to their destination, Seth followed the Sphinx out of the rooe men dressed in leather armor studded with iron Unless Seth waswould lead the?" Seth inquired
"Nagi Luna wishes to meet you in person," the Sphinx said
Seth slowed "That sounds bad"
The Sphinx shrugged "I see little value in the exercise, but she insisted"
"She’s still in the same place?" Seth asked "In the botto time," the Sphinx said
They reached a filthy iron door One of the torchbearers thrust in a key The hinges protested as it opened
"Do you coe, I can speak with Nagi Luna mind to mind, so there is little need"
"Is she always in your head?"
"Nostaircase and passed down a hall, around a corner, and through a forht of stairs, the corridor grew narrow and winding They passedconstantly doard At last they reached a squalid charate in the floor
"Leave us," the Sphinx told the guards, accepting a torch fro Both ht
"Is this the place?" Seth asked
The Sphinx spoke with quiet gravity "For your sake, be polite, and say noof incoh I have dealt with her for centuries, I never enter her presence lightly"
Seth nodded Even without the warning, he already felt apprehensive As the Sphinx unlocked the grate, Seth fought to suppress a queasy nervousness
The Sphinx lifted the heavy grate and unrolled a rope ladder He started down first, the torch in one hand Seth struggled a little getting onto the ladder, but once he started , the descent was no problem Dust fumed up from where his feet landed The cool rooled froh stone walls
Seth’s eyes were drawn to the Quiet Box Although it looked older than the Quiet Box at Fablehaven, the knothole-riddled wood unvarnished and unornastone floor, a metal circle, half obscured by dust, created a perimeter around the Quiet Box
"Where is she?" Seth whispered, eyes sweeping the room
The Sphinx nodded toward the Quiet Box A small, shriveled woman shuffled out from behind it, a woolen shawl draped over her hunched shoulders She did not look quite human Her blotchy skin was purple and ed alnarled hands, and her yellow eyes had a strangely slanted shape
Nagi Luna tottered to the near edge of the circular boundary Only then did she fix her fierce eyes on Seth "What are you called, boy?" she croaked, her voice a hoarse whisper
"Seth"
She sucked her withered lips against her guhten you?"
"Sort of"
She grinned, showing ragged, inflaht, of course This one is lared at Seth, nose wrinkled, lips twisted What business do you have as a shadow char force "It was an accident," Seth said
It was profane! It was lunacy! Seth took a step back He wished he could block out her awful telepathic shouting The snarling words jarred his thinking This is clearly the work of Graulas His ers upon you The lackwit always showed an unbalanced interest in hu at me," Seth demanded