Fablehaven: The Complete Series (117 page)

Kendra had not been able to make out which of her friends and family were falling. She tried to force herself to wake up, but it was hard to cling to the slippery notion that the frightening scene was imaginary. As she ascended toward the apex of her rotation, the wheel canted even more, threatening to collapse completely at any moment. She noticed Seth beneath her, clinging to a pole, legs swinging.

And then the wheel tipped over sideways, and she fell away from her seat, tumbling through the darkness with her loved ones, the colorful carnival lights growing brighter as she neared the ground. She had awakened an instant before impact.

Kendra didn’t need a professional analysis to arrive at an interpretation. The tragic escapade on Painted Mesa had left her traumatized, and then to come home and learn how the plague had spread, infecting not just the creatures of Fablehaven but Coulter and Tanu as well, she felt like danger was encroaching from all sides. Bad people were after her. Too many people who were supposed to be good couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t safe to go home to her parents. It wasn’t safe to hide at Fablehaven. She and everyone she loved was in peril.

“Don’t eat more than you want,” Grandma said. Kendra realized she had been toying with her pancakes, procrastinating the next bite.

“I’m kind of tense,” Kendra confessed, eating another forkful, hoping her face looked pleasant as she chewed.

“I’ll have hers,” Seth offered, having almost finished his stack.

“When your growth spurt ends, you’re going to get fat as a blimp,” Kendra predicted.

“When my growth spurt ends, I won’t eat as much,” he said, wolfing down the last of his pancakes. “Besides, I’m not watching my figure for Gavin.”

“It isn’t like that,” Kendra protested, trying not to blush.

“He battled his way past the cheetah lady and tamed the dragon to save you,” Seth accused. “Plus he’s sixteen, so he has his driver’s license.”

“I’m never telling you anything ever again.”

“You won’t have to—you’ll have Gavin.”

“Don’t pester your sister,” Grandma chided. “She’s had a hard week.”

“I bet I could tame dragons,” Seth said. “Have I mentioned that I’m immune to fear?”

“About a hundred times,” Kendra muttered, sliding her plate over to him. “You know, I was wondering, Seth, it seems like a big coincidence that one of those journals fell open to a page about Kurisock. In fact, I’m having a hard time picturing a game that makes books fall open in the first place. How does that happen? If I didn’t know how useless reading was, I might suspect you were studying those journals on purpose.”

Seth kept his eyes on his plate, wordlessly shoveling food into his mouth.

“You don’t need to act shy about your new love of reading,” Kendra continued. “You know what? I could help you get a library card, then you can add some variety to all those boring old—”

“It was an emergency!” Seth blurted. “Read my lips—
emergency reading—
not some demented idea of fun. If I were starving, I would eat asparagus. If somebody held a gun to my head, I would watch a soap opera. And to save Fablehaven, I would read a book, okay, are you happy?”

“You had best be careful, Seth,” Grandma said. “The love of reading can be very contagious.”

“I just lost my appetite,” he declared, rising from the table and storming out of the room.

Kendra shared a laugh with Grandma.

Grandpa came into the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder in the direction Seth had departed. “What’s eating him?”

“Kendra accused him of voluntarily reading,” Grandma said gravely.

Grandpa raised his eyebrows. “Should I telephone the authorities?”

Grandma shook her head. “I’ll not have my grandson subjected to the humiliation of his reading habit becoming public. We have to cope with this disgrace discreetly.”

“I have an idea, Grandpa,” Kendra announced.

“Board up the windows so the paparazzi won’t catch him in the act?” Grandpa guessed.

Kendra snickered. “No, a real idea, about Fablehaven.”

Grandpa motioned for her to proceed.

“We should talk to Lena. If what happened to Patton’s uncle is a secret, and Kurisock was involved, maybe Lena could fill in some details. We need to find out all we can about the demon.”

Grandpa wore a knowing smile. “I agree so much that I’ve already planned to stop by the pond for that very reason. Not to mention that I’d love to learn whether she has heard of the artifact Patton supposedly brought here.”

“I speak their language,” Kendra said. “I could talk to her directly.”

“I wish I could accept your help,” Grandpa said. “You’re bright and capable. I expect you would be an asset in reaching Lena. But this plague is too dangerous—we could both be transformed into shadows en route. The provision under which I am allowing you and your brother to remain at Fablehaven is that you not venture outdoors until we better understand what is happening out there. You two have already jeopardized your safety too much.”

“You’re the boss,” Kendra said. “I just thought I might have better luck getting Lena to talk. We need information.”

“True,” Grandpa said. “But I must decline the offer. I will not allow you to become a shadow. Do I see extra pancakes?”

“You already had plenty,” Grandma said.

“More than three hours ago,” Grandpa replied, sitting down in the seat Seth had vacated. “Even after a late night, we old-timers rise with the sun.” He winked at Kendra.

Warren came into the room carrying a coiled rope. “More pancakes?”

“Just working on some leftovers,” Grandpa said.

“Are you heading to the pond with Grandpa?” Kendra asked.

“At first,” Warren replied. “Then Hugo and I are going on a reconnaissance mission. I’ll get as close to Kurisock as I can.”

“Don’t get so close that you return as a shadow,” Kendra admonished.

“I’ll do my best to remain intact,” he said. “If I do become a shadow, don’t worry, I won’t be resentful that my final wish for a few more apple pancakes went unfulfilled.”

“All right,” Grandpa said. “Grab a plate. I’ll share.”

* * *

That night Kendra reclined in bed scanning a journal, stealing glances at Seth, who was leafing through pages of his own at a brisk pace, pausing occasionally to study a passage. She tried to focus on her reading, but the sight of him hunched forward intently kept drawing her gaze.

“I can see you watching me,” he said without looking up. “I should start charging admission.”

“Find anything interesting?”

“Nothing useful.”

“Me neither,” Kendra said. “Nothing new.”

“I’m surprised you ever find anything, you go through the book so slowly.”

“I’m surprised you don’t miss everything, flipping through pages so fast.”

“Who knows how much time we have?” Seth said, closing the journal and rubbing his eyes. “Nobody found anything today.”

“I told Grandpa he should let me talk to Lena,” Kendra said. “She wouldn’t even make an appearance for him.”

“We could sneak down to the pond tonight,” Seth offered.

“Are you insane?”

“I’m kidding. Mostly. Besides, Hugo and Mendigo would never let us out of the yard. I was relieved to hear Grandpa saw Doren at the pond. I was sure Newel would have caught him.”

Kendra closed her book. “Grandpa got good info from some of the satyrs and dryads.”

“Just confirming what we already know,” Seth argued. “News flash—the plague is everywhere.”

“Warren made it back safe from Kurisock’s domain.”

“With no new info except that a fog giant is standing guard. He didn’t even reach the tar pit.”

Kendra reached for the bedside lamp. “Should I turn off the light?”

“Might as well. I think my eyes will melt if I try to read any more.”

She clicked off the light. “I don’t get why you were so upset about being caught reading.”

“It was just embarrassing. What if people found out?”

“They’d just think you were normal and smart. Most people worth knowing enjoy reading. Everyone in our family does it. Grandma taught college.”

“Yeah, well, I was making fun of you before, so now I look like a hypocrite.”

Kendra smiled. “No, you look like you finally wised up.” He gave no reply. Kendra stared at the ceiling, assuming the conversation had ended.

“What if we can’t fix this problem?” Seth asked as she was starting to fade off to sleep. “I know we’ve survived some scary situations in the past, but this plague feels different. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. We don’t really know what it is, let alone how to repair the damage. And it spreads so fast, turning friends into enemies. You should have seen Newel.”

“I’m worried too,” Kendra said. “All I know for sure is that Coulter was right—even when you try your best to prepare, these preserves can be deadly.”

“I’m sorry some of the people at Lost Mesa didn’t make it,” Seth said softly. “I’m glad I wasn’t there for that.”

“Me too,” Kendra said quietly.

“Good night.”

“’Night.”

* * *

“Kendra, Seth, wake up, don’t be afraid.” The voice boomed through the dark room, as if emanating from the walls.

Kendra sat up bleary-eyed but alert. Seth was already propped up on one arm, blinking in the darkness.

“Kendra, Seth, this is your grandfather,” the voice said. It did sound like Grandpa, only magnified. “I’m speaking from the secret attic, where Dale, Warren, your grandmother, and I have taken refuge. The brownies have become infected, and have turned against us. Do not open your door until we come for you in the morning. Without adults in your room, you will be totally safe from harm. We expect to pass the night without incident here as well.”

Seth stared at Kendra, not quite into her eyes. She realized that he could not see her as distinctly as she could see him.

Grandpa repeated the message, using the same words, presumably in case they had not been awake the first time. Then he reiterated the message a third time, adding more at the end. “The brownies are only permitted in the house from sunset to sunrise, so we’ll evacuate in the morning. We’re sorry we didn’t see this coming. The brownies are an insular community, virtually never in contact with other creatures at Fablehaven. Their habitations beneath the yard enjoy many of the same protections as this house. Even so, we should have known the plague would find a way. Sorry to disturb you. Try to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, right,” Seth said, switching on the bedside lamp.

“Just what we needed,” Kendra sighed. “Evil brownies.”

“I wonder what they look like.”

“Don’t even consider peeking!”

“I know, of course not.” Seth got out of bed and jogged to the window.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking something.” He pulled the curtains aside. “Tanu is out here. His shadow.”

“Don’t you dare open the window!” Kendra commanded, rising from her bed to join her brother.

“He’s motioning for us to stay put,” Seth reported.

Looking over Seth’s shoulder, Kendra saw nothing on the roof. Then a fairy glided into view, glowing a deep violet shade as if illuminated by a black light.

“He’s pointing at the fairies and signing to keep the window closed,” Seth said. “See, there are more fairies just beyond the roof. They’re tough to make out, they’re so dark.” He gave Tanu a thumbs-up and closed the curtain. “No evil fairies have shown themselves for a while. I bet this was a trap. The brownies were supposed to flush us out so the fairies could transform us.”

“I thought Grandpa banned fairies from the yard,” Kendra said, returning to her bed.

Seth started pacing. “It must not have worked for some reason. I never knew Grandpa could make announcements to the whole house.”

“They have all sorts of cool stuff in the secret attic.”

“Too bad they don’t have a door to our side.”

“It doesn’t matter. They’ll come get us in the morning. We should try to sleep. Tomorrow will probably be hectic.”

Seth put his ear against the door. “I can’t hear anything.”

“There are probably ten of them patiently waiting on the far side, ready to pounce.”

“Brownies are shrimps. All I’d need are some heavy boots, a pair of shin guards, and a weed whacker.”

The image made Kendra giggle. “You said the nipsies are much smaller than brownies, but that didn’t stop them from contaminating Newel.”

“I guess,” Seth said. He opened a wardrobe and pulled out some clothes.

“What are you doing?” Kendra asked.