Fablehaven: The Complete Series (259 page)

Prisoners

I bet you thought you’d never have to pay up,” Newel said, munching on a piece of fruit.

“Let’s just say I’m relieved you’ll get your reward,” Seth replied.

“You’ll confirm with Stan about the new technology?” Newel verified, tossing a grape into the air and catching it in his mouth.

“You really think we should tell him?” Seth asked.

“We had a legitimate pact,” Newel said. “I don’t want to risk Stan taking away our generator or our flat screen. Our claim is just. We need him on board at the outset.”

“What if Stan prohibits the deal?” Doren asked. “What if he tries to change the terms? What if he gives us a certificate?”

“We stand up for ourselves,” Newel replied. “The terms were set. We followed Seth to the ends of the earth and confronted some incredibly ugly demons.”

“They were unsightly,” Doren agreed with a wince. “And tough. Without our astrids we would have been goners.”

“Nonsense,” Newel spat. “Those astrids barely survived thanks to our heroics. Don’t you forget it.”

“I’ll do my best with Grandpa,” Seth said. “I have to go. My parents are waiting. You should slow down on the grapes, you’ll spoil your appetite.”

“Spoil my appetite?” Newel exclaimed. “On fruit? Seth, I thought you knew us!”

“Newel’s right,” Doren conceded. “We could each down a meatloaf without wrecking our appetites.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Seth said. “Kendra and Warren are waiting.”

Seth and Kendra had only recently arrived at Living Mirage. A few days ago, the Sphinx had used the Translocator to travel to his secret preserve with Trask and Warren to prepare his minions for surrender. Warren had promptly returned with news that their friends and family were safe. But he also brought news that Seth’s parents and grandparents had insisted Kendra and Seth wait until Agad was in control of Living Mirage before they journeyed there.

After the dragons obliterated the insufficient rear guard left behind by the demons on Shoreless Isle, it had not taken long for Agad to seal off the fairy shrine. Combining their efforts, the wizard and the dragons had employed an impressive spell to transport the enormous dome that had sheltered the gateway of Zzyzx over to cover the shrine. Once conditions on Shoreless Isle had been stabilized, Agad and most of his accompanying dragons had departed for the fifth secret preserve.

Now that Agad had been established as the new caretaker of Living Mirage, Kendra and Seth had finally been permitted to use the Translocator to visit. Hugo, the satyrs, Vanessa, and Bracken had come along. The Fairy Queen remained on Shoreless Isle with her people, preparing to inherit the former demon prison as their new home.

“What was that about?” Kendra asked.

“I made some promises to the satyrs,” Seth said. “They want to make sure I deliver.”

“What did you promise?” Warren asked.

“A real television of their own,” Seth said. “I think they’ve earned it.”

“Does your grandfather know?” Warren asked.

Seth shook his head.

“Good luck with that,” Warren said.

Warren led Kendra and Seth down a lavishly decorated hall to an ornamented door. The upper floors of the great ziggurat all featured luxurious furnishings. Warren knocked. Seth felt suddenly nervous. It had been a long time since he had seen his parents. He wondered how they were dealing with being forcibly inserted into the world of magical creatures he and Kendra had discovered two summers ago.

His dad answered the door. He looked good, maybe a little slimmer. “It’s the kids,” he called, face breaking into a huge smile. As he stared at Kendra, tears gathered in his eyes. He wrapped her up in a huge hug, rocking her from side to side.

“Hi, Daddy,” Kendra said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Seth put his hands on his hips. “Of course Kendra gets all the attention because you thought she was dead. I had a bunch of near misses, you know. Probably more than her!”

“We love you, too, son,” Dad said, still holding Kendra.

Mom came to the door in a rush and clung to Kendra, shedding hysterical tears. After she stole Kendra away, his dad finally put an arm around Seth. “I hear you were quite the hero,” his dad said.

“I’m sure things got exaggerated,” Seth said. “I did manage to kill two of the most powerful demons who ever lived. I pretty much got revenge for all humanity on the villains who opened Zzyzx. I wish you could have been there with the video camera.”

“I heard Kendra played a role as well,” Dad said.

“Yeah, she has this habit of trying to top me. I had a really good day, but guess what I didn’t do? I didn’t kill the Demon King. Kendra upstaged me again.”

“I heard she did it with the sword you found,” Dad said.

“That’s what I keep trying to tell everyone! Finally, somebody gets it! I think Mom is going to choke Kendra to death.”

The comment brought his mom over to him. She embraced him tightly.

“Hey, Mom,” Seth grunted. “I thought I was kidding about the strangulation.”

“Come inside,” Dad invited, shaking hands with Warren.

Seth could not believe the opulent room his parents were occupying. From the art on the walls to the rich drapes, from masterful tapestries to bejeweled furnishings, the room seemed designed to flaunt limitless wealth.

“You guys know we’ve been staying in a tent?” Seth complained.

“We weren’t in quite so nice a room until a few days ago when the Sphinx returned,” Dad reminded him.

Grandma and Grandpa Larsen came out of an adjoining room. “I thought I heard voices,” Grandpa Larsen said.

Suddenly Seth understood why his parents had gotten so emotional when they saw Kendra. Intellectually, he had known that his Grandma and Grandpa Larsen were not actually dead. But on some level, that knowledge had not been real until now.

He raced to Grandma Larsen and hugged her.

“What happened to my little Seth?” she exclaimed. “I can’t believe how tall you are.”

“I can’t believe how alive you are,” he replied, nose stuffy with tears.

Kendra was hugging Grandpa Larsen.

“You were so brave to be here all that time,” Kendra said. “It must have been horrible.”

“All for nothing,” he chuckled. “I set you up for disaster. I may have blown it as a spy, but I hear you two are carrying on the Sorenson family tradition.”

“You risked your life for us,” Seth said, hugging his Grandpa Larsen. “I have the best family ever.”

“I’ll second that,” Grandpa Sorenson said, entering the room with his wife. “My grandkids will be happy to know that their parents were brave and stalwart throughout their captivity.”

“The Sphinx never mistreated us,” Mom said. “Our room wasn’t terrific, but it wasn’t in a dungeon like I’ve heard others describe.”

“The food was actually pretty good,” Dad said. “If this had been voluntary, it could almost have been a vacation.”

“What’s happening with the Sphinx?” Seth asked.

“Agad said he will report about that at dinner,” Grandpa Sorenson said. “Apparently they’ve organized quite a feast.”

“Shall we catch up over the meal?” Dad asked.

Mom poked him. “Can’t we finish saying hello?”

“I’m with Dad,” Seth said. “I’m starving.”

Warren led them all to a magnificent dining hall. Seth had never seen a table so burdened with food. As it was long enough to accommodate all of them, the Sorensons found seats with plenty of room for friends. Agad sat at the head of the table. Seth noticed that Warren sat by Vanessa, and Bracken by Kendra. Tanu joined them, and Maddox, and Berrigan, and Elise, and Mara, all fully healed by the Sands of Sanctity.

Newel and Doren rushed into the room after most of the others had claimed seats. Doren wore a dapper vest. They sat as close to Seth as they could—across from him and down a little, beside his mom.

“Mom, these guys are Newel and Doren, my best friends at Fablehaven,” Seth said.

“Very good to meet you,” his mom said politely, with a couple of uneasy glances at their legs. “I’m Marla.”

“You’ve had milk, right?” Seth asked.

“Yes, I can see them,” his mom assured him with a brittle smile.

“Don’t worry,” Newel said with a casual wave of his hand. “Babes always get shy around us.”

Doren swatted Newel. “Stop! That’s his mother!” He turned to Marla, spreading a napkin on his lap. “Seth is such an exemplary young man. He has been a terrific influence on me. He’s not a shirtless ruffian like others I know.”

“Ruffian?” Newel spluttered. “How about
hypocrite?
Know who you look like in that vest? Verl!”

“I told you,” Doren murmured out the side of his mouth, “I’m trying to make a good impression.”

“Well, I’m trying to make an honest impression,” Newel complained. “Who wants to have a gravy-drinking contest?”

Once the meal got rolling, Seth discovered that the food already on the table had only been appetizers. Course after course brought endless dishes both familiar and exotic. Miniature hamburgers and chicken wings sat alongside stuffed pheasant and bizarre shellfish. Seth tried to pace himself, sampling a wide variety, enjoying the unique sauces and seasonings.

Mom and Dad warmed up to the satyrs, who entertained everyone by telling loud jokes and consuming enormous quantities of food while Seth timed them. The atmosphere so closely mimicked a joyous holiday that before long, Seth almost felt like nobody in his family had ever been abducted or presumed dead. By the time the dessert carts were wheeled in, he felt stuffed and relaxed and less worried than he had for as long as he could remember.

At the head of the table, Agad tapped a crystal goblet with the side of his fork. The diners grew quiet as the aging wizard prepared to speak.

“Thank you all for joining me for dinner. This is the most spirited feast I have enjoyed since before most of you were born. That includes Stan and Hank.”

Everyone laughed.

“Together, we have won a miraculous victory. Having narrowly avoided disaster, I suspect we can all look on the simplest of pleasures with renewed appreciation. We now have an opportunity to help define a new future, to safeguard it against some of the perils we have endured, and to recover from the losses we have sustained. Let us take a moment to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to help bring us this victory.”

Seth stared at his lap, trying not to think about Coulter, willing his eyes to stay dry. He pushed away mental images of brave astrids and fairies falling. Jaw clenched, he fought to ignore memories of Lena, Dougan, and Mendigo. He thought of them often, and would think of them again in a more private setting, but at the moment he wished Agad had not brought such strong emotions so close to the surface.

“We will all be dealing with change in the coming weeks, and months, and years,” Agad went on. “For most of us this will be welcome, even if it entails new challenges. Preserves will be restored and reorganized. Where appropriate, new leadership will be appointed. Much of what has been broken will be mended, in most cases, to be stronger than ever. We will rebuild, and a new era of peace and security will dawn.”

This earned spontaneous applause.

Agad stroked his beard. “I will bear many responsibilities as I seek to establish further protections for the new demon prison. In the end, once the artifacts are stowed away, along with a variety of new protocols and precautions, I believe the prison will be much closer to impregnable than ever. As the new caretaker of Living Mirage, I will base my activities from here, and some of you may be involved from time to time. I don’t want to drown this merry occasion with tedious words, but there is one matter I feel we must resolve as a group before I can proceed with my duties. This matter involves the punishment of the Sphinx.”

The room was dead silent.

“After the battle on the Shoreless Isle, I pondered on how to deal with the Sphinx. He offered us pivotal assistance at the end, but it was aid for a catastrophe that he had worked tirelessly to manufacture through deceit, sabotage, and even murder. My inclination was to let nature take its course. The Sphinx had been prolonging his life using the Font of Immortality, and I decided an appropriate punishment would be to forbid him use of that artifact—in essence, a death sentence.

“When I delivered this verdict to the Sphinx, a long conversation ensued. The Sphinx accepted the justice of the proposed punishment, and then proposed another solution. Personally, I would be willing to accept the alternative he offered. He submitted to scrutiny from both Bracken and the Fairy Queen, who believe he is sincere.

“We all know the Sphinx is a master of persuasion. I decided to lay the matter before you, without the Sphinx here to exercise his powers of influence. I avow beforehand that, regardless of my own opinions, I will abide by whatever decision we make as a body right now.”