It's no ordinary key, Grandpa said.
You're not actually using the key as bait, Grandma
said, sounding certain he would not be so foolish.
Of course not. The box contains a thief's net. The key
is hidden elsewhere.
Grandma nodded approvingly.
A thief's net? Kendra asked.
If anyone opens the box without deactivating the trap,
the net will spring out and wrap them up, Grandpa
explained. A magical tool for apprehending would-be robbers.
Where's the key? Kendra asked.
I'm not sure you should be burdened with that knowledge,
Grandma said. That kind of information could make
you more of a target. Your grandfather and I are the only
people aware of the key's location.
Okay, Kendra said.
Grandpa rubbed his chin. I've debated over whether to
send you away, Kendra. On one hand, I strongly suspect that
the crisis here at Fablehaven has not ended. On the other,
the Society of the Evening Star will start trying to track you
down the moment you exit the gates. At least the fences of
Fablehaven provide a barrier against them. With the register
hidden in a new place, we should have no new undesired
visitors.
I'd rather stay here, Kendra said. I don't want to put
my parents in danger.
I think for now that is the best move, Grandpa said. I
recommend you sleep with your grandmother tonight in our
room. I don't want you sleeping alone. The attic provides
extra protection against magical creatures with bad intentions,
but I'm afraid our remaining foes are mortal.
Because Olloch ate Seth and is now out of the picture,
Kendra thought morbidly. Whatever you want, Kendra
said.
Bedtime arrived much too soon for Kendra. Before she
knew it, dinner was eaten, painful condolences were shared,
and she was lying in a king-sized bed beside Grandma
Sorenson. Kendra loved her grandma, but she was becoming
aware that she smelled too much like cough drops. Plus she
snored.
Kendra tossed and turned trying to find a comfortable
position. She tried lying on her side, her stomach, and her
back. She bunched the pillow in different ways. It was no
use. Having slept all day, she was more ready to go play soccer
than she was to fall asleep. It didn't help that she was
sleeping with her clothes on in case somebody really did get
caught in Grandpa's net during the night.
In her own home she would have watched TV. Or made
herself a snack. But the only ones at Fablehaven with a television
were the satyrs. And she was afraid to get up for a
snack for fear of running into somebody trying to sneak into
Grandpa's study.
There was no visible clock, so time began to feel indefinite
and endless. She kept trying to construct a scenario in
which Seth was not dead. After all, nobody had seen Olloch
eat him. They weren't a hundred percent sure. In the morning,
after they tracked the demon, it would be more certain,
but for tonight, she could still hope a little.
A sudden disturbance downstairs broke the restless
monotony. Someone shouted and something clattered.
Grandma awoke with a start. Grandpa started calling for
help.
Kendra tugged on her shoes and raced into the hall. She
turned a corner to the hall that led to the stairway. Grandpa
was yelling excitedly from downstairs.
On the stairs Kendra met Vanessa and Tanu. Vanessa
carried her blowgun; Tanu held his pouch full of potions.
Kendra could hear Grandma right behind her.
After tromping down the stairs, they all dashed across
the entry hall and into the study, where Dale lay tangled in a
net on the floor. Grandpa sat at the edge of his cot, a knife
in his uninjured hand. We caught somebody with a hand in
the cookie jar, he announced.
I told you, Stan, Dale panted. I don't know how I got
here.
Vanessa lowered her blowgun. Grandma engaged the safety
on her crossbow.
Why don't you explain to everyone? Grandpa
suggested.
Dale was on his stomach. The net was so tight it
squished his features and only allowed him to partially turn
his head to try to face them. His arms were crossed awkwardly
on his chest, and his legs were bound together.
I went to sleep and woke up like this on the floor, Dale
asserted. Simple as that. I know it looks bad. Honestly, I
had no intention of stealing the key. I must have been sleepwalking.
Dale looked and sounded desperate. Grandpa narrowed
his eyes. Went to sleep and woke up here, he repeated
thoughtfully. Understanding dawned in his gaze. The traitor
is clever enough to realize that I now know the secret, so
it will do no good to pretend otherwise-the clues lead to
an obvious conclusion. Trusted friends acting out of character.
Drumants released to explain the bite marks. And now
Dale asserts that his strange behavior happened in his sleep.
I should have connected the dots earlier. I'm afraid this will
end in a scuffle. Dale, I'm sorry you're stuck in a net. Tanu,
we mustn't blow this.
Grandpa threw his knife at Vanessa. Raising the blowgun
to her lips, she arched her body, barely dodging the
knife, and fired a dart at Tanu. The large Samoan caught the
dart on his pouch. Vanessa lunged gracefully at Grandma,
swinging the blowgun like a switch and knocking the crossbow
from her grasp. Tanu charged Vanessa. She dropped the
blowgun, producing a pair of tiny darts, and pricked Tanu on
the forearm as he reached for her. Instantly his eyes went
wide and his knees turned rubbery. His potion pouch tumbled
from unfeeling hands and he fell hard to the study floor.
Grandma reached for her fallen crossbow, a red welt
already rising on her hand. Vanessa sprang at her, stabbing
her with the other tiny dart. As Grandma swayed and toppled,
Kendra dove, snatched the crossbow, and tossed it
across the room to Grandpa an instant before Vanessa
slammed into her.
Grandpa pointed the crossbow at Vanessa, who
scrambled behind the desk, putting herself out of his line of
fire. Kendra saw Vanessa close her eyes. Her face became
serene.
Clutching the crossbow, Grandpa rose from his bed and
hopped toward the desk. Careful, Kendra, she's a narcoblix,
he warned.
Moving swiftly, Tanu pulled out the dart lodged in his
potion pouch and pounced at Grandpa, tackling him and
wrenching the crossbow from his grasp. Get away, Kendra!
Grandpa cried as Tanu pricked him with the dart. Vanessa
remained trancelike on the floor.
Tanu had left the potion pouch behind when he
attacked Grandpa. Kendra grabbed the pouch and dashed
out the door. She hadn't digested all the details, but it was
clear that Vanessa was controlling Tanu. Run, Grandpa
panted groggi
ly.
Kendra raced to the back door and out to the porch. She
jumped the railing to the grass below. The yard was dark.
Most of the lights in the house were off. Kendra ran away
from the porch through the garden. Glancing back, she saw
Tanu burst out of the doorway and vault the railing.
Kendra, don't be rash, come back! he called.
Kendra offered no reply and ran even faster. She could
hear Tanu gaining behind her. Don't make me hurt you!
he shouted. Your grandparents are fine; I just put them to
sleep. Come back, we'll talk. His voice sounded strained.
Kendra sprinted toward the woods, taking the most
direct route she could, tromping through flowerbeds and
knifing between blossoming shrubs. The thorns of a rosebush
raked her arm. Playing soccer during the previous school
year had led to a habit of jogging. She appreciated her added
speed and stamina as she reached the woods well ahead of
the hulking Samoan and still going strong.
The woods are deadly at night! Tanu hollered. I don't
want any harm to come to you! It's pitch black, you're going
to have an accident. Come back. His phrasing was labored
as he tried to run and yell at the same time.
The woods were dim, but Kendra could see well enough.
She jumped a fallen limb and dodged around some thorny
briars. There was no way she was going back. Vanessa had
staged a coup. Kendra knew that if she could get away,
maybe she could return later with a plan.
Kendra no longer heard Tanu pursuing her. Chest heaving,
she paused and looked back. Tanu stood at the edge of
the woods, hands on his hips in a feminine stance. He
looked hesitant to enter. I really am your friend, Kendra. I'll
see that no harm comes to you!
Kendra had her doubts. She stayed low and tried to pick
her way more quietly, worried that if she gave away her exact
location Tanu might be encouraged and give chase. He held
his hands up to his eyes, as if he was having trouble seeing. It
was apparently more shadowy where she was walking than
where he stood. He did not come after her, and Kendra
worked her way deeper into the woods.
She was not on a path. But this was roughly the route
she and Seth had taken when they first came upon the naiad
pond. If she kept going straight, she would reach the hedge
surrounding the pond, and from there she knew how to find
a path. Not that she had any idea where she should go from
there.
Walking briskly, swerving through the bracken, Kendra
tried to piece together what had happened. Grandpa had
called Vanessa a narcoblix. She remembered that Errol had
told her and Seth about blixes before Seth snuck into the
mortuary. There was a type of blix that drained away your
youth, and another that could animate the dead.
Narcoblixes were the kind that could control people in their
sleep.
Which meant that Grandpa was right-Coulter was
innocent. He had been under Vanessa's influence. Vanessa
didn't care if Seth got eaten or if Coulter was turned into a
mindless albino. She was just doing reconnaissance on the
grove so she could figure out how to get to the artifact. She
may have even wanted for Seth to be eaten in order to get
Olloch out of the way.
Kendra was seething. Vanessa had killed her brother.
Vanessa! She never would have guessed it. Vanessa had
saved them from Errol and acted so kindly. And now she had
backstabbed them and taken over the house.
What could Kendra do? She considered going back to
the Fairy Queen, but something deep inside warned against
that course of action. It was hard to explain-it simply felt
wrong. She had a quiet certainty that if she returned, she
really would end up turning into dandelion fluff, like the ill-fated
man who had ventured to the island in the middle of
the pond in the story Grandpa had told her last summer.
Were Grandma and Grandpa really all right? Was
Vanessa going to hurt them? Kendra wanted to believe that
Vanessa meant it when she said she meant them no harm.
There was reason to hope she was sincere. Taking a life on
Fablehaven soil would strip Vanessa of the protections
afforded by the treaty. She couldn't have that happen if she
planned to go after the artifact, right? The need to respect
the treaty should protect her grandparents if nothing else.
Then again, Vanessa had already indirectly killed Seth by
leading him out of the yard. Maybe that didn't count, since
Olloch had actually done the killing.
To make matters worse, somewhere Vanessa had an
accomplice-the unseen intruder, Christopher Vogel. How
long before he found out she had usurped the house and
joined her there? Or was he off working some other aspect
of a plan more complex than Kendra could guess at?
Kendra had to do something. Where was Hugo? Would
he help her if she could find him? He didn't have to take
orders from her, but his free will was blossoming, so maybe
she could persuade him to lend a hand. On second thought,
Vanessa had been authorized to issue commands to Hugo, so
chances were the treacherous narcoblix could instantly turn
the golem into an enemy if Kendra brought him near.
There was nobody else. Grandpa, Grandma, Dale, and
Tanu were captured. Coulter was an albino just like Warren.
Seth was dead. She tried not to let the thought derail her.
What were her assets? She had grabbed the potion
pouch, although she wasn't very confident which potion was
which. She wished she had paid closer attention when Tanu
was showing Seth. At least the potions couldn't be used
against her.
What about Lena? The thought sent a thrill of hope
through her. Kendra was headed toward the pond. She
hadn't seen her former friend yet during this return visit to
Fablehaven. The last time Kendra had seen her, Lena was a
full-fledged naiad again and had tried to drown her. After
the full-sized fairies saved Fablehaven from Bahumat, while
undoing much of the harm the demon had caused, they
restored Lena to her state as a naiad. Decades ago she had
voluntarily left the water and married Patton Burgess. The
decision had made her mortal, although she had aged more
slowly than he. After he passed away, she toured the world,
eventually returning to Fablehaven with plans to end her
days at the preserve. Lena had resisted the fairies when they
hauled her off to the pond. But once she was back in the
water, she had appeared content.
Maybe Lena could be tempted to leave the water if
Kendra explained the dire situation! Then Kendra wouldn't
have to face the situation alone! It certainly beat having no
plan. New purpose entered Kendra's stride.
Before long Kendra reached the tall hedge. She knew
that the hedge ringed the pond, and if she followed it she
would eventually reach an opening with a path. When she
&n
bsp; and Seth had first visited the pond, he had found a low
opening where they had managed to crawl under the hedge.
She kept an eye out for such an aperture, since it would certainly
save some time.
She did not travel too far along the thick hedge before
she noticed a pronounced indentation. When she investigated
more closely, she found it was impassable-the foliage
was too dense. The next indentation she noticed was less
obvious, but when she crouched she found it went all the
way through.
She wriggled through the hedge on her belly, wondering
what other animals or creatures used this cramped entrance.
At the far side she stood and surveyed the pond. A whitewashed
boardwalk connected a dozen wooden pavilions
around the dark water. Face tilting toward the sky, Kendra
noticed there were no stars, and no moon either. It was overcast.
Still, enough light was apparently filtering through the
clouds to illuminate the night, for although the clearing was
gloomy, she could make out the contours of the lawn and
the latticework of the gazebos and the foliage on the island
in the middle of the pond.
Kendra crossed the lawn to the nearest gazebo.
Somebody certainly took pride in caring for this area. The
grass was always tidy, and the paint on the woodwork was
never peeling. Maybe it was the result of a spell.
Projecting from the boardwalk below one of the pavilions
was a little pier attached to a floating boathouse. The
last time Kendra had seen Lena was at the end of that pier,
so it seemed as good a place as any to call for her.
Kendra noticed no evidence of life in the clearing. At
times she had seen satyrs and other creatures, but tonight all
was silent. The tenebrous water of the pond was still and
impenetrable. Kendra tried to walk quietly, out of reverence
for the silence. The tranquil night was ominous. Somewhere
below the inscrutable surface of the pond waited Kendra's
old friend. With the right plea, hopefully Lena would
renounce life as a naiad and come to her aid. Lena had
decided to leave the pond once-she could do it again.
Walking along the pier, Kendra kept away from the
edges. She knew the naiads would enjoy nothing more than
to pull her in and drown her. Kendra gazed at the island.
Again a sense of foreboding filled her. Returning to the
island would be a mistake. The feeling was so tangible that