Fablehaven: The Complete Series (154 page)

“Trask found me. I didn’t know him, so I was freaked. Warren said they weren’t sure exactly where I was being held.”

“Vanessa claimed not to know the precise location,” Seth explained. “She knew Torina was in Monmouth, and she had a tip that a traitor was going to help you escape. She wouldn’t share who supplied the tip. Can I check out your knapsack?”

“How much do you know about the knapsack?”

“Quite a bit. Your escape was all we could talk about this morning!”

Kendra took the knapsack off her shoulder.

“You fit in there with an old guy?” Seth asked.

“Cody is actually thirty-two. But he looks at least seventy. Torina drained away his youth. She’s a lectoblix. I think he wants some revenge. He stayed behind with Trask.” She opened the main flap of the knapsack and Seth peeked inside.

“No way! How do you always end up with the coolest stuff? This would be the ultimate emergency kit!”

“I’m surprised that anyone would part with such a valuable object,” Coulter said, coming up behind them. “The art of creating extra-dimensional storage has been lost. The knapsack is a rare and valuable item. Somebody went well out of their way to free you.”

“Hi, Coulter,” Kendra said.

He hugged her. “We’ll have to examine all the contents, just in case your unknown benefactor had a secret motive of smuggling unwanted guests into Fablehaven. You don’t know who gave it to you, correct?”

“No idea.”

Grandma, Grandpa, Dale, and Tanu had held back while Kendra spoke with Seth, but now they swarmed in, welcoming her and expressing their relief at her safe return. Seth backed away, waiting for the flood of good wishes to abate.

Grandma ushered Kendra to the kitchen, offering her a variety of food choices. All Kendra wanted was hot chocolate, so Dale placed a pan of milk on the stove.

“What are we going to do with Vanessa?” Kendra asked, now seated at the table.

“Don’t get me started,” Grandma griped. “I’m sure she had reasons of her own for helping us. That woman cannot be trusted. She has lied to us so sincerely and betrayed us so deeply that I can’t believe Stan is permitting her any degree of freedom. She should go right back into the Quiet Box.”

“She protected us from the impostor to her extreme disadvantage,” Grandpa reminded his wife. “And she helped us recover Kendra. If we’re careful, we may be able to use her.”

“She’s already concealing information from us,” Grandma said. “Who knows who she spoke with while in that trance of hers, or what she may have revealed? Go ahead, Stan, keep using her. Boys love to play with fire. Just don’t come crying when you get burned. We’ll see who ends up using who.”

“Vanessa has good reason for hating the Sphinx,” Warren observed.

“How convenient for her,” Grandma replied.

“I have some important information,” Kendra announced, staring at her hands. “Stuff I didn’t want to say in front of Trask or Dougan or Elise. Stuff I didn’t want to discuss over the phone.”

“You were holding out on me?” Warren said. “That was a long, boring drive!”

“I thought I should wait until we were all together at Fablehaven,” Kendra apologized. “I met with the Sphinx. He has the artifact from Brazil. It’s called the Oculus.”

Grandpa winced. “I was afraid the presence of the Maddox stingbulb meant the Society had already captured the artifact.”

“Are they able to use it?” Coulter asked tentatively.

“I don’t think so,” Kendra said. “They made me try.”

Grandpa banged a fist down on the counter, his face reddening. “The Oculus is the most dangerous of all the artifacts,” he growled. “What do you mean, they made you try it?”

“They forced me to put my hand on it,” Kendra said. “At first I could see in all directions, like I had extra eyes. Then it was like I had eyes all over the room, showing me dozens of perspectives at once. Then I had eyes all over the house, then the town, then the world.”

“What did you see?” Seth asked eagerly.

“Everything and nothing,” Kendra said, her voice haunted. “It was too much. I couldn’t really focus on anything. I forgot where I was, who I was.”

“How did the vision end?” Grandma asked.

“I couldn’t think clearly enough to take my hand off the crystal,” Kendra explained. “I saw into the place where the Fairy Queen lives. I managed to focus on her. She commanded me to take my hand off the Oculus. With her help, I escaped.”

“You could have lost your mind,” Grandpa seethed.

“I don’t think any of them have mastered it yet,” Kendra said. “If they do, we’ll have no secrets. The Sphinx seems determined.”

“Does this mean we need to enter the chamber beyond the Hall of Dread?” Tanu asked.

“Absolutely,” Grandpa said. “The Society is gaining too great an advantage. We must work under the assumption that they will soon be empowered to see anywhere. We need to learn all we can to even the odds.”

“Can’t we use the Chronometer somehow?” Seth asked. “Wouldn’t time travel come in handy?”

“I’ve been studying the device,” Coulter reported. “I’ve made a little headway, but the Chronometer is both complex and dangerous.”

“There is little available knowledge on the subject,” Grandma added. “We don’t have an instruction manual.”

“They have an artifact that heals any wound, and another that could let them see anywhere,” Seth said. “They’ll use the Oculus to find the others. We know about the Chronometer. What do the other two artifacts do?”

“One grants power over space,” Coulter said. “The other offers immortality.”

“If they collect all five, they can open the demon prison,” Kendra said.

“Zzyzx,” Seth breathed.

“Which would mean the end of the world as we know it,” Grandpa said. “The Society of the Evening Star would fulfill their self-proclaimed mission and usher in the night.”

Grandma poured warm milk into a mug, added chocolate powder, and stirred. She placed the mug in front of Kendra.

“Thanks,” Kendra said. “Warren mentioned that you guys brought the Journal of Secrets.”

“It’s in the attic,” Seth said. “On our side.”

“It has the passwords for opening the secret room,” Kendra said. “I’ll need an umite wax candle.”

“I stocked up,” Grandpa said. “We have plenty.”

Kendra took a sip from the mug. “We might as well do it now.”

“You should rest first,” Grandma urged.

Kendra shook her head. “I slept in the car. I doubt the bad guys are resting.”

* * *

The dismal dungeon corridor stretched to the left and right, lined with cell doors on both sides. But none were comparable to the door before Seth, composed of blood-red wood bound with black iron. Coulter stood on one side, Grandpa and Kendra on the other. After considerable begging, Seth had been permitted to tag along.

Coulter held a flaming torch. Grandpa carried a key and a mirror. Kendra clung to the Journal of Secrets. Seth had a flashlight.

“Stay away from the doors in the hall,” Grandpa reminded them. “Each door has a peephole. Resist any urge to peek. You do not want to gaze into the eyes of a phantom. Do not touch any of the doors. Violate this rule and you will be removed from the Hall of Dread immediately, never to return.” He was looking at Seth. So were Coulter and Kendra.

“What?” Seth said.

“You often ask for chances to prove yourself,” Grandpa said. “Don’t blow it.”

“You’ll barely know I’m here,” Seth promised.

“Many of these creatures can radiate fear and other disturbing emotions,” Coulter warned. “The special cells that hold them help dampen the effects. Speak up if the sensations get overwhelming. Kendra, watch out for feelings of depression, desperation, or terror. Seth, I’ll be interested to see how well your immunity to magical fear holds up in here.”

Grandpa inserted a key into the door. He placed a palm against the red wood and muttered a few unintelligible words as he turned the key. The door swung inward.

Coulter entered the dark hallway first, using his torch to ignite others hanging on the walls. The wavering firelight cast an ominous glow over the stone walls and floor. As Seth followed Grandpa inside, he noticed that the air was palpably colder than elsewhere in the dungeon. His breath plumed in front of his face.

The hall was not long—the torchlight already glimmered against the far wall. There were eight doors on either side of the corridor, equally spaced, each crafted from solid iron and embossed with archaic symbols and pictograms. Every door had a keyhole and a closed peephole.

“You’re right,” Kendra said, her voice hushed. “This place feels wrong.”

“You can
feel
the darkness,” Coulter whispered. “You all right, Seth?”

“Just a little cold.” Aside from the inherent creepiness of the heavy doors bathed in torchlight, and the unsettling guesses of what might be imprisoned behind them, he sensed no sinister emotions.

Grandpa led the way toward the end of the hall. Coulter hung back at the rear. As Seth passed the second set of doors, he began to hear faint, spidery whispering. He glanced back at Coulter. “Do you hear that?”

“The silence can play tricks on your ears,” Coulter replied.

“No. Don’t you hear voices whispering gibberish?”

Coulter paused. “All I hear is the torch crackling. It’s quiet as a tomb. Are you squirreling around with me? We’re falling behind.”

They picked up their pace, catching up to Kendra. Seth concentrated on the babbling whispers. As he focused, he began to catch words.

“Alone . . . thirsty . . . pain . . . hunger . . . agony . . . mercy . . . thirst.”

The words were tangled, many voices overlapping. When his concentration lapsed, the sounds reverted to gibbering nonsense.

Seth glanced back at Coulter, who motioned for him to keep walking. Why couldn’t the older man hear the voices? The eerie babbling wasn’t just in his head. He could hear the jumbled whispers as distinctly as his footsteps.

Soon they reached the final set of doors at the end of the hall. The wall ahead of them was a blank expanse of stone blocks interrupted by three brackets holding torches. Seth saw no evidence of a door.

Kendra opened the Journal of Secrets, and Grandpa lit an umite candle. Coulter watched over her shoulder.

“It says to light the torches on the left and right. Then place one hand on the center sconce, and the other on the block with the silver vein in it.”

Coulter brought his torch close to the wall. He and Grandpa started to examine blocks.

“Do you hear the voices whispering?” Seth asked Kendra.

She punched him on the arm. “Cut it out. You might not feel the fear, but I’m kind of freaked right now.”

“I’m not kidding,” Seth said.

“Save it.”

Seth stepped away from her. The whispering sounded clearer than ever. He began picking out forlorn phrases. “I hear you,” Seth whispered in his quietest voice, barely more than mouthing the words.

The overlapping whispers ceased. A chill ran down his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck bristle. The tingle was not a reaction to magical fear. It came because of a certainty that the voices had clammed up in response to his words. During the menacing silence, Seth felt sure that all of the beings in the Hall of Dread were aware of him.

“Help me, Great One, please, please, help me,” a single voice hissed, breaking the silence. The silky whisper was coming from the cell to his left.

Seth clenched his jaw. Grandpa and Coulter were debating about which of three blocks had the most obvious silver streaks. Kendra had her head bowed and her eyes closed. No one else seemed to have noticed the slithery voice.

“Who are you?” Seth whispered.

“Free me and I will serve you for all time,” the voice vowed.

Seth stared at the door. He wanted to see who was addressing him. But Grandpa would skin him alive if he peeked.

“Yes, yes, look upon me, grant me mercy, pardon me, Wise One, and I will serve you well.”

Grandpa had one hand on a block and the other on a sconce. Kendra stood beside him, telling him what to say.

The ghastly voice became more intense. “Behold me, Mighty One, pity me, speak to me, answer me.”

“Seth!” Coulter said, approaching with the torch and snapping his fingers. “What’s your interest in that door?”

Seth wrenched his gaze away from the iron door. “I hear a voice.”

Grandpa turned away from the wall. “A voice? The fiend in that cell doesn’t speak.”

“It speaks to me,” Seth said. “It wants me to free it. It says it will serve me.”

“He said he was hearing whispers as we entered,” Coulter said. “I didn’t take him seriously.”