Fablehaven: The Complete Series (250 page)

Seth paused his reading. Upon arriving at Hatteras Island, he and Vanessa had learned that the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse had been moved in 1999 to protect it from the encroaching ocean. The lighthouse had not been moved very far, but Seth worried it could mess up the bell’s ability to call the ship. He wondered if it might be better to ring the bell on the ground where the lighthouse used to stand.

After you ring the bell, proceed to the embarkation area circled on the map below. A hundred minutes after ringing the bell, blow the whistle three times every few minutes until a rowboat arrives to bring you to the
Lady Luck.
 Once aboard, head aft to the captain’s cabin. Regardless of who you may bring on the voyage, go alone to the cabin. A Presence inhabits it. Play the music box inside, and then secure passage to Shoreless Isle. I am not sure of everything this will entail. But the voyage will consume three days, down to the hour, so time it right.

Remember, passage on the
Lady Luck
 is one-way. You will have to prepare some alternative method of return. Flying creatures will find it considerably easier to depart Shoreless Isle than to arrive there.

This concludes my advice. Counsel with your allies to plan how best to mount a defense on Shoreless Isle. It will not be easy. It may not even be possible. Again, do what you will with these ideas. I am simply suggesting desperate actions I might try. Good luck.

Yours always,

Patton Burgess

Seth folded the letter and tucked it away. He leaned back, stretching out on the sand, and listened to the waves. Closing his eyes and breathing the salty air, he grabbed fistfuls of sand and let it sift through his fingers.

From down the beach, a voice called his name. He sat up and saw Kendra running toward him. The sight of her brought such relief that the emotion escaped in a burst of laughter as he charged to greet her. They met near where Vanessa sat on her towel.

“We made it with hours to spare,” Kendra declared. “Bracken said you were worried.”

“Well, it would have been hard for you guys to catch the next boat,” Seth said. Behind his sister, Bracken, Warren, and Trask approached. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Me too,” Kendra said. “Although I wish we could have saved one of the Eternals.”

Vanessa stood up as Bracken drew near, hand on his sword. They stared at each other with open distrust. “Hello, Seth,” Bracken said, eyes still on Vanessa. “So this is your blix?”

“I’m Vanessa,” she said.

“Bracken,” he replied stiffly. He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Vanessa scowled at the offered hand. “You want inside my mind?”

“Seems appropriate,” Bracken said.

“She’s been really great,” Seth affirmed. “A big help.”

“Then it should be no issue to shake my hand,” Bracken maintained.

Vanessa made no move to comply. “Who’s scrutinizing
your
secret intentions?”

“My kind enjoy a more reliable reputation,” Bracken said evenly.

“Your kind hunt blixes,” Vanessa replied.

Bracken shrugged. “From time to time. Frankly, I wish blixes had more predators. Most of them deserve to be hunted.”

Vanessa measured him with her eyes. “Debatable. But you do not deny that enmity exists between your kind and mine.”

“I do not deny it.”

“Then perhaps you can grasp why I don’t want a unicorn as spokesman for my intentions.”

Bracken lowered his offered hand. “Are you suggesting I might lie about what I see in your mind?”

“It would be the quickest way to justify my destruction.”

Bracken smirked. “So here you stand trying to insulate yourself against what I might discover. If you have nothing to hide, you have no need to object. I will tell the truth, and they know that.”

“But I don’t,” Vanessa said.

“Vanessa could have tried to take the sword,” Kendra said.

Seth glanced at Kendra. “Who told you about the sword?”

Bracken turned to Seth. “I did. We can start conversing more openly. I’ve learned to sense when Nagi Luna has directed the Oculus toward us. It required some practice. I’m accustomed to her mind reaching out to spy on me, but the extra subtlety and power granted by the Oculus confused me for a time. Regaining my horn helped. I only mastered what to look for as we undertook our recent road trip. Ever since Civia was murdered by a blix,” he shot Vanessa a meaningful glance, “Nagi Luna has essentially lost interest in us. She has only peered at us twice today, briefly, and without concern.”

“So we’re free to speak right now?” Seth asked.

“As long as I’m with you,” Bracken said. “I’ll warn you otherwise. By the way, where is Vasilis?”

“In the trunk of our rental car,” Seth said.

Bracken frowned. “Maybe not the ideal place for one of the most powerful weapons in the history of the world, but I suppose it would be conspicuous on the beach.”

“Vanessa could have tried to steal Vasilis,” Kendra repeated.

“She could have tried,” Bracken agreed, “but I’ll assume she is clever enough to know she couldn’t have succeeded. The sword can only be given to a friend, never taken by an enemy, even in death.”

“I had no idea,” Vanessa asserted sarcastically. “I’m very naïve.”

Bracken extended his hand again. “For good or ill, let’s get this over with.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “First, why don’t we judge you based on your success in protecting the Eternals. How many of them survived your assistance?”

“None,” Bracken said, his tone hard, his extended hand closing into a fist.

“How do we know you’re not some rogue unicorn the Sphinx turned?” Vanessa accused. “We sure don’t have any rescued Eternals as evidence. What assurances can you provide?”

“Bracken is no traitor,” Kendra said. “The Fairy Queen vouched for him.”

“To you, personally?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes,” Kendra affirmed.

“Enough with the animosity,” Warren interrupted. “Isn’t tonight going to be long enough already? Please, Vanessa, just let him make sure. Think about your past. We’ll all sleep easier.”

Vanessa took Bracken’s hand. He stared into her eyes for a long moment. “Just relax,” Bracken said. “Think about your relationship with the Sorensons. Think about your current goals as they relate to our present mission.” He released his grip.

“Well?” Vanessa asked.

“She used to love the Sphinx,” Bracken reported.

Vanessa’s expression hardened. “Did I hear the past tense?”

“After he betrayed her, she became a true ally to us,” Bracken confirmed. “She still worries about the Sphinx. She cares about his welfare now that Graulas has taken over the Society, but not in any way that would harm our cause. Her affection is now directed elsewhere.”

“Careful,” Vanessa warned.

Bracken glanced at Warren. “Blix or not, we can trust her.”

“Did you look at Warren?” Seth blurted. “Does Vanessa like Warren?”

Warren coughed uncomfortably.

Vanessa glared at Bracken. “Very tactful. Warren and I have some history from when I served as a Knight of the Dawn. I’m glad that’s out in the open for everybody to whisper about. By the way, Bracken clearly has strong feelings for Kendra. Sometimes it doesn’t take a mind reader.”

Bracken opened his mouth, paused, and then closed it.

“Don’t be shy,” Vanessa teased, prodding his chest with her finger. “It really is the end of the world. Time to unbottle those hidden feelings. People make such a fuss about age discrepancies. Your attraction to Kendra is kind of like me having a crush on a newborn infant. Perfectly natural.”

Bracken reddened. “I think your imagination is running away with you. I’m very fond of Kendra, but not in the way you’re describing.”

“You’re right,” Vanessa chuckled. “My mistake. It isn’t quite like I described. After all, Kendra looks much more mature than an infant.”

Trask cleared his throat noisily. “Enough with the blix-unicorn rivalry. I’m afraid we have larger concerns.”

“Seth has a letter from Patton Burgess outlining our present objectives,” Vanessa said. “I already have the key to the lighthouse. We blixes have our uses.”

“There isn’t much to do until tonight,” Seth agreed.

Warren rubbed his hands together. “Anybody know where we can score some quality crab cakes?”

* * *

Less than a mile from the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Kendra sat in a rented SUV with Trask. Overhead, twinkling stars passed in and out of view as patchy clouds shifted. She unrolled the top of a bag of pretzels and popped one in her mouth, chewing without relish. After a shrimp quesadilla for dinner complemented by half a crab cake sandwich, she wasn’t hungry, just fidgety. She checked her watch: twenty minutes to midnight.

Awkwardness had plagued Kendra the entire evening. Vanessa’s accusations on the beach had left her profoundly embarrassed. Not only had Vanessa put Bracken on the spot about his feelings, she had publicly pointed out the age gap that separated him from Kendra. What made everything so much worse was that Kendra was developing a genuine attachment to Bracken. He was cute, brave, protective, smart, sweet, and, maybe best of all, she knew he was for real.

All night she hadn’t known what to say to him, how to look at him. In the end, she had ignored Bracken, concentrating on Seth. Her brother had been through a lot since she had last seen him. He seemed sadder, more brooding.

Kendra rolled up the pretzel bag. What if Vanessa was right? What if Bracken liked her? It was one thing to harbor a crush on an unattainable guy, but quite another to consider him actually returning her affection. Even without Vanessa stressing the point, she knew he was a unicorn, and centuries old. But most things about him seemed so human! So normal! Well, handsomer than normal. Despite the reality of his true identity, in practice, Bracken seemed like a good-looking guy only a couple of years her senior.

Of course, in those moments after Bracken had reclaimed his second horn, he had come across as otherworldly. But once the crisis was behind them, he had quickly reverted to his old self. He still couldn’t assume his horse shape without his third horn. For all practical purposes he was human. And even if he was a little otherworldly, Kendra sometimes wondered whether she were entirely human herself anymore. After becoming fairykind, she could hardly view herself as a regular teenage girl.

Kendra leaned her head against the window. Was she really sitting here worrying about how Bracken felt about her when the world was about to end? How simple was she? What if he read her mind? She would be mortified!

“Can I have a pretzel?” Trask asked.

The question made Kendra jump a little. “Sure,” she said, handing him the bag. “Are we just going to abandon the rental car?”

“They’ll figure it out,” Trask said. “We’ll compensate them financially. The Knights of the Dawn always pay their debts, and a little extra. We do it anonymously because too often we’d get arrested otherwise, but we do it. Naturally, if the world ends, I think everyone will have more pressing issues to complain about.”

“True,” Kendra said.

She had grilled Trask about her parents and grandparents, but he had been kept in isolation at Living Mirage. She had asked Vanessa as well. The narcoblix had traveled into Tanu’s body along with some of the others, but they were kept in separate cells, locked up day and night, so she had learned nothing except that they remained in the dungeon.

Having parked where they could observe the main road, Kendra and Trask sat up as a huge pickup truck approached at high speed. The truck zoomed past their SUV; then the taillights flashed brighter and the truck turned around. Headlights glaring, the truck came to a stop facing them, and Hugo vaulted out of the back.

Kendra and Trask got out of the SUV as Newel and Doren hopped down from the truck. “Told you!” Doren said, swatting Newel with the back of his hand. “Trust the golem.”

Newel cracked his knuckles. “We were heading to the rendezvous when Hugo started to sense you guys. He led us here.”

“We’re two hours early,” Doren said proudly.

“Seth,” Hugo rumbled, pointing toward the lighthouse.

“He’s fine,” Kendra said. “He’s just calling our ride. Warren, Bracken, and Vanessa are with him.”

“You boys must have disregarded some speed limits to get here,” Trask said.

Newel laughed. “That truck can move! We rarely went less than twice the speed limit.”

“It was exhilarating,” Doren gushed.

“Did you hit any speed traps?” Kendra asked.

“Twice,” Newel said. “We pulled over politely. Both times the officer looked shocked to find a goat at the wheel without a human in sight.”