by Brandon Mull
Mendigo, stop digging, Kendra tried. Mendigo
stopped. Mendigo, set me down. He set her down.
Thank you, Kendra said to the yellow fairy and the silver
fairy, the only two who remained.
Our pleasure to help, the silver fairy said. Though
pitched high, her voice was richer than the others.
The yellow fairy shook her head and buzzed away.
Why are they hurrying away? Kendra asked.
They have done their duty, the silver fairy said.
None of the fairies have been very friendly, Kendra
said.
Friendliness is not always our forte, the silver fairy said.
Especially to one who was shown kindness by our Queen.
You are much envied.
I was only trying to protect Fablehaven and save my
family, Kendra said.
And you succeeded, which only elevates your status,
the silver fairy said.
Why are you speaking with me? Kendra asked.
I suppose I am peculiar, the silver fairy said. I am of a
more serious mind than many of the others. I am called
Shiara.
I'm Kendra.
Fortunately for you, we all have an interest in keeping
Bahumat imprisoned, Shiara said. Otherwise I question
whether I would have been able to rally sufficient help to
turn Mendigo. Although Bahumat rightly blames you above
all others, his vengeance against the fairies would be merciless
were he to escape.
Couldn't you just imprison him again? Kendra said.
Your elixir augmented our size and our power. Without
it we would be no match for a demon like Bahumat.
Couldn't I get the elixir again? Kendra asked.
My dear girl, you truly are naive, which may be partly
why our Queen condescended to share her tears with you.
Your decision to tread near her shrine would normally have
been rewarded with a swift departure from this life. I suspect
she spared you because of your innocence, though her reasons
are her own.
Fablehaven is in danger again, Kendra said. I could
use some help.
Do not seek favors from her again unless she invites
you, Shiara said. Now that you know better, irreverence
will not be tolerated.
Kendra recalled how she had sensed that going to the
island again would be a mistake. Could you help me?
Obviously I could, because I have, Shiara said,
twinkling.
Have you seen Olloch the Glutton? He's a demon who
is after my brother.
The glutton is becoming dormant. He will not bother
you.
Kendra felt a stab of grief at the news. If the demon was
slowing down, it meant Seth truly was gone. There is more
to the problem than Mendigo and the demon, Kendra said.
Bad people have taken over the house. They captured my
grandparents and Dale and Tanu. They want to steal something
precious from Fablehaven. If they have their way,
they'll release all the demons from their prisons.
It is challenging for us to mind the affairs of mortals,
Shiara said. Dwelling on such concerns is not in our nature.
You made the binding of Bahumat our duty with authority
from our Queen. And we continue to attend to that duty. I
keep a sentinel stationed here always.
Kendra scanned the surrounding area, her gaze settling
on the hill where Warren's cottage sat, some ways off.
Could you help me heal Warren, Dale's brother?
The curse upon him is much too strong, Shiara said.
'All the fairies in Fablehaven together could not break it.
What if you had the elixir?
That might be another matter. I wonder, why did you
fail to return the bowl to the shrine?
Kendra scrunched her eyebrows. Grandpa thought it
would be more appropriate to toss it onto the water. He
thought it would be disrespectful to go back.
The naiads have claimed it as a tribute, Shiara said.
In the future, bear in mind, if you take something in need,
you will not be punished for returning it in gratitude. Such
action would not have harmed your standing with Her
Majesty.
I'm sorry, Shiara, Kendra said. We thought they
would return it.
The naiads fear and respect our Queen, but elected to
accept the bowl as a gift freely given, Shiara said. I sought
to retrieve it but they would not yield, blaming you for
awarding it to them. Some among the fairies hold you culpable.
The silver fairy hovered higher. It appears the situation
here is now under control.
Wait, please don't leave, Kendra said. I don't know
what to do.
I will try to make the others mindful of the threat you
named, Shiara said. But do not count on aid from our
kind. I admire your goodness, Kendra, and wish you no
harm.
Shiara streaked away, vanishing into the night. Kendra
turned and studied Mendigo. He stood motionless, awaiting
instructions. Kendra sighed. The only person on her side was
a big, creepy puppet.
Groaning, Seth stirred. He tried to stretch but the effort
was thwarted by the snug confines of the cocoon. The realization
of where he was caused him to snap awake. How long
had he been asleep?
Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find the inside of
the cocoon illuminated by a soft green glow, as if light were
filtering in from outside. The cocoon remained unusually
still. Was Olloch sleeping? Why was there suddenly light?
Was the light passing through both Olloch and the cocoon?
Seth waited. Nothing changed. Eventually he started
yelling and tried to rock the cocoon by flinging himself from
one side to the other. There came no roars, no growls, no
movement except a slight tilting as he shifted his position.
Just silence and the even, muted glow.
Was the cocoon no longer inside Olloch? Had he been
coughed up like a hairball? Perhaps the cocoon was indigestible!
He dared not hope for such good fortune. But it
would explain the lack of growls and the new illumination.
Had Grandpa come to his rescue? If so, why wasn't anyone
encouraging him to open the cocoon?
Could it be some sort of trick? If he opened the cocoon,
would Olloch gobble him up again, this time without a
cocoon to impede digestion? Could he still be in the evil
grove with the revenant? He didn't think so. He felt no hint
of the chilling, involuntary fear.
Seth decided to wait. Acting rashly had gotten him in
trouble before. He folded his arms and listened, straining his
senses for any indication of what was going on outside the
cocoon.
Seth quickly became fidgety. He had never coped well
with boredom. When the cocoon had swayed and jostled
with the movements of the demon, and when the silence
had been interrupted by ferocious growls, Seth had remained
on edge, which kept him occupied. The motionless silence
was relentless.
How much time had passed? Time always moved slower
when he was bored. He could remember certain classes a
t
school where it used to feel like the clock was broken. Every
minute felt like a lifetime. But this was worse. No classmates
to joke with. No paper to doodle on. Not even the drone of
a teacher to give shape to the monotony.
Seth began picking at the wall of the cocoon. He didn't
have to break all the way out, he just wanted to see how
tough it would be. He ate part of the wall as he went.
Soon he had made a pretty good hole in the wall in front
of his face. As he dug deeper, the texture of the wall was
changing, becoming goopy, like peanut butter. It was the
best-tasting part of the wall so far, reminding him vaguely of
eggnog.
After scooping away the eggnog paste, he reached a
membrane. It was slick, and it rippled when he prodded it.
Seth ruptured the membrane by jabbing it with his fingers,
and clear liquid gushed out, soaking him.
Now light was really pouring into the cocoon through
the hole. He had reached a hard, translucent shell. Silvery
light shone through it, overpowering the green glow. He was
obviously no longer inside Olloch. And as he had dug, Seth
had neither heard nor felt any indication that Olloch was
near.
Who knew if he would get another chance like this? He
had to try to escape. The demon might return anytime. Seth
began punching at the shell. The blows hurt his knuckles,
but the shell began to crack. Soon his hand burst through,
and unfiltered sunlight flooded in.
Seth worked furiously to widen the hole. The effort took
longer than he liked. Now that his protective cocoon was
breached, he wanted to get out as quickly as possible, before
some creature came along and cornered him.
Finally the hole was big enough for Seth to squirm
through. With his head, shoulders, and arms out of the
cocoon, Seth froze. Olloch sat not twenty feet away, back to
him. The demon had grown considerably. Olloch was bigger
than the elephants Seth had seen at the zoo, not just taller,
but much broader as well. No wonder the demon had been
able to swallow him. The glutton was immense!
Seth realized he had made the worst mistake of his life,
and that now he would die. Why hadn't he waited to open
the cocoon? Why was he so impatient?
But Olloch did not turn. The huge demon continued to
sit motionless, back to him. Seth began to notice a terrible
stench. He looked at the shell of the cocoon. It was smooth,
with a luster like mother-of-pearl, except that it was streaked
with smelly brown matter. Huge clumps of mushy brown
excrement sat on the ground nearby, buzzing with flies.
Suddenly Seth understood. He had passed right through
the demon, safe inside the cocoon! It was the only explanation.
In one end, and out the other!
Olloch remained still. The demon did not even seem to
breathe. He was like a statue. And judging from what Seth
could see, the clearing he was in was not the haunted grove.
Seth squirmed the rest of the way out of the cocoon, trying
his best to avoid touching the excrement. Once free of
the cocoon, he picked his way through the minefield of
reeking demon pies, slinking away from the enormous glutton.
While he was stepping around one stinking pile, a dry
branch cracked loudly underfoot. Seth's entire body tensed.
After a breathless moment, he hazarded a glance at the
demon. The glutton had not budged, and continued to hold
perfectly still.
Deciding he had to confirm that the demon was no
longer a threat, Seth started looping around so he could
view Olloch from the front, giving the demon a wide berth.
Coming around to the front, Seth found the demon seated
in the same sitting position as when he had first laid eyes on
him in the funeral home. The texture of his skin had
changed. The demon was a statue once more. Seth could
not help smiling. He was no longer doomed! And until some
new victim made the mistake of feeding him, Olloch the
Glutton was frozen.
Seth surveyed his surroundings. He was in a small clearing
encircled by trees. He realized he could be anywhere on
the preserve. He needed to get his bearings.
Seth wished for his emergency kit. He had dropped it
back in the grove. His only remaining asset was the glove
Coulter had thrust into his hand. Seth had stowed the glove
in his pocket. He tugged it out and pulled it on.
The instant he put on the glove, Seth could no longer
see himself. It was a strange sensation, like all that was left
of him was a pair of transparent eyeballs. He held up his
hands in front of his face. When he moved them, his body
flickered back into view. But when he held still, he didn't
just see right through them, he saw no sign of himself. It was
as if he had been completely disembodied.
The glove was a little loose on his hand, but it did not
fit him badly. Fortunately it had belonged to Coulter and not
Tanu. Keeping it on should afford him some protection as he
tried to figure out where he was.
The sun was high in the sky, so for the moment it would
be no help determining direction. And since he had no idea
where on the preserve he was, identifying north would not
help him much yet anyhow. He needed a landmark. Seth
stepped into the center of the clearing, weaving around the
piles of dung. The biggest stack was as high as his waist. Seth
stood with his hands on his hips. The trees circling the
clearing were too tall-he could see nothing beyond them.
He glanced at the demon. Climbing Olloch would give
him an extra fifteen feet or so, but he did not want to get
anywhere near that mouth.
There were no apparent trails leading out of the clearing,
but the undergrowth was not heavy, so he chose a direction
and set off. After a while, he became used to how his
body would vanish whenever he paused, then reappear as he
continued walking. His first priority was to find a landmark
or a vantage point that would allow him to get his bearings.
For all he knew, each step was carrying him farther from the
main house
He came across a pair of deer. They paused and looked
toward him. He held still, vanishing from sight. After a
moment they bounded away. Had they caught his scent?
Farther along he glimpsed a great black owl roosting in a
tree. The feathery head swiveled toward him, round eyes
staring. Seth had never known owls could be so large or so
black. Even as he stood motionless and invisible, the golden
eyes seemed to stare into his. In that instant, Seth realized
he had not consumed any milk. It was a new day, and he had
slept. He could not see the true forms of any of the magical
creatures. The owl could be anything. The deer could have
been anything.
He thought back to Olloch. Had the demon really
looked as much like a statue as it had seemed to him? Or was
that another illusion?
Seth backed away from the owl, eyeing the large bird as
he distanced himself and circled around it. The dark owl did
not turn, but the head pivoted, golden eyes trained on Seth
until he passed out of sight.
Before long, Seth came to an unusual path. Once it had
been a wide road paved with flagstones, though now it was
choked with weeds and slender young trees. Many of the
paving stones were out of place or hidden beneath vegetation,
but plenty were visible to help him follow the road.
Seth had never seen a paved path at Fablehaven, and even
though the road was in disrepair, he decided that following
an old road was probably safer than roaming aimlessly
through the forest.
The path was not level, and many of the lichen-covered
flagstones were crooked and loose, forcing Seth to watch his
step or risk turning an ankle. At one point he stopped as a
long snake slithered through the weeds. He held his breath,
unsure whether it was really a snake or something more dangerous
in disguise. The serpent did not appear to notice him.
Seth passed the decaying remnants of a humble cabin
not far off the path to one side. Two walls and a stone chimney
remained partially intact. Farther along he spotted the
jumbled remnants of a smaller shelter, splintered and rotten
beyond recognition. It might have once been a shack or a
lean-to.
He passed a few more ruins of crude shelters before the
road led him into an open area, where he stood facing an
impressive manor, surprisingly undamaged compared to the
road and the other dwellings he had passed. The manor was
three stones tall, with four large pillars in the front. White
walls were now gray, and all the windows were covered by
heavy green shutters. Flowering vines twisted around the pillars
and climbed the walls. The road formed a circular driveway
in front of the manor, doubling back on itself.
Seth remembered hearing about an abandoned mansion
somewhere on the property. It had once been the main
house at Fablehaven, and the center of a community, of
which the dilapidated shelters were probably remnants. He
could not recall ever hearing why the mansion had been
abandoned.
Given his current situation, one detail about the manor
stood out above the rest. It occupied high ground. He suspected
that from the roof he would be able to get his
bearings.
Did he dare risk entering the house? Normally he would