by Brandon Mull
may not even be a relevant clue. It could belong to the perpetrator,
or to the mount the perpetrator rode, or it could
belong to something that just happened to step there sometime
during the night.
So we just ignore Dale for now? Kendra asked.
We have no alternative. Time is short. We can only
hope that by rescuing your grandfather, we can shed more
light on what caused Dale’s condition and find a way to
reverse the curse. Come.
They returned to the house. Grandma spoke over her
shoulder as they mounted the stairs to the second floor.
There are a few special strongholds within the house. One
is the room where you have been staying. Another is a second
room on the other side of the attic.
I knew it! Kendra said. I could tell from outside
there had to be more to the attic. But I could never find a
way in.
You were probably searching in the wrong place,
Grandma said, leading them down the hall to her room.
The two sides of the attic are not interconnected. When
we get up there, I’ll fill you in on my strategy. Grandma
crouched and picked through a broken nightstand. She
found a few hairpins and used them to pile her hair into a
matronly bun. Searching more, she located a key. She led
them into the master bathroom, where she used the key to
unlock a closet door.
Instead of a closet, the door opened to reveal a second
door, this one made of steel with a large combination
wheel. A vault door. Grandma began spinning the wheel.
Four turns right to 11, three left to 28, two right to 3, one
left to 31, and half a turn right to 18.
She pulled a lever, and the heavy door clacked open.
Carpeted stairs led up to another door. Grandma went up
first. Seth and Kendra joined her in the attic.
This side of the attic was even larger than the playroom.
Grandma flipped a switch, and several lights dispelled
the dimness. A long workbench dominated one side
of the room, the wall above it covered with tools supported
on pegs. Handsome wooden cabinets lined the other walls.
Various unusual objects littered the room-a birdcage, a
phonograph, a battle-ax, a hanging scale, a mannequin, a
globe the size of a beach ball. Trunks and boxes were
arranged in rows on the floor, leaving just enough aisle
space to access them. Heavy curtains concealed the
windows.
Grandma motioned them over to the workbench,
where they perched on stools. What’s in all the boxes?
Seth asked.
Many things, most of them unsafe. This is where we
guard our most prized weapons and talismans. Spell books,
ingredients for potions, all the good stuff.
You can tell us more about Grandpa now? Kendra
said.
Yes. You heard Nero say that Stan and Lena are being
held in the Forgotten Chapel. Let me summarize some history
to bring the ramifications into view.
Long ago, this land was possessed by a powerful demon
named Bahumat. For centuries, he terrorized the natives
who dwelt in the region. They learned to avoid certain
areas, yet even with these precautions, nowhere in the
vicinity was truly safe. The natives made whatever offerings
the demon seemed to require, but still they lived in
fear. When a group of Europeans offered to overthrow the
demon in exchange for a claim to the lands it haunted, the
incredulous local leaders consented.
Aided by mighty allies and potent magic, the
Europeans successfully subdued and imprisoned the demon.
Some years later, they founded Fablehaven on the land
they wrested from Bahumat.
Years passed. In the early 1800s, a community comprised
chiefly of extended family had developed on this
preserve. They built a number of dwellings around the original
mansion. This was before the current house and barn
were constructed. The old mansion still stands deep within
this property, though most of the flimsier structures around
it have been swallowed by time and the elements.
Although their homes are gone, they did construct one
lasting structure-a church.
In 1826, thanks to human frailty and foolishness,
Bahumat nearly escaped. It could have been a serious disaster,
because none who remained on the preserve possessed
the resources or knowledge to contend successfully with an
entity of his power. Although the jailbreak was prevented,
the experience proved too unnerving for most who lived
here, and the majority departed.
The prison that held the demon had been damaged.
With outside help, Bahumat was moved to a new holding
area in the basement of the church. Meetings there ceased
a few months after that, and in the intervening years it has
become known as the Forgotten Chapel.
So Bahumat is still there? Kendra said.
Believe me, we would know if Bahumat had been
loosed. I doubt anyone in the world has the capacity to
recapture that fiend if he were to get free. His kind have
been absent for too long, imprisoned or destroyed. Those
who knew how to defeat such a foe have passed on, with
none to replace them. Which brings me to my greatest
concern: that Muriel might try to release Bahumat.
Would she do something that stupid? Seth cried.
Muriel is a student of evil. She was originally imprisoned
for tampering with such things. If she reaches the
Forgotten Chapel first, which she may have already done,
assuming her imps have apprised her of the situation, we
will have to neutralize her in order to save your grandfather.
If we allow her enough time to release Bahumat, we
will all need saving. That is why I must try to stop her
immediately.
Not just you, Seth said.
Hugo and I will handle this. You kids have done
enough.
What? Seth exclaimed. No way!
Retrieving your grandfather should not be too difficult.
But if the worst-case scenario transpires, and I fail,
Fablehaven could fall. Bahumat never agreed to the treaty
that protects this sanctuary. None of his kind would. He
has a claim to this land and is a being of sufficient power
to overthrow the treaty, plunging the preserve into endless
darkness. Every day would become like those fearful festival
nights, and this property would be forever uninhabitable
for all but the denizens of shadow. Any mortal trapped
here would fall prey to horrors too terrible to contemplate.
Could that really happen? Kendra asked quietly.
It would not be the first time, Grandma said,
Preserves have fallen ever since they were instituted. The
causes are myriad, usually stemming from human folly.
Some have been reclaimed. Others fell beyond redemption.
Currently there are at least thirty fallen preserves in the
world. Perhaps most unnerving are the recent whispers
about the Society of the Evening Star.
Maddox told us about them, Seth
said.
Grandpa got a letter warning him to be on the lookout,
Kendra added.
Traditionally, the fall of a preserve was an uncommon
occurrence. Maybe one or two a century. About ten years
ago, rumors began to circulate that the Society of the
Evening Star was working mischief again. Around the same
time, preserves began falling at an alarming rate. Four have
fallen over the past five years.
Why would anybody do that? Kendra asked.
Many have sought the answer to that question,
Grandma said. To gain riches? Power? We who safeguard
the preserves are essentially conservationists. We don’t
want to see the magnificent magical creatures of the world
go extinct. We try not to discriminate against creatures of
shadow-we want them to survive as well. But we do
compartmentalize them when necessary. Members of the
Society of the Evening Star mask their true intentions with
rhetoric, alleging that we wrongfully imprison creatures of
darkness.
Do you? Seth asked.
The most violent and malevolent demons are imprisoned,
yes, but that is for the safety of the world. In pursuit
of endless carnage and unlawful dominion, they clashed
anciently with good humans and creatures of light, and are
paying a heavy price for losing. Many other sinister entities
were admitted to preserves only on condition that they
would agree to certain limitations-agreements they
entered voluntarily. A common restriction is that they are
not permitted to leave the preserve, so the Society considers
many of these creatures also incarcerated. They argue
that the covenants of the preserves create artificial rules
that upset the natural order of things. They consider the
majority of humanity expendable. Their premise is that
chaos and bloodshed are preferable to just regulations. We
disagree.
Do you think the Evening Star people are involved in
kidnapping Grandpa? Kendra asked.
Grandma shrugged. Possibly. I hope not. If so, it was
done with great subtlety. There are powerful limits to how
any outsider can intrude on a preserve. And our preserve is
more secret than most.
Grandma opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled
parchment. Unrolling it, she revealed a map of the world.
Large dots and X’s were located on diverse portions of the
map, aside from the labeling of major cities.
The X’s mark fallen preserves, Grandma said. The
dots mark active ones.
Fablehaven isn’t marked, Kendra noticed.
Sharp eyes, Grandma said. There are thirty-seven
active preserves noted on the map. And five unmarked preserves,
of which Fablehaven is one. Even among those
most trusted in our community, very few people know
about the unmarked preserves. None know of them all.
Why? Seth asked.
Special artifacts of great power are hidden on those
five preserves.
What artifacts? Seth asked, excited.
I cannot say. I don’t know most of the details myself.
The artifact here at Fablehaven is not in our possession. It
is guarded at an undisclosed location on the property.
Evildoers, particularly the Society of the Evening Star,
would like nothing more than to collect the artifacts from
the hidden preserves.
So there are many reasons Fablehaven must be protected,
Kendra said.
Grandma nodded. Your grandfather and I are prepared
to give our lives if necessary.
Maybe none of us should go after Grandpa, Kendra
said. Can’t we get help?
There are some who would come to our aid if summoned,
but I need to stop Muriel and find your grandfather
today. Nobody could reach us that quickly. Fablehaven is
protected by secrecy. At times this becomes a hindrance. I
do not know what spells bind Bahumat, but I am certain
that, given sufficient time, Muriel will find a way to
unravel them. I must act now.
Grandma slid off the stool, walked down an aisle,
opened a trunk, and withdrew an ornate box embossed
with vines and flowers. From the box she removed a small
crossbow not much larger than a pistol. She also took out a
small arrow with black fletching, an ivory shaft, and a silver
head.
Cool, Seth cried. I want one!
This dart will slay any being that was ever mortal,
including the enchanted or undead, if I can lodge it in a
lethal place.
Where is lethal? Kendra asked.
The heart and the brain are surest. Witches can be
tricky. This is the only talisman I am certain will slay
Muriel.
You’re going to kill her? Kendra whispered.
Only as a last resort. First I will try to have Hugo capture
her. But the stakes are too high for us to sally forth
without a failsafe. If the golem should unforeseeably disappoint
me, I lack the skills to subdue Muriel myself. Believe
me, the last thing I want is her blood on my hands. Killing
a mortal is not quite as grievous a crime as killing a mystical
being, but it would still dissolve most of the protection
afforded me by the treaty. I would probably have to banish
myself from the preserve.
But she’s trying to destroy the whole preserve! Seth
complained.
Not by directly killing anyone, Grandma said. The
chapel is neutral ground. If I go there and kill her, even if I
can justify the act, the protection of the treaty will never
again be mine.
I heard Dale shooting guns and stuff the night the
creatures came through our window, Kendra said.
Creatures were invading our territory, Grandma
explained. Regardless of the reason, by coming into this
house, they surrender all their protections. Under those circumstances,
Dale could slay them with no fear of retribution,
meaning his status under the treaty would remain
secure. This same principle could work against you if you
were to venture into certain forbidden areas of Fablehaven.
If you were thus stripped of all protection, it would be open
hunting season on Kendra and Seth. Which is precisely
why those areas are prohibited.
I don’t get who would punish you for killing Muriel,
Seth said.
The mystical barriers that protect me would be lifted,
and the punishment would naturally follow. You see, as
mortals, we can choose to break the rules. The mystical
creatures that seek asylum here are not afforded that luxury.
Many would break the rules if they could, but they are
bound. As long as I obey the rules, I am safe. But if I lose
the protections afforded by the treaty, the consequences of
my vulnerability would inevitably follow.
So does that mean Grandpa is alive for sure? Kendra
asked in a small voice. They can’t kill him or anything.
Stan has kept the rules pertaining to bloodshed, and
so, even on their night of revelry, the dark creatures of this
preserve would not be a
ble to kill him. Nor would they be
able to force him to go to a place that would enable them
to kill him. Imprisoned, tortured, driven insane, turned to
lead-maybe. But he has to be alive. And I have to go after
him.
And I have to come with you, Seth said. You need
backup.
Hugo is my backup.
Seth scrunched his face, resisting tears. I’m not going
to lose you guys, especially when it’s my fault.
Grandma Sorenson embraced Seth. Sweetheart, I
appreciate your courage, but I’m not about to risk losing a
grandchild.
Won’t we be in just as much danger here as we would
be if we were with you? Kendra said. If the demon gets
loose, we’ll all be fried.
I mean to send you away, off the preserve, Grandma
said.
Kendra folded her arms. So we can wait outside the
gate until our parents get back, tell them you were killed
by a demon, and insist that we can’t go to the house
because it’s really a magical preserve that has fallen into
darkness?
Your parents do not know the true nature of this
place, Grandma said. Nor would they believe without
seeing.
Exactly! Kendra said. If you fail, the first thing Dad
will do is go straight to your house and investigate.
Nothing we could say would keep him away. And he’ll
probably call the cops, and the whole world will find out
about this place.
They wouldn’t see anything, Grandma said. But
many would die inexplicably. And actually, they could see
the cow, even without the milk, because Viola remains a
mortal being.
We came in handy with the troll, Seth said. And no
matter what you do or say, I’ll follow you anyways.
Grandma tossed up her hands. Sincerely, children, I
think all will be fine. I know I described a dire scenario, but
things like this happen on preserves from time to time, and
we normally get them resolved. I don’t see why this would
be any different. Hugo will mend the problem without serious
incident, and if it comes to it, I am a crack shot with
the crossbow. If you will just wait outside the gates, I’ll
come for you before it gets too late.
But I want to see Hugo pound Muriel, Seth insisted.
If we’re supposed to possibly inherit this place someday,
you won’t always be able to protect us from danger,
Kendra said. Wouldn’t it be a good experience for us to
watch you and Hugo handle the situation? Maybe we can
