Fablehaven1-Fablehaven

by Brandon Mull

  kissed transformed into a human-sized fairy!

  Kendra saw the silver fairy with blue hair plant a kiss

  on an obese imp. The imp instantly metamorphosed into a

  plump fairy with coppery wings. As the silver fairy glided

  away, the plump fairy tackled another imp, forced a kiss,

  and in a flash the imp became a thin, Asian-looking fairy

  with hummingbird wings.

  The fairies streamed into the church. Most did not

  bother with the door. They glided through windows or

  smashed through the corroded roof.

  Kendra’s escorts held her over a gap in the roof. She

  saw fairies kissing imps. Other fairies drove back a variety

  of foul beasts. One fairy used a golden lash to send a toad-like

  monstrosity crashing through the wall. Another fairy

  grasped a scabby beast by its mane of white hair and hurled

  it through a window. A gray fairy with mothlike wings

  chased a brawny minotaur out the front door with a scalding

  blast of steam from the end of her rod. Many of the

  unsavory creatures voluntarily fled before the terrible

  onslaught.

  Others fought back.

  A demonic dwarf with a hide of black scales bounded

  around the room wreaking havoc with a pair of knives. A

  rampaging atrocity that looked like a cross between a bear

  and an octopus battered fairies with its thrashing tentacles.

  A greasy creature coughed globs of slime into the air. It had

  the general appearance of a large tortoise without a shell,

  its body an amoeboid puddle beneath a long neck. Several

  fairies crashed to the church floor, wings snarled in the

  goopy substance.

  The undaunted fairies counterattacked. The bottom

  half of the dwarf was turned to stone. Tentacles severed,

  the octobear retreated. A torrent of water flushed away the

  greasy creature. Some fairies attended their fallen comrades,

  healing injuries and washing away slime.

  As the room cleared, fairies charged through the door

  to the basement.

  Take me to the basement! Kendra said. Her escorts

  immediately responded, nearly giving Kendra whiplash as

  they plummeted into the church and glided to the basement

  door. The fairies had to tuck in their wings to

  descend the stairs, so Kendra ran down beside the furry

  fairy and the albino.

  The basement had expanded. A massive excavation

  and renovation had occurred. It was deeper, broader, and

  longer. The alcove at the far side had grown as well, now

  completely unfettered by knotted ropes.

  The basement was not lighted as brightly as before,

  although the fairies carried their own luminescence with

  them. Hideous carvings sneered from the walls. One

  corner was piled with strange treasures-jade idols, spiked

  scepters, and jeweled masks.

  Kendra scanned the room for her family. The easiest to

  spot was Seth. He was inside an enormous jar with breathing

  holes punched in the lid. There were some leaves and

  branches in it with him. He had grown no taller, but he

  looked a hundred years old. Saggy wrinkles creased his face,

  and he had only a few wisps of white hair left atop his head.

  He placed a pruned palm against the glass.

  Kendra guessed that the orangutan chained to the wall

  was Grandpa. The large catfish swimming in the tank

  beside him was probably Lena. She saw no sign of

  Grandma.

  Flanked by her fairy escorts, Kendra dashed toward her

  family. Scores of hideous imps scuffled with fairies. Those

  fights did not last long as kisses transformed the imps back

  into their original forms.

  Kendra reached the gigantic jar. Are you all right,

  Seth?

  Her elderly brother nodded feebly. His smile showed

  that he had no teeth.

  A snarling imp pounced at Kendra. The blue, furry fairy

  caught the creature in midflight, pinning its arms to its

  sides. It resembled the same imp that had apprehended her

  brother earlier. The albino fairy flew up and gave the imp a

  kiss on the mouth, and it became a striking fairy with fiery

  red hair and iridescent dragonfly wings.

  Seth began tapping on the glass. He was pointing

  excitedly at the fairy. Kendra realized that it was the fairy

  he had unwittingly transformed.

  The redheaded fairy approached the jar, shaking a

  scolding finger at Seth. I’m sorry, Seth mouthed from

  inside the container. He clasped his hands and made pleading

  motions. The fairy regarded him through narrowed

  eyes. Then she snapped her fingers, and the jar shattered.

  She leaned forward and kissed Seth on the forehead. His

  wrinkles smoothed and his hair filled in until he promptly

  looked like himself again.

  Kendra pulled the bottle of milk from her pocket and

  handed it to Seth. Save some for Grandma and Grandpa.

  But I can see-

  An earsplitting roar shook the room. A creature who

  could only have been Bahumat emerged from the alcove.

  The loathsome demon stood three times as tall as a man

  and had the head of a dragon crowned by three horns. The

  demon walked upright, possessing three arms, three legs,

  and three tails. Oily black scales bristling with barbed

  spikes covered its grotesque body. Malevolent eyes gleamed

  with wicked intelligence.

  To one side of Bahumat floated the spectral woman

  Kendra had seen outside her window on Midsummer Eve.

  Her ebony wrappings flowed unnaturally, as if she were

  underwater. The unearthly apparition made Kendra think

  of a negative photograph.

  At the other side of Bahumat stood Muriel, now clad

  in a gown as black as midnight. She leered at the fairies

  and glanced confidently at the towering demon.

  No imps remained in the room. A crowd of shining

  fairies faced these final opponents.

  Bahumat crouched. Inky darkness gathered around

  him. The demon sprang forward with a roar like a thousand

  cannons firing together. A black wall of shadow flowed

  from Bahumat like a wave of tar. Total darkness engulfed

  the room. Kendra felt like she had been struck blind. Even

  with her hands over her ears, the prolonged bellowing of

  the demon was practically deafening.

  There seemed to be no substance to the shadow

  Bahumat had emitted. It was just darkness. Where were the

  fairies? Where was their light?

  The ground rumbled, and a sound like an avalanche

  overpowered the demon’s roar. Suddenly daylight flooded

  the room. Looking up, Kendra beheld a blue sky. The

  slanted rays of the rising sun fell into the basement. The

  entire church had been hurled aside!

  Descending from above, and charging from all directions,

  fairies swarmed Bahumat. The demon slashed a fairy

  with one of its tails, raked another with an impossibly

  quick swipe of its claws. Jaws snapping, the creature swallowed

  a yellow fairy whole. Many fairies were falling.

  While the majority attacked, other fairies laid hands on the

&n
bsp; injured, curing most of them rapidly.

  Muriel stood in a theatrical pose chanting spidery

  words. A pair of fairies near her turned to glass and

  shattered. She extended a contorted hand, and another

  fairy turned to ash and disintegrated in a gray cloud.

  Long streamers of ebony fabric flowed from the spectral

  woman, entangling nearby fairies. The ensnared fairies

  began to lose their luster and wither. The silver fairy

  appeared, slicing through the fabric with her ax of fire.

  Other fairies joined her, using gleaming swords to sever the

  black material.

  The fairies swirling around Bahumat now held ropes.

  They looked like the ropes that had crisscrossed the front

  of the alcove, except now they appeared to be woven out

  of gold. Bahumat kept roaring and swinging and biting, but

  the ropes were beginning to tangle him up. Knots were

  forming in them. The draconic creature was slowing down.

  His great jaws clamped shut, tearing off the gauzy wing of

  a fairy with markings like a ladybug.

  The spectral woman turned and drifted away, her ethereal

  wrappings no longer quite as flowing. The fairies

  ignored her departure. A pair of fairies had taken hold of

  Muriel, and they flung her at Bahumat. Soon she was

  bound to the demon by flaxen cords. She screeched as her

  body shriveled with age and her gown turned to rags.

  Three fairies alighted atop the demon’s head. They

  each grabbed a horn and tore it out. The demon wailed.

  Dozens of fairies seized the ropes binding the demon and

  hurled Bahumat back into the alcove. Busily the fairies

  began threading knotted ropes back and forth over the

  entrance.

  Kendra turned. The blue, furry fairy gestured toward

  the orangutan, and the shackles binding it to the wall fell

  apart. Another gesture and a burst of light changed the

  orangutan into Grandpa Sorenson.

  The albino fairy pulled the convulsing catfish from the

  aquarium and changed her back into Lena. Where’s my

  Grandma? Kendra cried.

  The red-haired fairy who had freed Seth approached

  the aquarium. She lifted out a small, putrid slug that had

  been clinging to the side above the water and changed it

  back into Grandma.

  Grandma Sorenson massaged her temples. And I

  thought my mind was muddy as a chicken, she muttered.

  Grandpa hurried over and embraced her.

  Do you need milk? Kendra asked, holding out the

  bottle to her grandfather.

  He shook his head. We have not slept, and so the veil

  has not yet covered our eyes.

  A group of fairies gathered near the alcove, extending

  their arms, palms downward. Soil, clay, and stone began

  flowing together and piling up until Hugo was reborn. The

  golem stretched and let out a groan to rival the roars of the

  banished demon.

  The fairies busily healed one another, mending wings

  and closing wounds. One circle of fairies spread their arms,

  and fragments of glass skittered together, took the form of a

  pair of fairies, and came back to life. Several other fairies

  joined hands and started humming. Particles of ash swirled

  loosely in their midst, but refused to coalesce. The fairies

  released one another, and the ash dissipated. Some fairies,

  it seemed, were beyond rescue.

  Several fairies took hold of Hugo and lifted him out of

  the basement. Others did the same for Grandpa, Grandma,

  Lena, Seth, and Kendra. Airborne again, Kendra had a

  view of the destroyed church. The wreckage spread across

  the clearing for a couple hundred yards. The Forgotten

  Chapel had not simply been flung aside-it had been

  obliterated.

  The fairies set them down a good distance from the

  wreckage and the basement. All except Lena. Two fairies

  were carrying her away. The former naiad was having harsh

  words with them in a foreign tongue, struggling in their

  grasp.

  Kendra touched Grandpa Sorenson’s arm and nodded

  toward the commotion.

  Nothing to be done about it, he sighed as the fairies

  hauled Lena away. He had an arm around Grandma, holding

  her close.

  Hey! Kendra shouted. Bring Lena back here! The

  fairies holding Lena paid her no heed, passing out of sight

  into the woods.

  The remainder of the fairies assembled above the basement,

  floating in an enormous ring. They had more than

  tripled their numbers with all the imps they had reclaimed.

  Kendra had seen many fairies fall during the battle, but

  most had been revived and healed by the magic of their

  comrades.

  The radiant fairies raised their arms together and

  started singing. The music sounded impromptu, full of

  hundreds of interweaving melodies with almost no harmonies.

  As they sang, the ground in the clearing began to

  undulate. The wreckage from the church slid across the

  field, clattering into the open basement. The ground began

  to quake. The walls of the basement crumbled. The surrounding

  area folded in and swallowed it up. The field

  heaved like a stormy sea.

  As the undulations subsided, the basement had been

  replaced by a low hill. The fairy choir became more shrill.

  Wildflowers and fruit trees began sprouting throughout the

  clearing and on the hill, coming to full bloom in a matter

  of seconds. Flowers blossomed all over Hugo, who offered

  no reaction. When the singing finally ceased, a cheery hill

  covered by a fragrant array of brilliant blossoms and mature

  fruit trees had replaced the Forgotten Chapel.

  They made Hugo look all fruity, Seth complained.

  The legion of fairies glided toward them, scooped them

  up, and carried them on a breakneck flight for home.

  Kendra relished being part of the mercurial procession,

  overjoyed at the fortunate ending to the terrible night.

  Seth whooped the whole way, as if he were riding the

  coolest roller coaster on the planet.

  Finally the fairies deposited them in the yard, where

  Dale stood waiting. Now I’ve seen everything, he said as

  Grandpa and Grandma Sorenson were set down beside

  him.

  The fairy with short blue hair and silver wings stood

  before Kendra. Thank you, Kendra said. You did wonderfully.

  We can never repay you.

  The silver fairy gave a single nod, eyes glittering.

  As if responding to a signal, the fairies crowded Kendra,

  each in turn giving her a quick kiss. As each kiss was

  bestowed, the fairy reverted to her former size amid dazzling

  sparks and darted away. The rapid succession of kisses

  brought overpowering sensations. Again Kendra smelled

  the earthy aromas of the Fairy Queen-rich soil and young

  blossoms. She tasted honey and fruit and berries, all sweet

  beyond comparison. She heard the music of rainfall, the cry

  of the wind, and the roar of the sea. She felt as if the

  warmth of the sun were embracing her, flowing through

  her. The fairies kissed
her eyes, her cheeks, her ears, her

  brow.

  When the last of more than three hundred fairies kissed

  her, Kendra stumbled backwards and sat down hard on the

  grass. She felt no pain. In fact, she was mildly surprised that

  she did not float away, she felt so light and drowsy.

  Grandpa and Dale helped Kendra to her feet. I would

  wager that this young lady has quite a story to tell,

  Grandpa said. And I would also wager that now is not the

  time. Hugo, attend to your labors.

  Dale was helping Kendra to the house. She felt

  euphoric and distant. She was glad her family was safe. But

  she felt so inexplicably blissful, and the troubles of the

  evening seemed so remote, that she began to wonder

  whether it had all been a surreal dream.

  Grandpa was holding hands with Grandma. I’m sorry

  it took so long to get you back, he said softly.

  I can guess at the reasons, she said. We need to talk

  about you eating my eggs.

  They weren’t your eggs, Grandpa protested. They

  were the eggs of the hen your mind was inhabiting.

  I’m glad you can be so detached.

  There may still be a couple in the fridge.

  Kendra stumbled on her way up the porch steps.

  Grandpa and Dale helped her onto the porch and into the

  house. The furniture was back! Nearly all of it had been

  restored, with some alterations. A couch had been reconstructed

  as a chair. Some lampshades were made of different

  material. Jewels had been added to a picture frame.

  Could the brownies have worked so fast? Her eyes were

  drooping. Grandpa was holding Grandma’s hand, whispering

  something in her ear. Seth was chattering, but the

  words made no sense. Dale held her shoulders, guiding her.

  They were almost to the stairs, but she could not keep

  her eyes open. She felt herself falling, and hands catching

  her, and then consciousness fled.

  Farewell to Fablehaven

  Kendra and Grandpa reclined in the wagon while

  Hugo pulled them down the road at a leisurely pace.

  The morning was clear and bright, with a few thin, high

  clouds barely clinging to existence, accidental brush strokes

  on a blue canvas. The day would be hot, but for now it was

  pleasant.

  A couple of fairies drifting alongside the wagon waved

  at Kendra. She waved back and they sped away, weaving

  around one another. The garden now teemed with fairies,

  and they paid Kendra a lot of special attention. They