[Fablehaven 02] - Rise of the Evening Star

by Brandon Mull - (ebook by Undead)

  “But they may already have one,” Seth said.

  “We can only hope that the fallen preserve in Brazil was as inhospitable for them as it apparently was for Maddox,” Grandma said. “Others have been sent since Maddox vanished. None have returned. Naturally we must take precautions as if the worst has happened.”

  “So where do Seth and I come into all of this?” Kendra asked.

  Grandpa took a sip from a tall glass of orange juice. He furrowed his brow. “We’re not entirely sure. We know the Society has taken a serious interest in you two. We worry that they may know something more than we do about the change the fairies wrought in Kendra, something that makes them believe she could be of use to them. They infiltrated your school and tried to win your trust. They used Seth to free a captive demon. Almost certainly they meant to abduct you. Their ultimate goal is hard to divine.”

  “The Sphinx himself wants to meet Kendra,” Grandma said.

  “He’s here?” Seth exclaimed.

  “Nearby,” Grandpa said. “He never stays in one place long. Most recently he was doing damage control in Brazil. But he has become concerned that Fablehaven may be the next target. There have been numerous rumors of Society activity in the area, even beyond what happened with the two of you. I got in touch with him last night. He wants to meet Kendra and see if he can discern why the Society has become so interested in her.”

  “I want to meet him too,” Seth said.

  “We plan to bring you as well,” Grandpa said, “to see if something can be done about that bite.”

  “I’m sick of waiting; what’s the story?” Seth sounded exasperated.

  “Olloch the Glutton is a demon enchanted by a peculiar spell,” Grandpa explained. “He remains in a petrified state, inert, until somebody feeds him. He bites the hand that feeds him and, after that, gradually awakens, driven by an insatiable hunger. He eats, and as he eats, he grows. As his size increases, so does his power, and he does not stop eating until he consumes the person who initially awakened him.”

  “He’s going to eat me?” Seth cried.

  “He’s going to try,” Grandpa said.

  “Can he get into Fablehaven?”

  “I don’t think so,” Grandpa said. “But the day will soon come when he will prowl our borders, searching for an opportunity to strike, gaining more power every day as he continues to gorge himself. He will be inexorably drawn to you. The only places to hide are those he cannot access.”

  “There has to be something we can do!” Seth said.

  “That is why I want to bring you to the Sphinx,” Grandpa said. “His wisdom has proven equal to situations more challenging than this. Don’t worry, we won’t let Olloch devour you.”

  Seth put his face in his hands. “Why does everything I do go wrong?” He looked up. “I thought I was being helpful.”

  “This was not your fault,” Grandma said. “You were being very brave, and trying to do the right thing. Sadly, Errol was taking advantage of you.”

  “Do you know anything about Errol?” Kendra asked.

  “Nothing,” Grandpa said.

  “How did he find out about the fairies?”

  Grandpa sighed. “We have a theory. Last week, we found an imp, one of the big kind, passing information to a caped figure through the border fence. We could not catch the person he was informing — the stranger made a hasty retreat. But we managed to apprehend the imp.”

  “The rogue would have gotten away if not for your grandpa,” Grandma said.

  “Choosing between me and Tanu, the imp tried to get past me,” Grandpa said. “I tackled him, but he was amazingly strong. He hurled me into a gully. I felt my arm snap beneath me, and fractured my tibia. But I managed to slow the brute long enough for Tanu to use a concoction that paralyzed him.”

  “Where is he now?” Seth asked.

  “In the dungeon,” Grandpa said.

  “The basement,” Grandma clarified.

  “So that’s what’s down there!” Seth cried.

  “Among other things,” Grandpa said. “Unaccompanied, the dungeon is absolutely off-limits to you two.”

  “Big surprise,” Seth mumbled.

  “Anyhow,” Grandpa said, “the point is, we believe that the imp, and perhaps others, must have leaked the experience Kendra had with the fairies to the Society. Imps are crafty spies.”

  “Are we going to have to hide here for the rest of our lives?” Kendra asked.

  Grandpa slapped his hand down on the arm of the wheelchair. “Who said anything about hiding? We’ll be taking action. Finding and moving the artifact. Investigating why the Society is interested in you. Consulting with the Sphinx.”

  “And offering you two world-class training from some of the most skilled adventurers anywhere,” Grandma said. “You need to learn about the world you are being drawn into, and you could find no better teachers than Tanu, Vanessa, and Coulter.”

  “They’re going to teach us?” Seth asked, eyes shining.

  “They will be your mentors,” Grandpa said. “At this point, sitting still would be a mistake. You two will have opportunities to accompany them on some of their outings as they search for the artifact.”

  “Not when they do anything truly dangerous,” Grandma amended.

  “No,” Grandpa said. “But you’ll get to see a new side of Fablehaven. And learn a trick or two that may help you in the future. Ignorance is no longer a protection for either of you.”

  “Coulter may be tough to work with, particularly for Kendra,” Grandma said with a trace of bitterness. “He has a prehistoric outlook on certain issues, and a difficult personality. But he also has a lot to offer. If all else fails, Vanessa has agreed to take up the slack.”

  “They do not know the extent of what we have told you,” Grandpa said. “They think we informed you that they are hunting for a hidden relic, and they understand that you are to accompany them when prudence will allow it. They have no idea that we revealed the true nature of the artifact or the fact that Fablehaven is a secret preserve. You must keep those details to yourselves. I don’t want anyone learning how much you know.”

  “No problem,” Seth said.

  “What do they think we believe the artifact is?” Kendra said.

  “A magical relic that will help us in our fight against the Society,” Grandma said. “An unknown talisman rumored to be hidden on the property. We told them we would keep it vague, and that they should do the same.”

  “If we find it,” Seth said, “why don’t we use it against Errol and his friends?”

  “The artifacts have remained in our possession for millennia precisely because we have not sought to use them,” Grandpa said. “Those watching over them have not even known where they are hidden. If we use them, it will be only a matter of time before we misuse them, and they fall into the wrong hands.”

  “That makes sense,” Kendra said. “When will we see the Sphinx?”

  “He should let me know shortly,” Grandpa said, dabbing the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “You now know all we know about the new threat we are facing. We have treated you as adults, and expect you to behave accordingly.”

  “Get to know our new arrivals,” Grandma said. “Learning from them will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

  “When do we start?” Seth asked.

  “Immediately,” Grandpa answered.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tanu

  When Kendra and Seth exited the study, Dale was waiting on the other side of the door. “Ready to start summer school?” he asked.

  “If it means we get to see cool monsters, absolutely,” Seth replied.

  “Follow me,” Dale said. He led them into the parlor, where Tanu sat reading a leather-bound book. “Your pupils have arrived,” Dale announced.

  Tanu stood up. Dale was tall, but Tanu was half a head taller. And much thicker. He wore a rugged, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. “Please have a seat,” he said in his deep, mild voice. Kendra and Seth sat dow
n on a sofa, and Dale departed. “Your grandparents told you about the relic we are hunting?” he asked.

  “They weren’t very specific,” Kendra said. “What exactly is it?” She figured that if she didn’t sound curious, it would look suspicious.

  “We don’t know many of the details,” Tanu said, his dark eyes flicking back and forth between the two of them. “Only that it is rumored to be quite powerful, and could help us keep the preserves safe from the Society. You two will be helping in the pursuit of this hidden treasure. But first we need to get acquainted.”

  Tanu asked them several standard questions. He found out that Seth was going into seventh grade, that he liked to ride his bike and play practical jokes, and that he had once captured a fairy using a jar and a mirror. He learned that Kendra was heading into ninth grade, that her favorite subjects were history and English, and that she played halfback on the school soccer team. He did not ask Kendra about the fairy army.

  “It’s only fair that I now tell you about myself,” Tanu said. “Do you have any questions?”

  “Are you from Hawaii?” Seth asked.

  “I grew up in Pasadena,” Tanu said. “But my ancestors are from Anaheim.” He flashed a broad smile, showing big white teeth. “I’m Samoan. I’ve only been there as a visitor, though.”

  “Have you traveled a lot?” Kendra asked.

  “More than my fair share,” he admitted. “I’ve been around the world many times, seen many strange sights. My father made potions, and his father before him, going back many generations. My dad taught me what I know. He retired a few years back. He lives in Arizona in the winter, Idaho in the summer.”

  “Do you have a family?” Kendra asked.

  “I have my folks, some brothers and sisters, and a bunch of nieces and nephews and cousins. No wife, no kids. Drives my folks crazy. Everybody wants me to settle down. Dad once tried to slip me a love potion to make me fall for some neighbor girl that he liked. He already has seventeen grand-kids, but he says he wants some from his eldest. I’ll throw down roots someday. Not yet.”

  “You know how to make love potions?” Seth asked.

  “And avoid them,” Tanu grinned.

  “What else can you make?” Seth asked.

  “Potions to cure illnesses, potions to induce sleep, potions that awaken lost memories,” Tanu said. “It all depends on what I have to work with. The toughest part of being a potion master is collecting ingredients. Only magical ingredients yield magical results. I study cause and effect, and I benefit from the studies of many who came before me. I try to figure out how to combine different materials to achieve a desired outcome.”

  “Where do you get ingredients?” Kendra asked.

  “The most powerful ingredients are usually by-products of magical creatures,” Tanu explained. “Viola, the milch cow, is a potion master’s dream. Her milk, her blood, her dung, her sweat, her tears, her saliva — they all have different magical properties. At an icy preserve in Greenland, on the coast, they get their milk from a gigantic walrus, nearly a thousand years old, one of the eldest animals on the planet. The derivatives of the walrus have different properties from the cow’s. Along with certain similarities.”

  “Cool,” Seth said.

  “It is fascinating,” Tanu admitted. “You never know what skills you’ll need. I’ve climbed mountains, picked locks, ventured deep underwater, and learned foreign languages. Sometimes you can trade for ingredients, or purchase them. But you have to be careful. Some potion makers are unscrupulous. They get their ingredients in horrible ways. Dragon tears, for example. A very potent ingredient, but hard to come by. Dragons cry only when they are in the deepest mourning or when they have committed a terrible betrayal. They cannot fake the tears. There are bad people out there who would capture a young dragon and then murder its dear ones just to collect the tears. You don’t want to support that kind of barbarity, so you have to be careful who you trade with, and who you buy from. Most of the best potion makers prefer to find their own ingredients. Which is why some of the best potion makers don’t live very long.”

  “Do you collect your own ingredients?” Seth asked.

  “Most of the time,” Tanu said. “Every now and again I barter with reputable dealers. I can find much of what I need on preserves. Other items I locate in the wild. My grandfather lived to retirement and died in his sleep. My dad lived to retirement and is still with us. They taught me some good tricks that help keep me safe. Hopefully I can pass some of that knowledge along to you.”

  Tanu picked up a pouch that was sitting next to his chair. He began removing small bottles with narrow necks and arranging them in a single row on the coffee table. “What are those?” Seth asked.

  Tanu glanced up. “Part of a demonstration, to prove that I know my trade. A family specialty — bottled-up emotions.”

  “Drinking them will make us feel a certain way?” Kendra asked.

  “Temporarily, yes,” Tanu said. “In large doses the emotions can be overpowering. I want each of you to choose an emotion to sample. I’ll mix you a small dose. The emotions will pass quickly. You can try fear, rage, embarrassment, or sorrow.” He removed more items from his pouch — jars, vials, and a small sandwich bag full of leaves.

  “Are they all bad emotions?” Kendra asked.

  “I can do courage, calm, confidence, and joy, among others. But the negative emotions make better demonstrations. They are more shocking, and less addictive.”

  “I want to try fear,” Seth said, coming to stand near Tanu.

  “Good choice,” Tanu responded. He unscrewed the lid of a jar and used a tool that looked like a small tongue depressor to scoop out some beige paste. “I’m mixing this so the effect will come and go very quickly, just giving you a brief sample of the emotion.” Removing a small leaf from the bag, Tanu scraped the paste onto the leaf. He then dripped four drops from one of the bottles onto the leaf, added a single drop from a different bottle, and mixed the liquid into the paste with the tongue depressor. He handed the leaf to Seth.

  “Eat the leaf?” Seth asked.

  “Eat it all,” Tanu said. “Sit down first. When the emotion hits, it will be distressing, much more real than you probably expect. Try to remember that it is artificial and that it will pass.”

  Seth sat down on a brocaded armchair. He sniffed the leaf, then popped it into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed quickly. “Not bad. Tastes a little like peanuts.”

  Kendra watched him intently. “Is he going to freak out?” she asked.

  “Wait and see,” Tanu said, suppressing a grin.

  “I feel fine so far,” Seth announced.

  “It takes a few seconds,” Tanu said.

  “A few seconds for what?” Seth asked, an edge of anxiety creeping into his voice.

  “See?” Tanu said, winking at Kendra. “It’s starting.”

  “What’s starting?” Seth asked, eyes darting. “Why’d you wink at her? Why are you talking like I’m not in the room?”

  “I’m sorry, Seth,” Tanu said. “We mean no harm. The effects of the potion are hitting you.”

  Seth’s breathing was becoming ragged. He was shifting in his seat, rubbing his thighs with his palms. “What did you give me?” he said, raising his voice and sounding paranoid. “Why’d you have to mix so much stuff? How do I know I can trust you?”

  “It’s all right,” Kendra said. “You’re just feeling the effects of the potion.”

  Seth looked at Kendra, his face contorting, tears brimming in his eyes. He raised his voice more, sounding hysterical. “Just the potion? Just the potion!” He chuckled bitterly. “You don’t get it? He poisoned me! He poisoned me, and you’re next. I’m going to die! We’re all going to die!” He was curling up on the chair, quivering and hugging his knees. A single tear leaked from one eye and slid down his cheek.

  Kendra looked at Tanu, distressed. Tanu raised a calming hand. “He’s already coming out of it.”

  She looked back at her brother. He s
at still for a moment, then straightened his legs and sat up, wiping the remnants of the tear from his cheek. “Wow,” Seth said. “You weren’t kidding! That felt so real. I couldn’t think straight. I thought you had tricked me into drinking poison or something.”

  “Your mind was searching for threats to justify the emotion,” Tanu said. “It helped that you knew beforehand the emotion was coming. Had I drugged you by surprise, it would have been much more difficult to make sense of the experience afterwards. Let alone if I used a higher dosage. Imagine if I made that emotion much more intense and longer lasting.”

  “You have to try it,” Seth said to Kendra.

  “I’m not sure I want to,” Kendra said. “Can’t I feel something happy?”

  “You should try an emotion you would normally resist if you want to appreciate the potency,” Tanu said. “It’s alarming in the moment, but you’ll feel fine afterwards. In a way, it’s cleansing. An occasional foray into negative emotions makes feeling normal that much sweeter.”

  “He’s right, I feel great now,” Seth said. “Like the riddle. Why do you hit yourself in the head fifty times with a hammer?”

  “Why?” Kendra asked.

  “Because it feels so good when you stop!”

  “Try an emotion other than fear,” Tanu said. “For the sake of variety.”

  “Pick one for me,” Kendra said. “Don’t tell me what it is.”

  “You sure?” Tanu asked.

  “Yeah, if I’m going to do it, I want you to surprise me.”

  Tanu put another glop of beige paste on a leaf and mixed in drops from three bottles. He gave the leaf to Kendra, and she popped it into her mouth and chewed it up, sitting down on the carpet in the middle of the room. The leaf was a little tricky to chew. It did not taste like something you were supposed to eat. The paste was pretty good. It melted in her mouth and was a little sweet. She swallowed.

  Seth edged over to Tanu and whispered something to him. Kendra realized he was probably asking what emotion to expect. Kendra focused on remaining aware that a phony emotion was about to surface. If she concentrated hard enough, she should be able to keep it under control. She’d feel it, but she wouldn’t let it overwhelm her. Tanu whispered something back to Seth. They were both staring at her expectantly. What was their deal? Did she have a piece of the leaf caught in her teeth? Seth whispered something else to Tanu.