[Fablehaven 02] - Rise of the Evening Star

by Brandon Mull - (ebook by Undead)

  “I wish those fairies had kissed me a little,” Seth said.

  “Just be glad one of us can see. Come on.”

  The tunnel wound back and forth several times before Kendra came to a stop. “I see a door up ahead.”

  “Does it block the way?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, let’s go knock.”

  Kendra started forward.

  “Just a second,” Seth said. “I lost my handkerchief. No peeking. Here it is. Okay, lead the way.”

  A round wall filled the entire tunnel. In the wall was an oval-shaped door. When they got close, Kendra tried the knob. It was locked. So she knocked.

  An instant later the door opened swiftly, and she was looking at a thin man about her same height. He had a long nose, leaflike ears, and smooth skin, like a baby’s. He looked Kendra and Seth up and down. “Brownies only,” he said, closing the door.

  “What happened?” Seth asked. “Could you understand that?”

  “Brownies only,” Kendra translated. “A little guy opened the door, said that, and closed it.” She slapped the door. “Please, we need to get into the house, it’s an emergency!”

  The door opened a crack. The little man peered out with one eye. “Now, why would you go and learn Rowian when everyone knows brownies don’t talk to strangers?”

  “Rowian?” Kendra asked.

  “Don’t play coy with me, young lady. I’ve met a few fairies and nymphs who knew the rudiments of the brownie tongue, but never a miniature human.”

  “I’m Kendra,” she said. “I love brownies. You cook wonderful food and you repaired my grandparents’ house after it was ruined.”

  “We all do what we do,” the brownie said humbly.

  “My brother and I need desperately to get into the house, and this is the only way. Please let us pass.”

  “This way is meant only for brownies,” he said. “I may be the least of your troubles. There are magical barriers in place to prevent others from entering the house through our passage.”

  Kendra glanced at Seth, who was watching the exchange dumbfoundedly. “But we’re allowed to enter the house, we’re guests there.”

  “Curious way for guests to enter.”

  “My grandparents are the caretakers of Fablehaven. Somebody has sabotaged them, so we are trying to sneak in to help. We have to hurry. If this potion wears off, we’ll clog up your tunnel.”

  “Can’t have that,” the brownie said thoughtfully. “Very well, seeing as you’re brownie-sized, and seeing as you belong to the house, and seeing as you explained yourself so patiently, I see no harm in letting you pass. On one condition. You both must wear blindfolds. You are about to enter a brownie community. Our secrets are our own.”

  “What’s he saying?” Seth asked.

  “He says we have to wear blindfolds.”

  “Tell him to get on with it,” Seth said.

  “What’s he saying?” the brownie asked.

  “He says he’ll wear a blindfold.”

  “Fair enough,” the brownie said. “One moment.” The brownie closed the door. Kendra and Seth waited. She tried the knob. It was locked.

  “What’s he doing?” Seth asked.

  “I don’t know,” Kendra said.

  Just as Kendra was beginning to wonder if she had been abandoned, the door opened. “Two blindfolds,” the brownie said. “And two blankets, more your size. I can’t abide that fine material dragging in the dirt.”

  “What’s he saying?” Seth said.

  “He brought blindfolds,” Kendra relayed.

  “Ask if I have to wear one since I can’t see in the first place,” Seth said.

  “Just wear it,” Kendra said. “And he wants us to switch our handkerchiefs for blankets.”

  Kendra and Seth traded the handkerchiefs for the blankets, making the exchange in such a way that they remained strategically covered throughout. Then the brownie tied on the blindfolds. “I’ll be your guide, dear,” a female voice said to Kendra. “Put your hand on my shoulder.”

  “Tell your friend I’ll be guiding him,” the male brownie said.

  “He’s going to guide you, Seth.”

  The brownies led them through the door and along the tunnel. Soon the ground became hard. It felt like polished stone. Even with the blindfold on, Kendra could tell that they had entered a lighted area. The brownies gave occasional instructions like “step up” or “duck your head,” which Kendra relayed to Seth. Occasionally she heard murmuring, as if their passage was stirring hushed comments from a crowd.

  After they had walked for some time, the glow faded, and the polished floor became dirt once more. The brownies came to a halt. The male brownie removed the blindfolds. They were standing at a door that looked very much like the previous one. “Is it dark?” Kendra asked.

  “I can’t see a thing,” Seth said.

  “Just follow this passage,” the brownie instructed. “It will lead straight to the dungeon. I suppose you know your way from there. I can’t say whether the barriers will impede you. That risk is yours to take.”

  “Thank you,” Kendra said.

  “Here are your clothes,” the female brownie said. She held up a lovely dress and a pair of moccasins, all made from the silk of the handkerchief. Kendra accepted the dress, and the female brownie handed Seth a shirt, jacket, pants, and slippers fashioned from the same material.

  “Now, that is improvising,” Kendra said. “The clothes look wonderful.”

  “We all do what we do,” the female brownie responded with a small curtsy.

  The brownies held up the blankets in such a way as to allow Kendra and Seth privacy as they put on their clothes. Kendra could not believe how comfortably the dress fit her.

  “Just my size,” Seth said, pulling on the slippers.

  Kendra turned the knob and opened the door. “Thanks again,” she said.

  The brownies nodded congenially. She and Seth stepped through the door, closed it behind them, and proceeded down the gloomy tunnel. “These are the silkiest clothes ever,” Seth said. “I’m going to use them as pajamas.”

  “If you drink a shrinking potion every night,” Kendra reminded him.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  Eventually the curved dirt walls of the tunnel gave way to stone, and the corridor became more square. The air began to smell less earthy and more dank. “I think we’re getting close,” Kendra said.

  “Good — I’m sick of the dark,” Seth said.

  “I’m not sure the dungeon will be any brighter,” Kendra said.

  “Maybe we’ll find a way to reach a light switch,” he said.

  “We’ll see.”

  The corridor ended at an elaborately engraved brass door. “I think this is it,” Kendra said. She tried the handle, and the door swung open to reveal a room illuminated by trembling firelight. The source of the light was off to the left along the same wall as the tiny door, so they could not yet see it.

  “I can see,” Seth whispered excitedly.

  “I think we must have made it past the barriers,” Kendra said.

  Seth pushed by her and stepped out into the room. Like the walls, the floor was composed of stone blocks mortared together. Seth stared off to the left. “Hey, it’s the room where they make the—”

  A huge, veiny hand suddenly seized him. The glove he was carrying dropped to the ground as Seth was yanked out of sight.

  “Seth!” Kendra cried. A second hand shot through the doorway into the tunnel. She tried to dodge the grasping fingers and retreat, but the nimble hand grabbed her without difficulty.

  The hand pulled Kendra from the tunnel and lifted her high in the air. At her diminished height, the room looked vast. When she saw the large cauldron bubbling over a low fire, she realized it was simply the room where the goblins prepared the glop. In the wavering firelight, Kendra recognized her captor as Slaggo.

  “Voorsh, I caught some strays to sweeten the glop,” Slaggo grated in his guttural voice.

&
nbsp; “Are you daft?” Voorsh sneered. “No snatching brownies.” He sat on a table in the corner picking his teeth with a knife.

  “I know that, you twit,” Slaggo griped. “They aren’t brownies. Have a smell.”

  Kendra was trying to pry apart the fingers that were clutching her. It was no use; they were thicker than her leg and covered in calluses as hard as stone. Slaggo held her up to Voorsh’s snout, and he took a couple of sniffs, slit nostrils flaring.

  “Smells like people,” Voorsh said. “Something familiar to the odor…”

  “We’re Kendra and Seth,” Kendra shouted in her squeaky voice. “Our grandparents are the caretakers of Fablehaven.”

  “It speaks Goblush,” Slaggo said.

  “Thinks she’s an imp,” Voorsh chuckled.

  “You have to help us,” Kendra cried.

  “Pipe down,” Slaggo said. “You’re in no position to issue orders. I remember these two. Ruth brought them through here not long ago.”

  “Right you are,” Voorsh agreed. “And considering how things have changed…”

  “What do you mean how things have changed?” Kendra yelled.

  “He means seeing as your grandsires are now prisoners in their own dungeon,” Slaggo said, “it might be a fine prank to watch them gobble down their own flesh.”

  “You read my mind,” Voorsh gurgled.

  “What are they saying?” Seth asked.

  “They’re talking about cooking us,” Kendra said. “Grandma and Grandpa are imprisoned here.”

  “If you cook us, you’ll pay,” Seth shouted. “You’ll be guilty of murder. Grandma and Grandpa won’t be imprisoned forever!”

  “This one speaks like people,” Slaggo grunted.

  “It has a point,” Voorsh sighed.

  “You can’t cook us,” Kendra called. “The treaty protects us.”

  “Trespassers in our dungeon forfeit all protection,” Voorsh explained.

  “But the runt may be right about Stan and Ruth,” Slaggo said.

  “Course, if Stan and Ruth don’t know, they can’t rightly punish us,” Voorsh mused.

  “Why don’t you set my grandparents free?” Kendra proposed. “They’re the rightful caretakers here. You’ll be rewarded.”

  “Vanessa freed the big imps,” Slaggo croaked. “She is master of the situation.”

  “Besides, we couldn’t spring Stan even if we wanted,” Voorsh said. “We have no keys to the cells.”

  “So we may as well have a little fun,” Slaggo said, giving Kendra a squeeze that made her ribs creak.

  “If you let us go, we may be able to help my grandparents,” Kendra said. “Vanessa has no real authority here. My grandparents will be back in charge sooner or later. And when they are, they will reward you greatly for helping us now.”

  “Desperate words from cornered prey,” Slaggo said, striding toward the cauldron of roiling gray sludge.

  “Hold, Slaggo, she may be right,” Voorsh said.

  Slaggo hesitated at the cauldron. Hot, foul steam fumed up, washing over Kendra. She glanced over at Seth, who returned a worried look. Slaggo turned to face Voorsh. “You think?”

  “Stan and Ruth have repaid loyalty in the past,” Voorsh said. “If we spare their spawn, there may be more reward in it than watching the runts boil.”

  “A goose?” Slaggo asked hopefully.

  “Or better. This would merit much gratitude, and Stan has always dealt with us justly.”

  “I’m sure they’d give you huge rewards,” Kendra said.

  “You’d say anything at present to save your neck,” Slaggo growled. “All the same, my ears agree with Voorsh. Stan will likely return to power, and he has a history of fair rewards.” Slaggo set Kendra and Seth on the floor.

  “Could you take us to their cell?” Kendra asked.

  Seth looked at her like she was crazy.

  “Wouldn’t go over well if the new mistress caught us aiding enemies,” Voorsh said.

  “If you take us to the cell, you can be sure Stan will fully appreciate your involvement,” Kendra said. “You can always cut and run if somebody comes.”

  “Might not hurt,” Slaggo muttered. “Can you keep your traps shut as we go?”

  “Absolutely,” Kendra said.

  “Have you lost it?” Seth hissed.

  “This could save us lots of time,” Kendra whispered back.

  “You’ll deny our involvement if you’re caught,” Voorsh said.

  “Of course,” Kendra said.

  “Because we could make things very uncomfortable for you if you land us in hot water,” Slaggo snarled.

  “If we get caught, we’ll keep you out of it,” Kendra promised.

  “Make sure the other one understands,” Voorsh said. “My tongue gets tangled speaking your vile language.”

  Kendra explained the situation to Seth, who asserted his compliance. Slaggo stooped and picked them up in one hand.

  “Can you hold us a little looser?” Kendra asked.

  “Be glad I don’t cripple you,” Slaggo said, slightly relaxing his crushing grip.

  “Ask him to grab the glove,” Seth said.

  “Could you also get that glove on the floor?” Kendra asked. “We’ll want it when we’re big again.”

  “I understood the other one fine,” Slaggo said. “I’ll wager I grasp more languages than the two of you together. What good is a glove?” He bent down and picked it up.

  “Better than nothing,” Kendra replied weakly.

  Slaggo shook his head. “Be right back,” he said to Voorsh. “Don’t forget to stir the glop.”

  “Don’t get discovered,” Voorsh said. “Swallow them if it comes to it.”

  Slaggo grabbed a torch and lit it in the fireplace. He exited the room and moved swiftly down the hall. When the hall ended, he rounded a corner and continued. They passed the Quiet Box that Grandma had shown them. Kendra was grateful for each cell they passed, because they were progressing toward the front of the dungeon. If she and her brother returned to their normal sizes before they made it up to the kitchen, they would be trapped underground. Which meant every second counted.

  “Here we are,” Slaggo said quietly, setting them down in front of a cell door. “Now, keep your word and don’t cause any trouble for us.” He laid the invisibility glove on the ground beside them. “And if things go well, give credit where it’s due.”

  As the goblin scurried away, taking the torch with him, Kendra and Seth wormed through the slot meant for food trays. “Grandma, Grandpa!” Kendra called.

  “Is that Kendra?” Grandpa Sorenson said. “What are you doing here?”

  “Not just Kendra,” Seth said. “We shrunk ourselves.”

  “Seth?” Grandma Sorenson gasped, her voice trembling with emotion. “But how?”

  “Coulter woke up just before the revenant got us,” Seth said. “He gave me a magical cocoon that wrapped around me. Olloch swallowed me like a pill. I went in one end and out the other.”

  “Which would have satisfied the spell and bound him,” Grandpa said. “What a stroke of good fortune! I can’t say how relieved I am. I have many more questions but little time to ask them. I take it you gained entry through the brownie doors?”

  “I got away with Tanu’s potion bag,” Kendra said. “We made ourselves small. Do you know how long it lasts?”

  “I can’t say,” Grandpa said.

  “Clever children!” Grandma said. “You had better hurry if you hope to enter the house. The spell will not last forever.”

  “We want to steal back the artifact key,” Seth said.

  “Do they have it?” Kendra asked.

  “I’m afraid they do,” Grandpa said. “I was talking with your grandmother, and she does not recall certain recent conversations. Before she was revealed, I believe Vanessa controlled your grandmother to gather information from me. That would explain how she wrote those names in the register. I remember Ruth asking me to confirm where the key to the vault was hidden
, as well as to remind her of the combination to access the secret attic.”

  “I have no recollection of asking any such questions,” Grandma said.

  “With that knowledge, Vanessa should already have the key in her possession,” Grandpa said.

  “Do they know where the register is?” Kendra asked. “Can they let more people onto the preserve?”

  “I don’t believe they know where the register is now hidden,” Grandpa said. “But they have released at least one of the big imps, a brute who occupied this very cell, the same savage who broke my leg.”

  “I thought this was the cell with the imp,” Kendra said. “The one who yelled at me when Grandma showed us the dungeon.”

  “That’s right, dear,” Grandma said.

  “We had two other giant imps in confinement, so you can bet she released them as well,” Grandpa said. “In addition, she probably has help from Christopher Vogel by now, and I would wager that she is still inhabiting Tanu. You kids will need to use extreme caution.”

  “Dale and Coulter are down here in another cell,” Grandma said. “Voorsh was kind enough to confirm that.”

  “The goblins almost cooked us,” Seth said. “Then Kendra said that you would reward them if they helped us. So they did. I think they want a goose.”

  “I’ll give them ten geese if we get out of this,” Grandpa said. “Quickly, what is your plan?”

  “We’re going to get the artifact key and then free you guys,” Seth said. “We have Coulter’s invisibility glove, so when we get big again, we can still be sneaky.”

  “At least one of us can,” Kendra said.

  “The key to the vault is large, like a staff,” Grandpa said.

  “Like five feet?” Seth said.

  “More like six,” Grandpa said. “Taller than I am. Vanessa will keep it close. Be on guard; she is most dangerous. Seth, have no illusions: whether or not she is inhabiting Tanu, you stand no chance against her in a fair fight. You have seen the dungeon keys?”

  “Yes,” Kendra said.

  “We used to keep them on a peg by our bed,” Grandpa said. “She may be keeping those close as well. Depending on how everything plays out, it may be impossible for you to return to us with the dungeon keys. For all but the brownies, there is only one way out of here, so you could easily become trapped down here with us. If worse comes to worst, get the artifact key and flee the preserve. We can hope the Sphinx will find you.”