Fablehaven2-Rise of the Evening Star Page 23

she wondered if it had something to do with being fairykind.

  Perhaps she could sense what the Fairy Queen considered

  permissible. Or maybe she was just scared.

  Stopping just short of the end of the pier, Kendra licked

  her lips. She felt hesitant to speak and desecrate the silence.

  But she needed help, and could not afford to waste time.

  Lena, it's Kendra, I need to talk.

  The words seemed to die the instant they left her lips.

  They did not carry or reverberate. The dark pond remained

  inscrutable. Lena, this is an emergency, please come speak

  to me, she tried in a louder voice.

  Again, she felt she had spoken for her own ears alone.

  There was no hint of response from her shadowy

  surroundings.

  Why is she back again? a voice said from off to her

  right. The sound came up out of the water, the words soft

  but undistorted.

  Who said that? Kendra asked.

  'She's here to show off, what else? another voice

  answered from directly below the pier. Mortals get so proud

  when they know our language, as if speaking it weren't the

  easiest and most natural ability.

  I'll allow that it beats her clumsy honking, a third

  voice giggled. Barking like a seal.

  Several voices giggled from under the obscure water. I

  need to speak with Lena, Kendra pleaded.

  She needs to find a new hobby, the first voice said.

  Maybe she should take up swimming, the third voice

  suggested. Laughter rippled all around her.

  You don't have to talk like I'm not here, Kendra said.

  I can hear every word just fine.

  She's an eavesdropper, the voice under the pier said.

  She should come closer to the water so we can hear her

  better, said a new voice near the end of the pier.

  I'm just fine where I am, Kendra said.

  Just fine, she says, said another new voice. A big

  clumsy scarecrow glued to the ground, plodding around on

  stilts. The comment initiated the longest bout of tittering

  yet.

  Better than being trapped in an aquarium, Kendra

  said.

  The pond became silent. She is not very polite, the

  voice under the pier finally said.

  A new voice chimed in. What do you expect? Her feet

  are probably sore. Kendra rolled her eyes at the giggles that

  followed. She suspected the naiads would gladly trade insults

  all night.

  Fablehaven is in danger, Kendra said. The Society of

  the Evening Star has taken my Grandma and Grandpa

  prisoner. My brother Seth has been killed. I need to talk to

  Lena.

  I'm here, Kendra, said a familiar voice. It was slightly

  more light and musical, slightly less warm, but it was definitely

  Lena.

  Hush, Lena, said the voice under the pier.

  I'll speak if I choose, Lena said.

  What do you care of mortal politics? one of the earlier

  voices chided. They come and go. Have you forgotten what

  mortals do best? They die. It's the one talent they have in

  common.

  Kendra, come close to the water, Lena said. Her voice

  was nearer. Kendra could vaguely see her face beneath the

  surface of the pond to the left of the pier. Her nose was

  nearly breaking the surface.

  Not too close, Kendra said, squatting well out of reach.

  Why are you here, Kendra?

  I need your help. The preserve is at the brink of falling

  again.

  I know you think that matters, Lena said.

  It does matter, Kendra said.

  It seems to matter for a moment. Just like a lifetime.

  Don't you care about Grandma and Grandpa? They

  could die!

  They will die. You'll all die. And at the time it will

  seem like it matters.

  It does matter! Kendra said. What do you mean,

  nothing matters? What about Patton? Did he matter?

  There came no answer. Lena's face broke the surface of

  the water, gazing up at Kendra with liquid eyes. Even in the

  weak light, Kendra could see that Lena looked much

  younger. Her skin was smoother and more evenly colored.

  Her hair had only a few strands of gray. The water around

  Lena sloshed and churned and she vanished.

  Hey, Kendra said. Leave her alone.

  She's through talking with you, said the voice under

  the pier. You are not welcome here.

  You pulled her away! Kendra accused. You jealous

  little airheads. Waterheads. What do you do, brainwash her?

  Lock her in a closet and play songs about living under the

  sea?

  You do not know of what you speak, said the voice

  under the pier. She would have perished and now she will

  live. This is your final warning. Go face your fate. Leave

  Lena to enjoy hers.

  I'm not going anywhere, Kendra said resolutely. Bring

  Lena back. You can't do anything to me if I stay away from

  the water.

  Oh, no? said the voice under the pier.

  Kendra did not like the knowing tone of the speaker.

  Too much confidence. She had to be bluffing. If naiads left

  the water, they became mortal. Still, Kendra looked around,

  worried that somebody might be sneaking up on her to push

  her into the water. She saw nobody.

  Hello? Kendra said. Hello?

  Silence. She felt certain they could hear her.

  Don't say we didn't warn you, one of the earlier voices

  sang.

  Kendra crouched, trying to be ready for anything. Were

  the naiads going to throw something at her? Maybe they

  could collapse the pier? The night remained quiet and still.

  A hand reached up out of the water at the end of the

  pier. Kendra jumped back, her heart in her throat. A

  wooden hand. Little golden hooks served as joints. Mendigo

  scrambled out of the dark water and crawled onto the pier.

  Kendra backed away as Mendigo stood, the wooden limberjack

  Muriel had changed into a fearsome servant. The

  overgrown primitive puppet had been pulled into the water

  by the naiads the year before. It had not crossed Kendra's

  mind that they might release him. Or even that he would

  still be functional. Muriel had been imprisoned. She was

  locked up with Bahumat deep beneath a verdant hill.

  Apparently nobody had told Mendigo.

  The wooden figure rushed at Kendra. Although she had

  grown since she last saw the limberjack, he was still an inch

  or two taller. Kendra turned and ran along the pier back to

  the boardwalk. She could hear him gaining, wooden feet

  clacking against wooden planks.

  He caught up to her at the bottom of the gazebo stairs.

  Kendra whirled and tried to grab at him, hoping to catch

  hold of a limb and unhinge it. He nimbly evaded her grasp

  and caught hold of her around the waist, flipping her upside

  down. She struggled and he changed his grip, pinning her

  arms to her sides.

  Kendra was caught in a helpless position-facing away

  from him, upside down, arms immobilized. She tried to

  wriggle and flail, but Mendigo was alarmingly strong. As the

  oversized puppet trotted away from the po
nd, it became

  apparent she was going wherever he wanted.

  Reunion

  Seth stripped off another piece of the spongy wall and

  placed it in his mouth. The texture reminded him of citrus

  pulp. He chewed until he was left with a small amount

  of tough, tasteless matter, which he swallowed. Puckering his

  lips, Seth pressed his mouth against the wall of the cocoon.

  The harder he kissed the wall, the more moisture flowed

  into his mouth. Water with a hint of honeydew.

  Olloch roared again, and the cocoon shuddered. Seth

  flopped around as the cocoon lurched from side to side. By

  the time he braced himself, the movement stopped. Seth

  was growing accustomed to the roars and the flurries of

  motion, although the thought that he was listening to a roar

  from inside a cocoon inside the belly of a demon remained

  Peculiar.

  Seth had tried to sleep. When he had first started dozing,

  the roars had awakened him every time. Eventually;

  with the help of his mounting fatigue, he had managed a few

  fitful stretches of slumber.

  Time was becoming meaningless in the endless blackness.

  Only the growls and motion of the demon interrupted

  the monotony. That and snacking on fragments of the

  padded walls. How long had he been inside of Olloch? A

  day? Two days? Three?

  At least Seth remained reasonably comfortable inside

  his womblike enclosure. It fit him rather snugly. There was

  just enough room to move his arms when he wanted to pick

  at the walls. Even when he was flung around, he never got

  injured, because the walls were soft, and there was not

  enough room for him to get shaken into dangerous positions.

  With so little space, it seemed the air would run out in

  a matter of minutes, but his breathing remained unstrained.

  Being swallowed by Olloch had made no difference-the air

  remained fresh. The closeness of the cocoon made him a

  little claustrophobic, but in the darkness, when he lay still,

  he could pretend the enclosure was spacious.

  Olloch gave a particularly ferocious roar. The cocoon

  quaked. The demon emitted a couple of prolonged growls

  followed by the loudest roar Seth had yet heard. Seth wondered

  if the demon was in a fight. The snarls and roars

  continued. It felt oddly like the cocoon was being squeezed,

  first by his head, then near his shoulders, then at his waist,

  then at his knees and feet. The vicious growls continued

  unabated.

  The cocoon was jostled one final time and silence followed.

  Seth lay in stillness, waiting for the turbulence to

  resume. He waited for several minutes, expecting more roaring

  at any moment. The growls had been almost desperate.

  Now all was eerily calm. Could Olloch have been killed? Or

  perhaps the demon had won a battle and then collapsed in

  exhaustion. It was easily the longest interval of motionless

  silence Seth had experienced since being swallowed.

  Uneventful minutes accumulated until Seth felt his eyelids

  drooping. He slipped into a deep slumber.

  * * * *

  Mendigo dumped Kendra onto the ground. A thick carpet

  of wildflowers cushioned her landing. The air smelled of

  blossoms and fruit. As disoriented as the dash through the

  woods had left her, Kendra knew where they were: at the site

  where the Forgotten Chapel once stood. The last order from

  Muriel to Mendigo must have been to bring Kendra to the

  chapel.

  During the entire run through the woods, Kendra had

  wriggled and twisted and squirmed. She had kicked Mendigo

  in the head and tried to unhinge his limbs. But the oversized

  puppet had just shifted his grip and continued doggedly

  onward. She had been carried upside down, over his shoulder,

  and curled up in a ball. No matter how vigorously she

  struggled, Mendigo had adjusted.

  Kendra lay sprawled on a bed of wildflowers beneath a

  starless sky, the dim night pungent and mild. Mendigo

  crouched and started digging, clawing at the soil with

  wooden fingers, tossing stones aside when he encountered

  them. Somewhere under the hill, Muriel was buried, imprisoned

  with Bahumat. Apparently the order had not merely

  been to bring Kendra to the chapel but to bring Kendra to

  Muriel.

  Kendra sprang to her feet and bolted down the hillside.

  She had not traveled six steps before Mendigo slammed into

  her from behind, tackling her near the trunk of a peach tree.

  They rolled and she wrenched her back. Kendra shrieked as

  Mendigo clung to her with unnatural strength, wrapping her

  up with his arms and legs.

  At least if he was clinging to her, he wasn't digging.

  What would happen if he tunneled down to Muriel? Would

  the witch issue new commands to her wooden servant?

  Would she get in touch with Vanessa and figure out a way

  to escape?

  You're in a fine predicament, a tiny voice giggled. It

  was high and musical, like the tinkling of a little bell.

  Kendra turned her head. A yellow fairy hovered near her

  face, emitting a golden glow. She wore a shimmering slip of

  gossamer and had wings like a bumblebee and a pair of

  antennae. I wouldn't mind some help, Kendra said.

  A heroine of your reputation should have no trouble

  escaping such a feeble adversary, the fairy said airily.

  You'd be surprised how strong he is, Kendra said.

  His magic is weak, the fairy sniffed. Muriel is sealed

  in a mighty prison. Her will no longer supports the enchantments

  she left behind. And yet you can do nothing but beg

  for help. Forgive me if I am unimpressed.

  Mendigo was dragging Kendra up the hill toward the

  spot where he had started digging. Obviously I'm having

  trouble, Kendra said. I don't know what to do.

  The fairy laughed, a twittering sound. This is priceless!

  The great Kendra Sorenson being hauled through the dirt

  by a puppet!

  You act like I think I'm some big shot, Kendra said. I

  think you're projecting. I know I'm just a girl. Without the

  help of all the fairies I would have died last summer.

  False humility is more insulting than open pride! the

  fairy sniffed.

  Mendigo picked up Kendra, cradling her in his arms,

  folding her knees up to her chin and keeping her arms

  trapped at her sides. He resumed digging with his feet. Do I

  look like I could possibly be feeling superior to anyone?

  Kendra demanded.

  The fairy drifted close, hovering in front of Kendra's

  nose. The magic inside you is dazzling. By comparison, he

  is like a faint star next to the noonday sun.

  I don't know how to use it, Kendra said.

  Don't ask me, the fairy said. You're the gifted

  luminary our Queen chose to honor. I can't show you how

  to unlock your magic any more than you can teach me how

  to use mine.

  Could you use your magic on him? Kendra asked.

  'Change him back into a little puppet?

  The spell that animates him remains
potent, the fairy

  said. But the command guiding his actions is weak. With

  some help, I could probably turn him.

  Oh, please, would you? Kendra asked.

  Well, I am here to guard the prison, the fairy said. All

  of us who were imps take turns as sentries.

  You were an imp? Kendra said.

  Don't remind me. It was a graceless existence.

  He's trying to dig down to Muriel, Kendra said. If

  you're a guard, shouldn't you stop him?

  I suppose I should, the fairy conceded. But the plums

  smell so wonderful right now, and the night is so fine…

  rounding up fairies is such drudgery.

  I'd be so grateful, Kendra said.

  We fairies crave nothing more than your gratitude,

  Kendra. We look up to you so. One kind word and our little

  hearts start racing! All we wish for is the love of big, clumsy

  girls.

  You're terrible, Kendra said.

  I am, aren't I, the fairy said, finally sounding flattered.

  Tell you what. It is my responsibility to guard Muriel and

  Bahumat, you were right about that, so maybe I could check

  if anybody else is bored enough to lend you a hand.

  The little fairy zipped away. Kendra hoped she was really

  going for help. The fairy didn't sound very reliable. Kendra

  tried to force the limberjack's arms apart by straightening her

  legs. The effort strained her back. Mendigo was too strong.

  As Mendigo dug deeper, Kendra's hope that the fairy

  would return began to dwindle. Mendigo was nearly waist

  deep in a hole before a small group of fairies swarmed around

  them, glimmering in prismatic colors.

  See, I told you, the little yellow fairy tinkled.

  He's certainly tunneling toward Muriel, another fairy

  said.

  Not very efficiently, a third chimed in.

  Would you like us to turn him to obey your will? a

  fourth fairy asked. Kendra recognized the speaker as the silver

  fairy who had led the charge when the fairies attacked

  Bahumat.

  Sure, that would be great, Kendra said.

  The fairies hovered in a ring around Mendigo and

  Kendra. When they began chanting, colors flared and

  sparked, making Kendra blink. Kendra could no longer comprehend

  what they were saying. It felt like trying to listen in

  on multiple conversations at once. All she caught were tangled

  fragments of meaning that together made no sense. .

  After a final blazing flash, the fairies fell silent. Most

  soared away. Mendigo continued digging. He is now yours

  to command, the silver fairy reported.