Fablehaven: Chapters 14–15

Over time, I lapsed into a twilight consciousness, incapable of rational thought, unable to interpret my surroundings as a human would.

The shock jolted me out of my stupor.

“As a hen, most details escaped me. When I urged you to take me to Muriel, I assumed she still had two knots remaining. Only when I looked up and observed the single knot did I begin to fathom the actual predicament. By then it was too late. Incidentally, how did you end up as a walrus?”

“Our only chance is clever bargaining. Cliff trolls are cunning and ruthless, but their avarice can be a weakness.”

Cliff trolls are miserly creatures. Treasure hoarders.

Tenacious vegetation clung to the steep walls. A narrow stream trickled along the bottom.

“Carefully,” Grandma said, taking a seat at the edge of the precipice.

“Those are a peculiar class of lotus blossoms. The smell is intoxicating, the taste divine. A tiny nibble of a single petal carries you away into a lethargic trance populated by vivid hallucinations.”

“Stan said you had a ladder.”
“That was before I set up these logs. No small undertaking.”

“Climbing them looks precarious.”

“You would have me speak first? So be it. I do not ask much, an insignificant trifle for the proprietress of this illustrious preserve. Six coffers of gold, twelve puncheons of silver, three casks of uncut gems, and a bucket of opals.”

The boy has spirit, but little ability. You would assume the burden of training him as a servant, and find yourself yoked to his incompetence.

“It will take more than florid words and grandiose promises to persuade me.”

“People pay exorbitant sums for an expert massage. You will receive yours at no cost, merely in exchange for a service. How long would it take you to ascertain Stan’s location?”

Grandma continued expertly rubbing his palm and the back of his hand. He started licking his eyes compulsively.

“But I could exchange my service for something more enduring! For treasure! A single massage is too fleeting.”

“No caveats. A single ninety-minute massage in exchange for the location of Stan Sorenson. You will treasure the memory until the end of your days.”

Nero was obviously in ecstasy. He purred and moaned in decadent satisfaction.

A constant stream of drowsy compliments flowed from his lips. He languidly encouraged them to rub harder and deeper.

“Wait patiently,” Grandma chided, wiping perspiration from her brow.

He still looked affable and relaxed, though not quite as loopy as before.

She wore a dour, thoughtful expression and hushed any attempts at conversation.

Grandma tucked some errant strands of hair behind her ear.

They place daily enchantments on her food and make secret offerings to honor and strengthen her. In return, her milk functions as an ambrosia central to their survival.

“No matter. The absence of milk might make the fairies a little ornery, but they’ll get over it. We’ll see they get some tomorrow at the latest.”

“You have not met him because his mind has been ruined. Dale has remained on this preserve mainly in order to care for him. Warren is lost in a catatonic stupor. Fablehaven has many stories. His is another tragic tale of a mortal venturing where he did not belong. Warren will be no help to us.”

“Those rogues were protecting their underhanded operation more than you,” Grandma huffed.

They have been pilfering her stew for years.

The scoundrels didn’t want to have to rebuild their thieving device—probably sounded too much like work. Satyrs live for frivolity.

Grandma stood with her hands on her hips, taking in the scene. The ruined tree house. The damaged furniture strewn about the garden.

Grandma regarded Seth pensively.

Stan allowed you to come here to do your parents a favor, but also because we need to start selectively sharing this secret with our posterity. We will not be around forever.

Your grandfather must share the blame for placing you children in a situation where opening a window with kind intentions could cause such harm and destruction. And clearly the fiends who abducted him are ultimately the most culpable.

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.

But if the worst-case scenario transpires, and I fail, Fablehaven could fall.

Preserves have fallen ever since they were instituted. The causes are myriad, usually stemming from human folly.

Members of the Society of the Evening Star mask their true intentions with rhetoric, alleging that we wrongfully imprison creatures of darkness.

Members of the Society of the Evening Star mask their true intentions with rhetoric, alleging that we wrongfully imprison creatures of darkness.

They consider the majority of humanity expendable.

Grandma opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled parchment.