Fablehaven I (33 page)

run wild on festival nights that we otherwise never

encounter-which is why we take cover indoors. The print

may not even be a relevant clue. It could belong to the perpetrator,

or to the mount the perpetrator rode, or it could

belong to something that just happened to step there sometime

during the night.

So we just ignore Dale for now? Kendra asked.

We have no alternative. Time is short. We can only

hope that by rescuing your grandfather, we can shed more

light on what caused Dale’s condition and find a way to

reverse the curse. Come.

They returned to the house. Grandma spoke over her

shoulder as they mounted the stairs to the second floor.

There are a few special strongholds within the house. One

is the room where you have been staying. Another is a second

room on the other side of the attic.

I knew it! Kendra said. I could tell from outside

there had to be more to the attic. But I could never find a

way in.

You were probably searching in the wrong place,

Grandma said, leading them down the hall to her room.

The two sides of the attic are not interconnected. When

we get up there, I’ll fill you in on my strategy. Grandma

crouched and picked through a broken nightstand. She

found a few hairpins and used them to pile her hair into a

matronly bun. Searching more, she located a key. She led

them into the master bathroom, where she used the key to

unlock a closet door.

Instead of a closet, the door opened to reveal a second

door, this one made of steel with a large combination

wheel. A vault door. Grandma began spinning the wheel.

Four turns right to 11, three left to 28, two right to 3, one

left to 31, and half a turn right to 18.

She pulled a lever, and the heavy door clacked open.

Carpeted stairs led up to another door. Grandma went up

first. Seth and Kendra joined her in the attic.

This side of the attic was even larger than the playroom.

Grandma flipped a switch, and several lights dispelled

the dimness. A long workbench dominated one side

of the room, the wall above it covered with tools supported

on pegs. Handsome wooden cabinets lined the other walls.

Various unusual objects littered the room-a birdcage, a

phonograph, a battle-ax, a hanging scale, a mannequin, a

globe the size of a beach ball. Trunks and boxes were

arranged in rows on the floor, leaving just enough aisle

space to access them. Heavy curtains concealed the

windows.

Grandma motioned them over to the workbench,

where they perched on stools. What’s in all the boxes?

Seth asked.

Many things, most of them unsafe. This is where we

guard our most prized weapons and talismans. Spell books,

ingredients for potions, all the good stuff.

You can tell us more about Grandpa now? Kendra

said.

Yes. You heard Nero say that Stan and Lena are being

held in the Forgotten Chapel. Let me summarize some history

to bring the ramifications into view.

Long ago, this land was possessed by a powerful demon

named Bahumat. For centuries, he terrorized the natives

who dwelt in the region. They learned to avoid certain

areas, yet even with these precautions, nowhere in the

vicinity was truly safe. The natives made whatever offerings

the demon seemed to require, but still they lived in

fear. When a group of Europeans offered to overthrow the

demon in exchange for a claim to the lands it haunted, the

incredulous local leaders consented.

Aided by mighty allies and potent magic, the

Europeans successfully subdued and imprisoned the demon.

Some years later, they founded Fablehaven on the land

they wrested from Bahumat.

Years passed. In the early 1800s, a community comprised

chiefly of extended family had developed on this

preserve. They built a number of dwellings around the original

mansion. This was before the current house and barn

were constructed. The old mansion still stands deep within

this property, though most of the flimsier structures around

it have been swallowed by time and the elements.

Although their homes are gone, they did construct one

lasting structure-a church.

In 1826, thanks to human frailty and foolishness,

Bahumat nearly escaped. It could have been a serious disaster,

because none who remained on the preserve possessed

the resources or knowledge to contend successfully with an

entity of his power. Although the jailbreak was prevented,

the experience proved too unnerving for most who lived

here, and the majority departed.

The prison that held the demon had been damaged.

With outside help, Bahumat was moved to a new holding

area in the basement of the church. Meetings there ceased

a few months after that, and in the intervening years it has

become known as the Forgotten Chapel.

So Bahumat is still there? Kendra said.

Believe me, we would know if Bahumat had been

loosed. I doubt anyone in the world has the capacity to

recapture that fiend if he were to get free. His kind have

been absent for too long, imprisoned or destroyed. Those

who knew how to defeat such a foe have passed on, with

none to replace them. Which brings me to my greatest

concern: that Muriel might try to release Bahumat.

Would she do something that stupid? Seth cried.

Muriel is a student of evil. She was originally imprisoned

for tampering with such things. 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.

If we allow her enough time to release Bahumat, we

will all need saving. That is why I must try to stop her

immediately.

Not just you, Seth said.

Hugo and I will handle this. You kids have done

enough.

What? Seth exclaimed. No way!

Retrieving your grandfather should not be too difficult.

But if the worst-case scenario transpires, and I fail,

Fablehaven could fall. Bahumat never agreed to the treaty

that protects this sanctuary. None of his kind would. He

has a claim to this land and is a being of sufficient power

to overthrow the treaty, plunging the preserve into endless

darkness. Every day would become like those fearful festival

nights, and this property would be forever uninhabitable

for all but the denizens of shadow. Any mortal trapped

here would fall prey to horrors too terrible to contemplate.

Could that really happen? Kendra asked quietly.

It would not be the first time, Grandma said,

Preserves have fallen ever since they were instituted. The

causes are myriad, usually stemming from human folly.

Some have been reclaimed. Others fell beyond redemption.

Currently there are at least thirty fallen preserves in the

world. Perhaps most unnerving are the recent whispers

about the Society of the Evening Star.

Maddox told us about them, Seth said.

Grandpa got a letter warning him to be on the lookout,

Kendra added.

Traditionally, the fall of a preserve was an uncommon

occurrence. Maybe one or two a century. About ten years

ago, rumors began to circulate that the Society of the

Evening Star was working mischief again. Around the same

time, preserves began falling at an alarming rate. Four have

fallen over the past five years.

Why would anybody do that? Kendra asked.

Many have sought the answer to that question,

Grandma said. To gain riches? Power? We who safeguard

the preserves are essentially conservationists. We don’t

want to see the magnificent magical creatures of the world

go extinct. We try not to discriminate against creatures of

shadow-we want them to survive as well. But we do

compartmentalize them when necessary. Members of the

Society of the Evening Star mask their true intentions with

rhetoric, alleging that we wrongfully imprison creatures of

darkness.

Do you? Seth asked.

The most violent and malevolent demons are imprisoned,

yes, but that is for the safety of the world. In pursuit

of endless carnage and unlawful dominion, they clashed

anciently with good humans and creatures of light, and are

paying a heavy price for losing. Many other sinister entities

were admitted to preserves only on condition that they

would agree to certain limitations-agreements they

entered voluntarily. A common restriction is that they are

not permitted to leave the preserve, so the Society considers

many of these creatures also incarcerated. They argue

that the covenants of the preserves create artificial rules

that upset the natural order of things. They consider the

majority of humanity expendable. Their premise is that

chaos and bloodshed are preferable to just regulations. We

disagree.

Do you think the Evening Star people are involved in

kidnapping Grandpa? Kendra asked.

Grandma shrugged. Possibly. I hope not. If so, it was

done with great subtlety. There are powerful limits to how

any outsider can intrude on a preserve. And our preserve is

more secret than most.

Grandma opened a drawer and pulled out a rolled

parchment. Unrolling it, she revealed a map of the world.

Large dots and X’s were located on diverse portions of the

map, aside from the labeling of major cities.

The X’s mark fallen preserves, Grandma said. The

dots mark active ones.

Fablehaven isn’t marked, Kendra noticed.

Sharp eyes, Grandma said. There are thirty-seven

active preserves noted on the map. And five unmarked preserves,

of which Fablehaven is one. Even among those

most trusted in our community, very few people know

about the unmarked preserves. None know of them all.

Why? Seth asked.

Special artifacts of great power are hidden on those

five preserves.

What artifacts? Seth asked, excited.

I cannot say. I don’t know most of the details myself.

The artifact here at Fablehaven is not in our possession. It

is guarded at an undisclosed location on the property.

Evildoers, particularly the Society of the Evening Star,

would like nothing more than to collect the artifacts from

the hidden preserves.

So there are many reasons Fablehaven must be protected,

Kendra said.

Grandma nodded. Your grandfather and I are prepared

to give our lives if necessary.

Maybe none of us should go after Grandpa, Kendra

said. Can’t we get help?

There are some who would come to our aid if summoned,

but I need to stop Muriel and find your grandfather

today. Nobody could reach us that quickly. Fablehaven is

protected by secrecy. At times this becomes a hindrance. I