Grip of the Shadow Plague

"A fairy told me last night," Kendra said.

"I'm sure the others didn't believe your comment was based solely on intuition, but I doubt they'll openly pry.

Remember to be careful about hinting at your powers. Dougan knows you can recharge magical items. That's it. The others don't even know that much."

"Sorry," Kendra said. "I'll be careful."

"We have to be cautious. I think we can trust Dougan and Gavin, but I don't want to take anything for granted. I'm positive the Society has people in place to make sure the artifact ends up in their hands. Remember, at Fablehaven, the original plan was for Vanessa and Errol to steal the artifact themselves. The traitor here might be somebody who has lived on the preserve a while. Or it could be Tammy or Javier."

"Hopefully it was Zack," Kendra said.

Warren grinned. "Wouldn't that be nice? I've done some digging. Tammy is along because she has a talent for finding and disabling traps. Javier is a seasoned ingredient collector, used to work for a couple of the top dealers. He has a lot of experience getting out of dodgy situations. Their reputations are solid, but so was Vanessa's."

"Are you worried about Neil or Mara?" Kendra asked.

"If the Sphinx is a suspect, anyone is a suspect," he said. "Trust no one. Try to stay inside the hacienda unless I'm with you."

"Think I'll be able to find a trail?" Kendra asked.

Warren shrugged. "You can see through distracter spells. You've got a better shot of finding a secret path than I have."

"We should probably get going."

Neil and Mara were outside in a dirty Jeep with the engine running. Warren and Kendra climbed in back. They did not keep to roads for long. Out the front window, Painted Mesa loomed ever larger. During one stretch, Neil forced the Jeep up such a steep grade that Kendra worried it would rear up and tip over backwards. The bumpy, jarring drive ended in a flat area strewn with jagged boulders.

A few hundred yards of rugged terrain separated them from where a sheer stone face of the mesa rose into the sky.

"It's so high," Kendra said, using her hand as a visor as she stared up at the colorful plateau. There was hardly a cloud in the bright blue sky.

Neil came up beside her. "You'll be looking for hand holds, a rope, a cave, a stairway, a path-anything that might grant access. To most eyes, most of the time, there appears to be no possible route to the top, even for an experienced climber. The pathways become available only at certain moments. For example, until lately, the Twilight Way appeared at sunset. We'll circle the mesa multiple times."

"Do you know of other paths besides the Twilight Way?" Warren asked.

"We know of others, but not where to look," Neil said. "The only other reliable route is the Festival Road. It opens on festival nights. The next opportunity would be the autumnal equinox."

"Scaling the mesa on a festival night would be madness," Mara said, her voice a resonant alto. "Suicide."

"Sounds like my kind of party," Warren joked. Mara did not acknowledge that he had spoken.

"What if you get up there and can't find a way down?" Kendra asked.

"There are normally many ways down," Neil said. "The mesa is happy to see visitors leave. I've never had trouble, nor have I heard stories of others facing difficulties descending."

"Those people might not be around to tell the stories," Warren pointed out.

Neil shrugged.

"Could the Twilight Way open up again?" Kendra asked. Neil tossed up his hands. "Hard to say. My guess would be not for many seasons. But we'll check this evening maybe your sharp eyes will catch sight of something I missed."

Kendra noticed beige rabbit feet dangling from Neil's pierced earlobes. "Are those lucky?" Kendra asked, indicating the earrings.

"Jackalope," Neil said. "If we're going to find a pathway, we'll need all the luck we can get."

She refrained from telling Neil the obvious-that the feet had clearly not been very lucky for the jackalope.

They hiked around the mesa. Little was said. Neil mostly studied the sheer rock faces from several paces away. Mara got up close, caressing the stone, sometimes leaning her cheek against the unyielding surface. Kendra scrutinized the mesa as best she could, from near and far, but noticed no evidence of a path.

The sun beat down relentlessly. Neil loaned Kendra a wide-brimmed hat and some sunscreen. When they finally circled back to the Jeep, Neil retrieved a plastic cooler. They ate sandwiches and trail mix in the shade.

During the afternoon, a warm breeze began to blow. Kendra saw the most interesting things when she faced away from the mesa and glimpsed an occasional fairy or jackalope in the distance. She wondered if the jackalopes resented Neil for his earrings. No creatures, insects included, ventured right up to the mesa. The atmosphere was heavy. Gavin had been right, there was something in the air that lulled you, made you drowsy. They completed another meticulous lap around the mesa before hunkering down in the shade and eating the dried fruit and jerky Neil had brought for dinner. He told them a final loop around the mesa would put them in about the right spot to look for the Twilight Way when the sun went down.

As they hiked, leaden thunderheads began to blow in from the south. When they paused for a water break, Mara surveyed the oncoming clouds. "Going to be a real storm tonight," she predicted.

By the time the sun neared the horizon, the wind was whistling through the rocks, a constant, eerie moan that rose to shrill hoots and shrieks during gusts. Ominous clouds obscured much of the sky, shot through with magnificent colors where the sun was sinking.

"It should be here," Neil said, staring up at a blank cliff. "A winding trail."

Mara leaned against the base of the precipice, eyes closed, palms pressed against the stone. Kendra stared hard, trying to will her eyes to see through whatever spells might be concealing the path. Neil paced around the area, clearly frustrated. Warren stood with his arms folded, nothing moving but his eyes. Behind them, the sun finally disappeared below the horizon.

A particularly strong gust blew Kendra's hat off and made her stagger. The wind cried out in disharmonious howls.

"We should get back to the Jeep," Neil said, eyes sweeping the mesa one last time. "The Twilight Way is closed," Mara declared solemnly.

As they hiked back to where they had parked the Jeep, rain began to patter on the rocks around them, leaving dime-sized splotches on the stone. Within minutes, the rocks had darkened with wetness, becoming slick and treacherous in places.

Coming into sight of the Jeep, they scrambled over and around jumbled piles of damp stone. The rain fell hard now. Although her clothes were soaked, the warm air kept Kendra from shivering. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw a waterfall streaming down the side of the mesa.

The sight made her pause. The water was not falling straight; it was coming at an angle, leaping and rolling, the lively rapids of a steep stream. Not a natural stream-the water was tumbling down a steep stairway, carved into the face of the mesa.

"Stop," Kendra called, pointing. "Look at that waterfall!"

The other three turned and stared at the mesa. "Waterfall?" Warren asked.

"Not a true waterfall," Kendra amended. "Water racing down a stairway."

"You see stairs?" Neil asked.

Kendra pointed from the base of the mesa to the top. "Looks like they run all the way up. They're so obvious now, I can't believe they were hidden before! You'll want to wait until they dry off. It would be a tough climb with all that water." "The Flooded Stairs," Mara said with wonder in her voice.

"I still don't see anything," Warren said.

"Neither do we," Neil replied. "Take us to the foot of the stairs."

The others followed Kendra as she led them back to the base of the mesa. Reaching the stairs did not take long. Just beyond the end of the stairs, the water slurped into a dark fissure in the ground. Kendra edged up to the crevice and peered down. There was no end in sight. She could hear water churning in the distant depths.

"I'm surprised we didn't fall in the hole when we were circling the mesa earlier," Kendra said, turning to the others.

"I don't see a hole," Warren said.

"Can you lead me onto the stairs?" Neil asked.

Taking his hand, Kendra led him around the opening in the ground and along a rocky shelf until they stood together at the bottom step. Cold water gushed around their shins.

"Do you see it now?" Kendra asked.

"Lead me up a few steps," Neil said.

Treading carefully, for though the water was not deep, it was coming fast, Kendra placed her foot onto the first slick stone step. With Neil in tow, she climbed four stairs before she slipped, plunging a hand and both knees into the frigid stream before Neil hoisted her up.

"Enough," Neil said.

They carefully returned to the shelf, then walked around the crevice to rejoin Warren and Mara. "I didn't see the stairway until you started climbing," Warren said. "And then it only seemed to go about five steps beyond the point you reached. I had to focus hard to keep my eyes on you."

"I saw fifteen steps ahead of me before the stairs ceased," Neil said.

"It keeps going and going," Kendra verified, "turning here and there, reaching landings or ledges in some places. The stairs lead all the way to the top. Will the storm be over by morning?"

"When the rain ends, the stairs will be gone," Mara said.

"That is why, even with your gifted sight, you did not perceive the stairs or the fissure earlier. None have found the Flooded Stairs in centuries. Many assumed the pathway existed only in lore."

"You have to climb the stairs in the rain?" Kendra asked. "That is going to be tough!"

"This could be our only opportunity," Neil said to Warren.

Warren nodded. "We should get the others."

"We'll need Kendra to guide us," Neil said. "I felt the strength of the spell. It took all I had to follow her lead. Without her, we have no chance."

Warren frowned, water trickling down his face from his damp hair. "We'll have to find another way."

Neil shook his head. "This was a long shot, a miracle. Don't count on finding another way, not for years. Maybe we should leave whatever is up there alone. It is well guarded."

"I'll lead you up, if you need me," Kendra said. "I'll need somebody near me who can keep the water from sweeping me away." "No, Kendra," Warren said. "There is no imminent danger compelling us. You don't need to do this."

"If we don't recover what we came for, someone else might," Kendra said. "I don't have to go into the vault. Just up the mesa."

"She could wait outside with me," Neil offered.

"There can be strange activity on the mesa during a storm," Mara warned. The wind wailed, underscoring her words.

"We'll take refuge in the old weather room," Neil said. "I passed the time quietly there on the last trip."

Kendra looked at Warren. He did not look fully unwilling. She suspected he wanted her to do it, but not because he pushed her. "This is important," Kendra insisted. "Why am I here if not to help where I can? Let's do it."

Warren turned to Neil. "You met no trouble on top of the mesa last time?"

"No real danger," Neil said. "That may have partially been luck. The mesa is certainly not always safe."

"Do you think you can protect Kendra?"

"I expect so."

"Will this rain last a while?" Warren asked Mara.

"Off and on, for a few hours at least."

They started back toward the Jeep. "We could round up the others and be ready to return within half an hour," Warren said. "Do you have climbing equipment? Ropes? Harnesses? Carabiners?"

"For six of us?" Neil asked. "Maybe. I'll gather all we have." They fell silent. That was it. The decision had been made. They were going to give it a try.

As Kendra followed the others, picking her way over and around wet rocks, she tried not to picture herself frozen with fear high on a watery stairway, a magnificent desert vista overwhelming her with paralyzing vertigo. In spite of Warren's faith in her, she wished she could retract her offer.

Chapter Ten

Shadow Wounds

Seated on a chair on the deck, Seth examined the checkerboard in disbelief. Tanu had just jumped two of his checkers, and now outnumbered Seth seven pieces to three. But that was not the cause of his amazement. Seth reexamined his potential move, put his hand on one of his two kings, and jumped six of Tanu's pieces, zigzagging around the board.

He looked up at Tanu. The Samoan stared back with wide eyes. "You asked for it," Seth laughed, removing all but one of Tanu's red checkers. Tanu had already beaten him twice in a row, and things had been looking grim until the coolest move he had ever found opened up. "I used to think triple jumps were the ultimate." "I've never seen so many jumps in one move," Tanu said, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Wait a minute," Seth said. "You set me up! You did that on purpose!"

"What?" Tanu asked with too much innocence.

"You wanted to see if you could create the biggest jump in the history of checkers. You must have been maneuvering the whole time to set that up!"

"You're the one who found the move," Tanu reminded him.

"I know pity when I see it. I'd much rather strike out than have somebody pitch to me underhand. Is this your way of getting back at me for always going first?"