Grip of the Shadow Plague

Nobody had become fairykind in more than a thousand years, so nobody could fill Kendra in on all the specifics. Although she knew it meant that the fairies had shared their magic with her in a way that caused it to dwell inside of her as it did in them, she had never heard herself referred to as the Queen’s handmaiden, and was unsure what the expression meant. She knew being fairykind enabled her to see in the dark, understand languages related to Silvian, resist certain forms of mind control, recharge magical objects, and apparently transfer some of her energy to fairies. The Sphinx had implied that she probably had other abilities waiting to be discovered. Because her abilities could make her a target of people wishing to exploit her talents, Grandpa insisted on keeping her fairykind status a secret even from trusted friends.

Warren opened the door into the ballroom, where a tall, broad figure awaited. "Is everything all right?" Tanu asked. Warren nodded. He led Kendra across the crowded room and back into the grand hallway.

"Who’s meeting with us?" Kendra asked.

"Your Lieutenant," Warren said. "The quick appointment must mean the mission is important. All of the Knights are eager to speak with the Captain and their Lieutenants."

"What do you make of everything the Captain shared in his speech?" Kendra asked.

"We’ll discuss that when we have more privacy."

They returned to the same room where they had met the Captain earlier. A person in a gold-trimmed mask stood by the fireplace. Once Warren and Kendra closed the door, Dougan removed his mask, prompting Kendra and Warren to do the same.

"How did you like your first meeting as a Knight?" Dougan asked Kendra.

"It made me nervous," she admitted.

"Good, that was part of the aim," he said. "We need to keep on our toes now more than ever. Are you ready for your assignment?"

"Sure," Kendra said.

Dougan gestured toward a sofa. Warren and Kendra sat down together. Dougan remained standing, hands clasped behind his back. "Warren, have you ever heard of Lost Mesa?"

Warren’s eyebrows knitted together. "Can’t say I have."

"Clearly you know about some of the secret preserves, like Fablehaven," he said. "Lost Mesa is another of the secret preserves."

"The refuge in Arizona," Warren deduced. "I know of it, though I hadn’t heard the name. I’ve never been there."

"Lost Mesa is on Navajo land. What do you know about the objects hidden on the secret preserves?"

"There are five secret preserves, each with a hidden artifact," Kendra said. "Together, the artifacts can open Zzyzx, the main demon prison."

"The Captain told me you would know," Dougan said. "Protecting these artifacts from exploitation is the top priority of the Knights of the Dawn. We have strong reason to suspect that the Society has learned the location of Lost Mesa. We sent in a small team to recover the artifact there, in order to transfer it to a safer repository. The team has encountered some trouble, so I am personally going there to complete the operation. I need Kendra to come with me, so that she can recharge the artifact before we extract it. We understand she has that ability."

Warren held up his hand. "A few questions. First off, what sort of trouble did the current team encounter?"

"They found the caverns where the artifact lies hidden," Dougan said. "The traps guarding the prize proved too much for the three of them. One of the team members perished, and a second was badly injured."

"Sounds like an ideal situation for involving a fourteen-year-old girl," Warren said. "Why exactly do you need to charge the artifact?" "The Captain thinks that if the artifact is operational, we can use its power to better conceal it."

"Does he know which artifact it is?"

"He or she does not," Dougan answered.

"Won’t activating the artifacts make them that much more dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands?"

Dougan folded his arms. "Do you really think the Society won’t find a way to charge them if they ever lay hands on them? If anything, charging the artifacts now will make Kendra safer. The Society won’t be after her to jumpstart their prison keys."

Warren got up from his seat and wiped his hands down his face. "Dougan, level with me, is the Captain the Sphinx?" He stared at the Lieutenant intently.

"That’s one of many popular theories," Dougan smiled. "No theory I’ve heard has it right."

"That is exactly what I would say if I were trying to conceal the truth, especially if one of the theories were accurate."

"It’s also what you’d say if the theories were all false," Dougan said. "Warren, I have to warn you, this line of questioning is unacceptable."

Warren shook his head. "I can’t elaborate why, but the question is important. I don’t care who the Captain is, as long as he isn’t the Sphinx. Just swear that to me."

"I’m not swearing one way or the other. Don’t push me, Warren. I’ll already have to converse with the Captain about your sudden interest in his or her identity. Don’t make it worse. I took an oath. For all of our sakes, I can’t expose anything about the leader of the Knights."

"Then Kendra isn’t going to Lost Mesa," Warren said. "If necessary, she’ll resign her knighthood." Warren turned to face her. "Would you mind having the shortest career in the history of the Knights of the Dawn?"

"I’ll do whatever you think is best," Kendra said.

"I don’t appreciate being strong-armed," Dougan growled.

"I don’t like being kept in the dark," Warren countered. "Dougan, you know me. I don’t ask for intelligence just to satisfy my curiosity. I’ve got a reason."

Dougan rubbed his forehead. "Look, will the two of you swear to keep the following information private? Not a word to anyone!"

"I promise," Warren said.

Kendra nodded.

"The Captain is not the Sphinx," Dougan said. "We like that rumor, because it distracts people from the truth, so don’t spoil it. Now you tell me, what would it matter if the Captain were the Sphinx?"

"What do you know about the events at Fablehaven earlier this summer?" Warren asked.

"Were there events out of the ordinary?" Dougan asked.

"Then I can’t tell you," Warren said. "None of this is a huge deal, just me being overly cautious. Which I tend to be when the fate of the world is on the line. If the Captain sees fit to fill you in on what happened, maybe we can talk more." "I hear you. I told you what you wanted. Are you ready to step aside and allow Kendra to come to Lost Mesa with me?"