Grip of the Shadow Plague

Kendra had not been able to make out which of her friends and family were falling. She tried to force herself to wake up, but it was hard to cling to the slippery notion that the frightening scene was imaginary. As she ascended toward the apex of her rotation, the wheel canted even more, threatening to collapse completely at any moment. She noticed Seth beneath her, clinging to a pole, legs swinging. And then the wheel tipped over sideways, and she fell away from her seat, tumbling through the darkness with her loved ones, the colorful carnival lights growing brighter as she neared the ground. She had awakened an instant before impact.

Kendra didn’t need a professional analysis to arrive at an interpretation. The tragic escapade on Painted Mesa had left her traumatized, and then to come home and learn how the plague had spread, infecting not just the creatures of Fablehaven but Coulter and Tanu as well, she felt like danger was encroaching from all sides. Bad people were after her. Too many people who were supposed to be good couldn’t be trusted. It wasn’t safe to go home to her parents. It wasn’t safe to hide at Fablehaven. She and everyone she loved was in peril.

"Don’t eat more than you want," Grandma said. Kendra realized she had been toying with her pancakes, procrastinating the next bite.

"I’m kind of tense," Kendra confessed, eating another forkful, hoping her face looked pleasant as she chewed.

"I’ll have hers," Seth offered, having almost finished his stack.

"When your growth spurt ends, you’re going to get fat as a blimp," Kendra predicted.

"When my growth spurt ends, I won’t eat as much," he said, wolfing down the last of his pancakes. "Besides, I’m not watching my figure for Gavin."

"It isn’t like that," Kendra protested, trying not to blush.

"He battled his way past the cheetah lady and tamed the dragon to save you," Seth accused. "Plus he’s sixteen, so he has his driver’s license."

"I’m never telling you anything ever again."

"You won’t have to-you’ll have Gavin."

"Don’t pester your sister," Grandma chided. "She’s had a hard week." "I bet I could tame dragons," Seth said. "Have I mentioned that I’m immune to fear?"

"About a hundred times," Kendra muttered, sliding her plate over to him. "You know, I was wondering, Seth, it seems like a big coincidence that one of those journals fell open to a page about Kurisock. In fact, I’m having a hard time picturing a game that makes books fall open in the first place. How does that happen? If I didn’t know how useless reading was, I might suspect you were studying those journals on purpose."

Seth kept his eyes on his plate, wordlessly shoveling food into his mouth.

"You don’t need to act shy about your new love of reading," Kendra continued. "You know what? I could help you get a library card, then you can add some variety to all those boring old-"

"It was an emergency!" Seth blurted. "Read my lips emergency reading-not some demented idea of fun. If I were starving, I would eat asparagus. If somebody held a gun to my head, I would watch a soap opera. And to save Fablehaven, I would read a book, okay, are you happy?"

"You had best be careful, Seth," Grandma said. "The love of reading can be very contagious."

"I just lost my appetite," he declared, rising from the table and storming out of the room.

Kendra shared a laugh with Grandma.

Grandpa came into the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder in the direction Seth had departed. "What’s eating him?" "Kendra accused him of voluntarily reading," Grandma said gravely.

Grandpa raised his eyebrows. "Should I telephone the authorities?"

Grandma shook her head. "I’ll not have my grandson subjected to the humiliation of his reading habit becoming public. We have to cope with this disgrace discreetly."

"I have an idea, Grandpa," Kendra announced.

"Board up the windows so the paparazzi won’t catch him in the act?" Grandpa guessed.

Kendra snickered. "No, a real idea, about Fablehaven."

Grandpa motioned for her to proceed.

"We should talk to Lena. If what happened to Patton’s uncle is a secret, and Kurisock was involved, maybe Lena could fill in some details. We need to find out all we can about the demon."

Grandpa wore a knowing smile. "I agree so much that I’ve already planned to stop by the pond for that very reason. Not to mention that I’d love to learn whether she has heard of the artifact Patton supposedly brought here."

"I speak their language," Kendra said. "I could talk to her directly."

"I wish I could accept your help," Grandpa said. "You’re bright and capable. I expect you would be an asset in reaching Lena. But this plague is too dangerous-we could both be transformed into shadows en route. The provision under which I am allowing you and your brother to remain at Fablehaven is that you not venture outdoors until we better understand what is happening out there. You two have already jeopardized your safety too much."

"You’re the boss," Kendra said. "I just thought I might have better luck getting Lena to talk. We need information."

"True," Grandpa said. "But I must decline the offer. I will not allow you to become a shadow. Do I see extra pancakes?"

"You already had plenty," Grandma said.

"More than three hours ago," Grandpa replied, sitting down in the seat Seth had vacated. "Even after a late night, we old-timers rise with the sun." He winked at Kendra.

Warren came into the room carrying a coiled rope. "More pancakes?"

"Just working on some leftovers," Grandpa said.

"Are you heading to the pond with Grandpa?" Kendra asked.

"At first," Warren replied. "Then Hugo and I are going on a reconnaissance mission. I’ll get as close to Kurisock as I can."

"Don’t get so close that you return as a shadow," Kendra admonished.

"I’ll do my best to remain intact," he said. "If I do become a shadow, don’t worry, I won’t be resentful that my final wish for a few more apple pancakes went unfulfilled."

"All right," Grandpa said. "Grab a plate. I’ll share."

* * *

That night Kendra reclined in bed scanning a journal, stealing glances at Seth, who was leafing through pages of his own at a brisk pace, pausing occasionally to study a passage. She tried to focus on her reading, but the sight of him hunched forward intently kept drawing her gaze.

"I can see you watching me," he said without looking up. "I should start charging admission."