Grip of the Shadow Plague

The hall at the bottom of the stairs contained a new web of wires. Although there were some crossbows, most of the traps involved curiously designed catapults meant to hurl knives and hatchets.

Seth noticed a tiny piece of brown wood hanging on the wall from a golden hook. "Is that part of Mendigo?"

Warren nodded. "I’ve seen a few pieces of him around. He’s been staying the night inside the house. The brownies dismantled him."

Seth reached for the piece of the puppet. Warren put an arm on his elbow to stop him. "Wait. All the pieces of Mendigo are rigged to traps."

Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson appeared farther down the hall. "Thank goodness you’re all right," Grandma said, placing a hand over her bosom. "Don’t come this way. Our room is a nest of nasty traps. Besides, we all need to end up downstairs eventually."

"You should have seen the attic stairway," Warren said. "It was crammed with more deathtraps than any other part of the house so far. Seth pushed the rocking horse down the stairs to deliberately set off the majority."

"We heard the clamor and were concerned," Grandpa said. "How do we proceed, Warren?"

"It will be hard to spring all the traps on purpose," Warren said. "Many are protected by countertraps. Our best bet is to make our way downstairs one at a time, individually navigating the obstacles. I’ll help coach each of you through."

"Me first," Grandpa said.

"Where’s Dale?" Kendra asked.

"He was with me," Warren replied. "While I helped you escape the attic, he continued along the hall, heading for the garage. He wants to make sure the vehicles are in order."

"Everyone else out of the hall," Grandpa said.

Grandma stepped out of sight. Seth and Kendra sat at the foot of the attic stairs.

"Be watchful, Stan," Warren said. "Some of the tripwires are more apparent than others. Most are fairly visible, but a few are fashioned out of fishing line or thread. Like the one right in front of you, at the height of your knees."

"I see it," Grandpa said.

"If you accidentally brush a wire, fall flat. Most of the traps appear to be designed to strike an upright target."

Warren proceeded to guide Stan down the hall. Seth and Kendra listened to Warren’s instructions as Grandpa descended the stairs to the entry hall. Grandpa made an increasing number of snappy comments as impatience eroded his composure.

Finally Grandpa reached the living room and Warren began directing Grandma. While Grandma was on the stairs, there was a tremendous crash in the entry hall.

Warren called out that nobody had been injured. Soon he came and got Kendra, and Seth found himself waiting alone on the bottom step.

At last Warren returned for him. Seth did not find dodging over and under the cords in the hall very difficult, although a few were difficult to see. Upon reaching the top of the stairs to the entry hall, Seth chuckled. A grandfather clock, an armoire, a display case, a suit of armor, and a heavy rocking chair covered with spikes were all suspended from the roof of the entry hall. A china cabinet had apparently also been suspended there, but had fallen, accounting for the crash he had heard.

Seth picked his way carefully down the stairs, heeding Warren’s counsel on which wire to go over, which to go under, and how to position his body. The wires were more prevalent on the stairs than they had been in the hall, and a few times Seth felt like a contortionist. He was impressed that Grandma and Grandpa had been able to manage the descent.

When he reached the living room, Seth was relieved to find there were fewer traps on the ground floor than had crowded the upstairs hall and stairways. Any pieces of furniture unaffiliated with traps had been reworked into tortured, unusable shapes. "Some of those wires were too close together," Seth commented, wiping perspiration from his forehead.

"I thought you were immune to fear," Kendra teased.

"Magical fear," Seth clarified. "I still have regular emotions. I’m no more eager than the next guy to get squished by a grandfather clock."

Simultaneously ducking a thick cord and stepping over a threadlike wire, Dale entered the living room. "The vehicles have been sabotaged," he said. "The engine parts are all over the garage, connected to traps."

"What about the phone?" Grandpa asked.

"The lines are down," Dale reported.

"Don’t you have your cell?" Kendra asked.

"The brownies stole it off of my dresser," Grandpa said.

"Your grandmother and I are lucky we didn’t get contaminated. There were several brownies in the room when we awoke. If Warren and Dale hadn’t barged in and raised the alarm, I’m sure the little monsters would have transformed us into shadows in our sleep."

"Your grandpa was impressive," Warren said. "He used the bedspread to hold them at bay while we retreated into the attic through the door in his bathroom closet."

Grandpa waved a dismissive hand. "What of the front gate, Dale?"

"I went as far down the driveway as I dared, holding the fairies off with flash powder, like you told me. The gate is shut and barred, with loads of creatures guarding it." Grandpa scowled, pounding a fist into his palm. "I can’t believe I lost the register. They’ve used it to lock us in."

"And they could let anybody they want into Fablehaven now," Kendra said.

"If they so choose," Grandpa said. "I expect Vanessa had it right. The Society is finished with Fablehaven. They have no idea that a second artifact may be hidden here. Nobody will be coming in. The Sphinx simply wants this preserve to self-destruct."

"What do we do?" Seth asked.

"We retreat to the nearest bastion of relative safety," Grandpa said. "Hopefully at the pond we can formulate a plan."

"We should have gotten you kids out of here when we had the chance," Grandma lamented.

"We wouldn’t leave you even if we could," Seth assured her. "We’ll figure out a way to stop this plague."

Grandpa frowned pensively. "Can we get to the tents?"

"I think so," Dale said. "They’re in the garage."

"What else should we bring?" Grandpa asked.

"I have extra flash powder from the attic and my crossbow," Grandma said.

"Tanu’s potions are all over his room, attached to traps," Warren said. "I’ll try to retrieve some."

"While you’re up there, see if you can grab a picture of Patton," Kendra said. "We need bait for Lena."