Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Seth took it and let grandpa haul him up. On his feet, he gained a better appreciation for Trask’s impressive height. They began walking across the snowbound cemetery.

"Have you kept track of Kendra’s belongings?" Grandpa asked Seth.

"I hid the journal and the letters, like Warren told me. And I found the rain stick from Lost Mesa. She actually hid it really well, behind the drywall in her closet. She cut a small opening and slid it in, then sealed it up pretty good. It took some time to figure it out."

"We’ll bring those belongings home with us," Grandpa said.

"Grandpa," Seth said hesitantly. "I took some gold from Fablehaven last summer. I felt I’d earned it doing business with the satyrs, so I didn’t return all of it to you. Kendra caught me. Before she wasn’t Kendra anymore. She isn’t here to make me, but I wanted you to know I’ll return it all."

Grandpa’s eyes grew moist. He patted Seth on the back and nodded.

* * *

The last time Seth had driven to Fablehaven, he had streaked through the night in the back of a flashy sports car piloted by Vanessa. The pace was considerably slower with Grandpa Sorenson at the wheel of a bulky SUV.

Grandpa and Grandma had spent two days consoling Seth’s heartbroken parents while Tanu assisted Warren, Elise, and Trask with the homicide investigation. The days were frustratingly uneventful. No new clues were discovered. No enemies made a move. And they could find no ties between Rex and the Society of the Evening Star. The daycare supervisor appeared to have been an innocent victim.

Trask, Warren, and Elise had stayed behind to keep working. Unusually quiet and thoughtful, Tanu rode beside Seth, the seat belt barely long enough to stretch across his massive Samoan frame. Grandma sat up front with Grandpa.

Seth tried to sleep, but could never quite get comfortable. His imagination refused to stop inventing scenarios to explain what had happened to Kendra. He tried to keep an open mind, even to the point of questioning whether magical mind control had actually been employed. If somebody had used brutal blackmail, the stress alone might have altered her personality. But what leverage could have motivated Kendra to betray her family? Maybe she thought she was protecting them from something worse. But what?

The cell phone rang, and Grandpa answered. After a moment, the SUV accelerated briskly. "Have you told Dougan?" Grandpa said. "Keep trying. Right, do what you can for him, we’ll hurry." Grandpa set the phone aside.

"What was that?" Grandma asked, alarmed.

"Maddox showed up in the attic," Grandpa said. "He’s a mess. Skinny, dirty, injured, sick. Coulter and Dale are doing what they can."

Although he was thrilled to hear that the fairy trader had returned, it saddened Seth to picture the robust adventurer sickly and weak. At least Maddox was alive. "He came through the bathtub?" Seth asked. The previous summer, he had learned that Tanu had taken a large tin washtub to the fallen Brazilian preserve in order to give Maddox a portal home. The washtub shared the same space as an identical washtub in the attic at Fablehaven. After an object had been placed in one washtub, the object would appear to be in both, allowing an accomplice to remove it from the other. When the washtubs were far apart, the linked space allowed items to be instantly transported over great distances.

"He did," Grandpa said. "After all this time. Well done, Tanu."

"Sounds like Maddox will need some healing," Tanu said.

"Which is why I’m stepping on the gas," Grandpa replied.

"When it rains, it pours," Grandma remarked.

* * *

As the SUV turned off the road, Seth gazed out the window at the skeletal forest, amazed at how far he could see with the leaves gone and the undergrowth reduced to tangled twigs. He had previously only seen Fablehaven in summertime. Everything was now brown and gray, with a few snow patches lingering among the crumbling dead leaves.

The SUV raced down the driveway, through the gate, and up to the house. The gardens surrounding the house remained incongruously in bloom. Seth realized that the fairies must be responsible for the improbable verdure.

When they skidded to a stop, Tanu vaulted out of the car and dashed into the house. Ever since the call, he had been sorting through his potions and ingredients. Seth jogged inside after him.

Dale stood in the entry hall. "Hi, Seth."

"Where’s Maddox?" Seth asked, unable to tell which way Tanu had gone.

"Up in your grandparents’ bedroom. The nearest bed to the washtub."

"How is he?"

Dale whistled softly. "He’s seen better days, but he’ll pull through. You keep getting taller."

"Not as tall as you yet."

Grandpa and Grandma came through the front door together. "Where is he?" Grandma asked.

Dale led them up the stairs and down the hall to the room where Tanu sat in a chair beside the bed, rummaging through his potion bag. Coulter leaned against the wall in the corner. Maddox rested on the bed, lips dry, cheeks flushed, a filthy red beard hiding half of his face. "Good to see you, Stan," he croaked, craning his neck forward.

"Lie still," Tanu admonished. "Save words for later." The Samoan turned to look at Grandpa. "He’s feverish, malnourished, and badly dehydrated. Probably has parasites. Broken wrist. Sprained ankle. Mild concussion. Cuts and bruises everywhere. Give me some time with him."

Grandpa shepherded the others out of the room. Coulter came with them. They gathered not far down the hallway.

"Has he divulged anything?" Grandpa asked in a hushed tone.

"He doesn’t have the artifact, nor does the Society," Coulter said, passing his hand over his mostly bald head, matting down the tuft of gray hair in the middle. "He knows the location of the vault where the artifact is housed. I don’t have details. Dale and I were trying to make him rest."

"Still no leads on the room beyond the Hall of Dread?" Grandpa asked.

Coulter shuddered. "Just a blank wall. I’ve spent some real time investigating, even though it isn’t my favorite environment."

"You haven’t found the room from Kendra’s letter?" Seth asked. "I figured as caretaker you would already know all about it."

"The secret was not handed down," Grandma said.

"We aren’t even convinced that we want to learn the possible artifact locations," Grandpa explained. "For now we just want to know we have access to the information should the need arise."

"What exactly is in the Hall of Dread?" Seth asked. "You guys never get very specific."