Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Drumming her fingers on the desk, Kendra blew out the candle. Enough of the waxy lump remained to light it again, but the flame would not last long. Grandpa probably had more umite candles at Fablehaven by now, but getting them would be a hassle. She leaned back in her chair, pinching her lower lip. Between school and her volunteer day-care job, she had hardly found time to give the matter the contemplation it deserved.

She had not yet shared the message from Patton with anyone. He had trusted her judgment, and she was in no hurry to betray that trust. Patton was right that once the information about the location of the artifacts got out, people would want to pursue them. And he was also right that the Sphinx would be watching for a chance to exploit any such attempt. Unless information about the hidden artifacts became essential, she would let it be.

Throughout that fall season, Kendra had kept in touch with her grandparents. They did not talk openly about secrets on the phone, but they had found ways to pass needed information without getting too specific. Ever since the Sphinx had been revealed as the leader of the Society of the Evening Star, all activity by the Society had seemed to cease. But they all knew that the Sphinx was out there, watching and plotting, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Two members of the Knights of the Dawn kept Kendra and Seth under constant surveillance and smuggled them information when necessary. So far there had been no alarming incidents. Although the individuals assigned to protect Kendra and Seth rotated, at least one of their bodyguards was always a trusted friend like Warren, Tanu, or Coulter.

For the past four days, Warren had been watching them, along with a supposedly trustworthy girl named Elise.

Kendra sighed. After all the subterfuge during the past couple of years, she wondered if she would ever fully trust anyone again. Perhaps that was another reason she kept Patton’s message to herself.

Something rustled faintly behind her. She turned to see that a folded sheet of paper had been slipped under her door. She crossed to the doorway, picked up the white piece of paper, unfolded it, and scanned the typed list. The more she read, the narrower her eyes squinted. She stalked out of her room, down the hall, and stopped in Seth’s open doorway.

"Do you honestly expect to get a hang glider for Christmas?" Kendra asked her younger brother.

Seth glanced up from the desk where he had been doodling lizards on his math homework. "I certainly won’t if I don’t ask."

Kendra held up the list. "Who else got this?"

"Mom and Dad, of course. Plus I e-mailed copies to all of our relatives, even some distant ones I tracked down online. And I mailed a copy to Santa, just to cover all of my bases."

Crossing the room to stand beside her brother, Kendra wiggled the page in front of him. "You’ve never made crazy requests like these before. A set of custom golf clubs? A hot tub? A bullet bike?"

Seth snatched the list from Kendra. "You’re only naming the big-ticket items. If you can’t afford to get me a massage chair, you could get me a kite, a video game, or a movie. You’ll find ideas on my wish list for any budget."

Kendra folded her arms. "You’re up to no good."

Seth stared at her with the wide-eyed, mildly offended expression he typically used when hiding something. "Limiting what I get for Christmas is one thing. Limiting what I

ask for is another. Who are you, the Grinch?"

"You normally use a strategic approach to Christmas, asking for a few presents you really want–and it usually works. You’ve never campaigned for anything that costs more than a bike or a video game system. You keep your wish list realistic. Why the change?"

"You’re overanalyzing, Professor," Seth sighed, handing back the list. "I just figured it couldn’t hurt to aim high this year."

"Why send the list to relatives so distant they don’t even know you?"

"One of them might be a lonely billionaire, who knows? I have a hunch that this could be my lucky year."

Kendra regarded her brother. Even since the summer, he looked less like a kid. He kept getting taller, all gangly arms and legs, and his face looked slimmer, his chin more defined. They had not spent much quality time together over the fall. He had his own friends, and she was busy getting accustomed to high school. Now the holiday break loomed less than a week away.

"Don’t do anything stupid," Kendra warned.

"Thanks for the brilliant advice," he said. "Do you mind if I quote you in my diary?"

"Are you keeping a journal?"

"I’ll have to start if you keep dispensing such precious pearls of wisdom."

"I have the perfect first entry," Kendra suggested, glaring. "Dear diary, today I bought myself fancy Christmas presents with gold I stole from Fablehaven. I tried to pretend the gifts came from distant, billionaire relatives, but nobody was fooled, and the Knights of the Dawn have hunted me down and locked me in a grimy dungeon."

Seth’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly as he commenced and then abandoned several possible responses. After clearing his throat, he finally managed, "You can’t prove that."

"How did you sneak out gold?" Kendra exclaimed. "I thought Grandpa confiscated the treasure you and the satyrs took from the nipsies."

"We’re not having this conversation," Seth insisted. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"You must have had multiple stashes, and Grandpa didn’t find them all. But how are you converting gold and jewels into cash? A pawn shop?"

"This is nonsense," Seth maintained. "Sounds to me like you’re the one with the criminal mind."

"You have your guard up now, but I saw through it a minute ago. That gold wasn’t Newel’s or Doren’s to give you! After all that happened last summer, how did you walk out the front door with stolen treasure in your pockets? How shameless are you?"

Seth sighed in defeat. "Grandpa and Grandma weren’t using it."

"Right, Seth, because they’re the caretakers of Fablehaven. They’re trying to protect the creatures and items hidden there. You might as well steal from a museum!"

"Kind of like you taking the rain stick from Lost Mesa? Or Warren keeping the sword he found there?"

Kendra flushed. "Technically, Painted Mesa wasn’t part of the Lost Mesa preserve. Plus, I’m not hawking the rain staff to buy a WaveRunner! And Warren isn’t trying to trade the sword for a snowmobile! Part of why we have those items is in order to protect them, not to sell them for a fraction of their value!"

"Settle down, I still have all of the gold."