Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

"Why exactly can I hear them?"

"I honestly don’t know. But I do know that there is a difference between hearing and listening. You can’t always help what you hear. But you can control what holds your interest, what you choose to dwell on."

Seth tossed the ball up and caught it. "I guess that makes sense. The whole thing still creeps me out."

"Now that we’re aware of this ability, we’ll keep you away from similar circumstances. In fact, that is part of the reason I came to speak to you. Do you know what day tomorrow is?"

"I was wondering when you’d bring this up. Tomorrow is the winter solstice."

Grandpa held up a hand. Seth tossed him the rubber ball, and he started bouncing it. "I didn’t want to mention it too early and get everybody flustered. Things have been hectic enough without fretting about tonight being a festival night."

"Don’t we have to make preparations? Carve pumpkins and all that?"

"The jack-o’-lanterns are an extra precaution, and not a very convenient one in this weather. I was thinking more along the lines of having your grandmother take you and Kendra to a hotel for the night."

Seth motioned for the ball, and Grandpa bounced it to him. "Isn’t it dangerous to leave the preserve? The Society could come after us."

"We’ve weighed the pros and cons. I don’t relish the idea of putting you beyond the protections offered by Fablehaven, but festival nights seem to be getting increasingly violent. If the Society intends to hit us where we live, it will probably happen tonight, when sinister creatures are free to cross boundaries and enter the yard. The voices you heard in the Hall of Dread have made the decision easy. Too many apparitions and shades roam the preserve on festival nights. I won’t have you here if their voices can reach you. We’ll send along Warren and Tanu to make sure you stay safe. You’ll pay cash. It’ll be just one night."

Seth nodded. He bounced the ball off the wall, missed the catch, and watched it roll away across the floor. "I can live with that. I’m not up for a whole night with monsters whispering crazy stuff to me. Speaking of Tanu and Warren, where are those guys?"

"While we were pursuing the messages from Patton, they were interrogating Vanessa with your grandmother."

"About what?"

"We’re trying to decide what to do with her. She has shared some information about possible traitors within the Knights. Nobody you know. She still claims to have some enormous secret that she won’t share unless we release her."

"We can’t let her go," Seth said. "Grandma is right that she could be playing us."

"True. At the same time, if she truly has abandoned the Sphinx, Vanessa could be a valuable ally. She has already volunteered a great deal of information. I can hardly blame her for keeping some leverage available while we hold her prisoner."

"Do we ever go on the offensive?" Seth asked. "We should hunt down the Sphinx and take the artifacts back."

"We’re trying. Trask has kept the house where Kendra was held under constant surveillance. Kendra’s friend Cody supplied all the details he needed. We believe that the Sphinx remains inside. A strike force will mount a raid tonight. I wish I felt more optimistic. The Sphinx is slippery."

Seth got up from the bed. "When do we leave for the hotel?"

"Vanessa keeps asking to talk to Kendra, and your sister has shown interest. Your grandmother will oversee the conversation. After they chat, we’ll get you guys ready."

* * *

Kendra knew that her old friend waited behind the cell door. She had wanted to speak with Vanessa ever since the woman had been locked in the Quiet Box months ago. Most of the others had spoken with Vanessa already and had relayed information from those conversations. But Kendra hadn’t been around when they took place. Her last direct communication from Vanessa had been a note scrawled on the floor of a cell.

"You don’t have to do this," Grandma said.

"I want to speak with her," Kendra affirmed. "I’m just a little nervous."

"You’re sure?"

She wasn’t. But she nodded anyhow.

Holding her crossbow ready, Grandma inserted a key and opened the cell door. Vanessa was reclining on her cot, dressed in a stylish outfit. A battery-powered lantern rested on a table cluttered by novels. A mirror hung above a dresser topped with various cosmetic supplies. An obvious effort had been made to provide some comfort.

"Hello, Kendra," Vanessa said, rising.

"Hey," Kendra replied.

"I’m sorry."

"You should be."

Vanessa looked grave. "I owe you a great deal."

"You nearly killed us."

"Kendra, you deserve a colossal apology. You healed me. I was burned beyond repair, minutes from death. After the betrayal I committed, nobody could have blamed you for letting me perish. Including me. For years I faithfully worked for the Sphinx. How was I repaid? The villain stabbed me in the back the instant I became inconvenient. In contrast, I deceived you, betrayed you, and put your loved ones in danger. Yet you showed me mercy. I want you to know that my loyalty is not completely blind, nor is my reason utterly bankrupt. I’ll never betray you again."

Kendra shifted uncomfortably. "Thanks, Vanessa. I’m sure you can see why your apology might be hard to believe. But I appreciate it, and I hope it’s true."

"I’d be a fool to blame you for doubting me. I’ll patiently prove my sincerity."

Grandma snorted bitterly. "Or patiently bide your time until the opportunity for another truly crippling betrayal arrives."

"Which is why I can’t begrudge your decision to keep me in this cell for the moment," Vanessa conceded. "I could be more effective roaming free, but I can see that it would place too great a strain on your trust. Rightfully so."

"You wanted to see me to apologize?" Kendra asked. The conversation was harder than she had expected. She simultaneously liked and hated Vanessa too much. She wanted to leave.

"Chiefly," Vanessa said. "I also want to share some information with you."

"They said you’re withholding some secrets."

"My biggest secret must not yet be divulged," Vanessa said. "Good people on your side of this conflict would be endangered if this truth became too public. For the moment, my keeping it will benefit your cause. The day may come when that changes. Conveniently, this final secret also provides me with a little leverage to perhaps get out of incarceration at some point. I’m on your side now, but I have no desire to end my days in a cage."