Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

Quietly, Seth had begun to make his own plans.

He had spent the afternoon wondering about the voice he had heard while conversing with the satyrs. At first he had assumed the speaker was some random ghost wandering the woods. Later, a more convincing possibility came to mind. He now felt confident that the voice belonged to the demon Graulas.

After that realization, the plan began to fall into place. Graulas must have been impressed that Seth had helped overthrow the shadow plague, just as the demon had been astonished with how he had defeated the revenant. Seth felt sure that the demon was summoning him.

Since Graulas was calling to him, it must mean the demon had useful information. The possibilities were exhilarating. Perhaps Graulas could explain why Seth was hearing ghostly voices. After all, dark mysteries were his specialty. And hopefully Graulas could provide pointers on how they could swipe the horn from the centaurs after all. A visit to the demon might be all it would take for Seth to save the day.

His grandparents were always encouraging him to learn from his mistakes. And Seth had learned enough about his grandparents to know they would never permit him to visit the demon. They were relentlessly overprotective. If he brought it up, they would be on guard and do everything in their power to stop him. So Seth decided he would keep his plan to himself, leaving a note under the bed in case things went wrong and he never returned.

Could this be a trap? Yes. But if Graulas had wanted to kill him, the demon could have done so the last time Seth had visited. Could visiting Graulas place anyone besides himself in jeopardy? No, he couldn’t see how. What if he was mistaken and Graulas had not been summoning him? What if the mysterious voice had an entirely different origin? If he dropped by uninvited, might the demon kill him for intruding? Maybe. But the Sphinx was on his way to collecting his third artifact, and Seth’s friends and family were grasping at straws. Somebody had to make an aggressive move. Seth gritted his teeth. When all hope was gone, wasn’t it his job to fix things? Of course it was.

Rolling out of bed, Seth strapped on his adamant breastplate and pulled a camouflage shirt over it. He put on jeans, laced up his boots, and grabbed his coat, gloves, and hat. Then he retrieved his emergency kit from under the bed. The kit contained odds and ends that might come in handy to someone alone in the woods on an adventure. In addition to standard equipment like a flashlight, a compass, a pocketknife, a magnifying glass, a whistle, a mirror, and various snacks, Seth had retained the gaseous potion from the hotel. In the commotion, Tanu had forgotten to ask for it back.

Seth stuffed his pillows under his covers, then crept to the door and down the stairs, listening behind for sounds of Kendra stirring and ahead for evidence of anyone else up and about. The house remained quiet, and he silently made his way to the garage, found a mountain bike, and wheeled it outside. He wished he had the guts to borrow an ATV, but worried that the noise would awaken somebody and end his excursion before it began. Somewhere in the darkness, Hugo and Mendigo were watching over the yard. Seth hoped he could slip quietly past them. Hopefully they had no direct orders to keep him out of the woods.

The night was well below freezing. Unseen clouds blotted out all light from the heavens. A few softly glowing fairies bobbed among the flowers in the yard, providing the only illumination. Seth mounted the bike and soon discovered that heavy boots were not designed for pedaling. Once he gained some momentum, the endeavor became somewhat easier.

He knew the way to the cave where Graulas lived. From what Seth had seen, Hugo had been keeping the main paths through Fablehaven relatively clear of snow. Hopefully that would hold true on his way to the cave. Otherwise he might have to ditch the bike and walk.

Seth pedaled across the lawn toward the path he needed. Squinting in the darkness, he rode through a flower bed and had to hit the brakes and turn to avoid a row of rosebushes. He decided to walk the bike until he was far enough from the house to use a light.

Just as he was passing out of the yard onto the path, a huge hand gripped his shoulder and hoisted him into the air. The mountain bike clattered to the ground. Seth cried out in startled terror before realizing he had been apprehended by Hugo.

"Late," the golem rumbled.

"Set me down," Seth demanded, legs swinging. "You almost scared me to death!"

Hugo placed Seth on his feet. "Go home," Hugo said, pointing at the house. "Are you under orders to send me back?" Seth asked, slipping a hand into his emergency kit. "Guard," Hugo said.

"Right. They told you to guard the yard. Not to baby-sit me."

"Woods bad. Seth alone."

"Want to come with me?" Seth tried, jittery fingers finding the potion bottle.

"Guard," Hugo repeated more firmly.

"I get it. You have your orders. But I have mine. I have to run a crucial errand."

"Stan mad."

"You mean Grandpa wouldn’t want me running off? Of course not. He thinks I still wear diapers. Which is why I’m doing this in the middle of the night. You have to trust me, Hugo. I know I’ve done some dumb things in the past, but I’ve also saved the day. I have to sneak into the woods for a little while. It isn’t for idiotic reasons, like to get gold. Basically, I’m trying to save the world."

The golem stood in silence for a moment. "Not safe."

"It isn’t totally safe," Seth admitted. "But I’m prepared. See? I even have this potion from Tanu. I’m going someplace I’ve been before. I’ll stay on the path and be careful. If I try to get permission, I’ll fail. They won’t let me. But only I can do this. Sneaking away is my only choice. You have to trust me."

Hugo turned and looked at the house. Seth could barely see the earthen giant in the darkness. "Hugo come."

"You’ll come? You don’t have to join me. We don’t want to leave the yard unguarded."

Hugo pointed across the yard. "Mendigo."

"Mendigo is on lookout too?" he confirmed. "Seth go. Hugo come."

Relief flooded through Seth. This was unexpected good fottune. He wondered if Hugo would still consent once he knew the destination. There was only one way to find out.

"Hugo, take me to the cave where Graulas lives."

Hugo picked up Seth. "Seth sure?"

"We have to go there. He can give me important info. It could help save everyone. Remember last time? Grandpa didn’t want me to go there, but we ended up getting information that helped us stop the plague."

Hugo loped away into the woods, moving swiftly. When traveling without the cart, the golem preferred to move cross-country rather than sticking to roads or paths. Ice and snow crunched under the golem’s massive feet. Bare branches whipped past in the darkness, but Hugo altered how he cradled Seth to keep limbs from scraping him. This was so much better than awkwardly biking along icy trails in the frigid darkness!