Chapter 12

Kendra sighed as the hot water from the shower poured over her skin. Steam hung heavy in the air; she couldn't bring herself to care. For the first time in a very long time, her body was clean and she felt warm.

Someone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yes?" Kendra called.

She heard muffled noises, but couldn't make out what the voice was saying over the noise of the running shower.

"Hang on," she said, then sighed again. She'd been in the shower for quite a while now. Maybe it was time to turn off the water.

Do I have to?

There was another knock at the door. Kendra relented and turned off the shower, then said, "Sorry, I couldn't hear you. What's going on?"

"We're meeting in your grandfather's study," came Dale's voice. "Please head over there when you're ready. We'll wait for you."

'Back to business,' Kendra thought. "I'll be right there!"

"No rush," Dale said. "Warren's still shaving his face. You have a little more time before he's done."

"Thanks."

She heard footsteps heading away from the bathroom door, indicating that Dale had left. Kendra looked to her left and spotted the soft, fluffy towel her grandmother had set out for her, which made her smile. She was really home. This was really real. She'd escaped from the Sphinx's inescapable dungeon.

Kendra grabbed the towel and used it to dry herself off, then stood in front of the mirror above the sink and looked at herself. She was thinner than she had been before Wyrmroost. Her skin didn't look as healthy. Pale, no doubt from the lack of sunlight. And she was undeniably tired, which reflected in her visage.

But her body was also stronger. She'd spent the past however many weeks exercising and sparring with Bracken. For the first time in her life, she noticed real muscle tone in her arms. She noticed similar changes in her legs as well when she looked down at them. Her abdomen felt smooth and, when she flexed her muscles, she felt strong.

Overall, her synopsis was that she looked different. It was strange to see her own reflection after all this time; there had been no mirrors in the dungeon, and she hadn't visually witnessed her own transformation. She shrugged her shoulders at herself, grabbed the blow dryer, and began drying her hair.

Ten minutes later found Kendra outside of the bathroom, dressed in a set of her own clean clothes which didn't quite fit correctly anymore. She headed downstairs to her grandfather's study.

Bracken waved at her kind of awkwardly when she walked into the study. She could practically feel the discomfort radiating from him; Dale sat across the room from him, staring at him, arms folded with a distrustful expression on his face.

"Hey, Dale," Kendra greeted.

Dale shifted his gaze so that he was looking at her instead of Bracken. He smiled at her and stood up to give her a hug. "I'm so glad you're all right," he said.

Kendra hugged him back. "It's good to be home."

"I bet that was the best shower you've ever had, hmm?" he asked as he let her go.

She grinned. "Oh yes. By far."

Dale went back to his seat and resumed his suspicious gaze and stance as he stared at Bracken again. Kendra wanted to say something to Dale to help ease his doubts about her friend, or help Bracken feel perhaps a bit more comfortable in her grandparents' house, but she spotted her brother and her thoughts derailed.

Seth looked pale, he was sitting by himself, and he appeared to be staring off into space.

She frowned. Something was off with him.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she walked over and sat next to him.

"Nothing," he answered. Kendra knew in her bones that he was lying. "I'm just glad we're all home."

She sent him her best I-know-you're-lying-so-stop-being-stupid look. "Something's wrong," she insisted.

"Not now," Seth replied in a low voice, clearly trying not to attract the attention of the other two occupants in the room. "I'll tell you later."

Kendra decided to accept that explanation for now, but she was definitely going to follow-up with him on that one as soon as they were by themselves. She looked around the room and eventually asked, "Where's Warren?"

"Still getting dressed, I guess," Seth replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought you would be the last one to show up, but I was wrong."

"Grandma and Grandpa aren't here," Kendra pointed out. "Neither is Coulter."

"They said they're bringing snacks."

Her stomach rumbled. Snacks? What kind of snacks? Fruits? Vegetables? Sandwiches? Her mind reeled at the thought that she was going to get real food. For the first time in… how long? It seemed too good to be true.

She looked at her brother and leaned back in her chair. "It feels weird to be back," she said. "Good, but weird."

Seth nodded his head. The expression on his face seemed to hint that he understood what she meant. "You need new clothes," he remarked.

Kendra rubbed her arms. "I know," she said. "I'm taller and thinner now."

"Grandma will probably try to fix the thin part."

"Of course I will," came Grandma Sorenson's voice. Kendra turned her head toward the entrance of the study, where Grandma entered carrying a plate of cookies and brownies. Grandpa brought in another plate laden with vegetables, fruits and cheese. Coulter entered last with a large pitcher of lemonade in his hands.

Kendra unconsciously raised her hands to her mouth at the sight of real food. Saliva filled her mouth. She shifted her gaze to Bracken, who appeared to also be focused on the trays of food which had been set out on top of Grandpa's desk. They briefly made eye contact and shared a smile from across the room.

"Are we all here?" Grandpa asked once he'd set down his load and turned around.

"Just waiting on Warren," Dale answered.

"Present," Warren announced. Clean shaven, with his hair cut, Warren closed the study door behind him as he walked in. He eyed Bracken with a curious expression on his face, but otherwise took a seat next to his brother.

"First things first," Grandpa began. "Kendra. Seth. Warren. We're so glad you're home."

Kendra smiled as Seth put an arm around her and pulled her close to him for a half-hug. She leaned her head on his shoulder, then the siblings let go of each other and sat up straight again.

"It's good to be back," Warren said. "I don't know how much longer I would've been able to last if Dale and Kendra hadn't rescued me. Also, is it just me or was that shower heavenly? It felt pretty heavenly."

Kendra laughed. "Yes!" she agreed.

A wide smile covered Bracken's face as he nodded his head in agreement as well.

"Second – Kendra, please introduce your friend. Properly, this time," Grandpa continued.

"Oh." She stood up and walked over to Bracken, then placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone, this is Bracken." She made eye contact with him before she continued with her introduction, and tried to choose her words carefully so that she wouldn't reveal too much about him without his consent. "He's a unicorn, and he was a fellow prisoner of the Sphinx."

"A unicorn?" Grandma asked. "Really?"

"Yes," Bracken affirmed. "I am."

"Is this really true, Kendra?" Grandpa asked. "How do you know?"

"He must've been able to transform," Coulter surmised.

Bracken shook his head. "I have no horns. Two were freely given, and the last was taken from me by the Sphinx himself before I was cast into prison."

"How are we supposed to believe you, then?" Coulter pressed.

"Hey," Warren interrupted. "If Kendra vouches for him, then she's got good reason to do so. She's not the type of person to trust someone without something to base it off of. Let her talk."

All eyes focused on Kendra. The sudden attention on her made her feel a little nervous. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, having failed to collect her thoughts.

"Navarog found them in the dungeon," Seth said for her. "He confirmed Bracken's story."

"Navarog is hardly a reliable source," Coulter murmured at the same time that Grandma gasped and shouted, "Navarog?!"

"Everybody, shut up. Let Kendra talk," Warren insisted.

"Seth is right," Kendra said. "Bracken had been a prisoner of the Sphinx's for a long, long time. He found me shortly after I was assigned to a cell, and introduced himself to me as a unicorn. Navarog did find us, and confirmed that Bracken is a unicorn. I don't really want to talk about the specific details of what happened. Just… we've spent a lot of time together over the past few months, and he's proven himself to be trustworthy. Believe me on this."

She scanned the occupants in the room. The adults all had pursed lips, minus Warren and Dale.

"If Kendra trusts him, then that's good enough for me," Dale stated.

"What he said," Warren agreed, pointing to his brother.

"I trust him," Seth added.

Grandma, Grandpa and Coulter all looked at each other, hesitancy splayed across their facial features. Kendra glanced back at Bracken again, and the unicorn seemed to decide on something.

"I can leave this room if you would like to counsel in private," he said. "If you'd prefer, I can wait in the back yard or somewhere else. I put myself at your mercy."

Kendra looked at him like he'd said something stupid, which the unicorn didn't seem to miss. He waved a hand at her. "Your family has no reason to trust me," he explained. "If they would feel more comfortable to speak freely in my absence, then I should leave."

"Can I tell them?" she asked him.

His posture tensed and he looked at her with a scrutinous expression on his face, then took hold of her hand.

No, he said to her.

It might help them believe you, she replied back to him.

My mother's identity needs to remain a secret.

Bracken, I promise that no one here is going to share your business. They're all good people.

He seemed to sigh through their mental link.

"They talk to each other inside their heads," Seth said. "It's a little freaky sometimes." Kendra suddenly seemed to realize that the room had become deathly quiet while she'd been conversing with Bracken. She looked up to find Grandma, Grandpa and Coulter staring back at her with wide eyes, and nervously let go of Bracken's hand.

Kendra returned her attention to the unicorn. "Please," she said aloud.

Bracken buried his face in his hands, then stood up and addressed the room at large. "I am Bracken, the hornless unicorn," he began. He spoke with a sense of pride. "I have no reason to trust any of you, aside from the fact that Kendra trusts you, you are her family, and she is an ambassador of my mother. I rely on you to please keep my identity in your confidence and only allow me to reveal myself should I choose to do so in any given situation."

"Wait – your mother?" Warren asked. "Kendra's fairykind, not—"

"I'm the Fairy Queen's handmaiden," Kendra stated.

"She has been endowed with power from my mother and sisters," Bracken concluded.

"But – you're saying-" Coulter struggled to form a sentence.

"The Fairy Queen. Isn't she a fairy?" Dale asked.

Bracken shook his head. "My mother is a unicorn," he stated. "I prefer to keep my relationship to her a secret, in order to better protect her."

"How does keeping your identity a secret help her?" Seth blurted out.

"My mother is… protective," he answered. "There is little that she wouldn't do for her children. If my identity were known by too many of the wrong people, and something were to happen to me… she would probably act without enough thought."

"This is too much," Coulter sighed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How did you come to be a prisoner of the Sphinx?" Grandpa asked.

Bracken sat back down in his seat, his back straight. "The Sphinx placed a giant, ensorcelled dome around the shrine on his preserve. I went to investigate the situation and was captured in the process. He is a powerful shadow charmer, and he took my second horn by force and cast me into his dungeon."

"Your second horn?" Coulter asked. "You gave your third and first horns away?"

The unicorn looked at Kendra, who answered for him. "Yes, he did," she began. "And it's none of your business. Now can you stop interrogating him? He's trustworthy."

"I would feel better about this if we were somehow able to verify his identity," Grandpa said. "I hope you understand my hesitancy," he added, his remark clearly aimed at Bracken.

"I understand," Bracken replied. "I maintain my offer to leave this room and let you counsel in private."

"That might be for the best-"

Kendra felt like she was going to burst from the frustration which had been growing inside her since this topic of conversation had initially arisen. "You saw him with the fairies in the back yard!" she shouted. "What other person have you ever seen with the ability to attract fairies like that?! And talk to them, too!?"

"Kendra, honey, calm down," Grandma urged quietly.

"No!" she shouted once more, her frustration boiling over. She wasn't going to send him outside; he deserved to be there with them. "Bracken is as trustworthy as anyone else in this room. If you kick him out, then I'll leave, too!"

"I'll leave if Kendra leaves," Seth added.

"You," Warren suddenly stated.

All eyes turned toward him. "What?" Kendra asked.

He stood up. "You asked us, what other person have we ever seen with the ability to attract and converse with fairies? Well, the answer is you, Kendra." Warren eyed the other occupants in the room. "I believe her when she says that Bracken is trustworthy. At the very least, he's proven to have some sort of magical abilities which are at least similar to Kendra's in some way. I've seen fairies flock to her before. I've seen her talking to them. They've never done that for me, or anyone else I know. She has a point."

"This is a matter of security—" Coulter began, but he was cut off when Grandpa raised his hand in what was clearly a call for peace.

"It makes no difference whether or not Bracken is here," he began. "We cannot stay here. We must find somewhere else to go and seek protection. The Society knows exactly where Fablehaven is, and they have the Oculus. Do you know if the Sphinx has figured out how to use it, Kendra?"

She shook her head. "No."

Seth spoke up. "I believe he has." Everyone turned their attention to the boy as he continued. "The Sphinx told me about himself – he's a man who had been sold into slavery a long time ago. He became a shadow charmer with the help of a demon named Nagi Luna, and he mentioned that lately she had been helping him to explore new powers. He said he'd been able to see a lot of things so much more easily than he had in the past. He didn't tell me directly that he'd been using the Oculus, but… I think we should assume that he can."

Kendra smiled at her brother – the special, proud smile she used whenever he did or said something particularly great. Seth smiled back at her.

Grandpa nodded. "Always safer to err on the side of caution. Alright. We must operate under the assumption that the Sphinx could be spying on us at all times."

"I can tell when the Oculus is used to eavesdrop," Bracken stated. "It is not being used at present. At least not on us, at any rate."

Warren nudged Dale with his elbow. "This guy is useful."

Grandpa looked like he didn't quite know how to absorb that information, but he shook himself out of his reverie. "Thank you, Bracken," he said. "Our predicament remains. The Sphinx has been to Fablehaven before, as have some of his friends and undoubtedly operatives. Fablehaven is compromised. We must move the Translocator and the Chronometer to a different location, and I suggest moving all of you somewhere else as well."

"What?" Dale asked. His attention was fully caught by Stan's statement.

"For your safety, and for the safety of Fablehaven," Grandma reiterated. "We've called and made arrangements with the Four Pines preserve. You are to go there and wait for further communication from us. Kendra, there is a shrine to the Fairy Queen on that preserve; if there was ever a good time to ask her for help, now would probably be it."

"Who is going to run things here?" Dale asked.

"I will," Stan assured him. "Hugo will be with me."

"But there's so much to do," Dale insisted.

"I understand. Yours are very large shoes to fill."

"I'll stay with him," Ruth added as she placed her hand in Stan's and twined their fingers together. "This preserve is our responsibility. We will manage it together."

"I'm not going anywhere, either," Coulter said. "These old bones aren't meant for adventuring anymore. We'll leave it up to you young people to protect the artifacts."

"Who's going to protect you?" Dale asked.

"We'll be all right," Grandpa said. "We can manage ourselves."

"Dale has a point, though," Seth added. "If we all leave, who's going to stay behind and help you? What if the Society shows up at the front gate?"

Grandpa threw his hands up in the air. "Honestly, it's like you don't believe us old folks are capable of anything!"

"Besides, you'll be luring the attention away from Fablehaven if you take the artifacts with you," Coulter added. Stan and Ruth each sent him flat looks, to which he held up his hands and asked, "What?"

"The idea is for you to remain safe," Ruth stated. "With the artifacts. Keep them out of the wrong hands, at least until we and the other caretakers can come up with a plan for how to hide them."

"What about Vanessa?" Warren asked.

There was a lull in the discussion as everyone seemed to contemplate Warren's question.

What about Vanessa, indeed?

Well, Kendra was on board to let the narcoblix go, and she was set on making her intentions known. "Set her free," she said. "She was right about the Sphinx."

"It's not that simple, Kendra," Grandpa replied.

"Vanessa is strong and fast," Warren stated. "She's good with weapons, intelligent, and she thinks well on her feet. She'd be a very helpful ally."

"Or a deadly enemy," Ruth pointed out. "Regardless of whether or not she was right about the Sphinx, she still betrayed us all. She could've killed us. And she's bitten nearly everyone here; what's to prevent her from taking over while we're sleeping?"

"Vanessa is the narcoblix you told me about, right?" Bracken asked. Kendra nodded. "I can't sever her ties to you without the aid of at least one of my horns, but I can decipher her intentions. If that would help," he offered.

Kendra placed her hand on his shoulder. "I think that's a great idea," she said.

Warren nudged Dale again. "This guy is really useful," he stated. "I like him."

Dale swatted at Warren's elbow to get his brother to stop prodding him.

"Where is she now?" Bracken asked. He directed his question to the room at large.

"She's in a cell in the dungeon," Dale answered. "She's been helping to train Seth."

Warren, Dale, Kendra, Bracken, and Seth turned their attention to Coulter and the Grandparents Sorenson.

"Oh, all right," Grandpa eventually responded. "Bracken can question her. If she passes his test, then we can talk about possibly letting her go with you. But I will want her to be on a very short leash," he insisted.

"Great," Warren said as he clapped his hands together. "So, uh… Is that food for eating, or just for looking at?"

Smiles and chuckles broke over the atmosphere in the room. Kendra glanced at Warren, then made a mad dash for Grandpa's desk in order to beat him to the punch. He tickled her sides when she did get to the food ahead of him, then motioned for everyone else to queue up behind them.

A lot of things were bothering Kendra at the moment, given the subject matter of their discussion, but something entirely different was bothering her in particular.

Seth had been too quiet during that meeting. And, as she turned her attention to him, he still looked pale and distracted to her.

Something was wrong, and she was going to figure out exactly what it was by the end of the day.

His sister was nothing if not observant. He knew that she could tell something was off. He'd been able to hide it from his grandparents so far, probably because everyone was just thrilled to have Kendra and Warren back, but he knew he hadn't been able to fool his sister.

Graulas had been calling for him for the past hour at least, and the boy was pretty sure that the bottom had dropped out of his stomach about two minutes into the demon's calls. Each additional hail only served to wind Seth's nerves even tighter. He tried to bring himself to eat something along with the others that afternoon, but he couldn't stomach it. All he could think about was the deal he'd made with the demon, and how he was going to avoid following through with his end of the bargain. He was in a predicament, and he didn't know how to get himself out of it this time.

What am I going to do?