Oh, no? said the voice under the pier.

Kendra did not like the knowing tone of the speaker.

Too much confidence. She had to be bluffing. If naiads left the water, they became mortal. Still, Kendra looked around, worried that somebody might be sneaking up on her to push her into the water. She saw n.o.body.

h.e.l.lo? Kendra said. h.e.l.lo?

Silence. She felt certain they could hear her.263 Don't say we didn't warn you, one of the earlier voicessang.

Kendra crouched, trying to be ready for anything. Were the naiads going to throw something at her? Maybe they could collapse the pier? The night remained quiet and still.

A hand reached up out of the water at the end of the pier. Kendra jumped back, her heart in her throat. A wooden hand. Little golden hooks served as joints. Mendigo scrambled out of the dark water and crawled onto the pier.

Kendra backed away as Mendigo stood, the wooden limberjack Muriel had changed into a fearsome servant. The overgrown primitive puppet had been pulled into the water by the naiads the year before. It had not crossed Kendra's mind that they might release him. Or even that he would still be functional. Muriel had been imprisoned. She was locked up with Bahumat deep beneath a verdant hill.

Apparently n.o.body had told Mendigo.

The wooden figure rushed at Kendra. Although she had grown since she last saw the limberjack, he was still an inch or two taller. Kendra turned and ran along the pier back to the boardwalk. She could hear him gaining, wooden feet clacking against wooden planks.

He caught up to her at the bottom of the gazebo stairs.

Kendra whirled and tried to grab at him, hoping to catch hold of a limb and unhinge it. He nimbly evaded her grasp and caught hold of her around the waist, flipping her upside down. She struggled and he changed his grip, pinning her arms to her sides.264 Kendra was caught in a helpless position-facing awayfrom him, upside down, arms immobilized. She tried to wriggle and flail, but Mendigo was alarmingly strong. As the oversized puppet trotted away from the pond, it became apparent she was going wherever he wanted.265Reunion Seth stripped off another piece of the spongy wall and placed it in his mouth. The texture reminded him of citrus pulp. He chewed until he was left with a small amount of tough, tasteless matter, which he swallowed. Puckering his lips, Seth pressed his mouth against the wall of the coc.o.o.n.

The harder he kissed the wall, the more moisture flowed into his mouth. Water with a hint of honeydew.

Olloch roared again, and the coc.o.o.n shuddered. Seth flopped around as the coc.o.o.n lurched from side to side. By the time he braced himself, the movement stopped. Seth was growing accustomed to the roars and the flurries of motion, although the thought that he was listening to a roar from inside a coc.o.o.n inside the belly of a demon remained Peculiar.266 Seth had tried to sleep. When he had first started dozing,the roars had awakened him every time. Eventually; with the help of his mounting fatigue, he had managed a few fitful stretches of slumber.

Time was becoming meaningless in the endless blackness.

Only the growls and motion of the demon interrupted the monotony. That and snacking on fragments of the padded walls. How long had he been inside of Olloch? A day? Two days? Three?

At least Seth remained reasonably comfortable inside his womblike enclosure. It fit him rather snugly. There was just enough room to move his arms when he wanted to pick at the walls. Even when he was flung around, he never got injured, because the walls were soft, and there was not enough room for him to get shaken into dangerous positions.

With so little s.p.a.ce, it seemed the air would run out in a matter of minutes, but his breathing remained unstrained.

Being swallowed by Olloch had made no difference-the air remained fresh. The closeness of the coc.o.o.n made him a little claustrophobic, but in the darkness, when he lay still, he could pretend the enclosure was s.p.a.cious.

Olloch gave a particularly ferocious roar. The coc.o.o.n quaked. The demon emitted a couple of prolonged growls followed by the loudest roar Seth had yet heard. Seth wondered if the demon was in a fight. The snarls and roars continued. It felt oddly like the coc.o.o.n was being squeezed, first by his head, then near his shoulders, then at his waist, then at his knees and feet. The vicious growls continued unabated.267 The coc.o.o.n was jostled one final time and silence followed.Seth lay in stillness, waiting for the turbulence to resume. He waited for several minutes, expecting more roaring at any moment. The growls had been almost desperate.

Now all was eerily calm. Could Olloch have been killed? Or perhaps the demon had won a battle and then collapsed in exhaustion. It was easily the longest interval of motionless silence Seth had experienced since being swallowed.

Uneventful minutes acc.u.mulated until Seth felt his eyelids drooping. He slipped into a deep slumber.

Mendigo dumped Kendra onto the ground. A thick carpet of wildflowers cushioned her landing. The air smelled of blossoms and fruit. As disoriented as the dash through the woods had left her, Kendra knew where they were: at the site where the Forgotten Chapel once stood. The last order from Muriel to Mendigo must have been to bring Kendra to the chapel.

During the entire run through the woods, Kendra had wriggled and twisted and squirmed. She had kicked Mendigo in the head and tried to unhinge his limbs. But the oversized puppet had just shifted his grip and continued doggedly onward. She had been carried upside down, over his shoulder, and curled up in a ball. No matter how vigorously she struggled, Mendigo had adjusted.

Kendra lay sprawled on a bed of wildflowers beneath a starless sky, the dim night pungent and mild. Mendigo crouched and started digging, clawing at the soil with268 wooden fingers, tossing stones aside when he encounteredthem. Somewhere under the hill, Muriel was buried, imprisoned with Bahumat. Apparently the order had not merely been to bring Kendra to the chapel but to bring Kendra to Muriel.

Kendra sprang to her feet and bolted down the hillside.

She had not traveled six steps before Mendigo slammed into her from behind, tackling her near the trunk of a peach tree.

They rolled and she wrenched her back. Kendra shrieked as Mendigo clung to her with unnatural strength, wrapping her up with his arms and legs.

At least if he was clinging to her, he wasn't digging.

What would happen if he tunneled down to Muriel? Would the witch issue new commands to her wooden servant?

Would she get in touch with Vanessa and figure out a way to escape?

You're in a fine predicament, a tiny voice giggled. It was high and musical, like the tinkling of a little bell.

Kendra turned her head. A yellow fairy hovered near her face, emitting a golden glow. She wore a shimmering slip of gossamer and had wings like a b.u.mblebee and a pair of antennae. I wouldn't mind some help, Kendra said.

A heroine of your reputation should have no trouble escaping such a feeble adversary, the fairy said airily.

You'd be surprised how strong he is, Kendra said.

His magic is weak, the fairy sniffed. Muriel is sealed in a mighty prison. Her will no longer supports the enchantments she left behind. And yet you can do nothing but beg for help. Forgive me if I am unimpressed.269 Mendigo was dragging Kendra up the hill toward thespot where he had started digging. Obviously I'm having trouble, Kendra said. I don't know what to do.

The fairy laughed, a twittering sound. This is priceless!

The great Kendra Sorenson being hauled through the dirt by a puppet!

You act like I think I'm some big shot, Kendra said. I think you're projecting. I know I'm just a girl. Without the help of all the fairies I would have died last summer.

False humility is more insulting than open pride! the fairy sniffed.

Mendigo picked up Kendra, cradling her in his arms, folding her knees up to her chin and keeping her arms trapped at her sides. He resumed digging with his feet. Do I look like I could possibly be feeling superior to anyone?

Kendra demanded.

The fairy drifted close, hovering in front of Kendra's nose. The magic inside you is dazzling. By comparison, he is like a faint star next to the noonday sun.

I don't know how to use it, Kendra said.

Don't ask me, the fairy said. You're the gifted luminary our Queen chose to honor. I can't show you how to unlock your magic any more than you can teach me how to use mine.

Could you use your magic on him? Kendra asked.

'Change him back into a little puppet?

The spell that animates him remains potent, the fairy said. But the command guiding his actions is weak. With some help, I could probably turn him.270Oh, please, would you? Kendra asked.Well, I am here to guard the prison, the fairy said. All of us who were imps take turns as sentries.

You were an imp? Kendra said.

Don't remind me. It was a graceless existence.

He's trying to dig down to Muriel, Kendra said. If you're a guard, shouldn't you stop him?

I suppose I should, the fairy conceded. But the plums smell so wonderful right now, and the night is so fine...

rounding up fairies is such drudgery.

I'd be so grateful, Kendra said.

We fairies crave nothing more than your grat.i.tude, Kendra. We look up to you so. One kind word and our little hearts start racing! All we wish for is the love of big, clumsy girls.

You're terrible, Kendra said.

I am, aren't I, the fairy said, finally sounding flattered.

Tell you what. It is my responsibility to guard Muriel and Bahumat, you were right about that, so maybe I could check if anybody else is bored enough to lend you a hand.

The little fairy zipped away. Kendra hoped she was really going for help. The fairy didn't sound very reliable. Kendra tried to force the limberjack's arms apart by straightening her legs. The effort strained her back. Mendigo was too strong.

As Mendigo dug deeper, Kendra's hope that the fairy would return began to dwindle. Mendigo was nearly waist deep in a hole before a small group of fairies swarmed around them, glimmering in prismatic colors.

See, I told you, the little yellow fairy tinkled.271 He's certainly tunneling toward Muriel, another fairysaid.

Not very efficiently, a third chimed in.

Would you like us to turn him to obey your will? a fourth fairy asked. Kendra recognized the speaker as the silver fairy who had led the charge when the fairies attacked Bahumat.

Sure, that would be great, Kendra said.

The fairies hovered in a ring around Mendigo and Kendra. When they began chanting, colors flared and sparked, making Kendra blink. Kendra could no longer comprehend what they were saying. It felt like trying to listen in on multiple conversations at once. All she caught were tangled fragments of meaning that together made no sense. .

After a final blazing flash, the fairies fell silent. Most soared away. Mendigo continued digging. He is now yours to command, the silver fairy reported.

Mendigo, stop digging, Kendra tried. Mendigo stopped. Mendigo, set me down. He set her down.

Thank you, Kendra said to the yellow fairy and the silver fairy, the only two who remained.

Our pleasure to help, the silver fairy said. Though pitched high, her voice was richer than the others.

The yellow fairy shook her head and buzzed away.

Why are they hurrying away? Kendra asked.

They have done their duty, the silver fairy said.

None of the fairies have been very friendly, Kendra said.

Friendliness is not always our forte, the silver fairy said.272Especially to one who was shown kindness by our Queen.You are much envied.

I was only trying to protect Fablehaven and save my family, Kendra said.

And you succeeded, which only elevates your status, the silver fairy said.

Why areyouspeaking with me? Kendra asked.

I suppose I am peculiar, the silver fairy said. I am of a more serious mind than many of the others. I am called Shiara.

I'm Kendra.

Fortunately for you, we all have an interest in keeping Bahumat imprisoned, Shiara said. Otherwise I question whether I would have been able to rally sufficient help to turn Mendigo. Although Bahumat rightly blames you above all others, his vengeance against the fairies would be merciless were he to escape.

Couldn't you just imprison him again? Kendra said.

Your elixir augmented our size and our power. Without it we would be no match for a demon like Bahumat.

Couldn't I get the elixir again? Kendra asked.

My dear girl, you truly are naive, which may be partly why our Queen condescended to share her tears with you.

Your decision to tread near her shrine would normally have been rewarded with a swift departure from this life. I suspect she spared you because of your innocence, though her reasons are her own.

Fablehaven is in danger again, Kendra said. I could use some help.273 Do not seek favors from her again unless she invitesyou, Shiara said. Now that you know better, irreverence will not be tolerated.

Kendra recalled how she had sensed that going to the island again would be a mistake. Could you help me?

Obviously I could, because I have, Shiara said, twinkling.

Have you seen Olloch the Glutton? He's a demon who is after my brother.

The glutton is becoming dormant. He will not bother you.

Kendra felt a stab of grief at the news. If the demon was slowing down, it meant Seth truly was gone. There is more to the problem than Mendigo and the demon, Kendra said.

Bad people have taken over the house. They captured my grandparents and Dale and Tanu. They want to steal something precious from Fablehaven. If they have their way, they'll release all the demons from their prisons.

It is challenging for us to mind the affairs of mortals, Shiara said. Dwelling on such concerns is not in our nature.

You made the binding of Bahumat our duty with authority from our Queen. And we continue to attend to that duty. I keep a sentinel stationed here always.

Kendra scanned the surrounding area, her gaze settling on the hill where Warren's cottage sat, some ways off.

Could you help me heal Warren, Dale's brother?

The curse upon him is much too strong, Shiara said.

'All the fairies in Fablehaven together could not break it.

What if you had the elixir?274 That might be another matter. I wonder, why did youfail to return the bowl to the shrine?