Page 26 (1/2)

Make no speeches about matters far beyond your comprehension, Muriel snapped I have made covenants that will placeyears, I feel

Evening star? Kendra repeated

Muriel grinned My ale preserve I am part of a movement withStar

You could never ins already in motion I have been locked away for years, yes, but not withoutwith the outside world

The i this day since his capture Ti, we have quietly leveraged countless opportunities to gradually secure our release No prison stands forever At tiladder occasions, we have toppled e When Ephira succeeded in coaxing you to open theon Midsummer Eve, ere hopeful that events would unfold much as they have

Ephira?

You looked into her eyes

Kendra cringed She did not appreciate a rearments

Muriel nodded She and others are about to inherit this sanctuary, a vital step toward reaching our ulti can forestall o? Kendra pleaded

They would try to interfere Not that they could at this point-they had their chance and failed-but I will take no risks Come, face the end with your loved ones, instead of alone in the night

Kendra shook her head

Muriel extended her uninjured arers, red with her own blood, contorted into an unnatural shape

She spoke in a garbled language thatKendra ran out of the church, down the steps, and over to the wagon She paused to look back

Muriel did not appear in the doorway Whatever spell the witch had tried to cast apparently had no effect

Kendra raced down the road The sunset was still fairly bright They had been inside the church for only a few , unsure whether she was being pursued

Her whole fa had happened so fast! Oneassurance; the next, Hugo was destroyed and Seth and Grandma were captured Kendra should have been captured as well, except she had been so overcautious since arriving at Fablehaven that she was still apparently shielded by the full power of the treaty The ier on her, and Muriel had been too injured to give proper chase

Kendra looked back along the empty road The witch would have cured the injury by now, but would probably not co Bahuain, Muriel could possibly use ency of unleashing the de chase for now

Should she turn around and head back? Try to rescue her fa but certain capture if she were to return

But she had to do so! When the demon was released, it would destroy the treaty, and Seth would die, along with Grandpa, Grandma, and Lena!

The only possibility she could think of was returning to the house and trying to find a weapon in the attic Could she remember the combination to the vault door? She had watched Grando, heard her speak the nuht once she saw it

Kendra knew she ithout hope The house was ht? Ten? Twelve? She would be lucky to make it there, let alone back, before Bahumat was free

There were many knots, and it looked like Muriel could undo only one at a time Each knot seemed to take at least a few minutes But still, at that rate, it would be a matter of hours, not days, before the deoal No ave her a direction to head and a reason for going there Who knehat the weapon would be, or how she would use it, or whether she could even get into the attic? But at least it was a plan At least she could tell herself there was a brave reason for running away

A Desperate Ga to prevent it The sunset diht reflected frorew cooler, but not cold The forest athed in gloo sounds, but she never caught sight of what lanced back frequently, the road behind remained as e and walking

Without landround she was covering The dirt road seemed to stretch on forever

She worried about Grando to cripple the imps, there would probably be no protection for Grandan to wish she had accepted Muriel’s invitation to stay at the church with her fa the only escapee was ale of tiraduallydirection?

Kendra felt certain she had been on the road for hours when she reached an open area Theaway froe

The pond with the gazebos! Finally, a landmark She could not be more than half an hour fro before Bahumat would be set free? Maybe the demon was already loose Would she knohen it happened, or would she not find out until she was mobbed by s did not want to walk any farther She noticed that she was very hungry She stopped and stretched for aShe could run the rest of the way, right? It wasn’t too far

As she passed thefroht had occurred to her, inspired by the irregular hedge loo off to the side of the road

The Fairy Queen had a shrine on the island in the middle of the pond Wasn’t she supposed to be the most powerful person in all the fairy world? Maybe Kendra could try asking her for help

Kendra folded her arms She knew so little about the Fairy Queen Apart fro that the queen was powerful, she had heard only that to set foot on her island uy had tried it and turned into dandelion seeds

But as he trying it? Kendra did not think she had been given a specific reason, just that he had a desperate need But the fact that he had tried ht succeed Maybe he just didn’t have a good enough reason

Chapter Twenty-Three

Kendra considered her need Her grandparents and brother were about to be killed And Fablehaven was about to be destroyed That would be bad for the fairies too, wouldn’t it? Or would the fairies not care? Maybe they would just go elsewhere

Indecisive, Kendra stared at the faint trail What weapon did she expect to find at the house? Probably nothing

So she wouldit to get away before Bahuht up and finished her off And her faht work If the queen was so powerful, she would be able to stop Muriel and maybe even Bahumat Kendra needed an ally Despite her noble intentions, she could not see any way she could succeed on her own

Kendra had felt a new sensation inside ever since the idea had popped into her head The feeling was so unexpected that it took a nize it as hope There were no combination locks in the way She just had to throw herself at theand plead for her family