"you look the part," seth said. "do you ride a motorcycle?"

trask stared down at him. "i'm sorry for your loss." there was a no-nonsense tone to his voice.

"have you found out anything yet?"

trask glanced at grandpa, who gave a nod. "i spent the last couple of days in monmouth, illinois."

"where the letter was addressed," seth recalled.

"kept an eye on the post office box. spent some time at the local college, got to know the town and the outlying areas. nice place. so far, we have nothing. i left a man watching the post office."

"i'm glad you guys followed up on the letter," seth said.

"we're nowhere near done," trask promised. "i want to hear firsthand about any oddities you noted regarding your sister's behavior."

seth recounted how kendra had acted at breakfast, how she had come home early from the day care, how she had overreacted when she found him in her room, and the final tragic confrontation with warren.

"all of this happened on the same day," trask confirmed.

"yep. except the scary part with warren was technically early the next day."

"no strange behavior the day before."

"well, she kept to herself more than usual the evening before. stayed shut up in her room."

"after she got home from the day care," trask said.

"right," seth said. "she seemed very much herself the day before."

trask turned his head toward grandpa. "everything points to the day care. elise checked in the windows multiple times while kendra was there. nothing appeared amiss. i interviewed ronda redmond, a woman who works overlapping hours with kendra. i presented myself as a private investigator. she claimed that the only time kendra was out of her sight on the day in question was when rex brought kendra into his office for a minute or two to respond to a call from a parent. we've kept ronda under heavy surveillance and have dug deep into her past. whatever transpired, she seems to be an oblivious bystander."

"that brings you up-to-date," grandpa said to seth.

"i want to help find out more," seth said. "maybe you can use me as bait."

grandpa shook his head. "we can't risk anything like that until we better understand what we're dealing with."

"warren and elise are no rookies," trask said. "neither am i. this was done with an unthinkable level of finesse. we'll get to the bottom of it, but time will be required. unless fresh details come to mind, seth, you could best serve our needs by returning to fablehaven with your grandfather."

"to fablehaven?" seth asked.

"tanu is already prepping your parents," grandpa said. "given their agitated condition over the loss of kendra, and his skill with potions, they will soon arrive at the conclusion that you should spend christmas with your grandmother and me."

"no," seth protested softly. "i want to be here, helping the investigation."

"we can't protect you as well here," trask said. "there are many causes for concern. we can't be certain the letter was the only communique sent to our enemies by whoever was posing as your sister. who can say what they may have already learned? we need to assume a defensive posture until we have a more complete grasp of the situation."

"on your feet," grandpa said, extending a gloved hand.

seth took it and let grandpa haul him up. on his feet, he gained a better appreciation for trask's impressive height. they began walking across the snowbound cemetery.

"have you kept track of kendra's belongings?" grandpa asked seth.

"i hid the journal and the letters, like warren told me. and i found the rain stick from lost mesa. she actually hid it really well, behind the drywall in her closet. she cut a small opening and slid it in, then sealed it up pretty good. it took some time to figure it out."

"we'll bring those belongings home with us," grandpa said.

"grandpa," seth said hesitantly. "i took some gold from fablehaven last summer. i felt i'd earned it doing business with the satyrs, so i didn't return all of it to you. kendra caught me. before she wasn't kendra anymore. she isn't here to make me, but i wanted you to know i'll return it all."

grandpa's eyes grew moist. he patted seth on the back and nodded.

the last time seth had driven to fablehaven, he had streaked through the night in the back of a flashy sports car piloted by vanessa. the pace was considerably slower with grandpa sorenson at the wheel of a bulky suv.

grandpa and grandma had spent two days consoling seth's heartbroken parents while tanu assisted warren, elise, and trask with the homicide investigation. the days were frustratingly uneventful. no new clues were discovered. no enemies made a move. and they could find no ties between rex and the society of the evening star. the daycare supervisor appeared to have been an innocent victim.

trask, warren, and elise had stayed behind to keep working. unusually quiet and thoughtful, tanu rode beside seth, the seat belt barely long enough to stretch across his massive samoan frame. grandma sat up front with grandpa.

seth tried to sleep, but could never quite get comfortable. his imagination refused to stop inventing scenarios to explain what had happened to kendra. he tried to keep an open mind, even to the point of questioning whether magical mind control had actually been employed. if somebody had used brutal blackmail, the stress alone might have altered her personality. but what leverage could have motivated kendra to betray her family? maybe she thought she was protecting them from something worse. but what?

the cell phone rang, and grandpa answered. after a moment, the suv accelerated briskly. "have you told dougan?" grandpa said. "keep trying. right, do what you can for him, we'll hurry." grandpa set the phone aside.

"what was that?" grandma asked, alarmed.

"maddox showed up in the attic," grandpa said. "he's a mess. skinny, dirty, injured, sick. coulter and dale are doing what they can."

although he was thrilled to hear that the fairy trader had returned, it saddened seth to picture the robust adventurer sickly and weak. at least maddox was alive. "he came through the bathtub?" seth asked. the previous summer, he had learned that tanu had taken a large tin washtub to the fallen brazilian preserve in order to give maddox a portal home. the washtub shared the same space as an identical washtub in the attic at fablehaven. after an object had been placed in one washtub, the object would appear to be in both, allowing an accomplice to remove it from the other. when the washtubs were far apart, the linked space allowed items to be instantly transported over great distances.

"he did," grandpa said. "after all this time. well done, tanu."

"sounds like maddox will need some healing," tanu said.

"which is why i'm stepping on the gas," grandpa replied.

"when it rains, it pours," grandma remarked.

as the suv turned off the road, seth gazed out the window at the skeletal forest, amazed at how far he could see with the leaves gone and the undergrowth reduced to tangled twigs. he had previously only seen fablehaven in summertime. everything was now brown and gray, with a few snow patches lingering among the crumbling dead leaves.

the suv raced down the driveway, through the gate, and up to the house. the gardens surrounding the house remained incongruously in bloom. seth realized that the fairies must be responsible for the improbable verdure.

when they skidded to a stop, tanu vaulted out of the car and dashed into the house. ever since the call, he had been sorting through his potions and ingredients. seth jogged inside after him.

dale stood in the entry hall. "hi, seth."

"where's maddox?" seth asked, unable to tell which way tanu had gone.

"up in your grandparents' bedroom. the nearest bed to the washtub."

"how is he?"

dale whistled softly. "he's seen better days, but he'll pull through. you keep getting taller."

"not as tall as you yet."

grandpa and grandma came through the front door together. "where is he?" grandma asked.

dale led them up the stairs and down the hall to the room where tanu sat in a chair beside the bed, rummaging through his potion bag. coulter leaned against the wall in the corner. maddox rested on the bed, lips dry, cheeks flushed, a filthy red beard hiding half of his face. "good to see you, stan," he croaked, craning his neck forward.

"lie still," tanu admonished. "save words for later." the samoan turned to look at grandpa. "he's feverish, malnourished, and badly dehydrated. probably has parasites. broken wrist. sprained ankle. mild concussion. cuts and bruises everywhere. give me some time with him."

grandpa shepherded the others out of the room. coulter came with them. they gathered not far down the hallway.

"has he divulged anything?" grandpa asked in a hushed tone.

"he doesn't have the artifact, nor does the society," coulter said, passing his hand over his mostly bald head, matting down the tuft of gray hair in the middle. "he knows the location of the vault where the artifact is housed. i don't have details. dale and i were trying to make him rest."

"still no leads on the room beyond the hall of dread?" grandpa asked.

coulter shuddered. "just a blank wall. i've spent some real time investigating, even though it isn't my favorite environment."

"you haven't found the room from kendra's letter?" seth asked. "i figured as caretaker you would already know all about it."

"the secret was not handed down," grandma said.

"we aren't even convinced that we want to learn the possible artifact locations," grandpa explained. "for now we just want to know we have access to the information should the need arise."

"what exactly is in the hall of dread?" seth asked. "you guys never get very specific."

"dangerous creatures that require no upkeep are jailed there," coulter said. "they need no food or drink. beings like the revenant we met in the grove."

"do they radiate fear?" seth asked.

"some of them do," coulter said. "makes working down there a pain and a half. i'd normally prefer to stay far from those cells."

"maybe i could help search for the room, since magical fear doesn't bother me."

grandma shook her head. "no, seth, in some ways that makes it more perilous for you. the threat posed by those creatures is real. fear can be a good thing. it keeps us respectful of their power. many of those entities could destroy fablehaven if loosed."

"i wouldn't free them! i'm not a nut job!"

"but it might be interesting to see what they looked like," grandpa suggested.

"have you seen them?" seth asked. "what do they... wait a minute, you're testing me."

"curiosity killed the cat," grandpa said. "and it has almost leveled fablehaven in the past, if i recall accurately."

"i'd follow your rules," seth said. "if the rule is no peeking, i won't even consider it."

"if we find a need for your special immunity, we'll make use of it," grandpa promised.

"if you find a need," seth muttered. "i bet you won't be looking very hard. say, coulter, how did you know maddox had come through? i mean, he could only exit the bathtub he entered, isn't that how it works? to come out on our side, somebody needed to physically lift him out."

"that's exactly right," coulter explained. "we posted mendigo as a permanent sentry, watching the tub. truth be told, we probably wouldn't have kept the overgrown puppet stationed there much longer. after all these months, there was scant room for hope."

tanu opened the bedroom door and poked his head out. "i have him stabilized. he responded well to the treatments. i've advised him to sleep, but maddox insists he wants to speak with you sooner rather than later. all of you."

"is he up to it?" grandma asked.

"he'll be all right. he's determined. he'll rest better after we give him a chance to be heard."

grandpa led the procession back into the bedroom. maddox sat propped up by pillows. his skin shone with perspiration, and his lips already looked less chapped. his eyes regarded them alertly.

"you don't have to stare like i'm in my coffin," maddox said, his voice stronger than before. "inviting as the mattress feels, this isn't my deathbed. i'd already be up and about if tanu would allow it."

"you must have quite a tale to tell," grandpa prompted.

"aye, and i've learned a lesson or two. first and foremost--never accept assignments from the knights of the dawn." he winked at seth. "where's your sister?"

all of the other adults exchanged awkward glances.

"she's dead," seth said flatly. "the society got to her."

maddox blanched. "my apologies, seth, i had no idea. what a tragedy."

"wasn't your fault," seth assured him. "you've had plenty of your own trouble."

"how did you survive?" grandpa asked.

"hiding in caves, mostly. wet, dark, narrow places. i found chambers where lycerna couldn't reach me. lived off terrible food, insects and fungus and the like. i lost track of time. could hardly poke my head outside without something trying to bite it off. all openings to the cave remained heavily guarded, night or day, rain or shine. so i tunneled my own exit, made a break for the house, and found the washtub. if i hadn't found a coded message from tanu informing me about my free ride home, i'd still be sloshing through half-flooded caverns."