"and i sit at home knitting and fretting?" grandma sorenson said.

"why don't you escort kendra?" grandpa proposed. "help her find some fairies, set some assistance in motion, then teleport back to fablehaven before i head for the dungeon. we'll leave coulter back home as interim caretaker, and let dale keep running the logistics, but i'd feel much better knowing more than one of us remained at home."

"that sounds reasonable," grandma sorenson admitted reluctantly.

"where will the dwarf insert us?" grandpa asked. "near the nest of a roc," grandma larsen said. "a roc?" warren exclaimed. "a rock?" kendra asked.

"an enormous bird that preys on elephants and aurochs," grandma larsen clarified. "the inhabitants of living mirage generally stay away from the nesting area, but the nest lies within fifteen minutes on foot from the great ziggurat. during maintenance errands, tollin has ventured right up to the nest itself. he will teleport us to a sheltered location with enough proximity to the roc to provide us with privacy."

"sounds sensible," grandpa said. "i expect you want this to happen this evening?"

grandma larsen gave a nod. "the quicker we set this in motion, the less chance we have of getting discovered."

"should be simple to bring trask and elise here with the translocator," warren said.

"we'll get word to them," grandpa said, "but we won't reveal details or bring them to fablehaven until the last possible moment. surprise will be the difference between success and failure."

"the sphinx won't know what hit him," grandma sorenson murmured.

"i suggest you return vanessa to the quiet box until this is over," grandma larsen said. "you should probably place tollin and me in the dungeon. we'll keep our masks on. should the sphinx glimpse us, we want him confused about our presence here."

"i believe we have the outline of a plan," grandpa said. "we'll get to work on the particulars. first order of business will be to bring tanu, coulter, and dale in on this to help flesh out details. we'll hold all meetings back in time. no discussion of this otherwise. not a word. this has to succeed."

"we'll make sure it does," grandma larsen said staunchly.

"how are we on time?" grandpa asked.

grandma sorenson checked the watch. "we should probably get into position." none of them had moved much since coming back in time.

kendra studied her grandma larsen. it was so wonderful to have her back. at the same time, kendra felt she hardly knew her. it was hard to reconcile her memories of grandma larsen with this no-nonsense spy before her.

grandma larsen caught kendra's eye. "i'm sure this is a lot for you to digest."

"kind of."

"you and your brother are well-known among the society. you've been in much more danger than i would prefer, but i've been so proud of you both."

the compliment made kendra feel awkward. "thanks."

"i'm sorry grandpa larsen and i have missed the last couple of years. i suppose it's fair that stan and ruth got a turn to know you. hopefully we'll all have lots of time together in the future."

"i hope so too," kendra said.

chapter 12 rescue

the next day, peering out the kitchen window, kendra spotted hugo sitting on the lawn, legs straight out, shoulders slumped, big hands folded in his lap. in harmony with the springtime atmosphere at fablehaven, the golem looked more colorful than usual, with an abundance of wild-flowers, blossoming creepers, and tufts of grass sprouting from his earthen body. dale stood beside hugo, hands on his hips. kendra realized she had never seen the golem sitting down before.

kendra went out the back door and crossed the lawn to dale. "something wrong with hugo?" she asked.

"hey, kendra," dale said, wiping his damp brow with a handkerchief. "i've never seen him like this. the big guy has been sluggish all day. then i came out of the barn to find him picking grass."

kendra noticed the small pits and discarded divots in front of the golem. "you okay, hugo?"

the big head swiveled toward her, cavernous eyes regarding her solemnly. "hugo okay," he said wearily. his gravelly voice was becoming more expressive and intelligible every day.

"well, get up then," dale prodded. "we have chores to do. you're making everybody nervous." dale looked uncomfortable.

kendra wondered if dale missed the way hugo used to be. in the past, hugo had done nothing but follow orders. but after the fairies had tampered with him, the golem had developed a will of his own. he still almost always followed commands, but on occasion he would deviate or improvise.

with a grunt like rolling boulders, hugo rose to his feet, mouth bent in a frown. he looked down at dale.

"that's the spirit," dale said, as if encouraging a child. "let's go see to those stables."

powerful arms at his sides, hugo bent at the waist and then toppled forward. his head hit the ground hard, digging a short furrow in the lawn. propped up by his head and feet, he rigidly held his bowed position, arms at his sides, rear end pointing skyward.

"what's wrong, hugo?" kendra asked. could the golem be ill? he looked absolutely pathetic.

heaving with his arms, hugo rocked back to a sitting position. "seth gone," he said, a forlorn rumble.

"you miss seth?" kendra said. "he'll be back." hugo shook his heavy head. "seth taken."

"who told you seth was taken?" dale asked. "doren."

kendra blinked. suddenly hugo's behavior made much more sense. he was concerned about seth.

"is that what has you out of sorts?" dale asked. "you miss your buddy?"

hugo patted his chest. "miss buddy."

"seth will be all right," kendra said encouragingly. "he's survived tough situations before." she wished she could fully believe her words.

hugo regarded her with an unnerving, eyeless gaze. "hugo want help."

"best way you can help is to keep fablehaven running," dale urged. "otherwise there won't be a preserve for seth to come home to."

once again, hugo stood up. he gazed down at kendra. "you help seth."

"we'll figure out something," kendra promised. she couldn't explain that they already had a rescue planned. they were only allowed to discuss plans in the past. maybe the golem needed a distraction. "want to play catch, hugo? or hit a baseball? you can throw me in the pool."

the golem forced a craggy smile. he rubbed his stony chest. "not feel right. maybe later. stables first."

"i've never seen him all emotional like this," dale muttered out the side of his mouth.

"it's sweet," kendra said, fighting back tears.

"come," hugo said, picking up dale and cradling him in one arm. the golem gently patted kendra on the shoulder, then turned and loped out of the yard.

kendra was left standing alone. she sat down on the grass, which had been squashed flat by the golem's rump. the rescue operation would commence within the hour. trask and elise had still not arrived. but they were ready. warren would teleport them to fablehaven at the last moment.

a quartet of fairies fluttered over and began replacing the grassy divots into the corresponding pits. kendra focused on the nearest fairy. she had short blonde hair and wore a simple shift the color of sunflower petals. her translucent butterfly wings ended in fanciful curled points. kendra marveled at the tiny hands packing the clod of earth back into place. how strange to quietly observe a beautiful woman the size of an insect!

aware of the attention, the fairy glanced up at kendra, her expression uncertain as she brushed soil from her dainty palms. the miniature woman checked her radiant slip for stains.

"you look lovely," kendra said.

the fairy beamed, twirled, and leaped into the air, flitting off toward the nearest rosebush. the other three fairies smoldered with jealousy.

"you all look fabulous," kendra assured them.

the other fairies took flight as well. "and you said she was too big and clumsy to recognize style," one chirped to another.

kendra smiled. this unlikely, magnificent world of magical creatures was certainly worth protecting. she could understand why her grandparents had devoted their lives to the cause. she just wished the job came with less danger.

kendra considered how she might use the fairies of living mirage to help the assault force. since the fairies would obey any order she gave in the name of the fairy queen, kendra took the responsibility seriously. her commands could cause innocent fairies to perish without any choice in the matter.

the fairies of living mirage could at least provide assistance as guides and sentries. since stealth was the key to this mission, that extra guidance might give the strike force the edge they needed. kendra ran a hand over the grass the fairies had just replaced. the repaired portions blended seamlessly with the rest of the lawn. fairies possessed strong restorative magic. kendra wondered if fairy magic could somehow benefit the upcoming mission.

wearing a dark outfit, "warren came out of the house and vaulted the back porch railing. "meditating?" he asked.

"something like that," kendra answered, rising.

"i just set up bubda in a storage room in the dungeon," warren said. "i left him with a deck of cards, taught him how to play solitaire. little guy really resisted leaving the knapsack room. but as soon as he dug into a bag of overripe tomatoes, he was feeling much better."

"how did vanessa take her transfer to the quiet box?" kendra asked.

"like a pro," warren said. "she may not love the idea, but she gets it. with a bunch of us heading off to four pines, she knows we can't have her loose."

they had decided to pretend that several of them would be teleporting to a preserve called four pines in canada. all of their preparations were discussed in this context in order to explain why they were gathering so much gear, and to misdirect the sphinx's attention. the idea had come from coulter.

"it will be interesting to see a new preserve," kendra said.

"you'll like it," warren said. "ruth sent me out to call you for dinner."

"what is it?"

"italian," warren said. "pasta, lasagna, pizza, salad--the works. i cheated and used the translocator to pick it up from my favorite restaurant. you'll love it."

kendra thought about how they had tried to use pancakes to calm her before the visit to stony vale. would pasta be a last meal for any of them? she tried to push away the morbid thought.

she followed warren into the house, where coulter and tanu were removing plastic containers of food from bags. grandma larsen would not get to participate in the meal. kendra had hardly seen grandma larsen since their discussion back in time. her grandmother and the dwarf kept silent while in the present, and were currently residing in a dungeon cell.

warren was right about the food. the spicy lasagna was so delicious that she actually got distracted from the upcoming mission and ate a hearty portion. she had cannoli for dessert, and they tasted divine as well.

grandma and grandpa sorenson came to the table last. she had on a light gray sweatshirt and jeans. he was clad in black. kendra supposed that since she and grandma would be at living mirage for only a few minutes, they didn't require much camouflage.

kendra eyed the clock while her grandparents ate. minutes ticked by. at 6:20, tanu went to bring grandma larsen and the dwarf up from the dungeon. at 6:25, warren used the translocator to retrieve trask and elise. he was back within seconds.

everyone started checking gear and shouldering packs. tanu examined his potions. trask fiddled with his weapons. the dwarf gobbled up no fewer than six cannoli, stuffing them under his mask.

"four pines should be secure," trask announced, sliding a dagger back into its sheath, "but we can't be too careful." warren would only have just whispered to him the actual destination.

grandpa clapped coulter on the shoulder. "we'll be back soon."

"i'll be waiting," coulter said. "now?" asked the dwarf.

"me first," warren said, holding out the translocator. "you know the drill."

tollin twisted the middle portion and they winked out of sight. kendra knew warren had conferred with the dwarf to select an alternate location for him to be inserted at living mirage, but was not privy to the details. a moment later the masked dwarf returned without warren.

trask and grandma larsen grabbed opposite ends of the translocator and vanished with the dwarf. grandma larsen reappeared and collected tanu and grandpa sorenson. a moment later, grandma larsen was back for elise and grandma sorenson.

"take care," coulter said to kendra. "see you soon."

she gave a distracted nod. her mouth felt dry, her palms damp.

grandma larsen returned. "ready?" she asked, voice muffled by her mask.

kendra took hold of the translocator. grandma larsen twisted the device, and suddenly she and kendra stood in a warm, dark grove of olive trees. a bright array of stars glittered in the moonless sky. grandma larsen raised a quieting finger to the lips of her mask.

"trask, elise, and tanu will scout the area," grandpa whispered. "we have five minutes to locate a fairy or two. at that point, whether or not we've found one, kendra and ruth will return home and we'll proceed."

tollin had removed his mask. sweat matted his gray beard. the dwarf tapped his temple and curled a finger at grandma larsen, miming for her to crouch. grandma larsen removed her mask and bent an ear down to the dwarf. quick as a mousetrap, he snatched the translocator from her grasp, twisted the center, and disappeared.