Fablehaven: The Curse of the Fabled Swords

Disclaimer: Fablehaven and any of its' original characters are the pure genius of Brandon Mull, only new characters that are laced into the story are my creations.

Chapter 4

Kendra sat her mug of cider on the counter a little bit more forcefully than called for. The matter of the fact was, she was frustrated. Frustrated at the world, or at least that's how it seemed. Everything was going wrong; Seth disappearing, Gavin acting strange and now the fairies were spooked to come into the yard. Abcd said it was because of Gavin...but of course Kendra didn't believe her one bit.

The kitchen was rather sunny as the afternoon light made squares on the cabinets. It really was a beautiful day, and Bracken was supposed to be...

"Boo!"

Kendra cried out in fright, whipping about to find the source of the 'boo'. Bracken's laugh filled the small kitchen and Kendra began to burn bright with embarrassment.

"Bracken that was so mean! Why everyone thinks it's okay to scare me is beyond my knowledge!" Kendra fumed.

He winced, his hands covering his eyes, "Kendra, dear, you're blinding me."

"Ugh!" She threw her hands up and stormed into the living room. Kendra wasn't quite sure why she was blowing this out of proportion, maybe because of her pre-existing irritation? There was too much going on to even fathom controlling her temper.

Bracken looked after her as she made her way up the stairs. What he did wrong...well he wasn't certain...but all he knew was that it was his fault. He followed Kendra up the stairs, throwing together a consolation plan.

"Wait!" Bracken called, "Kendra I'm sorry for...whatever I did!" He realized his plan wasn't going very smoothly as he reached her door and was met with a violent slam. Bracken rubbed his freshly sore nose, stunned. Of course his face didn't hurt for long...but Kendra's outburst hurt more than his physical body. Shoulders slumping, he made his way back down the staircase.

The couch in the living room seemed slightly inviting, so Bracken sat glumly, sulking. Just as he could start to feel the sunlight from the windows, Bracken heard a small voice...no not a voice...a cry? Yes a cry! Lifting his head from his hands, he searched the room for the origin of the cry. All he found was the furniture and dust particles...otherwise he was alone.

But there it was again!

Bracken sat up a little straighter and frowned, "Hello?"

"Bracken?!" a teary voice questioned from the armchair.

Instinctively, Bracken's hand went to his coat pocket where a small blade resided and stood, "Who's there?" his voice was cautious and guarded.

"Oh Bracken you can hear me! I thought I was gonna be lost forever!" the voice cried out. Invisible arms wrapped themselves around Bracken, sending him into a panic.

"Get off of me I..." Suddenly the voice sounded familiar to Bracken's ears, "Seth?"

"Yes, yes it's me!" Seth exclaimed.

Bracken was astonished. What had happened? "Seth, I need you to tell me exactly what happened to you." Bracken took on a business like stature as Seth relayed his story of seeing Gavin all darkly then finding the Vasilis and turning invisible. By the end of Seth's oration, Bracken knew just what was going...exactly.

Struggling to conceal his rage, Bracken explained, "You've awakened a cryx, Seth. Right now you're holding dark magic that was cast upon an item. You see, this is tricky to explain..." his hands rubbed his face in strained thought.

Bracken began again, "Someone put a dark hold on the Vasilis to track it. A cryx is a tracking spell and whoever awakens it is filled with the darkness...it appears it has conjoined with your shadow walking and made you entirely invisible but in the opposite way...in the light instead of dark! Does this make any sense?"

"Yeah...I think so..." Seth paused, "but who put the cryx on the Vasilis?"

Bracken's anger flared again, "I think I know who."

Without considering anything, Bracken stomped up the stairs and straight to Gavin's room. Disregarding all courtesy, he yanked open the door.

"What have you done to the..." he began. The fuel to his fire quickly died away as he saw that the room was entirely empty. As in, Gavin wasn't there. Sighing, Bracken made his way back down the stairs.

Feeling defeated, he called for Seth, "Hey Seth, where's Gavin?"

Seth pondered for a moment, trying to recall when he last saw Gavin, "Oh! I saw him run through here about an hour ago...he looked like he was in pain..."

Bracken nodded and headed toward Mr. Sorenson's office. Seth noticed his departure and panicked, "Wait, Bracken! How am I supposed to fix this? I mean, how am I supposed to become visible again?" A sharp pain stung his chest and his voice became weak, "I miss Snow...is she okay?"

Bracken's heart filled with sympathy and an apologetic look found it's way to his features. He knew what it felt like to be separated from a girl he loved, "She's fine, buddy. She just misses you. She's been spending her time at the naiad pond. And I don't know how to fix it...I've only ever seen it happen. I'm going to talk with your grandparents about what to do. Come in with me just in case they can hear you."

He wasn't truly reassured, but Seth followed Bracken to his grandpa's study. Knocking lightly, the two entered the cluttered room.

"Mr. Sorenson? It's Bracken, might I have a word with you?"

Mr. Sorenson smiled at the sight of Bracken, "Ah, Bracken! It's a pleasure to see you. Of course, I could spare a moment or two. If you don't mind though, could you make it quick? You see I've been busy with implementing a new species into Fablehaven."

"Absolutely," Bracken agreed as he sat in one of the large chairs across from Mr. Sorenson.

Believing for just a mere moment that he might hear, Seth inquired, "Grandpa?"

Hope stirred within Seth as his grandpa looked up from his papers and directly at him. It died just as quickly when Mr. Sorenson said, "Now Bracken, what is it that you would like to talk about?"

Boldly, Bracken began, "Well you see, sir, I have some concerns about a certain sword in the weapon's room."

He paused to allow Mr. Sorenson to really hear his words. Mr. Sorenson nodded, signaling for Bracken to continue.

He decided to just come right out and say it, "The Vasilis, it's been enchanted, but not in the good way. A cryx has been placed upon it."

That really got Mr. Sorenson's attention, "A cryx? A cryx..." he muttered gravely, "And Seth...my goodness Seth! That's what's happened to him! It must be."

"It has," Bracken stated unfortunately, "In fact I know for certain that's what's happened. You see I spoke with Seth..."

He launched into the extensive story and by the end, hinted at his idea of the culprit.

"You think Gavin did it?" Mr. Sorenson asked, clearly surprised. "Now, Bracken that's a bold accusation. I know you don't care for the boy but-"

Once again forgetting his manners, Bracken cut in, "I know for a fact that there's something dark about him. Seth even saw it! He's in here right now! Seth, tell him about the smoky ribbons!"

Bracken looked hysterical, so Seth knew he had to do something. His grandpa was searching the room for Seth, and that's what prompted him to reach for the pen on the desk and write, I'm here grandpa, and it's true...about Gavin. I was looking out the window before I was hit with the cryx and I saw him talking with Kendra. There were these terrible black ribbons of smoke surrounding Gavin. They cringed away from Kendra...

In that moment, Mr. Sorenson knew it was his grandson communicating with him. He felt almost as though he could see Seth as he wrote the words.

Nodding, Mr. Sorenson stated, "Well, we're going to have to have a talk with Gavin. From there, we will decide on what to do about the Vasilis."

Does anyone else sense an adventure? I knew you guys were still out there! Thank you so very much for giving me someone to write for:)

Love, peace and Bobby Sherman,

Linsey