Chapter 7: Parental Discretion
Kendra was sitting down on the couch, holding her head in her hands. If only she'd known, she could've stopped the boys from running off while they were still at home. If the fairies had been feeling a strange presence from David, then surely the Sorensons could've done something about it while they had the chance. And here they were now, at a loss as to the boys' situation, with no idea as to what they were getting themselves into.
"When Seth gets back, I want a tracking device to be surgically implanted into his head!" exclaimed Grandpa.
"Don't be so daft," said Grandma. "Seth is going to have a long talk with us after all this, and then we'll figure out a suitable punishment for him."
"Excuse me, but aren't we forgetting about the actual problem here?" asked Mr. Sorenson. "This whole David and Zavarok ordeal? What are we supposed to do about that?"
"Well, the fairies aren't exactly eager to help us with this," stated Warren. "We'd have to tackle it ourselves. Maybe find a way to quarantine David and examine him thoroughly."
"That shouldn't be too hard to do," said Dale. "We could designate a portion of the property to Zavarok. If we're to believe this whole story, David, or Zavarok, would be confined. However, if Zavarok manages to show his true colors, he could easily overwhelm us. Even all the creatures on this preserve if he's anything like Navarog."
"And we'll find David when we find Seth," chimed in Grandma. "The question is, how?"
"Well," said Tanu, "I'd like to say there's only so many places to go that Seth could even think of. Unfortunately, David... or Zavarok... or whoever he is, may know of more, as could Raxtus, or even Lance."
Kendra's eyes suddenly lit up. "What about the Oculus? If we could borrow that again, I could find Seth quite easily!"
"Now you're thinking," said Warren. "But don't tell me we've gotta run through another stupid vault again."
"I'm afraid you'd have to," said Grandpa. "That is, of course, assuming you're after the true Oculus."
Everyone stopped to stare at Grandpa, who displayed a smile, which was a sight for sore eyes given the current situation.
"What are you talking about?" asked Kendra.
Grandpa clasped his fingers together. "There is a second set of artifacts."
Warren shook his head. "You mean, the instruments of eternal power? That's not what I think you mean."
"Nope," replied Grandpa. "There is a second set of the five artifacts. A second Oculus. A second Sands of Sanctity, and so on."
"Since when?" asked Kendra, folding her arms sternly.
"Allow me to explain," said Grandpa. "After the whole ordeal with Oblivion wound down, Agad requested that I return the Translocator to him, so that it could be stored away again. Before getting around to that, I realized that you guys having the Translocator on hand proved to be quite handy, and that it would be a hassle to have to hunt it, or any of the other artifacts down again."
"Then what?" asked Kendra.
"I requested a meeting with the Fairy Queen, and explained to her that while the artifacts themselves are invaluable due to their powers, they need to remain concealed, preferably forever. So, I requested that the fairies use the Omega Star to wish for a second set of artifacts. That way, we keep could the original artifacts hidden away, while technically still having access to their powers."
"I don't get it," said Warren. "Why hide the artifacts in the first place if you're just going to wish for a second set?"
"Because this second set works a little differently from the first," explained Grandpa. "The artifacts do indeed have their same functions as the originals, but with one difference. The secondary artifacts are incapable of opening Zzyzx. They function entirely as tools, and nothing more."
"Sounds great," said Warren, with an excited look on his face. "Where are they?"
"Agad currently has them," said Grandpa. "But after I explain the situation to him, we should have access to them before long."
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Warren. "Let's get Agad over here so we can get moving already."
"That won't be easy," said Grandpa. "First, Agad would need to give the situation some thought. As would I. As much as I like the idea, I don't know how reliable the artifacts even are. They haven't been fully tested, and I've been trying to keep them a secret. On another note, we still need to learn more about David. I'm going to talk to Trask and see if he knows any more information about David's family."
"But Trask can't just ask Estelle or whomever peculiar questions like Is David really Zavarok?, said Warren.
"You're right," said Tanu. "But, what can we do?"
"The best way to learn would be to seek out David's family," said Grandma. "His own parents might know a thing or two about all this that they're not speaking up about. Of course, you can't just call them up and ask them directly. It'd be best if you just try and piece together information yourself, rather than asking them a bunch of fishy questions."
"You mean, go down to their place and eavesdrop on them?" asked Warren.
"Precisely," said Grandma. "We haven't yet told David's parents about all this, so now might be the best time to do so."
"But, what about those other artifacts?" asked Kendra. "Wouldn't it be easier to just get a hold of them and use those instead of running around aimlessly?"
"All in good time," said Grandpa. "Until then, it's best that you travel down to David and Lance's home on your own and see if you can learn anything. Once you get back, if I can come to an agreement with Agad, we'll be able to start using the secondary artifacts."
Before long, Kendra and Warren had packed themselves some supplies, and were standing in the front yard besides Geminus, just about ready to leave.
"Are you sure you two can't come with us?" Kendra asked Bright and Clover.
"We're really sorry," replied Clover. "But you remember how when the dimensional barrier between our worlds was blocked off? The minor fairies at Fablehaven nearly perished. So now, the Fairy Queen forbids us from leaving the grounds without her permission."
"And asking for her permission, especially with all this Zavarok hullabaloo going on, isn't such a great idea," said Bright. "Believe me, it would only make things worse if he disobeyed her orders."
"It's no big deal," said Warren. "We're just going to to someone's house to pay them a visit. Not some uncharted dungeon. Once we learn what we're actually going up against, we can appeal to the Fairy Queen and hopefully get back on her good side."
"You'll take care of Vanessa while we're gone, right?" asked Geminus.
"Don't worry," replied Clover. "She's napping in the back garden, and the fairies are all keeping an eye on her."
"Thank you," said Geminus. "With Raxtus on this crazy adventure, I've just been so distraught."
"We'll get to the bottom of this," said Warren, as he climbed up onto Geminus' back, along with Kendra. "But the sooner we learn more about David, the better."
"We'll be okay without Bright and Clover won't we, Warren?"
"We should be fine. We're not doing anything brash, and you also have Ariel with you."
"Good luck," said Clover, who waved at the two Knights and Geminus as they took off, along with Bright.
Although they usually rode atop Raxtus rather than Geminus, the ride through the sky went rather smoothly. Despite the fact that Geminus had not been born a dragon, she flew just as smoothly and consistently as Raxtus typically did.
No more than four hours later, Geminus swooped down through the clouds, revealing the city of Miami far beneath them. In the distance, Kendra could see a long beach sprawling across the shoreline.
"So, where is the place we're heading?" asked Geminus.
"I've got the address with me," said Warren. "But you need to find a place to land where we won't draw a lot of attention."
Geminus looked down at the busy city that was several hundred feet below her. She rarely ventured into heavily populated areas, with or without passengers on her back.
"Landing around here might draw attention," said Warren. "Best land in a more remote spot."
Kendra soon spotted a small park, where she prompted Geminus to fly down and land there, within a small grove of trees. Once Kendra and Warren dismounted from her, Geminus transformed back into her diminutive fairy form, then slipped herself into Kendra's zippered backpack.
Warren then hailed a taxi, and the two Knights rode it to the address of Everett and Diane Smith. When they got out, they were standing on the sidewalk in front of a typical, middle-income two-story house.
"I wonder if anyone's home?" asked Kendra, as the taxi drove off.
"It's midday," said Warren, glancing at his watch. "Good chance they're out somewhere."
"There's no car in the driveway," said Kendra, having observed their surroundings. "What do we do?"
"I suggest sneaking into the house," said Warren. "Maybe look for clues."
"And I know just the way," said Kendra, rubbing a silver ring she was wearing on her right ring finger. "Ariel, please come out and unlock the front door."
At that moment, a small, sparkling fairy appeared from out of Kendra's ring. She sported round, almost bee-like wings, a glittering dress, and smooth, white hair. In spite of her hair being white, the fairy did not appear to be elderly.
"Absolutely," said Ariel with a smile, as she flicked a bit of magical dust upon the doorknob, causing it to unlock.
"Thank you," said Kendra.
"You're welcome," said Ariel pleasantly, before retreating back into her ring.
Warren twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, making his way into the foyer of the house. Kendra followed him inside and closed the door behind herself. From their first glances, the house seemed pretty normal inside. However, they had been led to believe that this house had actually been harboring the twin brother of Navarog.
"As much as I want to search for clues," began Warren, "we need to remember that Everett and Diane themselves are not members of the Knights of the Dawn, so don't waste your time looking for anything in regards to that."
Warren turned towards the stairs leading up to the second floor. But before he could set so much as a foot on the first step, Kendra grabbed his hand.
"Wait," she said. "This just feels... wrong."
"Look, I'm not big on this whole breaking and entering thing myself," said Warren. "But we need to know the truth."
"I know you told me about when you broke into Lance's old house to search for clues," said Kendra. "But this is different. I'm okay with spying on these people, but going through their things... It's just wrong."
Warren took in a deep breath. "You're right. But what if we can't learn anything that way?"
"Maybe then we should have someone tell them what's happened. Then we'll spy on them and see if we can learn anything or not."
"Might as well, said Warren. "We'll wait out our time until they get home. As much as I dislike the idea of spying on these people, it might be the only way we'll ever learn anything more about Zavarok."
Kendra and Warren left the house through the front door, then made their way around to the side next to the neighboring house.
"What are we doing here?" asked Kendra.
Without responding, Warren grabbed Kendra, then allowed himself to float up towards the rooftop, dragging her with him.
"We've gotta lay low until we're ready," said Warren, placing Kendra down atop the roof of the house. We should be safe up here. Have Ariel cast a sleeping spell on us. When we awaken, we can check to see if they're home yet."
Kendra nodded, then released Ariel from her ring. She relayed Warren's directions to her fairy guardian, prompting Ariel to sprinkle the two of them with magical glitter, causing them to fall asleep directly on the rooftop.
When Kendra and Warren woke up, it was dark out. Warren climbed up from his sleeping position, and walked over to the back of the house, where he peered down from the roof. "The lights are on," he said.
"Okay," said Kendra, getting up onto her feet. "Now, how do you propose we go about spying on them?"
"I'd suggest invisibility, but I'm kinda worried we'll make too much noise and draw unwanted attention, even if they can't see us."
"How about shrinking?" asked Kendra.
"It works," replied Warren. "Besides, it'll make it easier to sneak back into the house if we're small."
Kendra released Ariel from her ring. "Ariel, can you shrink us down? We need to get into the house."
"I can," stated Ariel, "but it won't last for too long. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as a fairy angel."
"Don't worry about it," said Warren. "Anything you can do to help us is fine."
Ariel nodded, then used her magic to shrink Kendra and Warren down to roughly the same size as herself. As Kendra shrunk, Geminus fluttered out of her backpack.
Warren, Geminus and Ariel took a hold of Kendra, then flew her over and into the chimney. Due to their decreased sizes, they were able to fit down rather smoothly, and kept themselves from getting coated in soot as they ventured down the shaft.
As the group came down into the unlit fireplace, they went completely unnoticed by Diane and Everett, who were sitting on the couch together, watching what Kendra assumed was a movie on the television. The two adults had failed to notice Kendra and her friends, even as they slipped out of the fireplace and made their way behind the couch.
"This is just great," muttered Kendra. "They're too busy watching their stupid movie to talk about David or anything."
Warren peered around the side of the couch to catch a glimpse of the movie. "It's Scarface! We might as well stick around and watch the rest of it while we wait."
"We can't wait too long," said Ariel. "My magic won't last forever."
"And I can't tap into my magic that easily," added Geminus.
"I hate to do this," said Warren, "but we gotta shut off that TV and get their mind off of it as well."
"But they've got the remote," said Kendra. "And if we turn off the TV using the main switch, or pull the plug, they'll suspect something."
"I'll look for something," said Warren, as he flew up into the air. Kendra was hoping he didn't fly too high, as she was afraid Diane or Everett might turn around and spot him.
A moment later, Warren floated back down. "I got it. There's a picture of David on the mantle. If we cause it to fall to the floor and break, it'll get their attention, plus they'll stop their film to clean it up. Maybe they'll mention something about David at that point."
"Should we really wreck something like that?" asked Kendra.
"It's only a picture frame," said Warren, pointing up to the aforementioned frame on the mantle. "And we can't stall forever. Ariel, can you use your magic to force that picture of David to fall to the floor?"
"Okay," said Ariel, pointing her hand at the framed picture of David. Magical sparkles flew out of her hand and hit the picture frame. The picture wobbled forward several inches, until it went off the edge of the mantle and plummeted to the floor. As it crashed, Kendra could hear glass shattering.
"Oh my god!" gasped Everett, as he got up from the couch and made his way over to the fallen picture. From the sudden silence, Kendra sensed the the movie had been paused.
"How did this happen?" asked Diane, who had followed behind her husband.
"I don't know!" exclaimed Everett. "There was no sudden vibration or anything! It just... fell."
"What's done is done," said Diane. "We need to clean this up, there's glass everywhere."
"I'll get the dustpan," said Everett, as he made his way out of the living room, while Diane proceeded to pick up the fallen frame.
"Well, at least the photo itself is still okay."
Everett came back carrying a broom and dustbin, and began to sweep up the pieces of broken glass. "You're right. The photo's what counts. God, I'd hate it if something like this actually happened to David himself."
"Don't worry," said Diane. "He's in good company. I mean, I've been told that there's been problems at Fablehaven in the past, but the people there always pull through. I know he'll be back in a few days, but I think about him all the time. Lance as well."
"Would you feel better if we called and asked how the boys are doing?" asked Everett, as he dumped the broken pieces into the garbage. Upon hearing this, Kendra's heart nearly stopped. "No," she told herself. "I don't want you to worry!"
"These boys are teenagers," said Diane. "And it's only for a few days. They'll be fine."
"Well, all right," said Everett, as he sat back down on the couch, along with Diane. "Let's just get back to the movie."
"I get the feeling they're unaware of this whole Zavarok thing," said Kendra.
"Okay," said Warren, "guess we can get out of here. Too bad we couldn't learn anything useful."
Just then, a heavy, trembling noise made its way into the room.
"What's that?" asked Geminus.
Suddenyl, there was a loud bark, prompting the diminutive heroes to turn and face a large, yellow Labrador retriever, that was standing before them. The dog bent its head down and proceeded to growl at them.
"Do something!" shrieked Kendra.
"Boomer, be quiet!" shouted Everett, who was sitting on the couch again.
Boomer continued to growl, and advanced himself towards Kendra's group. Ariel unleashed her magic upon the dog, causing him to fall asleep.
"That shut him up," said Warren, as he directed his friends back to the fireplace. "Come on, let's get out of here."
As Kendra followed the others back to the fireplace, she turned her attention away from Boomer and back towards Everett and Diane. Forgoing the commotion that had just occurred, the couple looked happy sitting together on the couch, watching their movie. They completely had no clue as to was going on in regards to their son. In a way, Kendra felt not only worried, but was also thankful that they were in such good spirits. However, it was unlikely they could refraining from learning the truth for much longer.