Strange Omens and Strange Plans

My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself sitting on a bench. But something was wrong. I was in the yard back at Fablehaven. I jumped up with joy. Was I really safe? I ran up to the porch and threw the door open.

"Guys, I'm back!" I cried happily.

No one answered. I stepped in and looked around. No one was home. I walked around the house, but there was no one there.

"Hello?" I called out.

I was beginning to worry. Suddenly, the ceiling creaked loudly. Was someone there? If there was someone there, why didn't they answer? I ran over to the stairs and walked up. I light was on inside the attic room. Someone was definitely in there. Or something. I cautiously pushed the door open. Everything looked fine, and nothing was out of place. Except, crouching by the bed was a very bony imp. He quietly was mumbling to himself. At the sound of my entrance, he ceased his mumbling and turned to face me. He had blisters all over his face and had pure black eyes. He giggled at the sight of me.

"What are you doing here?" I questioned.

"What do you mean, what am I doing here. I live here," the creature said with a gruff voice.

"No you don't. The Sorensons live here," I said raised my voice.

"You're crazy. The Sorensons are dead." The imp hopped over to me like a one-legged frog.

"You're lying," I said as I narrowed my eyes.

"No I'm not. After Bahumat took over, the Sphinx ordered him to kill them all. When they were all dead, he destroyed the treaty, and that's how I got in."

Tears slid down my cheeks and I hung my head. I can't believe this happened. And it was my fault too. If only I hadn't been so uncooperative, then maybe they could've been spared.

"Hey, don't cry," the imp said hopping over to me, "I have something to show you."

It reached for my leg with one bony arm and tugged on it a couple times. He then hopped away and down the stairs. I followed reluctantly. We walked through the house until we arrived at a really big bathroom in what looked like Stan and Ruth's room.

"Here we are!" the imp said with a grin, exposing two rows of yellow, jagged teeth.

"This is a bathroom. There are plenty where I live," I said.

"That's not what I want to show you," the imp said rolling his small, narrow eyes.

He hopped over to the closet in the corner and opened it up. Inside was another door with a combination lock. The imp reached up to the lock and twisted it to the correct combination. Right. Left. Right. Click. The door opened to reveal stairs. I took a step forward as the imp motioned for me to go in. Suddenly, there was a boom that came from the yard.

"Oh it looks like Bahumat found you. Goodbye," the imp waved at me as I instantly blacked out.

I sat up in shock. Bang! I bumped my head hard on the ceiling. I looked around. I was in lying in the backseat of a car. I tried to rub my forehead with my hands, but I couldn't. They were bound like in the cave in Wrymroost. The same went for my legs.

"Hey, calm down. It was just a dream."

I looked up to see Navarog. In the driver's seat sat the Sphinx, and Nafia took shotgun.

"How did you know I was having a bad dream?" I asked Navarog.

"Because you're face was sweating like crazy. And good news, we're here," he said.

He cut me free from my bindings and shoved me out of the car. We were parked out in front of a giant mansion.

"Where are we?" I was so confused. The afternoon sun glared down on me.

"We're looking for the Translocator. Apparently, it's supposed to be here. Don't you know anything?" Nafia rolled her eyes.

"Hey! How should I know? You never tell me anything!" I defended myself.

"I thought human friends had the brains to tell each other important things like the five artifacts!" she spat.

"What do you know about humans? If there's one thing I learned about dragons, it's that they don't even have friends! They're just a dumb bunch of creatures that only have one goal in life, fighting each other and being superior!" I raged.

"Well how about I eat you! Then you'll know just how much you wish you shouldn't have said that," Nafia growled.

"Enough, Nafia. We're here to get the Translocator, and that's all," the Sphinx interrupted our quarrel.

Navarog grabbed my arm and pulled me up to the house. As we arrived at the door, the Sphinx pushed me out of the way and grabbed the hug knocker that hung on the door. Knock. Knock. As the he pulled back the knocker to hit the door a third time, the door swung inwards to reveal a 40-year-old woman. She wore a slim fitting red dress, and wore a ton of make-up.

"Welcome! What a surprise! The Sphinx, Navarog, Nafia, and," she paused when she saw me, "who's this?"

"Katrina, this is Hazel. She's that fairykind girl I told you about," the Sphinx introduced.

"Oh right, that girl," she said as she examined me, "Well, come on in."

We walked in. My jaw dropped in amazement. There were fancy vases in every corner and there were tons of windows. The furniture were all embedded with gold stitching or had solid gold legs. We walked over to an obsidian table with two red and gold couches on either side. I sat down on one of the couches and Navarog and Nafia took their seats on either side of me.

"So, why are you here? I didn't expect a visit from you," Katrina questioned.

"Well, we heard some rich human had found the Translocator and lived in this area. We thought we could use your hospitality while we went to retrieve it," Navarog said.

"Oh, of course you can stay here," Katrina said, "What's your plan to steal it?"

"Well, we were going to have you bite a few attendants to the party he's hosting tonight. You should probably take the humans Navarog and Hazel will be posing as. Nafia can do what she wants with her human," the Sphinx said.

"A party? Katrina squealed.

"Yes."

"What time does it start?" she asked.

"8:00," the Sphinx said.

"Perfect! Hazel, dear, come with me. We have a party to get you ready for," she cried as she dragged me to a door to the right.

"Hey, wait! I don't want to get dolled up!" I protested.

"Too late, honey, let's go," Katrina said pulling me through the door.

I was going to a party with the people I hate the most. Just yesterday, I was caught in a battle between four dragons and a unicorn, and even before that, I was sleeping through a monster rampage. Now, I was going to a party. It seemed almost too normal. What a strange plan.