Chapter 4

"But who is the collector?" asks Patricia.

"I think he probably collects things," replies Amber, hoping it'll help. Unfortunately it doesn't and her fellow Sibuna members glare at her, annoyed.

"Good job Amber," says Patricia sarcastically. "You've learned the meaning of 'collector'."

Fabian decides to add to the conversation. "But what does he collect?"

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not quite as innocent as stamps or coins," Nina says, making a good point.

"You're right," says Fabian as he turns to face Nina. "Why would he name his son after himself if it wasn't something special or important?"

"How do you know his dad's name is Seth?" asks Amber.

Sighing, Fabian explains, well tries to explain anyway considering it is Amber we're talking about here, "It's indirect. Seth's father took the phrase 'Son of the Collector' and scrambled up the letters to spell 'Seth Collen Foctoro'."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

"Supper!" calls Trudy.

The Sibunas agree to meet up at their sacred meeting spot, the Sibuna clearing, after supper. They head downstairs and sit at their usual places at the table. When Seth walks in everyone stops and stares at him. He stands there for a minute and then decides to take the empty seat next to Amber. Amber moves her chair away from Seth. Not paying attention to how far she's actually moving, she keeps going until her chair hits someone else's.

"Would you like to sit on my lap again, Amber?" asks Jerome, a grin forming on his face. "The first time was kind of flattering. This time it's just plain weird."

Amber jumps up. "Oh sorry Jerome," she stutters. "I was just, you know, feeling a bit cramped over there. A girl's got to have some elbow room."

"Is everything ok?" interrupts Seth.

"Um yeah," replies Amber. Then turning towards her friends she says, "I'm not hungry anymore. Let's go." With that she gets up and leaves, practically dragging them with her. As they open the door to leave they are met by an unfamiliar face.

"Uh who are you?" asks Patricia meanly. "And what are you doing here?"

"Patricia!" whispers Nina, elbowing her 'aggressive' friend.

The lady looks at them, seemingly innocent. "My name is Vera Devenish. I'm here to see Mr. Victor Rodenmaar."

"He's in there." Nina points to the house. All the Sibunas then make their way to the Sibuna clearing. Once there, Nina decides to break the silence that has lasted almost the whole trip. "How are we going to find out who the collector is?"

"We don't even know if he's dangerous or not," says Fabian. "Maybe we should try to figure that out first."

"I think we should just play it safe and say he's dangerous," says Amber. "I mean, you've seen the way Seth acts. He's got to have learned that from somewhere."

"We still need to be sure," says Nina. "We'll just have to do a little bit of spying."