Read Online Fablehaven: The Complete Series by Brandon Mull - Free Book Online Page B

founders gave this preserve centuries ago. A refuge for mystical creatures, a stewardship passed down from caretaker to caretaker over the years.”
     
    Kendra tried the hot chocolate. It was superb! The flavor made her think of the rosebud chocolates.
     
    “What do you have besides fairies?” Seth asked.
     
    “Many beings, great and small. Which is the true reason the woods are off-limits. There are creatures out there much more perilous than venomous snakes or wild apes. Only certain orders of magical life forms are generally permitted in the yard. Fairies, pixies, and such.” Grandpa took another sip from his mug. “You like the hot chocolate?”
     
    “It’s wonderful,” Kendra said.
     
    “Made from the same milk you sampled in the garden today. Same milk the fairies drink. Just about the only food they’ll eat. When mortals drink it, their eyes are opened to an unseen world. But the effects wear off after a day. Lena will prepare you a cup every morning so you can stop stealing from the fairies.”
     
    “Where does it come from?” Kendra asked.
     
    “We make it special in the barn. We have some dangerous creatures in there, too, so it’s still off-limits.”
     
    “Why’s everything off-limits?” Seth complained. “I’ve been a long way into those woods four times and I’ve always been fine.”
     
    “Four times?” Grandpa said.
     
    “All before the warning,” Seth amended hastily.
     
    “Yes, well, your eyes were not yet opened to what truly surrounded you. And you were fortunate. Even when you were blind to the enchanted creatures populating the forest, there are many places you could have ventured into from which you would not have returned. Of course, now that you can see them, the creatures here can interact with you much more readily, so the danger is much greater.”
     
    “No offense, Grandpa, but is this really the truth?” Kendra asked. “You’ve told us so many versions of why the woods are forbidden.”
     
    “You saw the fairies,” he said.
     
    Kendra leaned forward. “Maybe the milk made us hallucinate. Maybe they were holograms. Maybe you just keep telling us whatever you think we’ll believe.”
     
    “I understand your concern,” Grandpa said. “I wanted to protect you from the truth about Fablehaven unless you sought it out for yourselves. It is not the kind of information I wanted to thrust upon you. That is the truth. What I’m telling you now is the truth. You’ll have ample opportunity to confirm my words.”
     
    “So the animals we saw at the pond were actually other creatures, like how the butterflies were fairies,” Kendra clarified.
     
    “Most assuredly. The pond can be a hazardous place. Return there now, and you would find friendly naiads beckoning you near the water in order to pull you under and drown you.”
     
    “That’s so cruel!” Kendra said.
     
    “Depends on your perspective,” Grandpa said, spreading his hands. “To them, your life is so ridiculously short that to kill you is seen as absurd and funny. No more tragic than squashing a moth. Besides, they have a right to punish trespassers. The island at the center of the pond is a shrine to the Fairy Queen. No mortal is permitted to tread there. I know of a groundskeeper who broke that rule. The moment he set foot on the sacred island, he transformed into a cloud of dandelion fluff, clothes and all. He scattered on the breeze and was never seen again.”
     
    “Why would he go there?” Kendra asked.
     
    “The Fairy Queen is widely considered the most powerful figure in all fairydom. The groundskeeper had a desperate need and went to plead for her assistance. Apparently she was not impressed.”
     
    “In other words, he had no respect for what was off-limits,” Kendra said, giving Seth a meaningful look.
     
    “Precisely,” Grandpa agreed.
     
    “The queen of the fairies lives on that little island?” Seth asked.
     
    “No. It is merely a shrine meant to honor her.