December 2008

Her next visitor proved to be just as unusual.

Despite his skinny, beaten body, it sure was Maddox Fisk. Renowned fairy trader, but more importantly Dougan's little brother.

She narrowed her eyes. Way back in February, when Rio Branco had fallen, Vanessa had poked around through her vessels until she had gotten the debrief on the preserve. She knew, for a fact, that Maddox Fisk had been caught and imprisoned after only a couple of days on his mission.

Could something have happened that had released Society prisoners?

Before Vanessa could ask a single question, he held up a hand. "I'm a stingbulb sent by the Sphinx. We have knowledge of a secret room in the Hall of Dread, and I need your help to get to it and overthrow Fablehaven. The Sphinx apologizes for his deception and pretending to leave you in the Quiet Box. He was only biding his time for this opportunity..."

The stingbulb continued an entire speech explaining that Vanessa's incarceration had always been intended to be short and whatnot. The mere fact that the Sphinx had issued this entire speech was indicative that he believed Vanessa maybe wouldn't buy it.

He was right.

If her years of sacrifices and quite literally reigning as one of the top Society field operatives had not insulated her from being cast away, there was no guarantee her return would be long either. The Sphinx had lost her loyalty, and she had abandoned the cause.

If 18-year-old Vanessa could see her now, she would be flabbergasted. She wouldn't have even conceived of such a deceitful Society.

But, ten years was a long time.

At the end of the speech, Vanessa smiled. "It's about time."

Then, she lurched forward, grabbed his arms, and pushed him against the nearest wall. With one hand, she squeezed both of his bony, malnourished wrists together above his head, and with her other arm, she pressed into his windpipe. "Give me everything you have."

He choked on his words, and Vanessa eased a little bit. He managed to eke out a single phrase. "Dungeon key."

"Where?" she asked.

She let him wiggle one of his arms free and pull a gold key on a chain out of his pocket. Vanessa.

"We can work together," he pled.

"Sure. Where is the Sphinx? Where were you grown?"

"I don't know, I swear," Maddox blubbered, tears pricking his eyes. "They told me nothing except that you would help me get into the Hall of Dread and that we would find information that would help the Society overthrow Fablehaven."

Vanessa surveyed his form and nodded in understanding. "So you have nothing."

"No!" Maddox said.

She lurched forward, grabbed his bony shoulders, and bit his neck. Like a marionette with his strings cut, he collapsed to the ground. She wiped her mouth. He tasted horrible.

Vanessa stepped over his body and took a second to stretch. She swung the key chain in a circle as she walked down the hallways to the dungeon door.

It was time to finally gain a bit of ground with the Sorensons.

She would not be going back in that box.

***

Her plan worked. The sting bulb went into the Quiet Box and she upgraded to a cell. It became cozy over the next week.

The Sorensons allowed her some details of their situation. Kendra had been presumed dead, but as Vanessa instinctively believed and soon proved, the Sphinx would have never killed such a resource. She had simply been kidnapped.

(Vanessa had never been truly worried about Kendra's health, because she knew that Torina would never harm a young girl—especially one as valuable as Kendra. But, she knew how terrified Kendra must have felt, alone and far from her family. That had been what spurred her to Kendra's rescue faster.)

To remedy such a situation while simultaneously paying back her debt to Fablehaven, Vanessa let Gloria Larsen know that her granddaughter was being held by Torina.

While Gloria had been incredibly displeased to discover that Vanessa knew her granddaughter, she had still been grateful for the knowledge that Kendra was being held by Torina.

And, Vanessa was grateful that there was such a simple solution. Gloria could easily weasel her way into Torina's house considering her alias, Clara Taylor, occupied a position on the Sphinx's inner circle.

Of course, she only utilized such a powerful contact sparingly as Gloria Larsen remained her biggest secret. She went on a Knights mission with Gloria once—it was not good. She could be a crabby old lady. But, she never forgot the sound of her grating voice which proved useful when Vanessa recognized it at a Society meeting. Then, the plot thickened when Vanessa had found a dusty old VHS tape with home videos of Gloria, a pudgy toddler Kendra, and a newborn Seth hidden inside the big house's deep storage closets while she had been searching for Patton's journals. Talk about a jackpot!

The Sorensons didn't know all of that, of course. That wouldn't be prudent. The secret had to be kept. Nevertheless, her mysterious, yet dazzling assistance had still bought her a very nice cell.

There were beanbags and a vanity. A radio station which was tuned to the alternative station most hours. Most importantly, Mendigo stood like a nice, decorative statue outside the bars.

Unfortunately, despite all the sweet upgrades, the worst part of her prison sentence continued—the interrogations.