Just One Summer---A Fablehaven Fanfiction

Chapter Three

 Knox hopped out of the car, a backpack slung casually over his shoulder, a frown on his face. He hoped he looked disinterested and even a little disdainful. He didn't want to act like he was actually happy to be back here—although, for the record, he totally was.

A year ago, Knox would have been excited to vacation to London. He'd always liked going to places where things weren't normal, and that was definitely the case with England's monarchy.

But nowadays, he wouldn't even be excited if he got to meet the king. Or queen. Or whatever the ruler was now. Knox wasn't into that kind of stuff—he liked the novelty, not the facts.

Because, after all, how could a queen compare to what was here? How could a king? Everything in the real world paled in comparison to what lay behind these gates! And Knox was lucky enough to be one of the few people who knew it.

Kendra and Seth had spent a lot more time here than he ever had. They'd known about it for years! They'd practically grown up with Fablehaven! And the awesome things they'd done as a result—conquering the great monarchs of the magical world, getting cool powers, finding favor with demons and fairies alike...Knox wanted that!

A few times, Knox had thought he'd come pretty close. He'd worn the Giant Queen's crown, killed Remulon, and played a part in the Dragon War. But he'd never been the caretaker of a dragon sanctuary. Never even knew about the Demon War until Grandma and Grandpa Larsen had told him.

How come Seth and Kendra had all that? Knox thought that the answer was relatively simple—they had more experience. More expertise. More time at Fablehaven. He knew for a fact that it didn't have anything to do with skill—he had way more prowess than Seth could ever hope to amass. So, obviously, with a little more time to learn things about the magical world, he could accomplish just as much as Seth. More, even.

The entire flight home from London, he'd been daydreaming about the extremely cool powers he'd get. Way better than a stupid old Shadow Healer. And then he would save the day, and everyone would know that he was the hero, and not his smug cousin Seth.

Speaking of Seth...there he was, coming out of the door, with the biggest, fakest smile Knox had ever seen plastered on his face. "Hi, Knox!" He called, with obvious forced cheerfulness.

"Hey, Seth-breath!" Knox called back. "Why the long face?"

"Long face?" Seth smiled so wide it looked like it hurt. "What do you mean, long face?"

Knox burst out laughing. "Drop the act, Seth. You look hilarious."

Seth immediately stopped smiling, although his face stayed relatively pleasant. But Knox noticed a small, irritated twitch in his right eye. "Ha ha ha!" Seth said, laughing way too loudly. "You always were a good joker, Knox. We've missed you, buddy. Glad to have you back."

"I'm sure you are," Knox said, unable to resist a small smirk, even though he knew that Seth's happy demeanor was just an act. It was nice to hear his arrogant cousin praising Knox, rather than sneering about his incompetence. "Who wouldn't miss me?"

Kendra slipped out of the door behind Seth, her smile genuine. "Hi, Knox. How was your trip to London?"

"It was great," He replied, flashing her a smile back. Kendra wasn't half-bad, even with her being the sister of Seth. She was nice, and although she questioned his ability to get things done sometimes, during the Dragon War she was typically willing to give him a fair chance. "I—"

"Kendra!" Tess shouted, leaping out of the car behind Knox. In her haste, her sparkly pink duffel bag whacked Knox in the head, causing him to stumble. Seth snickered a little.

Kendra held out her arms and hugged Tess. "I've missed you."

"Can we go see the fairies?" Tess asked excitedly. "I'm sure they've missed me, too."
"Oh, yes," Kendra said kindly. "I saw a few by the lotuses in the yard earlier today. Should we check and see if they're still there?"

"Yeah!" Tess said, taking her hand and beginning to lead her away, chattering excitedly.

"Where are your grandparents?" Knox asked Seth.

"Inside, probably." He said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Grandma Sorenson is cooking a big meal for us tonight."

Knox cupped his hand beside his mouth and muttered conspiratorially, "She cooks better than Grandma Larsen."

"She's got a lot of help from the brownies," Seth said. "The desserts are to die for."

"The food is probably the only thing I've missed about this run-down old dump," Knox said, hoping he came off sounding cool and slightly scornful. The statement wasn't true, of course—but Seth wouldn't know that.

As he'd hoped, he finally got a rise out of his cousin. Seth crossed his arms angrily, scowling at Knox. "Hey! Fablehaven isn't a dump!"

"I've heard you say it, once or twice," Knox shot back. He would never have admitted it, but he was kind of looking forward to arguing with his cousin. Whenever Seth was mad, it brought Knox an odd sort of satisfaction.

"That's because I actually can," Seth retorted furiously. "I belong here. This is my home."

"You're right on that point." Knox smirked. "You're practically a magical creature yourself, with those weird golden wings. I'm surprised you're allowed in the house."

"I—" Seth stopped and turned around abruptly. "I'll take you to the manor."

"Seth-breath?" Knox complained as Seth began to head up the dirt lane at a brisk pace. "What's the matter with you? We were just getting started!"

"Hurry up," Seth tossed over his shoulder.

Knox hurried after him. "Why'd you stop? You're actually going to take that?"

"I do have wings," Seth replied. He sounded calm, but his face was set in a straight, tight line. "I guess you could call me part mythical creature. It's not too bad of a name."

"You have dark powers, too," Knox said innocently. "Does that make you a monster? Huh, Seth? Huh?"

"Cut it out," Seth replied simply, still in that infuriatingly quiet tone. But his green eyes, blazing with fury, told Knox that he was getting to him.

"What, got nothing else?" Knox taunted, invigorated. "You've gotten weak while I was away." He paused, studying Seth closely. He could feel his cousin's anger, crackling like electricity in the air. So why wasn't Seth responding to his insults? Either Seth had gained incredible self-control in the past few weeks or..."You can't talk back, can you?" Knox realized. "You're not allowed."

"Maybe," Seth replied. "Maybe not." He increased his pace to a trot.

Knox sped up to match it. "What did your Grandpa threaten you with, Seth? Come on, spill!"

"Not going to do that," Seth replied tersely.

"So it's big," Knox guessed. "And you're worried it might let me have power over you."

Seth didn't reply, which Knox took to mean yes.

Knox opened his mouth to ask another question, but then he heard giggling from behind them. Turning, he saw Kendra and Tess jogging up the path, talking together.