Once he reached the shelter of the evergreens, Seth arose and ran to the brink of the swamp. He saw neither the troll nor the raft.
"Nero," he hissed into the darkness. "Nero, I'm back." He was tempted to sweep his flashlight over the water, but decided not to risk a centaur noticing the shine. "Nero!" Seth cried in a louder whisper.
A voice from the darkness shushed him. He waited in silence until he heard water lapping against the raft. As it drew near, Seth could see the troll.
"Come aboard," Nero whispered.
Seth obeyed, the raft rocking and sloshing as he landed. Nero used the momentum from the jump to pole away from the shore.
"I can see you," Seth whispered.
"Dawn begins to color the sky. We must hurry back to the golem. If a fog giant spies us, it will not end well. You achieved your aim?"
"I got the horn," Seth said. "The centaurs haven't realized."
As if in response to his words, they heard the long, low moan of a distant horn. As other horns took up the call, sonorous wails echoed through the swamp. "They know," Nero spat, licking an eye. He began to pole them forward louder and faster. "You are now a fugitive. The golem must smuggle you to the safety of your yard as soon as possible."
"Will the centaurs be looking everywhere?" Seth asked.
"Everywhere. Fortunately, they cannot run on water. They'll have to come around the marshes to get at you. If the golem hurries, you should be fine."
By the time they reached Hugo, the east was gray and Seth could see quite well. Seth leapt from the raft to the muddy shore. "Thanks, Nero."
"Away with you," the troll urged.
"Home, Hugo! Fast as you can! Avoid centaurs at all cost!"
The golem swept Seth into his arms and loped away into the trees.
Chapter 15 Horns
Kendra awoke disquieted. She rolled over and squinted at the gray predawn light filtering through the attic window. Twisting the other way, she peered at Seth curled up on his bed, the blankets up over his head. She closed her eyes. No need to rise before the sun.
Then she heard the long, distant call of a horn. Was that what had awakened her? Another horn answered on a different pitch. She had never heard horns resounding from the woods of Fablehaven before.
She glanced over at Seth again. He was sure curled up tight. And he didn't normally sleep with his head under the covers.
Crossing to his bed, she peeked under his wadded sheets and found only his pillows. She checked under his bed and found his emergency kit missing.
Kendra did not relish her role as tattletale. But with a brother like Seth, what was she to do? It wasn't like he was stealing from the cookie jar. At Fablehaven, his adventurous nature sometimes led to life-threatening situations.
At the door to her grandparents' room Kendra knocked softly, then entered without waiting for an invitation. Their bed was empty. Maybe Seth wasn't gone after all. Perhaps everyone was awake but her. But why would Seth have disguised his bed?
She hurried downstairs and found her grandparents on the back porch with Tanu and Coulter. They all stood against the railing, gazing out over the yard. The sonorous moans of horns drifted to them from different parts of the woods. Some sounded nearby.
"What's going on?" Kendra asked.
Grandma turned her head. "The centaurs are agitated about something. They seldom range this far from Grunhold, and never wind their horns so freely."
Chills tingled through Kendra. "Seth is gone."
The others whirled. "Gone?" Grandpa asked.
"I don't know when," Kendra reported. "He stuffed pillows under his covers. He took his emergency kit."
Grandpa bowed his head, clapping a hand over his eyes. "That boy will ruin us yet."
"We wouldn't be hearing horns if they had caught him," Coulter observed.
"True," Grandma acknowledged.
Warren approached from behind, rubbing sleep from his eyes, his hair matted erratically. "What's going on?"
"Apparently Seth has riled the centaurs," Grandpa said.
"Would he have gone after the horn?" Grandma asked. "Surely he couldn't be so foolish."
"If he had gone after the horn, the centauts would have him," Warren said. "More likely he was mad he didn't get to accompany us to Grunhold. He probably went sightseeing."
Grandpa was gripping the porch railing hard enough to make the veins stand out on the backs of his hands. "We'd better send Hugo after him." He raised his voice. "Hugo? Come!"
They waited. Nobody came.
Grandpa faced the others, looking sick. "He couldn't have cajoled Hugo into joining him?"
"Mendigo?" Grandma called.
A moment later, the human-sized wooden puppet came dashing across the lawn, the golden hooks of his joints jingling. He stopped near the porch.
"Did Hugo leave with Seth?" Grandma asked.
The puppet pointed towatd the woods.
"No wonder the centaurs haven't caught him," Tanu said. "If he's on the run with Hugo, he should make it back."
"And I'll have to deal with the aftermath," Grandpa grumbled. "The centaurs don't smile on trespassers."
"What can we do?" Kendra asked.
Grandpa harrumphed. "We wait."
"Who would like a smoothie?" Grandma asked.
Everyone but Grandpa asked for one. Grandma was walking into the house when Tanu spoke up. "Here he comes."
Kendra looked across the yard. Hugo came loping out of the woods at full speed with Seth tucked under one arm. The golem charged straight to the deck and placed Seth on his feet. At first her brother looked worried, but then he started trying to resist a smile. The call of horns continued to echo across the woods, the forlorn notes occasionally overlapping.
"Is something funny?" Grandpa asked in a severe tone.
"No, sir," Seth said, still wrestling against a smirk.
Grandpa trembled with anger. "The centaurs are not to be trifled with. And you are not to be trusted. You are grounded indefinitely. You will spend the rest of your time here locked in a cell in the dungeon."
Grandma laid a hand on Grandpa's arm. "Stan."
Grandpa shrugged away from her. "I'll not lighten the punishment this time. We've clearly been too gentle in the past. He is not an imbecile. He knows that this type of behavior puts himself and his family at risk. And for what? To sneak a peek at some centaurs! Frivolous amusement! Hugo, how could you have joined him in this?"
The golem pointed at Seth. "Horn."