Have you seen Olloch the Glutton? He's a demon who is after my brother.
The glutton is becoming dormant. He will not bother you.
Kendra felt a stab of grief at the news. If the demon was slowing down, it meant Seth truly was gone. There is more to the problem than Mendigo and the demon, Kendra said.
Bad people have taken over the house. They captured my grandparents and Dale and Tanu. They want to steal something precious from Fablehaven. If they have their way, they'll release all the demons from their prisons.
It is challenging for us to mind the affairs of mortals,
Shiara said. Dwelling on such concerns is not in our nature.
You made the binding of Bahumat our duty with authority from our Queen. And we continue to attend to that duty. I
keep a sentinel stationed here always.
Kendra scanned the surrounding area, her gaze settling on the hill where Warren's cottage sat, some ways off.
Could you help me heal Warren, Dale's brother?
The curse upon him is much too strong, Shiara said.
'All the fairies in Fablehaven together could not break it.
What if you had the elixir?274 That might be another matter. I wonder, why did youfail to return the bowl to the shrine?
Kendra scrunched her eyebrows. Grandpa thought it would be more appropriate to toss it onto the water. He thought it would be disrespectful to go back.
The naiads have claimed it as a tribute, Shiara said.
In the future, bear in mind, if you take something in need, you will not be punished for returning it in gratitude. Such action would not have harmed your standing with Her
Majesty.
I'm sorry, Shiara, Kendra said. We thought they would return it.
The naiads fear and respect our Queen, but elected to accept the bowl as a gift freely given, Shiara said. I sought to retrieve it but they would not yield, blaming you for awarding it to them. Some among the fairies hold you culpable.
The silver fairy hovered higher. It appears the situation here is now under control.
Wait, please don't leave, Kendra said. I don't know what to do.
I will try to make the others mindful of the threat you named, Shiara said. But do not count on aid from our kind. I admire your goodness, Kendra, and wish you no harm.
Shiara streaked away, vanishing into the night. Kendra turned and studied Mendigo. He stood motionless, awaiting instructions. Kendra sighed. The only person on her side was a big, creepy puppet.275 Groaning, Seth stirred. He tried to stretch but the effortwas thwarted by the snug confines of the cocoon. The realization of where he was caused him to snap awake. How long had he been asleep?
Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find the inside of the cocoon illuminated by a soft green glow, as if light were filtering in from outside. The cocoon remained unusually still. Was Olloch sleeping? Why was there suddenly light?
Was the light passing through both Olloch and the cocoon?
Seth waited. Nothing changed. Eventually he started yelling and tried to rock the cocoon by flinging himself from one side to the other. There came no roars, no growls, no movement except a slight tilting as he shifted his position.
Just silence and the even, muted glow.
Was the cocoon no longer inside Olloch? Had he been coughed up like a hairball? Perhaps the cocoon was indigestible!
He dared not hope for such good fortune. But it would explain the lack of growls and the new illumination.
Had Grandpa come to his rescue? If so, why wasn't anyone encouraging him to open the cocoon?
Could it be some sort of trick? If he opened the cocoon, would Olloch gobble him up again, this time without a cocoon to impede digestion? Could he still be in the evil grove with the revenant? He didn't think so. He felt no hint of the chilling, involuntary fear.
Seth decided to wait. Acting rashly had gotten him in trouble before. He folded his arms and listened, straining his276 senses for any indication of what was going on outside thecocoon.
Seth quickly became fidgety. He had never coped well with boredom. When the cocoon had swayed and jostled with the movements of the demon, and when the silence had been interrupted by ferocious growls, Seth had remained on edge, which kept him occupied. The motionless silence was relentless.
How much time had passed? Time always moved slower when he was bored. He could remember certain classes at school where it used to feel like the clock was broken. Every minute felt like a lifetime. But this was worse. No classmates to joke with. No paper to doodle on. Not even the drone of a teacher to give shape to the monotony.
Seth began picking at the wall of the cocoon. He didn't have to break all the way out, he just wanted to see how tough it would be. He ate part of the wall as he went.
Soon he had made a pretty good hole in the wall in front of his face. As he dug deeper, the texture of the wall was changing, becoming goopy, like peanut butter. It was the best-tasting part of the wall so far, reminding him vaguely of eggnog.
After scooping away the eggnog paste, he reached a membrane. It was slick, and it rippled when he prodded it.
Seth ruptured the membrane by jabbing it with his fingers, and clear liquid gushed out, soaking him.
Now light was really pouring into the cocoon through the hole. He had reached a hard, translucent shell. Silvery light shone through it, overpowering the green glow. He was277 obviously no longer inside Olloch. And as he had dug, Sethhad neither heard nor felt any indication that Olloch was near.
Who knew if he would get another chance like this? He had to try to escape. The demon might return anytime. Seth began punching at the shell. The blows hurt his knuckles, but the shell began to crack. Soon his hand burst through, and unfiltered sunlight flooded in.
Chapter Thirteen
Seth worked furiously to widen the hole. The effort took longer than he liked. Now that his protective cocoon was breached, he wanted to get out as quickly as possible, before some creature came along and cornered him.
Finally the hole was big enough for Seth to squirm through. With his head, shoulders, and arms out of the cocoon, Seth froze. Olloch sat not twenty feet away, back to him. The demon had grown considerably. Olloch was bigger than the elephants Seth had seen at the zoo, not just taller, but much broader as well. No wonder the demon had been able to swallow him. The glutton was immense!
Seth realized he had made the worst mistake of his life, and that now he would die. Why hadn't he waited to open the cocoon? Why was he so impatient?
But Olloch did not turn. The huge demon continued to sit motionless, back to him. Seth began to notice a terrible stench. He looked at the shell of the cocoon. It was smooth, with a luster like mother-of-pearl, except that it was streaked with smelly brown matter. Huge clumps of mushy brown excrement sat on the ground nearby, buzzing with flies.