Vanessa tricks Seth

"How would you like to set things straight?" Coulter asked.


"Sure."


"I need your help," Coulter said.


"In the middle of the night?"


"It may be now or never."

"No offense," Seth said. "This seems kind of suspicious."

"I need you to trust me, Seth. I'm about to try something I can't do alone. I think you're the only person with the courage to help me right now. You have no idea what is really going on."


"You're going to tell me?"


Coulter looked around, as if he were nervous that somebody might be spying. "I have to. I need somebody like you on my side here. Seth, the artifact we are looking for is very important. In the wrong hands it could be extremely dangerous."


"It could even lead to the end of the world."


That seemed to agree with what Seth had heard from his grandparents. "Go on," he said.


Coulter sighed and rubbed his thighs, as if hesitant to continue. "I'm taking a big risk here because I believe I can trust you. Seth, I'm a special agent working for the Sphinx. He gave me specific instructions that at all costs, I had to recover the artifact, especially if the integrity of Fablehaven was ever compromised. Now that we're nearly certain where the artifact is hidden, I'm going to go prepare the way to get it, tonight, and I want you to come with me."


"Right now?"


"Immediately."


Seth wiped away an eyelash that was starting to poke his eye. "Why not get help from the others?"


"You heard your grandfather. He wants to wait and take care of Olloch first. That poses a problem because, in a day or two, Olloch could become too powerful, Fablehaven could fall, and the artifact could be placed in extreme jeopardy."

"How could I come with you?" Seth said. "The second I leave the yard, the demon will be after us."


"It's risky," Coulter conceded. "But Fablehaven is a big place, and the demon is off foraging. Hugo is waiting outside. He'll take us to the grove and keep Olloch off of us if the glutton makes an appearance."


"Grandma said the demon could eat Hugo," Seth said.


"Eventually. Until Olloch gets more powerful, it would take him a long time to best Hugo. I wouldn't chance this tomorrow. But Hugo handled the demon just fine not so many hours ago. And Hugo is faster than Olloch. If we have to, we'll just have Hugo escape with us back to the yard."


"Why me?" Seth asked. "I don't get it. Part of me thinks I should go tell Grandpa Sorenson right now."


"I can't blame that instinct. I know this is unusual. Just let me finish. You know that if you go to your grandpa, he will never let you come with me. And he is in no position to help me himself. I came to you because I've spent the evening trying to convince the others to go after the artifact now rather than later, but they are all too afraid to take definitive action. Yet my private mandate from the Sphinx remains-with the threat of Olloch looming, I need to secure the artifact right away."


"Why me?" Seth repeated.


"Who else can I trust besides your grandfather? Your grandmother is good at a lot of things, but she doesn't belong on this kind of mission. Neither does Kendra. I can't do it alone. I think I know what is haunting the grove, a phantom, and I need somebody brave to join me if I'm going to defeat it. You're my only hope. You're young, but honestly, Seth, as far as courage goes, in my book, you've got all the others beat."


"What if you're the traitor?" Seth asked.


"If I were the traitor, I'd already have somebody to help me bypass the phantom. Christopher Vogel and I would be off taking care of business. You and I wouldn't be having this conversation. Also, we can't actually get the artifact tonight. We need a key your grandfather has in order to access it. But if we can get rid of the phantom and confirm the location of the artifact, I'm confident that I'll be able to convince the others to join us in retrieving it tomorrow."


Coulter's mention of the key also corresponded with what Seth had heard from his grandparents. Without the key, Coulter couldn't access the vault. If he couldn't access the vault, his goal couldn't be to steal the artifact. And if Coulter harmed Seth, it would blow his cover and prevent him from ever getting Grandpa to hand over the key. Still, even if Coulter was telling the truth, the adventure would certainly be dangerous. Seth knew that his life would depend on whether Coulter really could handle the phantom in the grove. It had been too much for Warren. He wished he could get advice from somebody else, but Coulter was right-if Seth told anyone, from Grandpa to Kendra to Tanu, they would try to stop them.


"I don't know what to do," Seth said.


"Once we have the artifact, we can all escape and lock down Fablehaven, trapping Olloch inside until your grandparents and their not-so-secret friend figure out what to do with him. Everybody wins, and we keep the artifact out of evil hands. I've thought it through, and this is our last chance to set everything right. If we stall, it is going to end badly. By tomorrow night, Olloch will be too strong. I can only do this with your help, Seth. Warren failed because he attempted it alone. If you refuse, we may as well both go back to bed."


"It seems like every decision I make is wrong lately," Seth said. "People keep tricking me. Or I just do stupid things on my own."


"Not everybody is out to fool you, Coulter said. "And bravery is not always a liability. Often it is quite the opposite. I happen to know your grandfather has great admiration for your adventurous spirit. This could be your chance to redeem yourself."


"Or to prove that I'm the most gullible person in the world, Seth sighed. "Hopefully this will end the streak. Do I need to bring anything?"


Coulter beamed. "I knew I could count on you."

Chapter 12