Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven #5)(23)

"I'm so sorry," Warren said.


"How are your injuries?" Kendra asked.


Warren flexed his hands. "I'm fine. Tanu left me with enough medicine that I healed up before too long. I'm a little malnourished. I've been rationing. I was getting close to trying the rancid goop Bubda lives on."


"My goop better than granola," the troll said, making a disgusted face.


"You look like you're in good shape," Elise noted, not without admiration.


"Not much to do here," Warren said. "I've been exercising. And playing Yahtzee. So much Yahtzee. I'm surprised we haven't worn the spots off the dice."


"You go now," Bubda said, making a shooing motion with one hand. "Bubda no want roommate."


Warren chuckled. "You have to come with us, Bubda. There's no way out of here. Eventually you'll run out of food, even the kind you can stomach."


"Bubda no leave. Bubda finally have peace."


Warren put his hands on his hips. "Come on, don't be like that, I wasn't so bad, was I?"


Bubda scrunched his face. "You could be worse. Not as bad as granola."


"What about all the Yahtzee we played?"


"If Bubda play alone, Bubda always win."


Warren turned to Kendra and Elise. "I got seven Yahtzees once in a single game. Seven!"


"He cheat," Bubda mumbled.


"For the millionth time, how was I supposed to cheat? You were right there! You watched me roll the dice!"


"You cheat," Bubda said. "Too much luck."


"What about that time you got five Yahtzees?" Warren reminded him.


"That skill," Bubda said smugly.


"I hate to interrupt," Elise said, "but we need to get back to Tanu and Trask."


"Lady right," Bubda said. "Lady only smart one. You go."


"Bubda, you have to come," Warren insisted.


"Bubda stay. Bubda relax. You go. Take granola."


Warren looked to Kendra and Elise for support.


"We can come back anytime," Kendra said. "Even in an hour or two. But we should get back to Trask and Tanu. We need to get them to Fablehaven."


"Where are they now?" Warren asked.


"Trask's apartment in New York."


"He have anything in his fridge?" Warren asked hopefully. He swiveled to face Bubda. "I'm not abandoning you, Mr. Hermit Troll. Enjoy your break, because I'll be back. We'll find you an even better home. Someplace with lots of moist food. Nothing dry or crunchy. No granola."


Bubda turned away, grumbling unintelligibly.


Warren walked over to Kendra. "If this is some kind of trick or trap, well played, you got me. What do I do?"


"Just grab the cylinder," Kendra instructed.


Elise held the left side, Kendra kept hold of the middle segment, and Warren gripped the right end. "Can't say I'm going to miss this place," he murmured.


Kendra imagined Trask's apartment, twisted the cylinder, and a moment later they were standing between a leather sofa and a glass coffee table. Tanu crouched over Trask, applying ointment to his shoulder.


"You guys never get a break," Warren quipped.


"All in a day's work," Tanu replied.


"You look like you were marooned on a desert island," Trask said.


"I wish. I would have given anything for an ocean breeze." Warren stroked his beard. "Kendra, how about you teleport us to a barber shop?"


"We should get to Fablehaven," Trask said. "My apartment has certain protections, but nothing like the walls of a preserve. You three go first."


"Want to swing by a burger joint on the way?" Warren asked out of the side of his mouth.


"I'm sure Grandma will whip up something," Kendra replied, twisting the cylinder. A moment later, she, Warren, and Elise were at Fablehaven, standing together in the kitchen. Nobody else was in sight.


"Hello?" Kendra called.


"Kendra?" Grandpa answered. It sounded like he was in his study.


"I'll be right back," Kendra told Elise. Twisting the cylinder, she returned alone to Trask's apartment.


"It worked all right?" Trask asked.


"We went straight to the kitchen," Kendra said.


Trask nodded. "Good. I'm not surprised. But I'm more impressed that the Translocator could leap through the defenses of a preserve than I am that it can take us to the other side of the globe. Let's go."


Once Trask and Tanu had taken hold of the Translocator, Kendra teleported them to Fablehaven. When they appeared in the kitchen, Grandpa, Grandma, and Coulter were already there. They looked subdued.


"Get this, Stan," Tanu said. "The key we retrieved from Wyrmroost had smaller keys inside, like a nesting doll. And guess what we found at the center? The Translocator."


"The key was the vault," Grandpa said.