Fablehaven (Fablehaven, #1)

by Brandon Mull

“No mythology or religion that I know of holds all the answers. Most religions are based on truths, but they are also polluted by the philosophies and imaginations of men.

The curse of mortality. You spend the first portion of your life learning, growing stronger, more capable. And then, through no fault of your own, your body begins to fail. You regress. Strong limbs become feeble, keen senses grow dull, hardy constitutions deteriorate. Beauty withers. Organs quit. You remember yourself in your prime, and wonder where that person went. As your wisdom and experience are peaking, your traitorous body becomes a prison.”

“Quit it, Seth, or I’ll go get Grandpa right now!” “I’m not the one starting a fight!” His expression was a portrait of wounded resentment. She hated when he tried to act like the victim after initiating trouble. “Neither am I.” “First you hit me, then you jump on me?” “You stop breaking the rules or I’m going straight downstairs.” “You’re worse than the witch. Grandpa should build you a shack.”

“How about you start it?” “You’re better at this sort of stuff,” Kendra said. “That’s true, I milk a lot of giant cows. I’ll show you my trophies sometime.”

“We want you to change our grandma back into herself.” “In exchange for a chicken?” “She is the chicken,” Kendra explained. The witch grinned, stroking her chin. “I thought I recognized her,” she mused. “You poor dears, one guardian carried off in the night, the other reduced to poultry.”