Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 10

Part 10

"Sworn Duty"

It took all of Lewis' concentration to head down the hall toward the main cafeteria for breakfast the next morning.

Act natural! Act natural! His brain kept screaming. Meanwhile, he could feel all six inches of Ashwyn's body curled up in his shirt pocket, under the itchy wool vest of his Academy uniform. To her credit, she managed to stay perfectly still as he selected a tray and filled his plate with scrambled eggs, waffles, and sausages.

When he sat down to eat, her chiming questions pelted his ear like the soft tinkling of distant wind chimes.

"What smells so amazing? Can I try a bite? It's hot in here; can I come out, just for a little bit?"

Lewis calmly broke off a piece of his waffle, and--checking to make sure no one was staring right at him--casually slipped it under the collar of his vest. Ashwyn's happy jingle at seeing the morsel brought a smile to his face.

He finished his meal in peace, and checked the day's schedule in preparation for heading out to his classes.

9:30 CHEM--Quarterly Quiz

That one terrible word sent a spasm of fear down Lewis' spine.

"Whoa!" Ashwyn murmured from her hiding spot. "I just heard your heartbeat speed up really fast! What just happened?"

Lewis quickly ducked down an empty hallway so he could whisper to his pocket in peace.
"Nothing," he murmured. "Just a quiz today, which means everybody around me will be very quiet and you're going to have to sit very still for a long time--can you manage it?"

"I'll try," Ashwyn promised.

Forty-five minutes later, Lewis stepped out of the Chemistry classroom feeling more relief than ever.

Ashwyn wriggled against his chest. "Is it over?" she asked softly.

Lewis laughed. There was no one around, so he could talk freely. "Yes, it's done," he said. "Now we just have another lecture, then lunch, then it's off to Moulton House!" For once, he actually felt excited to return there again. Judging by the excited quivering in his pocket, Lewis guessed that Ashwyn just might be feeling the same way.

The excitement lasted right until Lewis crossed the threshold of the museum. Ashwyn almost flew free from the pocket, except that Adolf came out into the lobby at the same moment. Lewis had to grab his pocket and make sure the little fairy stayed put as the burly security guard stared at him with suspicious, narrowed eyes.

"What're you doing here?" Adolf growled, advancing on Lewis with measured, stalking steps.

Lewis kept his arms folded over his chest, to further conceal Ashwyn's presence. "I'm here to do my job!" he said loudly, in the hopes that either Krasimir or Mr. Gilroy would hear him and come out there, in case Adolf tried something.

The tall, swarthy man didn't take his eyes off Lewis, but he made sure to stay an arm's length away. Lewis noticed his nose twitching, and heard a small huffing sound.

Was Adolf smelling him?

"Ah! Lewis! Right on time, m'boy!" Mr. Gilroy's voice never sounded so welcome as it did just then. Lewis turned his back to Adolf and waved to the jovial curator, and when he turned back again, Adolf had disappeared.

"I'm going to change into my work uniform and get started," Lewis said, and Mr. Gilroy nodded.

"That's what I like to see!" said the older man. "It's clear regard for efficiency and an understanding of what must be done that makes an effective worker."

Lewis absently nodded his head and wandered into the hallway where the janitor's storage closet was located.

Ashwyn burst out from under his collar and landed on a small shelf in his locker. "Whew! That was a close one!" she sighed.

Lewis released a heavy sigh. "Boy, I'll say! Way too close, if you ask me!"

Ashwyn shrugged. "But look at it this way: you did it once, and they didn't suspect a thing."

Lewis pulled on his coveralls and smirked. "Well, Gilroy didn't, for sure; but Adolf..." He shuddered at the memory of the look the man had given him. "I just think we should be extra-cautious around the two men who would know the most about you."

Ashwyn gave a small quiver that made her wing-lights flicker. "Oh, good point," she jingled.

Lewis got his cart set up with all the tools and equipment, and then he paused to pull open the chest pocket of his jumpsuit with an inviting glance toward the little fairy.

Ashwyn zipped over and dove inside, and the two of them set out into the long hallway toward Exhibit Hall G.

Walking through the doors nearly felt normal to Lewis--until he heard the clanging bell sounds issuing from his pocket.

He glanced around carefully, checking the angles to make sure there were no security cameras in sight.

"You can come out," he whispered. "We're the only ones here--but just make sure you stay close to the displays, in case a camera is nearby."

Ashwyn needed no second invitation. Lewis hadn't even finished talking before she was out and zooming between the walls, hovering up near the ceiling with the still-strung "curtain of fairies", and down below where others were on display behind panes of glass.

"Oh my dragons!" she gushed. "It's so much bigger than I ever thought possible! How are things so big, and yet they only take up barely any space in your world, everything is just so big!"

She paused at the window, a glimmering speck barely visible on the high sill. "Oooh!" Lewis heard her sigh. "The trees are red! What makes them red? Why are some of them yellow and orange? I didn't know trees could be so many colors! Back on Phantasm, we just have green trees. That's it. Just green, green, green all the time! But look at how pretty these ones are! And look at all the palaces!"

Lewis snorted and rolled his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint you there," he said, "but those aren't palaces, they're just buildings, mostly filled with classrooms and lecture halls."

"But they're so big!" she sighed again. "Oh, my friends are going to love this!"

Lewis paused the action of wiping down a display of a young boy in overalls sitting next to a creek with a fishing rod--although with what he knew now, he almost felt pity at the way the poor fairy's limbs bent at odd angles in order to lie flat; how uncomfortable that must be! Yet with the paralyzing agent, the small creature could not resist. He did frown after a few moments; it could be his imagination, but he didn't see wings in this particular display, and there weren't too many bits of material added to the backdrop to conceal anything.

"Ashwyn," he asked. "Come here a minute."

She flew toward him. "I'll come--but what's a minit?" she asked.

Lewis waved his hand. "Never mind; is it just me, or does this fairy not have any wings?" he asked.

Ashwyn paused beside the frame, her body language communicating a forlorn aspect. "This isn't a fairy, actually," she explained, placing her hand on the glass as if she could rest it on the captive's shoulder. "He is an elf; collectively we're all Little Folk and we generally live together, but elves don't have wings. Only fairies do."

Lewis shuddered to think where Krasimir might have needed to place the staples, since this elf didn't have wings to help pin him down. "Oh, that's interesting," he mumbled. Lewis tried to move on and continue cleaning, but Ashwyn followed him at a more subdued pace.

"So..." she chimed softly. "Are you going to save more of them?"

Lewis sighed. "Not yet," he admitted. "I think I need to find out more about this Phantasmajig you mentioned last night."

"Phantasmagyth," Ashwyn corrected. "It's a magical gem, almost as big as the height of a fairy, and it hangs from a golden chain." She fluttered gently through the air behind him, reciting the information like a dutiful schoolgirl. "The magic emitted by the Phantasmagyth protects us all--every Phantasmian. The Guardian of the Phantasmagyth is the red-horned unicorn."

Lewis stopped cold and his eyes darted for the large display case that wasn't lit up just now. "Red-horned, you say?" he asked.

Ashwyn cut a neat circular figure. "Yes, there's only one born in a generation. The color of a unicorn's horn depends on what area they are assigned to defend. Silver-horned unicorns protect the mountain regions, golden-horned unicorns protect the villages, green-horned unicorns protect the forests, and blue-horned unicorns protect the lakes and rivers--but only the red-horned unicorn can bear the great responsibility of safeguarding the Phantasmagyth's magic. That's why there has to be only one of them--others may have specific regions they defend, but the red-horned unicorn protects all of Phantasm."

Lewis felt his palms grow slick with sweat as he thought about the ramifications of someone unscrupulous like Krasimir Schlimme having the red-horned unicorn in his possession. "So... You were saying earlier how the Phantasmagyth must be around here somewhere?"

Ashwyn made a strange snorting sort of noise from behind another wall. "Well, that's what I thought at first, because I can't think of anything else that would explain how the poison could wear off so quickly... hmm, not her either... But if the Phantsmagyth is here, that would mean that either the Hunter has slain the red-horned unicorn and taken the gem for himself, or it's--" she stopped, and Lewis knew exactly where she would be. He made his way over to the glass case containing the unicorn.

"Here," Ashwyn finished quietly. Lewis felt her land heavily on his shoulder. "I... I don't believe it!" She stammered. "Our one hope of ever being able to return to Phantasm was the notion that the red-horned unicorn would be there to welcome us back, that our world would be safe because at least he was still there..." There was a small hitch in her voice, Lewis concluded she must be crying.

"Ashwyn," he whispered. "I still want to help; what can we do now?"

Ashwyn let out a loud sniffle and rose into the air again. Her voice carried a resolute tone as she said, "Well, ah... The Queen. She would know what to do. We must find her."

Lewis nodded. "I know exactly where she is," he said, pointing the way around the display cases and walls.

They arrived in front of The Queen's Court, and Lewis pointed. "So, do you think I can revive her the same way I did for you?"

Ashwyn flew close to the frame, checking the edges carefully. "Um, this is not the Queen."

Lewis furrowed his brow. The rich clothing, the delicate jewelry... "How do you know?"

Ashwyn darted off in another direction. "Because I know, Lewis! Hang on."

Lewis finished sweeping the area by the time Ashwyn returned to land on his wrist. "She's not here! But she was the first one caught! The Hunter used her as bait to lure the rest of us into following her into those big jars he had! She has to be here, this can't possibly be everyone." She flew in an anxious zig-zag.

Lewis shrugged. "This is only part of Krasimir's collection. He's got more fairies down in storage." He recalled the sight of the broken frames and cast-aside displays.

Ashwyn zoomed closer to his face. "Storage? What's that?" she asked.

Lewis scratched his head. "I don't know where exactly it is," he admitted, "but I know it's in a place underneath... if we can find some stairs, those probably lead to it." He glanced around, "But it's almost the end of my shift, and I don't know if I have time--"

"I can help you find it!" Ashwyn cut in brightly. "I am able to sense the presence of other fairies--If the Hunter has other fairies hidden away, I can find them!"

Lewis tightened his lips and stared hard at his cart with the handy checklist hanging from it, weighing his options. Finally he nodded. "Okay, we'll do this... but you're going to have to give me directions from inside my pocket. I don't want you getting caught out in the open if anybody sees us."

Ashwyn didn't hesitate to dive inside. "All right, let's go!" she trilled softly.

Lewis settled his cap over his head and pushed his cart out into the main hall. He stopped by the janitor's closet to put his cart just inside the door, in case anyone came by the exhibit hall while he was gone. They would see it mostly clean, and assume he'd done a little bit of work and left for the day. Back in the narrow hallway again, he whispered, "Okay, Ashwyn, where do I go from here?"

Ashwyn used tugs and movement to indicate a left-hand turn. Lewis followed the indication and headed toward the main hall again. This time, instead of just going toward the front door, he turned down the hallway in front of Exhibit Hall D, and rounded a corner. Halfway down this new hallway, there was an opening, a descending stairwell. Lewis grinned. "There it is!" he whispered, scurrying across the slick tile floor to the waiting stairs. He stopped and listened, his heard pounding furiously in his ribs. Still nothing, so Lewis took the steps one at a time, pressing himself against the wall, as if that would conceal him.

Voices rose and fell out in the lobby as tour groups came and went, but so far, nobody seemed to suspect the young man creeping down the stairs into the basement storage area. Lewis entered an open, darkened space, with only sparse light scattered around, and many shelves full of crates, sculptures, and framed artwork swathed in packing material. There was a long table on one side of the room, decked out with multiple desk lamps shining bright-white fluorescent LED bulbs on the table--but no one else seemed to be down in that space.

"I wonder who works down here," Ashwyn mused from inside Lewis' pocket.

Lewis wagged his head. "Not our problem," he said. "We need to find which part of this room Krasimir keeps his artwork." His collection of captive creatures, his thoughts added.

A moment later, Ashwyn tugged his attention off to the right. "There!" she clanged.

Lewis stared into the corner of the room, his heart beating at the sight of the massive shadowy form looming over him, draped in a huge linen tarp. All around the huge figure were stacks of crates just like the ones he'd seen before, stamped with the "WAREHOUSE 31" logo. A few of them stood open, and Lewis crept over to peer inside.

He just about jumped out of his skin when Ashwyn flickered her wings and her light reflected off a pair of gleaming yellow eyes! But Lewis stared long enough at the figure to make out the shape of a squat, warty creature with a big nose, a round belly, large hands and feet, and leathery skin.

"That's a goblin," Ashwyn explained. "Look, there are more of them."

Lewis let her out of his pocket, and Ashwyn flew over the crowded space, shedding her light over the dark, terrifying creatures: squat goblins, an assortment of man-sized ogres and hags, and even some furry shapes that appeared to be wolves. "We don't have plain wolves in Phantasm," Ashwyn explained to him as she huddled on his shoulder. "The only wolves that exist are actually werewolves."

Lewis shuddered and rolled his eyes. "Wonderful! Why does he even have all these things? You don't suppose he's going to try and set them up in his art exhibit upstairs, do you?"

Ashwyn bobbed up and down nervously. "That would be a terrible idea if he did! These are Underworlders, they live in caves and caverns under the surface of Phantasm, and they almost never come up to bother us, especially not when the Phantasmagyth is activated!" she exclaimed. "Let's find the fairies quickly and get out of here!"

Lewis nodded. "All right, which crate are they in?"

Ashwyn searched nearby until he heard her call, "Here they are!"

Lewis joined her, and Ashwyn resumed her place in his jumpsuit pocket, giving him flickers of light as he searched through the frames and display boxes for the elusive queen.

Finally, she cried out, "There she is!"

Lewis pulled out the frame, which depicted a "Snow Fairy In Winter." This one used a lot of white paint and glitter, but as Lewis brought the frame over to the long table, under the bright lamps, he saw the eyes shift ever so slightly.

"Sorry," he mumbled an apology, and tried to angle the frame just right so that the beams of the lamps weren't shining right in the Queen's unprotected eyes. Was it just his imagination, or did he see her tiny fingers trembling just a little bit?

"You know who this werewolf reminds me of?" Ashwyn asked him from back over in the spooky corner. "If you took off the fur, and stood him upright, I think he'd look a lot like--"

"Adolf!" Lewis yelped. He had stepped away from the table to find Ashwyn when she was talking, and spotted the wily security guard among the shadows once his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Luckily, Ashwyn's light was nowhere to be seen, and Lewis felt her crawling under his hand and into his pants pocket, not moving her wings to remain invisible in the darkness.

Adolf's eyes gleamed as he scowled at Lewis. "What are you doing down here?" he snarled, sounding very much like a wolf just then.

All semblance of words left Lewis' brain in his fright, and he could only stammer, "I--I... I was.. I j-just..."

"Now where is that light--Oh! Here we are!"

Light flooded the room with a muted thud, and Mr. Gilroy descended the steps.
"Now, Adolf, what was it you--Lewis?" The old curator stopped in his tracks and scratched his head. "I thought you'd left for the day. What are you doing down here?"

"It's obvious what he was doing!" Adolf snapped. "He was snooping! Were you planning on stealing Mr. Schlimme's artwork?"

The space of time it took for Adolf's comment was enough for Lewis to come up with a plausible excuse. "No! I just... I needed to use the bathroom and I took a wrong turn, and I was hoping there would be one down here!" He dared not turn his back to Adolf as he edged toward Mr. Gilroy's protective presence. "I see I've made a mistake, it won't happen again!"

"Well, I sincerely hope it doesn't!" Mr. Gilroy replied with a chuckle. "Unauthorized staff aren't usually allowed down in this space, you know--especially not students! Remember that from now on."

"Yes, sir," Lewis nodded his head emphatically. He tripped and stumbled his way up the stairs, down the hallways, out the doors, and did not look back. He would have to figure out some other way to rescue the Queen!

Back in the storage room, Adolf remained long after Mr. Gilroy returned to the main floor. Several minutes later, Krasimir Schlimme came storming down the stairs.

"Adolf!" He commanded. "Report! What happened?"

"The boy was down here," Adolf grunted. "The janitor. He claimed he was looking for the bathroom."

Krasimir frowned. "Down here of all places?" His eyes narrowed as he glanced around his rented space. "You don't think he knows, does he?"

"It's impossible to tell," Adolf replied. "He doesn't seem aware enough to be suspicious at all." The security guard snorted. "He does smell funny sometimes."

Krasimir waved him off. "All boys smell; continue monitoring our spaces, and notify me if you see any more suspicious activity. I'll need you to make sure nothing goes wrong with tomorrow's installation." He glanced toward the table, where one of the painted fairies lay out in the open. Had he left it there? Why? Kraismir approached the table, his keen eyes searching for cracks, deformities, or any other indication that something was amiss. The piece appeared intact, so Krasimir gently returned it to its proper crate and left the room.

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