Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 15

Part 15

"The Guardian"

Lewis almost forgot that he was standing right within the claws of the gryphon as he watched the noble unicorn step off the display dais and examine the wall nearest to it. He could hear the creature sniffing and snuffling as it inspected the painted fairies, even more as it picked its way through the debris of fallen wall and scattered "displays." Did it find Krasimir's handiwork perverse and abhorrent? Would he blame Lewis, once he found the human in their midst?

The golden light of the sunset hour reflected through the window and streamed over the unicorn's back--and as the light spilled over the unicorn, its hide and mane and tail all gleamed with their own ethereal light.

"That's strange," a deep, rumbling voice cut through the breathless silence. "I could have sworn there was someone else here..." The unicorn lifted its nose again.

Lewis carefully stepped down from the display case. A piece of drywall crunched under his shoe, bringing the unicorn's attention right to him. Lewis yelped and threw up his hands as the unicorn leveled its ruby-colored horn at his chest.

"You!" Snarled the voice of the unicorn. "What business does a human have with the creatures of Phantasm?"

"Whoa!" Lisa's hand landed beside them, shaking the ground with the impact. "It's all right, Milord! He is on our side!"

Bright lights converged beside Lewis' face as the Fairy Queen and Ashwyn joined him in confirmation.

The unicorn blinked. "Oh?" He raised his horn and stepped closer, extending his nose toward Lewis. "Oh, I see," he said. "Greetings, Queen Evalia!"

"It is good to see you living, Milord," chimed the Fairy Queen.

"Bow!" hissed a tiny voice directly in Lewis' ear, and he didn't even look to see who had said something. He immediately ducked his head and said, "I'm sorry to startle you. The fairies--and the giant--" he gestured to Lisa, "aided me in the process of reviving you, because I needed to know some very important information that only you could tell me. My name is Lewis."

"Lewis." The red-horned unicorn repeated the name slowly. "On behalf of all the displaced Phantasmian creatures, I thank you." He waited till Lewis stood up and looked level at him, and said, "My name is Gathlen, and I am the protector of all Phantasm, including the Phantasmagyth--" He ducked his head to nudge the bare chain hanging around his neck. "Which I'm afraid is missing."

Lewis nodded. "I know the one who took it," he said. "He is the interloper who captured you all, and he's got everyone paralyzed and painted over, passing himself off as an artist and you all as his sculptures and creations."

Gathlen paced closer to Lewis, turning aside so he could get a good look at the human. "And with this knowledge," he mused, "will you champion our cause, and purpose to take a stand against this villain, retrieve the Gyth that was stolen, and restore us all to our rightful home?"

Lewis felt the nervousness kick in, to hear the list of everything that was expected of him laid out so explicitly. "Um, well," he stammered, scratching the back of his neck. "That sounds like a lot, and I'm not sure how much I can accomplish all by myself--"

"Someone's coming!" A fairy zoomed toward them from some unknown quarter.

Queen Evalia intercepted her. "Report, sentry," she commanded. "Where were you posted, and how near is the threat?"

The fairy bobbed in salute. "Your Majesty, I observed the humans passing my checkpoint in the hallway furthest from this room. The ruler of this place has paused to chat with one of the human sentries, but I overheard him say that he was on his way to confirm that the janitor had finished cleaning!"

"Oh no!" Lewis wailed, looking at the pile of broken walls and displays near Lisa's bed. "I can't get this all put back together before Gilroy sees it!" He stared at the giant and the unicorn standing in the middle of the exhibit hall. "And what will he say when he sees you?"

"He won't!" Queen Evalia was already dispatching fairykind to all corners of the room. "We will see to it that everything is put to rights."

Gathlen nodded to Lewis as he trotted back to his display. "Simply remove this chain, and I will return to the state in which I was before you revived me. The same goes for the giant, as well. Replace that which you removed to revive her, and it will be as if our meeting never took place."

Lewis nodded. "Thank you, sir," he said. "I'll let you out again soon, I promise."

Lewis lifted off the chain, and--as he'd said--Gathlen's legs reared of their own accord, snapping like springs into exactly the position they'd been in. Lewis dropped the chain into the large utility pocket at his hip, and signaled to Lisa. "Okay, you can put the cover back on now."

Lisa lifted the heavy glass. "All right then; look out, everyone!" With the glass case returned to its proper place, you wouldn't know it had ever been breached.

"That's done," Lewis sighed. "Now all that's left is you, Lisa." He patted the pocket with the wires, to remind himself that they were still in his possession. "You're going to have to lay down on the bed again."

The giant girl wrinkled her nose. "But it's so tiny!" she whined. "Do I have to?"

"He approaches!" hollered a fairy.

Lewis worked his way to the surface of the mattress. "I promise it'll be temporary," he said. "I'll wake you up as soon as I can."

"Fine."

He clung to the pillow as Lisa collapsed onto the bed, curling her legs up so she didn't overhang the mattress, just the way she'd been laying before.

"Close your eyes," he instructed. "I'm going to have to climb on your face, but try not to move."

The puff of breath from her nose threatened to knock him over. "Whatever, little crawler."

Lewis quickly wrapped the wires around the lashes of her right eye, since that was closest to him. By the time he finished, her skin had reverted back to the hard, plastic-like feel it had been before. He tested it by prodding her forehead with his hand. "Lisa?" he called.

She didn't move, as if she was nothing more than a stiff, lifeless sculpture again. Lewis wrapped the lashes of the second eye, and clambered down from the mattress just as the massive doors of the exhibit hall swung open.

"Ah! Grant, have you finished? We're opening to the public soon!"

Lewis stepped in front of the doors, luckily right up alongside his cart that was full of dirt and bags from the trash cans around the floor. He nodded. "Just finished, sir," he said, gesturing behind him as if revealing all his hard work. He hardly dared to think what it might look like at this point.

Gilroy nodded in approval. "Not bad! Hurry out of the way, boy--I'll let you finish out your shift after closing tonight."

Lewis couldn't believe what he saw: somehow, the fairies had not only cleaned off all the usual surfaces as he would--but they'd somehow restored the broken display wall and erased the dent from Lisa's elbow! At any rate, it did look like he'd been cleaning the whole time, and not at all interfering with the displays!

"All right, Mr. Gilroy," he agreed, only dimly aware of what the curator had offered him. "I'll do that. Have a good evening!"

The bespectacled old man waved. "Good work today. I'll notify the security guards that you will need access."

Lewis ducked into the janitor's locker and quickly shimmied out of his cover-alls as the sparkling flecks of light swept in behind him. He pulled his backpack out and opened the upper pocket. "Everybody in!" he whispered.

The fairyfolk converged on his bag, the fairies diving inside and the elves crawling down his arms to reach the pocket. At last, he heard Queen Evalia's gentle jingle, "All accounted for!"
Lewis slung the backpack over his shoulder and slipped out the door.

In the foyer, Krasimir Schlimme stood in a pinstripe charcoal-grey suit, muttering frustrations to Adolf dressed all in black, standing at his side, while Mr. Gilroy puttered off to another wing of the museum with a distracted air. None of the men even gave the boy with the backpack a second glance.
Lewis breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the doors close beside him--but the breath caught in his throat as a familiar face framed by long, dark braids walked right up to him.

"Oh, Lewis!" Quincy exclaimed brightly.

He stopped in his tracks, more aware than ever of the miniature creatures currently hiding in his backpack. "H-hi, Quincy," he stammered. "What are you doing here?"

She huffed. "What else? I'm here to see the new exhibit! Does it look as realistic as everyone is saying?" She cuffed him on the shoulder. "What are you doing here, though? Aren't you leaving in the middle of your shift?"

Lewis couldn't restrain the sense of guilt that gripped him. "I have permission!" He blurted. "Um, because of the unveiling, Mr. Gilroy said I could come later and complete my hours after it's over."

Quincy smirked, tugging at one of her braids. "So," she sighed. "Does this mean you won't make it to Study Hall tonight?"

"Yeah," Lewis sighed. "I guess that's not a huge issue, just missing one night. We already took the unit quizzes."

She shrugged. "Okay, well... If you see Jesse at the food court, tell him I said Hi!"

Lewis waved a hand over his shoulder as he ambled down the rest of the steps.

At the food court, Jesse brought him his food, and Lewis was able to pass on Quincy's message. He, too, expressed interest in seeing the "macro sculpture" on display.

"I mean, putting up a bunch of paintings and tiny sculptures is one thing--but a giant figurine? That's gotta take a lot of work and attention to detail!"

Lewis bent over his burger and fries and muttered to himself, "You don't know the half of it."

He did his best to cram in some assigned reading before closing time at the museum approached, and Lewis knew he could return.

The large building was dark and empty-feeling at this hour, with only the moon shining through. Lewis checked in with a security guard, who grunted, "Oh, yeah; the Boss said you'd be coming in. Just let me know when you leave, so I can lock up, ok?"

"Sure thing," Lewis promised, and headed to that old familiar hallway to get his trash cart.

As he pulled back into the exhibit hall and flicked on the lights, his eyes searched for the pinpricks of light that meant the fairies had entered.

"Hey," he said to the air around him. "Do you think you can do the thing with the cameras again, before I wake Lisa?"

Ashwyn came to land on his left shoulder. "Unfortunately, Her Majesty says that our fairy dust only works in the light of the sun. It is the moon's time now, so you're just going to have to be very careful."

Lewis shifted over to Lisa's display. A huge black tarp had been spread over her sleeping form. He could get underneath without being discovered--but what if somebody was watching while she sat up?
"I just don't see how this is going to work!" he moaned.

Queen Evalia pointed to the pocket of his coveralls. "Use the Chain--its magic will shield you from being discovered," she said.

Lewis pulled it out, letting the chain dangle glitteringly from his hand. "This?" he asked. "But how?"

The Fairy Queen bobbed. "The scope of its magic is just as much a mystery to us as it is to you," she replied. "Believe that it will work, and it will protect you, like it protects all of us."

Lewis snorted, but there really wasn't any other option available to him. He put the chain around his neck and commenced climbing up the tall mattress.

Working under the tarp was almost unbearably stuffy. For a "silicone and resin sculpture", Lisa's body gave off quite a bit of heat, and it was all trapped under the dark fabric. This time, Lewis made sure to climb up and undo the wires on her left side first, before jumping down onto the pillow and releasing the lashes of her right eye. She sat up almost immediately, and freaked out just as fast.

"What happened to me?" She wailed. "Why is it so dark? I'm blind!"

The swath of fabric swung over Lewis' head and sent him tumbling down toward the mattress.
"Lisa!" He yelled. "It's just a drape!"

Her hands thumped the pillow and the mattress, searching for him. "Lewis? Is that you? I can't see you!"

Lewis had to crouch down to avoid being smacked by her huge palms. "Stop!" He shouted at her. "Don't move!"

She stilled at once.

"Take the drape off your head," he said.

She reached up and pulled it off, letting it skitter to the floor. "Oh, a cloth? That's all it was?"

Giant and human let out a relieved sigh together.

Lisa smiled and bent close to him. "You came back," she said, curling her hand around him without touching him.

Lewis nodded. "I said I would."

She pressed her lips together. "You want me to open the unicorn's case again?"

Lewis nodded. "Yes, please; there's still a bit more information I need from him."

The giant obliged, and this time, Lewis didn't feel any fear or apprehension at all as he transferred the chain from his neck to Gathlen's.

The silver hooves landed on the base of the display case, and Gathlen swung his head to one side so he could look directly at Lewis.

"Oh, it's you again," he said. "Was there something more you wanted to ask me?"

Lewis nodded. "Yes," he said. "But first," he gestured to the blinking cameras. "Is there something you can do about those? I don't want any of us to get into trouble while I'm doing this."

"Never fear," Gathlen reassured him. He raised his horn so that it caught a beam of moonlight. One by one, all the blinking cameras winked out. "The Phantasmagyth and its Guardian hold the power to shut the eyes of those who wish to bring harm to Phantasm."

Lewis felt his heartbeat quicken at this. "So, that's what Krasimir wants? To destroy your world?"

Gathlen shook his head, flicking the forelock of his mane from one side to the other. "Not destroy, young human. He wants dominion over it, over all of us. He seeks the overarching power that the Phantasmagyth holds--and he will not use it fairly when he has it." The unicorn bent his magnificent head. "He stole it from me for that purpose, and it was only by breaking it apart that I was able to ensure he never fully possesses it."

"So the Queen was right, then?" Lewis said. "That chain, it's part of it."

Gathlen raised his head. "Yes, a very powerful part--but the Phantasmagyth will never be at its full strength and capable of allowing us to return to our world until the two parts are reunited."

"The chain and the... the gyth," Lewis concluded. "But how do I find it?" He rubbed a hand through his hair. "If you're the Guardian, do you have some way of sensing where it is?"

"The most that I know is that the villainous Captor keeps it where only he may access it," Gathlen retorted. "I know only that it is nearby, within the bounds of this city--but I have never seen the outside of this place, so I would not be able to tell you where to begin your search."

"Ahem!" A loud voice rang high over their heads. Lisa had a corner of her lip bent between her teeth as she fidgeted with the black cloth. "I might know where he keeps it," she admitted.

Lewis stepped away from the display case. "You do?" he prompted her.

Lisa nodded. "I saw it once, when the Captor was trying to figure out how to make me all stiff like he'd done with the fairies. It's at his castle, with all the other things he's brought over from Phantasm. He's got it locked in a room and under heavy guard." She shuddered, and Lewis could feel the movement thrumming through the floorboards. "The Underworlders guard it."

"Underworlders?" Lewis immediately thought of the creepy creatures in the storage room below them. "He's got more of those things?"

"Of course he does," Gathlen confirmed. "He needs an army, and without the full strength and authority of the Phantasmagyth, the only creatures he would have in his thrall would be the Underworlders, as the absence of any protection would allow them to breach the surface and break out of the pits and caves of fiery darkness that is their normal habitat." Gathlen twitched, shaking his head back and forth as if the mere mention of Underworlders made his hide crawl. "You have met the one called Adolf, I presume? He is the leader of the Underworlders, at least the ones now serving the Captor. I suppose the wily villain made sure to collect only those subordinate to Adolf, to ensure he would always have a means of keeping them in line."

Lewis wagged his head. This problem was getting more and more complicated by the minute! "But why an army?" He said. "And why does he collect so many of you all?" he swept his arm to indicate the entire exhibit hall full of innocent, harmless creatures.

Gathlen sighed, the breath blowing between his lips in a soft nickering sound. "It is what I've been trying to tell you, Lewis. Ever since Krasimir Schlimme first discovered the pathway into Phantasm, he's wanted to control it, he's wanted power over all of us. The trouble is, now that he's gone and brought the Phantasmagyth into this world... if he were to ever get his hands on it, the Phantasmagyth would give him unstoppable power over this world and our own. Such an outcome would be unforgivable--so you must swear that you will do everything in your power to keep that from happening!" Gathlen's head swung around, and the tip of his gleaming red horn rested on Lewis' chest, right above his heart. "Swear it!" the unicorn whinnied.

Lewis hardly dared to breathe, lest his own pounding pulse allowed the point of the horn to pierce his skin. "All right," he gasped hoarsely. "I s-swear! I swear!"

Gathlen lifted his head and huffed. "Good," he said. "All will be well, then." He tilted his head, as if checking the angle of the moon's light. "Enough time has passed, good Lewis," he said. "Let me back to where I was, and complete the tasks assigned to you."

"Thank you, Gathlen," Lewis said. "I hope we can talk again soon."

"Find the gyth, Lewis," Gathlen reminded him. "It's our only hope of stopping the Captor."

Lewis patted Gathlen on the shoulder and nodded without a word. He removed the chain, and once again dodged aside as the unicorn's hooves sprang up to their "sculpted" positions.

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Reader's Review: "Mythical Doorways" by Fellowship of Fantasy

Synopsis from Amazon:

Eleven Tales of Magical, Mysterious, Mythical Doorways!

Step through portals and into adventure as the authors of the Fellowship of Fantasy take you on another journey into fantastic worlds. Travel through time, space, and realities to encounter monsters, mechanical foxes, and the Fates themselves. You'll fly with dragons, save implausible beasts, and perhaps find your true home. Choose your path wisely, for dangers lurk in the lands beyond.

In the third anthology from the Fellowship of Fantasy, eleven authors promise you journeys into fairy lands hidden within the modern world, futuristic universities, and lands of ancient myth. So what are you waiting for? Cross through our Doorways for the adventure of a lifetime!

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My Review:

I love a good anthology! It's a fantastic way to sample writers you might not have heard of--and it feels like getting a grab-bag of goodies when each and every story in a collection makes you want to add the author's books to your shelf, whether physical or virtual!

That's how I felt about so many of these stories. Out of the eleven, there were just a few that didn't altogether stand out (although they were still very good!)--and the rest were just outstanding!

From the creepy horror of "Idiot's Graveyard" by Arthur Daigle, and the creativity on display in "Door Number Four" from Bokerah Brumley, with the unique creature, the Marken-Bray, a "huge, stubborn, three-horned... equine creature" I found quite intriguing; to the fascination of "Cosmic Cravings" by AJ Bakke, a portal fantasy, but told from the perspective of the fairies entering the human world, and "Dragon's Oath" by Kathy Huth Jones, a striking tale that teaches a valuable lesson on stereotyping, traditions, and making assumptions. And... Can we talk about that extra twist in "Well of Fate" by Savannah Jezowski that just made it all the more special??

But there were four stories that I found absolutely enthralling, and I want to share about them in slightly more detail!

"Dragon Ward"--this mystical little piece by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt told the story of a girl who strays on a hunting trip and ends up not only encountering a dragon, but bonding with it as well, so that they can communicate telepathically. The rich descriptions of that pivotal moment when dragon and human connect, and then when they both realize what has happened, stirred up my emotions so much that I could almost feel those same sensations! It just makes me excited for the first of Jenelle's novels that I have coming up on my To-Be-Read list, if this is how she writes!

"Threshold"--It's all the best parts of Peter Pan with the wholesomeness of Chronicles of Narnia! This one is up there on my favorite stories to ponder over and over again--I really think I do have a type of story that just fulfills my fancies something fierce! It certainly makes me want to look up Laurie Lucking's books, to read more of them!

"The Hallway of Three Doors"--What a sweet and enchanting original fairy tale from D. G. Driver! At least, I think it's original... but it does have all the charm and poignancy of a classic fable! A girl whose life has definitely unraveled around her, seeks out magical assistance to find out which path forward in life will bring her the most success, and she's presented with three different realities closed behind three different doors. The real lesson of the story comes out when she interacts with the different spaces, and learns the truth about making one's own decisions and taking responsibility for the consequences, as opposed to wanting the choice to be made for her, and claiming she had nothing to do with it. I loved it!

"Jericho and The Magician's Daughter"--This story by H. L. Burke is part of the Spellsmith & Carver series, and after reading it, I absolutely cannot wait to read the first book in the series! I think this one was definitely my favorite in the whole anthology, though a few that came after it came very close to beating it! The magic system is absolutely brilliant, I love the steampunk vibe, and the characters are positively splendid!

Mythical Doorways certainly holds enough in each one of its eleven stories to warrant *****5 STARS***** across the board, and I would add an Upstream Writer Certified WHOLLY RECOMMENDED. The Fellowship of Fantasy definitely knows how to pick some truly great selections for their anthologies, and it makes me curious to see what else the group has produced, since this sampler was so delightful!

Further Reading: (Anthologies/Portal Fantasy Series)

-Division: A Collection of Science-Fiction Fairytales--Lee S. Hawke

Punk Anthologies--Writerpunk Press Group
      -Sound & Fury: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 1 
      -Once More Unto The Breach: Shakespeare Goes Punk, Vol. 2 
      -What We've Unlearned: Classic Literature Goes Punk 

-Dreamtime Dragons--Dreamtime Fantasy Authors

-Road Brothers--Mark Lawrence

Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland 
     -Dance Into The Wyrd

The Portal Prophecies--C. A. King
     -A Keeper's Destiny 
     -A Halloween's Curse 
     -Frost Bitten 

-The Longest Night Watch, Volume 1--Lacey D. Sutton (Editor)

-The Night Alphabet--David M. Donachie

-Songstruck--Sofia Black

-Chasing Rabbits--Erin Bedford 

-Mirrors (The Curse of Lanval)--Rebekah Dodson 

Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 14

Part 14

"Be He Alive"

Very slowly, Lewis rolled over and eased himself onto his feet. He staggered in the direction of the giant.

She recoiled when she saw him. "Wh-what's that? Why is it moving? Get back!" She made a shooing motion with her hand, but luckily nowhere near him.

He stopped where he was and raised his hands. "Don't be scared," he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She curled up even tighter on the mattress, still shaking. "Y-you can talk? What are you? What have you done to me?" She reached up to tug nervously at a lock of her hair.

"My name is Lewis," said the young janitor. "What's yours?"

"Chalissemoara," the giant said. "What is this place? Is it your house? Is that why everything's so small?"

Lewis winced as the massive hand reached past him, toward one of the displays on the wall. He put his hands up. "Don't!" he gasped quickly, halting her movements. "Don't touch anything, please," he begged. "This isn't my home, this is... It's a museum."

Chalissemoara's hand dropped, sending a tremor through the floor. "A museum?" she asked. "What's that?"

Lewis winced a little at how she might respond when he told her the truth, "It's, um, where humans put things on display to admire them."

The giant girl squirmed uncomfortably on the very small mattress, only big enough to accommodate her legs as she sat with them curled up in front of her. "Display? Wait... you're a human?" She reached out and swept his legs out from under him. "Let's have a closer look at you!"

Lewis flailed and grabbed onto her finger as she lifted him into the air. "Whoa! Hey! Be gentle!"

Chalissemoara cradled him in her hand, right in front of her face as she prodded him with her finger. "How strange!" she remarked. "I've never seen a human before. You sort of look like a giant... but I'd say you were about the size of a very tall dwarf."

Lewis pushed the huge fingertip away and sat up breathlessly. "Yeah, I realize there aren't any humans on Phantasm, but you're in our world now, so--"

He stopped talking as Chalissemoara's fingers closed around his waist. "What do you know of Phantasm?" she growled at him, her eyes squinting. "Are you the one who captured me?"

Her grip threatened to crush his legs. "No, I didn't!" Lewis desperately rambled out the words in his own defense, before she decided to squeeze him tighter. "I swear, I mean you no harm! I work for the man who made this exhibit, he's the one who captured you!" Her finger wrapped around his waist was making it hard to breathe. "I'm trying to help you escape!" he gasped.

Chalissemoara opened her fingers again, and Lewis staggered to his feet, massaging his sore legs.
"You're helping me? Or are you helping this other human?"

Lewis spread his arms. "I promise, I'm helping you. I only work for the man because it's my job," he pointed to his cover-alls. "I'm just the janitor. I didn't know any of these art displays were alive, not until I saw the first fairy move."

Chalissemoara blinked. "You're a friend of the fairies?" she asked in surprise.

To Lewis' relief, Ashwyn and the Queen and several other fairies gathered around him. Chalissemoara wouldn't likely be able to see them very well, given their size difference, but at least if she knew about the fairies, she'd understand what the flickering lights meant.

They landed on his shoulders, and Lewis tensed as Chalissemoara brought him even closer to her face.
"These are the fairies I've rescued," he said, pointing to them. "Your Majesty, Ashwyn, I'd like you to meet..." Oh, what was her name again? "Chamoraliss?"

The giantess snorted. "Chalissemoara!" she repeated.

"Sorry, that's hard to remember," Lewis muttered. "Do you mind if I call you Lisa?"

She shrugged her shoulders, rocking Lewis on his feet as she moved. "I suppose I could get used to it, if only to avoid getting my name wrong!"

"Much obliged, Lisa!" Lewis waved an arm. In his ear, the soft chiming of the Queen's voice pattered, "Sir Lewis, our time grows short. We must address the matter at hand, before the other humans discover us."

"What did she say?" Lisa urged. "Are you going to rescue me and get me out of here like you did with the fairies?"

Lewis winced. "Um, I am not really equipped to do that," he admitted. "My reason for waking you up was because I need your help."

"With what?"

Lewis crossed to the edge of Lisa's hand, and pointed down to the display case. "See that glass box over there? The red-horned unicorn is trapped inside, and I need to awaken him so we can find out what has become of the Phantasmagyth." He had to grab on to the fingers tightly as Lisa leaned forward and lowered him toward the floor. "Whoa!"

She steadied her hand, and allowed Lewis to step onto solid ground once again. "This thing?" She said, wrapping her hand almost all the way around the display case. "Easily done!" Slowly, she lifted the whole glass box straight up, and set it on the floor beside the base.

Now Lewis could actually step into the display, between the outstretched talons of the gryphon, and the raised hooves of the red-horned unicorn.

Ashwyn and the Fairy Queen followed him. The Queen hovered around the unicorn's nose.
"I can see it!" She declared excitedly. "There's something glinting inside his mouth!"

Lewis gently felt the creature's snout. The skin was velvety-soft, but also stiff and unyielding--exactly as if it had been molded from resin. Any pressure could run the risk of snapping something.
He told the Queen as much. "Can you find a way to reach in there?" he asked. "I can't open the mouth at all." He watched the eyes closely for some sign of life, but the glassy orbs remained as blank as two marbles.

The Queen landed on his shoulder. "I cannot," she replied. "The mouth is too much closed."

"Umm, I hate to rush things," Lisa's voice resounded overhead. "But can we please hurry? I'm getting cold in this terrible nightdress," she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered under that thin layer of fabric Krasimir Schlimme had seen fit to dress her in. "Why am I wearing this thing, anyway?"

All Lewis could do was shrug. The Queen flew off to find Ashwyn, and very soon, the two fairies returned.

"We have a solution!" said the Queen.

Ashwyn glided up to Lewis and hovered like she wanted to land there. He held out his hand, and she placed something in his palm: a shiny pail like the one she'd been carrying as a sculpture. Once again, it was full of the glittering fairy dust.

"What am I going to do with this?" He asked.

"This dust contains particles of the Phantasmagyth," the Queen answered. She hovered over the unicorn's head, perching daintily on his horn to explain, "Sprinkle some of it over the unicorn's mouth--either it will revive him, or it will at least enable you to open his mouth enough to retrieve the item."

"Assuming it's that piece of Phantasmagyth we need," Lewis muttered, following the Queen's instructions.

"Of course it is!" Ashwyn insisted. "What else could it be?"

Lewis could see the bits of fairy dust glinting in the fluorescent lights of the room, and for a moment, nothing seemed to be happening.

Then, as he stared hard at those wide nostrils, a slight tremor rippled under the skin. Lewis froze, holding his breath, not daring to believe what he was seeing.

The unicorn's jaw shifted slightly, and the nostrils flared as it suddenly sneezed!

"Aaaa-CHOO!"

Lewis staggered backward at the noise, and as he flailed to catch himself on the floor, he saw a sparkling golden object issue from the unicorn's mouth. The animal itself had gone statuesque again, but the fairies all hovered around the object--a gleaming, thick chain like a necklace--in excitement.

"It's the Chain to the Phantasmagyth!" The Queen jangled. "That will restore the unicorn! Put it on his neck, quickly!"

Lewis blindly obeyed the order, seizing the metal collar and draping it around the unicorn's neck. As soon as he fastened the clasp, the unicorn's skin warmed to his touch, and the whole body gave a massive shudder as the front hooves dropped to the base with a heavy thud.

Lewis stepped back in awe as the red-horned unicorn surveyed the exhibit hall with wise, gentle eyes.

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Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 13

Part 13

"Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum"

Lewis sighed as he opened his closet to get dressed the next day. The fairykind had turned the small space into quite the living complex, with strange buildings that seemed grown right out of the plaster and wood in the wall--yet nothing seemed displaced or used up. What exactly was the secret of the fairies' ability to "make things"?

"Can we come with you?" Ashwyn asked immediately, as Lewis prepared for his classes that day.

Lewis shook his head. "I think it's safest for you all if you stay hidden while I'm at class. If you really need to go somewhere, wait for me at the museum. You won't be noticed if you stay around the roof level. Hardly anyone looks up when they're walking toward the door. You'll be able to see me coming, too."

"We will await your coming," replied the Queen.

All through the day's lessons, Lewis couldn't concentrate. His thoughts reminded him constantly that as soon as he was alone in Moulton House, he would have to figure out some way to wake the sleeping giant. Would she accidentally squash him? Swallow him? Drop him from some terrible height? What if she knocked over the free-standing displays? There was no way he'd be able to clean up from that! And what if, after reviving her, she didn't want to resume her paralyzed state again? What if he couldn't induce that without some of Krasimir Schlimme's potion?

Math, Literature, and Science all flew by in a blur behind these real questions Lewis faced. As he walked out of his final class for the day, Lewis knew he was going to have to depend on evening Study Hall sessions to know what he was supposed to have learned that day.
If I even survive my shift, he thought miserably to himself.

His heart thudded harder than ever in his chest as he ascended the steps toward the entrance of Moulton House. He paused just in front of the door as fairies descended from the roof, while the elves crawled out from around the sculpted masonry to crawl toward the open pocket on his backpack. Once he heard Ashwyn whisper, "We're all in!" Lewis reached back and zipped the pocket shut. He steadied himself and entered the museum as if everything was completely normal.

The caution tape around Exhibit Hall G had been removed, but a sign out front said that the hall was closed until the special "unveiling" of the new exhibit that evening.

"Great," Lewis muttered as he ducked into the closet with his locker. "That means I've only got a couple hours of my shift to do my job and figure out how to waken the giant."

He put on his uniform and unzipped the pocket of his backpack so the fairykind could come out.
"Make sure nobody sees you," he warned. "Especially Adolf--he seems really suspicious of me for some reason."

"Ashwyn will go with you," the Queen decided. "When you are ready to revive the giant, she can come tell us that all is well."

Lewis nodded. "That sounds like a good idea."

Ashwyn happily ducked into her customary pocket, and Lewis wheeled the cart out into the hallway.
Krasimir Schlimme stood discussing some logistics with Mr. Gilroy.

The curator waved and nodded to Lewis as he tried to slip by without attracting too much attention.
"Ah, Grant! Right on time, as usual. You noticed the sign outside the exhibit hall, I hope?"

Lewis bobbed his head as Gilroy kept talking.

"Yes, Mr. Schlimme is very keen on having his latest sculpture on display for guided tours and events only, so you can complete half your shift now, and make up the other half this evening, immediately after the event. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Lewis replied with a nod toward Krasimir Schlimme.

The artist's dark eyes gleamed as he watched Lewis without blinking. Did he realize that this young man was responsible for the theft of one of his stored displays? Or that the very fairy Queen he tried to disguise was free and well and hiding in the locker room?
Lewis didn't wait around to guess at the answer to these questions. It was time to sweep the floors so he could revive the giant.

Cleaning took the better part of only one hour, so Lewis knew as he finished the last quadrant of the room that he could take his time with the giant and not worry about being disturbed. He pulled up the flap of his pocket and whispered, "Go get the others."

Ashwyn zoomed off like a pellet from a BB gun, leaving Lewis standing in front of the sleeping giant.
She lay on her right side, facing the rest of the room, with her right hand resting on the pillow and her left arm draped across her chest. Her knees were drawn up, and yet her whole body took up the entire length of the thirty-foot mattress. Lewis paced the length up and down, working out the mental calculations to try and figure out the dimensions. Judging by the length of her torso, he estimated that her head would be very close, if not touching, the twenty-foot ceilings if she sat up. Extrapolating from that the length of her legs, he estimated her full height to be just under sixty feet.

He eyed the nearest display wall, a mere fifteen feet away from her. "There's definitely not enough room for a giant in this space," he muttered to himself.

The fairykind joined him, voicing their surprise and concern at seeing Krasimir's captives on display for the first time since being revived.
"Look! It's Maritia! I guess he encroached upon the South Glens, then!"
"That monster! Look what he's done to Fenter and his whole family! It's disgusting!"
"Humans pay money to see stuff like this?" shouted a skeptical elf. "How bizarre!"

The Queen flew over to land on the pedestal beside Lewis. 

He nodded up to the giant. "So," he said, "how do I do this?"

The Queen tapped her chin. "Let me see..." she said, flying up toward the giant's face. After a few minutes of inspection, she returned with the report.

"Her eyes are fastened shut with wires wrapped around the lashes," she said. "It appears that these must function in the same way as the metal spears the Hunter used to pin us fairykind onto his displays. Remove the wires, and she will awaken as easily as we did."

Lewis tensed, not too thrilled that he had actually reached this point. "And after I awaken her?" he asked the Queen. "After I get her to take the cover off the unicorn display, how do I put her back again?"

The Queen wagged her head. "I do not know; but perhaps you may ask the unicorn, once he is revived. He would have enough knowledge."

"Hurry, Lewis," Ashwyn urged. "The other fairies and I have been disrupting the blinking eyes around the room, so no one sees you standing here, but we can't take too long, remember?"

Lewis glanced over his shoulder at the shimmering fairies circling the security cameras. Now or never. He steeled his nerves and reached up to climb the ten-foot mattress.

It took some effort to find purchase in the thick fabric, but at last, Lewis heaved himself up onto the soft, bouncy surface. The huge arm was just six feet away. He stepped forward and rested his hand on the skin. It shifted slightly at his touch, almost like real skin, but at the same time, the limb felt stiff and immobile--much like the fairy "sculptures" had been before he removed the staples. He felt his pulse racing again as he made his way toward the pillow. It was too high and too soft to climb, but her wrist rested close enough for him to jump and grab, like the monkey bars on the playground. Lewis tried to plant his feet for enough purchase on the soft mattress, and after a few tries, he bounced high enough to wrap his arms around the giant's wrist and pull himself up onto her hand.

Now he was standing right next to her face. The tip of her nose was level with his eyes, and even standing that close, he couldn't see that she was breathing at all. How did Krasimir Schlimme keep them alive with the paralytic? Lewis stepped a little closer, and he could clearly see the wires holding her eyelids shut. No bigger than the twist-ties that would sometimes hold shut those bags of rolls his mom would get for their holiday dinners, Lewis could easily reach in and untwist them, so he started with the right eye. With each wire he removed (placing it in his pocket for later), he would freeze and check to see if any change had taken place. He definitely hoped he had time to get clear of her before she woke up! Nothing moved, though, and so he continued. He finished the right eye and reached for the right one--but after the first few wires closest to her nose, the rest were too high for him to reach. Holding his breath in trepidation, Lewis climbed onto the bridge of the giant's nose to reach the rest of the bound eyelashes. The pockets of his cover-alls bulged with handfuls of wire by the time he slipped the last one off. The moment he did so, the lashes sprang apart--and the massive eye opened.

Lewis had no other choice but to cling to the bridge of the giant's nose as she rolled onto her back with a soft moan.

"Mm... Where'm I..." she slurred, raising her right hand to rub her eye. Lewis could tell that she was about to try sitting up, so he reached for her nearest finger--the pinkie, which was almost as thick as his body--and grabbed on for dear life. It felt like riding the world's worst roller coaster as the hand swung around, still raised in front of the reclining girl's face.

"What's happening?" She muttered. "Oh... my head..."

Lewis could feel his grip slipping, as his head angled downward against her pinkie. He ventured a glance toward her face, and their eyes met. Her face contorted in fear and amazement.

"What is that?" She gasped, flinging her hand to the side.

Lewis lost his grip and coasted several yards through the air, landing hard on his back in the middle of the exhibit hall with a sharp, "Oof!"

Stars danced in his vision as his head rang with the impact, and it took several gasps to finally regain the breath that had been knocked out of him.

In the midst of this, he watched the giant sit up, look around, and bump her head on the ceiling.
"What is this place?" she shouted, her voice resounding around the room. "Why is everything so small? Let me out! Let me out!"

The giant was definitely awake now. The huge bare foot swung down from the mattress, sending the nearest display wall crashing down in several large chunks. The noise and the mess only worried her further, and she covered her face with her hands. Her elbow struck the wall, leaving a sizable dent fourteen feet up; how was he ever going to explain that? Lewis huddled on the floor, waiting for things to stop crashing around him so that he could introduce himself to the newest refugee from another world.

Finally, all was quiet, and the only sound was the reverberating whimpers of a very terrified giantess.

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Reader's Review: "Danarko" by Maxina Storibrook

Synopsis from Amazon:

"When my father's hand had brushed over the paper, I used to wonder about what had influenced his drawings. What gave him inspiration? He used to show me drawings of a city, pointing out where the mage had built a wall or designed a tower. I know none of it is real, but… what if it is?"

Five years after her father's death, Mara Danarko believes everything is going great. Her mother has a wonderful boyfriend, Bryce, and Mara is getting used to small-town life.

Her world is turned upside-down when she comes home one day to find Bryce trying to kill them and an old family friend mysteriously appearing out of nowhere. Injured, Mara passes out only to wake up with a strange new power called Source which supposedly originates thousands of years ago from a biochemical called Voyana.

She has to learn how to harness it before she hurts someone by accident. However, not everyone wants her to master her newfound power.

Will she be able to control her Source in time to keep it from being used against herself and those she cares about?

>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

You know that feeling when you have this idea that pops into your head and it just FEELS brilliant and amazing and you just want it to spontaneously exist because it’s so awesome that any attempts to convey it to others fall sadly short of the mark?

This is how I felt about reading Danarko. I can tell from the vivid descriptions and the intricate world-building that Storibrook’s imagination was absolutely running full-tilt, and she made some fascinating attempts at perhaps drawing from her own real-world experiences in the way that she developed her main character to make her more relatable, such as the fact that MC Mara studies Judo… But at the same time, there were just too many instances of information supplied in just the wrong way to hit the emotional marks they should have.

Characters arrive and disappear at random intervals, offering little explanation and sending Mara on an emotional roller coaster every time they vanish and reappear as a “disguised” character with a different identity… which had me mistrusting if ANYBODY in the narrative was using their “real” name at some point!

One character in particular who I won’t name because of spoiler was somebody who we might assume was very close to Mara, but we barely hear about the fact that they went “missing” some time previously, and then they reappear and they’re in and out of the story so much that when the climactic scene happens and it’s supposed to hit the reader HARD… it doesn’t. I just didn’t feel it the same way Mara did, according to the narrative description. “Alas, poor soul… we hardly knew ye!”

That, and the fact that a side character exhibits more development than Mara does in this book. The narrative does some things in an attempt to avoid the “Mary-Sue” cliche by allowing Mara to make mistakes and have moments of weakness… but End-of-Book Mara is not much different than Beginning-of-Book Mara, personality-wise… She’s just better informed, more aware of what’s really going on around her. But she kind of behaves the same, still.

Still, that doesn’t mean it’s a terrible book! I would rate Danarko a modest ****4 STARS****, for the world-building, central conflict, a handful of really stellar, visceral scenes, and the distinctive array of side characters alone! Does it make me interested enough in the survival of the main characters to read on? Ehh, I’d probably have to be in a specific mood for that to happen—and perhaps someone reading this review happens to be in that very mood, for which I would say “Go for it! You might enjoy it!” If you’re looking for a new kind of “Chosen One” adventure tale, and a completely original world/magic system that will excite your imagination, then Danarko is waiting for you!

Further Reading: (Portal Fantasy/Chosen One/Young Heroines)

-Adaline--Denise Kawaii 

The Vemreaux Trilogy--Mary E. Twomey
       -The Way 
       -The Truth 
       -The Lie

-Excelsior--George Sirois

-Black Train--Clareesa Savka

-Songstruck--Sofia Black

-Conner's Odyssey: Discovery--Ian Bristow

-Ugly Girl (Faite Falling Series)--Mary E. Twomey

-Anamatus--Derrick Tribble

-The Purple Door District--Erin Casey

The Fair Folk Chronicles--Jeffrey Cook and Katherine Perkins
        -Foul is Fair 
        -Street Fair 
        -A Fair Fight 
        -All's Fair 

Spirit Knights--Lee French
       -Girls Can't Be Knights 
       -Backyard Dragons 

Lord of the Wyrde Woods--Nils Visser
     -Escape From Neverland 
     -Dance Into The Wyrd

The Portal Prophecies--C. A. King
     -A Keeper's Destiny 
     -A Halloween's Curse 
     -Frost Bitten 

The Books of Winter--R. R. Virdi
       -Dangerous Ways

-Kalla--Amber Morant