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.

<><><><><><><><>

<<<< Previous         Next >>>>>>>