Serial Saturday: "Fairies Under Glass" Part 26

Part 26

"I'm Not Your Mummy"

“Lewis? Lewwwwissss…”

Lewis groaned as his consciousness returned with a pounding headache. His body felt like someone had weighed it down with sand. It took incredible effort and concentration to simply turn his head and prize his eyes open in response to the voice calling his name.

He saw bars, and a bare concrete floor. On the other side of the bars, Krasimir Schlimme sat in a chair and grinned at him.
A surge of alarm gave him the energy to lift his head and work his way up to a sitting position.

“I’m sure you’re vondering vhat you are doing here.”

Lewis looked around the space. The cage wasn’t very big, like a human-sized crate. He could stand up, walk a few paces, and lay down on the ground, but it was very much secure. Across the fairly large basement room, a second cage housed the unicorn, whose paint job had mostly melted away, next to a floor-to-ceiling cage holding Lisa, cramped as she was with her knees up near her chin and barely enough room to lift her head all the way. A leather gag strapped over her face kept her from opening her mouth. Suspended from the ceiling was a fourth cage holding the gryphon. A shelf across from the unicorn held many jars and bottles containing glittering fairies and milling elves.

Dominating the center of the space was a huge work table littered and stacked with vials and beakers and small distilling machines and scientific paraphernalia. His eyes traveled back to Krasimir, and he croaked the word, “Where?”

Krasimir spread his hands. “Velcome to my lab! I haf used zis space for my many experiments and developing my… artwork.”

As more of his faculties returned, Lewis began looking around for any windows, any sign of a phone besides the antique sets standing on the long table. He even patted his own pocket for his cell phone, but Krasimir must have anticipated this move. He held up the familiar device with a savage grin. “Looking for zis? You von’t be needing it till I am done vis you. If you must know, zis house is several miles avay from ze academy, and since it is ze veekend, no one vill miss you until you do not show up for your classes… vich I haf also prepared for.” He patted a stack of papers on the small table beside him. “A series of letters Adolf vill dispatch for me if ze Academy starts asking kvestions. All seem to be written by you, and zey merely say zat you haf been doing some soul-searching and haf taken a week-long trip into ze mountains to escape ze grind of studies and meaningless verk.”

Lewis rubbed his face, noting the shackles around his ankles attached to one side of the cage. “How long do you expect to keep me like this? My parents will get worried, or the Academy might send out a search party for me—“

Krasimir chuckled darkly as he reached into his pocket and drew out the Chain to the Phantasmagyth. “Oh, you stupid boy! You seenk you are zat important? Zat your existence is meaningful to anybody but you? No, I must keep you locked down here until my verk is done, and zen… who knows?” he shrugged his shoulders. “I have ze time to decide vat is to be done vis you vonce I have ze full power of ze Phantasmagyth at my disposal.” He turned to the table and began fiddling with papers and substances as he muttered to himself.

“My own mutter und pater, rest zeir souls, taught me to develop zis restless spirit I have now. My pater vas a renowned explorer, traveling all over ze verld to see ze most amazing sights zat no one else could reach. Mein muter taught me to appreciate beauty in all its forms, to capture it on paper, to create my own designs and not to shy avay from realizing vat my mind could dream.” He paused and looked back to Lewis. “But neizer of zem could amount to much. History forgot zeir names. But ze histories of two verlds vill remember my name!” He threw back his head and laughed.

Just then, a stray sunbeam entered the room at just the right angle, glinting off Gathlen’s horn. Lewis watched a small red bead like a laser pointer glide along the wall behind the unicorn. An idea formed in his head, and he waited till Krasimir turned back around to lift his hand and wave to the unicorn.
“How did you even discover Phantasm, anyway?” Lewis layered his voice with disgust and despair. His words had just the right effect. Krasimir saw the question as an invitation to brag, and Gathlen’s head came around quickly, his dark eyes full of concern. Lewis gestured to reassure him as Krasimir jumped on the topic, seizing his field journal notes.

“You vant to know how I did it? I vas looking for somesing no one had yet found, just like my pater. I happened across zese journals of an explorer named Pierson MacPherson in ze late eighteen-hundreds, who described crossing into a verld so different from our own, vere unicorns roamed and fairies danced. He disappeared long ago, leaving all of his research behind. I discovered it, and I studied it very closely until I found a portal of my own.”

While Krasimir talked, Lewis subtly coaxed Gathlen to turn his head till the beam of light flashed on Lisa’s face. When she lifted her head to see what was glinting in her eye, Lewis used the beam of light to show her the part of her cage that was not quite as secure as the rest. He then led Gathlen to indicate the gryphon cage. He figured if Lisa could break through the top of her cage, she could reach the chain holding the gryphon’s cage, and the resulting debris would fall and smash much of the jars holding the Little Folk.

Krasimir prattled on, unaware of the conspiracy happening behind him. “I used ze portal many times, learning zat zese creatures who had never seen a human before were also very suggestible, prime to be ruled by one as knowledgeable as myself, and ven I had captured enough creatures to lure ze red-horned unicorn out of hiding—“ He looked toward the cage and Lewis attempted to freeze in place.

Adolf emerged from the shadows at the back of the room. “Hey!” He barked, pounding on the bars of Lewis’ cage. At a frown from Krasimir the henchman yelled, “He’s doing something! He’s signaling the others somehow. I caught him waving to the unicorn!” Before anyone else could react, Adolf wrenched the door of Lewis’ cage open and grabbed the young man by the collar. “What’re you tryin’ to pull here, eh?” He lifted Lewis off the ground and shook him like a child. “You tryin’ to sabotage my master like you did at the circus?”

“Calm yourself, Adolf!” Krasimir ordered. When he turned away from the table, Lewis saw a hefty hypodermic needle in his hand. “Bring ze boy here.”

Adolf dragged Lewis toward the middle of the room. At least he could see Lisa’s massive hand pushing on the bars where he had indicated. Sure enough, they seemed to bend quite a bit at her touch.
He couldn’t watch her anymore as Krasimir loomed over him. “I had hoped it wouldn’t come to zis,” he said, as the vile green-blue liquid sloshed in the needle’s shaft, “but I can’t have you messing up any more of my plans!” He plunged the needle into Lewis’ shoulder and depressed the plunger.

Lewis felt the cool rush of liquid enter his bloodstream at his shoulders and spread everywhere. With the coolness came a numbness that encompassed his entire body before spreading to his face as well. Within thirty seconds he could not move.

“Zere, you vanted to be vone of zem, now you can!” said the artist, as Adolf pulled Lewis upright, stiff as a board. Krasimir raised Lewis’ arms and folded them across his chest as easily as posing a wire doll. “I can wrap you in antique bandages and seal you in a sarcophagus, and no one would ever know you were not anozzer mummy!” The mad artist cackled.

CLANK! 

Over everyone’s head, the chain suspending the gryphon’s cage snapped under Lisa’s grip, and the mythical beast screamed free in a whirlwind of feathers and claws. As Lewis had hoped, the cage and chain fell on the shelves of jars and shattered enough of them that the free fairies could break the rest and free all the little folk—including Ashwyn. Lewis could only watch from the ground as Lisa finished pushing her way out of her cage and promptly collapsed the nearest wall. Chunks of plaster, brick, and support beams came crashing down, exposing the room to daylight.

The gryphon was absolutely furious at being cooped up for so long. It launched across the work table and tore at anything it could grasp in its talons. A mass of goblins poured into the space as Krasimir ducked under Adolf’s protective stance. The warty Underworlders leaped and snatched to try and reclaim the Little Folk, but if they leaped too far, it put them at risk for being grabbed by the gryphon. Lisa, meanwhile had smashed a hole big enough for her to stand.

The whole time this was happening, Lewis lay stiff on the ground, his arms folded, unable to move or speak. The gryphon’s murderous gaze narrowed on him as a vulnerable target, and Lewis could only brace himself for the vicious talons, when a bright-white shadow swept over him.

“Calm!” Gathlen commanded. “He is a friend, you must not hurt him!”

The gryphon responded at once, veering toward the cluster of ogres surrounding Krasimir. With a screech of wild glee it dispersed the Underworlders, lashing with its talons directly at Krasimir Schlimme himself. The artist ducked and Adolf morphed into a wolf to lunge at the animal, who skidded across the work table with a cry of disappointment. Lewis watched the last of the Phantasmians escape, even Gathlen, who managed a soft, “Hang in there, Lewis,” before he vaulted the broken wall. Would they really leave him behind like that? After all he’d done for them?

Seconds later, before the goblins could overwhelm his helpless body, Lewis watched Lisa’s huge hand descend into the open space. She lifted him into the air as Ashwyn swooped and dived around him.

“You did it! You did it!” The little fairy twinkled. “I knew you would come back for me! We’re free! We’ve escaped the Captor, all of us!”

She landed proudly on his chest as Lewis wished he could tilt his head, or smile, even, to show his relief. Lisa seemed to walk as if she knew where she was going, which baffled him. Did they all agree on a place without his input?
Ashwyn answered his unspoken question. “We even planned a meeting place where we can hide safely away from other humans: the Rolling mountain place!”

Rolling mountain? Lewis didn’t recall any rolling mountains in the vicinity, until it hit him: Rawling’s Point! It was a bus ride and a long hike away from the campus, several miles from the carnival, and surrounded by tall trees. It was definitely a great hiding place for the fugitive Phantasmians, even Lisa.
Sure enough, Lisa stopped and set Lewis on a high outcropping in the midst of lots of crags, difficult to hike to from the bottom, but easy to access from above. The fairies all gathered around him, jabbering excitedly, while Gathlen patiently chomped on some grass the fairies had gathered for him. Lisa crouched at the entrance, concern on her face as she watched the immobilized Lewis.

“Can we do anything for him?” she asked.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked an elf.

“He was poisoned by the same venim that the Captor used on all of us,” Ashwyn declared.

“Oh, you mean we can do this?” A group of fairies tugged at Lewis’ arms, pulling them out straight, while a crowd of elves bent his legs in a sitting position, all the while Lewis remained on his back. The Little Folk giggled as they massaged his face into a baffling expression, stretching the corners of his mouth and fiddling with his eyebrows.

Even Gathlen couldn’t resist a nicker at the playful fidgeting. “Careful now,” he warned. “Deal gently with him.”

Lewis couldn’t feel it, nor resist it in any way. Overhead, the gryphon came in for landing with a screech, sending the cloud of fairies scattering. It held something in one of its taloned foreclaws. When it hobbled over to Lewis, he could see the gleaming Chain dangling from the gryphon’s grasp. Hope surged as the gryphon transferred the Chain to its beak and leaned over. The Chain dropped neatly around Lewis’ neck, and he felt a jolt like a gentle electric buzz down his spine and through his whole nervous system, and at once his muscles relaxed and his limbs dropped to be under his control once again.

He sat up at once, and all the Little Folk cheered.

“Welcome back, Lewis!” said Lisa.

He stretched his arms and sighed with relief. “It’s good to be away from Krasimir and out of danger!” Lewis smiled up at Lisa. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

The gryphon gave a squawk and edged toward him. Lewis watched it carefully, in case it decided to try eviscerating him again. It blinked at him, swinging its head back and forth to focus on him with each eye.

“And thank you for getting the Chain back,” Lewis said. It tipped its head toward him, so he slowly reached his hand out to stroke the gleaming feathers. “Good boy—“

Before he could connect, the gryphon suddenly bucked forward, bowling Lewis over with a head butt. It screeched in his face, but did not scratch him.

Gathlen chortled. “I think you’ve got the wrong impression, Lewis.”

Lewis blinked. “What do you mean?” He looked at the gryphon, who chirped again and bucked its head. “I was just trying to thank him—“

Bonk! The gryphon clocked him in the head a second time. The connection fell into place.

“You’re a female?” he asked. “So I should say… Good girl?”

The gryphon’s talons skittered against the rock as she ducked her head and raised her feathery tail playfully. This time when Lewis reached out to rub her head, she didn’t evade him. His fingers sank into the downy feathers. The texture reminded him of his mom’s plush microfiber fleece blankets. There was almost no real texture, just silky smoothness. A low rattle like a purr emitted from the gryphon’s beak. She rubbed her head against Lewis’ chest, not hard enough to knock him over this time. She squawked again, and this time, Lewis noticed a pattern in the sound. “Kkkahh-rree! Khaw-ree!”

He looked down at the golden head resting against him. “What was that? Are you trying to speak to me?”

The gryphon pulled away and positioned herself facing Lewis. She bobbed her head and repeated the cry. “Khaa-ree! Khaa-ree!”

Lewis watched her. “Kharie,” he mimicked the sound she made. “Is that your name? Kharie?”

She bucked excitedly, repeating the sound with more energy. “Kahrie! Kahrie!”

Lewis imitated her nodding. “Lewis,” he introduced himself. “Lewis.”

Kharie stood still and tilted her head back and forth. Lewis repeated his name once again, and she blinked twice and whistled, “Oowee… Ee-wiss… Wee-wiss… Oowis! Oowis!”

She settled on the closest approximation she could manage, and Lewis felt goosebumps spreading over his skin. A wild creature just learned his name!

Kharie wasn’t done interacting, though. After a quick spin after her tail, she made a teasing dart around beside Lewis. Just before he could spin around to face her, Kharie’s head appeared between his legs, and when she lifted to stand upright, the move tossed Lewis back over her feather ruff and onto the tawny fur of her back.

Lisa’s eyes lit up at the sight. “Better hold on, Lewis!” she warned.

He grabbed the feathers over her shoulders just in time. Kharie bounded forward to the edge of the rock cliff and leaped over it, spreading her wings at the same time. He felt his stomach flip as the gryphon soared through the air, swirling on an updraft and gliding in a wide loop over the whole forest. Lewis could almost see all the way back to Krasimir’s house from that height. Up and up Kharie pushed with powerful strokes, through a bank of clouds that left a sheen of moisture on Lewis’ skin, and spiraling down toward the ground in a move that made him dizzy. He clung to her with his hands and knees as she banked upward again and looped around Lisa’s shoulders. The giantess held out her arm and Kharie latched onto it, perching like a bird of prey and cheeping happily, “Oowis! Kharie! Oowis! Kharie!”

“That looks like so much fun!” Lisa gushed. “I wish I was your size so I could try it too.”

Below them, Gathlen paced uncomfortably. “We will be safe here, you need not fear, but there might not be room enough for everyone to stay out of sight.” His waving ruby horn indicated the sparkling fairies who were becoming more visible as the evening set in.

“I can keep the Little Folk in the dorm with me,” Lewis said. “Queen Evalia and Ashwyn can help keep everybody organized and hidden when I’m not around.” He glanced back to Lisa. “Krasimir’s going to do whatever it takes to keep the Gyth and reclaim the Chain, so I think it’s best if we keep those separate as much as possible, till we can figure out how to find a portal back to Phantasm.”

Ashwyn sprang up next to him. “That’s not going to be a problem,” she said. “I’m a Meadowglade fairy, and as such, I am equipped with a sense of when and where a portal will be. As soon as one opens up, I’ll know about it.”

Lewis blinked at the little fairy who continued to surprise him. “Well,” he stammered. “I guess all we would need to do then is wait till you three—Kharie, Lisa and Gathlen—figure out how to steal the Gyth from Krasimir.”

Lisa grunted. “Hmph! Why don’t you do it?”

Lewis rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I think we’ve established that Krasimir is always expecting me to try something. I think if I just stay away from him for a while it will be for the best—and you are all much better equipped to withstand him if I’m not in the mix, anyway.” He patted Kharie on the head and nudged her with his knees. “Okay, girl, take me back to the ground again.”

Kharie lifted off Lisa’s arm and came to rest in the grass beside Gathlen, at the foot of Rawling’s Point. The Little Folk soon swarmed around him. He waved to the three Phantasmians staying behind. “We'll wait for your message that you have the Gyth again, and get the nearest and soonest location for a portal where we will meet up to send you all back home again.”

A chorus of bells rang over his head.
“Did you hear that, everyone?” Ashwyn’s happy jangle stood out from the rest. “Lewis is going to send us home!”

The young man smiled. “I’d better find the nearest bus station to get me back to my dorm,” he said. “Best of luck, everyone!” He headed toward the road and absently reached for his pocket—only to remember that Krasimir Schlimme had confiscated his phone. “Great,” he mumbled. “I’m probably never getting that back again.”

A chatty group of elves gathered at his feet. “Hey!” one of them shouted, “Won’t you be needing this?” 

Lewis looked down at them, only to see his phone in their midst, supported by at least thirty elves and looking none the worse for wear. He reached down and grabbed it. “Oh no way!” he cried. “Thanks guys!” Armed with his phone, he saw multiple missed text messages and calls from his coworkers and his classmates, wondering where he was, and if he was okay or not. He texted a few of them back to let them know he was fine, and then swiped over to the bus routes to find the nearest stop.

The minute he landed at Browning Academy, he saw Quincy, Brayden, Danielle, Jordan, and Henry waiting for him.
“Where were you?” Quincy demanded as Danielle wordlessly threw her arms around him. “You’ve been gone for a whole two days, Danielle says you were supposed to come back with her last night but you never did. What happened?”

Lewis didn’t have the energy to come up with a convincing story. “I got lost,” he said. “And it took me a while to figure out where I was. I’m okay now. It shouldn’t happen again.”

“You’d better not, man!” Brayden chided. “All our professors are going to give you extra assignments to catch up on everything you missed today.”
Lewis nodded. “I know; sorry for freaking everybody out, I just needed… A mental health day; you know, to figure some stuff out.”

“Just warn us next time!” Danielle nudged him. “I was worried that you might have been trampled to death!”

Lewis nodded. “Next time this happens, I’ll make sure my friends know about it.” Unless it has anything to do with Phantasm, he thought to himself. As amazing as they were, he could not wait to have everything put back to normal again!

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