The Mysterious Lost Child (The Inscrutable Paris Beaufont Book 2)

by Sarah Noffke

  “Now my overly curious squirrel has gone in their territory, and what? They’re holding him hostage?” Paris tried to piece it all together.

  Willow nodded. “Most likely. On the rare occasions that any of the staff has peeked into the gardens on Tuesday, it was obvious that the AIs were even more deranged than when we created them and growing restless since they were programmed to serve and can’t do that. We hoped they’d simply enjoy their time off on Tuesdays, but increasingly so, I’ve feared that was not the case.”

  “They sound downright dangerous.” Paris started to get angry that the fairy godmothers had allowed such a potential threat to exist at the college.

  “They can’t leave the gardens though,” Willow argued.

  “They also have the power not to allow whoever mistakenly goes in there on Tuesday to leave,” Paris countered. “Faraday said he was trapped, and I saw that they’d walled up the entrance with large stones.”

  “This problem could resolve itself,” Willow mused, looking at Mae Ling.

  The professor shook her head. “I wouldn’t rely on that option. Yes, the spell is supposed to freeze them to statues at midnight on Tuesdays, but we’ve known that they can break that spell if properly motivated. Although they can’t leave the garden no matter what.”

  Willow nodded. “Which is why we never allowed anyone around them. They’re motivated mostly by the idea of having someone to serve.”

  “Great, so the mad AIs have my squirrel held hostage as their master,” Paris muttered, thinking of their options. “Can Wilfred reason with them, as one of them sort of?”

  Willow shook her head. “Good thought, but Wilfred’s programming makes it difficult for him to leave the mansion. This is his domain, and we learned from many mistakes when we created the first set of staff.”

  “What options do we have for rescuing Faraday?” Paris asked. “I know that I snuck him in here and he shouldn’t be at the college, but at the time I was nervous, and he offered to be my friend. He really is all right. I’ll get rid of him if you help me rescue him.”

  Willow smiled politely. “I’m not sure that you having a friend when your life was turning upside down was such a bad idea. I bet he’s been a comfort to you during this strange time. Now, your life is even more chaotic than before.” She glanced at Mae Ling. “If we assess that this Faraday isn’t a harm to the school, do you think he should stay?”

  “I think so.”

  “Thanks,” Paris said with relief. “I don’t think he’s a danger. He’s just a curious weirdo who talks like he swallowed a dictionary.”

  “That is quite interesting.” Willow stood, a new determination suddenly in her eyes. “Well, it appears we’re going to have to go rescue this strange creature, who I must know more about.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Paris asked.

  Willow picked up the quill on her desk, turning it in her fingers. “Unfortunately, I think we’re going to have to do something that we’ve put off too long.”

  Paris lifted an eyebrow curiously.

  “Sometimes we avoid putting something or someone out of its misery,” Willow began speculatively. “I think that many times we’re deluding ourselves into believing that we’re doing it for them when in reality, it’s our emotions we’re protecting. The fairy godmothers kept the malfunctioning AIs because we told ourselves it was wrong to terminate them, but their life hasn’t been good. It’s time that I make the hard decision and end the experiments that went wrong once and for all—freeing them at last.”

  Chapter Sixty

  “How do you suggest we get into the Serenity Garden?” Paris led the two fairy godmothers out to the Enchanted Grounds.

  “Well, that’s a first.” Willow took in the walled-up entrance. “The AIs must be riled, having their first visitor in a very long time.”

  “Which supports our assumption that they probably won’t let Faraday go easily.” Mae Ling studied the rock wall.

  “We can try a disassembling spell.” Willow waved her quill at the wall. Nothing happened. “That’s odd.”

  “Not if there are multiple layers of reinforced rocks behind it,” Mae Ling offered. “A disassembling spell only works on that which you can see.”

  Willow chewed on her lip, thinking. “We could try a dissolving spell.”

  Mae Ling considered this and shook her head. “I’m afraid that would cost too much power.”

  The headmistress sighed and turned to Paris. “You’ll have to be patient with us while we work this out. Combat magic isn’t something we’re accustomed to using. Really, we rarely use any spells of this sort. For fairy godmothers, it's almost always about creating something rather than destroying it.”

  Paris offered a wicked smile. “Good thing that I’m half-magician and we’re notoriously known for destroying things and starting wars.”

  “I’m afraid that is partly true,” Willow said.

  “Although they’ve also been responsible for stopping many feuds and creating peace,” Mae Ling added.

  “Well, today, let’s put those magician powers to good use.” Paris cupped her hand around her mouth. “Faraday, get away from the entrance. We’re coming in!” she yelled, realizing she alerted the AIs to their presence but assuming it was worth it to let Faraday know to get to safety.

  Paris waited for a few moments for the squirrel to take cover before she pointed her finger at the rock barrier and muttered an exploding spell. Almost immediately, the stones blasted back from the wall, exploding into the Serenity Garden and sending a gust of dust and dirt at the three women. They all shielded their faces, Willow squealing suddenly.

  When the explosion settled, Paris dared to remove her arm from her face and check the others over. “Are you okay?”

  The fairy godmothers were fine, although in rare form. Dirt covered the usually pristine headmistress, and Mae Ling’s usually black hair looked gray from the gravel dust.

  She shook it out and wiped her face. “I’m fine.” She looked at Willow, who nodded while brushing off her dirty blue gown to no effect.

  Paris craned her head to peer into the garden, but all she could make out was the rubble from the explosion of rock she’d caused.

  Willow placed a hand on her shoulder and stepped around her. “I think I’d feel most comfortable if I went in first.”

  Paris nodded, not wanting to argue although she was pretty sure the headmistress had never clocked a giant or had a gnome in a headlock.

  Holding her silk gown up so she could step over the strewn rocks without tripping, Willow proceeded into the Serenity Garden, followed by Mae Ling. Paris was on guard as she entered behind them.

  She’d always thought of the space as peaceful and perfectly manicured with its many stone statues and topiaries and rose bushes. However, it was unrecognizable with many of the plants covered in debris and an army of magitech AI servants all standing at attention in front of them.

  Whereas before the men and women statues had been gray and still, now they were full of color and animated.

  They stood in several orderly rows. There had to be at least two dozen of them, all facing off against the fairy godmothers with menace on their faces. There was no sign of Faraday.

  “Well, maybe this won’t be so difficult,” Willow muttered from the corner of her mouth. “Maybe we can have a reasonable conversation with them.”

  The headmistress cleared her throat and lifted her chin, peering out at the army of AI servants. “Hello! We come in peace to retrieve the squirrel you have and deactivate you from further opportunities to create harm to others.”

  A soft groan escaped from Paris’ mouth.

  Willow glanced at her. “What? I think honesty is the best policy.”

  “Unless that honesty is regarding deactivating those who you’ve labeled deranged,” Paris whispered.

  “Well, they might respond well to my straightforward approach.” Willow glanced at the AIs.

  Their heads turned one way and
the other as if they were taking in their surroundings. Then one of the men dressed in a suit similar to Wilfred’s stepped forward, and his eyes flashed red. “Master is ours for eternity. We live only to serve him and live we shall do, from now until forever.”

  The butler took another step forward, and the rest of the staff followed him as they marched straight for the three women, menace unmistakably filling their every movement.

  Chapter Sixty-One

  The headmistress held up her hands. “We come in peace. There’s no reason for violence.”

  “I think we’re past that.” Paris sprang into fight mode. She grabbed a pole being used to help a sapling grow upright and tugged, hoping to pull it from the ground and use it as a weapon. It broke at the base, creating a makeshift quarterstaff Paris could use to defend herself.

  Willow backed up a few steps, nearly falling on her gown. To Paris’ surprise, Mae Ling disappeared.

  Oh, good, when the going gets tough, the mysterious fairy godmother disappears, Paris thought, watching as several women dressed in maids uniforms marched in her direction. “Miss looks tired. We will put her to sleep.” They held out their hands in a choking gesture.

  “I’m good.” Paris backed up. “I had lots of coffee, and you trying to murder me is putting some pep in my step.”

  “Stay back.” Willow pointed her quill at a gang of approaching butlers who moved robotically. “I don’t want trouble.”

  “Miss made trouble for herself when she banished us to the garden,” the front man said. He halted, and so did the others behind him. Then he bent, pulled up a bush, and held it out to her. “We made you dinner and insist you eat it all.”

  “Wow, these guys are real fruitcakes,” Paris remarked, her attention darting between the maids cornering her and the butlers surrounding Willow.

  The butler, as if practicing his pitching skills, pulled his arm back with the large thorny bush in his grasp and hurled it at the headmistress. She screamed, and Paris was about to jump in and defend her when the fairy godmother did the unexpected. Headmistress Starr slashed her quill through the air and deflected the attack, sending it back at the man, covering him in loose bits of dirt, leaves, and twigs.

  Nonchalantly, he brushed himself off. “That was very unwise of you, Headmistress. Do you know what happens to naughty ones? They are banished to the Serenity Garden and made into statues. Get ready to be frozen.”

  Paris could have sworn she saw Mae Ling materialize on the other side of the AI butlers, but when she blinked, the figure was gone or never there to begin with.

  The halfling brandished her pole and whipped it back and forth, keeping the maids back from her.

  The butlers moved forward, going after Willow again. The fairy godmother surprised Paris once more, pointing her quill at a sprinkler spigot in the ground between her and the butlers and muttering an incantation.

  Water exploded up from the sprinkler, covering the AIs. It didn’t stop them as Paris had hoped, but it seemed to disorient them as water seeped into their electronic bodies and caused malfunctions—well, more malfunctions. Paris guessed that the servants in statue form were protected from water damage but otherwise were less resilient to its effects.

  Moving slower, like squeaky tin men, the butlers clumsily advanced with steam rising from their chests. Willow darted around them, able to outmaneuver them since the water delayed their actions. The headmistress was drenched now but appeared relieved when she made it out of the clutches of the grabby butlers. However, her problems were hardly over when she made it out of the sprinkler area and to a plaza where more AI servants crowded around her quickly.

  Paris didn’t know what happened next because her efforts to keep the maids back by whipping a makeshift staff around weren’t working anymore. The servants were adapting their approach.

  One had picked up a small birdbath and was marching in her direction. “It’s time for a bath, Miss.”

  Paris shook her head. “Thanks, but I already bathed today, and I prefer not to clean myself in things where birds have washed.”

  Using the same spell as before, Paris flicked her head in the direction of the stone birdbath. It exploded, hurling large chunks at the maid and knocking her onto her back. The sound of metal on the cobbled path was a nice indication of Paris’ success—if ending crazy AIs was part of the goal, which it was.

  Another maid retrieved a sundial on a small base from somewhere and, copying Paris, held the bottom like a sword.

  “Oh, cool, you had to get a bigger weapon.” Paris rolled her eyes. Suddenly her wimpy little pole didn’t seem fit to go up against the stone pedestal with a sundial at its end.

  “If Miss would like the bigger sword, she can have it,” the maid remarked in a sickly sweet voice before launching the large object at Paris.

  She ducked as the rotating structure nearly took her out—it grazed her hair as it passed overhead. The sundial and base broke into bits on the wall behind her.

  Paris shook her head. “You all don’t play nice, and you don’t play smart either. The rule is, when you have the advantage, meaning the bigger weapon, you keep it.” She spun and whipped the pole so fast that it blurred in the air. A piercing sound like that of glass breaking shot from the object. It grew hot in her hands, and instinct took over as she felt energy pulse down from her fingertips and shoot straight out of the makeshift staff.

  She shot forward and continued her spin. The pole collided with the maids trying to attack her, cutting them in two, although she hadn’t thought that it was sharp enough for that—only a blunt assault. Still, three of the maids split in half, and the rest backed away after seeing what happened to the others.

  Paris didn’t think that would be the end of their efforts, so she lunged with her weapon held ready and a threatening look in her eyes. She suspected that the other servants would reconfigure and develop another strategy to attack, but she’d be ready.

  Meanwhile, Willow had backed herself into a corner. Literally. The AI servants had her cornered against the stone wall at the back of the garden. Her hands were in the air, and she was shouting pleas. “I’m sorry that I didn’t deactivate you sooner and had you live here. I was trying to give you a life.”

  “Our life is in service,” one of the butlers said. “Now we serve to end you.”

  Paris was about to abandon her position when something between her and the headmistress appeared from the well in the middle of the Serenity Garden. It was a little brown squirrel, his tiny arms on his hips, reminding Paris of the strangest, most unassuming superhero ever.

  “As your master, I order you to stand down and not harm Headmistress Starr,” Faraday said.

  Pride for her fierce little friend materializing suddenly filled Paris. She wished that she knew where Mae Ling was though.

  All the servants stopped their fighting and bullying and turned to face the squirrel. They bowed or curtsied and nodded.

  “Yes, if that’s what Master wants,” the butler in front of Willow stated. “We won’t harm a hair on her head. Do we have to allow her to keep her head though?”

  Faraday nodded. “She keeps her head and everything else.”

  “Very well, Master,” one of the maids said. “She and her friend will stay with you, and we will serve you all—forever.”

  Faraday sighed and glanced back at Paris. “That’s the crux. I can order them around, but I can’t get them to let us go. Hope you packed some cheese sandwiches.”

  Paris shook her head, glancing at the entrance with disappointment. The maids she’d been fighting, the ones she hadn’t finished with the unexpected magic, had moved in front of the opening and blocked it once more. These servants were the most unhelpful that she could imagine.

  “Yeah, it appears the battle isn’t over,” Paris muttered. “Looks like we’re going to have to destroy them all or they’ll never let us go.”

  Willow, who was still literally cornered, didn’t appear to like this idea. Faraday didn’t look ready t
o fight either, despite his imminent blockade by servants who had discovered his whereabouts. Paris glanced around, surveying the area until something unexpectedly disarmed her. She whipped her head around to find a maid had snuck up on her with a shovel and knocked the pole from her hand.

  Paris sighed. “Damn it, again a better weapon than I had.”

  The maid looked ready to bring the shovel across Paris’ face when something swooshed through the air and landed on the high garden wall, stealing everyone’s attention.

  To Paris’ surprise, it was Mae Ling standing majestically on the stone wall with her hands in a prayer position and a challenging glint in her brown eyes. Before Paris could wonder what would happen next, the fairy godmother threw her arms out wide. Something rippled through the air like a wave, broadcasting across the Serenity Garden. It hit every single one of the magitech AI servants and froze them at once—putting them back into the forms of gray stone statues.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Before Paris could rejoice at their victory, or Willow could enjoy the freedom of not being cornered, or Faraday could thank Paris for coming to his rescue, Mae Ling tumbled forward and landed on her back on the grass in the Serenity Garden.

  All three sprang into action, running in the fairy godmother’s direction. Paris was the first one there, her fingers on Mae Ling’s pulse. She was alive, but barely. Her eyes were closed but moving under the surface of her lids.

  “What happened to her?” Paris asked when Willow arrived, running her eyes over the passed-out woman.

  “The amount of energy she had to expend to do that…” She didn’t finish her sentence, simply nodded behind her where the magitech AI statues were frozen once more.

  Willow felt various places on Mae Ling’s wrists before standing. “She’ll be okay, but we need to get her inside. I can grab her hands if you get her—”

  Running footsteps cut her off. Hemingway materialized at the Serenity Garden’s entrance, his eyes darting all around in horror before landing on the three.