Saving Fable

by Scott Reintgen

  Her hands found a colder, smoother kind of metal.

  It was a ladder.

  Below, a shaft of faint light. Indira began the descent. The bars were sticky and the darkness threatened to swallow her, but she kept climbing down until her feet couldn’t find the next foothold. The light had grown just enough that she could see she had reached the bottom. She was forced to leap a short distance, landing with a roll. The shaft of light came from the end of a narrow hallway. She made her careful way forward until the tunnel dead-ended. Light leaked through the bottom.

  Like light at the bottom of a door, Indira thought.

  She gave the stone wall a little shove. It groaned open. Another secret door.

  Wanting nothing more than to be out of the dark, Indira gave it a full-bodied shove. She came stumbling out into a quietly lit room that she recognized immediately. Her stomach twisted into knots as she pieced it all together. If she stood at the entrance to the secret room, she had a perfect view of the place where Dr. Montague and Brainstorm Vesulias had been arguing. The truth of how the attack had happened struck her right in the chest.

  The Sepulcher. Brainstorm Ketty’s secret passageway led to the Sepulcher.

  Phoenix met back up with Indira in the Rainy Courtyard. Since the heavy thunderstorms were expected to continue, Professor Darcy had been forced to move his classes to a safer (but sadly less romantic) location, so they didn’t need to fear being overheard. “Did you find something?”

  “I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for,” she answered. “But I did find something.”

  She explained the secret passageway and what she thought it meant.

  “Well, that’s all we need,” Phoenix said. “If you can prove that Ketty had a way to get down there without anyone seeing her, Brainstorm Underglass will have to believe you.”

  Indira had thought the same thing. At first. “I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

  “Why not?”

  “I had to leave the door on the chalkboard to get out,” Indira said. “As soon as Ketty goes back inside her office, she’ll know someone figured out how she did it.”

  “So?” he asked. “The door’s still there.”

  “It was a magical door, Phoenix.” Indira could picture Brainstorm Ketty standing in front of her board, frowning at her own chalk-outline creation. “If she could make a secret passageway through the school with chalk, don’t you think she’s powerful enough to erase it? I’d lead Underglass to another bad clue. She’d never trust me. And Ketty would know I’m the one who’s after her too.”

  Phoenix corrected her. “We. We’re after her. Now what?”

  “We go to our classes. Act like everything is normal,” she said. “Then we talk to Maxi.”

  The two of them agreed to meet back at Hearth Hall a few minutes before Maxi’s appointed time. Indira could barely focus in the classes she attended. It was hard to take Darcy’s lecture on eyebrow use very seriously when danger felt like it was right around the corner. As soon as classes concluded—and the proposed hour finally arrived—Indira met back up with Phoenix, who led the way down to the Red Slipper Lounge.

  It was mostly a protagonist hangout, but Indira guessed that Maxi had chosen the place for a reason. As always, Maxi was magnetic. Her laughter came pouring out into the hallway. Indira glanced in and frowned, seeing Maxi sitting cross-legged, flipping through a magazine and expressing her comedic disapproval of various styles, all while surrounded by other people.

  Indira’s stomach clenched when she saw Chem sitting with them. She hadn’t forgotten about the fright mocha trick and her stained jacket, even if the dog-ear had stolen it days ago.

  She took a deep breath. “Maxi?”

  Maxi’s eyes darted in their direction. Indira watched as Maxi took out what looked like lip gloss. She held it out for the other girls to see.

  “I love this new flavor,” she announced suddenly. “Check it out.”

  The girls leaned in, and a bright flash filled the room. Indira covered her eyes, blinking, until the light flickered back out. Maxi was already striding over to the two of them. Behind her, the scene had completely frozen. Chem and the other girls looked like perfect flesh-and-blood statues. Indira and Phoenix could only stare at the spell that Maxi had conjured.

  “Let’s talk,” she said.

  “What—are they—did you turn them into statues?” Phoenix asked.

  Maxi waved her lip-gloss container. “A girl’s gotta have tools. This one works on a five-minute timer. It’s always nice to hit pause when you need time to figure things out, and let’s be serious, we really need to figure things out.”

  Indira ignored Phoenix’s bewildered look. “Tell us everything you know.”

  So they shared information. It became very clear that Maxi had done a lot of work since they’d parted. She’d checked into Ketty’s financial records first. There had been a few red-flag purchases in prior years: she’d bought a black-magic kit or two, often through random aliases.

  “But she also purchased a kidnapping kit,” Maxi explained. “So, naturally, I cross-referenced all the data on kidnappings that have been reported in Fable.”

  Maxi slapped down three pictures.

  “Allen Squalls, Leo Cafferty, and Margaret Faye.”

  Indira knew the first name, didn’t recognize the second, and let out a huge gasp at the third. “Oh no. No, no, no! That’s our Margaret.”

  Maxi squinted. “Your friend, right?”

  Indira nodded frantically. “She was suspended from school. I just thought the suspension was still going or something. When was she reported missing?”

  “Yesterday,” Maxi answered. “And that’s not all. I checked the records of each of the missing students. Take a wild guess which brainstorm they’re all connected to….”

  “Brainstorm Ketty,” Phoenix said. “Wow. How has no one caught on by now?”

  “Still not all,” Maxi said, holding up a finger. “I interviewed Ketty’s current batch of students—well, only about eight of them, just anyone I could find, really. Know what they reported? Funny things happening to their homework. Surprisingly negative reviews from their teachers. A bunch of them were getting bad grades, Indira. Ketty told every single one of them they weren’t doing well enough in classes to qualify for a story. She’s been demoting students left and right.”

  Anger pulsed inside Indira. It was bad enough that Ketty was doing something illegal and suspicious. But to take down other characters in the process? It was next-level cruel.

  “So what do we do now?” Indira asked.

  “You have a few minutes to tell me what you know,” Maxi replied.

  Indira traced back through the past twenty-four hours. Maxi was the perfect audience, gasping here and there, exclaiming ridiculous things. She even smacked Phoenix on the shoulder when she found out he had helped rig the fire alarms. When Indira finished, Maxi nodded.

  “That explains the black-magic kits,” Maxi said. “She started looking into the magic and realized the spells were too simple. She needed something with more firepower. But I still can’t figure out what she’s actually doing, you know?”

  “The Raven King’s magic definitely has firepower,” Phoenix added. “He’s legendary.”

  “Next step: find the book,” Maxi said.

  “It’s not in her office,” Indira replied. “And we don’t know where she lives.”

  “Not yet.” Maxi grinned. “Meet me in front of the school tomorrow morning.”

  Indira nodded. “What time? Sunrise?”

  Maxi gasped. “People actually wake up at sunrise?”

  “Seriously, Maxi?” Indira replied. “Protagonist Preparatory—maybe all of Fable—could be destroyed.”

  Maxi scowled. “Fine, but don’t expect my best at that hour. I hope the Talespin is open
. No way I’ll even be able to function without coffee.”

  They watched Maxi return to where she’d been sitting in front of the other protagonists. She carefully positioned herself, and the lip gloss, in the exact position they’d been at the moment of the flash. She looked back one more time at Phoenix and Indira.

  “Brainstorm Ketty has no idea what’s coming for her.”

  There was another flash. The girls burst back into motion, all exclaiming over the lip gloss, as Indira and Phoenix slipped back down the hallway. He had a curious eyebrow raised.

  “So Maxi…has some kind of magical tool kit?” he asked.

  “And I have a magical hammer,” Indira pointed out. “Combined with your fire spells, the three of us should be able to go up against anyone.”

  They had reached the main level of the school. It was almost dinnertime, but Indira felt as if they had so much more to do. What if Brainstorm Ketty finished whatever spell she was attempting while they slept? It felt wrong to go home and rest when so much was at stake.

  “So do you want me to come with you tomorrow?” Phoenix asked.

  “I do,” Indira replied. “But someone should be at the school to keep an eye on Ketty.”

  Phoenix nodded. “You promise you’ll be careful?”

  “You mean as I break into the home of my brainstorm?”

  “Good point.”

  The hallway forked, and Phoenix’s wizard chess club was in the other direction. He paused at the split and shook red hair out of his eyes. “I’m really glad we’re friends. Even if you made me set off the fire alarm. If anything happens, meet me at the Luck Hearth?”

  With more courage than any hearth could summon, Indira crossed over to him and gave him a big hug. He was warm and smelled like bonfires and chocolate. His cheeks flushed as she pulled away, grinning. “See you there.”

  He waved before disappearing down the hall. Indira was ready to go home, but the passage led her past the hearths and right into a trio of adults. Mr. Threepwood stood talking with a man and a woman. They were short and stocky; both of them had a threadbare look. She noted that the man’s jacket was missing a few buttons. As she passed, she heard Margaret’s name.

  “She’s never run off like this,” the man was saying. “We figured we should check with her professors. See if she’d been seen. The Grammar Police are already on the case, but we didn’t feel right just sitting around.”

  Mr. Threepwood looked concerned. “Well, she did get in an argument with another student in my class. Very odd for her. She was sent home with a suspension.”

  “That’s what I’m saying,” the man, Margaret’s father, replied. “She never came home with no suspension. At first we thought maybe she was here, studying late or something….”

  Indira had paused, and Mr. Threepwood saw her watching. He seemed to realize they were out in public, speaking of private matters. “Let’s speak privately. Follow me.”

  They moved down the hallway.

  I know who took her, Indira thought. I’m coming to help you, Margaret.

  Dark clouds continued to hover over the city. Indira made her way back to the Penningtons’, running through all the clues and conversations. She couldn’t shake Checkshire’s warning. You can kiss your school goodbye. The librarian had been a little dramatic during their conversation, but what if that really happened?

  Brainstorm Ketty had already been willing to do other dark things to accomplish her goals. It wasn’t hard to imagine even worse side effects if her spells actually succeeded.

  They’d just have to stop her before any of that happened.

  As she headed home, Indira noticed she had a tail. A shadow kept creeping up behind her, only to vanish when she glanced around. She picked up her pace, but continued to see a figure on the edge of her peripheral vision. Finally she broke into a sprint around one corner and hid next to a trash can. Her heart was pounding as she waited for footsteps, a shadow, anything.

  A few minutes later, Detective Malaprop crept past her, eyes on the street he thought she had taken. Indira pulled the hammer from her belt and grabbed a fistful of his collar. He cried out in surprise as his legs folded beneath him.

  “Why are you following me?” she demanded.

  “Unhand me!”

  She held up her hammer threateningly. Detective Malaprop was a good deal bigger than her, but he flinched at the sight of the little hammer.

  “Just wait until the Grammar Police hear about this!” he shouted. “You’re threatening a member of the justice department, little lady!”

  Indira scowled down at him. “Brainstorm Underglass said you’d been suspended.”

  “You’ve got it all wrong.” He scrambled to his feet and rolled his trench coat away from one shoulder. “Suspendered! I read the letter very carefully. I’m not to walk within one hundred yards of Protagonist Preparatory without a pair of suspenders.”

  Indira just stared at him. “Don’t you think it’s more likely that you’ve been suspended? That other thing isn’t even a word!”

  Detective Malaprop’s eyes narrowed. “Hey! I’m asking the questions here!”

  “That’s what I don’t get. Why are you following me? I’m not a suspect!”

  “You most certainly are!” he cried out.

  “That doesn’t make any sense!”

  “Admittedly, but I still have questions about what happened that day.”

  “Well, ask them while I walk home. I don’t want to miss dinner.”

  Even though he didn’t think it was proper protocol, Detective Malaprop agreed to walk and talk. They continued toward the Skirts. The detective scribbled down her answers as they went. Indira briefly considered telling him everything. About the secret passageway and the dragon scale and The Raven King’s Recipes. But then he started asking her questions about a jewel heist, and she reconsidered. If he couldn’t remember what case he was investigating, who knew what he would blab to others? The last thing she needed was for Brainstorm Ketty or the Grammar Police to get wind of what she and Maxi had discovered and ruin everything.

  Indira was nearly home when Detective Malaprop discovered his error and flipped back to his questions about Dr. Montague. “This is my stop,” Indira said, gesturing to the Penningtons’ home. “Will you please quit following me?”

  Malaprop looked desperate. “Can I ask you just one more question?”

  “Just one,” she replied seriously.

  “Why Dr. Montague? What’s so special about his voice and his eyes? Isn’t it odd that the attacker collected those two items? Rather than his clavicle and his fingernails? Or perhaps his smile and his left eyebrow?”

  Indira realized she didn’t know. Dr. Montague was a character in some famous tragedy, but she had no idea if that played into the attack or not. She hadn’t considered that Brainstorm Ketty might have been after specific things.

  What was important about his voice? His eyes? Indira thought about the book Checkshire had described. The Raven King’s Recipes. She didn’t know much about magic, but she knew that recipes required ingredients. The thought gained momentum.

  “She’s collecting the ingredients for something,” Indira said to herself. It seemed so obvious now. “His eyes and voice, the missing characters, they’re…they’re ingredients.”

  Of course. A dark spell would require dark things.

  “Ingredients? I don’t really like pizza, but thank you.”

  “Pizza?” Indira almost laughed. “Sorry, I have to go. Goodbye, Detective Malaprop.”

  “The game is affluent!” Detective Malaprop cried out excitedly. “We shall rendezvous later this week!”

  Without another word, the detective left. Indira heard him dictating to himself as she slid out her key and unlocked the front door. She was glad she hadn’t told him. Given the opportunity, he might have ruined t
he only thing she had on Brainstorm Ketty: the element of surprise.

  For the second time in as many days, Indira considered telling Mrs. Pennington everything. There were stories in which children left adults out of the loop. That never went well. Even so, she couldn’t risk her adopted mother’s life. As they sat down to dinner that night, she decided that some things were worth protecting, even if it meant going against her instincts.

  Maxi was late.

  Indira had been waiting outside the school for over thirty minutes now. It normally would have been fine, but Indira had no idea what kind of schedules the brainstorms operated on. She felt like they needed as much time as possible if they were going to break into Ketty’s house. She had watched Brainstorm Ketty enter the school already. But did that mean she would be on the job for the rest of the day? Or did they take a long lunch outside school? Indira hoped that Brainstorm Ketty had no intention of heading home. If she got caught, there would be no way to explain why she’d been breaking into a brainstorm’s house.

  Indira’s stomach turned a little. What if they expelled her? What if she never made it into a story? Somehow that fear seemed smaller when she thought of Margaret having gone missing.

  When Maxi did show up, she was all apologies. “Sorry, the Talespin was closed for remodeling, and of course I couldn’t find a white mocha anywhere else. All the cafés are trying to do a Western menu, and I just don’t think the cowboy thing is for me, you know?”

  “Did you figure out where she lives?”

  Maxi unfolded the map and tapped a marked building.

  “223 Exposition Lane. Where’s Phoenix?”

  “Keeping an eye on Ketty,” Indira said. “It’s just us.”

  Ketty smiled. “Girl time! Hope you’re ready to do some detective work.”

  The address was clear across the city. Indira led them back to one of the main thoroughfares. Even amid all the bustle, Indira kept her voice quiet as she explained her realization about the ingredients Ketty was collecting. Maxi whispered back her own theories. They were about halfway there when even speaking in whispers felt too loud.