Saving Fable

by Scott Reintgen

  8. If you’ve properly attained your permission to cross dimensions, the final step will pull you through. Assuming you have all the ingredients and have followed every step successfully, this spell will put you permanently on the pages of a new story. Even an Author who doesn’t initially desire your presence in the story will not be able to deny your entry.

  Warning: This spell has adverse effects on all its ingredients. It is very likely to have consequences in the Real World and in Imagination. You will absolutely need a location that acts as a thin spot between both worlds. That should ease the disruption the spell causes for you and for others.

  The ingredients had been haunting enough, but the directions were worse. The recipe sounded like a sacrifice. If Brainstorm Ketty’s servings of dashed hope were actual students, then what she was doing was horrific. Indira remembered that Margaret was one of the students who had been kidnapped. Her stomach turned violently. Could Brainstorm Ketty really sacrifice her and the others?

  She had to be stopped.

  Indira read through the directions one more time. At first she wondered if Ketty might be a few ingredients short. Wasn’t Indira supposed to be one of the dashed hopes? But Ketty had plenty of students to draw on for that one. Were even more students about to go missing? Indira guessed that the brainstorm had already checked that ingredient off.

  She also stumbled over the not-supposed-to-be-here concept. It wasn’t lost on Indira that this ingredient really could be in reference to her. She realized that if she was the person who confronted Brainstorm Ketty, the brainstorm would try to capture her. She would even be expecting Indira.

  Well, she thought, I’ll just have to bring people Ketty can’t capture. People who can fight back. I have Maxi and Phoenix. I’ll have to convince the brainstorms, too.

  Indira stood up. In stories, impulsive boys and girls always rushed off to face the villain alone. She wasn’t that foolish. If she acted quickly enough, it wouldn’t have to come down to some final showdown between the two of them. She would go straight to Brainstorm Underglass, and they could all confront Brainstorm Ketty.

  Together.

  As she brushed the dirt from her clothes, Indira heard a scraping noise. She looked up to see the dog-ear. He had a playful ear raised into the air and her navy jacket in his mouth.

  She smiled. “Returning stolen goods?”

  Indira went down on one knee, and he trotted forward. The jacket was a little torn in places, and it still had the obvious coffee stain down one sleeve, but she would need it to look presentable to Brainstorm Underglass, who had remarked on Indira’s appearance the last time she accused Ketty. Indira put it on and tucked the book into her inner pocket. She gave the dog-ear a scratch behind one ear, and its tongue tossed happily from side to side.

  “Guess this means our grudge is over?” she asked.

  He licked her palm in agreement. It was a relief to realize her unfortunate grudges were all behind her. She could only hope that Peeve didn’t still hold a grudge against her. After all, the girl had beaten her pretty soundly. Maxi was working with Indira to solve the case, so that one was finished. And now the dog-ear had even apologized. The thought gave her hope as she returned to the main thoroughfare. She was unsurprised to find it full of concerned Marks. They spoke in whispered circles, discussing all the dark happenings.

  Indira was halfway to the entrance of the school when her vision went black. She felt like she was falling, falling, falling…

  …between worlds…

  The Author sat in a dimly lit coffee shop. Trams trundled on their tracks outside the window. Indira saw him stooped over a glowing screen, fingers tracing a paragraph….

  Indira was on her knees. Dust from the Fable street clouded around her. Indira looked around at the other characters in the square. Chests were heaving; hands were at temples. They’d all experienced the same thing. Visions of the Real World and of the Authors who lived there. It seemed the effects of Ketty’s spell were growing. If she completed the spell, Ketty could leave Imagination and force her way into a story. What would the consequences be? If she actually succeeded, what would happen to Indira and Fable and all the dashed hopes?

  Not wanting to find out, Indira got herself up and ran down the main street toward school. She skidded across the entryway and turned down the hall. She passed Ketty’s office and quickened her step. She knocked sharply on the door of Brainstorm Underglass’s office. A few seconds of silence passed followed by a muffled call to enter.

  Brainstorm Vesulias sat in the only available chair. His legs were crossed and he regarded Indira darkly. Brainstorm Underglass looked no more sympathetic. Her hands were folded, her collar high and dominating. Something like annoyance washed over her features.

  “Can we help you, Ms. Story?” Brainstorm Underglass asked.

  “I don’t mean to interrupt,” Indira replied. “But I’ve made some discoveries about what happened to Dr. Montague. And about the other disruptions happening in Fable.”

  Brainstorm Underglass sighed. “These problems are pressing and very important, but you have to understand that the proper authorities are investigating the matters. The Grammar Police have been working with us. You will have to trust that we are making progress in this.”

  “But I know who did it.”

  Underglass waved an impatient hand. “I know. It was Brainstorm Vesulias first, wasn’t it? And then it was Brainstorm Ketty after that. No doubt you are now here to accuse me of these heinous crimes. We are very aware of your opinions, but you’ll forgive me for doubting you at this point. We do not have time for this.”

  “But it was Brainstorm Ketty. I have proof this time.”

  Brainstorm Vesulias pointed a crooked finger at her. “I was wrongly imprisoned because of you! We will not waste any more time on the foolish whims of a fickle girl.”

  Frustrated, Indira dug into her jacket. She pulled the red book out and held it up.

  “The proof is here. In this!” She stepped forward and slid the book across the desk to Underglass. “Just read the marked page.”

  The brainstorm looked ready to dismiss her before seeing the book. Vesulias leaned forward now too. “Where did you get this?” Underglass asked.

  “I found it in Brainstorm Ketty’s apartment,” Indira admitted. “It’s a restricted book.”

  Vesulias looked furious. “You broke into her home? The nerve of this girl…”

  Underglass held up a finger. “I will give you one minute to explain yourself, Ms. Story.”

  “All right.” Indira started in. “The other day you said that it wasn’t possible that Brainstorm Ketty could have attacked Dr. Montague because you found her in her office right before the crime was discovered. I figured out how she did it. She used a setting on her blackboard. A door, drawn into a tunnel that led down to the Sepulcher.”

  Brainstorm Vesulias rolled his eyes. “This is preposterous.”

  “She needed Dr. Montague’s voice and eyes for a spell in that book,” Indira said, pointing. “On the marked page. It’s called A Spell for an Unlikely Hero. Brainstorm Ketty is trying to force her way into a new story.”

  Underglass gestured for Indira to continue before reaching for the book. She began thumbing through the pages. “My friend Maxi, she gave me a lead in the Librarian Hall of Fame. His name is Checkshire. Brainstorm Ketty threatened the librarian who had that book until he gave it to her. She even melted one of the statues to get it. The spell requires ingredients she’s been collecting.”

  Indira explained the connection to the disappearances of Margaret and the others, as well as the cursed stationery Ketty had given her. Underglass half listened and half read the spell in the book. When she finished, she handed the book over to Vesulias.

  “And Ketty has been telling all her students that they’re doing poorly in classes, me included. Every si
ngle student. She’s been demoting us, all so she could have people who fit the description of dashed hope.”

  As Indira sat there waiting for Brainstorm Vesulias to read through the spell, the picture of T. Kettle fluttered down onto the desk. Underglass held it up.

  “And what’s this?” she asked.

  “Motive,” Indira replied. “That’s why Ketty would use a spell like this in the first place. She’s an unfinished character. She never got to be the hero, because her Author never finished the story. I found that picture in her apartment. It’s a picture of her as a young girl! The same name is down in the Sepulcher. She must have been really upset with how things turned out.”

  For the first time in several minutes, Underglass frowned. “That’s not possible. We don’t come into our powers that way. No unfinished character could possibly become a brainstorm.”

  Indira looked at her helplessly. “I can’t prove everything, Brainstorm Underglass. But we have to act, don’t we? Can’t we just go and ask her?” Indira felt desperate. “Please?”

  Vesulias looked up from the book. “The girl paints a rather fitting portrait.”

  Underglass nodded. “Very well. Have a spell ready.”

  The two brainstorms stood. Indira could feel the crackle of their energy rising with them. They strode out of the room, and Indira followed. Always professional, Brainstorm Underglass knocked sharply on Ketty’s door. They waited a few moments, and she knocked again.

  No response.

  Brainstorm Underglass tried the handle, but it was locked. She looked over to Vesulias.

  “Do you have a spell for this?”

  In one smooth motion, Indira plucked her hammer from her belt and brought it crashing down on the knob. It smashed free of the wood, leaving a gaping hole and a loose frame.

  “That will work too. Stand back, Ms. Story.”

  Brainstorms Underglass and Vesulias looked at one another and then burst through the door at the same time. Indira stood a few feet back, waiting for the sound of an explosion or the loud voices of a confrontation. Nothing happened at first, and then a pulse of darkness flashed out. Indira watched it fill the frame of the doorway. It was so pitch-black that she couldn’t see anything within the office. After a few seconds, light returned.

  Indira turned the corner, shocked to find the room empty.

  Brainstorm Ketty wasn’t there. Neither were the other brainstorms. She scanned the room and finally saw movement. She gasped. On the blackboard at the back, a rough chalk outline of Underglass and Vesulias appeared. The two of them looked at one another, panicked, and then out at Indira. They cupped their hands and shouted, but their words made no sound. Ketty’s spell had trapped them on the two-dimensional plane of the chalkboard.

  Indira tried pressing the buttons on the desk. Nothing worked. The two brainstorms were trapped. Looks of terror spread over their faces. “What do I do?” Indira asked.

  The two continued to shout uselessly. After a few minutes, she realized she was just wasting time. Ketty’s trap had done its job. She must have set it after Indira had broken into her office the last time. Indira was sure that whoever had entered it unwelcomed would have suffered the same fate. A growing fear forced its way into her chest. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. What was she supposed to do now? They were running out of time, and the two most powerful people on her side had been imprisoned. With one final apology, she rushed out of the room.

  She needed to find Phoenix and Maxi.

  Indira headed toward the Luck Hearth and found her path blocked by crowds that were all heading in the same direction. She fought her way through, but her progress was slow. It looked as if the entire school had entered Hearth Hall. She spotted some of her professors, hovering around the entrance, discussing the situation in quiet tones. Every hearth was crowded with characters, and Indira slipped through the gathered masses, eyes scanning the Luck Hearth. Phoenix wasn’t there. Maxi was. Indira rushed forward.

  “You got out of jail,” Maxi whispered in excitement. “Sorry for not intervening. I thought it made more sense to stay hidden, keep at least one of us a mystery. I was trying to figure out how to spring you free.”

  “You did the right thing,” Indira said. “I figured out the spell and took it to the brainstorms. But Ketty was prepared. She trapped the other brainstorms in her office.”

  “Is she in there now? How’d you escape?”

  “No,” Indira said, voice full of frustration. “I don’t know where she is. Where’s Phoenix? He’s supposed to meet us here too.”

  Maxi shook her head. “Haven’t seen him. What are we going to do?”

  “Aren’t the Editors coming? You called it in, right?”

  Maxi nodded. “Yes, but they always wait twenty-four hours before making a move. It’s part of their contract with Imagination. They have to let characters try to solve things first. But when they get here, all we have to do is show them the book, and they’ll take care of everything.”

  Indira patted her jacket for the book. It wasn’t there. She slid a hand inside, found nothing, and wheeled back to the entrance. “I left the book!”

  “Let’s go back for it,” Maxi said. She stood up and straightened her golden jacket.

  “Wait, I didn’t forget it. I gave it to Brainstorm Underglass.” Indira gasped aloud. “She had it with her when she went into Ketty’s office. So…”

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Maxi concluded.

  Great, Indira thought, now we have nothing.

  Not to mention they were running out of time. Her brain was already working hard, and now she was mixing up the phrases she had read in the spell. It had said something about fire, and a token of some kind, and what else? She was thinking so hard that she almost didn’t feel someone tapping her shoulder. “Hey, Indira.”

  Gavin Grant was grinning at her. His eyes were puffed up from a long snooze beside the Rest Hearth. Indira tried to smile, but she didn’t have time to talk to him.

  “Sorry, Gavin, kind of busy.”

  He held up his hands defensively. “Totally. I just have a message for you from Phoenix.”

  Maxi and Indira looked up sharply. “From Phoenix?”

  “Yeah. I passed him in the hallway. Looked like he had detention with Brainstorm Ketty or something? She was walking him down the hall. He said to come find him when you’re free.”

  Gavin shrugged, like it wasn’t the most important information in the world.

  Indira steadied herself and said, “Thanks, Gavin. I’ll do that.”

  Gavin smiled at Maxi before heading back over to the Rest Hearth. Indira whipped around to Maxi. “She has him. She has Phoenix.”

  Everything before had been bad enough, but now a furious rage trickled to life in place of fear. Ketty had Phoenix. The phrase from the spell echoed back: An extracted essence of fire (for power and purpose). Phoenix was a fire mage. Indira winced, imagining what it would mean to extract that from him. Her hands balled into fists. If Ketty had hurt him…

  “We have to find her,” she said. “We have to figure out where she is. She has all the ingredients, everything she needs to complete the spell.”

  Not everything, Indira realized. The only ingredient she could remember that Ketty didn’t have yet was the not-supposed-to-be-here. Indira shivered. That was either going to be her or Maxi. The spell was waiting for a rescuer to arrive.

  “Wait,” Indira said, thinking aloud. “If I don’t go, she can’t do the spell.”

  “What?” Maxi asked. “Are you sure?”

  Indira was nodding. “One of the ingredients requires it. She needs someone to show up who isn’t supposed to be there. The directions said that she had to wait for the person before completing the spell. So…” Indira’s brain was whirling. “I just won’t go. That happens in stories sometimes! Characters actually make
things worse, you know. They go down into the dungeon, and it turns out they’re the key that unlocks the cage for the bad guy. I’ll…I’ll just stay right here.”

  Indira crossed her arms, smiling at her own cleverness.

  Maxi frowned. “What if someone else finds them, though?”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, you said someone who isn’t supposed to be there. That doesn’t have to be you. It could be anyone, right?”

  Indira’s heart raced again. Maxi was right.

  “And if you think about it,” Maxi continued softly, “whoever shows up won’t know what’s going on. They won’t be able to stop her. But we know what she’s up to, right? So we have the best shot at actually staying one step ahead of her.”

  Maxi was right again. If someone else stumbled upon Ketty’s spell, everyone was doomed. But if Indira or Maxi showed up, at least one of them would know what they were up against. Everyone else would be walking right into the trap, helpless.

  Indira paced. “So where is she? Where could she go?”

  The instructions in the book had said something about the location, but Indira couldn’t remember what it was. Maxi was frowning again.

  “I sat by the Luck Hearth for like an hour. I don’t feel lucky at all!”

  “You already figured out two things,” Indira replied distractedly. “You’re doing great.”

  Indira was pretty sure the Raven King’s spell had suggested performing the magic somewhere that connected to the Real World. A thin spot of some kind. Indira’s mind flicked through all the significant places. Her first instinct was the Sepulcher. That was a dark place. Dark enough for casting a spell like this one, and definitely where all of this had begun.

  “That’s one possibility,” Indira said aloud. “She could be down in the Sepulcher.”

  “That place is gross.”

  “It’s perfect for her,” Indira said. “The Sepulcher is basically the home of all unfinished characters. If Ketty is forcing her way back into a story, she might do it there.”