Crystals
Book Two of The Trees Series
by N.D. Hansen-Hill
***
Dedication
To my friends, who've read the worst, but thought the best,
Who've critiqued without crushing,
Who've laughed, but never at my expense,
Who've given me the ooh's and aah's to pander to my ego,
But whose great worth has allowed me the contrast to keep my ego where it belongs.
*
To the love and wisdom of the Adams - friends through the years,
Whose many kindnesses have nurtured strong and brilliant crystals
Of affection in my heart.
***
Crystals
Shimmering glitz of sheenic ore
Grappled forth from a rocken core,
Amidst dull stone they coruscate,
Both brilliant lure, and heady bait.
*
Precious trove whose value rare
Is borne in glints of hue-shot glare,
Empowering waves of force-drenched light
Energising flares of unquenched might.
*
Crude and rough, unchallenged whole,
Wealth well-hid within the boll;
Worth less than a component part,
Its nature freed in its shared-out heart.
*
Enhancement of the treasured cache,
Ruptured release of its hidden flash;
Tooled asunder, in the face of thieves,
The planed face shears; the crystal cleaves.
*
by N. D. Hansen-Hill
***
Prologue
The Trees had stood for many years, source of legend and fairy tale - fact and fiction. Distinguished by their distorted growth patterns, these plants were never meant to grow in Earthly soils under a yellow sun. The Trees were derived from a different dimension: one where the laws of nature binding this world do not apply. Their seeds had been brought through a gate - a portal between worlds, that could only be used by those with both the vision, and the genetic make-up, to access it.
For humans, the ability to travel the route between worlds was limited to those who had somehow incorporated part of that other dimension into their being. Smoke, produced in burning wood from the Trees, could evoke genetic changes - mutations - in those who inhaled it, making the gate both recognisable and usable.
But, human users of the gate could not expect to be alone in their travels. Inhabitants of other worlds were curious about the strange activities in the world of humans, and any excuse was considered invitation enough to explore the unknown wealth of interesting customs that comprised daily life on earth. If the excuse offered the opportunity to perform heroic deeds - and stir up a little trouble along the way - then the lure for visitors was almost irresistible.
And, thus, it came about, that if a neighbour had chanced to pass a certain house near that portal between worlds, he might merely have seen two human females. If his timing were right, however, he may have glimpsed some of the others: two males, whose origins were no longer strictly human, or, perhaps, the glimmering coat of a winged horse. A closer look might have revealed the fearful visage of a gargoyle, or the bright light of a fairy aura.
These creatures, and others, had joined in a clash between good and evil; between the forces of science and nature - but with the natural laws drawn from another dimension. The foe, a human named Garrett Mader, had been vanquished, lost during his attempt to manipulate trans-dimensional forces for power and economic gain.
Now, having won their battle, the heroes romp and cavort in the warmth of late summer, having earned this brief respite before returning to their own world.
***
Chapter One
Barry Kadocian pounded weakly on the door to the cell, where he had been incarcerated by Garrett Mader. His physical state was poor - he had been without food for three days now. He stumbled over to the bed, unhappily aware that he was spending longer and longer sleeping, but having no energy to do anything else. He started to crawl on to the mattress, to assume the foetal position he'd been inadvertently using during his last two sleeping periods, when he heard the click of the door latch. His reactions were as slowed as everything else about him at this point, but the technician who swung the door wide was greeted with a big smile.
"Mr. Kadocian! What are you doing here? Are you okay?" Shock was apparent in the man's voice.
"Is Mader here?" Memory, and a need for self-preservation, prompted Barry to ask somewhat harshly in reply.
Edward Sherman put one arm around Kadocian, helping him to a stool in the lab. Kadocian glanced around the shambles of the once-immaculate laboratory. A breeze across his face caused him to look up. Sharp spines of glass framed an enormous jagged hole in the smoke-coloured glass ceiling. "What happened here?" Barry asked in a whisper. "Where's Garrett Mader?"
Edward replied hesitantly, uncertain of Kadocian's role in what had happened. "Dr. Mader's been missing for three days, sir. We checked the wreckage, but there was no sign of him."
"Is his car still here?"
Edward nodded. "But he might have taken one of the other cars - or a helicopter."
"What did Elaine say?"
It took Sherman a moment to realise Kadocian was referring to Mader's wife. "She called six times yesterday, and four times today, demanding to speak with him. She thinks he's still here."
And avoiding her. Barry Kadocian looked askance at Ed Sherman, but didn't ask him where he'd gotten his information. The grapevine, in a facility like this, worked overtime. What couldn't be taken outside, was hashed and re-hashed within the compound.
Kadocian didn't state the obvious, either. It was clear to him that the so-called "search" hadn't really been all that thorough. Or else they would have found me. He took a kind of grim pleasure in the knowledge that Mader inspired so little loyalty in his employees. Then he remembered they hadn't exactly scoured the walls looking for him, either.
"This room - what happened in here?" Kadocian sat with a lab coat draped around himself, needing the warmth in his depleted state.
"We don't know. It may've been an explosion - that's one theory that's been suggested - but the glass looks like it imploded, which is causing some confusion."
Barry looked at the ground. Sure enough, if the amount of glass was any clue, then the shattering force must have come from without, because the ground was covered with shards.
"The latest theory is that the destruction was sound-activated - you know, some prolonged note at just the right pitch -"
Kadocian could tell this was the theory Edward favoured; in his excitement he was almost babbling. Barry interrupted his chatter with, "Or a miscalculation by a helicopter pilot?"
The other man suddenly realised how improbable his theory must seem to Kadocian. But, then, Kadocian hadn't seen what the rest of them had. Edward Sherman decided he wasn't going to be the one to enlighten him. He cleared his throat, and changed the subject. "How did you get locked in, Mr. Kadocian?"
There was no point in accusing Mader of imprisoning him. The time for that would be after Kadocian was clear of this facility. For now, an innocuous answer would suffice. "I'm not sure. Someone must have accidentally shut the door." He avoided saying the obvious: that the "someone" should have heard him pounding on the door, just as Sherman had. Instead, he asked politely, "Do you think you could find me some food? I haven't eaten in three days."
Edward nodded, pleased to do something to help. He quickly left the lab, after assuring Barry he'd be right back.
Barry walked carefully over the bits of smoke-coloured glass, listening to them crunch beneath his feet, hoping no pieces would pierce the leather soles of his shoes. Why hadn't they cleaned this mess up yet? Then he answered his own question. It's the result of Mader's strong influence. I should have recognised how much of this operation was tied up in one man. Even in Mader's absence, no one dares to touch his workspace or belongings. I guess I should be grateful that the technician even found me, he thought.
In one place, he saw the floor was stained with brown splatters, which remained as spots and smears. The smears continued across the floor to the operating table with its Velcro straps, and there was a large patch of the brown stain on the bed and the floor directly below. The colour was suggestive of dried blood, and he shuddered slightly at the implication. There were instruments and gauze scattered across the floor, and a chair tipped on its side. What had happened here?
Kadocian was about to step away from the table, when he spied several small objects on the floor that had an odd iridescence about them. In his weakened state, retrieving them was an effort, but his curiosity was aroused. He picked up the marble-like objects, only to find that they weren't rounded at all, but multi-faceted, in the way of cut stones. The iridescence ranged from a golden glow to a pinkish streaking, with unusual flashes of gilt if the objects were rotated. Barry wondered what they were, and whether it was safe to be touching them. Obviously, Mader had either developed, or supervised the development of, some new type of crystal. Barry slipped them into his pocket. They were so unusual that he decided to have them analysed. After all, he was in charge of the moneys that were funding Mader's operation.
*
The remains of Garrett Mader rested in the blackness of an unopened closet, coiled up on the tatters of what was formerly his lab coat. He was not dead, but had long since passed the stage where any human proportion of his being was measurable, and if he remembered the Garrett Mader of days gone by, it was more as an echo of that individual's unquenchable lust for knowledge, power, and control. These were the heredity bequeathed to the conglomerate creature the human had become. A creature of his own choosing.
He had injected himself with an unknown, as yet undeciphered compound, with only a glimmering of what it might do. He'd experienced nearly immediate, painful and terrifying cell growth, for which he blamed those parties who had wilfully interrupted his last project, so that he could only complete his testing by inflicting these damages upon himself. The Mader of then, and the Mader of now, would never recognise his guilt in being willing to inflict similar damages on others, as subjects of his research.
The purpose of his experiment had been multifold, of which inoculation of his subject with the mutative agent was the first step. In his limited vision, the genetic aberrations initiated by the compound rendered any test subject less than human, which, in turn, vindicated any tissue and organ studies which followed. To his convoluted reasoning, use of the mutagen could be justified by utilising subjects who had been potentially "contaminated" by the "disease" associated with the compound - who, by their behaviour, had in some way placed themselves in the vicinity of a disease carrier - the individual from whom the compound had been isolated.
His decision to inject himself had not been the sacrificial act of a scientist bent on achieving a long-dreamed-of goal. An acquisitive motive prevailed in Mader's thinking, and he saw his transition as the means to new levels of power and domination - a calculated risk. Mader had not been a man to take defeat lightly; when his plans succumbed to the machinations of his would-be victims, an incipient paranoia crept in, and the Garrett Mader who injected, and then sequestered himself in the closet, was no longer sane.
The power he had hoped for was his. It surged through him, and soon he would need to yield to its demands for action. In the dark, he couldn't see what he had become, and therefore would spare no lamentations for his lost humanity, should his memory be nudged to life by the sight of his former working place. He hesitated here only long enough to look within, and find a direction for his energies. The answer came in scattered memories of unavenged defeat, and he readied himself to rectify the wrongs he had suffered. His glowing eyes flickered red in response.
*
Peter was worried. Up until the last week, his only concern had been that Katy would dislike the home he'd selected for them both, as being too rural, or too derelict, or too something. Now, he could feel how much his Katy loved this place, but he suffered from a constant niggling worry that they would be found out. It wasn't only Katy, but Trevor and Mari who were at risk, and with their relationship newly blossoming, they didn't need the looming pressure of discovery lurking in their future.
The last three days had been restful, but now Peter was itching for activity, and one glance at Trevor told him he felt the same. They'd needed this time - Katy to recover from her physical ordeal, and Mari and the rest of them to heal up some of the bumps and bruises that their various encounters had cost them. At first, it was enough to be with Katy, but Peter was chafing now with his inactivity. It was one of the costs of his new metabolism.
Thyme, an obstreperous fairy who seldom resembled the enchanted beings of children's stories, and his friends, were also driving Peter to distraction. Rather than submit to Peter's and Trevor's urgings that they should re-enter the inter-dimensional gate, Thyme was adamant that they were on holiday, and had heaps of exploring yet to do. Peter realised that Thyme was a big talker, but as naive as a child, and just as capable of landing them all in trouble.
*
"Trev, we've got a major problem." Peter was looking out the window to where Thyme and Cliso, a creature who resembled unequal minglings of human female and snake, were playing some kind of game involving passers-by. Apparently, the object of the game was to wait until the last moment, risking exposure to a passing vehicle, then fly or slither (depending on your mode of locomotion) behind one of two large mounds out in front.
"No kidding. Did you see that last guy slam on his brakes? He must have seen something." Trevor shook his head.
"If the neighbourhood hotline isn't heating up already, it will be soon. Then, somebody'll get brave, and come over to investigate."
"And then the shit will hit the fan," Trevor muttered.
"There's more, Trev." Peter turned to look at his friend. "I'm restless. Not in any way I've been before. It's my energy levels going crazy. I can't go to work and I need some action." He was pacing the floor in the way he had frequently done over the last few days.
Trevor joined him. "Tell me about it. Look at that -" He pointed out several white patches in the carpet. "We're wearing out your floor."
Peter's glowing eyes met Trevor's. "We could solve two problems at once," he suggested, smiling. "As soon as Katy's feeling better, you and I could pay a short visit through the gate - with the help of suitable guides, of course -"
Trevor's eyes glinted back in suppressed excitement. "Invite our friends to show us around." Thinking about the divots that an eager, trigger-happy, Security guard had put in Cyrnol's thick purple cat-hide, he shook his head. By all rights, at least some of these creatures should be happy to go home, he thought. His reply to Peter, however, was hesitant. "But will it be safe? What about that Shimmer thing?"
"They must have some way of returning without being eaten, Trev. Only a few of them can fly. The others must have something worked out."
"Yeah - an aroma of tainted fairy. Puts the Shimmer off his feed."
Peter ignored the comment. "Maybe Symmerley gives them a 'lift' or something."
Trevor snorted. "Somehow, I can't imagine him putting up with a cat-beast or a gargoyle on his back."
"Sh-h-h. You'll hurt their feelings. Thyme said it bothers them when we don't use their proper names."
"I'll use a proper name for that little pusbucket. He's the last one in the world I'd trust on a point of polite behaviour," Trevor replied.
"I don't think politeness has anything to do with it," Peter said. "I just think Spigot believes it would spoil his fun if we were to annoy someone enough to get eaten."
*
Katy had just awoken from a long nap. She stood up, drawn to a sight outside her window, caught up in that feeling of wonder that had been with her often the last three days. There was a knock at the door, to which Katy called, "Come in", before turning once again to the window, her face against the glass. Mari joined her there, eager to see what had caught Katy's interest; certain after recent experience that it must be something worth viewing.
It was Symmerley, caught in a ray of sunlight, so white that he seemed to be glossily reflective, and certainly dazzling. He stood, horselike in configuration, with strong muscles flexing under his satiny coat. He flexed first one wing, then the other, and Katy caught her breath as he extended them outwards. Symmerley sensed something, for he turned to look at her, and she could have sworn he smiled.
Without turning her head, Katy quietly asked Mari, "What was it like, Mari? Being on his back?" Katy looked at her then.
Mari replied, smiling, "It was like floating, Katy. An incredible experience. You could feel the movement of his muscles underneath you, the wind in your hair - the swift silence except for the beating of his wings."
Katy smiled at her. "You never told me you were a poet." She turned to stare at Symmerley again. "I need to sketch him," she mused. "And the others." Her smile widened as she thought about how Thyme had given Peter fits.
"You must be feeling better then, if you're ready to do some sketching. How are the ribs, Katy?"
Katy wiggled experimentally, then winced slightly as her ribs complained in response. "A little more stiff and sore today, but I think that's part of the healing process." She chuckled. "I'm basing that on my face, of course." She glanced at the mirror. "I certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests right now."
Mari reached out to gently hold Katy's jaw, turning her face to study it in the light from the window. "The bruising is just really coming out. That's the first step in healing, Katy. You'll be a lovely purple, then red -"
"- then green, then yellow." Katy finished. "More poetry, Mari? Next, you'll be spouting gibberish about rainbows and sunsets." She glanced out the window again, then back at Mari. "At least, I'll blend in with our guests. Make them feel right at home."
Mari nodded. "I think that's what Trevor and Peter are worried about - that they're feeling too much at home."
Katy shook her head. "That's not all, Mari. Peter and Trevor are restless. All that pacing they're doing - Peter doesn't say anything to me, but it's obvious he needs some action, something to do."
Mari agreed. "They must be running at metabolic levels we can only dream about. Katy," she said hesitantly, "I overheard them talking, and there's something you should know -" Katy look concerned. "No, Katy, it's nothing to do with their physical condition," Mari was quick to reassure her, "but they want to make a quick trip through the gate. To escort our friends," she indicated Symmerley with a nod of her head, "home safely."
Katy chuckled as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Excuses, excuses," she said.
Mari smiled. "They've been itching at the chance to go back. Trevor hasn't said anything to me yet, but every time he mentions that other dimension he gets this sparkle in his eye."
"How can you tell?" Katy asked jokingly. Her face became serious once more. "I really wish I could see it, Mari." She stared out the window, lost in thought. "Peter has skimmed over some of his adventures, and he's not a great one for description - unless it's fungus -" she added ruefully, "- but it still sounds phenomenal. Dangerous, but incredible." She looked at Mari. "Mari, there's something I need to ask you about. As a doctor. This disease - or condition - whatever you want to call it - would it be contagious to us - you and me -" It was Katy's turn to hesitate. "Not in the normal course of things, but through more personal contact? You see, Peter and I haven't really had much of an opportunity to do anything closer than snuggling these last few days, but -"
Mari sat down next to her. She looked unhappy. "I don't know, Katy. I suppose we could run some tests, but at this point I'd assume the transformation affected all his cellular constituents. Believe me," she added, "I've been giving this some thought, too."
"You really care for Trevor, don't you?" Katy asked.
Mari nodded. "The experiences we've had have made us get together a lot faster than we would have normally. But I'm not sorry. I know I'll be very lucky if he feels the same way -"
"Do you mean he hasn't said anything to you? About how he feels? It's obvious to the rest of us."
Mari looked pleased. "I think I'm just having trouble seeing past my own sense of infatuation. I really haven't asked him if he's affectionate because I'm the only available female in the vicinity, or if it's something more enduring. Frankly," she added, "I'd be terrified to put him in the position of having to admit he doesn't return my feelings."
Katy gave her a quick hug. "I've known Trevor forever, and I've never seen him this hung up on someone before. Maybe we can make it a double wedding!" She pictured it, smiling. Then she asked Mari, "The other thing that comes into this discussion, Mari, is children. I'd like to have a couple, and I realise that's not likely now. It doesn't change my feelings for Peter, but I would like to know -"
"I think it would be exceedingly dangerous, Katy. For the same reason I was concerned about Mader's experiments. The child would most likely be transformed, like Peter, but if you weren't, you'd get a tremendous influx of the mutagen. Just as you would," she warned, "if you were to make love to Peter without protection - and I don't feel confident that any protection would be adequate, given the aggressiveness of this substance."
"But if I were transformed, like Peter, then we might be able to have kids. Little green ones, but..."
Mari took her by the shoulders. "We don't know that, Katy. And I, for one, don't like the way this conversation's going. Both Peter and Trevor were very ill during their transformations. And we still don't know about long-term effects. You might not even be able to bear children if you were transformed, let alone live long enough to raise them! The reaction may be completely different in females. We just don't know enough about -"
Katy, realising how upset Mari was getting, interrupted, in an attempt to reassure her. "Don't worry, Mari! I'm not about to stoke myself a little bonfire to transform myself!" Katy was beginning to get a little upset herself. Mari's words had confirmed her private fears. "I just can't help but wonder how we're going to get by here. Look at it yourself! I'll go back to work in a little while, and then what will Peter do? He talks of setting up a lab here, and it might work - he could handle things by e-mail and courier. But he's going to get lonely, and miss all those professional contacts he's used to maintaining, as well as all the access to journals and books to keep up his skills."
Mari noticed that Katy had one arm wrapped around her middle. It was obvious she was hurting, and Mari could have kicked herself for getting her so upset. She tried to steer her away from the window, but Katy shook her head. Mari finally decided to ignore it - like Katy was - and just let her talk. It'll probably do her more good than anything else.
"We may get more problems from Mader's group, even if Mader's not around to instigate them. From what Peter says, if we lived on Thyme and Lily's side of the gate, we could at least live openly together, instead of indulging in all this subterfuge. I act like I'm enjoying it, for Peter's sake, but the truth is, I'm worried sick." She wiped away a tear impatiently, angry with herself for getting weepy. "Sorry, Mari," she said, embarrassed. "This is the last thing you needed. Just pretend it didn't happen, okay?" She gave Mari a quick hug. "The most important thing is being with Peter, wherever he is. I like my life, but sometimes one partner needs to make sacrifices. Peter's lost so much over this accident, and I want him to know he's not going to lose me, too."
"I can't help but be worried, too, Katy. Trevor and I are going to face the same problems." She sighed. "Trevor's apartment is so visible that he can't even go home."
Katy stiffened her shoulders. "All this is an unknown - an adventure."
It sounds like she's trying to convince herself, Mari thought.
But Mari couldn't help but smile at her next words. They were just so "Katy"-like.
"No more emotional displays. We'll tackle one day at a time. The first thing is to be grateful we're all alive. Now, Peter wants to make sure his new friends stay that way, but it's not going to be easy." Katy forced a smile. "Have you ever seen anything like the way they take to things in our dimension? Peter referred to them as Earth-junkies, and I think he's right. It's going to take a lot of coaxing to get them to leave."
"I really think Trev and Peter have the right idea in accompanying them to the gate, even if they have to spend some time on the other side. Why don't you come and stay at my place while Peter's away? You can't go back to work yet, and I'd love the company. That way Peter would feel free to go because he'd know you're safe."
"Mari, I'd love it!" The idea of a few days without having to hide anything made her feel almost giddy. Then she remembered Mari's description of her escape from the hospital. Katy asked her, a trace of concern in her voice, "Is everything okay at work for you? You did leave the hospital pretty abruptly."
Mari chuckled. "Paul Gatley was so understanding that I felt guilty. He thinks I'm off on holiday right now, recuperating."
Katy smiled. "Some vacation! Tell him you went to the circus." She added, "I just hope when we get to your place you can cook better than you've been doing here."
"Hey, Trevor hasn't had any complaints."
"That's because he and Peter and the rest of that lot like their food on the black and crispy side." At the expression on Mari's face, Katy giggled. "It's not any worse than when Peter and Trevor take their turns. It's just that I was hoping you'd be able to modify yours and my portions a little. In other words, I hope you haven't forgotten how to cook any other way."
"Well, if I have, Katy, I'll leave it to you to give me lessons."
"Not I, Mari. Ask Peter. He was eating charred food a la Katy long before he ever turned green. Nope, I'll put money toward some frozen food we can nuke, okay?"
"Not okay. We'll send out for Chinese and pizza."
"The last time we ordered either, Peter ate almost all of it. In a few minutes, he's going to come in here, looking all guilty because he's excited about another adventure and doesn't want to hurt my feelings. Now, I can tell him he's been replaced. By Chinese food, pizza, and a glass of white wine."
Mari looked at Katy. "Do you think they'll be all right? Did Peter say much about the things he encountered over there?"
Katy glanced down, not willing to scare Mari with her own fears. "Enough to know that if I could stop him from going without increasing his feelings of being trapped, I would. Even if I hinted that it worried me, he'd stay. But I can't do that to him, Mari. He needs this outlet for his energies."
Mari agreed. "So I'll just kiss Trevor good-bye, smile, and pray like heck until he comes home."
*
Lily was perched on a tree limb, delicately whirring her wings to hover a millimetre above the rough bark. She watched as Thyme played his games with passers-by, smiling when he looked at her for approval. Dear Thyme! she sighed. So childlike, but so fun. If only he respected other living beings more.
She sensed that there was some unhappiness among the humans, and it saddened her. She gently drifted in through an open window, making her way to Katy's room, to have a chat. She came to a rest delicately on the bed, tilting her head slightly to look first at Katy, and then at Mari, before briefly extending her glow to include them, thus indicating that they were friends.
Katy and Mari looked at each other over the top of Lily's head and smiled. Gossip was the same in any dimension.
*
The thing that had been Garrett Mader was hungry. A simple need - not seething, like that roiling need for revenge that was welling up inside. He shifted his bulk, some small portion of his former self relieved that he still had control over this new form. Encountering the barricade of the closet door, he gave one gigantic thrust against the wood, which yielded with a loud crack and a splintering of the surface. The beast was free.
***
Chapter Two
Kelwin Stewart was whistling as he sauntered across the lab and out into the corridor. Job insecurity might be looming in the future, but for the moment there must still be money in the till, because he was still drawing a paycheque. He wondered briefly what had become of Garrett Mader. It was the hot topic around here, with everyone either despairing because they might soon be unemployed, or rejoicing because Mader the Dragon wasn't around to breathe fire down their necks. He had never been a popular taskmaster - hated had been more like it - but he was the source of all their paycheques, and had therefore had his ass kissed with appropriate regularity.
Kelwin thought about the shambles in Mader's lab, and the grim pleasure it had awarded everyone speculating on Mader's disappearance. The word of the bloodstains had quickly circulated, with reactions ranging from discreet but swiftly concealed delight that the bloodsucking ghoul had been relieved of some of his own bodily fluids, to a kind of unhappy shock that something like that could happen here. Of course, what "that" was, had been the biggest conversational topic of all.
Allen Andrews, who'd spent some time on video surveillance that night, swore the blood belonged to some woman Mader had trapped in there. Fred Lariston, who'd also been on video, was maintaining an obstinate silence. Kelwin supposed that some government agency would be arriving soon to determine what had gone on, especially now that Kadocian had turned up. Kadocian was a big money man, and would demand accountability. Kelwin smiled. He didn't believe Kadocian's story about being "accidentally" locked in any more than the rest of the staff did. He wondered, since job security was definitely wavering, if Kadocian needed a good bodyguard. He flexed his arm, admiring his muscle. Yes, he knew someone who could definitely fit the bill.
Kelwin rounded the corner, still absorbed in his own physique. He was abruptly returned to the present by the snapping of wood under his feet. He'd stepped on a fragment of what had once been the door of a supply closet. The wood littered the corridor, scattered over a wide area, and appeared to have been the result of some explosion in the closet. Kelwin was wary; he had seen so many strange things in the past week that he no longer felt secure in his former views of reality. Picking up one of the larger wooden chunks, he crept toward the closet, prepared to run, adrenaline already pumping so that the sound of his own heartbeat was filling his ears. As he neared the gaping doorway, he jumped to the far side of the corridor, whirling to take a defensive stance - holding his primitive weapon at the ready. The closet was empty.
He stepped toward it, annoyed when his feet slipped on a mucous-like substance. He squatted down to study it briefly, noting that it dripped in green viscous strands from the walls and ceiling of the closet, pooling on the floor where drying crusts were embedded with some type of reddish crystal. He sniffed at the air, appalled at the strong odour of decaying flesh that permeated the interior of the closet. Looking toward the rear of the small cubicle, he saw something that resembled the shed skin of a reptile. He touched it slightly with the toe of his boot, fascinated in spite of himself. It shifted, and he recognised the salt-and-pepper speckled hair, and a masklike peeling of skin that bore some slight resemblance to his former employer. Repelled by this remnant of humanity, Kelwin backed away, his innards contorted by a sense of horror and revulsion. Inhaling once more, he found he was unable to control the upheaval inside, and he added the remains of his lunch to the already pervasive stench of the ruined closet.
Weak and trembling, he backed into the corridor, where he glanced quickly up and down. Eyes dilated, skin dampened with a sheen of sweat, he inched back the way he had come, afraid to encounter whoever was responsible for those ghastly remnants. Then he heard it.
Around the corner, in the corridor ahead, he could hear the muted slap of some moist object against the floor - rather like that of fresh beef steak being slapped onto a Formica bench. Then came the scraping shuffle of something being dragged along the floor - slow, continuous, and muffled by the crackling of a slimy stickiness that both aided and hindered its progression. Kelwin waited only a second longer, then realised the noise was heading his way. The would-be bodyguard scampered away, slipping and sliding in his terror, back the way he had come so cheerfully whistling just minutes before.
*
"There is a way, Peter." Katy spoke quietly, but Peter could hear the smile in her voice as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She nuzzled against his back, enjoying the glowing warmth of him, the emanations from his being that went beyond mere human touch. "Peter," Katy asked as she cuddled still closer, "do you emanate this warmth for everyone, or is this something special for me?"
"I don't know, Katy. I haven't been cuddled by Trevor for ages now." He started to undo her arms. "Let me just give old Trev a hug and I'll let you know." Peter turned to face her, giving her a wicked smile, the one that emphasised the elfin slant of his eyes. "I have a feeling though," he said as he kissed her under one ear, nibbling his way across her neck, "that he'd leave me cold."
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Katy whispered, tilting her head back so he could continue his journey across her neck.
"A - way - to do - what?" Peter interspersed his question with tiny kisses across Katy's jaw, working his way up to her lips.
"To get to Thyme's world without going past the Shimmer -" Katy began, but paused as Peter lifted his head in surprise. She smiled. "You have a slightly guilty look, Mr. Trevick," she said. "Did you think you were the only mind-reader around here?"
He held her at a distance, wanting her to understand. "Katy, I'm sorry," he said. "It's just a way to get our friends home safely. I wasn't going to bring it up with you until you felt better."
Katy nodded, reassuring him. "Peter, Mari and I know you two need some activity. It's not your fault," she said, putting her fingers across his lips as he started to protest. "It's part of your physical make-up. If I'm going to reap the benefits -" she paused to give him a long kiss on the lips - "of this high energy existence of yours, then I'd better be willing to understand your physical requirements."
"Katy," he interrupted, "I'm certainly glad Mader didn't damage your lips." He picked her up, then sat down in an armchair where she curled up in his lap. Even though she gave no indication, he sensed that she was experiencing some discomfort. "Your ribs are still hurting you a lot, aren't they?" he asked worriedly.
She shrugged it off, trying to reassure him. This new Peter of hers was too aware. "It's not really that bad, Peter. I'm just a little stiff."
Peter looked at the bruises on her face, before glancing at the bandage on her arm. "That bastard!" he said, his eyes sparking with a red light. Katy shuddered at the sight, distressed at the fury she knew he was feeling. Sensing her alarm, the red died out, to be replaced with that gilt-shot glow that she was coming to love.
"He's gone, Peter. Mari doesn't think there's any way he could have survived. And you said yourself that all you could register of him was something like a fading echo." She looked at Peter seriously. "I know what he tried to do, but he had mental problems, Peter. I don't want any of us to hate him - hate can be corrosive after a while. I just don't want to think about him. He's gone, and that's it."
Peter shook his head. "Mader may be gone, but I'm not quite certain about the other one -"
"Kadocian?"
"Yes. He might not be willing to give up yet. And there were numerous other members of Mader's organisation who had contact with either Trevor or me, Katy. Interested parties may still turn up. Now, with Trevor and me here, I think we'd be able to prepare for any visitors before they actually arrived - enough ahead of time, anyway, to avoid any encounters. But if we go through the gate with Thyme and the others, that leaves you and Mari unprotected, and subject to the same treatment you were dealt before." He shook his head at the thought. "I just don't like it. There's no way Trevor and I can feel good about leaving right now."
The sound of squealing tyres outside caused them both to pause. "Peter, if you don't do something soon, one of our friends is going to get us all in trouble. Look, it's been three days. If Kadocian were going to come after us, wouldn't he have done it by now?"
Peter looked up as Trevor and Mari came in the room. "Trev," he asked, "do you think Kadocian would have shown up here by now if he were going to? Are we being naive in believing we're no longer of interest to them now that Mader's gone?"
Trevor shrugged. "You and I are about as naive and gullible as people can get. I'm an electronics engineer, and you're a plant pathologist. Anything bigger than a computer terminal - or pardon me - a bush, and we're lost." He gave Mari a squeeze, then glanced at Katy sitting in Peter's lap. He turned to Mari, one eyebrow tilted up, and a come-hither smile on his face. "That looks comfy," he said, plopping down in the other armchair. He tugged Mari's arm, pulling her onto his lap. He kissed the back of her neck. "Just what the doctor ordered."
Mari elbowed him in the side. "Get serious, Trev. Katy and I have plans."
Trevor moved Mari's hair out of the way to look over at Katy. "How are you, anyway, Katy?" he asked.
Katy opened her mouth to answer, but Peter interrupted her. "She's still hurting, but she won't admit it. So it's no use asking her. And, as for being gullible, Katy's an artist." He placed a kiss on the palm of her hand. "That makes gullible her middle name."
Katy frowned, and curled her hand into a fist. She tapped him lightly on the nose. "I think you meant to say 'insightful'."
"Peter, I'll take good care of Katy," Mari assured him.
"But who'll take care of you?" Trevor asked her, giving her another quick kiss behind her ear.
"Mader's people won't dare to go public again at the hospital. Even if I'm at work, Katy will have my cellular number, and I'm only five minutes away."
Katy was getting annoyed. "And if it comes down to it, I can take care of myself. This is ridiculous! Remember, I was in Mader's hands for quite a while before you all came to my rescue," she said indignantly.
Peter caught Trevor's look. Both of them were remembering the scene in the lab - Mari lying on her side, bound to a chair, and Katy tied to the operating table, bruised and bleeding heavily from a gash in her arm.
"Maybe we'd better not go," he said worriedly, unconsciously tightening his arms around her.
Katy groaned in response. "Peter, stop it! You're hurting me!" There were tears in her eyes.
"Katy, I'm sorry!" He looked down at her anxiously. "Are you okay?"
Mari came over and knelt down next to the chair. She took note of Katy's pallor and the dark smudges under her eyes. "Katy? Do you feel like lying down for a while?" Katy didn't reply; she just nodded, which told Mari more than any comment would have. Mari helped Katy to her feet, which made her turn a shade paler. Mari turned to Peter, who'd stood up to help her. "Peter? Maybe you'd better give her a lift."
Peter carefully picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He set her down gently on the bed. "Katy," he whispered. He took her hand. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
Katy reached up and pulled his head down. She looked into his luminescent eyes. "I'm just tired, Peter. It's not anything you've done. Believe me." She kissed him and smiled. "A little sleep and I'll be much better." He covered her with a blanket. "Mari will tell you about our plans."
*
"How's Katy doing, Peter?" Trevor asked when Peter re-entered the room.
Peter stepped over to the window. "She says she's fine, but I don't believe her. She forgets I can sense some of what she's experiencing." He slammed his fist into the wall. "I'm such an ass, Trevor! How could I have been so rough with her?!"
Trevor came up to stand beside him, one hand resting on his shoulder. "I think she's just tired, Peter. And bruised. If you'd really done any damage, remember I would have sensed it, too."
Peter glanced at him. "You really didn't feel anything, Trev?" he asked anxiously, seeking reassurance. "You really don't think I injured her?"
Trevor shook his head. "No, I just think Katy's bruises are getting to her. Ask Mari. She'll tell you the truth."
Peter was pacing when Mari came in a few moments later. "Is Katy all right, Mari?" Peter turned to face her. "I need to know if I hurt her."
"No, Peter, I don't think you did. I'm wondering, though, if I should have admitted Katy to the hospital when all this happened. I know we've been trying to stay more or less undercover, but I'm re-thinking my decision now." She caught the flash of Peter's eyes. "No, she's not worse. And I think my first assessment was correct: Katy's not in any danger. But she's not going to get well as fast, what with jumping up every time a tyre squeals outside. And I don't have the equipment here to verify nothing else is wrong. It'd be more of a precaution than anything else."
Peter nodded. "I know I'd feel better knowing you'd been able to examine her a little more thoroughly." He added hopefully, "She was much more lively this morning than she's been the last couple of days -"
"That's what I mean, Peter. She's probably fine. It may be that because Katy was more active, she's more tired as well. But I think she's still having a lot of pain - even though she doesn't say much." Peter nodded his head; it was what he'd sensed as well. "Besides," Mari continued, trying to lighten Peter's mood, "I was thinking it might work out even better than Katy being at my place. She could spend several days at the hospital, and then, if you two are still away, she could bunk with me. What do you think?"
"I can only agree if you sleep at the hospital, too, Mari. I don't like the idea of you being alone after everything that's been going on." Trevor was adamant. "I know it's not my place to agree or disagree, but if this involves a consensus of everyone concerned, then I need to know you're safe."
"Agreed." Peter added his vote to Trevor's.
Mari chuckled. "It seems ridiculous that I should feel nervous about being alone, but I have to admit we've had some pretty unnerving experiences. Or maybe it's just that I've had an overdose of companionship -" she paused to put her arms around Trevor - "and I'll have to learn how to wean myself."
"Maybe you won't have to," Trevor said obligingly. He planted a big kiss on the top of her head.
"Mari, I hate to interrupt, but do you know what Katy meant when she talked about a way to get to Thyme's world? Did she mean a different way?"
Mari nodded. "Katy and I had a lovely gossip session with Lily. She said there's a rather circuitous route that involves visiting an additional dimension."
Trevor groaned. Peter muttered, "Oh, no!"
"Anyway, the idea is, if you make a brief passage through this other place, then you end up on the right side of the gate in Lily's world. I'm not sure if I have this all right - you'll have to ask Thyme or Lily about it."
"Lily," Peter and Trevor said simultaneously. Peter added, "Thyme would never give us a straight story."
"I think you two are so mean to that poor little guy. Look how much he's helped us out. And how clever he is! I imagine you'd have a hard time driving a car in his world," she told Trevor as he snorted with derision.
"There aren't any cars in his world. And we know Thyme behaves decently around you, but that's because he thinks you're cute, Mari," Trevor said. "Haven't you noticed the way he goes all pink and glowy whenever you're around?"
"Of course I have, and I can't help but feel sorry for Lily," Mari said softly. "She really cares for him."
"But he doesn't appreciate her," said Peter.
"I don't think he appreciates anything," Trev added. "You never saw him in his rebel mode, Mari, but believe me, it matches his personality much better than this sunshine and flowers role he's taken on now."
Mari thought it was time to get the conversation back on track. "The only problem with this other dimension is that it's hazardous to fairies. Lily didn't say much more, except to assure us that everyone else should be able to pass through it without too many problems."
"Well, that settles it!" Trevor said. "We go that way and the fairies go straight through this gate." He smiled, confident that everything was worked out.
Peter shook his head. "Fat chance!" he said. "Don't you know Spigot by now? He'd never pass up an opportunity for bravado. You watch! If it involves showing-off, Spigot will be right in there."
Trevor looked at Peter. "And unfortunately, Lily will go along for the ride."
*
Barry Kadocian's hand slipped into his pocket once again, idly fidgeting, fingertips tracing the unusual pattern of the many-faceted crystals. He had done it frequently throughout the day. His mind wandered again to one of his initial questions, as to whether or not the crystals were something that he should be touching, but he rejected the thought; after all, they'd been on the floor of the lab, as though Mader himself had been handling them. There'd been a smattering of equipment across the floor - forceps, scalpels, and so on - but nothing to indicate that these crystals had been subject to special handling - no broken beakers or empty vials - nothing that could be specifically identified as connected with them.
It was all an excuse, of course. Barry knew from the moment he'd seen them that these were something special. He was aware of the kind of work Mader did - after all, he funded most of it - and the attendant hazards, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. He pulled them from his pocket, needing to see them once more. Their sheen fascinated him; their iridescence led him on flights of fancy that he'd no longer known he was capable of. He was like the collector of a rare jewel, a side of himself that had never become apparent before. He turned them over, studying them once again. I wonder if my fascination is a product of my fatigue.
All I want to do is go home and change. I haven't been home in days. He shook his head. Things didn't look too promising. He might be stuck here for a while. Barry strolled back across the lab, looking up at the black hole that used to be the ceiling. Christ! Whatever had done that was not a force he wished to encounter. He glanced down at the crystals in his palm, wondering if there might be some correlation. Deciding the idea was too fantastic, Barry shoved the crystals back into his pocket.
The place was a mess; not just the lab, but the entire facility. Apparently, Garrett had been such a dictatorial type that everyone had consulted him on all but the most minor matters. Now that he wasn't here, the place was falling apart. The people came and went, as usual, continuing their individual experiments, but there was no unity and no one for them to consult on even small matters like ordering supplies. Garrett, I don't know where you are now, he thought, but you were one autocratic son-of-a-bitch. So, Kadocian was stuck here, for the moment. Too much government money that he'd authorised was tied up in this facility to have it go to pieces. If it went to hell, he'd be taken down with it.
Thinking of Garrett Mader, Barry wondered if the other's working methods had been that of madman or genius. Considering the delicacy of the operation here, maybe the tight rein Mader had kept on his people was necessary. Employees were kept in a kind of fearful anxiety that went beyond that of being "fired". It was more of a deep-rooted knowledge, an intimation of serious retribution in response to any information leaks. Some of the employees had been with Mader so long that the inference had resulted in a kind of dissociation between work and home, with no commonality between the two other than the occasional exchanged phone call during work hours. Barry suspected this was also a response to the work many of them were performing: expunging guilt by pretending such things did not exist during off hours. It was a trick he'd often used himself, for although he didn't personally manipulate microbes or chemicals, he made certain that the work was effectively performed, and geared to government requirements.
Now there were additional problems. Kelwin Stewart, normally a sensible type, had made a gruesome discovery in some closet, and was screaming horror stories about monsters hunting him down. The man had obviously flipped out, but his discovery was real, and bore some disturbing similarities to Garrett Mader. Barry wondered if Kelwin had flipped out enough to do Mader in, but discarded the idea. What they'd found had been more of a shell than a corpse, but the smell had been enough to overwhelm even the strongest stomachs on their Security team. Kadocian wasn't certain what to do now. He supposed he should quarantine that corridor, in case this was an unfortunate case of one of their microbes gone astray. He sighed. I'm never going to get home at this rate.
Too many details were missing. He wondered if the easiest way to resolve things might be to ignore the previous week, absorbing excess expenditure by carefully spreading it across the various departments - pretending the entire thing never happened. Questions might be raised about the unfortunate notoriety that resulted from their attempted retrieval of Trevick, but there had been many reported sightings at the time of "little green men", and their escapade might be smoothed over under the guise of assessing the situation. It was weak, but they might buy it if he presented it the right way. He sighed. Barry liked the power of his position, but his real role was as a number cruncher, and that's what he was happiest doing, taking great pleasure in manipulating vast sums of money, knowing that people were dependent upon his good will for the funding of their projects. Garrett had never been subservient like the rest of them, and Barry had known it was just a matter of time before the force of the man's personality broke through the courteous veneer Mader had always displayed. What Kadocian hadn't expected, however, had been the way the pressure had eaten away at Mader's good sense at the end - it had been a foolhardy move to lock his money man away like that. Mader must have really lost it, Barry thought. Too bad he's gone now, but he would have had to be replaced anyway, he mused.
*
The object of his musings, although no longer concerned with human attitudes, nevertheless sensed Kadocian's presence. Lingering threads of memory traced the outrages of Kadocian's behaviour which, to the overbearing and arrogant Garrett Mader of former days, had been an almost unbearable assault on his ego. He equated the pain he had suffered during his transformation with the presence of his enemies, of whom Kadocian was a minor but nevertheless, irritating member. Eyes sparkling a terrifying red, Mader slithered along the sensory trail leading to this irritant, whose presence engendered a fire within the beast; a demand for retribution based on the few emotions remaining to the man who had once lived as Garrett Mader.
The creature entered the lab, remembering that the hunt was best served by silence. Yes, his enemy was there, captured in the past, musing on Mader's own failure, tearing into the suppurating wounds of Garrett's past that lingered deep inside.
*
Barry Kadocian smelled it first. A putrefying, yet fleshy, rot that made his lips curl in distaste. Then he heard it - the nearly silent squelching of some sticky substance, pulling free as it made its way across the floor. The hair stood up on the back of his neck, and he began to breathe more quickly. Somehow, Barry knew - he was absolutely certain - that whatever this was, it was coming for him.
***
Chapter Three
Katy awoke after several hours to find Lily perched on the end of her bed. The fairy looked disconsolate, which was emphasised by the light purple tinge to her luminous aura. On realising that Katy was awake, Lily brightened considerably, but she couldn't totally dispel those soft purple shafts of light. Katy smiled at her, asking gently, "What is it, my friend? Do you have a problem?" Katy was delighted at the idea of being of help to any of them. She'd felt so useless since they'd come home, and more of a demand on their - especially Peter's and Mari's - energies than anything else.
Lily nodded, pleased that the human was perceptive enough to recognise the way she was feeling. Still, she hesitated, looking for the proper words to capture her concerns, without insulting this human friend.
"Is it Thyme, Lily? Is he planning something that worries you?" Katy wondered whether Lily was worried about visiting that other world that she'd spoken of - the one that possessed some hazard for fairies.
Lily looked at Katy, crystalline tears of misery apparent. "He is not a patient fairy, Katherine Ryder (Lily loved articulating Katy's full name). He is weary of small games and wishes to explore. He says the opportunity for expanding his knowledge of human methods, working from a safe base of operations, may never come again."
"Oh, no!" Katy muttered softly. She recalled Peter's remarks about the amount of time their other-world friends had spent watching TV and videos. Thyme had been especially enthralled with a space movie, where extra-terrestrials had used those very words to describe their exploration of earth.
Katy couldn't help but blame herself. Everyone had spent so much time seeing to her welfare that they hadn't been sensitive to the needs of their other friends. If Peter and Trevor, who were only partially of this other dimension, were wearing holes in the carpet from their frantic need for action, then beings who were wholly foreign to this world must certainly be chafing at the forced inactivity. "Have you spoken with Peter?" she asked Lily.
"I could not. His first concern has been you." For a fleeting moment, Katy thought she could discern a trace of envy in Lily's face. "That is the way it should be. Then, before I could talk to him alone, Thyme had already arranged things. For Thyme wishes to go exploring. Tonight."
Katy glanced out the window at the waning light. "Where's he going, Lily? Do you know?"
Lily nodded her head sadly. "Yes, but I must not tell you. He told the others it is a surprise, but that it is certain to be one they will enjoy."
"Do you know how he plans to get there, Lily?"
Lily looked ashamed. "He wants to take Peter's car. He insists that we will all fit if we force ourselves."
"How can he do that without Peter knowing, Lily?"
"He has sent Peter and Trevor on -" she struggled for the words.
"- a 'wild goose chase'?"
Lily nodded, pleased that Katy understood.
"What about Mari? Is she still here?"
"No," Lily admitted unhappily. "She thought you would still be asleep, so she asked me to watch over you." Lily looked down, unable to meet Katy's eyes. "Thyme told Mari that our poor friend Symmerley was becoming ill from a lack in his food here. I am afraid it was something he saw on your TV." Lily was shamefaced. "Thyme told her that Symmerley was suffering from a defic-defix-"
"Deficiency?"
"Yes, and that Symmerley might not survive the trip through the gate if it were not rectified. He gave her the name of the substance he had viewed on the TV. And she has rushed out to get it."
"Did she take Peter's car?"
Lily started to cry. "Thyme told her that the engine was broken in some fashion, so she has gone in Trevor's. It is terrible, Katherine Ryder. What are we to do? I, too, wish to explore, but I am so very frightened that someone will be damaged."
Katy spoke firmly. "Lily, where are Peter and Trevor now? Where did Thyme send them on this 'wild goose chase'?"
"To find the other gate. He said it isn't far, and they would know it by the violet and white flashes that the gate emits. This much is true, Katherine," she said, eager to find some approval in Katy's eyes once more. "But Thyme knows where the gate is, although he has never used it."
Katy interrupted her. "Why did Peter go to find it? Why didn't he let Thyme lead the way - or one of the others?"
"Thyme told Peter it was dangerous for fairies to even go near the gate. I am sorry, Katherine, but he also said that Peter needed someone with him in case a being sensed their presence, and came through the gate in their direction."
"But I thought that beings from this other dimension were only harmful to fairies!" Katy was concerned now.
Lily was hesitant. "In most cases, that is true, Katherine. But Thyme insisted that the beings might not necessarily be from that particular dimension -"
"That part isn't true, is it, Lily? They're in no danger, are they?"
"It could be true, Katherine, but it is very unlikely. But Thyme knew that Peter would take Trevor with him, rather than one of the others, because he is afraid of being eaten."
Katy looked shocked. "Peter didn't say anything like that to me. Do you mean that our friends -"
Lily shook her head quickly. "No, Katherine, they would never be so impolite as to eat their hosts in another dimension. Do not worry."
Katy mulled over this new concern for a moment, then dismissed it. If Lily said there was no danger, then she must assume it was true. Lily interrupted Katy's thoughts with a slight flutter, which told Katy that she was eager to focus on the true subject of their concern: Thyme. "Where's Thyme going, Lily? I must know."
"He saw pictures of a park on the TV," she began.
"A park? Why would he want to visit a park?" Katy asked.
"It is a special park. Where they have moving things to ride."
"An amusement park?"
Lily smiled. "Yes, Katherine! That is it! An amusement park!" She paused. "It does sound wonderful!" she said dreamily.
Of course, it would sound wonderful to a fairy, Katy thought. And Thyme, that clever little devil, must realise that it's the one place where their strange appearances could conceivably pass as costumes; where they wouldn't be looked on as all that unusual. Katy understood now why Peter and Trevor felt the way they did about their rebellious little friend.
Lily continued. "And after the park, there is another place - where many animals of your world are caged for others to see..."
"The zoo?"
"Is it not a grand plan?" Lily asked, forgetting briefly the hazards as she anticipated so many splendid sights. "Thyme is very clever, is he not, Katy?"
Katy sighed. "Lily, it is exciting," she conceded. "But there are so many dangers. What if they're seen? Some of our friends may end up on display in a zoo - or worse. Please, Lily, we must concentrate on bringing them back here safely."
Lily nodded. "That is why I have told you, Katy. Only I do not know if you will be able to help. Thyme did not think you would be well enough to stop him, or he would have found something to occupy you, as well."
"It does appear as though it's up to me, doesn't it? Did you already try talking to Thyme, Lily? About endangering the others?"
"I did, but the idea of danger only made Thyme more excited, Katy. He does so love an adventure. That is why I have spoken to you."
"So I'm it. Is that what you're trying to tell me, Lily? I'm the only one who might be able to stop them?" Lily nodded. "Where is Thyme now, Lily?"
Lily fluttered to the window. She turned to look sadly at Katy. "After Peter and Trevor had left, it was so hard for Thyme to wait," she tried to explain. "Peter's car sat there, so empty, awaiting only a moment's work to set it in motion." Apologetically, she went on. "As soon as Mari had gone, Thyme could wait no longer. He and the others, except for Symmerley, have already left. Symmerley stayed in case I could get away later. He is a very good friend," she confided.
Katy sat on the edge of the bed. Well, what the hell, she thought. She turned to Lily. "Give me a moment to leave a note for the others. Then you, Symmerley and I are going out for the evening." She rose stiffly. "Do you think Symmerley will allow me to ride?" she asked hopefully.
Lily smiled, relieved that everything might work out. "He would be honoured," she said.
*
Peter was very quiet as he and Trevor trudged along through the thick underbrush. Trevor sensed that Peter was disturbed about something, but he assumed it had to do with Katy, so he left him alone to think things over. Trevor knew that Peter would talk about it when he was ready, and that he would appreciate Trevor's respect for his silence now.
When he spoke, however, it was not about Katy. "He's up to something. Didn't you notice how easily he agreed to our plans for his return to his own world?"
Trevor didn't have to ask who the "he" was. "I wondered a little about that myself. But then I remembered how anxious I was to return to this world, and I assumed Spigot felt the same about his. Homesick."
Peter shook his head. "I don't think so. Spigot loves this place. To him, coming here equates with adventure."
Trevor shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Mari is there, and she'll talk sense to him if he tries to pull any stunts. Or if rationalisations don't work with him, she can probably coax him into doing what she wants, anyway. Spigot is all moony-eyed over her," he said disgustedly.
Peter elbowed Trevor lightly in the ribs. "He's not the only one." He added, "Lucky girl, having a fairy coming on to you. Must do a lot for her ego."
Trevor gave him a dirty look. "I'd appreciate it if we'd get back to this so-called gate we're looking for. Do you believe it's real?"
"Only because Lily told us about it first. Thyme seems to lie easily in any dimension. I believe in it - I just don't understand why Thyme sent us to find it tonight."
"I thought he said the lights were so much easier to see at night, and that he had only a vague idea of the proper direction. Wouldn't it have been easier to have asked Symmerley for a ride, so that we could pinpoint the gate from the air?"
Peter looked at the sky, seen in patches through the overhanging branches. "It would have been easier but, frankly, every time we take Symmerley up I'm afraid someone will spot us. It's not your everyday sight, you know, and there's no way someone could mistake us for a helicopter or an aeroplane up there. Besides - if we were spotted - there's no way Symmerley could outfly either of those. No, I'd have preferred travelling "Air Symmerley" myself, but I think we have to do it this way."
"Spigot did agree to everything pretty readily, didn't he?" Trevor said a few moments later. He'd been mulling over what Peter had said, and now it was bothering him. "I didn't really consider it at the time. I was too excited that Spigot and the others would be willing to return home without a fuss, that I went along with his suggestion that we find this gate. Do you think he's sent us on a wild goose chase for some purposes of his own?"
"I would, except look over there." Peter pointed to the purplish hue apparent through the trees ahead. "We may have found our goose."
*
Mari was caught up in the urgency of Thyme's request concerning Symmerley. She didn't realise that she was about the only one of Thyme's human friends who were sparing him any good thoughts right now. Mari believed that Thyme's concern over Symmerley was a manifestation of selflessness that indicated an improvement in his disposition over the "Spigot" Trevor and Peter had described, and she was happy to do what she could to oblige this attractive awakening of his compassionate side. The thought of such a beautiful being as Symmerley deteriorating because of a deficiency in his diet was too much for Mari to accept, especially when she could rectify it so easily with a trip to the market.
Mari took Trevor's car, which Thyme had obligingly "hot-wired" for her. She recalled how he had literally "glowed with pride" over his accomplishment. Mari didn't know where he had mastered this skill, and she was afraid to ask. Somehow Trevor's keys had been misplaced - probably confiscated by one of Mader's people - but it meant Mari couldn't turn off the car during her trip or she wouldn't be able to start it again. Mari's own car had been abandoned outside Garrett Mader's facility, and - she spared a thought for that lovely vehicle of which she had been very fond - she had no doubt it was in pieces or missing by now. Thyme had assured her that Peter's car was still in need of repairs. Mari could have sworn that Trevor and Peter had tinkered with it, but maybe they hadn't had any luck getting it going. Mari herself had been too busy tending to the needs of their visitors that she hadn't been able to give her full attention to much else besides Katy, and - of course, Trevor.
She smiled as she thought of Trevor and his way of looking at life. She could see that his positive outlook was good for her; he was able to laugh at most things, introducing her to their funny side. Yes, that was good for a doctor who, though concerned with preserving life, saw so much of death. She realised that besides her pleasure in his company, his presence held real benefits to her well-being - an enhancement of herself. "Together we are more than just two people." She'd heard Katy say it, referring to how being with Peter made each of them accomplish more than either could alone. Now that she'd come to know Trevor, she could really understand what Katy had meant.
Mari glanced at the luminous face of her watch. Katy was probably still asleep. If not, she assumed Lily would encourage her to take it easy until Mari's return. Katy seemed to have improved, but the pain she was feeling had Mari concerned. Or maybe I'm somewhat insecure because I haven't any of my modern hardware to verify my assessment, Mari thought. She sighed. So much of medicine these days was in reading numbers on test results. I wonder what it would be like to practise without any of the paraphernalia that accompanies modern medicine. She shuddered at the thought.
Mari arrived at the supermarket just as they were locking the doors. Damn! Damn! Damn! Delays. She asked where the nearest all-night market was, and was given an address twenty kilometres down the highway. Damn it, Peter, she thought, you are remote from the modern conveniences. She hopped back in the car and took off. By the time I reach that market, I'll only be a short way from the hospital, she thought. I should have brought Katy with me, and I could have admitted her tonight. Why don't I ever think far enough ahead?
*
Kadocian had never felt more alone in his life. The air is so heavy, he thought, irrelevantly, then realised it wasn't the quality of the air, but the stiffness of fear that was compressing his lungs, forcing him to breathe in short, rasping gasps. He'd heard that line about being frozen in fear, but it wasn't any hesitance to escape that kept him seated at the bench - it was the doubtful question pounding through his brain as to whether his feet could carry him away from here - out a door, down a hall, anywhere - in time to escape the one who was stalking him. He lifted his feet off the floor, then scrambled up onto the lab bench, wishing there were someplace higher to climb. Whatever was here, lurked in the dark corners of the room, and from his perch he finally garnered the lingering shreds of courage to seek out his adversary. He could discern something in the shadows; some otherness of pooling black that shuffled softly in the dark.
Kadocian had never needed to be a sensitive man. Power had come to him so easily, and robbed him of the chance to expand his humanity - to link him with those around him. He had no need for superfluous commonality, for emotional appendages. In fact, in his work, such sentiments would have acted as constraints upon his actions - given him a conscience that he neither needed nor wanted. But his insensitivity could not protect him now. Somehow, he had shed his protective veneer of impersonal unemotionalism in the space of minutes; succumbing to a primitive terror that lacked cunning or decision. He hoped that shock would set in next, for with it would come an uncaring protection from this unknown horror that sat in the darkness near him.
A sibilant note broke the near-silent heaviness that was thickening the air around him, and he knew that the time for skulking was nearly past. Barry suddenly remembered a time in the jungle, in his army days, when the smell of blood had lingered on the air long after the battle had destroyed both conquered and conquerors. The intensity of hate, emitted by whatever lay in wait for him, was a tangible thing, bringing with it that rich fleshy odour, mimicking life and death in one.
Recognising the malignancy of the waves of emotion pounding at his person, Kadocian briefly wondered if this were a non-directional outflowing - a universal malice for other human beings which might allow it to be re-directed at another person entering the lab. The thought gave him hope, that someone else might become the focus of this corrosive enmity. If, however, this hate was his - Kadocian's - alone, he saw only futility in his future, for this strong an emotion would never be quenched by time unless death intervened.
In some ways, the onslaught of hatred helped to clear away some of Kadocian's fear. Hatred was a human emotion, and human enemies could be dealt with. He glanced down at the scattered glass and metal that littered the lab bench, selecting a scalpel and a huge glass shard as his weapons. He felt foolish for his momentary loss of resolve, for that brief moment when he had succumbed to primitive emotion, and allowed himself to conjure up a non-human adversary. Barry was ready to handle the situation now. He climbed down from the bench, moving slowly and nonchalantly toward the telephone, all the while preparing himself to control and re-direct this misguided attack.
He thought about his meagre weapons. He would have preferred a gun. But, maybe the thing awaiting him had limitations, too. Kadocian had utilised the limitations of others his entire life, to better himself and advance his career. While ringing Security for help, he faced the pooling blackness, determined to seek out the limitations of this unstable watcher and limit them further.
The blackness curled outward, in an explosion of form that unnerved Kadocian, causing him to drop the phone as he moved backwards along the bench. The Thing that oozed toward him had no recognisable form: it was a tumorous mass, patchily fleshed in skin and crystals. Its protruding appendages were a distorted echo of what may once have been arms and legs. There was no mistaking the glowing eyes, which glittered with red-eyed fury as they approached.
Kadocian was lost in the immensity of his horror, and he didn't think that he could be any more terrified. But then, he heard what Kelwin had - the slapping sound so reminiscent of meat being flopped down upon a bench - and his eyes were drawn to the source. There, at the base, the creature sported a human limb - distorted and tumorous, like the rest, but recognisable as the calf and foot of a human leg. The limb was an unwanted appendage, as though the making of this thing had been imperfectly finished, and had shed all but this last trapping of humanity. As the apparition moved forward, on a self-made slime derived from open pustules, the limb would slap sideways upon the ground, almost as an afterthought of motion, but compelled to movement just the same.
Barry Kadocian screamed then, all logical thought gone. It was a high-pitched child's cry of terror, cracking now and then as his adult tones reverberated through. If the lab had been intact, the sound would have been magnified, perhaps catching the attention of those working behind the heavy glass windows on the second floor, the windows that looked down on Mader's once-immaculate lab. But the broken ceiling, open to the stars, caught nothing, letting the echoes escape into the night.
The Thing that was Mader came forward, and Barry moved backwards, until he was cornered by the edge of another lab bench, which had been built perpendicular to the first. He crawled beneath the bench, intent on finding his way underneath and through, but he had left his escape too late, and the Thing had him now. Barry slashed out with glass and scalpel, registering a sharp stab of satisfaction as the knife dug deeply into one of the appendages. Satisfaction that was quickly replaced by horror as the glass broke against the armouring crystals, and the knife - left within the wound - suddenly extruded outwards. It all but popped out of the sore as a volcanic outflow of pus burst out of the incision, to be rapidly sealed by a thick mucousy plug. Kadocian briefly registered the clang of the scalpel to the ground as the creature surged forward once more.
The Thing intended to savour Barry Kadocian - to use him slowly - to satisfy both its hunger and the need for retaliation that was coiling so corrosively within. After dragging his whimpering form from beneath the bench, Mader drew the man close against his weeping pustules - forcing him into an embrace of tumoured and crystalline unevenness - and deriving a dark spasm of humour from the sensations of repulsion emitted by Kadocian's writhing form.
The crystals began to glow, as Kadocian was hit by a searing blast that should have burned him, but, inversely, chilled him to his core. Mader fed, stealing those elements he needed to sustain his being: carbon, iron, calcium. He sublimated these - forcing them into a gaseous form that he could assimilate and re-solidify within his own misshapen body. Bubbles were formed, some passing into Kadocian's bloodstream - others travelling outwards, intra- and inter-cellularly - a physically-induced boiling in defiance of his body's chemical functioning. Kadocian suffered, painfully experiencing this drawing away of his being; this stealing of his life's chemistry through cell membranes and layers - the filtered withdrawal of elements long-deposited in his system. The disappearance, through his tissues and out, of those substances that had once secured his continued existence. His life being withdrawn through the surrounding air and into the creature that held him.
The forced closeness - the physical and chemical linking - revealed the truth to Barry Kadocian: this Thing using him, absorbing part of him away, was Garrett Mader. A brief flare of anger exploded in his brain before he passed out - a momentary reversal of their positions in which Kadocian demanded: why me? In the same moment he knew the reason: this was Mader's means of redressing the inequalities of power - this was retribution.
*
Katy followed Lily down the steps, and out to where Symmerley moved restlessly, his brighter-than-white coat a focal point in the near-dark. He was moving his wings in an agitated fashion, tossing his head up and down as he fought the need for activity that their flight would soon appease. Katy felt for him, seeing the cost of his inactivity, wondering if this was how it had been for Peter and Trevor. She hoped that their need was not as great as Symmerley's, for asking them to restrict themselves, to attempt to adjust to operation within human time frames and rates of activity, would therefore require a greater sacrifice than either she or Mari had the right to ask of them; a sacrifice that would involve limiting their metabolic processes, in order to adapt to the needs of their women.
Symmerley calmed at Katy's approach, bending one knee and lowering his head, signifying both his willingness to carry her and his recognition of her diminished ability. Apparently, Katy thought, Symmerley must be aware of the hazards facing the others, and is as anxious as Lily to initiate a rescue. Even with Symmerley's kneeling posture, Katy found it too difficult to mount, requiring Symmerley to lower himself almost to the ground before she could pull herself aboard. Afterwards, she sat quietly, waiting for the pain in her side to ease, and Symmerley, sensing her discomfort, held himself still until the ache had faded to the background. Lily fluttered around, sympathetic and uneasy, wondering if she had asked too much of this accommodating human. Katy smiled at her, letting her know all was well, as Symmerley gracefully stood.
In the next moment, Katy could feel Symmerley's great muscles tightening beneath her. In consideration of her physical condition, Symmerley avoided a running start to gain lift. Instead, he moved his massive wings up and down, carrying them upwards from a standing start.
Katy was thrilled. The action of the great wings blew her hair up and out behind her, and as they moved forward along the windstream she could taste the sweet purity of the evening air. Wisps of early dew settled in her face and hair; tiny droplets that drew forth tendrils to curl gently around her face. As they flew still higher, the sun that had slid away beyond the horizon long before was caught, to flare for a few brief moments before disappearing into the cavern of night. Crystalline stars appeared then, but Katy had only moments to enjoy their purity in the high clarity of the night sky, before she and Symmerley began their descent, to mingle with the somewhat murkier brightness of artificial light. Katy realised they had arrived at their destination.
Symmerley knelt at the outskirts of the gaudy glitter and gaiety that comprised the amusement park; a feature that such places shared the world over. Whereas Katy felt only weariness and a nervous edginess over their successful infiltration, she could nevertheless appreciate the excitement to which Symmerley and Lily had succumbed. She realised that only her presence was acting as a constraint. Katy looked around quickly, pleased to discover that the brighter lights of the carnival atmosphere had ensured their concealment in a shadowed patch, and they were in the fortunate position to be within the walls but outside the areas of heavy foot traffic.
Katy recognised that Symmerley would never be content to remain hidden while she enacted a search. He was as excited about their venture as any of the others. Camouflage was in order, then, and Katy searched for some means of covering those great wings, in order that Symmerley's essential horsiness could be emphasised. If he were to fold his wings against his body, as he was prone to do in sleep, they could probably succeed in concealing some of his otherness.
Katy looked at Symmerley and Lily. Lily retained her firefly-like aura, and both of them possessed those lovely glittering irises. Katy shook her head, then smiled as she noted the quivering excitement of her friends at the spectacle awaiting them. Gesturing them to deeper concealment, she sought out a means of covering Symmerley's wings.
She found it in the form of a large mat, that had been left drying over a railing in one of the service areas. After glancing carefully about, to ensure that no one was looking her way, Katy pulled the heavy red rubber-backed rug to the ground, jumping when it slapped loudly onto the concrete. She was forced to drag it down the pathway, not having the strength to carry the thing to where Lily and Symmerley impatiently waited. Katy was panting by the time she arrived, and Lily darted anxiously in small circles, uncertain what to do. Katy finally reached out and gently pushed the fairy down, closer to the ground, where her unusual aura might be lost among the many floodlamps lighting up the landscaping.
"It's all right, Lily," Katy told her. "But Symmerley will have to co-operate. I need to hide his wings and, whether he likes it or not, he's going to have to keep them folded. Can you explain it to him, please, before we all get into trouble?" She could see that there were numerous passers-by, many of them within six or seven metres of their hiding place, and more than a few curious looks had been sent in their direction.
Symmerley gracefully knelt in front of Katy, and she yanked the mat over him. Staring at it critically, she shook her head. "I don't know, Lily. It doesn't make much of a costume." Lily smiled, and perched on the great beast's back. Using her glow to illuminate some of his flashing whiteness, and enhancing her wings with gilt-shot sparks, she pirouetted for Katy. "Lily, that does look better, but you'll have to resist moving around too much. You look too real."
"Too real?" Lily inquired. "What does this mean, Katherine? 'Too real'?"
Katy sighed. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, Lily, but amusement parks are designed to inspire thoughts of other worlds, not to provide proof of their existence. People want to be left with a belief, not a certainty. Then they can take that belief as a certainty or not, depending on their inclination."
"But wouldn't it be better for them to know that I exist?"
Katy shook her head. "Then they'd probably be afraid. Because it's one thing to imagine things beyond the boundaries, and out of human control, and another to be confronted with them." Lily plunked down on Symmerley's back, obviously confused and somewhat annoyed at the contradictions in human behaviour. Katy smiled at her understandingly. "I don't understand humans myself, Lily, and I'm one of them." She could see that Lily was still slightly offended, and began to feel irritated herself. After all, I'd rather be anywhere than here right now, thought Katy. "Let's just do this, all right, Lily? You look fine," she snapped.
Lily was immediately repentant. "Oh, Katy, I am sorry. I will strive to remember that humans are not sensible."
Katy smiled at that, pushing her irritation to the background. "And if humans aren't sensible," she muttered to herself, "what does that make fairies?"
***
Chapter Four
Peter and Trevor carefully climbed toward the purple and silver radiance on the horizon, until they were close enough to follow the streams of light instead, noting the difference between the streamers surrounding this gate, and those of the other gate they'd travelled. Whereas red ribbons were interspersed with green and blue in the vicinity of the gate to Thyme's world, this one sported flashes of gold and pink, and bands of coral that would weave throughout the trees, briefly touch Peter or Trevor, then move away.
"I wonder if there's some living entity controlling these lights," said Peter softly, against his friend's ear, so that Trevor could hear the murmured tones over the noise generated by the gate. "After all, look at the way they seem to wander in and out of the trees, and -" he paused as yet another dart lightly brushed his person before turning away to disappear into the trees, "they seem to want to touch us."
"Could be electromagnetic, or something like that, Pete," Trevor said. "Put out by the gate. We probably have an altered magnetic field now - one that's receptive to both the gate and any 'leakage' in the dimensional connection."
Peter glanced at the trees in the vicinity of the gate, checking for irregularities in the foliage surrounding them. "Did I ever tell you about the Trees, Trevor? The ones that grew up around the other gate?"
Trevor shook his head. "Frankly, with all that's happened, I forgot to ask."
"Well, I had the story from Lily. Apparently, some seeds were brought through from her dimension into ours, but they grew differently here. She said it was because our sun is yellow, and our soils coarser, but after seeing the crystals in some of the soils over there, I'd say soil composition rather that coarseness was the controlling factor." Peter was quiet for a moment as he thought something through. "It must also reflect a big difference in the natural laws governing our two worlds. You saw how those rocks I brought through acted. It was the same with some twigs Spigot gave me. Anyway, the trees are primarily from another dimension, but responded to environmental stimuli, a different nutrient regime, as well as changes in gravity and God knows what else. Which resulted in something that doesn't really resemble either dimension. I suspected the electromagnetism would also induce physiological changes, at least in the immediate vicinity of the gate, but these trees and shrubs -" he said, indicating the plants near the gate, "appear unaffected."
Trevor was admiring the brilliant colours of the lights weaving through the trees. "Do you know how incredible this is, Pete? If we didn't have the vision to experience this -" he indicated the glowing lights, "then we wouldn't even know the gate was here, and you'd be trying to analyse tree structure in the dark."
But Peter wasn't listening. He'd seen some movement - stealthy, silent, evasive - where the blackness mingled with the bright ribbons. He couldn't hear the movement, because the muted roaring of the gate covered all background sounds.
A shiver made its quivering way from Peter's arms down his back, stiffening his spine, rooting him in place. He knelt, to hold himself steady, while directing his full attention toward the dark patch ahead. He sensed a familiar presence; one he'd hoped he would never encounter again.
Trevor, continuing his chatter, suddenly noticed Peter's intense concentration and sensed his disquiet. He didn't ask what the problem was. Thyme had warned them that they might act as a lure to creatures from other dimensions - something in their new genetic make-up creating an attractive bait. Trevor swallowed his questions, knowing that Peter would alert him to the situation when it was safe. Although Trevor hadn't personally undergone the experiences Peter had in Thyme's world, he recognised the inherent dangers from what Peter had revealed to him of the journey, and could imagine the facts to fill in any gaps in Peter's rather reticent recital. Now, he hovered at his friend's side, ready to act if Peter said, "Run!"
The figure in the trees drifted outwards, in their direction, and Peter was momentarily confused, for there was no solidity to this form, and it wavered like smoke, illusive. This lack of substance did not dispel the power of its other attributes, and Peter gradually became aware that he was the focus of eyes, if the deep black holes in that vicinity could be said to have vision. It drifted towards him, and Peter tasted the ferocity of its hunger, at the same time becoming aware of the being's frustration - for although it could experience the gnawing emptiness of hunger in this land, it did not seem able to feed.
"What the hell is that?" Trevor whispered, his voice raspy with terror.
"A friend of Old Mouldy."
"That thing has friends?" Trevor's tone was disbelieving. "I take it we're its enemies."
"More like we're its dinner. Or we would be, but something tells me it can't eat here. It doesn't have enough substance."
The Thing drifted still closer, bringing cold with it. Trevor was able to see it more clearly now, and he couldn't understand why a sight which inspired such horror in him seemed to reassure Peter. The film that comprised the creature had semi-solidified, giving Trevor a clear picture of a skeletal form caught within torn and dripping flesh. It emanated power, and want. Peter seemed to think this Thing was in a diminished form, incapable of doing much damage, but Trevor didn't like the way it had focused its ghastly eyeholes in his direction.
"Is it a ghost or what, Peter?" Trevor whispered. "It doesn't look like a ghost. Most ghosts aren't that malevolent."
"No, it's not a ghost. At least, I don't think so. I just think it's the way that Thing is manifested in our world. Believe me, Trev," and Peter removed his gaze briefly from where he'd been keeping track of the thing, to meet Trev's eyes, "in Thyme's world that miserable son-of-a-bitch is as nasty a creature as you'd ever want to meet. Even Spigot is terrified of it." Peter looked back to where the thing had moved, chilling them with its proximity. "In the flesh, so to speak, it's rotten and stinks like death. It fixes its victims to the spot by convincing them that they're already dying, or dead, with only an eternity of hopelessness in their future."
"Nice guy."
"Yeah. The victim is so despairing that it stays put until one of those things," he nodded toward the phantom with a shudder, "can get a hold on it to feed."
"If you had the good fortune to run into one of these cheery types, how is it that you're here to tell me about it?"
"Because I wasn't the one about to be eaten. It was one of those cat-beasts. You know, like the one visiting us."
"What did you do?" Trevor asked curiously.
"I got mad. I'd had such a rough day already, and it's so damned unfair to torment something before you eat it. And that's what it was - torture for that cat. I could sense it, even from the periphery."
"Okay, so you got mad. What happened then?"
Peter looked sheepish. "I chucked a rock at it. In fact, several rocks. Fighting it made me realise that it was real and not something supernatural."
Trevor glanced his way long enough to give Peter an "I-always-knew-you-were-crazy" look. Then he turned back to study the form, which had moved uncomfortably close. "Jeez, Pete, that thing's enough to give me nightmares. The big question is, how do we make it go away?"
Peter shook his head. "Darned if I know."
"And here I was, waiting for you to exhibit a little of your expertise. We can't just let it stand there, drooling over what a great snack we'd make."
"I really don't think it can hurt us, Trev." He stood up, not knowing what else to do. "Let it drool. It can dream about us for a change. Besides, if it wants something tasty, it'll go for me, not you."
"Brave words, Peter. But the word is tasty, not tasteless." The two of them backed slowly away from the grey figure, who stood silently watching.
"Trev," Peter inquired a few minutes later, as they settled down to cautiously investigate the area immediately around the gate. "What were you saying earlier about ghosts?"
"It's just something that's sort of happened since my transformation. Don't ask."
"I don't think I have to. The same thing's been happening to me. It's only afterwards that I realised I was listening to, or looking at, something normal people couldn't experience."
"Well, Peter, the way I see it is, we could let our new-found sensitivity drive us over the edge, or we could ignore it."
"Ignore it!? When I drive a car, I suffer for the tyres because I can feel the pressure, and I'm alert to every crank cranking and every piston pis -"
"I get the idea. Go on."
"If Katy cries, I'm beside myself. I see ghosts, flying horses, and fairies. I eat charred food, or flowers, and I think I can travel through different dimensions. Does this sound like easily ignored behaviour?"
"Peter, look at the way you were before. A grown man, who plays with plants, dissecting them and looking for mysterious invaders. A nut case who buys a dilapidated house out in the middle of nowhere with a dungeon for a kitchen, and who gets all excited over a strange growth pattern in a stand of trees. And, I might add, a man who definitely has questionable friends." He patted Peter on the back. "Just consider your new gifts as minor eccentricities, Pete. At least," he said thoughtfully, looking at the multi-coloured lights of the gate, "they certainly enrich your travel plans."
*
Mari pulled into the parking lot, glanced at her watch and walked quickly into the store, leaving Trevor's hot-wired car running. Shaking her head, she considered Thyme's unusual talents, wondering where he'd learned to perform a near-criminal act, then realised he must have deduced it from his television viewing, or perhaps from the vast array of books Peter kept about the house. Should I ring Katy? Mari was somewhat worried that, being Katy, she might try to overdo if left without anyone to really insist that she remain quiet. Lily was there, but Lily would be more likely to follow Katy around than try to stop her.
Entering the store, Mari went directly to the vitamin and mineral section, snatching up individual bottles of supplements rather than multivitamin tablets; making certain she had a wide array in case someone else's diet should go awry. A niggling suspicion began to prey at her mind. She remembered Katy's open admiration for Symmerley earlier in the day, and the creature had certainly appeared healthy then.
By the time Mari had gone through the check-out, she knew she had to ring Katy. Something was going on. She hated to think that Thyme, who seemed so smitten with her, had deceived her, but Mari had met men before who could tell her one thing while meaning, or doing, something else entirely. Were fairies any different? Annoyed that she'd left her cellular phone in her car at Mader's facility, Mari counted out the coins she needed to ring Peter's place. The phone rang, and kept on ringing, but there was no answer. Something was wrong, all right. Katy should have answered, even if none of the others would.
Mari remembered something Thyme had told Peter about the gate - about why Peter should take company. And Peter had refused to take anyone but Trevor: why? Mari thought back to other things Peter and Trevor had mentioned; hints that they hadn't meant to be alarming, but had nevertheless caused Mari to worry about the appetites of some of their guests.
Mari ran to the car. Katy was alone, and in a weakened state. Anyone strong enough to protect her, and who really cared about her, had left. Dear God, she thought, would one of those creatures - the cat-beast particularly - would they take advantage of that to - to- Mari couldn't let herself think about it.
She reached the car just as it gave a chug, chug, and stalled. Mari looked at the petrol gauge. "Damn, damn, damn!" She hauled off and kicked the tyres, viciously booting them in her frustration. Then, foot aching, and feeling stupid, Mari took off at a limping run back to the phone. She rang for road service, telling them she was a doctor in a big hurry who needed someone out there fast. Then she went back to the car, to wait, and think about all the things that she hadn't wanted to consider before.
*
The object of her concerns was smiling brightly at passers-by as she attempted to make her foray along the roadway look like just another park attraction. She knew that the bruises on her face would make spectators wonder, but no one was really looking at her anyway; the focus of their attention was Lily, posed delicately upon Symmerley's back. No amount of camouflage could make Symmerley appear as an ordinary horse, however. The angle of his neck, or perhaps it was the shape of his head, was wrong, and his legs and feet were delicate for his size, as is appropriate to an animal whose main form of locomotion is aerodynamic. For the most part, Lily remained still, a task she found very difficult, even though Katy had said she could move her wings to release pent-up energy. These she kept constantly a-flutter, and their natural glitz and gilt sparks drew many eyes. Lily's eyes also flashed with excitement, as she took in the wonderful delights the amusement park had to offer, and Katy knew she was ecstatic over the rich colours which contrasted with the brighter, less subtle ones of Lily's home world. The exuberant bustling and chatter of the eager park visitors, the tinny and sometimes raucous music issuing from the many rides, and the smells of buttery popcorn and cotton candy, all heightened the experience for Lily and Symmerley, and Katy could understand why Thyme had urged them all to come.
*
Kevin Hawley had come to the park at the urging of his wife and two daughters. He was already well-lubricated with alcohol when he arrived, and he'd consumed an additional six-pack of beer, courtesy of his carry-all, since he'd abandoned his family at the log ride. Now, the sight of the glossy horse and the little fairy almost brought him back into focus. "Will you look at that!" he exclaimed, stumbling against Katy. "How do they do that?" he slurred. "You know, make that little fairy look so real? And what did they do to that horse - spray it with shiny paint?"
He reached out to touch one wing. "No, don't!" Katy told him.
"I won't hurt the itsy-bitsy fairy," he said sarcastically. "I just want to see how it works."
"It's the lighting," Katy said somewhat desperately.
He reached for Lily again. "You got batteries in there or something?"
Katy forced herself between the man and Symmerley. "We have our little secrets." She smiled sweetly at him. "Park rules." She could smell the alcohol on his breath. Katy realised he'd had just enough to be obnoxious.
"C'mon, Girlie, it's just a doll -"
"An expensive doll, Sir." He was pushed against her by a surge of the gathering crowd. Katy winced. She had to get rid of this idiot, and soon. "Do I have to ring Security?"
"Okay, okay, you don't have to get all huffy." Kevin stuck his face against Katy's, giving her the full benefit of his beer-soaked breath. He was close enough now to focus on the bruises on her cheekbone and jaw. "What happened to you, anyway? Get caught playing tough guy with one of the patrons?" He laughed at his own joke.
Katy moved back a step, letting Symmerley get a clear view of the jackass who was stirring up trouble. "The horse kicked me." Symmerley turned his head to look directly at the man, eyes bright and dancing with those irrepressible lights.
Kevin suddenly felt sick, and not a little nervous. "Never seen a horse like that before," he muttered. "Bye, Lady", he said, throwing her a sloppy wet kiss. "Bye, little Fairy." Katy would have been horrified had she realised that behind her back, Lily looked directly at Kevin, offering him a raised finger in farewell. All Katy knew was that Kevin suddenly panicked and backed away until he was lost in the crowd. She gave a sigh of relief, hoping that he hadn't come with any equally obnoxious friends.
Katy had a vision of the other trans-dimensional travellers encountering similar difficulties, with Thyme trying to ease his way through on bravado. She hurriedly pulled Symmerley off along a shadowy side path marked, "Employees Only", whispering to Lily as she did so, "How do Thyme and the others think they're going to get in?"
"I do not understand, Katherine. What do you mean, get in?"
"Most people pay money to get into amusement parks, Lily. They have fences and walls to keep other people out."
"People pay to have fun, Katherine?" Lily sounded shocked. "And what of the people who cannot pay?"
"They just have to find some other way to have fun - other than the amusement park."
"This is very sad, Katherine."
Katy was busy thinking. "So, Thyme and the others are probably stuck outside the park. That means we can find them and go home." Katy was anxious to find her bed.
"Thyme will be so sad that the things he promised will not come true," Lily sighed. "He wanted us all to have a spect- spectic-"
"Spectacular?"
Lily nodded. "Yes. Spectacular time to remember before we returned."
Katy looked at Lily and Symmerley, remembering their excitement only moments before; the way they had been almost beside themselves at the crowds, bright lights, and cheery music. Now, Lily's aura was dimmed with disillusionment, and even Symmerley's white coat didn't seem as bright as before. Poor things, Katy thought, remembering how Lily had put off her trip to stay with her - Katy. If I were visiting their world, I wouldn't want to sit around the house all day, while exciting events passed me by. Again, she felt guilt; if it hadn't been for her, perhaps Peter or Trevor would have chanced taking this group somewhere - anywhere - just to satisfy their need for action.
Katy asked wearily, "So Thyme is probably outside, Lily? Outside trying to get in?"
Lily nodded. "I could find him easily."
"Then," said Katy, knowing she was making a mistake, "let's find him and figure out a way to get everybody in."
*
Mader discarded Kadocian's limp form, and was about to move away when he sensed the presence of some object that didn't belong in this place. He was not familiar with dimensional travel - he was only aware that something here held an attraction for him. It was a tender lure to those portions of him that owed their existence to another world.
Mader gathered Kadocian against his body once again, then rattled the man's unconscious form enough to dislodge two pebble-sized crystals from his victim's pockets, on to the laboratory floor. After roughly flinging the human to one side, a third crystal was quickly collected across the room, from under potentially lethal glass shards.
The crystals, absorbed into one of the mucousy troughs that now covered Mader's oozing frame, glowed softly. Momentarily satisfied, his hunger appeased, the mutant traversed the lab, the smoothness of his glide interrupted only by the jerking slap of his remaining appendage. If Kadocian had been able to hear, he would have wondered at the hoarsely abrasive sounds the beast released to the stars above. He would never have guessed that the creature was laughing.
*
Kelly Irwin, Daniel Paternak, and Jose Martinez were a few of the large crowd of teenagers who liked to visit the park in the evening. Numbers were at a peak during the long summer hours, when it stayed open till 1:00 am. Huge groups of teenagers moved in and out, for a stamp on the hand and a ticket stub allowed people to re-enter at will, and it was common practise to pay a visit to the car for a brew or a smoke, before heading back through the gates. Often, problems would escalate in the parking lot which would never occur inside the park proper, because too many Security people were discreetly placed within the facility.
"What the hell is that?"
Daniel took a long drag on the joint before turning to look. When he spoke, his voice was raspy. "Hey, Man, it's some kind of hunking monster." He leaned halfway out the window. "Great costume, Dude! Hey!" He yanked Jose closer to the window. "Did you see the tits on that snake-lady?"
"Look at that little flying thing! What is it? Some kind of dwarf alien?" Kelly had spotted Thyme.
Jose nudged her. "No, it's the Third Cock from the Sun." He collapsed in a fit of laughter while the other two just stared at him. Kelly twirled her index finger near her right temple - the universal sign that Jose had gone over the edge. Jose, unaware of their appraisal, looked up in time to realise that Thyme and his group were getting away. "Hey, You! I can always use an extra cock!" He laughed again and stumbled out of the car.
Kelly shrugged her shoulders and followed, while Daniel stayed behind for a minute to finish off his joint.
"Here, Kitty, Kitty." Jose called the cat-beast in a sing-song voice interspersed with laughter. "Want a drink, Kitty?" He waved his beer can in the air.
Daniel joined Kelly and Jose. "See that," he said, pointing to the gnome, "there's one of the seven dwarves. And those," he indicated the two wongnits, "those are his reindeer."
Jose snorted with laughter. "You dumbass, dwarves don't have reindeer. Who are you guys supposed to be, anyway?"
Kelly answered him. "They're freaks! They must make one hell of a side-show attraction!"
Uncertain what to do, Gyris, Cliso, Melpis, Deron, Cyrnol, and Qualice turned to Thyme for advice. Being Thyme, he couldn't take insults without finding a way to return them. He snatched the can of beer from Jose's fingers and flew high enough above the three humans to douse them liberally with the remainder.
"My mom's going to kill me if I come in smelling like this!" Kelly screeched. The noise drew the attention of other isolated groups throughout the lot, and a sizeable crowd started to gather.
Jose, upset because his beer had been tipped over his head, grabbed a rock out of one of the planter beds and chucked it at Thyme. "Take that, you little son-of-a-bitch!" He missed, and Cyrnol's purple catlike hide was pelted instead. The cat-beast snarled and lashed out with long claws, ripping the front of Daniel's new Reeboks.
"My Reeboks! You damn cat!" Daniel didn't have the sense to be afraid. He was too loaded and too angry.
Cliso lashed her snake-like tail, while Qualice scurried to snatch up several pieces of Reebok that had dropped to the tarmac. Gyris, who had lumbered forward, reached out strong arms to push little Qualice behind him. Qualice, in gratitude, slipped a small piece of Reebok into the gargoyle's curled fist. Melpis and Deron, the wongnits, crept toward Jose and Kelly, but Thyme flew into their faces, reminding them that humans weren't really very tasty.
*
When Katy arrived at one of the service exits, she left Symmerley and Lily behind, to open the gate for her return, hopefully with company. Moving to the main parking area, she found the situation worse than she'd feared. Her unlikely-looking friends had already attracted a large crowd, and were being poked and prodded, and they hadn't even gone near the front entrance. The jostling was being done for the most part by a small group of teenagers, each one goading the others on. She took a deep breath and made her way into the crowd.
"Excuse me, Everyone, coming through!" she said loudly. "What is it with you guys, anyway?" she said accusingly to Thyme and his companions. "The parade's about to start - and you're still out here!"
The crowd had calmed slightly, but now Daniel spoke up. "That thing there shredded my Reeboks! And they're new, too!" He held up one foot to show her. Bits of leather, fabric, and plastic dangled down.
"Did he shred your feet?"
"No."
"Then consider yourself lucky." Katy said calmly. "You've interfered - on private property, I might add - with the management of a dangerous creature."
"You can't have things that can hurt people running around loose."
Now Katy was getting angry. "Well, they've let you out to run around, haven't they?"
It didn't help. Someone at the back started muttering, and soon it was picked up by a few others. Kelly shouted, "At least replace his shoes!"
Katy thought that was a fair request. "If you'll give me your name and address, I'll see that they're replaced -" she started to say, but was interrupted by someone in the group who started throwing beer bottles. Others joined in. She realised that no one was really listening anymore. Jose started yelling about good beer being wasted, a chant that was picked up by a group of rowdies who added to the general ruckus by pushing and shoving.
Katy was nervous. This was getting nasty. "I'm sure we can settle everything, but no one's going to be able to afford to do much if this group doesn't get to work. There are other people depending on them." She parted the crowd by urging Cyrnol, the cat-beast, to the front. "Hurry now. Lily's waiting." When the others were clear, she turned to face the crowd. Thyme flew back to hover above her head.
"Lady," Daniel said, all traces of good-humour gone, "what are you going to do about my shoes? I need to see some money up front," he said loudly. He turned around to the crowd, looking for back-up.
"Yeah," came another voice, "somebody's got to pay!"
Thyme tugged at Katy's hair. "Come, Katy," he urged. "This situation has a very bad feel."
Katy turned to look at him. "The others need the time to get away. Go, Thyme," she urged. "I'll talk my way clear," she whispered.
Daniel didn't like the fact that Katy was ignoring him. He shoved her, not realising that she was already in a bad way. Katy didn't have any strength or desire to stay on her feet. She doubled-over and went down, lying curled in a ball on the asphalt.
Daniel didn't know what to do. He hadn't shoved her any harder than he usually did his sister. "Hey, Lady," he said, immediately contrite, "are you okay?" He knelt down next to her. "I didn't mean to hurt you!" He heard a loud buzzing sound, and a sudden murmur went through the crowd. Daniel looked up just in time to see a red-eyed fury bear down on him. This was Spigot, the rebel, and he was at his most foul and nasty. He bore down on Daniel, slapping his face, yanking his hair, and zapping him with jolts from his sparking wings. Then he attacked the crowd indiscriminately, darting in to tangle Kelly's hair in massive dreadlocks; emitting a foul stench that caused Jose to gag and lose his beer. He dispensed malodorous droplets that clung to clothing. He stung, ripped and knotted hair on half a dozen others, until the crowd dispersed in terror, screeching and stumbling toward cars that squealed away into the night.
The golden-eyed fairy that returned to Katy's side bore no resemblance to the wild phantom Katy had seen in action moments before. He drifted down close to her face, concerned about her breathing, wondering at the strange noises she was making. He fluttered gently near her face, sweet-scented now. His wings beat a little faster, in irritation, when she looked at him. He realised she was laughing.
"Oh, Thyme," she said, wiping streaming eyes, "you were incredible."
His glow became a little brighter. "Peter would want me to protect you. But, Dummy," he said, tugging ever so gently on a wisp of her hair, "why were you laughing?"
"Because Peter told me -" she sought words that wouldn't offend him "- about your rebel side, but I thought he was exaggerating. And here I thought I was protecting you."
Thyme flew up a short distance, scanning the lot. Some cars were entering at the far end. "It is time, Katy, that we take you home. But first, we need to join the others. Can you walk, or should I get Symmerley?"
"I can walk," Katy said, getting shakily to her feet.
Thyme shook his head. "No, Katherine. I think I will get Symmerley."
"No, Thyme," Katy said stubbornly. "I promised Lily an outing." She turned toward where the others waited.
Thyme flew beside her. Not looking at her, he said, "I think, Katherine Ryder, that you are more like your fiancé than you realise. I also think he is a very fortunate human."
***
Chapter Five
Peter looked at Trevor. "We have to get back," he said. "Something's got Katy upset."
"Or someone." Trevor corrected. "Mari's not too happy either. The only one I know who can cause that much trouble in short order is -"
"Spigot." Peter finished for him. "At least we can tell him that we've located the gate. Break out your compass, Trevor, and let's hightail it back home. I don't think Katy needs to be upset right now."
They had to leave the vicinity of the gate before they were able to use the compass. Something in the nature of this linkage between dimensions appeared to affect watches and, they found, compasses. They were about a third of the way back when Trevor noticed - for the fourth time - that Peter was glancing warily over his shoulder. "What is it, Pete?"
"I think we're being followed."
Trevor turned quickly, catching a glimpse of a shrouded grey form that lingered in the trees. "Oh, great! A rotten, mouldering corpse on our tails! How are we going to get rid of it?"
Peter shook his head. "I don't know. But we can't take it home. We have fairies in residence. This may be one of those things Spigot was talking about - that are dangerous to fairy-types."
"But this thing comes from Spigot's dimension."
"Maybe. All I know is that the one time Spigot came across a creature like this, he was terrified. Which isn't like him."
"If that's true, maybe we should keep it as a pet or something," Trevor whispered sarcastically. "Our own brand of fairy-repellent."
Peter ignored his comment. He said thoughtfully, "Maybe there's some way we can confuse it."
"Sure, Pete. Maybe, if we're really lucky, we can find two other green men running around out here and throw it off the track," Trevor replied mockingly.
"No, you jerk, I mean it. It's either that or confront it."
"Speak for yourself. I, personally, have nothing that thing wants."
Peter glanced at him. "Well, he's able to track us. Maybe he's drawn by our electromagnetic impulses." He added, "Or maybe it's just all that animal magnetism you always claim to have."
"Or maybe he just thinks we're miniature trans-dimensional gates. If that's the case, I sure hope he decides to use you instead of me."
"Do you think we'd have a chance of losing him at an electrical substation?"
"Or what about the dam?" Trevor's eyes lit up. "There's so much power generated there that he'd never be able to pick us out from the background 'noise'. What do you think?" he whispered.
Peter grinned. "I think we'd better hurry and find the dam thing," Peter whispered back.
*
Tom Radlin saw the woman pacing outside her car, and judged correctly that this was the doctor who was desperate to get to some emergency or other. "What's the problem, Ma'am?" he asked politely.
"Petrol," she said rather tersely, then softened it with a smiling, "Thank you for coming so promptly."
"I can give you enough to get to the station, so you can fill up. Any other problems?"
Mari wondered how he was going to take this one. "Yes. My car's broken down, so a friend hot-wired this one for me. It's - it's actually his car." She saw Tom's sceptical look. She said earnestly, "I know it sounds lame, but he's lost the keys and this is something of an emergency. "
Tom looked at her askance. "Do you have some ID, ma'am?"
Mari reached inside her purse, pulling out her licence. "Here. Look, you can ring Trevor if you want to." Not that he's home, she thought. "Please, could we hurry?"
Tom checked the picture closely, then smiled. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. No one could have so many stupid things happen in such short order unless they were in a hurry. "Yes, Dr. Sullivan, we can."
*
Katy knew that this whole idea of a visit to the amusement park was ridiculous, childish, and absurd, considering the risks to life and limb. But ever since she was a child, she'd known the special magic woven by places such as this, and now she wanted these unusual friends of hers to experience some of that; to have revealed to them one of the finer sides of human nature - that part of every adult that refuses to grow up - that can still delight in imagination and the joy of what-could-be. Was it worth the risk? Katy considered the matter. Probably. If for no other reason than the fact that they'd ventured into this world to help her: to save her despite the damage they could have suffered at Mader's hands.
Peter would be furious - for this escapade, but primarily because they had involved her. They hadn't involved her, though - unless Lily's desperate request for advice could count as deliberate involvement. I involved myself, Katy thought. Because I wanted to. What will I tell Peter? she worried. The truth. However ludicrous it sounded. These are tourists, and I encouraged their visit to the local tourist spots. Well, we might as well make it a memorable visit. Katy stopped and asked Thyme. "Where's Peter's car?"
"Have you decided to go home after all, Katy?" he asked, making a rather unsuccessful attempt to hide his disappointment.
"No, but I'm tired of subterfuge. In the glove box - do you know what a glove box is, Thyme?"
He nodded.
"In the glove box is a folder with several cards in it. Can you bring it to me?" Katy had left her ATM card with Peter when she'd gone on a business trip, in case he'd needed to buy some supplies out of her account.
She sat down on the edge of the concrete lamp post base to wait, grinning a little foolishly as she considered her new friends. Who would have thought, a week ago, that I'd be buying tickets for a group like this? Her eyes followed the bright glow as Thyme sped across the lot, darted into the car, then out. Apparently, fairies don't bother locking cars, she mused, shaking her head.
When Thyme came back, Katy told him, "There's no point in going to an amusement park if you don't get to go on the rides. So, Thyme, you join the others and I'm going to get us some passes."
"Passes, Katy?"
She nodded. "To get inside."
"Katherine, the others are already inside. Perhaps I should bring Symmerley." He was looking at her strangely.
"Thyme, if I buy passes, no matter who objects, all of you can go on the rides. If I don't, they can kick you out. Please, can we just do this, all right?" she said somewhat querulously. Katy was giving her all to this expedition, but her all was running out fast. "Just go join the others, okay?" she pleaded. "But find a way to meet me inside the front entrance so I don't have to go searching." She turned toward the ticket booth.
The others met her as she entered. Lily flew to her side. Her small face was radiant.
"Oh, Katherine, Thyme told us how brave you were! And now you are going to do this wonderful thing for us!"
The crowds of people were beginning to thin out, as families who'd spent the day trudged out to the trams that would drop them near their cars. Katy looked at the little ones asleep in pushchairs, or nodding over daddy's shoulder, and felt that bittersweet longing once again for a baby of her own. Then she shrugged it aside, pushing it away to deal with the present.
People stared, of course. But as is the way with most situations, being there was half the battle. The fact that they were already in the park seemed to give them cause to be there. Apparently, if they'd been allowed in, then they must be all right, or part of a publicity scheme.
As long as everyone behaved.
Katy thought about the scene in the parking lot. She looked at her friends, bunched as closely together as grapes on a vine. Katy decided it was time for them to act as though they belonged, and accordingly, moved into a little lane that appeared to be unoccupied. Katy felt as though she were walking in some voluminous skirt, so closely did her brightly-coloured friends cling to her side.
"Thyme, this won't do," Katy told him.
Now that they were safely out of the main thoroughfare, Thyme came forward with bravado. If you could swagger while flying, the fairy did it. "Not do, Katy? This is grand! This is one hell of an adventure!"
Katy shook her head. "No," she said. "Look at the people, including the ones who work here." She nodded her head toward the dwindling crowds. "They're tired, after a long day, which makes this absolutely the best time for us to have come. I think we should take advantage of it. After all, we've come this far, haven't we?" The others nodded uncertainly. "But it's important, Thyme, that everyone acts with consideration for the people of my world," she said firmly.
Thyme was affronted. "Of course, Katy. We are very sensitive to the needs of others."
Like heck you are, Katy's tired brain said sarcastically, but she kept her tone pleasant as she continued. "If we're brave, and act as though we have a purpose here, then you may be allowed to go on the rides." Several eyes flared more brightly. I've done it now, Katy thought. "I'll come along to get you in, and I'll wait for you at the exit. But, if anyone tries to stop us, or seems uncomfortable about our being there, then we must leave, or at least move to another part of the park. At once. Understood?"
"Of course, Katy," Lily said happily. Katy looked at the way they were shifting with excitement and wondered if they'd heard any of her little speech after "go on the rides".
As they moved down the lane, Katy pulled the rug from Symmerley's back. Lily looked at her curiously. "The time for concealment is past, Lily. We must be bold now. But, perhaps, you and Thyme should perch on the shoulders of one of the others - and Symmerley should keep his wings folded." Then, seeing how they were still clinging to her, she added, "Pretend that you're in an ad - on TV. Act as though you belong here."
They moved into the crowds, then headed towards the riverboat. Katy felt that this was a good starting place - one where Symmerley could ride, too, for Katy couldn't bear to think that he'd be left out of the excitement. Katy went with them, to make certain everyone behaved.
"Excuse me, but no animals are allowed on this ride." Dave Holner was adamant.
"I'm sorry, but you'll see they have passes."
"Sorry, Ma'am, but I still can't allow -"
"Will you look at them please: the eyes, the colours? This is a rather special promotion, and we're trying it out in the evening to gauge public response, but without letting the 'cat out of the bag', so to speak."
"I'm sorry, Lady, but I'm going to have to ring Security - just to check, you understand."
Why do you have to be so damn thorough? Katy thought. Aloud, she said, "I can't understand why the notice wasn't sent around to all park employees. Did you check the notice board today?" she asked, taking a chance.
He looked down, scuffing his shoe. "No, I was running a little late, and I didn't -"
Katy smiled. "Well, then," she said brightly. "That explains it."
He was still hesitant, but people behind them were getting restless. Just then, Lily darted forward to hover daintily in front of him. Dave's jaw dropped. "Beautiful, isn't she?" Katy said softly. Lily pirouetted. "A combination of genetic research and computer technology. Can we go aboard now, please?"
Dave nodded. He vowed right then he was going back to school, to do a major in genetics and a minor in computer science. He waved at the little fairy, and was astounded when she waved back. Dave glanced at the other one, and was surprised when it stuck its tongue out at him.
Boarding the next ride was easier. The same questions were raised, and Katy repeated her little story, but this time, she waved to Dave, who was still watching them from the riverboat. He gave Shelley Jackson, who controlled the raft ride, the thumbs up. She nodded her head and waved them aboard.
Symmerley was limited to the larger attractions, due to his size. Katy stayed with him, leaning on him as required, making certain he wasn't harassed. Symmerley didn't seem to mind. In fact, when Katy unintentionally dozed off while seated on a bench, he awoke her with a gentle nuzzle. She was really feeling knackered now, but she couldn't bring herself to spoil this outing, especially now that they'd pulled it off so successfully.
Katy tried to stay close to the others, frequently finding it necessary to intercede on their behalf. When they arrived at the rollercoaster, Katy realised she was repeating her little talk for the tenth time. It sounded pretty convincing by now. As the queue built up behind them, Tina Merritt, the employee on the rollercoaster, gave in.
"Just make certain they're all safely harnessed, okay?" she pleaded.
Katy nodded confidently. "Of course," she said.
Katy began to think they weren't ever going to get off the roller coaster. Every time it would stop, they'd circle around and get on again. And once on, all their vows of behaving themselves seemed forgotten. Wings sparked, Cyrnol howled, and the two wongnits used their flexible fingers to perch on the lips of the cars. Katy waited patiently at the exit, uncertain what to do.
To Thyme, the high point of the evening came when the little gnome vomited after riding the roller coaster for the fourth time. "Can't you handle it, you little moron?" he sneered happily at Qualice, briefly forgetting that he'd vowed to be polite in front of Katy. Katy stooped down next to the little being, helping him, then went into the ladies' room for some tissue to wipe his face. When she came out, they were gone - all of them. And, she realised - seeing a flash of white that could only be Symmerley, in one direction, and a sparkle of wings in another - they must have dispersed in their excitement. What the heck am I going to do now? she worried.
*
Cyrnol, the cat-beast, was on the trail of food. Someone had inadvertently burned some waffles, and he followed the delectable odour to the rubbish bin outside the stall. Afterwards, he sneaked in under the tarpaulin, and delicately nibbled the burnt char off the rim of the waffle iron. His hosts on this world had been very nice, but they couldn't cook like this. He sighed happily, then slunk away to appease the last gnawings of his appetite with a scrunging of some burnt caramel corn. Life was sweet.
Qualice, the little gnome-creature, was eager to get the sour taste out of his mouth. No longer afraid of the passers-by, he went where his instincts led him - to the water. Unfortunately, he chose one of the more scenic spots, where a restaurant had been built to overlook the grass, lamplit trees, artificial fireflies and slowly-moving water. The little creature lapped some of the water from the artificial river, and was promptly sick again - an odd, semi-crystalline musty-odoured stuff that upset the people in the restaurant. The gnome, trying to be friendly, merely stared at them with his flashing eyes, and attempted a smile. It came out as more of a leer, and the restaurant patrons were disgusted over the shiny-eyed, leering little vomiter. A few called to the waiter, asking him what was going on, and the waiter rang Security.
Melpis and Deron, the two who in appearance combined the smooth sleekness of a strong-muscled otter, with near-human appendages, climbed into the trees, their habitat in their own world, and started shredding leaves for camouflage. The leaf fragments fell onto people in the queue for the jungle ride, and someone started screaming about real monkeys in the trees that were throwing stuff. Security received another call.
Thyme took Lily through the spook house ride, from which she emerged with flashing red eyes and a pink cast to her glow. Thyme had decided that this was the ideal opportunity to experiment with some technique he'd seen in a late-night film. As soon as they were out of the attraction, Lily gave Thyme a sparkling slap, and yanked his wings so that he plummeted into a nearby rubbish bin. She then darted away, out of his sight, needing to cool her aura to its usual soft golden-white.
Gyris followed Thyme and Lily into the spook house. The figures painted on the outside attracted him, with the promise of a bevy of beauteous creatures much like himself, but in deeply sombre shades of red and green. Gyris had noticed many old buildings with sculpted heads similar to his own, in a book Peter kept at the house. He had also understood some of Mari's discussion with Lily about churches, and the manner in which objects of worship were captured in statue or painted form, which were then placed about on walls and shelves. He wondered if this place, where Thyme was leading Lily, was a house of worship to deities modelled after his own form. The idea pleased him, and he hurriedly lumbered forward, eager to experience this latest example of human wisdom.
Cliso, the snake-woman, was drawn directly to the water. She considered that she'd shown great forbearance during their forays on the riverboat and the rafts, but she was longing for a swim. Cliso couldn't understand why more people weren't splashing in the river; the water was a little stale, but the temperature was great. She dove under one of the rafts, popping up to splash the inhabitants, leaping over the tip and diving again, only to explode out of the water somewhere else.
Symmerley had been pleased to detect a being much like himself, but lacking wings. He trailed after her as she pulled her load of passengers down and around a miniature park. He was upset that she was so trapped in harness and reins, and decided that she deserved her freedom. The horse was as petrified as the occupants of the carriage when Symmerley blocked the path, then proceeded to cut through the leather trappings with his powerful teeth.
Katy followed Symmerley. She reckoned that, unless he forgot himself so much as to take to the air, she would have a better chance of keeping him in sight than one of the others. She'd almost caught up with him when the people ran screaming from the carriage. The horse, whom Symmerley was earnestly attempting to free, was rearing and neighing, plunging up and down within her traces. When she was finally free, instead of offering Symmerley the thanks he anticipated, the mare took off, tearing big divots in the fine grass lawn of the little park.
Katy groaned. "Symmerley!" she pleaded urgently. "What are you doing?"
He looked at her, really noticing her for the first time. People were staring at them, but from twenty feet away; most of them afraid to come any closer. Someone was pushing through the crowd, and Katy saw him lift a small radio. Damn! Security!
Katy tugged Symmerley's mane. "Where are the others? Quick! Do you know?"
Symmerley slowly unfolded his wings, then knelt for Katy to climb astride. "No, Symmerley, we can't -" she began, but then turned to see that the Security personnel now numbered seven or eight, and were obviously ready to intercept these troublemakers. "All right, Symmerley, let's go!" she said breathlessly. She pulled herself aboard, urging him to rise.
The spectators drew further back in awe as Symmerley beat his powerful wings. Bits of paper flew, fun hats blew off, and one small child plopped over on his behind with the force of the wind. Symmerley lifted into the air, and Jo McIlby, the head Security man, let his radio slip from his fingers as he gaped open-mouthed at the spectacle. No longer agitated, but openly astounded, the crowd burst forth with "Oohs" and "Aahs". Fingers pointed and all heads turned to watch Katy and the brilliant white steed. The noise of the crowds subsided and only the tinny music and the whoosh of Symmerley's wings could be heard as he lifted still higher, to be seen by more park-goers.
Symmerley, the acknowledged centre of all eyes, was enjoying his notoriety. He tucked his legs gracefully underneath, moving with wide, slow undulations of his great wings. He lifted his head, and his eyes shone even more brightly than before.
Katy, bleary-eyed with weariness, wondered at a sudden sparkle of multi-coloured light that reflected on his brilliant coat. Then she heard an explosive sound, near at hand. Fireworks! One of the major attractions for summer visitors - the lovely, brightly sparkling fireworks display!
Symmerley, startled out of his elegant posture, flapped wildly, terrified at the hot and searing explosions that were bursting so near at hand. Katy tangled her hands in his mane, desperately trying to stop herself from slipping off, her face close to his back and her knees gripping as tightly as she was able. She saw it coming - a firework that was never intended to stop at their elevation - that was destined for the higher atmosphere and that only their presence could impede. It erupted past them, leaving its own trail of fire, burning part of Symmerley's hind leg and causing him to jerk screaming to one side. Katy's leg slid over, until she was dangling from the great beast's side, fingers clenched in his mane. Symmerley, realising that she was slipping, tried to slide under her - to catch her.
It was too late. Katy lost her grip and fell. Five - ten - fifteen metres: Katy fell with her glance still skyward, catching one brief glimpse of flashing white, as Symmerley glided toward the water's surface, before an explosion of pink and green lightened the evening sky. Then it was water exploding around her - pulling, slapping, its force closing over her head and sending her downwards, under the surface of the manmade lagoon. She ploughed feet first into the muddy bottom, which brought her descent to a jarring halt. The last thing she remembered was opening her eyes to water thick with mud and silt, before it dissolved into liquid darkness.
*
Peter started running. They were nearing the hydroelectric plant now, and he threw all caution away as he veered off, to dash past the turbines, under huge pipes and moving cable. Trevor was right behind him, never hesitating to follow his friend's lead. He didn't ask why Peter was in such a hurry, although caution might have better disguised their trail, because he didn't need to - he was as aware as Peter that something major, something devastating had taken place. He was also aware that it involved Katy, and that Peter didn't want to talk about it.
They went at last through a thick cloud of steam, emerging into the clear cold of night. Peter never looked back. A chilling, dark weight had settled in the deepest part of his being, and he was afraid. Was this the way it would always be? Their lives would just begin to callous over the trauma of his genetic alteration - a scab for injuries that went beyond the physical. Then another blow would hit them. And somehow it all led back to the mutation he had undergone. A single day's incident whose far-reaching effects permutated through any even tenor they were able to establish. Was this a means of redressing the balance? Of establishing a physical levelling of cause and effect so that each step forward needed to be thwarted by some disaster in the opposite direction?
Katy had stuck by him and, more than that, she had sacrificed all of her dreams for their future - their wedding plans, the times together with their friends, her rights to a private life with all its public moments that day-to-day living required. And most of all, her desire for children. Why did the cost to her have to go beyond this? Neither Trevor nor I have chosen this alteration of our lives, Peter thought, but at least we have benefited from a new perception of the world, an almost boundless supply of energy that provides its own sense of well-being, and from an unleashing of the natural laws - allowing us to span dimensions. Katy had chosen him - over government pressure, over the unlikelihood of a happily-ever-after, and, in essence, had eliminated her own opportunity for a secure future. Her secret - him - would forever haunt her: at work, with friends, in decisions for her future. Peter had grave regrets for what life had done to his Katy, but he knew that for her, like himself, life outside of their tightly-bound relationship would be endlessly dark. Such strong bonds went far beyond the novelty of falling in love over and over again. She was part of him - the finest part - the part that gave him hope like a brilliant ray of sunshine in a dark forest glade. If anything happened to her, not only would he know, but some darkness would reside forever in his soul.
She was definitely in some difficulty now. Her distress and fear wove gossamer threads of terror through him that were almost a tangible thing. His focus had narrowed, and he was aware of only one thing - the need to find her. He started when Trevor spoke, for it drew him back to the present, to an awareness of the cool night air and the star sparks in the sky above.
Trevor, for his part, knew it was time to drag Peter back. He sensed Peter was lingering at the edge of some dark abyss, and he would function better if he could widen his focus. Trevor understood better than Peter would have supposed, considering that it was Katy who was in difficulty. Trevor sensed that Peter's and Katy's relationship was much like a volcanic island - deeply rooted, active and ever-changing - and he knew Peter couldn't tolerate it if the fire were ever lost.
It frightened Trevor when he sensed the eclipsing of his friend's sensitivity. He hadn't realised how accustomed he'd become to those seemingly limitless connections that existed in their new sensory perception, and the sudden narrowing of his friend's awareness was as loud to him as the clanging of a heavy metal door. For someone with as much sensory awareness, latent energy, and untapped power, such a move was a dangerous one, Trevor believed. If there was one thing he and Peter had discovered in the last few days, it was that such energy as they possessed needed release, and resisted efforts at confinement. To bottle up such dynamic force might cause it to build to the point where Peter was no longer in control; where the magnitude of energy within sought its own form of release.
"When we find Katy, allow me to personally boot Spigot through the gate, Peter. I think, if I did it right, I could treat it like a field goal, and kick his little tail from the fifty yard line. What do you think?"
It worked.
"I think, if this is Spigot's fault, then you'd better boot him through before I get my hands on him, Trev."
*
Mari was dwelling, lost in a nightmare of scenes where Katy was sleeping, unaware, and Cyrnol crept up to attack her. She made an effort to recapture the sensible, calm, reasonable person she'd confined her professional self to being. Mari had deliberately designed the mould and forced herself into it, in her attempt to be the best doctor possible; to be able to see a situation without emotional overtones, and make decisions rationally. She didn't know why everything was different now - why she was bordering on panic. She had always prided herself on her self-control, and seen it as the best means of finding the solution to a problem - any problem.
She had known Katy for such a short time, yet she felt as though they'd been friends forever. Such were the bonds that had been forged from their experience. Katy saved my life, she thought.
Was this how it was for other physicians, who had a friend or family member in peril? Probably. Her knowledge, rather than sustaining her, made it worse, because she'd seen accidents and dog bites, and knew how severe they could be. Something about the grim spectre of being eaten by something you trusted - like your pet dog or a cat-beast whom you'd invited into your home - was so grotesque that Mari felt physically ill.
God help me, if Trevor is ever sick again, she thought. She loved him more each day, and she knew she wouldn't handle it very well should anything happen to him. Returning to thinking about Katy, she put the pedal to the metal, and wondered if she was flipping out. Panic had never been Mari's style, and she just didn't know what to do about it.
*
Thyme had heard the fireworks. He was astounded by the bright sparkling lights, which mimicked some of the colours of his own world. He felt an additional pride as he thought how the others must be enjoying the spectacle, and smugly smiled as he considered how it would raise his stature even higher in their eyes. Then he heard Symmerley's scream, and realised that the great beast had taken to the skies. He saw Katy dangling from Symmerley's mane, and sensed her fear and desperation. He watched with horror as Katy slipped from Symmerley's back, careened down through the flashing night sky, and plunged deep into the water of the lagoon. He was frantic when she didn't reappear.
Thyme darted over, but Lily was there before him. Symmerley circled the area where Katy had disappeared, but the movement of his wings created small waves in the calm water, so Thyme signalled him to the shore of the small island in the centre, where he waited, rearing and screaming in a strange, echoing, far-from-horse-like manner. Symmerley liked Katy, recognising a friend in the artistic and open-minded human. He knew that she saw him as incredibly beautiful, whereas the creatures of his own world took him for granted. He sensed her joy in just looking at him. Symmerley felt responsible for her fall, for he had forgotten her in his first lurch of fear and pain. If she was no more, it would hurt him deeply.
Thyme and Lily buzzed around like two berserk fireflies. Thyme dove into the water, intent on enclosing Katy's nose and mouth within a fairy aura - to keep her from inhaling the water. But, fairy wings were never designed for the kind of watery depths in this dredged-out lagoon, and Thyme's best effort failed to reach where Katy lay.
He didn't know what to do. Lily turned to Thyme for advice, as leader of this expedition, only to discover that he was as panicked as she was, with no trace of bravado left. Thyme felt the loss of Katy keenly, as a friend who had defended him, but also as someone who believed in him. If anything happened to her, Peter would never forgive him, nor would Trevor. Lily would also have cause to hate him, and - perhaps worst of all - he would forever hate himself.
Cliso swam quickly upriver, from where her frolicking antics had taken her, and into the manmade lagoon. Her serpentine tail made undulating patterns through the water, her speed through the still waters creating a wake of white froth. People along the shore murmured, and a few squealed in horror, for Cliso combined the enticing aspects of a mermaid with the fearful sinuousness of a sea serpent. In observing her, at times her womanly features won out, with a strange sensual attraction that drew the eye. But tonight, the threat in the atmosphere emphasised Cliso's more monstrous attributes: her rounded, scaly lower half, her forked tongue, and those laterally constricting pupils with their flashing irises.
Jerry Meyers had stripped off his shirt, and begun undoing his trousers, to go to the aid of the fallen flyer. He saw several other people in equal dishabille. Some of the crowd started laughing, and one of a girls on the staff began clapping. She was joined by Dave Holner and Shelley Jackson. Confused, Jerry hesitated. Dave slapped him on the back. "It's one hell of a show, isn't it?" he said kindly, nudging him in the ribs.
Jerry started chuckling, joining in the joke. "I can't believe it!" he admitted. "I thought it was real."
This started a new outburst of laughter, and Thyme, Lily, and Cliso paused momentarily in their efforts, to stare at the buffoons on the shore. "Humans are crazy," Thyme muttered. Cliso dove down to the muddy bottom.
When Cliso burst from the water, Katy was in her arms. Lily drew close, her aura a bright white in her panic. Katy's face, in-between the muddy streaks, looked grey. "This is very bad," Lily said worriedly. Cliso pulled the human across to the shore where Symmerley knelt in the shallows, subdued now, wondering how severely this nice human had been damaged.
Katy was limp as Cliso tugged her over Symmerley's back, which forced the snake-woman to inadvertently plunk her down harder than she had intended. It was enough to force up some of the water that Katy had swallowed. It started a reaction. Katy started vomiting muddy lagoon water, gasping for breath in-between. She coughed and choked, losing more of the muddy stuff. Finally, feeling distinctly empty, Katy slid weakly off Symmerley's back, to sit in the ankle-deep water, leaning back against the bright white steed. He nuzzled her gently while she sat there with closed eyes, breathing shallowly, wanting to avoid another coughing fit. She experimented with deeper breaths, surprised that the night air was so sweet, and amazed that she was still alive. She opened her eyes, then put up her hand to shield them against the glaring white of Thyme and Lily, whose levels of excitation were exaggerated to the brightness of 150 watt bulbs. Eager to relieve their minds, she smiled weakly. "Thyme," she whispered. He moved closer to catch her words. "Let's skip the zoo."
*
Mari was forced to go slower on the back roads leading to Peter's and Katy's place. She remembered a few days ago when she'd gotten lost trying to find it, and she didn't want any impedance to her return tonight. When she finally rounded the curve, spotting the driveway on her right, she squealed the tyres as she pulled in, stirring up clouds of dust as she slammed on the brakes.
The house stood dark and silent. Mari shivered a little in the coolness of the air, unnerved at the silence of a house that had always been so full of people - no, she amended her thinking - so full of beings, since she'd been there. She stood there uncertainly, wondering what to do, wishing Trevor had a flashlight in his car that would help her cross the empty space to the front door. Oh, Peter! she thought. Why don't you get the damn porch light fixed? She left Trevor's car running, afraid to turn if off, in case she and Katy had need of a quick escape.
She was nearly to the porch when she heard a snuffling at the front door, followed by a high-pitched whine. She jumped back, heart pounding. Struggling for control, she stood stiffly as the noise came again, followed by a joyous barking. Chuckling with relief, she called out, "Mortimer!" The dog scratched at the front door, eager to greet one of his friends. Mari opened the door, and reached in her hand to turn on the light.
Mortimer came bounding out, jumping against her, licking her hands, sniffing her indelicately - doing all those doggie things that Peter and Katy had tried to train out of him. "Good boy, Morty," she said, then called him back in while she checked the house.
"Oh please, Katy, be asleep in your bed," she muttered to herself, half afraid to look after all her imaginings. Mari went straight to the room, flipping on lights along the way. The bed was empty. No Katy. No Lily. "Katy!" Mari called, hoping for an answer. "Katy!" she called again. There was nothing.
Mari stopped then, to think, to try to come up with an answer. She refused to let her fears overcome her again. Where would Katy have gone? In the back of her mind she noticed that the house still held a faint aroma of that acrid smoke that had changed Peter's and Trevor's lives forever. It only added to her worry, and she wished desperately for Trevor to return so she wouldn't be alone in this. Mari hated to admit it, but she had never considered the dark as friendly, and had no liking for the lonely dark of this place.
Mortimer sensed her upset and stayed by her side as she went through every room, turning on lights. Why would Katy go without telling them anything? If she were able, she would have left a message to let them know where she'd gone. There must be a note somewhere. But where? Mari raced into the bedroom again, hoping she might find one on Katy's bed. Nothing.
Mortimer jumped up against her. He'd been patient, but he had to go out. Now! Mari took him to the front door, opening it to let him out. As it opened to the light, she saw the note. Where I couldn't miss it if it hadn't been dark, Mari said to herself. Relief flooded her as she realised she could forget all the intangible fears that had been occupying her brain. She snatched the note off the door, and pulled it into the light to read. Then she slumped down into a nearby chair, half laughing, but also wondering what the hell she should do.
*
Katy dragged herself onto Symmerley's back. She really wanted to ride in the car, but if Thyme's belligerent moods could be irritating, then this hovering mode, with his face constantly in hers to check how she was doing, was impossible. Katy's patience was gone, and she had to admit she felt crappy. She could have sworn she must have vomited up all the lagoon water she'd swallowed - there'd been so much of it. But now she felt like throwing up again, which was not only unpleasant, but hurt like hell. She'd never been so tired in her life, and would dearly love to be asleep. All she wanted to do was go home. "Thyme," she said hoarsely, "you have to get the others to the car. Before Security comes after you again. Can you do it?"
Thyme nodded. "The others all came when you fell, Katy," he said quietly, indicating the small group standing isolated in the crowd that was still hooting and clapping wildly.
"Symmerley and I will make a pass over the crowd - rather like the last act in the show." She looked at him to see if Symmerley agreed. He nuzzled her hand in response. "It'll be your chance to get away. Understand?"
"Katy," Thyme was looking shamefaced. "Please be careful."
Making an effort, she smiled at him. "Lily?" she asked.
Lily flew quickly up to her, eager to help. "Lily, I'm so tired - I'm afraid I might fall again. Would you mind flying near me, to help me stay awake?"
"Of course, my Friend." Lily looked pleased.
Katy saw that Thyme was looking hurt. Damn fairies! she thought. Aloud, she said, "I would have asked you, too, Thyme, but we're relying on you to drive the car and see the others safely home."
He appeared somewhat restored by her statement, and a trace of the old bravado could be seen. Smiling, he said to her, "Stay annoyed, Katherine! It will keep you awake better than anything else!" And he buzzed in, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before darting off, laughing, to collect his friends for the return trip.
Symmerley, with Katy clinging shakily but firmly to his back, climbed skywards. They swooped down low over the crowd, covering them with water droplets to squeals of delight and dismay. As Cliso, Melpis, Deron, Gyris, and Qualice moved quickly through darkened walkways to the exit, Thyme sped ahead to bring the car near at hand so they wouldn't have any repeats of the night's rowdiness.
Symmerley, Katy, and Lily headed homeward across the late night skies, where the moon was just beginning to rise. The moon was caught and held by irrigation ponds and natural lakes, casting a sheen on newly dew-drenched trees as it grew still brighter. Katy ignored it all, to lay her head against Symmerley's warm back, and hope she could hold back any lagoon water that still lingered inside.
Lily, studying her, elected to sit delicately between Symmerley's strong shoulders, with one hand resting gently on Katy's head. Their adventure had nearly become a tragedy, but now, all would be well. The little fairy stared out at the black and white beauty of this strange world, and smiled.
***
Chapter Six
Peter saw the lights of his house in the distance and allowed himself to relax a little. Whatever the crisis had been, the immediacy of it had passed. He glanced rather sheepishly at Trevor, who remarked, "Hey, don't look at me! You'll notice I didn't exactly lag on the pace myself."
"I don't know how much longer I can stand these emotional excesses, Trev. I just about went crazy tonight, thinking about all the things that could have happened. Now that home is in sight, I just feel foolish."
"Don't. I felt it, too. After all, it was only a few days ago that Mader put everyone through hell. It's no wonder if we're a little concerned our first time away."
Peter smiled. "We're not the only ones concerned. Look at that! Every light in the house is on."
*
Mari had just checked the contents of her bag, and was collecting Katy's things - toothbrush, comb, brush, and so on - to admit her to the hospital. Katy must be feeling much better than she'd been earlier if she'd agreed to go to an amusement park, but Mari wanted to be prepared, just in case.
She shook her head. It just didn't make sense. She was trying to decide what her next move should be - should she try to intercept them? No, there was too great a chance that she'd miss them. She wasn't all that sure she'd recognise Peter's car in the dark, anyway. She looked at the note again and bent to pick up her bag. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the front door. Creeping to the doorway, she peeked out into the long hall - Trevor and Peter were home! Trevor caught her eye and she ran down the hall to fling herself into his arms. "I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!" she said, kissing him hard and giving him a tight squeeze. Then she pulled back enough to look at them both.
"More!" Trevor said. She put her fingers across his lips. "Later," she promised. "This is important." He contented himself with nibbling on her fingers.
"Katy's not here, Mari," Peter said. "Where is she?" he asked worriedly.
"I won't ask you how you know she's away, Peter, but to answer your question: she's at the amusement park - or the zoo - or both," Mari said.
"What!" He sounded stunned. "The amusement park? The zoo? Mari, how could you let her go! You know how she was feeling!"
Mari looked hurt, but she knew Peter was upset. "Thyme told me Symmerley was dying from a vitamin and mineral deficiency, and I went to get the supplements he supposedly needed."
Trevor glanced at Peter. "That was the story line of a drama on TV the other night. Sounds like he sent Mari on a wild goose chase." He turned to Mari. "Did you take my car, Mari? I saw it running out front."
"Thyme hot-wired it for me."
Trevor looked incredulous. "Hot-wired it?" he repeated.
Mari nodded. Then she continued, "Katy was sleeping soundly when I left. Lily was with her, and I really thought it would be hours before she woke up. I'm sorry, Peter," she said. "I planned on being back sooner, but it took me a long time to find a store where I could buy the supplements for Symmerley. I had to keep the motor running, and I accidentally ran out of petrol. Auto club had to bail me out. When I got back here, I found Katy's note. Oh, by the way, Trevor," she added, "your petrol gauge lies."
"Can I see the note, Mari?" Peter scanned it. He crumpled it, furious. "Damn, damn, damn! I'll kill her when she gets back! How could she do something like this? It's so damned irresponsible!"
Mari touched his arm. "Katy would never have wanted you to worry. And you know the last thing she'd do would be to willingly endanger any of us. She wouldn't have gone unless there was a good reason."
Peter paced up and down, his vigorous activity making the hall seem smaller. "That's what I'm afraid of," he said quietly. Coming to a decision, he flung open the front door, banging it against the wall in his haste. "I'm going to look for her," he said. "Mari, I'm sorry about what I said. I should have known it wasn't your fault." His look was serious. "If Katy gets back first, please take good care of her, even if it means putting her into the hospital to keep her from pulling any more stunts like this." In a worried tone he added, "Something happened to her tonight, and I don't even want to guess what it could be."
Peter turned to Trevor then. "If you see that miserable little flying son-of-a-gun, suggest to him that he returns through the gate tonight - before I get back. Otherwise, I'll take a stick to him!" He stepped out onto the porch, slamming the door behind him.
*
Peter had only moved a few steps when he heard a whooshing sound above the chug-chug idling of Trevor's car. Looking up in the sky, he saw the silhouette of Symmerley against the bright moon. As Symmerley came closer, he noticed a bright shaft of light that could only be the aura of a fairy. "Trev, Mari, they're back!" he yelled. Peter looked for some sign of Katy, but it wasn't until Symmerley had settled to earth that Peter could see her past the ruffled wings.
As Trevor and Mari came out of the house, Peter lifted Katy from Symmerley's back. She was dripping wet, and cold except where she'd been in contact with Symmerley. "Katy," Peter said softly, but there was no response. He carried her into the house, kicking wide the partially opened door, to lay her down on the bed in their room, where he started gently stripping off her wet clothes. In a few seconds Mari was at his side, bag in hand, and Trevor had gone for extra blankets and a hot water bottle. Peter was drying her off with a towel when she gave up another load of muddy water.
"What the heck was that?" Peter looked worriedly at Mari.
But it was Lily who answered. She had quietly followed the others into the house. "It is muddy water - from the lagoon," she said, crystalline tears in her eyes. "Symmerley was burned by a firework, and Katy fell into the lagoon. I am sorry," she said.
Mari didn't look up from where she was listening to Katy's heartbeat. "How far did Katy fall - into the lagoon, Lily?" she asked tersely.
"I do not know how to tell you, Mari -" she began.
"Was it as far as this house is tall?" Mari asked.
"No, it was like two - maybe three houses high, Mari. She went into the mud. Thyme and I couldn't get to her, so Cliso pulled her out."
Mari looked at Peter. He met her eyes - fear in his own - but he was quiet as Mari asked Lily the question that was preying on her mind. "Lily, this is important. Did Katy talk to you, after she was pulled out of the lagoon? Did she have her eyes open at all?"
"Oh, yes, Mari. She opened her eyes and spoke to Thyme, because he was so worried."
"What did she say, Lily?" Mari asked, hoping it was something that would show Katy was in possession of her faculties.
"She said, 'Thyme, let's skip the zoo'," Lily quoted.
"Anything else?"
"Yes, Mari. She asked me to fly with her, to keep her awake. But I could not - she was much too tired. But I kept her from falling again." Mari looked at Peter, and nodded. He looked relieved, the brilliant glow of his eyes cooling somewhat.
Peter told the fairy, "Thank you, Lily. For helping Katy."
"She was very brave, Peter. She is my friend." The fairy hesitated. "She is damaged, Peter. I am sorry," she said sadly.
"Mari's going to take her to a place where they'll fix it, Lily." He waited patiently for Mari to finish her examination. She kept it cursory.
"I'm going to take her in, Peter. Tonight. I think we should get her into Trevor's car."
"I want to come, Mari."
She shook her head. "Katy would be the first to tell you no. Just consider this a return to our original plan." She saw he was looking stubborn. "Peter," she said gently, "there's nothing more you can do there than here, and we don't need anyone else in jeopardy. I promise I'll call you in the morning, after I see how she's doing. Or maybe Katy will ring you herself."
Peter nodded. "Please, Mari - let me know as soon as you can."
"I will. Right now, the sooner we get her there, the better I'll feel." She went out to ask Trevor to ready the back seat.
Peter bent down, and put his hands on either side of Katy's head, to place a kiss on her cold lips. Then he sponged her face carefully with a warm cloth, before making certain she was securely wrapped in blankets for the journey. He carried her out, hoping she'd awaken so that he could tell her just how much he loved her.
Mari checked Katy one last time, pleased to find that her skin was becoming noticeably warmer now; she no longer had that ice-cold shocky feel. Mari hugged Trevor, then Peter - giving him a reassuring smile as she slipped into the driver's seat. As she drove away, Peter stood at the foot of the driveway, Trevor at his side. They watched as the taillights disappeared in the distance. Peter had never felt so bereft in his life.
*
The Thing that was Mader moved from the lab to the quiet darkness of a seldom-used corridor. The action wasn't motivated by any fear of retaliation, or capture - it was just one more remnant of the behavioural patterns that had driven him when he was human. To be devious and secretive were intrinsic to his nature: a part of him that had not been lost during his massive mutation.
The fires of hunger had been more than physical, but the hunger for vengeance was, perhaps, his deepest driving force. This force was controlled by a faulty memory of past events - one that stirred an emotional response, a lusting for satisfaction. It was beyond him to rationalise a perceived abuse. Now, he could only act upon it. It was simply the causal agent for the damage that was to follow.
*
Horace Whitney and Vicki Kojan responded after an alert came from Allen Andrews, in Security. The video cameras in the lab had been cut to scans of the area every quarter hour. This was all that Al considered necessary, since the lab was basically off-limits after the damage that had been done.
"What was it Al thought he saw?" Vicki asked Horace quietly as they stood in the doorway, neither wanting to take the first step inside, but not willing to admit it.
"He wasn't certain. With the lighting cut back in here, it was hard to distinguish."
"Yeah, but what did he think it was?" Vicki didn't want to scare herself more, but she needed to know how fast she was going to have to run.
"Well, he thinks he saw some kind of shiny blob."
"A blob." Vicki snickered. "It sounds like he and Kelwin have seen one too many low-budget films. Do you think Kelwin has gone over the edge?" Vicki asked Horace in a whisper.
"Well, you saw the thing in the closet. I'm willing to bet it's all that's left of Mader. And whatever did that to him is not something I want to run into."
"Yeah, but Kelwin is totally freaked. He's talking about quitting." She added, "He may not have to after the way he stomped off tonight."
"What difference does it make?" Horace asked in an astringent whisper. "For all we know, none of us may be on the payroll tomorrow. In fact, none of us may be on the payroll right now."
"Then why are we doing this?" Vicki glanced around at the dark corners of the lab, very much aware of the vast areas of the room that were hidden from view by the bulky lab benches.
The moon was full overhead, and Horace could see it, framed by the uneven hole in the glass ceiling. A wind stirred through the gaping orifice, and Horace shivered slightly.
"Full moon," Vicki commented. She stepped forward, moving toward the centre of the lab, more aware of the darkness than the scattered lights. "Horace, is there any way to get the brights on in here?"
He shook his head. "No. Too much damage. The electricians cut those circuits to eliminate any fire hazard."
"Christ! Why don't they just fix the bloody things?" Vicki was getting really nervous now. She'd moved far from the doorway.
Horace didn't bother to answer. He knew she was just bitching to keep up her nerve. Anything rather than letting the imagination run wild. "Smile for the camera, Vick," he said, waving and making a face at the video lens. Al was going to monitor them until they'd finished.
She shrugged her shoulders and grunted, turning her face away from the lens. "I don't see anything. Is this the monitor he was watching?"
"I think so. Ring him and ask." Vicki was moving to the phone when her feet encountered some viscous material. Lifting her foot, she could see that it was highly reflective, and sticky enough to gum some of the glass bits to her shoe.
"Horace, look at this." They both squatted to examine the stuff, which seemed to form a trail through the debris.
"Almost looks like a giant snail went through here. Do you think it could be Al's 'blob'?" Horace asked her.
"I don't like to think so, but maybe." She stood up. "We'd better follow where it goes."
"It might be better to get a few reinforcements first," Horace said seriously.
She glanced at him. "You know how we'll get ribbed if we call in help because we feel we can't handle this blob thing ourselves."
"Look, I don't care, Vick. I'd rather be alive and scorned, than a skin to hang on someone's wall."
"Right. I agree." She glanced down at the mucousy trail. "Only it seems as though it may have gone over by the phone."
"Well, we have a fifty-fifty chance. It may have gone in the other direction."
"How lucky are you feeling, Horace?" she asked him grimly.
"Ask me when there's not a full moon," he answered.
They moved slowly in the direction of the phone, unable to avoid the crunching of glass, which masked other sounds in the room. Vicki, in the lead, suddenly stepped on something soft. She gasped and jumped back, thunking her head against Horace's nose in her haste.
"What is it?" Horace asked urgently, unable to see himself, for her quick action had nearly broken his nose, and both his eyes were watering in response.
"It looks like Kadocian. I'd say something's been at him." She looked quickly around, prepared to leap up onto the bench if anything moved out of the dark.
"He's been eaten?" Horace asked fearfully, using the tail of his shirt to wipe his streaming eyes so that he could see.
"No. Yes. I don't know."
"Is he alive?"
She nodded. "Yes, but I don't know for how long. Let's get him out of here."
"Maybe we'd better get a stretcher -" Horace began.
"Look, Horace, I don't know about you, but I don't get paid enough to wait for someone to bring a stretcher. And I sure as hell am not going to go searching for one."
In answer, Horace lifted Kadocian's limp body over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. "I'll take his legs -" Vicki started to say.
"Forget it. It'll be faster this way. Just watch my back, okay?"
They reached the hall, slamming the door to the lab. Without hesitation, they moved quickly down the corridors, to warmth, lights, security. Kadocian was still limp in Horace's grip, but he could feel the man's heart beat, so he didn't bother stopping. As Vicki reached for the last door, Horace said, "Hey, Vick, you did a good job back there."
She smiled. "Yeah, I did, didn't I? Thanks, Horace." She looked at him. "Oh, by the way, your nose is bleeding." She opened the door, holding it for him.
Both of his hands were fully occupied, holding Kadocian. Now she tells me I have a bloody nose, he thought, annoyed. He hesitated for a moment, but then, somewhere in the corridors behind them, there was a noise, as a door was forcibly opened, to slam against the wall. The lab. His eyes met Vicki's and hastily, he stepped through the door.
*
Peter crossed the yard to where Symmerley stood, nearly phosphorescent in the moonlight. He traced his hand down the graceful length of the horselike neck, then buried his face against the great creature, lost in the darkness of his thoughts.
Lily fluttered to Symmerley's shoulder, where she perched, sadly, wondering what comfort she could offer to this human. Her aura had dimmed, a reaction to the worry and loss that shadowed Peter's being.
Trevor crossed to Peter's side, to place his hand upon his friend's shoulder - letting the warmth of it carry its own message of hope and strength. After a moment, though, he decided that action would help displace his desperation, so he recalled him to the present. "Peter?"
Peter looked up, and Trevor forced himself to ignore the sorrow in those glowing eyes. "We better take a look at Symmerley. Lily said he was burned."
Lily nodded. "The firework travelled across his leg. It was very painful."
Peter had forgotten Symmerley's pain in the midst of his own. He ran his hand down the esquior's silken neck once more - this time, offering comfort instead of taking it. He said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Symmerley. I should have realised you were hurting." Then, looking at Lily he asked, "Can you show us the injury?"
She flew near Symmerley's hind leg, indicating a shiny area where crystals had formed. Trevor brought a flashlight from the house, and Peter looked a little warily (he wasn't certain what it took to make an esquior abandon good manners), but intently, at a depressed area covered with crystals, and rimmed by skin that was puckered and blackened.
"Looks bad," Peter said. He rubbed his hand along Symmerley's soft coat. "Apparently, the crystals formed instead of scabbing." He turned to Trevor. "Mari told me that's how my blood clotted when they were taking samples. I imagine yours does the same." He asked Lily, "What's done for things like this in your world, Lily? Mari's a healer for our kind, but her medicine probably won't work for Symmerley. What should we do?"
"We also make our cures from herbs and small growing things. But that is for the sicknesses that grow within. For damage such as Symmerley has suffered, we must use the crystals." She saw Peter glance at the crystalline layer at the site of injury. "No, Peter. Those are merely to tell us that the other crystals are needed. Symmerley will heal without them, but there will be much pain for him, and it will take much longer."
"Where can we find them?" Trevor asked.
"In our world." She sighed. "It means we must go - soon. I think that is a good thing. We cause too much damage here."
*
Just then, Peter heard the uneven lurching of a car up the road, and with difficulty recognised the sound of his own formerly smooth-running machine. He realised that the lurching was due to someone's difficulty at maintaining the accelerator pedal at an even level, combined with - he heard a terrible grinding of gears - someone else's difficulty in operating the clutch. If he hadn't been so angry and discouraged, Peter might have found the situation amusing, but by the time the car shuddered to a halt at the bottom of the drive, fury was coiling deep inside him, threatening to spill over at the thoughtless, spoiled, and self-centred individual who had caused harm to the one Peter cared most about.
Peter thought he'd been angry before, when Thyme had abused him personally, but this was different. This was Katy. Even though Peter didn't know the details of the expedition, he knew instinctively that the fairy was the culprit - no one else would have misled so many with so little thought to the consequences. Peter guessed that Katy had been intentionally remiss in her note regarding any explanations for the expedition, knowing that he - Peter - would be angry at the one who had instigated it.
"Pete, maybe we'd better give the little devil a chance to explain." Trevor could sense how angry his friend really was. But Trevor also wanted Peter to have that anger under control. Both of them had experienced a heightening of their well-being: Trevor personally felt happier, healthier, and stronger than ever before in his life. But that strength was not something they were accustomed to, and Trevor didn't want it to overwhelm Peter's more sensible side, so that he'd do something to the little fairy that he'd later regret.
Lily ached with the desire to somehow protest Thyme's innocence - to argue that he'd really done this for his friends, and not merely to show off. But she knew that although he had meant no harm, he had used the humans for his own purposes; manipulated them without thought for how they would react, or feel. Therefore, he would have to accept their anger, for he had created it. Even though it was not Thyme's intention that Katy share their expedition, her coming had been the product of her concern for them, and it was due to her efforts that it had become a truly great adventure. But she had been damaged, as had Symmerley. Some of the cost of those painful developments must be shared by he who had initiated them.
The adventurers spilled out of the car, less raucous than usual, for none of them could any longer look upon their outing merely as harmless fun. Thyme, a bright blur, flew upwards, to the height of the treetops, where he hovered briefly, taking a long look at the land, at the far reaches of vision. Then he flew in swift darting circles, closing his eyes - feeling himself in flight. He took note of the small things that were so precious: the wind sweeping past, the pressure of lift beneath his wings, the weightlessness of his suspended being. Then, as abruptly as he had shot upward to the skies, he flew downward, to Peter, to look at him sadly.
"Peter?" The brusqueness and bravado were gone. But still Peter could not bring himself to smile on the fairy. The vision of his Katy - dripping, wet, icy cold - superimposed itself on the affection he had come to feel for this being, leaving him feeling wretched and deceived.
Thyme sensed Peter's desolation - and it confirmed the decision he had made - the reason for that last breathtaking experience of flight. Hovering before his human friend, he said briefly, "Peter, please hold out your hand."
Peter didn't comply, for he didn't really trust Thyme now. The fairy had violated some basic tenet of their relationship, and Peter didn't have enough faith left to entrust part of his person to what he was certain was another trick.
"Very well." Thyme looked sad.
Peter had never known the fairy could be so down-spirited, and for a moment, he was tempted to relent.
Thyme settled delicately to the ground. Then, his aura grew impossibly bright, so that Peter and Trevor had to look away. Peter heard a sharp intake of breath from Lily - a small shriek, "No, Thyme, don't!"
The light faded. Peter turned back to see what had happened, and at first could see nothing in the shadows. But then, there was a small movement in a dark patch that, only moments before, had been a phosphorescent glow. Peter bent down, calling softly, "Thyme?" Trevor came to stand beside him, while Lily flitted about in an agitated manner, before finally coming to rest on the ground. Her aura illuminated Thyme, who was kneeling, his attitude like that of a supplicant at a shrine. His aura was gone, and when he looked upward, the soft glow in his eyes was silver, and full of pain. Lily reached out and touched his shoulder. Her sobs could be heard from where the two humans watched.
Peter glanced at Trevor. What was going on here? Trevor shook his head, shrugging. Whatever it was, Peter was appalled. He'd been angry with Thyme, but hadn't really wished him any harm. "What is it, Lily?" he asked urgently. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Oh, Peter!" Lily sobbed. Her aura was almost blue in her grief. "Thyme knows he has wronged you and your loved ones. You, a friend -" Huge, crystalline droplets caught the moonlight to sparkle as they fell. "He harmed a friend - " She was almost incoherent in her grief. Peter gently picked her up, holding her so that she speak to both humans without straining.
It took her a few moments to collect herself enough to continue. She turned away from Thyme, too heartsick to watch his suffering. When she finally spoke, it was barely above a whisper. "You must understand that the things Thyme has done have never been intended to inflict harm. He has been a trickster, yes, but he has never been evil." Peter nodded in agreement, though his mind harkened back to a few times when he'd wondered. Trevor merely rolled his eyes, not daring to comment.
Lily continued. "It is the way of fairies to atone for the wrongs they have done -" She paused. "Not for the small tricks that Thyme has played upon you in the past, but for bringing harm to one who has offered us only good, only kindness. And that is why Thyme has given up part of his being - that which he treasures most highly - one which touches the very essence of his fairy nature. He can no longer fly." She drooped, sad beyond measure.
"No longer fly!?" Peter turned to Thyme. He dropped down on his knees, down to where the fairy huddled on the dirt. "Thyme, it's too great a sacrifice! I was angry with you, but I don't want you to give up something that means so much to you!"
Thyme looked up at him. "And does not your Katy mean much to you, Peter Trevick? Tonight, you almost lost her because of me."
***
