The Fairy Swarm

by Suzanne Selfors

  The fairy fell silent. Pearl smiled.

  “We get to go by dragon!”

  6

  Pearl was in such a hurry to fly on a dragon that she forgot all about changing her clothes. Luckily, it was a balmy summer night, so her pajamas and leprechaun slippers were plenty warm. Saltshaker in hand, she opened the hatch that led to the roof.

  It was nearly impossible to see up there. The streetlamps weren’t working. And the moon was currently on the other side of the earth.

  “Hello?” Pearl whispered. “Where are you?”

  “Over here.” A streak of orange light suddenly appeared, guiding the way. While dragon flame can burn a village and melt a bridge, it can also serve as a convenient torch. Pearl crossed the roof and joined Ben, who was also in a pair of pajamas and sneakers. His pajamas were yellow, and his sneakers hadn’t been made by a leprechaun.

  Metalmouth closed his mouth, extinguishing the flame, and Pearl’s vision began to adjust. That was when she noticed the red saddle strapped to the dragon’s back.

  “Did you really ride here on Metalmouth?” Pearl asked.

  “It was amazing,” Ben said in a hushed voice. “He tapped on my bedroom window. The cat went nuts.”

  “Did you tell your grandpa you were leaving?”

  “No. Luckily he didn’t wake up. But I left a note for him next to the box of doughnuts. He has one every morning, so he’ll find the note for sure.” Ben pointed to the saltshaker. “How’s the fairy?” The creature was flying around, screaming again. It sounded as if Pearl had trapped a miniature storm.

  “She’s not very happy,” Pearl said with a frown. “I don’t think she likes me.”

  “Well, you did trap her.”

  “Hey, you guys, we’d better go,” Metalmouth said. “Dr. Woo’s waiting.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening,” Pearl said with an excited giggle.

  Metalmouth lay on his stomach and stretched out a wing so Pearl and Ben could climb easily onto his back. Pearl settled in the front of the saddle. The seat was padded and quite comfortable. Ben sat behind her.

  “Just in case you’re wondering, there aren’t any helmets,” Ben informed her. “Or seat belts. I already asked.”

  “You don’t need that stuff,” Metalmouth said as he rose onto his paws. “No one’s ever fallen off, except for that one time when Mr. Tabby fell into the lake. Gee whiz, he was mad. Cats sure hate water.” As he spread his wings, a piece of roof tile tumbled to the sidewalk. Way down in the basement apartment, wiener dog barks arose.

  “Uh-oh. Sweetness and Light will wake up the whole neighborhood,” Pearl said. “We’d better get outta here.”

  Metalmouth perched on the edge of the roof and began flapping his wings. “Hold on super tight,” Ben warned, his arms wrapped around Pearl’s waist. “He flies really…fast!” With a sudden lurch, they rose into the sky. For a moment, Pearl forgot to breathe. She couldn’t speak. She squeezed the saltshaker so tightly her hand began to ache.

  Metalmouth flew up Main Street, then dipped his wing and banked to the right, carrying them over the company houses, where Grandpa Abe lived. Barnaby, Abe’s black cat, stood on the front porch. His back arched when he spotted the huge scaled beast. A pair of raccoons darted behind a garbage can as the dragon’s shadow swept across driveways and lawns. Cold night air stung Pearl’s eyes, but she didn’t care. A fairy in one hand, a dragon saddle in the other—what could be better? (Perhaps a not-so-cranky fairy would make things a tad bit better, but Pearl wasn’t going to fuss over details.) She squealed with joy as Metalmouth finished the 180-degree turn.

  “Hey, isn’t that Victoria?” Ben said.

  While other Buttonville residents were snug in their beds, Victoria Mulberry stood in her backyard, gazing through a telescope, watching the night sky. She’s looking for dragons, Pearl realized. But before she could warn Metalmouth, he flew straight over Victoria. The telescope toppled as Victoria screamed. Then she ran into her house, most likely to get a camera, or worse—her mother. Luckily, Metalmouth headed toward the forest, dipping behind the treetops, out of view.

  “We’re gonna need a real good cover story,” Ben said.

  “Don’t bother,” Pearl hollered over her shoulder. With the wind in her ears, Pearl found it was difficult to hear. “Victoria already knows Metalmouth is real. There’s nothing we can say to change her mind.”

  The dragon’s red eyes glowed like headlights, illuminating a path through the darkness. Soon, the towering, old button factory came into view.

  The building looked eerie at night. All the windows were dark except for Dr. Woo’s office on the second floor. With a thud, they landed on the roof. Metalmouth galloped past a few chimneys, then skidded to a stop.

  “Wow, that was fun!” Pearl exclaimed as she climbed off. “Can we do that every night? Can you take us up through the clouds, like an airplane?”

  “Sure,” Metalmouth said. “But clouds make me sneeze.”

  “If we go again, I think we should get helmets, and maybe parachutes, just in case.” Ben swung his leg around and slid off the saddle. “Goggles would be nice, too.” Pearl didn’t think any of that safety stuff was necessary, but if she ever took a longer trip on Metalmouth’s back, she’d recommend a saddle that reclined and a cup holder.

  “Eh-hem.” The sound of throat-clearing drew their attention to the rooftop door, where Mr. Tabby, dressed in his usual perfectly ironed trousers, crisp dress shirt, and vest, was waiting. “Do not dawdle. We have important matters to discuss,” he said, his voice as serious as ever.

  Metalmouth plucked his tennis ball from behind one of his scales. “Wanna play a game of fetch when ya get done?”

  “Sure,” Ben said. “See you later.”

  “Yeah, see ya,” Pearl said.

  “Okeydokey.” The dragon sat on his haunches and began to untie the saddle.

  Mr. Tabby’s mustache twitched, and he sniffed the air as the apprentices approached. “Do I detect the sugary odor of fairy?”

  “Yes,” Pearl said, holding up the saltshaker. The fairy started pounding on the glass again. “Should I let her out?”

  “Under no circumstances are you to release her,” Mr. Tabby said. “Not until Dr. Woo deems it safe. There is no knowing what mischief she might get into. Fairies are notorious troublemakers.”

  Troublemakers? Pearl smiled. For a moment, she cherished the discovery that she and the fairy had something in common. Almost everyone in Buttonville thought of Pearl as a troublemaker. But the fairy didn’t have the same reaction. She stomped her foot, then began tearing up the toilet paper in a fit of rage.

  “She’s mad at me because I’ve kept her in this shaker all night,” Pearl explained. “I didn’t know what else to do. We came to the hospital, but no one answered the door. Where were you? Did you go to the Imaginary World? Did something happen? How come the fairy’s in Buttonville? Did you know that she likes pancakes with syrup? Do—” Mr. Tabby raised a hand to shield himself from the questions, as if they were little spit wads shooting from a straw.

  “Enough,” he said with a low growl. Now that Pearl knew he was a bakeneko, a shape-shifting cat, she’d begun to notice more of his feline tendencies. “Dr. Woo, Metalmouth, and I were not at the hospital because we were on a quest. That is all you need to know.” His half-moon irises flashed. Then he held the rooftop door open and ushered the kids through. “Let us not keep the doctor waiting.”

  7

  Pearl and Ben had been to Dr. Woo’s office a number of times, so they were not surprised to find it cluttered as usual. Crates and boxes were stacked randomly. Weird things floated in jars. There were skeletons and fossils, feathers and shells, and books. Lots and lots of books.

  Dr. Woo sat behind her massive, carved desk. Her long black hair cascaded over the shoulders of her white lab coat. Despite the late hour, she was wearing her work clothes, just like Mr. Tabby was. Pearl no longer stared at the scars on the doctor’s face and neck. They now
seemed as normal as freckles.

  “Sorry to get you both out of bed,” she said as she took a sip from her coffee mug. “Did you enjoy your ride?”

  “Oh yes!” Pearl said. “It was the best ever.”

  Ben nodded enthusiastically. Then he added, “But a seat belt would have been nice. There were a couple of times when I thought I might slip off.”

  “Good to know.” Dr. Woo took another sip, then set her mug aside. “So, where is she?” Pearl placed the saltshaker on Dr. Woo’s desk. “I assume you’d like to be released,” Dr. Woo said to the fairy. The fairy jumped up and down. “Do you promise to be good?” The fairy nodded. “Mr. Tabby, will you please secure the door?” He closed the office door but remained there, as if guarding it.

  Pearl and Ben watched eagerly as Dr. Woo slowly unscrewed the saltshaker’s lid. As soon as it was removed, the fairy unfurled her wings and popped out the top as if jumping off a trampoline. Then she zipped around the room so fast she was nothing more than a blur. Even though it was difficult to see her, there was no avoiding her piercing, high-pitched whine. She whipped around Dr. Woo, Mr. Tabby, and Ben. Then she came straight at Pearl.

  “Ouch!” Pearl cried, grabbing her earlobe. “She bit me!”

  “You are lucky she only bit you once,” Mr. Tabby said. “She appears to be enraged.”

  “But I was just keeping her safe,” Pearl explained. The fairy hovered in front of Pearl’s face, motioning wildly with her arms and hands. “Now what’s she doing?” Pearl asked.

  “Most likely she is trying to turn you into something unpleasant,” Mr. Tabby said. “A toad, a bat, or a flea, perhaps.”

  “A flea?”

  “Don’t worry,” Dr. Woo said with a dismissive wave. “Fairy magic will not work in the Known World.”

  “That’s good news,” Pearl grumbled as she rubbed her throbbing earlobe. But it didn’t seem fair that the creature was mad at her when she’d simply been trying to help.

  The fairy landed on the desk and kept squealing. Dr. Woo sighed. “Mr. Tabby, would you please turn on the translator?”

  Mr. Tabby pulled out his creature calculator, a device he used when identifying, treating, and locating various creatures. He set it next to the fairy, then pushed a button. Immediately, the squealing was absorbed into the device, then shot back out in words they could understand.

  “Mean girl, mean girl, put me in a bottle! Mean girl, mean girl, her throat I want to throttle!”

  Pearl gasped. “Is she talking about me? I’m not mean. I gave her a waffle and syrup.”

  “She’s the worst. I’ll make her cursed!” The fairy waved her arms again, but nothing happened. “Oh, hummingbird poop!” she said with another foot stomp. “Magic be gone.” She rose into the air and flew at Pearl again. But before she could bite Pearl’s other ear, Dr. Woo grabbed a little net and caught the fairy in midair. Then she dumped the fairy back into the saltshaker and tightened the lid.

  “We do not bite the apprentices,” Dr. Woo said, shaking a finger at the glass. “You will stay in there until you settle down.” Dr. Woo walked around the desk and examined Pearl’s ear. “It’s just a surface wound. You’ll be fine. But I am sorry she bit you. Sugar fairies are known to have quick tempers, and they express themselves with a great deal of emotion.”

  “Sugar fairies?” Ben asked.

  “Yes, but don’t let the name fool you. They may eat sweet things, but they lack a sweet nature.” Dr. Woo raised an eyebrow. “And this sugar fairy, in particular, has an extra-bad temper.”

  “You know her?” Pearl asked.

  “Certainly.” Dr. Woo picked up the shaker. “Pearl, Ben, I’d like you to meet Twanabeth Twilight, my missing apprentice.”

  8

  Pearl and Ben had heard a little about the missing apprentice. She’d held the job before they did, but she had apparently forgotten to punch her time card one day, and no one knew where she’d gone, or whether she was in the Known World or the Imaginary one. Both Ben and Pearl had thought this odd. A missing kid was a very big deal. But Mr. Tabby and Dr. Woo hadn’t seemed worried.

  Now it made sense. The apprentice wasn’t a missing human.

  “The missing apprentice is a fairy,” Pearl said with awe.

  “That’s right.” Dr. Woo grabbed a pair of reading glasses from her desk, slid them onto her face, then peered through the saltshaker at Twanabeth. “And from the looks of that crown on her head, I’d guess she’s recently become the queen. Is that true?” The fairy nodded. “Did the old queen die?” The fairy hung her head. “I’m sorry to hear of your loss.”

  “How come you didn’t know the queen had died?” Ben asked the doctor. “Don’t you talk to the fairies?”

  “Rarely,” Dr. Woo said. “We’re not allowed into their realm in the Tangled Forest. They don’t like trespassers, and they use magic to protect themselves. If they need care, they come here. We’ve created a special room for them on the fifth floor.” Neither Pearl nor Ben had been to the fifth floor. Pearl instantly wanted to run up there and check it out.

  “Set me free! Set me free! Out of this bottle, I want to be!” Twanabeth pounded on the glass.

  Dr. Woo set the shaker on her desk. Then she folded her arms and spoke sternly. “I will let you out, but you must promise to stop biting.” The fairy nodded.

  “This should help.” Mr. Tabby pulled a packet from his pocket. It was labeled: KIWI-FLAVORED JELLY BEANS. He set one of the little green beans on the desk.

  “Excellent idea,” Dr. Woo said. She opened the shaker. Pearl grimaced and covered both earlobes, expecting to be attacked at any moment. But when Twanabeth flew out, she ignored Pearl and landed next to the bean. As she bit into the sugary green candy shell, her wings folded and a happy humming noise filled the room.

  “Sugar fairies love sugar,” Dr. Woo explained. “Best we let her finish. It might help her mood.”

  While the fairy munched, Ben settled onto a crate, then rested his elbows on the desk. Pearl sat next to him. Twanabeth ate quickly, consuming the entire bean, which was as big as her torso, in a matter of seconds. Mr. Tabby set a second bean on the desk, and she ate that one, too.

  “Whoa,” Ben said. “She should enter one of those eating contests. Does she like pies? Or hot dogs?”

  The fairy burped. Having finished her snack, she looked around, then pointed at Pearl. “It is very mean to capture the fairy queen,” she said.

  “I’m sorry,” Pearl told her. “I was just trying to help.”

  Mr. Tabby glanced at his pocket watch. “The hour is late. Perhaps our guest could tell us why she is here.”

  Twanabeth began jumping up and down. “He’s bad. He’s bad. He makes me mad!” Her little crown toppled off her head.

  “Who’s bad?” Ben asked. “She’s not talking about me, is she? I didn’t do anything to her.”

  Dr. Woo removed her reading glasses and sighed. “I’m afraid she’s speaking of Maximus Steele.”

  At the mention of that horrid man, Pearl’s entire body stiffened. Oh, how she hated him! Maximus Steele was a poacher who had sneaked into the Imaginary World. He’d taken one of the rain dragon’s horns, he’d tried to trap a unicorn foal, and he’d fooled the griffin king into believing he was trustworthy. Unfortunately, he was still there, and no one knew which creature he’d target next.

  Dr. Woo and Mr. Tabby shared a long, concerned look. “Twanabeth, has Maximus invaded your realm?” the doctor asked.

  Twanabeth grabbed her crown and plunked it back on her green hair. “Maximus is bad for us. He wants our dust! He wants our dust!”

  Dr. Woo sank into her chair. “I thought there’d be more time to prepare. If he’s entered their realm, then that means he needs fairy dust.”

  Pearl frowned. Fairy dust, a substance that looked like yellow glitter, was used for travel between the Known World and the Imaginary World. Dr. Woo needed a constant supply so she could help the creatures. But if Maximus Steele got a supply, he could bring Imag
inary creatures, or their horns and tusks, into the Known World and sell them. Then he’d surely reach his goal of becoming the richest man ever.

  As Dr. Woo slumped in her chair, she suddenly looked very tired. Her shoulders deflated, and the scars on her face and neck seemed darker. Pearl had never seen her look so worried.

  Mr. Tabby strode to the window. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed at the night sky. “This is very bad news,” he said. “If Maximus has invaded the fairy realm, he will do whatever it takes to force the fairies to surrender their dust.”

  Twanabeth flew across the desk, the tips of her feet skimming the wood, and stopped in front of the doctor. “I am the queen, this be true, and I no longer work for you. But your help I need! Your help I need! To hide my people until our world is freed.”

  “You want the fairies to come here and hide?” Ben asked.

  “Oh, that’s a great idea,” Pearl said excitedly. Even though her earlobe still ached, she was pretty sure not all the fairies would dislike her. She’d make certain not to put any of them into saltshakers. “How many are there?”

  “Of the sugar variety, there are hundreds,” Mr. Tabby said.

  “There are other kinds of fairies?” Ben asked.

  “Certainly. Burrowing fairies, they live underground. Bat fairies, they hang upside down when they sleep. And worker fairies, the Portal captain is one of those. And there are wingless fairies, too, such as the leprechauns.”

  Pearl looked at her slippers, remembering Cobblestone. “Do they all make dust?” she asked.

  “We are dust! Dust is us!” Twanabeth chanted.

  “Only sugar fairies make the yellow dust that powers the Portal,” Mr. Tabby explained. “They shed it, the way we shed skin cells.”