LADY OF ILLUSIONS

Page 2

"Quiet!" Gillem shouted. "Perhaps this lady can earn our help." He looked at Helen. "Many years ago, I refused the hand in marriage of the daughter of a king in another land. He placed a curse that my first born would never laugh. We do know that a single, brief smile on the boy's face will break the spell. But with all the magic power of the Fynns, we have been unable to bring the faintest of smiles to his face. Make Kasee smile, Helen White, and we will give you our help."
Helen was discouraged. If all the magic power of the Fynns had failed to make the boy smile, what could she do? It would be best, she decided, to stop wasting time and continue her journey. The Eve of Spirits was only four days away, and she still had a day's travel.
Even if she resumed her journey this minute, she would have only three days to search a vast area for Grinstok's hideout--not to mention the evil wizard's spell of confusion.
Gillem continued. "We have failed to make Kasee smile," he said, "but perhaps you know of tricks that are unknown to us. I understand your urgency to reach your cousin, but without our help, it is near certain that you will not find Grinstok.
"If you can earn our help, I know a way that you can overcome his spell of confusion, and though I am forbidden to accompany you, I can give you the means to at least stand and fight him."
Gillem was right. She knew that her chance of finding Jerry was almost nil, and even if she did, she would have little chance in a power struggle with Grinstok. She must have the help of the Fynns.
"All right," she said, "I will do what I can to make your son smile."
***
Poor Kasee was the saddest looking kid she had ever seen. He had a perpetual mournful look on his face, as if he were about to cry. She knew that this would be an uphill battle, but she had no choice but to try to bring a smile to his face.
Magic was out. She was sure the Fynns had tried everything. She tried to remember things that had made her laugh as a child of Kasee's age--seven summers, Gillem had said. She guessed that the jokes and riddles she had heard as a child would be unknown here.
She knelt down and faced the boy. "Hello, Kasee, my name is Helen. Would you like to see a trick?"
Kasee nodded.
Helen pointed out the window. "See those two horses out there? I'll bet I can take off my shoes and jump over both of them. Think I can?"
He shook his head. "I don't think so."
Helen took off her shoes and jumped over them. The grownups present laughed, but Kasee face registered nothing.
"Okay," she said. "Here's a riddle for you. All the men where I come from wear red suspenders. Can you guess why?"
Kasee again shook his head. "No."
"They wear them to hold up their trousers," she said.
Again, the grownups laughed, but Kasee did not.
She tried several more jokes and riddles, but none had the slightest effect on the boy. In desperation, she tried to think of something in her repertoire of magic tricks that might make him laugh.
Nothing funny about making myself invisible, she thought. Moving objects around, or teleporting herself surely wouldn't get a laugh. But if she could show him something funny with her illusions...
Helen tried to remember the funniest Saturday morning cartoons she had seen, with animals, bugs, and funny looking people. She created a screen on the wall and showed her cartoons. "Look, Kasee, look at the funny pictures."
Kasee looked. And looked. At first, he was enthralled by the moving pictures. His eyes widened and a smile came to his lips. And then he started laughing and clapping his hands. "Look, Poppa! Look at the funny dog chasing the bug."
Gillem was overjoyed. "Helen White, We will help you in every way that we can."
The villagers were overjoyed that the spell over their little prince was broken. They began to celebrate. They hailed Helen as a great sorceress and invited her to join in the celebration as a guest of honor. Since it was already late, and she was too tired to resume her travel, she accepted.
***
The following morning Helen had a meeting with Gillem and the two village elders.
"Since we are not blood kin of the lad, we are forbidden to accompany you. But there are other ways we can help you. "What are your powers?" Asked Gillem.
She told him of the few powers she had experimented with while traveling, and when asked, she demonstrated her powers for them.
"Your powers are few, but those that you do have are impressive. We were especially impressed by your powers of illusion, and your ability to teleport is rare, even among the Fynns."
The three Fynns huddled for a few moments, and then Gillem faced her. "Grinstok is very powerful, but his power comes mainly from the Dark Forces. Fynn power comes from the Forces of Light. In addition to your innate powers, we shall grant you three powers from the Forces of Light.
"First, you will be able overcome his spell of confusion, and even be able to use your power to seek him out. Second, you will be immune to bodily harm from Grinstok's demons. Third, since the Dark Powers have granted Grinstok the power to shape shift, we will grant you the same power. Grinstok has vanquished several enemies by using his shape-shifting powers, so you can expect him to use them against you.
"You may shift to any creature of your choosing, with but three exceptions: First, the creature must not exceed the size of your own body by too much. It may be a wolf or a leopard, for example, but not an elephant. Second, it must be a land animal. And third, it cannot be a mythical creature.
"Can it be a creature from my own world?" She asked.
"Yes, so long as it meets the three exceptions that I have given you."
"I have just one more question," said Helen. "If I can rescue Jerry, can you help us to return to Erthworld?"
"In times past I have visited your world. I can send you back any time you wish. Further, I can arrange for you to arrive in Erthworld but a moment after the time you left. You will not be missed."
"Great! I won't have to explain to Uncle Jim where we've been." But first, she would have to rescue Jerry. And even with her new powers, that would not be easy.
***
Later that morning, Helen resumed her journey. By the end of the day, she would be nearing the Mount of Shadows. She would then have two days remaining before the Eve of Spirits. Since she no longer had to worry about Grinstok's spell of confusion, she should find him well before the Eve of Spirits started.
Shortly after noon, she came upon a stream. She stopped to let her animals rest and drink from the stream. Now would be a good time, she decided, to practice shape shifting.
A fox would be a good test--a real animal, and not too large. She shifted with no trouble. Next she tried a wolf. But she had forgotten her animals; when she became a wolf the animals spooked. She quickly ran away from the animals, and didn't return until she could resume her human form.
Luckily her animals hadn't gone far, and she was able to round them up. She resumed her practice at a safe distance from the animals.
She had no trouble shifting to any animal she could think of except three: the rhino, the hippo, and the elephant. She discovered that shifting to another creature was instantaneous, but shifting back to her human form took time, perhaps two to three minutes.
As she was preparing to resume her journey, she looked up to see a trovin circling overhead. Grinstok was not astride the creature; it was probably a wild one looking for prey. It circled low, and again her animals spooked and ran.
Helen was horrified to see the trovin go for the little donkey. Her dagger would be useless on such a large creature. She thought of shifting to a tiger, but she would not have time to reach the donkey in time.
Her mind raced. She must create an illusion of a creature that the trovin might fear. But what? It probably feared nothing. But she had to try something. She looked up at the sky and concentrated.
Suddenly, a monstrous, fire-breathing dragon appeared, flying toward the trovin. It worked. Squawking loudly, the trovin forgot the donkey and fled the illusory dragon. Helen kept the dragon on its tail until it was out of sight.
***
The following day, using the powers that she had acquired from the Fynns, she was drawn to the cottage that was Grinstok's hideout. She immediately threw a screen of invisibility around her and the animals. She set up camp near the cottage so that she could spy on Grinstok without being seen. She needed every advantage she could get.
A short time later, a man emerged from the cottage. He looked around as though seeking something, and then started walking directly toward her. As he neared, she could see that he had long black hair, a bushy black beard, and a black robe.
He walked up to her and stopped. "I have seen through your invisibility screen," he boasted. "However, somehow you have defeated my spell of confusion. And my spirit spies have informed me that you routed my trovin with your illusions. It has not yet returned. For that, you shall pay, whoever you are."
"I am Jerry's cousin," she said. "Give me the boy, and I will go in peace."
"If I do not?" His tone was mocking.
"Then I will fight you."
He laughed. "I am no stupid trovin, to be tricked by your simple illusions."
He was mocking her. It was obvious he did not consider her a serious opponent. Now was the time to attack, while he was caught up in his boasting. Abruptly, she sent the dagger flying straight to his heart.
A few inches from his heart, the dagger struck an invisible shield and fell to the ground. He drew the dagger to his hand before she could pull it back.
"Now, 'Lady of Illusions,' you shall pay for losing my trovin." He sent the dagger flying toward her heart.
She teleported herself a few steps away and the dagger flew harmlessly through the air to become lost in the brush.
He was unable to hide his surprise, but quickly recovered. "A good trick, but I weary of trifling with you." He raised his arms. "Dragh of the Dark World come to my aid."
A hideous gnome-like being appeared before Grinstok.
So he was already calling on his demons. Now he wasn't mocking her--he had apparently decided she was a serious opponent after all.
"What do you wish of me?" The demon asked.
Grinstok pointed at Helen. "Destroy this woman."
The demon looked at her. That I cannot do. A Fynn spell protects her. I can do her no bodily harm."
"Then nullify her powers and I will destroy her."
"I will nullify her inborn powers, but some of her powers are Fynn-given. I cannot nullify those."
"Is her power to transport herself Fynn-given?"
"It is not, that power is inborn."
Helen made a decision to teleport herself away before the demon could nullify that power, plus her other inborn powers. She tried, but the power was gone.
"It is done," said the demon. "Her inborn powers are nullified." Then it vanished.
Grinstok laughed. "Now I have a nice surprise for you, Lady of Illusions." Suddenly Grinstok was a snarling tiger.
Helen's mind was spinning. She knew that Grinstok was unaware of her powers to shift shape. She wanted to use that to her advantage, as she had when she surprised Grinstok with her ability to teleport. She had hoped to choose a beast that would be superior to Grinstok's choice, then attack and slay him before he could recover. But she could think of nothing superior to a tiger.
Helen was surprised that she could read the jumbled thoughts emanating from the man/beast mind. "You die now. Illusions no help you."
As the tiger was ready to spring, Helen abruptly changed shape; she too became a tiger. Grinstok hesitated, then retreated a few steps. He was obviously taken by surprise.
He chose not to attack. He obviously did not care for a struggle that might go either way. He wanted a sure victory. Helen, too, could see no advantage in such a struggle. She waited to see what his next move would be.
After a few minutes passed, Grinstok came to within a few feet of her and stopped. He was up to something. Just as she was stepping away from him, he suddenly became a deadly cobra.
She guessed his strategy. He would strike, and while waiting for the venom to take effect, he would slither to safety into one of the many crevices of the surrounding rocks.
He wasted no time, striking immediately. But Helen was already moving away. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding the strike. The cobra raised its head for another strike.
But his time, Helen was ready. She changed into a mongoose. She looked up to see the raised head of the cobra through the eyes of the little mongoose. Suddenly she felt vulnerable.
She knew that the little animals were usually victorious in their fights with cobras. But not always. She wanted to run, but she could not abandon Jerry. She suppressed her own fears and allowed the mongoose complete freedom to obey its instincts.
The mongoose was probably unknown on this world, for Grinstok seemed unconcerned. His thoughts were gloating.
"You make fatal mistake in shape shift. Now die."
He thought that she had made an error in her choice of creatures, and she hoped that this would be to her advantage.
The cobra struck, and the mongoose jumped aside. The cobra recovered, raised its head, and struck again. Again, the mongoose avoided the strike. But before the serpent could recover from the second strike, the mongoose pounced on the snake's head. It clamped its powerful jaws over a vulnerable spot and crushed the reptile's head. Within seconds, the cobra lay writhing in death throes.
***
Helen discovered that she had recovered all of her inborn powers. The death of Grinstok must have broken the demon's spell.
She found Jerry in the cellar of Grinstok's cottage. He was cold and hungry, but otherwise okay. They embraced, and both wept for joy.
They headed back to the village of the Fynns, and from there, their next stop would be home.

***END***

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