Free A Life Less Ordinary by Christopher Nuttall Page A

card in front of her face. It was charmed to support his story. “We feel that his work has considerable promise and that we could offer him funds to continue creating remarkable statues. They are certainly the most remarkable things in this building and...”
    “I can take your number and pass it on to him,” the assistant said, regretfully. “Or you could wait in the cafe and I can ask him if he would like to speak to you, but I could not allow you to remain here once the building is closed to visitors.”
    Master Revels shrugged, passed her a card with his number and beckoned me away from the statues. I came reluctantly, unwilling to leave Jenny behind, but I had no choice. He led me into an alcove and pulled a spell around us, making it impossible for anyone to see or hear us, whatever happened.
    “I had a look at the spell binding them,” he said, before I could say anything. “I might be able to break it, but that would mean that the person behind all this would get away, along with the remaining victims. We need to wait for him.”
    I stared at him. “Can’t we free them now and put illusions in their place?”
    “He’s got a ward wrapped around the statues,” Master Revels explained, flatly. “If the spell breaks, he’ll know about it at once and vanish. We’d never be able to catch him. If the girls are still alive in there, we will be able to free them once we catch him and find out where the others have gone. If not...it won’t matter how long we wait.”
    “Ok,” I said, reluctantly. I remembered being a frog and how easy it would have been to lose myself in the frog’s mind. I guessed that it was even worse as a statue, because there would be no movement and perhaps not even any other senses as well. “I don’t understand; why did the bastard do that to them?”
    “I have no idea,” Master Revels admitted. He leaned back in the alcove and started to relax, checking his pocket watch thoughtfully. “Maybe he just wants the power of warping a person, body and soul. Maybe he thinks the girls need to be preserved rather than allowing them to grow up into adults. Or maybe he’s just a sick bastard.”
    I frowned. “Could he be an elf?”
    “I doubt it,” Master Revels admitted. “The magic didn’t feel as if it had come from an elf. It felt more human. No, whoever we’re dealing with is human. I’d bet good money on it.”
    He twiddled his watch and time went funny for a long moment. I discovered later that it was possible to speed up time in a small area, allowing us to pass through several hours in a handful of minutes. When he took his hand off his watch, darkness was falling outside and the building was lit up...and nearly deserted. The tourists, and schoolchildren, and whoever else came to look at old train engines and artworks were gone. The assistant had closed the doors and let her hair down, literally. I knew that she couldn’t see us watching her, but I still felt ashamed of myself, as if I was spying on her undressing herself.
    “Stay here,” Master Revels muttered in my ear. The sound seemed so loud that I almost jumped. “We’ll watch and see what happens.”
    The door opened, revealing a short fat man with a big smile and a taller figure, wearing a top hat not unlike the one Master Revels wore. I couldn’t make out his face, no matter how much I stared, but the assistant clearly recognised him. She was definitely a groupie, I decided, just from the way she fawned on him. It wasn’t uncommon, I was told later, for someone who was good at something to be followed by people who recognised genius when they saw it.
    “Ah, Polly,” the fat man said. “I’ll leave Mr Pygmalion in your capable hands, shall I?”
    “Yes, sir,” the assistant said. She did look a Polly. “If you’ll come right this way...?”
    She led Mr Pygmalion over to the table and watched as he uncovered his latest creation. Either he was using magic to help him lift it or he was stronger than he