Chapter 21, Robert's Mirror, www.jeannesbottle.com

For several days, demons flooded the wine cellar in search of Wendy, Lucas' right hand assistant. It seemed a convention was to begin and without Wendy's knowledge and grunt work, Lucas was at a loss.

Dwane and Jeanne took to the lake. For some reason that they could not grasp, the demon's did not share an appreciation of water and seemed to prefer avoiding it completely. Maybe it had to do with the symbolism of cleansing and rebirth, the lifting away of sin. It was obvious that filth was something they relished and this was the root of their being.

We carried the bottle from enclosure 2232, Wendy's new residence. On several occasions she was quick to point out that the genies would never succeed at stealing her. Unlike the other demons, it would be very obvious especially to Lucas, that Wendy was missing.

Wendy had nearly convinced Jeanne and Dwane to allow her to return. She promised to protect them from any type of punishment imposed, but they doubted her power over such decisions.

It was soon after the massive search for her that another demon appeared in Wendy's place. To the genies advantage, this demon was rather clumsy and it seemed that the human weakness of poor eyesight was carried over into the dark realm of this characters afterlife.

From the lake tunnel, Dwane and Jeanne eavesdropped as Lucas gave his new assistant Evan, a run down of the wine cellar. It was quite interesting to learn about the centuries of genies that had succumbed to the fate of neutralization. With every bottle there seemed to be a unique story and unfortunately, Lucas grew impatient and highlighted a few including the genie that refused to let go, the notorious Jeanne Wishgiven.

Lucas also demanded an updated tally of the encasements filling the cellar. He wanted the current listing of neutralized genies so that he had plenty to brag about during the upcoming convention of darkness.

As the visually impaired demon slid upstairs to retrieve the current list, Dwane and Jeanne worked at a frantic pace to remove the bottles of demons that they had mixed in. On the last count, they had managed to eliminate twenty seven demons from active service. They had a routine down to perfection and the more dark spirits they were able to overtake, the less that could harm genies out in the field. Jeanne and Dwane figured it was their little contribution to the battle that had been fought throughout the many generations of time.

Jeanne pulled the bottles as Dwane hurled them into the lake. In a sense they worked in the same style as a bucket brigade. To their fortune, the bottles sunk from the weight of the outer casing of diamond chips and lava. The very same material that rendered genies inactive, worked in the same manner transforming demons to an inert status.

The only difference between placing a demon within the encasement was the fact that they lingered indefinitely. Jeanne guessed that since their spirits were weighted down from years of hatred and suffering, they were unable to fall away into the next level of consciousness.

Dwane and Jeanne watched intently as Evan, tallied each and every bottle ever placed into the wine rack of misery. They finally realized that Evan had perfect vision and the entire act of clumsiness was for trickery. They were had! It became apparent that Lucas knew the genies were within the many channels of tunnel. They were waiting for Dwane and Jeanne to show themselves and fall into the snare of capture.

Dwane and Jeanne decided it was time to abandon the wine cellar for the great realm of genies. They began to scavenge the caves in hopes of catching a slice of daylight from above. Escape was the only hope other than surrender.

Days bled into a month and the convention finally began. It was discerning to hear the many demon's carry on from the nightclub above. The theme of this meeting was "Down with the Genies!" As it was shouted over and over again in a malicious chant. Music and the abrasive voices of demons echoed throughout the many miles of underground tunnels. Because there were dark spirits meandering everywhere, Dwane and Jeanne kept on the move.

They didn't take any chances and carried Wendy right along with them. It was too risky to add her to the lake. She seemed more resourceful and the genies feared she would find some way to tread above then disclose their location. Jeanne respected Wendy and believed that she was a crafty demon far more capable than anyone gave her credit for.

Dwane was ready to loose heart as they had covered every inch of possibility.

Then something miraculous happened. From the many layers of earth above a vicious thunderstorm rocked the surface. Rain pelted the earth and as it did, a fresh trail of water seeped into the underground lake by way of a miniature stream.

"Let's follow the water path!" Jeanne whispered to Dwane.

"We'll never make it out that way." He argued.

"Sure." Jeanne said as she formulated the ultimate escape.

"I know we can do this." Jeanne asserted.

"Well it's sure better than sitting around here waiting to be caught."

As they reached the mouth of the entrance to the many ports of former genies, Dwane gazed at Wendy's bottle that Jeanne had been carrying.

"What about her? She's bound to give us away once we reach the surface."

Jeanne gazed at the enclosure pondering what to do with Wendy.

"We'll have to leave her here." Jeanne decided.

With as much strength as Jeanne could manage, she hurled her into the air. The bottle swung in arch as it plunged into the depths of the underground lake. A huge splash echoed throughout the tunnels and Evan suddenly appeared at the mouth of the cave to investigate. He nearly bumped into the genies, but Dwane and Jeanne were quick to melt into the sand below his feet. Evan trampled over the flattened images as he stood gazing out into the shadowed expanse of water.

"I know you're our there!" He said with aggravation.

"You menacing genies might as well just give yourselves up. You'll never get out of this place and you'll never get past me!"

Evan rushed further into the tunnel and his eyes glowed in crimson illuminating the path as he moved forward.

"I smell you in here." He shouted from his position. "You'll never get away from me! I'm the most renowned tracer in these parts and my specialty is menacing genies."

Jeanne felt a surge of adrenaline from Dwane and in that instant, Evan shifted his gaze to the area where they were hidden. Somehow Jeanne could sense he was grinning.

"Relax!" Jeanne whispered. "Don't let him get to you. He can read your fear. Think of something pleasant." With that, Dwane's energy fell off and although Evan hurried at a frantic pace, he lost the scent.

Jeanne struggled to control her gasp as Evan's new appearance became fully illuminated in the cellar light. His nose had reconfigured into the snout of a dog as he stood sniffing the air in desperate whiffs.

"You'll never get out of this one!" Evan snapped.

He was towering over the genies and they realized one minor shift in the soil and they would be found. They dared not think of anything, they became one with the grains of sand. Yes, sand grit and genies were the same and nothing else mattered. No pressure, no pressure. Jeanne believe Dwane tapped into her thinking as their thoughts meshed to nothingness.

"Crafty beings you are!" Evan managed as he hurried back into the cellar.

"I'll get you!" He warned. "You're not going anywhere from here! No one has ever escaped this place and believe me, you'll eventually succumb to your fate."

His claw like feet scratched reverberating echoes as he shuffled away.

"Remain still." Jeanne whispered to Dwane.

They laid fixed like that for what seemed to be forever. Instead of materializing once again, Dwane and Jeanne began to roll. In their present form they barreled themselves into the slight stream of water. As sand mixed with spirit, they became two thin cylinders. Once submerged into the stream they began to struggle against the fine current.

It was physically challenging and they soon realized the best chance for movement was to slither in a fashion similar to a s-turn. "Swerve your tail." Jeanne instructed Dwane. This movement worked best as they made incredible progress.

Without any preparation, the stream turned and cornered through the cellar itself. Evan was standing guard at the mouth of the cave. His great nose and whiskers scanning the air for movement. To the genies advantage, they were within the energy of the stream and although they were traveling in an opposite direction, they passed to the wall undetected.

Since the opening became miniature at that point, they decided it best to leave the cylinder type of sand grit behind. Dwane tapped into Jeanne's instinct and they traveled in single file upwards. The beings were elongated flowing in opposite of the run.

Just as they were about to bask in the victory of escape, the rain from above ceased and dried up. Dwane was the first to puff up closing them in.

"No." He replied becoming a spirit type of spray foam.

"This is only temporary Dwane. It's bound to start raining once again."

"We could be trapped here forever." He whined.

"Nonsense. At least we're well above the cellar and that bizarre creature they call Evan!"

"You have a point."

So they remained a spirit type of cement plugging the hole of possibility. Jeanne's mind traveled in wonderment, her heart beckoning the only point of connection in the other realm. Robert. I'll find you. She thought. Without choice they waited for the next opportunity of travel, the next opportunity to inch their way into the world happening above.