by Nina Walker
“Sam,” she sighed. “I’ve never done this before. Never really had the chance to try.”
“When did they catch you?” We both glanced over at Mastin.
“When I was seven. I’m thirteen now.”
It struck a chord with me and I stiffened, meeting her gaze. I remembered those years of my life and how hard they were. I could only imagine what she’d been through in a country where her very existence was illegal. The girl was timid, with black hair hanging in her eyes and a lanky frame. I turned her away from Mastin, putting both our backs to him, and whispered, “What did they do to you?”
“They locked me up and threw away the key. What else? I was shocked when they brought me here. I’m not complaining, but when they took us from the prison, they didn’t tell us where we were going. Part of me hoped I’d get to see my family again. I mean, we’re not like your country. We don’t have cruel and unusual punishment, so it’s not like I never got to see my family. We get visits every couple of months if we have good behavior. But when they came to get me, I hoped that maybe I was going home. Not out in the middle of nowhere to train in alchemy.” Her entire body deflated. “I’m so stupid.”
“Hey, I don’t ever want to hear you call yourself names again,” I said, wagging a finger at the kid. “Do you understand?” She nodded. “You’re not stupid. And being an alchemist is a gift. They are the ones who made your existence illegal. That’s not your fault.”
I suspected part of the problem this girl was having with controlling her magic was that she had a deep-rooted fear of being punished. Her country had isolated her for who she was. They did nothing to help her. So it was no wonder she was repressing her magic now. If my theory was right, it explained the issues I was having training these people.
“All right, everybody,” I yelled, stepping away from Sam. “Who is struggling with these colors? Raise your hands, please.”
A sea of hands shot up. The mutterings stopped as they turned to face me.
“You do not have to hide who you are here,” I boldly declared. I stood tall, my straight hair swept back in a ponytail. Dressed in black, I hoped I looked fierce. Hoped they would believe I was the kind of person who didn’t mess around. “The time for fearing your magic is over. We are not in West America anymore. And if we are successful in beating New Colony, you will not have to return to your prison cells.”
An audible gasp sounded as, one by one, they took in the news. It had been my one requirement for training these people. The last couple of weeks hadn’t been easy. When I’d first agreed to do this, Cole said that any New Colony alchemists would be welcomed into West America. It had taken some pressure, but I’d finally convinced the West American commander to extend that promise to his own people as well. He’d gotten the order signed from their president.
West America had better keep their promise or there would be hell to pay. It terrified me to think we could be going from one tyranny right into another. But I was learning to trust. And I was at the point where I didn’t see any other options.
“Isn’t that right, Mastin?”
We all turned to face the military man. He bristled. He hadn’t wanted the deal to be made and had zero qualms about fighting for his beliefs. Alchemy was dangerous and needed to be kept away from regular society. That’s how he felt, and he wasn’t about to change his mind any time soon. Prick.
But their president was desperate and she was willing to see reason when he wouldn’t. From what I gathered talking to Cole, the rest of their country was trending toward her beliefs as well. Everything there worked in a voting system. People voted for representatives who believed in what they did, and those representatives made the law. Apparently, the last election had caused some major upheaval, as many of those elected were outspoken in their sympathy toward color alchemists.
Mastin’s firm line of a mouth twitched as I taunted him. “That’s right,” he said, eyes boring into mine. “It’s been confirmed by the president herself just last night.” He glared at me, because we both knew how much he hated that I’d won.
“And I will get the proof you need next time I see the commander,” I said, taking in the many excited faces.
“The deal is, if you help us we’ll pardon you,” Mastin said.
“So here’s the thing,” I added. “You can help them and earn that freedom. You all can do this. I feel like most of you are holding back your powers because of your fear of the consequences, and the problem with keeping it in is the longer it stays inside, one of two things is going to happen. Your magic is either going to become weak and useless, or it’s going to grow inside of you until it becomes dangerous.”
I turned on Mastin. “I bet you didn’t know that by keeping these people from their gifts out of your own ignorance, you’ve only made them more dangerous?”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t even move, his eyes narrowing to slits as he glared at me. But from the flash I saw there, I thought maybe he did know.
“Fine. Let’s get back to work.”
I had everyone using the yellow leaves to build up their strength. We’d gone farther into the forest than usual. There was plenty of space to do what needed to be done. The trees surrounded us on all sides, the sky bright blue and cloudless, the air crisp as an apple. I took in a deep breath before continuing.
“Take the yellow into your palms and imagine the color seeping into your body. Feel the adrenaline in your veins. Let it take over.” I watched proudly when quite a few of them pulled the yellow and did as I’d asked. “We’re going to try some things you’ve never done before. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re so much stronger than you imagine. Once you have the magic inside, I want you to pick a tree and climb it as fast as possible.”
There was a moment of hesitation, and then one by one, they climbed. And they were fast. Smooth. Feline in their ascent, jumping from branch to branch, swinging upward, not a clumsy movement among them.
Not too bad, if I do say so myself.
I strolled over to Mastin and nudged him playfully with my elbow. “Well it’s not nothing? Are you jealous?” I don’t know why I taunted him like that. Something about this guy made me want to play the devil’s advocate. I shouldn’t even care. His jaw clicked, but as was his way, he stayed quiet and pensive. I turned back toward the alchemists.
“If you can still feel the magic inside of you, even just a drop, then jump to the ground,” I called out.
“Don’t do anything to hurt my people,” Mastin growled under his breath.
“Oh, so now you’re protective of them?” I folded my arms.
“You’ll be fine! I promise!” I yelled toward the trees, ignoring him. After a couple of bodies flew down and landed in a safe crouch on the forest floor, the rest followed. His eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut. If he was impressed, he certainly didn’t show it.
“I know what I’m doing here,” I said to Mastin. “My question is, what are you doing here?”
“My job.”
I snorted and left him standing on the sidelines as I joined the new recruits. I clapped, beaming from ear to ear. We’d been at this for a while with little to no success. But I’d been right to press the issue on their freedom. Once they knew there weren’t going to be dire repercussions for using their magic, bam! Magic in every last one of them.
“Okay, friends, I’m proud of you,” I said, corralling them around me. “But that was just the beginning—child’s play. Who’s ready to get to work?”
I rolled the last bit of my dinner roll between my fingers and thumb, then plopped it in my mouth.
“Good job today,” Mastin said, keeping pace with me as I skittered down the hill. “Looks like you finally got through to them.”
“Yeah, no thanks to you.” My stomach full, I was heading back to the cabin I shared with the other female misfits. The sun was already setting, casting a golden shadow through the woods. It was my favorite time of day.
“What’s that supposed to mean?�
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“Were you dropped on your head as a child?” I stopped to glower at him, and he almost careened into me. Was he serious? He really didn’t know what the problem was? “They’re scared of you, Mastin. Terrified! You come to all of our practices and stare everyone down. You’ve always got a gun on you. You’re not one of them. You’ve made it clear you hate alchemy. I mean, hello? You’re policing them! It would make anybody nervous.”
“I’m just doing my job.” He frowned, folding his arms. His biceps pulsed.
“Well, I’m trying to do mine. It would be a lot easier if you stopped coming around.”
“Not gonna happen.”
“So you’re policing me too?”
He held my gaze, his green eyes catching the sunset, turning them the shade of a newly turned leaf in spring. A flame ignited in my chest, and I stomped away. Forget him. I was exhausted. I needed a good book and my bed. Fiction was hard to come by in New Colony. Most of the books the citizens had access to were state-issued propaganda. Here? It was a different story. A gloriously different story, no pun intended. I’d devoured everything in our makeshift library more than once over the years. Now with a paperback of The Giver snug in my back pocket, I delighted in the fact I had the freedom again to read whatever I wanted. I took off down the hill.
“Hey, wait up,” Mastin said, catching up.
“You’re still here?” His normally stoic expression flinched, and I smiled to myself conspiratorially. It was fun toying with his emotions.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Talk away,” I said.
“It’s probably best if we discussed this—issue—in private.”
“I’m not inviting you into my room if that’s what you’re trying to get at.” I eyed him suspiciously. He turned on me, his face incredulous. I shrugged.
“I don’t like you like that,” he said.
I shrugged again. “I’m used to men hitting on me,” I replied. It came in handy when I needed to use my looks to my advantage. I’d certainly used it with Lucas—while I could, anyway. But there were many times that it drove me crazy. Tristan was my only male friend even remotely close to my age. He’d never once come onto me. Probably because he understood the same thing I did. There wasn’t time for romantic entanglements.
“You think you’re pretty special, don’t you?” Mastin met my gaze.
I rolled my eyes. “Takes one to know one,” I said and laughed, lightening the mood. “Fine,” I added. “Let me grab a jacket and we can go to the lake.” It was private enough that we could talk. There weren’t many alchemists here with access to blue to the point of being able to eavesdrop. We’d be fine.
I ran into the cabin I shared with the other women, women who ignored my existence, and headed into my small private bedroom. I grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt from my drawer and sped right back out.
Mastin waited for me, always looking so out of place in his military getup. We walked for a bit until we found a patch of soft grass to sit on by the lake. The sunset was magnificent over the water, turning the sky a brilliant fuchsia and reflecting against the barrage of autumn-kissed trees. “I’ve been here for years, and I still can’t get enough of that view,” I said, sighing.
“It’s amazing. But nothing compared to the sunset over the Pacific Ocean.”
“Always trying to one-up me,” I teased. He laughed. He had a good laugh. Hearty. It made his hard edges softer and he seemed less…untouchable.
He should do that more often.
“So the Pacific Ocean, huh? What’s it like back home?”
“West America, as you call it, is beautiful. And big. We still call ourselves America, by the way. New Colony gave us that name. Anyway, it’s not bad at all. Democracy slows things down sometimes, sure, I can admit that. But overall the people are happy, and we take care of our own.” He leaned back on his elbows, lost in thought. “We’re free. We can pursue whatever careers we want. We can vote. We can do a lot of things others can’t.”
I pondered that for a minute, picking at the grass. “I’m in hiding, obviously, but I’m more free here than I ever was before. New Colony is not free. The government controls everything. Where a family lives, what jobs they’re allowed to have, schools, food, pretty much everything. Some people have a great life because of it. Most people have it okay. And then there are those few who are treated like garbage. Or, you know, those of us lucky enough to be forced into the guardian program.”
“What happened to you?”
I paused. I wasn’t ready to share my story with this guy. He was still a stranger, an unknown. “What did you want to talk to me about?” I asked, changing the subject.
He let out a slow breath. “We received word that King Richard is planning an attack on America soon. We’re not exactly sure what or when. We do know, however, that he plans to extend more shadow lands into our territories. We need to act fast if we want to stop him.”
It took me a moment to answer, the images of my childhood burned on my mind. “That’s some bad news, Mastin. So what are your plans?”
“Take our alchemists and some soldiers into New Colony and fight him.”
I sat back, gazing at him. He was serious. How could he be serious? “Are you kidding? That’s suicide. They’re not even close to being ready.”
“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. How long?”
I shook my head. “Too long!”
“You don’t get it, Sasha. Cole is going to make the order with or without your support.”
“Wow, he must really care about them,” I said, each word dripping in sarcasm. I shook my head. “Fighting the GC would be impossible. They’ve trained for years, not only in alchemy, but in combat too. They’re deadly. Your people are toddlers compared to that.”
“But our soldiers are the best. And I’ll be there too.”
“It’s still a terrible idea.”
“Will you come with us?”
“On a suicide mission? No thanks. I think I’ll keep my life, if you don’t mind.” I couldn’t believe this. No way could a bunch of uneducated newbie alchemists take on an army of guardians.
“We really need your help. We’re going in with or without you. But I’m smart enough to know we don’t stand a chance if you don’t come. I’ve been watching the way they look up to you. They seek you out outside of training. They ask you questions. They trust you, Sasha. And I’ve seen what you can do.”
I laughed because what he’d seen had barely even scratched the surfaced of what magic I was capable of. “Mastin, you don’t understand, so please listen to me. I pale in comparison to some of those guardians in New Colony. They would kill me. They’ll kill you! You have no idea what you’re asking of me.”
“Then at least help me delay the attack.” His expression shifted, and he talked softly. “Help me convince Cole to wait a little while longer. At least so they can get some more training from you.”
I jolted. Mastin always came off as so cocky. To humble himself in this way was disarming. I could tell he wasn’t scared to fight. Or he at least had that soldier thing about him that kept it inside. But he was worried for his people and I found that admirable. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.
“I’ll do what I can,” I sighed.
He gulped, and I could tell he wanted to say more. “Out with it,” I said.
“You have no idea how much I hate to ask.” He sat up, running both hands across his buzzed hair. “But is there a way to use their magic to get Cole on our side of things? We’re supposed to go meet him in a few minutes.”
I sucked in a breath, considering. “There’s two ways I can think of to make this happen. The first is red alchemy, which if used on someone’s blood, can result in mind control.” I met his eyes as they stared at me intently. “But I can’t do red,” I was quick to add. “If you aren’t going to convince your boss to be reasonable, we’ll have to do it the good old-fashioned way. I’ll try the blue, which can be used
for persuasion. No guarantees though, it’s not my specialty.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
“Have you ever been to the shadow lands?”
“I’ve seen the pictures.”
“The pictures are nothing.” I tried unsuccessfully to push the images from my mind. “They’re dead. As in, no coming back. If Richard’s going to do that to your country, you have to do everything you can to stop him. It can’t lie in the hands of a few alchemists. You need to bring more than a few soldiers. You need an army.”
“We’re working on it.”
“Good.” I nodded.
“Have you been to the shadow lands?”
“You have no idea.” I laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “I helped create them.” He let out a shuddering breath and bored holes into me with his crazy-intense gaze.
I looked away, unable to take the heat.
“It’s not like I had a choice. But I was a kid, you know? It’s messed up.” I couldn’t hold it in any more. Something about this moment had changed, and suddenly I needed to get it out. “They took me from my family when I was tiny. They trained me. And once they realized how good I was, they took me into the field. I was six years old when I went out there. I was there for four years until Hank saved me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your pity,” I said. “I just want you to know who you’re dealing with. They care about their own agenda more than human life. Taking children from their parents is one thing. It’s heartbreaking, but it pales in comparison to what else they do. The shadow lands had people on them. Poor people. Unwanted people. Uneducated outcasts… We didn’t remove those people. They were part of a test.”
“They died?”
“We killed them. I killed them.”
“Thank God you got out.”
“I don’t know if God had anything to do with it,” I scoffed. I was jaded, I knew it. “Hank and Tristan, I owe them my life. Did you know Hank used to be an officer? And Tristan was an officer in training. They defected and took me with them. I’d do anything for those men. They’re my family.”
