The Transparency Tonic

by Frank L. Cole

  “Bolter!” Gordy exclaimed. He reached out, trying to pull the creature away from him, but it was like grabbing a grease-coated tube. Gordy’s fingers simply slipped right off.

  “Stop it!” Max shouted, kicking the back of the front seat with both feet. “Hey!” He jerked up in surprise. “I think your car just bit me!”

  “She’ll do that if she doesn’t like how you’re treating her,” Bolter said, keeping his focus on his bag.

  “Treating her?” Max said in shock.

  As the tentacle pulled on Bolter’s goggles, the Elixirist continued to dig in his satchel, tossing aside several vials, a bicycle pump, and an old license plate before shouting triumphantly.

  “Aha!” He held up a bright-yellow balloon bulging with what looked like bronze powder, but before Bolter could douse the tentacle with his potion, he looked out the broken windshield, and his victorious expression withered and died. Tentacle slime dripped down his cheeks.

  Gordy followed Bolter’s gaze, and the wind whooshed right out of his lungs. “Oh, sacapuntas!” Gordy shouted as Estelle arrived at the end of the trees and plummeted off a cliff into Harcourt Lake.

  The drop only took a moment, but it felt like an eternity. All three of them opened their mouths, but the sheer force of their downward thrust extinguished any screaming. As the lake rose up to greet them, a flood of water rushed in through the punctured windows, and the three-tentacled monstrosity nesting around Estelle’s engine pulled free from the windshield.

  “Now what?” Max demanded. “I can’t get the—”

  All four doors suddenly opened, and Estelle promptly ejected the three of them.

  Estelle floated in the water for several minutes, and Gordy helped Max and Bolter onto the roof. The tentacles coiled around the front of the car, a gigantic kraken attempting to bury a shipwreck in the sea.

  “How good can you swim?” Gordy asked Bolter. The only thing close by was a sheer rock cliff face that rose up at least thirty feet above the water. Gordy doubted they’d be able to climb it, and he pointed to the shore about a mile away.

  “Swim? As in dog paddle or breaststroke?” Bolter shook his head vehemently, hugging his drenched satchel to his chest. “Nope. I can’t swim. I’ll try calling for help.” He opened his bag and pulled out a heavy, ancient mobile phone with a rotary dial. Lake water drizzled from the receiver.

  “You think that’s going to work?” Max asked.

  Bolter frowned. “Why wouldn’t it?” He began rotating the dial of the phone.

  “No one will get here in time to save us, and the shore is too far away to swim.” Max’s teeth chattered. “We won’t make it.”

  The metal of Estelle’s frame buckled beneath the pressure of the squeezing tentacles.

  “We’re going to have to try,” Gordy said. “It’s not like we have a boat.”

  His eyes caught on the thin silver ring around his pinkie finger. It was the Sloop Solution Aunt Priss had traded to him a week ago. Gordy had almost completely forgotten about it. “Scratch that,” he said. “Maybe we do.”

  While Bolter finished dialing on his phone, Gordy dropped the ring into the water, and within seconds, it had dissolved into a shimmering liquid. The potion soon expanded, becoming triangular in shape and bobbing calmly next to Estelle. Gordy tested his weight on the board, and it held. Max hopped on next, and though it lapped up a few waves from the jarring motion, the Sloop didn’t sink.

  “I think I’ll wait,” Bolter said, pressing the receiver to his ear. “Help will be on the way shortly.”

  “And you’ll be at the bottom of the lake,” Gordy said.

  “We don’t know that for sure. Estelle seems perfectly capable of . . . Oh dear!”

  The front end of the Buick dipped forward, shifting on a downward angle, and a slew of bubbles belched out from the engine.

  “Okay then,” Bolter said. “If you’re positive it will hold.”

  Gordy felt sick for Bolter, whose smile had withered down until he sat straight-lipped on the raft, watching one of his most prized possessions sink to the bottom of the lake.

  “I’m so sorry about your car,” Gordy said, paddling the Sloop toward the shore. He wasn’t sure whether or not he should pat Bolter on the back for encouragement or leave well enough alone.

  “Yeah, she was a good ride.” Max slugged Bolter on the arm. “She’ll be missed.” He dragged his hand through the water on the opposite side.

  Gordy narrowed his eyes at Max’s insensitivity. Max just shrugged.

  “Yes, well, thank you,” Bolter said. “Very kind. Very kind. This sort of thing will happen from time to time. Fortunately, I do have a little of Estelle left in a petri dish back home. Perhaps I can salvage something from that.”

  Gordy didn’t know how to respond, and they rowed the Sloop the rest of the way to shore in silence.

  Gordy, Max, and Bolter stood by the side of the road next to the forest, shivering and dripping wet as a dark-red SUV pulled up alongside them. Aunt Priss sat behind the wheel, and green-haired Zelda peered over Priss’s arm from the passenger side. Priss’s dirty-blonde hair was dirtier than usual, and she now owned several nicks and cuts on her neck and chin. She looked as though she had gotten into a fight with a cactus. Other than a few strands of hair poking out at odd angles, Zelda looked no worse for wear.

  Priss rolled down the window. “Hitchhiking’s dangerous,” she said, then flicked her chin toward the back of the SUV. “Hop in.”

  “How did you make it out of B.R.E.W.?” Gordy climbed over the seat and strapped on his seat belt, the image of the building collapsing still filling his thoughts.

  “I almost suffered a nasty fall,” Priss answered. “That could have been bad. Something must have weakened the infrastructure, because a crack split the whole floor in two. Luckily, my dad was there. He tossed a bottle of Heliudrops through the hole just as I dropped, and Madame Brexil’s office chair floated up to catch me.”

  “Mezzarix did that?” Max asked. “On purpose?”

  Priss nodded. “I think so.”

  “But I thought he was like a total evil dude.”

  Priss sighed. “He has his moments.” She glanced at Gordy in the rearview mirror, and Gordy caught himself smiling. Hearing that his grandfather had done a kind deed gave him hope. Maybe it didn’t mean anything, but he liked to imagine Grandpa Rook as an all right guy from time to time.

  “What was he doing there, anyway?” Gordy asked.

  “That I don’t know, but he didn’t look well. Any thoughts on how he might have escaped the Forbidden Zone, Bolter?” Priss asked.

  “I’m afraid that’s beyond my expertise.” Bolter pressed his palm against the window, sharing a silent goodbye with Estelle and blinking back what might have been tears. “So long, Estelle. You were not only a good car but also a good cat.”

  “Do you have any snacks?” Max leaned forward and pushed his head between Priss and Zelda in the front seat. “Bolter hasn’t fed us. I’d eat just about anything right now.”

  Zelda dug in her bag and tossed Max a package of dried aloe vera leaves. “Eat as much as you’d like. They’re barbecue flavor.”

  Max appeared to deflate, scowling as he opened the bag and dry-heaved at the smell. Gordy crinkled his nose as well. The weird chips smelled nothing like barbecue.

  “I think I’m not hungry anymore,” Max said, gagging.

  “Suit yourself.” Zelda blotted her lips on a napkin. “They provide an excellent source of selenium.”

  “Are you two missing your shoes right about now?” Priss asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Max’s head perked up.

  She flicked her chin over her shoulder. “All your stuff’s in the back. Zelda got everything before we evacuated.”

  Gordy’s eyes lit up. He and Max crawled over the seat and grabbed their shoes. Max fl
icked gravel and seaweed from his toes and then wriggled his feet into his socks, sighing with satisfaction.

  “Never thought I’d be so happy to see these again,” Max said.

  Gordy also found his satchel. He unclasped the buckles and moved a few of his vials around. The bag felt heavy and full, and everything appeared to be just as he had left it.

  Priss drove north for another fifty miles, weaving on back roads past old ramshackle homes tucked away in the trees. It was a quiet ride. Bolter occasionally jotted notes on a pad of paper, a miniature pencil wedged in the nook of his hand where his thumb and forefinger would have been at one time. Max snored next to Gordy, his fingers smudged with red barbecue powder and the crumbs of dried aloe vera leaves scattered across his shirt. It hadn’t taken long for him to give in to his hunger and devour the bag. Max said the chips tasted better than they smelled.

  Gordy silently replayed the moments leading up to B.R.E.W.’s epic downfall over and over in his head. So many things just didn’t add up. Last year, when Esmeralda had infiltrated the headquarters, she had still needed permission to enter. Without that, no one could enter the grounds. After that attack, B.R.E.W. had increased both their security and their protective potions shielding the building from all outsiders. Despite all that, an army of Scourges had waltzed right up to the doors and into the building.

  And yet Gordy wasn’t dwelling upon these facts. He kept thinking about what his grandpa had said.

  “I need to have a word with my grandson. I need his help.”

  His help. What for? What could Mezzarix possibly need from Gordy that would make risking his life worth it?

  “What do the Swigs look like?” Gordy asked. Max slumped next to him, his sweaty head resting on Gordy’s shoulder. Gordy didn’t have the heart to nudge him away.

  “We’re not going to any of the trading posts,” Priss said. “Just to a safe house on the outskirts. We’re almost there.” Her expression changed to one of concern. “We need to talk about what you did back at the headquarters. Zelda told me you concocted a Blight Bomb.”

  “A what?” Gordy had never heard of such a thing.

  “It’s what took out the door and the floor and the wall and”—Zelda tapped her lip—“the whole of B.R.E.W. Headquarters, for that matter.”

  “This is serious, Gordy,” Priss continued. “Where did you learn how to make that? Who taught you?”

  Gordy stared at his hands, noticing the prick in his finger that had supplied the blood for the potion. No one had taught him how to make a Blight Bomb. He hadn’t known prior to that moment what he was going to do. Somehow, Gordy had taken basic ingredients and made them into something deadly. Zelda had instructed them to think outside the box. That’s what he had done. And because of his actions, the Scourges had taken over B.R.E.W.

  “I was just tyring to make a potion out of nothing,” Gordy said.

  “Not out of nothing,” Zelda replied. “Each of the items I gave you was specially treated. The gum wrapper was laced with artichoke sap, and the tap water had recently been percolating in a rusted watering can. Had you the sense to Decipher their full ingredients initially, you would have discovered all the necessary elements of making a simple Danish Plyndring Poultice, which would have easily opened the door.”

  Gordy stared at the back of Zelda’s head, his mouth slightly ajar. Apparently, the woman did have a point to her training exercise. If only Gordy hadn’t gone straight to Blind Batching. None of this would have happened.

  “I’m sorry, Priss. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

  She was silent for a moment. “I know you didn’t. But from now on, no more Blind Batching. And we keep this a secret from your mom until we settle this business, deal?”

  “Deal.” That was the best suggestion Priss could have offered. Gordy didn’t want to have that conversation with his mom just yet. He needed time to prepare for whatever punishment she would dole out.

  After what felt like hours of driving, Gordy spotted the family Subaru pulled off on a dirt side road. Gordy leaped from the SUV and embraced his mom and dad. It had only been half a day since they’d seen each other, but all of them were crying, including Isaac and Jessica.

  “Aw, I love you Stitsers!” Max said, joining the group hug. “Please tell me you brought snacks.”

  Per Priss’s instruction, Gordy and the others started out on the dirt trail by foot, leaving behind the two vehicles tucked off the road to stay hidden. For the moment, the Stitsers’ list of enemies could easily include both sides of the fight, Elixirists and Scourges. Priss took the lead on the path, instructing the others to stay a good five to ten feet behind her at all times. Gordy didn’t understand why, but she wasn’t giving out much information. She did take time to fill in Gordy’s parents on what had happened at B.R.E.W., conveniently excluding the part about Gordy’s Blight Bomb. As expected, Mrs. Stitser didn’t immediately believe the information about Mezzarix’s role in the attack on B.R.E.W.

  “It could have been a ruse,” his mom said, shaking her head. “Just another thug wearing a cleverly designed disguise. You’ve made plenty of Disfarcar Gels in your day, Priss. You know how easy those are to fake.”

  “Wanda, it was him,” Priss answered coldly. “I know Dad when I see him. I don’t know how he did it, but he’s out.”

  Out of Greenland, Gordy thought.

  “And he just let you go without a fight?” Gordy’s mom asked skeptically. “I find that hard to believe.”

  “There was a fight, and then the building collapsed.” Priss glared sidelong at Gordy’s mom.

  “What did he want with Gordy?” his mom asked.

  “He just wanted to talk to me,” Gordy said. And my help.

  His mom folded her arms and looked at her husband. “I’ll go along with this for now, but I’m struggling to believe it. If my dad has indeed broken free, he won’t leave us alone. We need to be prepared for whatever retaliation he has planned.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” Gordy’s dad asked. Jessica’s legs kicked out from around his chin as she rode on his shoulders. Max huffed along at the rear, griping as he gave Isaac a piggyback ride. “I thought you said a banishment was permanent until lifted by B.R.E.W. Could someone at headquarters have freed him?”

  “Only if they had possession of the Vessel,” Zelda answered. “And that doesn’t seem likely.” Her little legs had to take two steps for each one of Gordy’s strides, but she kept excellent pace with the group.

  “Maybe Madame Brexil let him out,” Gordy suggested. The notion had been weighing on his mind for quite some time. Every bad thing that had happened to the Stitsers lately had come about with the sudden appearance of the new Chamber President.

  “No, Gordy, she would never do that,” his mom said, dismissing the suggestion with a flip of her hand.

  “She fired you, Mom!” Gordy raised his voice. “And she punished me with that stupid Strap for no reason. She’s a bad person.” Madame Brexil had to be considered a suspect, and one they shouldn’t immediately rule out.

  “Gordy has a point,” Priss added. “She’s definitely shady. We know that she has a penchant for dealing out maximum-punishment sentences, including ExSpongement, and as the Chamber President, she would have access to the Vessel to perform the necessary releasing ceremony.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” his mom said. “She’s no Scourge supporter.”

  “You’re being ridiculous!” Priss whipped around, facing her sister. “Tell me this, how did a whole army of Scourges walk right through the front door? Not one of them was stopped by the wards—wards you helped strengthen over the past few months, might I add. No one is doubting your ability, Wanda, but how could they have done that without help?”

  Gordy’s mom massaged a spot on the back of her neck. “It doesn’t make any sense, but I firmly believe Talia Brexil has nothing to do wit
h this. That’s not how she operates.”

  Priss groaned. “You’re not a part of B.R.E.W. anymore! And now that she’s issued that arrest warrant for you and Gordy, you never will be again. Yet you’re so blinded by your loyalty, you’ll endanger your whole family out of principle!”

  “Always so impetuous!” Gordy’s mom fired back, jabbing her index finger. “Think about this for a moment. Why would our father storm headquarters in search of the Vessel? And if Mrs. Brexil was working with the Scourges, why would they go to all that trouble when they could have just set up an appointment with her at their leisure? I may be blinded by loyalty, but you’re blinded by hatred for B.R.E.W.!”

  Gordy opened his mouth and looked at his aunt, but his mom was right. His grandfather and the Scourges hadn’t acted as though they were in cahoots with the Chamber President. If so, they wouldn’t have needed to attack the building.

  Bolter hadn’t said much since floating across the lake on the Sloop Solution, but now he cleared his throat. “I apologize, but are we getting any closer to our destination? As much fun as this little stroll has been, listening to your riveting conversation, I believe we would be wise to sit down soon and plan out our next course of action. We are at war, in case you’ve forgotten. And as long as the Chamber of Directors is still in possession of the Vessel,” he added, “B.R.E.W. will continue to stand. Headquarters was just a building. It’s the potions and people that matter.”

  “Agreed,” said Zelda. “Thank goodness they moved it. The relocation of the Vessel was the only smart thing Madame Brexil has done since the start of her term.”

  “Whose property is this, anyway?” Gordy’s dad asked.

  “It belongs to Priss’s source, but she’s choosing to remain tight-lipped on the matter,” his mom answered. “Don’t you think it would be wise to fill us in?”