The Potion Diaries 2

by Amy Alward

  ‘You’ll make it through this, Sam,’ Anita says. ‘Come on, you solved the riddle of your great-grandmother’s journal all on your own! That’s not nothing.’

  ‘It has come to nothing,’ I say, retreating into the tortoise shell of a scarf I have wrapped around my head. Anita puts her hand on mine, then stares out of the window.

  ‘Hey, what’s that up ahead?’ says Arjun.

  There’s a great cloud of dust on the road, blocking our way. Kirsty slows the car down to a crawl.

  ‘Maybe some of the villagers who went before us have run into some problems?’ says Anita.

  My heart jumps into my throat as I think of Nadya. ‘I hope everyone is okay,’ I say.

  But then a figure begins to emerge from the dust, and it’s not human. A hoof appears first, the size of my head. It’s Cato. And he’s followed by not one, but many others. The entire herd. I can see Solon behind him, and behind him the centaur with only one eye. He still only has one eye, the other one dangling around his neck on a much nicer chain than the makeshift one I’d made. They are still wearing angry stares, the great V shape of their eyebrows locked in a permanent and terrifying frown. Cato points at me, then beckons me towards him.

  ‘Is that what I think it is?’ says Zain, his voice suddenly dripping with ice. ‘Samantha – what did you do?’

  I frown. ‘What do you mean?’ I haven’t told Zain about the centaur eye. But maybe that’s not what he’s referring to. ‘I want to hear what they have to say. If they wanted us dead, they would have fired their arrows at us already.’

  I step out of the car.

  ‘Well then, we’re all coming with you,’ says Arjun, unclicking his seatbelt. The others follow close behind – although Zain comes up to stand beside me. He radiates energy, his hands balled up into fists.

  ‘Please,’ I say to Zain. I take his hand. ‘Don’t antagonise them. We’ve done enough damage.’

  But I don’t have time to say anything else, because Cato steps forward.

  ‘Samantha Kemi. We have not been friends to humans for a long time. Even lately, you have brought more destruction to us and our herd.’

  I nod my head and swallow. I don’t want to have the burden of any more news for Nadya and her community – especially not the news that things are just about to get worse and worse. But the responsibility is being laid at my feet again, and I will accept it.

  ‘But, now that you have returned the eye to us,’ he continues, ‘we are in your debt. None more so than Valu himself, from whom the eye was taken.’

  ‘You did what?’ says Zain beside me, and I shoot him a sharp look. I blink several times, because something about Zain seems to be shifting. I’m not sure if my eyes are behaving properly.

  Cato’s words draw my attention back to him. ‘In return, he wants to give you something. We know that what you have been asking for – the diary – was not truly what you’ve been looking for. You want the aqua vitae.’

  ‘Yes, more than anything,’ I say. I know my intentions must be telling him that as well. It’s what I want with all my heart.

  ‘You are correct that Grand Master Cleo found the recipe for the aqua vitae. She made it. She did it to save our herd when we were in our darkest hour. She chose to help us, above and beyond her quest in the Wilde Hunt to save her Queen. She single-handedly ended the blight that could have wiped out our species, but in doing so, she lost her alchemical skill. It is the sacrifice required to make the aqua vitae. She said we would no longer have as many humans coming to our herd for ingredients, since she had found a way to replicate the properties in another format. She was a prophet as well as an alchemist.’

  Synths. Cleo had created synths to spare another centaur from losing another eye.

  Cato continues. ‘She managed enough quantity of the aqua vitae for us to distribute amongst the herd, before it became too much for her. We survived, thanks to your ancestor.’

  For a moment, I am speechless. But I still have so many questions. ‘And then she destroyed the recipe. Why?’

  ‘She knew it would be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands – and the cost of such a recipe is too high.’

  ‘Selfish,’ snaps Zain.

  Valu steps forward, every hoofstep heavy. He looks even more fearsome with his second eye hanging around his neck – both eyes seem to stare at me. ‘To repay my debt to you for returning the eye, I would like to give you something in return.’ He reaches into the side bag where he carries his bow and arrow. He pulls out a tiny vial, filled with a thick, crystal-clear liquid. He gestures towards me with his head. ‘Hold out your hand,’ he says.

  I do as he asks. He places the vial in my upturned palm and closes my fingers over it. I’ve never been this close to a centaur before, and I’m shocked at how warm his skin is. He feels like he is on fire. For the first time, I look up into his eye and I don’t see anger there. I see . . . gratitude. My own cheeks burn.

  ‘This is our last drop of the aqua vitae,’ he says. ‘Use it to heal your grandfather.’

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  Samantha

  ZAIN LETS OUT A PIERCING scream.

  He contorts his body into an extreme angle, his back bent, his fingers curled over his face like he’s trying to rip it off, the tendons of his neck popping.

  Anita scrambles behind me while Arjun rushes over to Zain. ‘Are you okay, man?’

  Except by the time his hands come down from his face, it’s not Zain at all. It’s Emilia. A more haggard, wretched Emilia than I have ever seen before: her skin sagging off her face, her hair so white as to be practically translucent, her body almost skeletal. She must have poured herself into her magic to hold such a transformation for so long, and now she is paying the price. How did I not see? How did I not know?

  A violent urge to be sick overwhelms me, and I dry-retch into the ground.

  I kissed Emilia-as-Zain.

  Despite the amount of magic she must have exhausted, she is still lightning-quick.

  With one hand and overwhelming strength, she pushes Arjun away while lunging forward towards me, snatching the vial from my grasp. Anita and I both swing at her, desperate to do anything to stop her, as the centaurs all draw their bows at once and point their arrows at her.

  But she unstoppers the vial and downs the potion in seconds.

  It works almost instantly. Her skin plumps and thickens, turning from translucent to milky-white. The dark veins beneath the skin disappear, her eyes returning to the same striking blue as Evelyn’s and her hair regaining its natural golden sheen. When the transformation is finished, it’s as if she could be Evelyn’s sister, not her wicked aunt.

  She looks down at her hands in awe, their delicacy no longer showing the age and wear of a few moments ago. She is reborn – beautiful, strong and really freaking dangerous.

  The sight wrenches my heart out of my body and stamps on it.

  ‘What have you done?’ I shriek in agony. What have I done? is what I scream internally. How could she trick me like that? How could I be so stupid? What was it that Grandad had told me? Trust no Talented. And I ignored him.

  The centaurs shoot their arrows but she throws up a barrier that glances them aside like they are swan feathers.

  I hear a sharp, metallic double-click and spin around to see Kirsty unloading a shotgun from the back of the 4×4. She shoots at Emilia, but not even bullets can penetrate when Emilia is at her full power. She points her wand at the gun and shouts a spell.

  ‘Kirsty!’ I yell.

  Luckily, she has the sense to toss the gun away and leap for safety. The spell hits the gun and twists it, turning it into a heap of smouldering metal. Still, some of the spell residue blasts into Kirsty and I see her take a bad fall, her head ricocheting off the ground. ‘Kirsty!’ I shout again, but my feet are rooted to the ground. I beg Kirsty to move. I see a twitch of her hand and hear her groan, and breathe a sigh of relief.

  From beneath the glowing light of her barrier, Emilia’s eyes spa
rkle like stars. ‘I knew that I could count on you to find the potion, Samantha. Somewhere, somehow, I knew you would find it. That’s what makes you such a great alchemist.’

  Even her voice sounds different – smoother, less like she drank an entire glass of gravel and more like it’s been coated in silk. ‘I’ve never felt so . . . alive! Thankfully your little boyfriend was very easy to capture, all alone as he was on the Gergon border. Now look at me!’ She turns to Cato, her eyes narrowing. ‘This is a human matter. Not for centaurs to get involved. Do you understand?’

  ‘I’ll KILL YOU,’ I scream, even though I have no way of backing up that claim. ‘Shoot her again!’ I tell the centaurs. ‘She is evil incarnate. She was the one who had the eye to begin with. The one who kept it and prevented Valu from healing properly. It was her fault.’

  But Emilia’s right. The centaurs don’t interfere in human matters. Cato stares at me with what I think is a hint of sympathy, but he doesn’t move a muscle. Instead, he turns and signals the others to leave us. Their hooves hammer the ground as they pick up into a gallop.

  Emilia stretches and then walks towards the car. ‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to borrow this now. I have a country to take over.’

  ‘What about Prince Stefan?’ I say in a last effort just to keep her talking until I can figure out a plan.

  ‘What about him? He found out about my little ruse with you and fired me. What do I care. You found me the aqua vitae. That’s what I wanted all along. And now, when your Princess runs out of time . . . I will be the one waiting in the wings.’

  ‘It’s too late!’ I say. ‘Princess Evelyn’s not stupid. She’ll marry before she lets her power destroy her.’

  Now Emilia smiles at me, all her teeth neat and white. It makes me shiver. ‘Married, unmarried, who cares. It doesn’t matter any more. I have the only antidote to the illness that is destroying the Gergon Royals. Wouldn’t it be a shame if it started attacking the Novaen Royals too?’

  ‘You’re disgusting,’ I tell her. She laughs, then turns away from me and gets in the car.

  Anita falls to her knees, sobbing, and Arjun goes to comfort her. I have a plan, but it’s a foolish one. I just can’t think of anything else. All I can think – and hope – is that maybe all the shouting has already started the process.

  I rush over to them and put my arms around them both. ‘Arjun, I have a plan. Give me your phone.’

  ‘We can’t call for help, there’s no signal out here!’

  ‘I know! Set your alarm on your phone as loud as you can, for two minutes from now. I’m going to distract Emilia, but I need you to get it ready as quickly as possible.’ I pull out the whistle that I wore for diving. I haven’t taken it off. I blow as hard as I can, making a shrill noise.

  ‘What are you doing?’ shrieks Anita, tears staining her cheeks.

  I take the whistle out of my mouth for a moment to answer. ‘Just don’t move a muscle, no matter what you see,’ I say.

  I blow the whistle again, and again, blowing so hard my cheeks start to burn. I beg for it to work. Please work. Please work.

  Finally, I hear the sound I’ve been waiting for. The flapping of wings in the sky.

  ‘Oh my god, what is that?’ asks Anita, her head tilted up to the sky.

  ‘You don’t want to know,’ I say. I grab the phone, which Arjun has just finished setting up, and launch into a sprint towards Emilia. She’s already started up the engine, and she needs to draw her wand to reach me before she can get in properly. She also catches sight of what is now in the sky, which delays her by a crucial second. She blasts a spell at me – but it’s an awkward angle around the body of the car. It’s easy for me to dodge and roll. She curses me and slams her foot on the accelerator, ready for a speedy getaway. Just as she does, I toss the phone in the back seat, and then I sprint in the direction away from Anita and Arjun.

  They barely take any notice of me. Everyone’s attention is focused on the sky – on the great swirling, slithering dragon in the air above us. It’s the same one that chased me last time – bright red scales glinting in the mid-morning sunlight. At first, I think she recognises me: I’m the one that called her, after all, with my screams and the blasts of my whistle. Does she remember how I antagonised her last time, how I tricked her? I don’t know whether dragons carry the notion of vengeance within them. I wish that had been covered in one of my books – then again, I had never planned on making an enemy of a dragon.

  My plan had better work – otherwise I’m going to be served up on a dragon barbecue. Arjun kneels by Anita, his hand covering her mouth, whispering furiously in her ear. I hope he’s telling her to be quiet and stay still.

  The dragon circles me, ignoring Emilia – who is speeding off in the car. I suddenly realise the massive flaw in my plan: the car is going to move out of the dragon’s territory before the alarm has time to sound.

  I’ve just condemned myself to one heck of a fiery death. At least it’s going to be over quickly.

  The dragon opens her mouth, the fire building inside. And then, like a miracle, I hear the alarm blast. It’s like a foghorn piercing the mist: the only sound that can get Arjun out of bed.

  Within seconds, the dragon passes over my head – and there’s no sign of fire. I keep deathly still in my crouched-down position as the dragon undulates her way over to Emilia. My face is pressed against the ground by the downdraft of her wings and I end up eating a mouthful of dirt.

  The car starts swerving frantically as Emilia reaches behind and tries to shut the phone off, and I worry that it’s going to be enough to throw the dragon off the scent.

  But the dragon is far too smart for that. She’s angry, she’s hungry, and if she recognises me, she might also recognise the car as another source of her ire. Whatever she thinks, she opens her mouth and yawns wide, and out pours a stream of fire – right down on top of the car.

  The car screeches to a halt: Emilia’s attempt to avoid the flames.

  But I see her as she escapes the burning car – her hair and clothes aflame. Water is pouring out of her wand, but it’s not enough. As she screams, it attracts the dragon even further, and it swoops over her for another pass.

  This time, Emilia can’t get away. The dragon lands, followed by her baby, and on the ground, they do what dragons do best: they finish off their prey.

  After a few agonising seconds, the mother dragon lifts Emilia’s corpse in her mouth and flies back towards the inner mountains of Runustan: her original home and territory.

  Arjun comes rushing over to me. Anita is by Kirsty’s side, and I’m pleased to see the Finder sitting up, although sporting a nasty-looking cut on her forehead.

  ‘Did that just happen?’ Arjun asks.

  I nod, shell-shocked. ‘I think Emilia is dead.’

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Samantha

  ONCE THE CENTAURS SAW THAT the dragons had returned to their original territory, they were happy to allow the villagers to return as well. Arjun rushed ahead to tell them the news. As soon as Nadya arrived back, I begged her to get the transport up and running. Even though Emilia was dead, the danger was far from over. I still needed to warn the Princess about Prince Stefan. And I needed to make sure the real Zain was okay.

  Back inside Nadya’s yurt, Arjun says: ‘Emilia would’ve had to keep him alive in order for the spell to work.’

  ‘I know. But I’m so worried . . .’ I reply.

  ‘I can’t believe Emilia’s actually gone,’ Anita says, rubbing her temples. ‘And I can’t believe you summoned a dragon on purpose.’

  ‘I couldn’t let her get away . . . I . . .’ It still hasn’t really hit me that my direct actions caused Emilia’s death. And yet, it also hasn’t sunk in that the last chance I had of saving my grandfather – the drop of the aqua vitae – was stolen away by her before I even had a chance to savour it.

  My only consolation is that now I know what it looked like, the possibility of my being able to make it again has
increased.

  No matter what my grandfather made me promise.

  ‘Oh no, I know that look,’ says Anita. ‘We’re going straight back to Nova this time. I’m not allowing you to take any detours.’

  ‘Her diary . . . everything . . . is gone again.’ There’s no chance that it would have survived the dragon’s fire. The car was reduced to ash. Even though potion diaries were built to be virtually indestructible, there are some forces that are just too powerful.

  ‘Now, no one will know the truth about who made the first synth,’ I say.

  ‘You will know,’ says Arjun. ‘And you can tell your family.’

  ‘I know,’ I say, with a small smile. ‘It just won’t be the same.

  There’s a small cough from behind us, and Nadya is standing there. ‘The transport is almost ready. But, um, Kirsty would like a word before you go?’

  ‘Of course.’ I leap to my feet. Kirsty can’t travel with us because of her head injury, but she’s been seen by the local village doctor and she’s going to be okay. When I see her, she looks worse for wear. Her head has been shaved in order for the doctor to stitch up her head, but Kirsty can pull it off. If anything, it makes her look even more badass.

  She grins at me as I come in. ‘This haircut is going to be hella practical for Finding – not sure why I didn’t do it sooner.’

  I return her smile and sit down on the bed next to her. ‘Thank you, for all your help.’

  To my surprise, Kirsty scoffs and pulls a face. ‘For my help? You mean bringing that devil into your midst in the form of Zain. I should have had my suspicions when he found me so easily – I knew he was supposed to be in Pays. But my instincts must have been off. I am sorry about that. I would never do anything on purpose to hurt you—’

  ‘I know,’ I cut her off. ‘Of course I know. You don’t need to be sorry. You couldn’t have known. She had me fooled too, and I’m supposed to be in love with the guy.’