by Amy Alward
‘Good luck,’ Kirsty says. ‘And if anyone can find the way to save your grandad, it’s you.’ We hug each other and then she ushers me away. ‘You have work to do. Go, go!’
I enter the transport room, and I see Anita is biting her fingernails. ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask.
‘We can’t seem to get in touch with the Princess. Apparently she’s been rushed to a top secret location until they can confirm that the threat from Emilia is gone. We can’t even get any messages to her in case there’s a security breach. They’re sending agents here right now to confirm Emilia’s death. They need to clear you before you can talk to the Princess.’
‘I can’t stay here! Can they clear me from somewhere else?’
‘They say no.’
‘But—’
‘Don’t worry . . . I’ve got you covered. But you need to leave now. Your family are waiting for you.’
‘You got in touch with my mum and dad?’
‘Of course! They’re in Kingstown General Hospital.’
‘What are we waiting for? Let’s go now!’
‘Arjun and I will wait here to deal with the Royal security when it arrives.’
I frown. ‘Oh.’ Then I throw my arms around her and hold her tight. ‘Thank you. For everything.’
‘You’re always welcome, you silly goose. Now go . . . go and see your family!’
The transport takes me directly into Kingstown General. As soon as I’m clear through the screen, Mum and Dad are all over me, pulling me into the biggest hug that I’ve ever received. Mum eventually pushes Dad aside, planting kisses all over my face until I try to wriggle out of her grip.
‘Mum, Dad, I’m fine. I’m okay,’ I say.
‘We’ve been so worried about you!’ says Mum when she’s finally finished. She still holds onto me tightly, as if she’s worried I’m about to disappear out of her grip.
‘I’ve been . . . it’s been . . .’ I don’t even know where to begin.
‘Start at the beginning, young lady,’ Dad says. ‘And don’t even think about missing out a single detail.’
When everyone – Mum, Dad and Molly – are sitting together in the little private area outside Grandad’s room, I give them the story right from the start: from the moment I found out about Emilia’s plan, to chasing down the diary in Runustan, getting kidnapped in Laville, seeing Grandad’s memories in Gergon and the final showdown with Emilia. They are an attentive audience – gasping and crying out in all the right places. But I can see their disappointment when they learn that I haven’t been able to get the aqua vitae.
‘Can I please see Grandad now?’ Just telling the story again makes me desperate to see him.
Mum and Dad exchange a look, and then finally Mum nods. ‘He’s sleeping right now. You can go and see him but then I want you to come straight back here. We have a lot more to discuss.’
‘I will,’ I say. I gently push the door open, not wanting to disturb Grandad. I pad over to his bedside and sit in the hard plastic chair that has been placed beside him. One of his wrinkled hands is lying outside the covers. I slide my hand until it fits underneath, then I grip it tight and kiss it gently.
‘I’m so sorry, Grandad,’ I sob. I’ve failed you.
I feel a small hand on my shoulder. I look up, my eyes bleary with tears, and see Molly standing behind me. She in turn gives me a big hug. ‘I’m sorry I got mad at you on the phone,’ she says. ‘I thought . . . when you were gone . . . I thought that might be the last thing I ever said to you.’
Her voice begins to break, so I grip her hand too. Between Molly, myself and my grandad, we are a trio of sufferers. The sadness of it slightly makes me want to giggle. We’re all okay, though, because we’re together.
I let go of Molly’s hand and wipe my eyes. She moves over to the other side of the bed and puts on the unicorn-tail gloves she left on the bedside table. ‘I’ve not been able to make much progress,’ she says, with a small frown. ‘The synth has helped stabilise him, but his mind is still missing pieces.’
‘I almost had the aqua vitae that could have saved him.’
Molly looks up at me. ‘You tried as hard as you could.’
I want to nod, but I feel empty. I’m sure there was more I could have done. Trying my hardest and failing is not an outcome I’m used to.
Molly continues to talk, her forehead creased in concentration. ‘I feel like I could heal him if I had those missing memories. Maybe then I could edge them back into his mind?’
Suddenly a lightbulb explodes in my head; I can’t believe I’ve been so wrapped up as to have forgotten about it. ‘I have one of the memory vials,’ I say. ‘I stole it from Emilia and Prince Stefan before I left the cave.’
‘You do? I can see if I can plug the gaps in Grandad’s memories.’
‘Are you sure you can do this? Should we call one of the doctors?’
Her eyes open wide. ‘With these gloves, I can do it. I don’t think Grandad would let anyone else other than family mess with his memories, do you? You know how stubborn he can be – even with some of his mind missing.’
I nod. None of the other doctors has been able to see what Molly sees. If anyone has a chance at this, it’s going to be her. I can’t help but feel my insides warm with pride. She’s going to be an amazing doctor.
I fetch the memory vial from inside the backpack. Thank goodness I basically kept it attached to my body at all times. Even touching the dark vial gives me the shivers but this is our opportunity to get Grandad back.
‘How are you going to get the memories back into Grandad’s mind?’ I ask as my sister adjusts her gloves.
She frowns. ‘How did the memory board work again?’
‘Emilia poured the memory onto the blackboard surface and when I touched the board, I was sucked into the memory.’
‘Well, that’s it then. It must react to human contact. So I’ll see if he can reabsorb it through his skin, and I’ll use the gloves to kind of . . . guide it into place. I can’t really explain what it feels like to use the gloves, but you’ll have to trust me on this.’
‘Of course I trust you.’ I hand over the vial.
She unstoppers it and, very gently, pours it onto Grandad’s forehead. It gathers in a pool on his skin. He takes a deep breath as it touches him, which shocks us both. But Molly regains her composure first, touching his temples and closing her eyes.
After a few moments, with Molly muttering words I can’t quite hear underneath her breath, the memory disappears completely from view, sinking into Grandad’s skin and . . . hopefully . . . his mind.
When Molly opens her eyes again, I ask her, ‘Do you think it worked?’
But it’s Grandad who opens his eyes. ‘It did,’ he said. ‘I can remember, I just . . . not quite everything.’ He frowns. Then he smiles. Molly collapses on top of him, hugging him tight, and I fall on top of her – though gently, so as not to crush Grandad’s lungs.
He holds us tight, with strength that surprises me. Then he lets go, and slowly his eyelids droop until he’s asleep once again.
‘We need the rest of the memories,’ I say, my pulse racing. ‘I need to talk to the Princess. She’ll know what to do.’
There’s a thunderous pounding on the door to the waiting room.
‘Sam?’ comes Mum’s call.
I take one look at Molly and we rush back. Mum has opened the door, and standing, silhouetted in the doorway, is Renel. And he looks mad.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Samantha
‘WE WERE EXPECTING YOU IN Runustan. You should have waited for us there.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I say, but I keep my head held high. ‘I believed that seeing my family was my first priority.’
‘Be that as it may, we believe that you know where the deceased enemy of the state, Emilia Thoth, has been hiding out – and the potential location of hostage Zain Aster.’
‘Yes!’ I say. ‘The old Visir School in Gergon.’
‘Impossible!’ says Re
nel. ‘That school has been shut down for years.’
‘It’s where I was held, and that’s where Zain will be.’
‘Right, thank you. These guards will take your statement.’
‘Wait!’ I say, before he can leave the room. ‘I want to go with you. To the Visir School.’
‘This is going to be a raid, Miss Kemi, so that would be entirely inappropriate.’
I pull myself up to my tallest height. ‘There are items being held at the Visir School that belong to me. Plus, I have intelligence on the location of the castle,’ I try to speak as much like a security operative as I can manage, ‘which could be invaluable to your rescue effort and save you time.’
He stares at me for a few long seconds. ‘Okay, fine. But we need to leave right now to extract the hostage as quickly as possible.’
‘Now, hang on a second,’ says Dad. ‘You only just got back. I’m not having you jetting off back into danger, into enemy territory no less.’
‘I’m sorry, Dad. This isn’t a matter of giving them a map and telling them where to go. Zain’s life is at stake. And there’s Grandad. There might be something there that can save him.’
I don’t give my parents a chance to protest – this is something I’m doing, with or without their approval. Dad can see the determination in my face and he relents.
‘Go get him,’ Mum says, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
In another room, Renel gives me a special uniform to put on: a close-fitting black shirt and trousers, a spell-and-bulletproof vest overtop. When I emerge, he hands me a pair of wraparound sunglasses and gives me my briefing.
‘We’re going to have to do a moving transport – are you comfortable with that? The principles are the same, but we have to transport into a jet that is flying above the Visir School, then parachute in. Once we’re there, we can set up a temporary screen in order for you to transport back.’
I nod, setting my jaw. ‘I understand. Can I see the location of the Visir School?’
He shows me the map, pointing at Byrne. I shake my head. ‘It’s not here. It’s in an old castle, with this symbol on the front.’ I draw them a picture of the dragon with the crown.
Renel nods. ‘We know that place. Good. It’s in Northern Gergon. You’ll be tandem parachuting in with one of our agents.’
‘No problem,’ I say, and it isn’t. I’ve faced down a centaur, scuba-dived in the dark night and summoned a dragon. What’s scary about jumping out of a plane after all that? ‘I need to speak to Princess Evelyn first.’
‘You can’t,’ says Renel. ‘She is still in her secure location. We cannot risk a breach until the hostage is secured.’
It’s frustrating, but I know I don’t have much of a choice. Saving Zain has to be the priority for now.
As a gaping hole appears in the aeroplane, metal giving way to a rush of air and bright blue sky, I suddenly change my mind about the safety of skydiving. But by then it is too late. The man I’m strapped to takes a flying leap and all of a sudden we are tumbling through the air towards the Visir School. I can’t believe that I’m participating in a covert Novaen mission. But we all have a job to do. The briefing was clear: get in, get Zain, then get out as quickly as possible, without alerting the Gergon government to our intrusion.
Because of the way the castle is built into the mountain, we land on the top of a small ledge and abseil down, entering through the windows and down the twisted stairs of the highest tower. I recognise the floor I was kept on, and I point them towards my former cell. Could it have Zain in it?
There’s no sign of Ivan or Prince Stefan – thank goodness. It’s only been a couple of days since I escaped (was it really so recent?) and I hope that Zain is okay.
‘Zain!’ I shout.
‘Sam?’ I hear a weak cry from behind one of the other doors. I rush down towards it.
‘Zain, are you there?’ My fists pound on the door. ‘It’s me. Renel is here with the security team.’
To my surprise, he shouts, ‘No! How do you know he’s the real Renel? Emilia, she’s a master changeling . . .’
‘Emilia’s dead, Zain! I promise you, everyone is real.’ The agents swarm past me, carrying battering rams. ‘Get back from the door, Zain!’ I shout, and I hope he’s smart enough to listen.
With three sharp cracks of the battering ram, the door breaks open. One of the agents uses the ram to make the hole wider, then another jumps through the gap and grabs Zain. His skin is pale as milk, his hair shaggy across his face. He looks like he hasn’t eaten in days. He stumbles as he steps through the remnants of the door, and I catch him as he falls. ‘You’re okay!’ I kiss him on the lips, gently at first, but he presses back harder.
‘I’m okay,’ he says. ‘She took my blood . . .’
I grimace. ‘I know, trust me.’
‘But I found this.’ He holds up my potion diary, which I’d left in the room. ‘And that gave me hope that you were here . . . and alive. Don’t worry – I didn’t read it.’ He gives me a small smile. My heart swells and I know I couldn’t love him any more right now. I throw my arms around him and kiss him again.
Renel pushes me to one side. ‘Get this boy a medical evac, stat,’ he says to one of the agents. ‘Now, let’s move.’
The agents rush past me, but I stand my ground.
‘Come on, Samantha,’ Renel says.
‘No,’ I reply. ‘There’s one more thing I need to get.’
‘We don’t have time for anything else!’
But I don’t listen to him – I don’t even give him the time to refuse. I spin on my heels and I start to run. ‘Follow her!’ I hear Renel shout behind me.
I run down the stairs to the cave, my knowledge of the castle giving me an advantage over the agents. I dash across the narrow passageway, careful not to look down to where I made my escape. I enter the little room where the memory diving occurred and I’m thankful to see all the vials still intact. The blackboard, on the other hand, is not. It’s smashed into pieces on the floor. I wonder if it could ever be recovered, but for now I don’t feel like explaining what it is that the board can do.
‘What is this?’ says one of the agents who follows me.
‘I need these vials,’ I say. I swing my backpack off my back and start loading them in. I need to make sure I get every single one and none of them go to some secret Novaen security vault somewhere that can’t be accessed.
When all the vials are loaded up into my backpack, I turn to the agents. ‘Okay, now we can go.’ They nod, and we head back up the stairs to the top of the castle as quickly as we can. We’ve been inside for maybe fifteen minutes, tops. When I reach the roof, there’s already a transport screen that’s been set up to take us home. I grab the arms that are ready to guide me through and, safely carrying my grandfather’s missing memories, I step through the mirror and back to Nova. I never want to set foot in Gergon again.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Samantha
BACK AT THE HOSPITAL, I rush to Molly and my parents. I carefully hand Molly the backpack, and then we drag our parents into Grandad’s room, not giving them a chance to protest.
Molly restarts the process of feeding Grandad’s memories back into his mind and my parents are gobsmacked. Only one of the vials – the final one – is different. It doesn’t have a memory in it – only the strange, inky black liquid that Emilia used as storage. I keep that one, sliding it into my jeans pocket. Their jaws don’t leave the floor until she is done, when slowly, ever so slowly, Grandad opens his eyes.
‘I thought we’d lost you, Dad,’ says my dad. He sits on the bed and gives his father a hug.
Grandad hugs each one of us in turn, then turns his attention to Molly and me. ‘Thank you both. For everything you’ve done to bring me back.’
‘There was no other way, Grandad,’ I say. ‘It required both of us to do it. Both of our skills. Both of our talents.’
He rubs at his eyes, and the familiar twinkle is back. He looks around the ro
om, seeing it all properly for the first time. He takes in the vast array of flowers, the balloons, presents and cards that have been sent to him wishing him a full recovery. Although he’s never been one to be sentimental, I can tell that he’s touched. His eyes settle on the shoulder bag he was carrying when he was attacked. He frowns. ‘Has anyone been in my bag?’
I can’t help myself – I chuckle. The first thing Grandad does when he wakes up is worry about his privacy being invaded.
‘No, of course not, Dad,’ says my dad.
‘Bring it to me,’ he says. Molly does as he asks, laying the leather bag on top of his lap. ‘The morning that I was . . . attacked,’ he said, ‘I had a particular journey to make. It’s probably what gave Emilia the time to find me.’ He smiles ruefully. ‘I had to pick up a letter. I wasn’t sure, then, if I was going to tell you right away. But having spent this time trapped in my memories . . . remembering what my own mother stood for . . . what I had to go through . . . I know now that I have been holding you back. And I don’t know why.
‘Sam Kemi, I believe your work in the Wilde Hunt, not to mention what you have gone through over the past two weeks, has made you eligible to become a proper alchemist. I had submitted all the documentation to the guild at the end of the Wilde Hunt and I was on my return trip from the council with their decision, when I was ambushed. I’m afraid that my mind was not capable of passing on the news to you. But the news has sat in this bag ever since. I would like you to have this.’ He hands me a large envelope, which feels padded with lots of paper.
My pulse speeds up and my mouth feels dry. For once, I am genuinely speechless. I carefully take the envelope from his hands, sliding my finger beneath the seal.
I pull out the stack of paper and unfold the letter that sits on top of the other sheets:
Dear Grand Master Ostanes Kemi,
We have received your application to make your apprentice, Miss Samantha Kemi, a fully fledged alchemist.
We have examined the evidence that you presented to us, including the samples of several brews that the apprentice has mixed, completely free of interference or guidance from her master. In light of the evidence presented, we find there to be sufficient proof that Miss Samantha Kemi, daughter of Mr John and Mrs Katie Kemi, apprentice of Grand Master Ostanes Kemi, of Kemi’s Potion Shop, is not only worthy to be named an alchemist but a Master of Alchemy in the town of Kingstown, Nova, and anywhere else worldwide where the profession of Alchemy is recognised and performed.
