by Amy Alward
The first few bars of the intro music fill the theatre, and Daphne gives me a nudge with her hand. ‘You’d better go to your seat,’ she says.
I nod, take a deep breath, and slip into the auditorium while everyone’s eyes are glued to the large screen in front of them. The introductory sequence is playing, ending with the title: SAMANTHA KEMI: ALCHEMIST EXTRAORDINAIRE.
That breath feels like the only one I take through the hour-long showing (even though I know it can’t be true). It’s the standing ovation the documentary gets at the end that finally releases all the tension in my shoulders and the air from my lungs. Ani throws her arms around me from behind, and Mum has tears in her eyes. Even Grandad’s eyes are a little glossy as he makes a grumbling comment about how they filmed me leaving the lab really messy after mixing my potion. I can tell he enjoyed it, really.
‘Oh my god, Sam – that was amazing!’ says Anita, clambering over the seats to give me a proper hug.
‘Really?’
‘I wouldn’t lie. Is it too late to retrain to be an alchemist too?’ she laughs.
‘I’d have you on my team anytime, you know that,’ I say, her smile infectious.
A crowd of people builds around me, jostling Anita and me as we talk. She presses something into my hand: it’s her phone. I left mine at home, not wanting to read any reactions or receive any messages from anyone except the people who are right here in front of me.
Well, with the exception of one person, of course.
‘Take the call,’ she whispers in my ear. ‘Somewhere private. I’ll run interference on the crowd.’
I nod, and slip through the swarm of people as Anita guides me through – it’s not easy ghosting through a crowd when you’re as tall as me, but somehow we manage it, and I hide behind the curtain of the screen again.
A familiar face fills the screen of Anita’s phone.
‘Zain?’
His face lights up as he sees me, and that smile speeds up the beating of my already-hammering heart. ‘Sam! I couldn’t let this night go by without saying congratulations to the most kick-ass alchemist I know.’
‘Thanks,’ I say, a blush rising in my cheeks. ‘How’s life in New Nova?’ Zain’s started on his new degree and he’s been studying non-stop for weeks to catch up for starting a whole semester behind.
‘It’s amazing. You have to come out to the campus here for a visit – you’d love it. I went and checked out their labs for you – they have even more tech here than in Long-shi.’
‘Seriously? Well, sign me up then,’ I say with a grin.
‘So – have fun tonight. I can’t wait to see the show.’
‘Thanks – and happy studying.’
Although neither of us speak, we don’t end the call either. Our eyes lock on the phone, and my throat chokes with all the words I want to say – but can’t. Then I close my eyes and press the button to end the call, and I’m left in momentary darkness.
That is, until a moment later, when a bright light flashes nearby. I walk over, filled with curiosity. There’s a package sitting on the floor, wrapped in plain brown paper and tied in a red bow. My name is written on the tag, but there’s no sender name.
I pull on the ribbon and unwrap the paper. What’s inside makes me gasp.
It’s a potion diary. A stunning leatherbound diary filled with fresh sheets of creamy, textured paper, blank and ready to be written on. On the cover, debossed into the buttery soft, dark brown leather, is an intricate line drawing of a phoenix rising out of flames. I run my fingers over the phoenix, unable to get over how beautiful it is.
I know it’s lame, but I want to smell the pages: that perfect, musty scent that only seems to be noticeable the first time a book is opened. I peel back the leather cover and prepare to take a sniff. But something stops me. Written on the first page is an inscription in handwriting I recognise:
Just remember, Sam. You have always been extraordinary to me – Z
I clutch the diary to my chest as the curtain opens.
‘Sam?’ It’s Daphne, with Anita following close behind – a look on my best friend’s face that says sorry I couldn’t stop her!
‘Ah, there you are,’ Daphne continues. She charges over to me, a spring in her step that seems powered by the audience’s ovation of her – and my – film. ‘I’m off to the after-party now but I wanted to give you this in case I don’t see you again tonight.’ She winks as she hands me a sleek business card with the name YOLANDA printed on it in neat capital letters. It’s glamoured to play trailers from her movies on the back. ‘Yolanda tells me you’ve been ignoring her emails. You should get in touch, she’s dying to meet you to talk to you about a mix.’
‘Seriously?’ My jaw drops.
‘Seriously,’ Daphne says. She gives me two quick kisses on the cheek. ‘The documentary is a triumph, Samantha. I hope you’re really proud.’
She leaves in a swirl of her long skirts, leaving Anita and me alone behind the screen.
Anita grins at me. ‘So, Samantha Kemi, documentary queen, Master Alchemist and soon to be potion-maker to the stars . . . what do you want to do now? There’s drinks going on in the lobby, or I heard talk of an after-party.’
I bite my bottom lip. ‘Well, an after-party does sound fun . . . but you know what I really fancy?’
‘What’s that?’
‘An extra-hot vanilla bean latte with whipped cream.’
Caffeine – it might not be an aqua vitae, but it’s as close to a cure-all potion as I’m ever going to find.
She laughs and links arms with me. ‘Coffee Magic?’
‘Where else?’ I pull away towards the back exit, where we can slip out of the theatre without anyone being the wiser.
‘What’s that?’ Anita asks when we step outside, pointing at the diary I’m still clutching tightly in my hands.
‘This?’ I look down at the potion diary, at the phoenix rising from the ashes, and I smile. ‘This is where the magic happens.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My first enormous thank-you goes to Lucy Rogers and Zareen Jaffrey, editors supreme, for all they’ve done to shape this series and for always being team #Zamantha. The S&S teams around the world have built this series from strength to strength – thank you for loving my nerdy alchemist protagonist Sam as much as I do.
As ever, huge thanks to Juliet Mushens for being my rockstar friend and agent. It’s down to her that The Potion Diaries series is available to readers in many different languages and I am forever awed by her energy and Talent (capital T because I secretly suspect she has magic powers).
To my friends on this writing journey – Zoe Sugg, Amie Kaufman, Laura Lam, Juno Dawson, James Smythe, Will Hill and Laure Eve – thank you for inspiring me with your own amazing books. And extra special mention to Kim Curran – who helped me beat a path around many a plot hole while holed up in a chateau in France – I couldn’t do this without you.
Many thanks to my parents, for their constant support and guidance, and for access to the cottage – my ideal writing place.
And finally, my acknowledgements for this book wouldn’t be complete without a nod to Dadingo, the big yellow Oasis Overland truck that brought me to the base of the Villarrica volcano in Chile for book research (along with many other places around South America), and the other people on board – especially Gayle, Kim and Gareth. My thirst for adventure has led me to many places in this world just as magical as any in this book, but it’s the people I’ve met on the journey that really make it all worthwhile.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
© Marte L Rekaa
Amy Alward is a Canadian author and freelance editor who divides her time between the UK and Canada. In 2013, she was listed as one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars. Her debut fantasy adventure novel, The Oathbreaker’s Shadow, was published in 2013 under the name Amy McCulloch and was longlisted for the 2014 Branford Boase Award for best UK debut children’s book. Her first book written as Amy Alward, The Potion Diaries, w
as an international success and featured in the Zoella Book Club. She lives life in a continual search for adventure, coffee and really great books, and is currently hard at work on a new series for teen readers.
Visit her at www.amyalward.co.uk or on Twitter @amy_alward.
Also by Amy Alward
The Potion Diaries
The Potion Diaries: Royal Tour
First published in Great Britain in 2017 by Simon & Schuster UK Ltd
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Copyright © 2017 Amy Alward Ltd
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PB ISBN 978-1-4711-4360-1
eBook ISBN 978-1-4711-4361-8
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