The Alchemist's Key

by Traci Harding

  Rex, who was used to recovering from a crisis situation quickly, was the first to raise himself. ‘Is everyone okay?’

  ‘What the hell are you still doing here?’ Wade sprang to his feet, annoyed.

  ‘I think you ought to be thankful that any of us are still here.’ Tace stood to confront him in a righteous fashion. ‘What the hell is that thing?’

  Wade had never struck a woman in his life, but he was really tempted at this point.

  ‘Forget her,’ Louisa pacified him. ‘Hadn’t we better shut off your modem? Or a least try and warn the Contessa?’

  ‘Good call.’ Wade immediately turned and headed for the house, with Louisa hot on his heels. ‘Where’s your mobile phone?’ he asked her, figuring that the house phones would be useless to them.

  ‘In my room,’ Louisa advised.

  ‘Wade, what if you-know-what happens?’ Hugh called out after his companions. ‘We can’t just leave them here.’

  ‘Just watch me,’ Wade called back. ‘They had their chance to leave, now they’re on their own.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Tace started hounding Hugh for answers.

  ‘Hang around long enough and you’ll find out.’ Hugh started to move off after the others. ‘However, I strongly recommend that you leave. Curiosity has been known to kill the cat.’

  Tace turned to Rex to see whether he thought they should take Hugh’s advice.

  The cameraman smiled. ‘No way, I’m not leaving.’

  The Baron’s party disappeared into the manor, whereby Tace waved Rex after her. ‘Come on. Let’s get a closer look at the workings of that machine.’

  As they approached the dug-out site and Rex lifted the camera onto his shoulder to resume filming, a bolt of energy lashed out from the metal spike and struck his precious piece of equipment from his hands. The camera was rendered an unrecognisable, burnt out, smoking shell of metal in a matter of minutes, and the battery oozed a gooey muck. ‘I don’t think my insurance covers acts of God.’ He tried to make light of his loss.

  ‘I doubt very much that that is the case in this instance.’ Tace looked to the manor entrance through which Wade had disappeared. ‘And when I prove as much, those responsible will pay, I assure you.’

  Wade headed straight upstairs to the studio and, seeing his equipment swamped by the blue waves of energy, he realised he stood little chance of getting close enough to switch it off.

  ‘I need something long and wooden,’ he commented over his shoulder to Louisa, scanning the room for such an item, although he knew he wouldn’t find one.

  ‘Perhaps in the kitchen,’ Louisa suggested. ‘You look, and I’ll grab my phone.’

  ‘Right you are.’ Wade barged past Hugh who was on his way to the stairs at the end of the old musician’s gallery. ‘I’ll meet you down there.’

  ‘No, we should all stay together,’ Hugh insisted.

  ‘You go with Louisa,’ Wade instructed, continuing on his merry way.

  ‘Oh, come on, Hugh.’ Louisa grabbed his hand and dragged him into the domed picture gallery. ‘Let’s be quick about it.’

  The pair nearly flew down the staircase of the Great Hall, and entering the downstairs drawing room, Louisa let Hugh go so that she could rummage through her bag. ‘Got it,’ she announced, pulling the phone out and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

  ‘Alright, let’s go.’ Hugh grabbed hold of Louisa’s free hand and hastened her out the door, where they nearly ran over poor old Talbot.

  ‘Did you hear that frightful noise, Sir?’

  ‘Yes, we heard it.’ Hugh shuffled around the butler, dragging Louisa behind him.

  ‘Do you know what it was?’ Talbot followed the pair as fast as his aging limbs would allow.

  ‘It’s nothing to worry about,’ Hugh yelled back.

  But, judging from the speed at which the young folk were moving, somehow Talbot didn’t feel very reassured.

  Upon their arrival in the kitchen, Louisa and Hugh found Winston preparing food.

  ‘Where’s Wade?’ Hugh inquired of the cook.

  Winston looked stunned by the question, as he was about the last person who should be questioned about the Baron’s whereabouts. ‘I haven’t seen him all day, Sir.’

  ‘Didn’t he just rush through here?’ There was a panicked uneasiness in Louisa’s voice as she motioned to the enclosed staircase by the back door that led directly to Wade’s chambers.

  ‘No, my Lady,’ Winston stated. ‘I would surely have seen him if he had.’

  Hugh raced over to have a quick check around the servant’s dining area, thinking Wade might have slipped in there unseen. He found the space devoid of life, however, and so started to panic himself. ‘Quick, call the Contessa.’

  ‘And tell her what?’ Louisa beseeched him. ‘Besides, I don’t have her mobile number.’

  ‘I can help you there.’ Talbot hurried to the little phone table that was behind the staircase in the Great Hall to retrieve the manor’s telephone index.

  In the conference room at Glenoak, the Contessa greeted her patrons and investors. Naturally, they were all eager to learn if the story the newspapers were printing about Wade’s arrest was true.

  ‘If you will all be seated,’ the Contessa invited, not at all eager to break the news.

  At this point, the lights in the room began fading in and out.

  ‘We must have a faulty fuse,’ she advised. ‘If you will all excuse me for just a moment, I’ll see what can be done.’

  The Contessa entered the outside office, where Hannah sat behind the reception desk staring curiously at the telephone receiver in her hand.

  ‘What’s the matter?’ The Contessa closed the door behind her.

  ‘There’s something wrong with my phone.’ Hannah passed the receiver to the Contessa so that she could hear for herself. ‘I was going to call maintenance about the power, but the interference is too great.’

  The Contessa replaced the receiver back on the hook. ‘Then be a dear and run down there for me. I can’t just leave the investors waiting.’

  ‘Sure.’ Hannah forced a smile and rose, seeing no alternative.

  With Hannah on the case, the Contessa was about to return to the conference when she heard her mobile phone ringing in the office beyond. She thought to ignore it, but as the meeting was already delayed and she was halfway there, she quickly moved into her office to take the call.

  ‘This is the Contessa Montagu speaking, how can I help you?’ she tried not to sound annoyed as she spoke.

  ‘Contessa, please forgive the intrusion,’ Hugh began in a polite tone, ahead of explaining who he was.

  ‘Yes, Mr Prescott, I remember you. Although I am in the middle of a meeting at present, if this could perhaps wait —’

  ‘I’m afraid it can’t.’ Hugh cringed at his own rudeness. ‘Have you experienced anything strange going on with the power at the school.’

  ‘As a matter of fact, we seem to be having some trouble with our fuses.’ The Contessa glanced at the lamp on her desk that was flickering on and off, when it was suddenly beset by waves of blue energy. The bulb shattered under the pressure, and the Contessa jumped away. ‘My goodness, we must have had a power surge, my light —’ she began to explain, whereby she looked up to see that all the lights overhead had been overrun by the same blue waves. ‘In fact, all the lights have —’

  ‘Have what, Contessa?’ Hugh implored.

  But the Contessa could not answer. The strange blue energy seemed to be reaching out to her. ‘No, go away!’ she cried and, on impulse, cast the phone away from herself.

  It didn’t even hit the ground. The pulsing force claimed the phone and held it in midair until it had sucked it dry of all power. The smoking remains dropped to the ground, before each of the overhead lights shattered in turn.

  The Contessa ran for the outer office to escape the shattering glass, only to find that a similar situation had erupted out there. In the conference room she found her
investors taking cover under the huge table. ‘Dear God, what is happening?’

  Andrew was thinking exactly the same thing as he drove down the manor’s drive and saw the spectacular exchange of energy running between the house and the spike rising from the dig site. What’s more, an electrical storm was spreading across the horizon, adding to the dramatics of the already incredible scene.

  He didn’t bother returning the car to the garage. Andrew parked out front and raced up the stairs into the manor. Grace and his father were foremost in his mind.

  ‘What happened?’ Andrew aimed his query at Louisa and Hugh, as he joined them in the kitchen. ‘I thought you were going to shut it down.’

  ‘I’m afraid your theory proved incorrect this time,’ Hugh informed. ‘The key didn’t shut the machine down, it started it off.’

  ‘Where is the Baron?’

  Hugh didn’t know quite how to answer this question. ‘He’s … missing.’

  ‘Missing!’ Andrew echoed in horror, looking to his father. ‘Where is Grace?’

  ‘Last I saw of her, she was cleaning upstairs with Rosia.’

  Andrew went to take off, when Hugh restrained him. ‘Keys,’ he explained in a word, holding out his hand to take possession.

  ‘Where are you going?’ The chauffeur handed them over.

  ‘To Glenoak.’

  ‘To Glenoak! Why?’ Andrew accompanied Hugh and Louisa as far as the staircase in the Great Hall, where they were to part ways.

  ‘Because they could be in more trouble than we are.’ Hugh continued on to the front doors, and opened one for Louisa to exit through.

  ‘What about the Baron? Aren’t you going to wait and see if he shows up?’

  Hugh shook his head. ‘Hardly any time elapses here during the episodes, so if Wade was still in the house he would have found us by now. Hannah is at the school, so Wade is sure to head there,’ Hugh concluded with a shrug. He wanted to caution Andrew against wandering off into the house alone, but he knew there was little point whilst Grace was still unaccounted for. ‘Beware of the cat,’ was Hugh’s parting advice.

  Andrew nodded in acknowledgment of the warning and raced up the stairs.

  As Hugh rounded the car to the driver’s side door, a loud clap of thunder chilled him to the bone. He looked up to the darkening sky, where great flashes of lightning lashed out at distant ground.

  ‘Hurry, Hugh,’ Louisa noticed Tace and her cameraman rushing towards them in the rear-view mirror.

  ‘Hey you!’ Rex shouted ahead. ‘Your experiment just ate my camera.’

  ‘I warned you, didn’t I,’ Hugh advised, as he started the car up and took off round the fountain.

  Rex bolted across country and threw himself into the path of the oncoming vehicle.

  Hugh slammed on the brakes and managed to stop only inches from the man. ‘Are you insane?’

  ‘I think I deserve an explanation,’ Rex advised calmly. ‘And you’re not going to shake me until I get one.’

  ‘So, I guess we’ll just have to tag along.’ Tace climbed into the back seat of the Rolls.

  ‘Get out!’ Louisa demanded, but a gentle touch on the arm from Hugh subdued her protest.

  He didn’t feel right about leaving Tace and Rex to their own devices when they had no idea what they were up against.

  ‘Well then. Where are we going?’ Tace enquired, as Rex joined her in the back seat.

  ‘You ask too many questions.’ Hugh took off down the drive, throwing his unwanted passengers back into their seats.

  14

  The Time Is …

  When Wade reached the bottom of the stairs that led from his quarters to the kitchen, he was horrified to find Arthur awaiting him. ‘Not now,’ he pleaded, hesitant to proceed.

  The cat looked rather indifferent to his plea, as if to say, well, it’s your own damn fault.

  Wade thought about returning upstairs and attempting to reach the kitchen via another route, but his decision did not come quickly enough.

  The room that housed the stairwell vanished from around him and Wade was left standing in the middle of the manor kitchen, which was a hive of activity. Many cooks and servants rushed around preparing food over large open fireplaces. Wade, who was no great expert on history, couldn’t begin to guess at the era, but the dress of the people around him was what he would consider medieval attire.

  ‘Hey Arthur, old buddy, old pal.’ Wade crouched down to quietly address the animal. ‘Any chance of getting me out of here, and back to where I belong?’

  The cat, who was sitting, appeared to be most put out by the request, but raised itself nevertheless. It meandered over to the back door through which it disappeared.

  Although a few of the servants eyed Wade as he moved to exit in the wake of the cat, nobody bothered to come after him. Wade gathered there was a big feast being prepared and everybody was too busy to be distracted from their duties.

  Arthur led him down an old cobblestone path, and Wade followed without question until he realised where the cat was going.

  ‘Why are you taking me to the stables?’ Wade whispered. ‘How about the garage? Couldn’t we go there instead?’

  The cat only gave him a supercilious glance, as there was no garage in this day and age.

  In through the stable door the cat wandered and proceeded down the long aisle. Arthur browsed left and right, as if perusing the selection of horses on offer. Three-quarters of the way down the stables, the cat came to a stop and took a seat facing the left row of stalls. He then meowed as if demanding the urgent attention of someone therein.

  The horse perhaps? thought Wade.

  ‘Hello there. Where hast thou sprung from?’ The voice came from inside the chosen horse’s stall.

  Wade was startled to find someone else present, and unsure of what the cat was up to, he was also undecided about how he should react. When a lad emerged from the stall, Wade didn’t have time to be startled or to think, he just ducked for cover into the closest horse box.

  The stablehand moved to pat the cat, but Arthur drew away from him and meowed again.

  ‘Art thou thirsty, or hungry perhaps? Well … I might be able to rustle thee up something quickly. Come on, puss.’ The stablehand led the cat towards a room at the far end of the aisle, and Arthur glanced back at Wade, victorious.

  Once the coast was clear, Wade crept from his hiding place. ‘What does he expect me to do?’ He approached the stable the lad had vacated, hoping it might hold a clue.

  The large, dark stallion therein was fully saddled and ready to ride.

  ‘You’re kidding me?’ Wade mumbled to himself. ‘Surely he doesn’t expect me to ride this thing out of here? Why on earth can’t I just walk?’

  Then the thought occurred to Wade that perhaps the time phenomenon had spread further than he imagined? Now that John Ashby’s machine was feeding off the school’s power, could the same strange occurrences have spread as far as the school?

  ‘Hannah.’

  With the thought of her, Wade found himself in the saddle. It wasn’t until he was charging down the aisle on his way to the door that he wondered how he would know where to go to get out of this time-zone without Arthur to guide him?

  ‘Halt, thief!’

  He heard the stablehand cry out behind him. But the cover of darkness rushed over Wade as he cleared the doorway and blindly rode off into the night.

  The lad didn’t even attempt a chase, with no other horse saddled to ride. Instead, he headed back into the room where the cat had led him. In the quarters beyond, the head stablehand was resting, and he must report the theft to him at once.

  ‘Thou hast got me in big trouble, cat.’ He glanced over to where he’d left the animal. The bowls of food were still there, but the feline was nowhere to be seen. ‘Puss?’

  Wade clung to the horse for dear life, realising that one riding lesson with Louisa was not enough to handle this little escapade. Staying low, he dared to look about him in an attempt to ge
t his bearings when he spotted a light up ahead in a patch of trees.

  Head for the light, Wade, as fast as you can, a voice in his head advised; a voice that Wade recognised, though he had not heard it in quite some time.

  ‘Dad?’ Wade sat taller in the saddle, somewhat stunned.

  No response was forthcoming, but as Wade was confident of what he’d heard, he did as his father instructed.

  ‘Ya, ya,’ he urged his steed to hasten its speed, and as the light grew brighter, Wade realised it was Arthur marking the way out.

  ‘Thanks puss,’ he turned and shouted on his way past the cat. Then, looking back to view where he was headed, Wade discovered a large hedge. ‘Oh shit!’ he cried as the horse took a great bounding leap to clear it. Upon landing on the other side, Wade was thrown from the saddle. He landed with an almighty thud and rolled across the hard earth, finding the surface was somewhat harsher than expected. That’s when he realised he was laying down on bitumen. ‘Oh no.’ He looked up to see the oncoming headlights, and only just managed to leap clear of the speeding car honking its horn in protest on its way past him. ‘Ouch!’ Wade found the gravel on the roadside to be an even more unpleasant landing pad.

  The horse had escaped unscathed, however, and stood by waiting for its rider to resume the saddle.

  ‘Do you think me suicidal?’ Wade put to the animal as he rose, picking dirt and rocks from his grazed hands.

  Even in the poor light, Wade knew where he was. The town of Ashbury was just down the road a way, and Glenoak wasn’t too far beyond that. To walk would take him half an hour or so — if he rode, perhaps ten minutes.

  ‘Alright, I am nuts.’ He reached for the horse’s reins, placed a foot in the stirrup and raised himself into the saddle. ‘Let’s just take it a little slower this time.’ Wade turned the animal around and headed towards town.

  ‘Was that idiot riding a horse?’ Hugh enquired of the others who were all still breathing a sigh of relief in the wake of the near miss.