The Fake Voice (Time Alchemist)

by Allice Revelle

  He trailed off, then blinked as if he had just woken up from slumber. He shook his head, but caught my eyes. I saw them, warm and inviting, pleading with me to believe him.

  Just as Leon had…just a week ago…pleading at me to forget him…

  to fight him…to kill him…

  Without Oliver’s influence, Rick looked me square in the eye; his dark, rich brown eyes churning with regret. “Please.”

  All I could do was give a shaky nod. Oddly, I believed Rick. It may have been partially due to Oliver’s alchemy influence, but I would never forget how hurt his eyes looked. How they reminded me of Leon.

  I opened my mouth to speak, to say something, anything—

  When the room we had been held captive in suddenly burst into flame. And the fire was spreading fast in our direction.

  CHAPTER 19

  Rick leapt in front of me, shoving me against the wall. In a blur he had yanked out his Rune covered gloves and raised his hands. The licking flames stopped dead in the hallway, frozen. Though the reddish glows flickered occasionally, Rick kept a calm, rigid stance. To him, this was probably just child’s play.

  “Go!”

  Any protest died on my lips when Rick sent me a scathing look that basically said, “Get out or I’ll drag you out, damn it!” But I wasn’t some princess needing to be rescued…much. Okay, a lot. But still, I wasn’t going to leave Rick behind.

  “You’ll be right behind us?” I asked, gripping his leather jack in sweat covered hands. “Will you?!”

  “I will!” he roared back as another explosion burst from the captive room. The smoke had become so thick it was hard to see through, let alone breathe. I felt a hand tug at my arm, pulling me up a set of stairs. My feet stumbled and I almost fell until someone’s arm wrapped around my waist, righting me up. Choking, blinking against smoke, I saw the shape of a door, then us going through it and spilling

  out onto plush carpet, gasping for breath.

  Oliver was on his feet faster than the blink of an eye. He slammed the door to the basement with such force I thought it would break off its hinges. And breathlessly, he pushed a nearby chair in front of the door.

  “That should hold him.” He muttered.

  Though I wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep, I was lifted off the ground, practically dragged through the room and headed to a set of large double glass doors, showing me a sparkling sky tinted with pink and orange. Or was that the fire?

  My feet slammed to the ground and I locked up so fast that we all tumbled to the ground in a strange heap. Though Rick tried to tug me up, I held firm. However, my grip had tightened in his own—when had he grabbed my hand?—and I steadied myself, feeling a fleeting stab of fear grip my heart.

  “I need to get the Elixir.”

  Rick looked as if I had grown two heads. “Are you crazy? I’ve manages to stop the fire but if Ash gets any more ideas the whole place will burn to the ground!”

  “Then that only makes me more determined to try and find it!” I bellowed, tears threatening to fall on my dust covered cheeks. “How can I come all this way and just leave? There’s someone back home waiting for me—waiting to wake up! I can’t just abandon her like this! I might

  never get a chance like this again.”

  Rick’s eyes blazed with a hot fury that made the growing flames in the basement feel like an arctic blizzard. In seconds he had both of his hands gripping my shoulder so fervently I felt the warmth of his palms—

  his alchemy—seep through my clothes and burrow right into my bones.

  “White is still here somewhere—what are you going to do if he finds you?”

  I didn’t blink. “Fight him tooth and nail if he has the Elixir.”

  “He could kill you.”

  I shook my head, feeling my resolve grow as warm as Rick’s touch. “I don’t think so. Hurt me? Yes. But his goal was to never kill me or Oliver. Still, I know he isn’t going to let me go without a fight, but I’m prepared, Rick. I’ve been prepared for this moment since she—no, even longer than that. Ever since Dove saved my life I knew there was no way I could repay such a huge, honorable debt. And now I can. And I’d do it regardless. I need to do this, Rick. Please.”

  We probably stood there, locking in a strange embrace for only seconds, but if felt like years has passed. A vein throbbed in his forehead as he clenched his jaw…and I could only stare at the faint, white scar that marked his lips.

  Wordlessly, my hand lifted and I felt my fingers brush over his scar before my brain had any chance to react. It wasn’t some symbol of

  love or care…but a small part of me did care for Rick…because he knew what it was like to be helpless when the ones you loved were hurt. When you couldn’t do anything except apologize over and over and over…and vow to get strong. But no matter how strong you got, it wasn’t enough.

  It just wasn’t enough.

  He nodded. It was stiff, like his bones were parts of mechanics that needed oil, but his grip loosened and I stepped back. My fingers felt a lingering burn where I had touched his scar, and my heart thumped wildly in my chest, bruising with every bump.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  I smiled, though it felt cracked. “If you get hurt trying to help me, I’ll punch you.”

  He smirked. “I’d like to see you try.”

  I couldn’t help but let out a choked laugh. All the tension I had stored in my stiff body felt as if it had flooded away in one sweep. Like Rick’s smile could erase all my worries like a sun melting the snow away.

  “Um…guys?” Oliver’s voice called from the doorway. He fidgeted nervously and pointed towards the basement door. Smoke was leaking out of the cracks and the surface of the wooden door had begun to splinter, as if someone on the other side was pounding at it with iron fists. “We’d better get going.”

  I nodded, turning towards the direction of the kitchen. The best bet would be to take the servants stairs instead of tromping all over the house where White could easily catch us. “Yeah, you’re right. You get out of here, Oliver. Go run into the woods and try to find help. We’ll—”

  “Don’t even try to pull that on me,” Oliver huffed. “I don’t know what this Elixir is, but it has to be important. And if it’s important to you, then I’m going to help. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I just high tailed it out of here?”

  I felt another laugh bubble inside my chest. Who knew boys could be so damn stubborn? “Alright. Let’s go.”

  We traveled in a line, like lost little ants looking for home, and found the servants stairs. Luckily nobody was around (I didn’t even want to know where Alyssa was), and piled in. “Head for the very top!” Rick called out, trailing behind, and I shouted an okay and pressed up. My legs were strained by the time we reached the final floor and I squeezed the door to the landing open with a cloud of dust.

  But what was really strange was that there weren’t any doors. At least, none that I could see. Rick pushed us back a little and headed out and we followed. I kept my eyes and ears peeled open, my fists to my sides ready to throw a punch or a kick if needed when Rick stopped at a very large, old grandfather clock. It was pure gold and had some of the most intricate etchings on its sides that I’d ever seen in my life. My own

  heart thumped, as if recognizing and old friend.

  Though the clock lacked any hands, its face seemed to resemble a little of the Runes on my body. Rick reached behind the clock and twisted something. With a creaking that resembled nails on a chalkboard, the clock sprung to life (no pun intended), and seemed to shift to the right until a small, thin door was revealed.

  “I saw White open this up a long time ago,” Rick murmured, pain laced in his voice. “I don’t know if this is where he would keep an Elixir, but I think this would be our best bet. He wouldn’t leave something so powerful lying around in the open.”

  “No,” I shook my head. “It’s up there. I can… feel it.”

  I couldn’t explain the stra
nge feeling that took hold of my body, but I couldn’t stop shaking. I could just feel something powerful up there, but subtle, soft…like it was wrapped in cotton, waiting for someone to come find it.

  The door was barely my height, just grazing my head and you had to twist sideways to even get through the passage. I looked in, having to squint my eyes in the dim light. A set of stairs led up to what must have been the fourth floor. But it was only big enough for one person to crawl through. I even doubted that someone as large as White could squeeze in, but from the polished stairs and lack of cobwebs in such a dark place, I could determine that these hidden stairs were used. A lot.

  “You two wait here.” I held up a hand to interrupt their growing protests. “It’s better if I just get up, find whatever’s up there and get out.

  If we all cram in here and someone finds us, we’ll be trapped.”

  Rick and Olive relented with some protest and as I was about to climb up the stairs I felt a hand clasp mine rough, yet gentle. I felt my breath hitch when Rick squeezed my hand in assurance, his brown eyes warm. With a firm nod, I turned as best as I could and made my way up, leaving them behind.

  The stairs were steep and it actually took effort to take one step at a time. I had to almost pause at every step to catch a breath, but pressed on. Every other step I would look back to see Rick’s figure, his back to the door as he stood on alert like a palace guard, and my determination would only grow stronger.

  The stairs finally lead to a large, empty room, void of any furniture. It was eerily identical to the basement rooms that Oliver and I were locked in, except there was a large window in the center, spilling white light over the floor like a fleece blanket. The place is perfectly clean; there was even a hint of lemon in the air.

  But it was the small table in the very center of the room that caught my attention. Almost like it was ripped out of the pages of

  “Beauty and the Beast”, there on a mahogany table stood a glass dome.

  But instead of a cursed rose, there were dozens and dozens of

  glimmering shards that came in all shapes and sizes. The largest must have been the width of my thumb; the smallest looked like slivers.

  The Elixir.

  Judging from the quantity, it must have taken White years to find all these pieces. But how many of these equaled to the real, whole Elixir?

  Was this more than half of the prized substance, or not even a fraction?

  There’s no way to tell how many pieces that Guinevere broke the Elixir into; how they could have changed shape over the years.

  It was perfect.

  Suddenly I felt cold grips of jealousy and greed take place, squeezing it like a giant squeezing a plump fruit. With this many Elixir, I could save Dove. I could restore her alchemy. I could make my friends and family better forever….I….

  I could even save my own heart.

  My hand was only inches away from the surface of the icy glass, my fingertips brushed it and then—

  A door slammed behind me. Heart in throat, I whirled around to see that the entrance I had came from had slammed closed. Since when was a door there?! There was muffled yelling somewhere below that had to belong to Rick or Oliver and I raced to the door. I pounded my fists on the surface but it didn’t budge. It had to be some weird sliding door, so I looked everywhere for a way to pry it open or loosen the lock, but it

  stood firm as can be.

  A chuckle came from behind me and I whipped around, hands clenched into fists.

  White stood in front of the window. The pale pink light of a morning to come enveloped him in an almost angelic glow. And he was blocking the only way out.

  CHAPTER 20

  One step…two step…breathe in…breathe out…

  There were plenty of worst things that could happen than being trapped inside a locked room with an insane masked man planning on using my body as a scientific experiment. Tons of worse things. Millions.

  Except this insane man was an alchemist plotting to commit a mass murder of almost all the humans on the planet in order to revive just a sliver of that fraction in his dreams of recreating a perfect world only for alchemists.

  We circled around the table, like two animals in a cage pitted against each other. I just needed to keep my distance. I had no idea what sort of power he held. I needed to stall. Stalling is good. It always works.

  White clicked his tongue, frowning, actually looking dejected at my actions, like I was some bad child told to go to bed. “You really think you can escape?” A sigh. “It’s really no good, Emery. I’d hate to have to get my hands dirty so soon. Why didn’t you just stay good and quiet in your room?”

  I said nothing. I wasn’t going to fall for any of his talk. I refused to be some stupid fish lunging for the hungry looking bait.

  “Even if you did manage to get out, that won’t stop me. I’ll keep coming after you. I’ll crush every single person you love, every person you come across, like the ants they are. And even then I won’t stop. I’ll chase your power to the end of the earth if I have to.”

  Still I said nothing. I flinched a little at a stinging pain, realizing my fists were so tightly cramped together that the nails had cut through the skin, leaving half moon red marks on my palm.

  “Don’t you realize how special you are, Emery?” White had longed dropped any hint of respect he had faked in the basement. But he wasn’t talking to me like I was a child at all but another person. Someone equal.

  Almost like a student being belittled for failing a simple test. “The other extraordinary Alchemists can’t hold a candle to the power you possess.

  You can bend the very fabric of time. Think of the possibilities! If you stay with me, I can teach you how to properly harness your skills. Could you imagine how many people wish they could travel to the past? You could change the history of the world as you see fit—for the better! You could prevent the outcome of many wars, the death of many innocent people. You could become like a god!”

  “What’s the point of being a god if I have to live under your control?” I screamed. “Look at how many people you’ve twisted, how many people I love have gotten hurt because of you? You must be crazy to even think I would listen to your bullshit! I’d rather have my heart

  ripped out than be your damn pawn!”

  The atmosphere seemed to grow dark. Even White’s voice seemed to rumble, bouncing off the walls, shaking the whole house, and I felt my knees go weak just being in his presence.

  He lunged like a hungry predator, moving as swiftly as a wolf. I only had a second to duck. I felt his hands graze my head, almost felt his fingers try to tangle in locks that were too short to grab, and he fell to the ground. My foot snagged underneath White’s weight and I flew down, my whole body colliding with the table with the Elixir.

  It smacked to the wooden floor with an echoing beat, and the glass shattered into hundreds of pieces, mixing in with the Elixir fragments. A heavenly shower of silver and blood red fell onto the floor, chiming like sweet bells. The red hues of the Elixir blended in with the glass and the lights of the full moon, making it almost impossible to tell which was real and which was fake.

  A strong hand clamped down on my ankle and I screamed, twisting at an awkward angle and lifted my foot as White crawled forward. With a yell I brought my free foot right down on his face, cracking his mask all the way down the middle. He gave out a chocked cry and his grip loosened.

  I scrambled as best as I could, sliding on glass and feeling bits stab my skin. I yanked the legs off the slender table and held it up as a

  makeshift weapon. It wasn’t a sword, but it would have to do.

  The click of a gun stopped me cold in my tracks. White had risen to his feet, holding his cracked mask with one hand—and in his right, a small silver pistol aimed right at me. It made my little makeshift weapon look like a toothpick in comparison. There was no way it would protect me from a bullet, but still I raised it as a shield of sorts, waiting.

  A p
iece of the white mask had fallen off, only revealing one eye. A beautiful clear blue like the purest jewel, the clearest water. It sparkled in the moonlight, reflecting like a newly polished diamond. It was both breathtaking and terrifying that a color so bright and stunning could exist in a man so evil. But there was still something odd—the color was unearthly, almost angelic, and rare. But it didn’t feel—look— alive. It felt like I was only looking at the surface of a clear, still pool, and I couldn’t see what was underneath.

  There was something so unnatural about White’s eyes; it left chill bumps all over my skin.

  In that moment, I swore I would never be able to forget that color. It was a color that couldn’t be replicated in real life.

  “I will have your power,” he breathed, his voice sounding ragged and I wondered if I had broken his nose with my kick. “I’ll have it even if I have to rip your heart out with my bare hands!”

  Heart…

  As White clicked the revolver I realized I wasn’t powerless. A shabby, broken table leg may not help, but I had something better.

  I didn’t even bother to move or shield myself. I stood perfectly still. White stood on his feet, glaring at me with that crystal clear eye, and raised his arm, pointing straight at my temple.

  Click.

  The gun went off. I braced myself.

  I could do this.

  Just as White pulled the trigger I knew I could do this. I had to do this, because there was no choice in the matter. If I was really a special alchemist like he said, I could do something like this—

  Like stopping the bullet just inches from my face.

  The golden swirls— my golden swirls—had wrapped around the bullet like a spider’s web, halting it perfectly in its tracks. It didn’t waver in the air, not once, even when I stepped calmly out of its path, brought up my makeshift weapon, and rammed into White with as much force as I could muster.