by Matt Ryan
I wasn’t just making stones, I was making taker stones—stones used to take souls. My heart went from thumping, to feeling like it would explode. The urge to run filled me, but I felt Mark’s hand over mine.
“It doesn’t get any better,” Leo warned, his face scrunching up.
In the video, I disappeared from the window, and he zoomed back out to see the front door open and close in a blink of an eye. Then a blur moved across the screen.
“You can see it when I go frame by frame.” He went back and showed the still shot of me leaving the house with a stone pouch in hand.
“Give me a minute, please.” I closed my eyes and the room silenced.
If that had happened last night, I could go back in my memory and find it. I backed up to Mark and I sitting on the couch, watching Netflix. Well, we weren’t doing much watching, but Mark had stopped before things got too far, and said he needed to go back to his house. We kissed at the doorway for a bit longer, and looking back at it now . . . I’d practically begged him to stay.
I sped ahead to the point before I went to sleep. Then a blackness took over, before I woke up with the sun shining. But it wasn’t just blackness. I went back and looked at it again. In the blackness I saw a person, and not just any person, but the girl in the sky. She was staring right at me.
“I know what to do,” I said as I opened my eyes.
“What do you mean?” Mark said.
“You guys want me to get rid of this stone, correct?” I pointed to my chest and felt the stone embedded there.
“Allie, we have a plan, a way to free you from it.”
I couldn’t believe this. How long had they been planning this, right under my nose? “I’m going to figure this out, okay? The stone will help me do it.”
Mark touched me with both hands. “You have to get this stone out of you, Allie. I know you trust me, so please, listen to me. The stone is making you do things I know you don’t want to do.”
I tried to argue, but Leo had the screen on pause, with me just outside my front door. I had no memory of that. Could the stone be taking over my body and doing things while I sleep? I didn’t need to really answer that, as I knew, from the second I saw the stones being made, what was happening. Maybe I always knew.
I floundered. “I can create slap stones and never sleep again.”
“We don’t want you to turn into your mother,” Jackie said. “We love you, girl.”
“Don’t you want a normal life again?” Bridget jumped in. “You and Mark can truly be together.”
“What does that mean?” I turned to Mark.
He frowned and glanced at Bridget. “You know I love you . . . ”
“But?” I prompted.
“But, as long as that stone is in you, I’m not getting the Allie I fell in love with. Not entirely. There is another side to you. One where your mind is gone. At first, I just thought I was getting boring for you, and I could live with that . . . but one night, I wanted to visit with you, and I saw you—just like in the video—making a stone, then you flew away in a flash.”
I had stopped listening to him after he said he came to visit me one night. I had fantasized about Mark knocking on my door late at night, and the idea it happened while I wasn’t there, stung.
The stone in my chest vibrated and I knew if they removed it, it would kill me. “What do you all have in mind?” If they did try anything, it wouldn’t be hard for me to stop them.
Wes and Kylie stepped forward, holding a stone bag. “We spent some time in Egypt, at the pyramid,” Wes said.
“And we found a way to get that stone out of your chest,” Kylie continued, and with her gloved hand, she pulled out a yellow stone with green stripes.
I’d never seen another stone like it. Leaning forward, I tried to get a better feel for it. “What is that?” I asked.
“It’s a draw stone,” Wes explained. “With it, we can pull the stone out of you.”
“And kill me in the process,” I added, trying to find someone in the room to agree with me.
“We’ve thought of that as well,” David stepped in. “Leo and I went on a mission to Quinn’s old compound and found this.” He held up a life stone.
“So, the plan is to kill me, then bring me back to life?” I said, then looked to Mark for some hope that they were all crazy, or that this was some kind of joke.
“I won’t let you die.” Mark leaned in. “I promise.”
“Well, you won’t have to take that risk, because there is nothing in me that I can’t control. This stone is the best chance we have at keeping a lasting peace. Just listen to the people around the world, a stone bearer can do good with it.”
“There has never been a stone bearer allowed to live for very long.” Kylie tugged on her braid. “Believe me, I looked it up. This stone we made for you is a way out from that fate.”
“A way out of this world,” I said. “Plus, what makes you think I want it out of me? Maybe a few lives here and there are worth the greater good.”
That’s when I felt a stone touch my hand and Mark’s hand clasped over mine. I went to stop time, but it was already too late. I turned to Mark. He had tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed.
I froze in place, unable to move. Had Mark really used that stone on me? I went to break through it, but couldn’t. That’s when a flurry of activity happened around me.
The world rushed around me as Mark and Jackie lowered me to the floor, putting me on my back.
I wanted to scream and stop them all. Hurt them, if I had to. How dare they do this to me? I reached deep within, pulling the power from the stone, begging for its help.
Wes took the yellow stone and hovered it over my chest, right above the philosopher’s stone. I felt a small tug at first, then it grew. I screamed out in pain and Mark pushed back my hair and spoke comforting words I didn’t want to hear.
“It’s not working,” Wes said.
“Use the booster stones.” Bridget sounded panicked.
Jackie knelt down and placed two booster stones on the draw stone. If I thought I was getting pulled before, now it felt as if I was getting ripped in two. A loud cracking sound rang out in my ears as my breast plate shattered.
The stone ripped out of my chest and struck the yellow stone, like a piece of metal to a magnet.
I dared a glance down at my chest and saw the red, gaping hole. Blood spewed from it and covered what was left of my shirt. Then I was gone. I floated into the blackness. The in-between world that was neither here nor there.
“So, they got it out of you,” a voice said.
I searched in the darkness before I saw her, the girl in the sky walking toward me. Shorter than I’d expected, she had an age to her eyes that made her seem ancient, in defiance of her child-like appearance. “Who are you?”
“My name is Evelyn. And I owe you a congratulations. You did something I wasn’t able to do, kill your mother.”
“You’re the one they were talking about, aren’t you? The one who found me?”
“Yes, I found you, and look at what you turned into? The same nightmare as your mother. It’s a wonder you haven’t killed sooner.”
I looked around in the darkness, but there was nothing to see. “Am I dead?”
“Partially, but I am able to bring you here because you have let go. I used this ability while you slept to show you what your mother really was. I did this because I think you are the only person in all the worlds that could have really stopped her. And more importantly, stopped the stone.”
“Who are you?”
“Let’s just say I’m a product of another reality. Another world your mother tried to mess with. One that doesn’t have this kind of magic in it, but does have another.”
“So, you’re the one who showed me my mother in those dreams?”
“Yes.”
I thought it was the stone showing me the true nature of my mother, but it was this girl from another world the whole time. �
��You are the one who hates us. The one my mother warned me about?”
“Yes, but it’s not you or her that I hate. It’s the imbalance of power when one of your kind holds the philosopher’s stone.”
“I never really wanted the stone,” I said.
“Liar,” Evelyn said, then smiled. “They are breaking the stone now, and using a life stone on you. We don’t have much time.”
“What happens now?” I asked, not sure of what to ask this girl.
“That is up to you,” Evelyn said. “You can finally have the life you wanted, with the people you love around you, and give up the pursuit of the stone, or you can make another one.”
“I will never make another stone like that again.”
“Then you will never see me again.”
“Wait,” I said, sensing she was saying goodbye.
“What is it?”
“Why did you do all this?”
“Same reason you are doing what you do—to protect the ones we love. And don’t feel bad about it, I’ve done terrible things too. I’ve killed many of your kind in the war against your mother, but now, we both have a chance at peace. With that stone gone, I can foresee no one who can make a link between your people and mine. The chain will be broken for a long time to come.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“For bringing me and Mark back from the nothingness,” I said. “I think I’m ready to go back now.”
Evelyn smiled and waved. “Goodbye.”
Chapter Twenty-four
One week had passed since the stone was ripped from my chest, and I couldn’t be happier. I had been so close to the lie, I couldn’t see the truth. And with the stone gone, I felt like I could see nothing and everything at the same time. While I couldn’t hear the squirrels in the trees anymore, or feel as if the universe was at my fingertips, I could see myself now. The hunger for more was gone.
I slid out of bed to the smell of bacon cooking. Mark stood behind the range, pulling the bacon out of the pan with tongs and placing them on a paper towel.
“Morning,” I said, slipping up behind him to give him a hug from behind.
“Good morning.” He leaned into me. “You sleep okay?” He looked back over his shoulder and I stood on tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.
We hadn’t done much sleeping last night, and I’d never felt better. In fact, I felt like I was walking on clouds.
“Yeah,” I said, trying to think of something cool to say, but gave up. Besides, I just wanted to touch Mark.
With the stone, I could count the hairs on his eyebrows, or hear his heartbeat from across the room. I actually kind of missed that. The way his heart sped up when we got close . . .
“What do you want to do today?” I said, giving him a squeeze before letting go and making my way around the island to sit down.
“I have a surprise for you.”
“You know I don’t like surprises.”
“I think you’ll find this one interesting.”
“Interesting? Well, now I am intrigued. Is it a gift?” I asked, but Mark wasn’t much of a gift giver. His gift to me was wanting to spend as much time as he could with me, and that was the best gift I could receive.
“We’re going somewhere.”
My mind ran wild with exotic locations. Maybe he was taking us to Bora Bora, or somewhere else awesome. We could use a vacation, just the two of us, going places around the world.
After breakfast—a fantastic bacon, egg, and cheese on an English muffin sandwich—
we went to the living room and he brought out a portal stone.
“You’re going to have to let me control this one, okay?” He smiled, but it wasn’t reaching his whole face.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a place you need to see.”
Now I was starting to get a little annoyed, and held out my hand. I trusted Mark with my life, but I wanted to see this place in a hurry.
“Fine, show me,” I said.
“Okay. Here we go,” Mark said and placed the stone in our hands.
I cleared my mind and let Mark take over.
The world between swirled around us and our feet firmed on the ground. We were on a knoll, above a small town that looked like nothing I’d ever seen in my life. The buildings were all beautiful, curving structures that rose a couple stories into the air, each with a mix of slate, thatch, and clay roofs. The streets were paved with a glittery, white granite.
At the center of the nearest intersection, stood a statue towering above the rest of the town. It looked like two women in an embrace, each holding one hand to the sky, and the other wrapped around each other.
The surrounding area was more or less a jungle for as far as I could see. The other odd thing was it was empty, but it looked as if it was constructed yesterday. Everything gleamed in the light, the windows were clean, and not a single weed grew in the streets.
“What is this place?”
“Come on,” Mark said and took my hand.
We walked onto the street. The houses were just as amazing up close. Each one had a different design. Some would rise high in the sky, while others would be squat and a single floor. So low, in fact, I might have to bend over to enter. The doors were all wood carved, but each one was different. And that’s when I stopped and yanked on Mark’s hand.
The carving on each door was an alchemist circle.
“You see the doors?” I pointed.
“Yeah, come on. It’s not much farther,” Mark said.
I would have noticed the doors from the second we jumped, if I still had my stone. I cringed at the thought and pushed it away. Never again.
Mark led us down the street, as I stared at each passing house. They seemed familiar to me, in a way. Almost like the idea for the town had spawned from a child’s imagination. Where whimsy overtook practicality.
The colors were the only exception to the whimsy. They were mostly muted greys and light tans. The doors were all the same color of dark brown, and the more I looked at them, I wondered if they were indeed made of wood.
Before I knew it, we were at the one intersection in the town.
The feet and legs of the statue were near me, and I didn’t even reach the women’s knees. I gazed up at their faces and stumbled back. Holding a hand over my mouth, I shook my head.
It couldn’t be.
“She had plans for you,” Mark said. “I think she wanted you here. She might have wanted us all here.”
I couldn’t speak.
High above, my mother’s face, frozen in stone, glared at the sky. Next to her, leaning into her embrace, was me. We stood together, as if battling something in the sky.
“How did you find this?”
“Bridget heard of it while working for your mother, and has been looking for it since her death. She just found it a few days ago. There was some debate about whether to show you this or not.”
“My mother built this?” I muttered to myself. Falling to my knees, I began sobbing at my mother’s feet.
Mark knelt down and comforted me in his arms. I leaned into him and put my face in his chest. “Jackie said this is a gift to the alchemist world. The circles on each door represents a miracle.”
I wiped my eyes and looked back at the houses. “What do you mean?”
“So far, they’ve only made one stone from one door, but they found it has the properties of a life stone. And the best part? It can be made without killing a person in the process.”
I killed her. I killed my own mother, and look at what she’d created for us. Gazing up at the statue of my mom, it came to me. I suddenly knew what the town reminded me of—Magical Land. A four-year-old fantasy land created by me as a child.
My mother and I had talked about all the wonders of the city, and then I’d drawn it for her. All the odd-shaped buildings, and curved walls, were all just as I drew them as a child.
“They aren’t all pleasant though,” Mark said, inter
rupting my thoughts. “Some of these alchemist circles might kill this world—creating stones of such power that a single one might wipe out all the rubes.”
I stood up, wiping my nose and gazing up at the statue.
She meant for us to face the world together. No, that’s too small. From my limited use of the stone, I knew it didn’t want this world, it wanted all the worlds. We were going to fight the heavens together.
“We have to destroy it,” I said.
“We can’t. It’s made out of something that can’t be broken. Jackie thinks one of these circles might reveal a way, but diamond cutters don’t even scratch the surface. The only reason we couldn’t find it before is because your mother had kept it hidden from the world. With her dead, anyone can find it now. If they only know where to look.”
“Then we have to protect it.”
The idea didn’t seem to sit well with Mark, but he nodded. “We do.”
“So . . . this is it then?” I said and looked down the streets. There must have been a couple hundred houses. A couple hundred recipes that could either save or destroy the world. Alchemists would be coming for this. Secrets didn’t remain secrets for ever.
Mark raised his hand and waved it toward a corner house.
That’s when a door opened and out came Jackie, Leo, Bridget, Kylie, Carly, Wes, David, and Sarah.
Jackie got to me first and wrapped me up in a hug. “I’m so sorry, Allie. If we could have destroyed this place, we would have, and never told you about it.” She let me go and Bridget came in for a hug as well.
“I was never going to keep this place from you,” Bridget said. “Real friendship is based on trust and honesty.”
“Ooh, nice dig,” Jackie said, impressed. “I guess if we’re being honest, I should tell her what you wanted to do with Mark back in Verity’s academy . . .”
Bridget blushed and pushed Jackie. “That was a long time ago, and if we want to talk about total honesty, why don’t we tell Allie what Leo likes to do to you?”
