I nodded. They must really believe those nasty rumors about a ghost haunting the building. “You don’t have to worry about whatever’s up there. It can’t hurt you.” I said as I started towards the elevator.
They called back, “How do you know?”
I just smiled. “Well, it’s probably just a harmless dove. That’s all.”
◊◊◊◊◊
Thanksgiving fell on a dark and gloomy Thursday. The remaining students and teacher gathered in the cafeteria to have Thanksgiving dinner. St. Mary’s truly was a place for the rich: the turkey smelled heavenly and was roasted to a perfect golden brown, heaps of mashed potatoes with thick gravy, sweet potato casserole and small glass bowls filled with cranberry sauce. I found out pretty quickly that the South took great pride in their festivities. There was enough food to feed ten of me here!
I nibbled on a buttered biscuit (made from scratch!) and watched the room. Everyone was behaving normally as we all stuffed ourselves with turkey. Except (I couldn’t help but notice) the Headmistress was conspicuously absent. Wasn’t she the one who prided herself on sticking by school rules? Didn’t traditions like Thanksgiving dinner fall into that category? I wanted to ask Nurse Alexandra about it but decided not to. Possibly, the Headmistress had family close by and was spending the holiday with them. Or she could have simply come down with a cold and chose to stay in her apartment instead.
Or maybe she just hated us (by us I mean me), but the air in the cafeteria was cheery and bright, and I had a feeling if she were here it wouldn’t be as pleasant of a feast as it was now.
The main course came and went, and for desert we had pecan and pumpkin pies topped with globs of whipped cream. After an hour of stuffing myself with delicious foods (and asking the cooks if I could take some leftovers back to the dorm) I walked out into the chilly November air.
The sun was nearly obliterated by light gray clouds, and a slight cold breeze blew that ruffled the plastic bag in my hand. I bid a goodbye to a few other students, who all separated to go back to their dorm or brave the cold and play hacky sack, and I decided to talk a long walk through the path before going back to my room.
Soon there was only the occasional cawing of black ravens and a bit of laughter that soon faded into the distance. My boots clicked along the cobblestone pathway as I walked slowly through the small bit of woods. The trees were black gnarled limbs like claws reaching into the orange winter sky; the few leaves that still clung on were bright oranges and reds amongst the backdrop.
I stopped and sat on a nearby stone bench. My heavy tan coat and jeans protected my legs against the cold seeping through. I placed the bag underneath the bench and closed my eyes.
I was utterly alone. Perfect.
My eyes were closed, and I waited for a wind to pick up. I counted the seconds in my head; 1…2…3…..46…47….48……72…73…74….before a cold breeze kissed my cheeks. I squeezed the fabric of my jacket and opened my eyes, staring at the closest branch. A dried up brown colored leaf swayed in the breeze. Just like I had weeks before, I stared at that one leaf.
I glued my eyes on the crisp brown foliage as it rocked gently in the frosty air. I willed my power to start, feeling a heavy, warm spot in my chest. It vibrated through my bones and flowed through my veins. Even my skull was buzzing from my alchemy. My heart thumped hard, pounding against my ribcage with a fiery rage, but I held.
If I want to control this power, I thought, I need to figure out a way to stay calm at the same time. Different than before, I closed my eyes, letting the faint scents of my own grapefruit shampoo and earthy pine scents of the woods fill my nose, the crisp coldness sting my cheeks, and the wind ruffle my hair.
I want the leaf to slow down.
Over and over I chanted inside my head. As incredibly lame as it sounded, it was pretty helpful and to the point. Dove had said that many alchemists train to create their alchemy with only their thoughts. So, if I wanted the leaf to sway in slow motion, I had to envision it.
I want the leaf to slow down.
The warmth spread all the way to the tips of my toes, and the power swelled just a little inside me. My heart started to return to a normal pace. Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump, and slowly, I cracked my eyes open.
At that moment, the leaf had finally snapped off, but it was still in mid-snap, half of its stem broken off as it began its descent onto the brown grass, or to be carried off by the wind. It really was like a slow motion picture—the edges crinkled against the wind at a snail’s pace.
I counted all the way to seven seconds before I was jolted back to reality. The leaf had finally flown away and disappeared in the shadow of the trees.
I breathed in and out, the cold air piercing my lungs, but it felt refreshing. It was suddenly hot in these stuffy clothes, like I had run a marathon. I placed a hand over my heart. It pulsated at a slow and steady pace.
A big grin broke out on my flushed face. Seven seconds wasn’t much, but it was better than before! And, I mused, I had managed to concentrate all on my own without going overboard. I just need a little more practice and I could control my alchemy without worrying over my fake heart. I leaned back on the stone bench, sighing with content. In no time the wind chilled me down as I watched the sky turn from rusty orange to purple.
Soon the air became colder. Not gradually, but just…suddenly, like somebody had turned an outdoor thermostat all the way to zero. My breath made large puffs in the air and I shivered. The cold felt like it was stabbing me right through my thick clothes. I should get going, I thought, and bent over to pick up the plastic bag.
Except when I tugged on the handles, they snapped in half. I blinked once, twice, in confusion, then looked down at the ground.
The entire bag of leftovers was coated in ice.
A sick feeling of dread washed over me. It wasn’t cold enough to do that. It wasn’t even snowing. It never snowed in Georgia. There was loud crackling sounds all around me, like when you pour pop into a glass full of ice and watch the cubes snap and crack in half.
The wind picked up around me and what I saw made my blood run cold. All of the black trees were coated in frost and ice, but it was like the ice was alive as it crawled up to the tips of the branches. The weight of the snow and ice was too much, and a lot of the thinner branches cracked like a whip and fell to the hardened ground, shattering into pieces.
Every tree and every bush, even the grass, was encrusted in a veil of ice like white, sparkling moss, and it started spreading. Fast. The pathways that lead to the school buildings were covered, sliding up the lampposts and over the benches.
No way, I wanted to scream, there’s just no way! Dove said—well, Dove was wrong! This wasn’t the work of Mother Nature on a PMS trip.
This had to be the work of an alchemist!
CHAPTER 19
Abandoning the ice-covered leftovers, I shot up from my seat and ran as if dachshunds were nipping at my feet. Don’t underestimate yipping dachshunds. Those annoying little hotdog shaped pups are fierce. I still had a freaking scar from when a neighbor’s one got loose and bit me on the calf when I was eleven. The crackling was loud in my ears as my feet pounded against the cobblestone pavement, but I hadn’t even reached the end before something cold grabbed my ankle, sending me sprawling onto the ground.
A scream was caught in my throat as my chin collided painfully onto the sidewalk. My hands were scratched and bloodied all over when I tried to brace my fall. I suspected that someone had grabbed my ankle or tripped me, but my entire left foot was completely frozen over in a large chunk of ice. No matter how much I tugged, or tried to kick it, it wouldn’t budge.
I heard a whisper, but couldn’t make out who it belonged to. Was it a man? A woman? The whispering turned into shrieking, psychotic laughter and I almost cried. But I had to be strong! Pull it together, Em!
“Who’s there?!” I shouted out into the woods. Nothing except the ice shifting, but I strained my ears to make out muffled footsteps. I caught a glim
pse of someone moving in the shadows, but all I could make out was a fluttering black cloak. Whoever they were, they weren’t taking any chances of being seen. “Show yourself!”
There was a loud snapping sound above me, and I twisted my head to try looking over my shoulder. My eyes widened, and the sensation of cold dread—probably colder than the ice encasing my foot—seeped even farther in my heart. On a large bare tree branch, a series of thick, heavy looking icicles hung down right above me. The cracking was the pressure of such a large weight breaking. Any second now it would come plunging right on top of me, and I couldn’t move!
The sputtering and crackling become louder as I frantically kicked at the ice lump that covered my foot. It wouldn’t even matter if I could stop time—there was no way to escape this situation! Heavy sobs started wrenching from my throat when the snapping become louder and faster.
I don’t want to die like this, I wanted to scream, and there was so much to do. I wanted to save Dove and Leon from their fight and find the Elixir to save my life! Daddy…
With a final crack the large icicle broke free, and I screamed so loudly it felt like my throat was on fire.
I braced for the impact that should have come.
My eyes had been shut tight; I didn’t want to witness it. The blood was pounding in my ears so loudly I couldn’t make out the muffled voice. Slowly, I cracked my eyes open, and saw a shadowed form over me, and with a whoosh of warm air something came down on the fallen icicle, shattering it into millions of pieces. Glass-like shards fell on top of my shivering form.
It hadn’t sunk in that my life had been saved for…what, the third, fourth time this semester?
“Are you alright?” a voice said. I almost cried out in relief with a mixture of anxiety.
“Leon! What are you—“
He placed a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. I couldn’t help but notice the shovel in his hand, except the end of the shovel wasn’t really a shovel anymore; it was the shape of an axe. With quick ease, he shattered the remaining icicles above us, the tiny shards bouncing all around, hitting my head and skin with their sharp edges.
There was a hissing sound from the woods—most likely my attacker—and with a quick, chilled wind there was nothing. The ice all around us started to melt and the block that surrounded my foot soon turned into a sopping wet puddle. The temperature around us must have rose at least ten degrees, but it felt like a warm, balmy summer day compared to seconds earlier.
Leon told me to stay put as he went after the other alchemist and I rolled to my side to inspect my foot. It was numb, but I could still wiggle my toes. I didn’t think anything was broken but there was a dull pain. I probably twisted or sprained it. I crawled to a sitting position and leaned against the same tree that almost ended my life (funny, except I didn’t want to laugh). I felt exhausted, cold, and completely numb. Not from the ice, but from yet another near death experience.
That was…completely terrifying. I wrapped my arms around me, trying to get warm, but I couldn’t stop shaking. If Leon hadn’t shown up—
I burst into tears the same moment that Leon came back; saying whoever had done this was long gone. One look at my face, however, sent him in a panic state.
“I know you didn’t want to see me! But I had a bad feeling and followed you here—not like a stalker, or anything, I swear!” he fussed about, then held up his makeshift weapon, “I felt the presence of another alchemist in the woods and ran to the clock tower to get a weapon, but this was all I could find—shoot, it looks pretty scary, doesn’t it? I—”
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Dove’s voice pierced through the forest as she ran towards us. “Get away from her!”
Instantly the warmth in Leon’s eyes turned dark, and he held his weapon up for a fight. Dove had nothing on her except the clothes on her back, but she took a stance, ready for battle.
“Dove, listen,” I tried, “It’s not what it—”
I had never seen Dove look so upset. She yelled at the unsuspecting Leon, completely ignoring me, “It wasn’t enough that you killed her once, but now you try to do it a second time?!”
“I—I didn’t mean to kill her!” he screamed back, “And I was just trying to help her, my God! Dove, why can’t you just—!”
“No, why can’t you—!”
“Enough! Both of you!” I screeched, sending a ripple through the air. All I wanted to do was head home take a long hot bath and go to sleep forever. I didn’t need a little sibling spat in the middle of the pathway, thank you very much. “Enough, enough, enough!”
They both stopped; their mouths gaping open in a pair of double “O” shapes. Two pairs of eyes stared; the clear, crystal waters like that of Hawaii’s shores and the deep green of the ocean’s waves that crash against the Atlantic coast. Even though they looked completely different, their mannerisms were the same. And their stubbornness. Slowly, aching all over, I gripped the wet bark of the tree for support and stood up, glowering at the two.
“I am going back to the dorm,” I said slowly, as if I was talking to children, “I am going to take a long, hot shower, change, and get something warm to eat. I want you both to meet me in my dorm room in exactly two hours.” When they opened their mouths to protest, I yelled, “No buts! I mean it! Leon, you just…go back to your place, okay? And thank you for saving me, but we’ll all talk about this later. Dove, you come with me, alright?”
Nobody said a word, but with a last concerned look in my direction, which I nodded to tell him I was alright, he walked off. We waited until his form disappeared around the corner before I trudged to our place. Dove wanted to say something, I could tell it by her worried expression and her angry eyes, but she didn’t say a thing as she helped me home.
After we finally reached the inside, enveloped in beautiful warmth, I turned to her and said, “I’m sorry. I wanted to bring you Thanksgiving dinner but it sort of got freezer burn on the way here. Happy Thanksgiving.”
◊◊◊◊◊
Exactly two hours and eleven minutes later I felt as happy as a fat frog napping on a warm rock on a hot July day.
But the atmosphere in my room was bitter. I sat on my bed wrapped in my plaid blanket with crossed legs, sipping on a hot chocolate I made from the dorm kitchens. Luckily, neither Nurse Alexandra or the other three freshman girls were here (possibly, they were all at the boy’s dormitory for a movie marathon that one of them had mentioned earlier). Whatever the reason, I was glad they weren’t here. The entire building was empty, save for me and two alchemists who were inches away from strangling each other.
I had offered to make a hot chocolate or coffee to Dove and Leon, but neither said a word, so I just took it as is. Dove sat perched on the window seat (the closest place next to me), glaring daggers in Leon’s directions. Leon in turn had pulled my computer chair over to the far corner next to the door (I guess in case he needed a quick escape), also sending bad waves in her direction.
But neither of them spoke a word, or started clawing at each other’s throats (yet). I think in their own way, they knew if I was upset, bad things would happen. Normally I didn’t really like being treated like some delicate flower, but I’ll take advantage of it for today, at least.
“We are here,” I finally said after I gulped down half of my cup, “To discuss a way to work together.”
“Work together?” Dove asked, looking at me like I had grown an extra head. I might as well have, with the hurt look she gave me, like I had betrayed her. Leon finished with a sharp, “Not likely!”
“That’s enough,” I snapped. This was like dealing with toddlers! I sighed, rubbing the bandage that covered my scraped chin and looked at the two. Dove sat high and alert on her seat, the red sweater she had borrowed from me hid her beautiful frame, and covered the markings on her arms. It was a size too big, even for me, but it looked perfect on her, along with an old pair of jeans I had found in the Lost and Found bin. Leon wore a heavy brown coat with black
buttons. The cuff of the sleeves were worn and tattered, as were his dark black pants. His boots were caked with mud and ice, and they looked like they belonged to the groundskeeper instead.
I, in my favorite pair of flannel jammies with red pin stripes, did not feel intimidated by these two nicely dressed alchemists.
“Listen to me. This is going to sound harsh, but it’s the truth. We all need to work together to find the Elixir before it’s too late. Just look at what happened near the woods earlier,” I pointed out, seeing their face filled with confusion. I had already filled Dove in on the details of the attack, including the fact that Leon had saved me. “It’s only a matter of time before something worse happens. To me, or to both of you, whoever attacked me must have known we’re trying to find the Elixir, and they want it too. That’s why we need to pull together, despite your past indifferences. Siblings can’t fight like this! It’s insane!”
“Well,” If Leon said, breaking the silence that followed my speech, “If somebody wasn’t such a stickler in the mud, and thought beyond our Master’s wishes, this wouldn’t be a problem.”
Dove jumped from her perch, like a cat ready to fight, “Maybe if somebody respected our Master’s wishes it wouldn’t have come to this either!”
“But don’t you see, Dove?” Leon also shot up from the chair, knocking it to the floor with a clatter, “Our Master wanted to help people! To save them! How could you just ignore her dreams and happiness with your selfishness? We could save the world with the Elixir!”
“That isn’t what she wanted and you know it!” Dove shot back. I looked back and forth, like a spectator in a tennis match as the two continued their verbal assault. Neither one of them had moved from their spot, but they may as well be two prize fighters circling each other in a boxing ring. “She wants us to find a way to destroy the Elixir because no good would come to anyone to possess it! Even if it could save the dying and the ill, in the end it will only become the matter of something corrupted and full of greed. She knew the risk, that’s why she’s entrusted us with her mission!”
The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) Page 14
