The Fake Eye (Time Alchemist) Read online

  Neither of the siblings had to say anything, but I knew what they were thinking.

  “I know I disappointed you both,” I said, “And I can’t apologize enough, but what’s done is done. I’m not hurt and my friend didn’t get hurt. But I could have thought more about it…”

  “Damn right you should have…” Leon mumbled. He didn’t look at me at all. Instead, his gaze was trained outside the fourth floor window of the library, watching the wind whip the tops of the trees so fiercely they looked like they could be uprooted just from his heated glare. He shook his head and blinked, as if realizing where he was. “No, you’ve got every right to do what you want, but when you know there’s danger why didn’t you just tell us?”

  “I couldn’t because—”

  “It’s my fault Emery didn’t tell you,” Chrys’s voice popped from behind us. We all jumped like scared cats and whirled around to see her shadowed by Ru, who stretched his jaw out in a long yawn, like an old dog waiting to go back to sleep on his porch. “Because I’m the one responsible for her amnesia in the first place.”

  “What the hell—?” Leon jumped up, placing himself in front of me and Dove, glaring at the strangers. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Leon, calm down,” I tried, “They’re the ones who—”

  “They’re alchemists,” Dove’s voice rang out like a bell and it took a

  full ten seconds for her words to sink into my skin. I knew that Chrys was an alchemist, but the other? I looked back and forth from the short doll-like girl, with her hair tied in purple ribbons today, and the boy who always seemed to wear paint splattered clothes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his elbows, but it wasn’t until he took one hand out of his pants pocket to swipe hair out of his face when I saw a heavy, tiger shaped tattoo etched over his forehead; a mark I had missed before because his hair was always covering his eyes.

  So it was just a normal tattoo…and then my eyes traveled from that to his ear…his three jet black earrings.

  Of course. A Self Taught alchemist.

  Chrys let out a soft giggle, ignoring Leon’s glare as she scooted around and placed herself right next to me. Ru staggered after her, yawning again and slumped on the nearest chair next to the window. Leon could only stare slack jawed at the two, and it wasn’t until Dove waved a hand that he grumpily sat down too.

  “Your friends are so cute, Emery,” Chrys laughed, smiling at me like we were old childhood friends and not strangers that had met in a dream.

  “Their dreams are so nice, you know?”

  “I don’t know,” I said slowly, sucking in a cold breath. “But I do know one thing: you’re an Alchemist just like me, aren’t you?”

  “Explain what’s going on,” Dove said, “Who are you? And what are you doing at this school?”

  Chrys turned her attention to Dove, smoothing out her skirt that reached past her knees. As if a switch had been snapped, the light in her eyes turned hard and focused, like a woman on a mission. “We,” she gestured towards herself and Ru, who looked as if he were asleep on the couch, “are from the

  Crown of the Black World.”

  Dove and Leon both let out a gasp. I swiveled my head between them and the new students, my brows scrunched in confusion. I threw my hands up at the shock and suspension plastered on my friend’s faces. “Could someone tell me what the Crown of the Black World is please?”

  Chyrs spoke up, a normal warm smile again spread on her face. “The Crown of the Black World—called the Black Crown for short—is a secret organization that is in charge of the hidden world of alchemy. We’re basically like the police force of the alchemy world—we make sure no crimes are committed by bad alchemists and that nobody really abuses their power.”

  The word “police” sent cold shivers down my spine, and I glanced over at Leon. He sat rigged, fists clenched so hard that his knuckles began to turn white. His green eyes met mine and I saw the cold terror that washed over his face. Were they here for Leon? For when he killed me?

  “Oh, please don’t be worried! We aren’t here to arrest anyone—we aren’t even old enough!” Chrys laughed. “It’s not just police work that we do; we take care of other alchemists, too. And protect them, if necessary.”

  “Then you aren’t here to…take someone away?” I asked slowly, a knot of dread the size of Texas building in my stomach.

  “No, no,” Chrys replied, “Actually, we’re here for you, Emery.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Why go through all this effort to transfer here? To give me those weird dreams?”

  “And how do we even know we can trust you, Black Crown or not?”

  Leon’s voice rose. “Ever since you two came here strange things have been happening—how do we know it wasn’t you two who caused those fires that could have killed Emery?”

  I stared, bewildered. But what Leon said was indeed true—though they

  saved my life those last two times, how could we know they didn’t start those fires on purpose just to hurt me? What if it was all a lie? Unless those fires were started by normal students, we had no proof that they did or didn’t do them.

  “I have to agree a little with Leon,” I spoke up, straightening my posture for a little boost of confidence. “You may have helped me—and for that, I really am grateful—but you messed with my dreams and memories, Chrys. How do you explain that?”

  Chrys bit her lip, casting her pretty blue eyes down to the floor. She really did have GUILTY written all over her face, but a nudge from her partner Ru—a silent look between the two of them—seemed to make her a little better.

  “At the time, I didn’t know what to do, Emery. Honest. When we first came here, I had to find a way to contact you without drawing attention to whoever ’s at work here…and that was through my dreams. It takes an insane amount of alchemy for me to show you my dreams. And I only altered your memories a little so that you would forget what happened at the church. Only because I was ordered to—and that your life wouldn’t be in danger.”

  “You keep saying that you’re here to protect me or someone is after me,” I said, “But who? And why?”

  “I can’t really tell you most of the ‘why’, but you’re a pretty special alchemist, Emery,” Chrys answered. She glanced uneasily between Dove and Leon. “An alchemist who can control Time? It isn’t very likely, is it?”

  No, it isn’t. I fell into the category outside of the four basic elements: water, earth, air, and fire. But I never really thought that a bunch of big shots from some hidden organization would care. I wanted to ask Chrys about her own alchemy but something about her eye told me to save it for another time. I knew the ‘how’ of the alchemy but not the ‘why’. For now, that was enough.

  “Then?” Leon’s voice broke through my thoughts, “Who’s after

  Emery? If we can believe that story.”

  “White.” Ru mumbled so suddenly we all instantly turned to him. This time, though his posture said otherwise, he looked at all of us with his “soul-searchy” eyes; a deep brown that seemed like melted chocolate. “The alchemist after you is nicknamed the White Alchemist.”

  Dove gasped, her hands covering her mouth in horror. Leon’s eyes widened, the flush tone of his skin melting away, leaving an eerie milk white hue that reminded me horribly of Samantha’s unconscious face.

  “It can’t be…” Dove whispered. She looked as if she had been hit with a bolt of lightning, and I quickly placed a hand over her free one, squeezing it gently. But it remained limp in my grip. I turned to Leon, desperate for answers.

  And then I saw fires blazing in his eyes. His jaw clicked from clenching his teeth so forcefully. Blood dripped from his compressed palms, but I was too shocked to say or do anything to stop the flow.

  I didn’t have to say it out loud. I read it in their eyes. And Chrys put my worst fears to words: “A powerful, rogue alchemist who has kept to the shadows for a long time. He’s never caused trouble for the Black Crown—until he went and attacked on
e of the most powerful alchemists in the entire world—

  Guinevere de Blanc.”

  CHAPTER 15

  “What should we do?” I whispered. Nobody spoke. Both Chrys and Ru looked extremely uncomfortable, like they had just delivered the news that Guinevere was dead instead of missing, and that the man behind her attack is after me.

  Leon was the first to speak. “Where is he?”

  Chrys looked taken aback at Leon’s cold tone, as if he had knocked her ice cream cone out of her small hands on purpose. “I—we—nobody knows where White is exactly. But all we know is that almost a year ago he’s been doing something, first attacking…Guinevere de Blanc, and now we have reason to believe that he’s purposely going after…special alchemists.” Her face suddenly turned grim; she clutched her skirt in her hands to keep them from trembling, and my heart went out to her. “When we got wind of Emery’s alchemy, we knew it would be a matter of time before he started to act. So we were assigned here, to keep an eye on her and protect her at all costs.”

  “He never does the dirty work himself—in most cases,” Ru said monotonously. “He has an abundance of servants ready to leap in front of a train if he wished it.”

  “So we believe someone who works for him is after you—to kill you or capture you, one way or another.”

  The room seemed to sink beneath my feet. Someone was after me—

  they were going this far to hurt me…to hurt my friends…why?!

  “We still don’t know if we can trust you,” Leon replied gruffly, though I could tell that if the White Alchemist was involved he would travel the ends of the earth to punch his face. “But if you have any information on where this bastard is—”

  “We should stay here,” Dove’s voice cut through. So small, but so powerful. That’s how she was; like a queen. She slipped her hand out of my mine, instead covering it with hers and pressed her warm palms against mine.

  “If what you say is true, then it would be easier to protect Emery in a confined space where we know most of the layout.”

  “But, Dove—”

  “We can’t be certain they are even on our side, Leon,” she replied curtly, casting her ice covered eyes in Chrys’s direction. “I mean this with no offense, but we barely know you. We barely know the Black Crown. And how much of a coincidence is it that all these attacks on Emery’s life only began after you came here?”

  She turned to me, her eyes wet, but she never would have cried in front of anyone except me or Leon. “But whatever you want to do, Emery, we’ll do it. If you want to leave then just say the word. If we should trust these two, then we will.”

  I was flabbergasted. The fact that Dove was putting so much trust in my decision—even though I had broken it—gave me a swell of hope and pride at being her friend. But even I wasn’t sure what to do…

  Do I stay? Would these attacks continue? Would someone else get hurt because of me?

  Or do I leave? But then, were would I go? I couldn’t exactly leave my schooling and my dad behind.

  “I don’t know, but for now…I’m going to stay,” I finally spoke. “If this is all true, then it would be less suspicious if I stayed put. I just have to make sure I’m not alone, and that there will be no more midnight outings.” A gave a small smile, and I saw a few others crack a grin, too. “But Leon, Dove, if you two want to go, then go. If you think you can find clues to where Guinevere is,

  I’m not going to stop you.”

  Dove’s smile grew. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  Leon was quiet. His eyes met mine, and I saw all his anger, despair, hope and protectiveness swirl inside of those orbs. Finally, he gave a long sigh and sat down, giving me a sloppy half grin that felt a little forced. “No way in hell am I leaving you here. We’ll figure this out and then…do what needs to be done. I’ll protect you, Emery. No matter what.”

  “We will. Absolutely.” Dove’s voice chimed in, and in that small circle of alchemists, I knew I was totally and perfectly safe. Thanks to my two guardian angels.

  ○○○

  That night I was visited by Chrys. In my dreams.

  This time, the scene was much calmer—it was the very same spot of the library we had all sat at hours ago. No pulsing red lights, no fire, no bloody girl on the ground.

  “Sorry, does this scene bother you?” Chrys asked from her spot on the chair. She was wearing a white laced, ruffled night dress; her smooth hair pulled into two braids.

  “It’s a better improvement from the last few, let me tell ya,” I joke, crossing over to take my place. I decided to get comfortable now that I knew I wasn’t crazy and there wasn’t any spooky, bloody girls lying around. I pulled my knees up and stretched my hands over them, resting my chin on my kneecaps.

  “So…”

  “So…” I pressed, “Tell me, what kind of alchemist are you?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” she grinned, “I’m an alchemist of Dreams…

  sometimes Memories. I can enter someone’s dream. I can watch their dreams or

  their memories and if I concentrate really hard, I can talk to someone like this.”

  “And alter someone’s memories.” I pointed out.

  She looked sheepish, chewing on her bottom lip. “I swear I don’t do it a lot, but it takes so much out of me—I end up sleeping straight for a couple of days. Really, it’s not a useful power like yours…”

  “Are you kidding? It’s amazing—when I’m not creeped out.” I said.

  “But why go through all that effort really? What were you trying to show me?”

  A hint of blush bloomed on her cheeks. “To be honest Emery, there aren’t a lot of alchemists like us…you know. I’ve been part of the Black Crown since I became an alchemist. So when I heard that there was another special one like you…I just got a little excited.

  “I wanted to see you without you seeing me, but then…it made me remember of when I became an alchemist, and I think some part of me wanted to show you how it happened.”

  I gasped. “So those scenes…that girl was really you? And that…really happened?”

  She nodded. “My family was in a car accident when I was seven. My parents didn’t make it, but it was thanks to a stranger who pulled me out of the car that I’m sort of…alive today. Except that I wasn’t breathing when they pulled me out. I was literally on the brink of death.”

  My whole body froze. My throat felt tight and raw. I couldn’t breathe.

  But this was a dream, could I die from suffocation?

  “That person,” she continued, her voice growing small, “she was an alchemist. She saved me by exchanging her alchemy—from what I heard—

  though I lost an eye, I was able to live again. And then I realized that she had made me an alchemist, too.”

  “Just like what Dove did…” my own voice felt odd and strange, like I was listening to someone else speak. Both Chrys and I had died and been saved by an alchemist.

  “Chrys, were you an alchemist before the accident?”

  She shook her head, letting loose strands of her hair fall over her face.

  “No. Neither of my parents were. The Black Crown couldn’t locate any other living relatives, so I was taken in by the woman who saved my life. It was right after the accident that…these…appeared.”

  Slowly, she reached up and pushed her bangs to the side. She wore a small white eye patch like you would get at the doctor’s office to cover an eye infection. She slid it off wordlessly, and opened her right eye.

  It was a pure white eye, smooth as glass. And it was covered in bright, beautiful silver swirls. And when I looked at her face as a whole, I saw faint swirling lines of gray that stretched over her entire right side. No wonder she hid her face behind her hair.

  But looking at those Runes brought a shock of awe. Amazement and thrill. Wonder and relief.

  “We’re the same,” I said, feeling tears sting my eyes, “We’re the same.”

  Tears had already begun spillin
g down her cheeks. She gave me a watery smile. “We are. So now you understand why I was just so happy to hear that someone else like me existed? I’m sorry I came into your dreams uninvited and tampered with your memories but…”

  “It’s all forgiven,” I smiled, “Just the whole erasing-my-memory thing?

  Don’t do it again.”

  She gave out a small laugh. “I won’t! I promise!”

  Her figure began to shift, fading in and out as I let out a gasp. She

  looked down at her transparent hands, and I realized it wasn’t her that was fading—I was too, and the entire dreamscape.

  “I can’t really hold this for long,” she apologized, “But I just had to come and talk to you face-to-face, even if it was in a dream.”

  “Will you be alright?”

  “I will after I sleep a for a day or two,” she said with a smile, and I couldn’t tell if she was really joking or not. “But…there’s one thing I have to let you know before I go.”

  “What is it?”

  She shifted her gaze to the right, shuffling her feet. “I know I shouldn’t have, but I checked your friends dreams the first night we came. I just had to see if they were trust worthy, that’s all. I haven’t’ done it since, I swear.”

  I blinked, waving a hand for her to continue.

  “It’s just…that Leon guy…his dream was very odd.”

  “What do you mean? People dream differently right?”

  “Yeah, but normally I can get into anyone’s dream, no matter what. His seemed...off. A little...dark, like there was something he was hiding deep in his subconscious. Something he feels so guilty of. And it involves you, Emery. ”

  That didn’t really bother me too much, I mean, people had secrets, right? But Chrys’s tone when she spoke of Leon’s dreams…as if she were scared of something.

  “I doubt it’s anything bad,” I tried to assure her, “Lately he’s been super stressed out so…yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it okay? I’ll talk to him if it makes you feel better.” And I would. I haven’t been very close with Leon lately besides sparring practice. I knew there were things in his mind that I didn’t want to press, but sometimes a little nudge was all it took to help someone feel