The Fake Eye (Time Alchemist) Read online

  “And we’ll be giving him your cell phone number in case anything happens…”

  “Yes, it’s all ready. But don’t fret, Emery,” she smiled, “we’re going to get through this. Alright?”

  I felt so horrible lying to Dad—but this was the best and only way. With any luck, I would be back home in a week, two tops. As we reached the steps to the teacher ’s apartment, Dove hung back as I said my goodbyes to Dad; him sweeping me up in a huge bear hug and even surprising Dove with a hug, too. I saw her face flush bright red, even to the roots of her hair, and I couldn’t help but feel like this was the end of something big…but the beginning of a grand adventure.

  “You mind your manners, Emery?” Dad said, giving me one more giant hug. “And remember: call me at least once a day! Alright?”

  “I will Dad. And I’ll be coming home soon. I promise.”

  And it was a promise to him that I would keep, without absolute fail.

  CHAPTER 22

  “I’m…having second thoughts about doing this.”

  I glanced up from my half eaten McDonald’s egg and sausage biscuit.

  Even though it was hot and fresh, it tasted like sandpaper in my mouth. For a second, I thought Dove was changing her mind about rescuing Chrys, until she turned to me and said, “Getting Ru involved, I mean.”

  I swallowed, crumpling the remainder of my measly breakfast into a ball. “Because he’s with the Black Crown.”

  “Yes…It’s not that I don’t trust them, but…”

  “We think they would interfere, right? That everything might go wrong? I don’t know, Dove. There had to be a reason why Chrys came to me for help and not anybody else. I think it’s only something we can solve.”

  “Yes, but…” her eyes clouded over in worry, “What if this is the same person who is after your life? What if this is all a trap?”

  My stomach twisted around like a pissed off snake, but I tried to keep my head cool and calm. “If it’s a trap, then we gotta do what we gotta do. Even if that means trusting someone who might do us more harm than good.”

  Wordlessly, Dove agreed, and she turned back to gazing out the window. In her hands was a piece of ripped cloth that held Leon’s broken band.

  I noticed her hands trembling slightly, and even I was having my doubts. Even though everyone had agreed that Chry’s kidnapping was the first priority, how would delaying Leon’s rescue be of any good? What if the two weren’t connected like we thought at all?

  But Leon is strong…stronger than me and Dove combined. I know he would take care of himself, and if our positions were reversed—

  So I didn’t know for a solid fact that if I was kidnapped too who Leon would go after first: me or Chrys? He didn’t have as good of a relationship as I did with Chrys, but when it all came down to it, I believed he would trust me to take care of myself long enough until help came. Even if Chrys was an alchemist, she was weak. Not only that, but she was also physically weaker than all of us and with every mile that passed, every second that ticked by I grew more worried about what was happening to her.

  My hand absentmindedly wrapped around my silver bracelet, my precious family heirloom that had saved Leon’s life. I know he’s going to be okay…please be okay, Leon. Just wait for us, alright?

  We were headed northwest, towards Andersonville. And we still had at least an hour or so more to get there. With another glance at Dove, I flipped open my phone and texted Ru the details of the location. I didn’t have an exact address (cause I’m pretty sure Guinevere’s library wouldn’t be the only library in such a town), but it was still something.

  But even though a part of me did trust Ru—he was, after all, Chrys’s comrade and friend. Despite his ice cold exterior I could always tell he cared for her—I wasn’t going to wait around for him. Or the Black Crown.

  Once we reached the library, we weren’t going to wait around for anyone.

  THE SUN AND MOON LIBRARY MUSEUM

  Closed for the summer—we will re-open in August!

  Thank you for your understanding!

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

  “Oh…I had…forgotten that one detail.”

  “Oh, really, Dove?” I tried to keep it playful, but I was still a little sore from our two in a half hour bumpy bus ride from Savannah to Andersonville, feeling like I was going to puke all over this woman’s bright neon pink shoes. I really wanted a nap and a hot meal, but I had been nervously anticipating our arrival. And when we finally got off the bus, it took us another half hour (by walking) to reach the library I had seen in my dreams.

  And it was closed. For the next three months.

  “I remember now…before we bought the library, it was always closed in the summer. I guess whoever ’s managing it now is sticking to the old ways.”

  My anger dwindled out like a snuffed candle. I shouldered my backpack awkwardly, then spotted a breakfast place on the corner. I grabbed her hand.

  “C’mon, let’s get something to eat so we can discuss a battle plan.”

  I felt the humor in her voice as she trudged behind me. “Battle plan? I thought this was a rescue mission.”

  “It’s the same thing, right?”

  I pushed open the door, feeling a nice cool breeze blow my hair. The place was pretty small, but cozy, and I spotted a table in the far corner, almost hidden in the shadows. I nudged Dove over there as I grabbed some menus.

  After an overly perky waitress took our orders, we got down to business.

  I got out a notebook and pen, and pushed it to Dove. It was as if our minds were on the same link, as she began silently outlining a plan of the library’s floor.

  “It basically looks like any other library—the first floor especially is just crammed with bookshelves and room filled with seating areas and…more books. There was a checkout counter at the very front, but other than that, it was perfectly normal. The second floor was the same, except half of the floor

  was blocked off—that was where we lived. There were a couple of bedrooms and even a kitchen…I’m not sure what else. For some reason it’s a little blurry…”

  “That’s okay,” I murmured, “I mean, if we think about it,, a closed library would make a perfect place for a kidnapping. Any idea where they might have put Chrys?”

  “I think the library has a basement—yes, it does. I remember that the washing machines were down there. If someone was waiting inside that library, our best bet would be to try the basement—you could move around without anyone on the outside looking in.”

  “But how are we going to get in?”

  “Well, I doubt we could go in right through the front—there are security alarms set in place.” She gave a small laugh. “I remember them clearly from the first time Leon snuck out for some unknown reason, and he came back dripping wet, setting off the alarms at five in the morning. Mas—

  Guinevere was so furious at him!”

  It was the first I had heard a little story about her past with Leon—and that he was a little bit of a trouble maker, too!

  “What happened?”

  But her laughter faded when she caught my eye. “He went sneaking out trying to track down the whereabouts of a local rogue, which was the reason why we were in Andersonville in the first place.”

  “A rogue?”

  “Yes, an alchemist who uses his powers to commit criminal acts,” Dove explained, “petty robbery, attacks, things like that. Guinevere would catch word of them and head out to capture them, sort of like an alchemic police force.

  That’s how we spent most of our time. Traveling, learning, and catching bad

  alchemists. That’s how I know a little about the Black Crown, too. Guinevere didn’t do much business with them, but once she got her hands on a rogue she would let them take care of the rest of the work.”

  I fiddled with the straw of my drink, letting her words sink in. When both she and Leon talked about Guinevere—even just the tiniest mention—their eyes seemed to sparkle wi
th pure admiration and love. I admit I was just a smidgen jealous that they trusted and loved her so unconditionally, without any shred of doubt.

  “What was she like?”

  “Wonderful,” Dove sighed. Our waitress came over and set our lunches down before hustling to another customer. I cut half heartedly into my beef quesadillas while Dove took a couple of bites of her chicken salad. I waited for her to continue.

  “You know, Emery, we’re alike in a lot of ways, aren’t we?”

  I blinked, pausing my fork just inches away from my mouth. “What do you mean?”

  “Your mother…she isn’t in the picture at all, is she?”

  The crispy bite of quesadilla I had just taken suddenly felt like a lump of hard rock in my mouth, making it hard to swallow. After two long sips of water I finally nodded my head, though it wouldn’t have taken any genius to realize my situation: an overly loving and hardworking father, an equally hard working daughter…but no mother. Leon was the only person I talked to about her, but oddly enough, I never felt angry when I spoke about her. Just conflicted.

  “Yeah, she left us when I was five. It’s just been me and my Dad, all this time.”

  Dove smiled lightly. “I can tell. He loves you very much, Emery.”

  I blushed to the roots of my hair. “Yeah….I know.” Our last conversation replayed in my head like a bad song, and I could still smell his aftershave just hours ago when we had hugged goodbye. Why did it feel like—

  even though we had made a promise—that that was goodbye?

  “I never really got to know my mother,” Dove said calmly, pushing her lumpy salad around on her place. “She passed away when I was born…”

  “I’m sorry…” I said, choking on guilt, because Leon had told me something like this just weeks ago.

  She shook her head, light tufts of her light blonde hair falling perfectly into place. “Don’t be. I never knew her—how can I miss her? But I guess the way Father used to speak of her, he loved her. I’m sure of that. He just wasn’t the type of man that was open with anyone. Not even me…”

  She gently fingered the hems of her sleeves, her food long abandoned. I pushed my plate to the side, too, my stomach feeling like a solid ice block.

  “I always thought he did love her. My mother,” Dove began softly. And it was as if all the outside noise; the mindless gossip, the clinking of silverware and the distant frying of food somewhere in the back; all faded away, and we were in our own personal bubble. “His way of showing affection was through hard work and action. He trained me, showed and taught me all about the Raysburg heritage, how I come from a long line of Blood-Borne alchemist.

  My father was an alchemist too—a Bone Alchemist. That made him such an amazing doctor. We traveled all over Europe for his practice. Until he just…up and disappeared.

  It’s hard to explain—I’m not even sure what happened. It was as if he just gave up and walked away. Nobody could find him, not even his other colleagues. But he had a will written, just in case. And I was sent back to the states to live with a woman I had never met—and a brother I never knew

  existed.”

  My heart thumped wildly, giving out to the poor girl in front of me.

  Though Dove was only two years older, at this moment in time she looked so fragile and so small, like a little girl being told that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were all just figments of her poor imagination.

  “I guess you could say I was shocked—this woman who my Father had slept with just a couple of years after my Mother passed, who was supposed to take care of me? I just…I didn’t know what to think. I thought this was a test of sorts, almost. I wasn’t used to living in that huge house, staying in one spot, living under the same roof with a brother who hated me for reasons I could never understand. And—don’t get me wrong at all, but Leon’s mother truly was a very nice, sweet person. She was plain human, but that never stopped her from trying to help me with my problems…”

  She fell silent, and I knew instantly what she was going to say next.

  Before I could stop myself I reached over and pressed my hand over hers, squeezing tightly. I felt a hot, stinging pain in my eyes but forced the tears to stay put.

  “I know,” I gulped out, “I know…Leon told me what happened…about his mother—”

  “How she was killed.” Dove bit her lip, turning green. “Because I couldn’t save her.”

  “But you saved Leon’s life!” I protested. “Dove, you were only twelve or thirteen when it happened, how could anyone blame you?”

  “But somebody did,” her voice, barely a whisper, cut through the air like a hot knife, and I froze. Wordlessly, she fished out a ten and placed it on the table with trembling hands, then scooped up her bag and left. I could only stare in shock. Dove never left like that. Not ever.

  “Um, are you two, like, okay?” The voice of that freaking annoying waitress cut through my personal bubble. I mumbled something that sounded like a lame excuse and threw my own ten dollar bill on the table and fled.

  I pushed open the door, a blast of hot air whipping my face just as I saw Dove standing again right in front of The Sun and Moon Library.

  Though I had heard Leon’s side of the story—a story I would never forget—it was as if a part of me had completely forgotten that Dove…Dove was human, just like the rest of us. Just because we were alchemist didn’t mean we were robots. I always forget how fragile and weak Dove can be—she always came off as our mother, my sister, and a mentor, always strong, always knowing what to say or what to do. She was always patient, understanding and calm. Even when faced with danger she always had her head held high, her heart never broke.

  But at this moment it was like I could see her heart as it was: a thin, brittle shell just threatening to crack under the pressure. She pulled the weight of responsibility on herself after Guinevere disappeared, trying to take care of a brother who was also conflicted with his own guilt…and to take care of me.

  I acted without thinking, putting one foot in front of the other until in seconds I was hugging Dove so hard I felt like I would crush her ribs. But if I let go I was scared she was going to crumble to pieces.

  I didn’t even know what to say, my voice was stuck in my throat. The tears I had forced back at the restaurant began spilling over until I was a weeping, snotty mess.

  And then silently, I felt her arms wrap around mine and for the first time in my life, Dove began crying.

  CHAPTER 23

  Night came too quickly for me to realize. And the realization that Ru—or the Black Crown—hadn’t shown up. There wasn’t even a call or a text, and when I tried dialing the number all that came up was a busy tone. I was worried, but maybe it was for the best.

  After our crying fest, and after we hurried into the nearest public bathroom to cool our puffy faces down (and cry some more at how funny we looked), the two of us parked ourselves around the corner of the library, where we stayed a little in the shadows but we could still see the view of the building.

  Every once in a while we would get up and duck into a nearby shop in case someone was watching.

  Neither of us said much in those hours, except to rehash the plan, or figure out a backup idea. I didn’t press Dove into saying any more, and I could tell that she was grateful, even if she didn’t have to say it.

  But as the hours ticked away, I grew worried, wondering if this was even the right library at all. What if we had come to the wrong one? What if Chrys’s dream was wrong, or I was the one who messed up deciphering it?

  Well, it’s a little too freaking late for that!

  As the sky began turning a dusty pink, and then a cool dark purple; as the shops began closing one by one and as the crowds trickled down to nothing, Dove and I moved. Because the library was on a corner, we had to sneak around back, hiding along the shadows and bushes that fenced the two-story building. I was so worried about the alarm system, but Dove assured me that if it did go off all we had to do was run—and if th
e bad guys were inside, then maybe they would get spooked by the police and run.

  But I wasn’t sure.

  “If I remember correctly…there should be some windows in the back that lead down to the basement.” Dove’s voice was a whisper in the night air as I crouched behind her, inching closer to the back of the building. I glanced up, staring at the dark, black windows hoping for a sign of movement, but got nothing.

  “There’s a back door, should we try that?”

  “Just to be safe, let’s check the windows first.” So we crawled some more until we spotted four sets of windows at the bottom, almost covered in vines and thick roots. It was easy to push them aside (though my skin got torn a little from some thorns), and I had this odd sense of déjà vu when we pushed the second one—and it cracked open. The window was pretty small, unlike the basement windows of St. Mary’s library, but with a little squeezing and shoving it wouldn’t be too hard to get in.

  Dove prepared herself to go first, but I held up a hand. “Let me. I’m an expert.”

  She shot me a quizzical look, but nodded. Digging a flashlight out, she aimed it close to the window so we could see if anyone was inside. I shrugged off my bag and crawled in backwards into the window. It was a lot smaller than I thought, but with a little grunting and pushing, I managed to get through, though my sides were a little scraped up.

  I landed on the floor easily, and Dove tossed me the light. The basement really was dark and spooky—cobwebs hung on the ceilings and there was a faint dripping sound of a leaky pipe somewhere. But other than a washing and drying machine in the corner and a couple of boxes, there wasn’t a soul around.

  This is going easier than I thought.

  After signaling for Dove that it was safe, I waited for her to crawl

  through. And she did, with barely a scratch on her skin or a rip on her clothes (of course). After another sweep of the basement, we decided to ascend the stairs. Both of our bags were back outside, hidden behind some bushes. It would make a quicker and easier escape (according to Dove) if we had to run back out through the basement window.