The Fake Eye (Time Alchemist) Read online

  “Come, I know where there’s a fire escape.”

  “Yeah…”

  “It’ll be a little bit of a pain to climb down, but we’ll be fine.”

  “Mmhmm…”

  “Oh, and Ru and Chrys are already out, safely. They’ll meet us outside, and then we can rest and figure out our next move.”

  “Dove…?”

  “I know, Emery. I know. And it’s okay.”

  I nodded, feeling grim. But seeing her smile sent a bloom of warmth over my tired body. Then, Dove stumbled, almost falling to the ground. A bubble of panic expanded inside of me as I looped an arm around her, trying to

  make her sit.

  She pressed a hand to her injured head, shaking slightly. “I’m fine. We have to keep going.”

  I bit my lip, but did as she told, inching her slowly towards the back where I saw a window. My hands were slick with sweat and water as I leaned her on one of the shelves, and tried to push open the window. But it was stuck, like fresh paint had glued it closed. After a couple of tries that almost ripped my nails off, I finally cracked the thing open. The summer air outside was warm, but compared to inside it felt like heaven.

  “Okay, give me your hand Dove and we’ll—”

  Words died on my tongue. Every thought faded as I stood there and watched in horror as Dove stood there, motionless, her back towards me. And a sword sticking out of her.

  Dark blood pooled around her wound, and she shuddered violently.

  Suddenly, there was a blinding white light, so painful I had to shut my eyes. But it was over just as soon as it came, and Dove had collapsed into a bloody heap on the floor. Her limbs were at an odd angle, and the circle of dark crimson expanded, soaking into the carpet and her clothes.

  I stood there dumbstruck as the wielder of the sword sliced the air, sending droplets of Dove’s blood splattered onto the shelf. His sea green eyes stared right into mine, as calm and cool as the ocean, even though his clothes

  —the very clothes that I last saw him in—were covered in dark blood.

  Leon.

  CHAPTER 25

  Every word, every yelp of joy and every shriek of horror that I wanted to cry into the heavens turned to ash in my mouth. The crooked, metal blade Leon held in his palms swung lazily at his side; Dove’s blood making a faint drip-drip-drip into the cream colored carpet.

  Dove. Wake up, please, wake up. This was all just a bad dream. A terrible, awful, cruel nightmare.

  But she lay there motionless, like a puppet whose strings have been snipped off. She wasn’t moving at all—she wasn’t breathing.

  “Why?” I cried out. “Why, Leon?!”

  He said nothing. Just stared at me with bored, empty eyes. Though his face and body were lax, he was soaked in sweat. Occasionally, his face would twist in pain; his jaw would clench.

  But then, ever so slowly, his lips spread into a nasty, horrifying grin that would have made even the Joker look pale in comparison. That sick, twisted smile looked so damn out of place on Leon’s soft features. He closed his eyes for just a heartbeat, then opened them wide.

  It felt as if my heart had cracked right down the center.

  Despite the thudding and aching of my heart, my voice came out calm.

  Almost neutral, regardless of the fact that my stomach churned at the sight of Dove’s body, how her blood spread farther onto the floor, framing her figure like morose, gory wings.

  My eyes widened when I met his—the beautiful, deep sea green orbs were fading away, turning into a black so dark it looked like an inky, starless night. For brief moments, pops of green would appear, but just as quickly as

  they came, the bright color was overcome with dark; like a single, tiny four leaf clover being swept away by a vicious tornado.

  His eyes were full of pain, and I could see the veins in his temple throbbing. Leon was clenching his teeth so hard I could hear them rattle. The grip on his metallic sword would loosen, then tighten, loosen, tighten, like he was having some sort of internal battle within himself.

  “Leon,” I tried.

  It was as if I had put the key into the lock. Everything in his eyes seemed to snap into a dark place, and his lips formed a grin so twisted it sent a cold arrow into my heart. When he spoke, it wasn’t Leon at all.

  “It’s been a long time, my dear Emery.” My entire body went numb. It was a voice I was painfully aware of—a voice that haunted my nightmares.

  A voice that belonged to him…Ivan Novak.

  “You’re wrong.” I said, shaking my head.

  He gave out a low laugh that made my blood churn. “How so? You do not even recognize the voice of your loved one?”

  “You’re wrong! ” I screeched out, feeling warmth spread all over my body. “You’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong!”

  “Well, you see,” Ivan spoke, changing his vocals from him to Leon with every new word it made my head spin, “that’s where you are wrong, Emery. You thought you had gotten rid of me, but you were a fool.” He laughed again, “Rather, I was the fool at first—the Elixir had been so close but I hadn’t even seen it! But thanks to you saving this brats life, the small, minuscule piece of soul I had stuck inside of him was spared. Oh sure, it took a few months, but it was easy to get this boy under my thumb. And I have you to thank for that!”

  I stood there, shaking in my shoes. Blood seeped over; covering my leather boots in dark crimson and bile began to rise.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  He shook his head, sighing. “Always wanting proof. Always wanting answers. You really are quite a child, Emery.”

  I bit back my own retort, watching as he carelessly shrugged off the black jacket and unbuttoned the white shirt beneath it. Leon’s abs showed, hard and lean from years of practice and workout; proof that Leon was the type to work for the things he earned—not steal it for selfish, inhumane reasons.

  But it wasn’t until my eyes traveled from his stomach—littered with scars, fresh and old from battle—to his chest, where a painfully familiar tattoo was etched onto his skin.

  A faint, gray colored tattoo with the face of a moving clock; the same one that Jack Alexander had on his body when Ivan Novak had taken it over.

  And then all the memories from that night collided into me, scorching me from the inside out until I thought my heart would explode.

  I saw Leon lying unconscious in between a set of headstones, blood caked over his hair and face. I stood there, watching, frozen in place in a dress that Ivan had bought for me as he leaned over Leon’s body, ripping his bloody shirt open.

  I stood there, watching Ivan mumbling some ancient, strange language.

  I stood there, watching as Jack’s eyes began to fade away, his wicked smile frozen in place. How Leon’s own beautiful eyes shot open and the sickening cracking sounds of his bones changing inside of him; the blood spurting out of his mouth and how wide and frightening his eyes were—when they began to change from sea green, to gray, to black, to white.

  And how, through all of that horrible, horrible pain, he had mouthed

  only one single word.

  “Emery.”

  It was that one word that had sent a ripple of energy through my body. It was that one word that made me believe I could stop Ivan—even if it killed me.

  And I did stop him. I had stopped Ivan from taking over Leon’s body, and with Leon’s help we had killed him.

  I did stop him.

  I did!

  So why was Ivan Novak standing there right now—with that same tattoo on Leon’s chest? It burned so brightly I had to blink away the tears, because it was a sign of my failure.

  I hadn’t saved Leon at all. Ivan was right; I had been wrong.

  I had failed.

  And then…everything started to make sense. How had I not seen it?!

  Leon’s random outbursts; his frequent headaches; his mood swings and trust issues. Everything was Ivan Novak’s fault. He was the one causing all of this inner turmoi
l inside of Leon.

  Everything was his fault.

  I felt a rage explode inside of me, hot and cold, like shooting stars zipping through my veins. In the background, I heard the faint wailing of police sirens—obviously with the fire alarm gone off and no one around to answer it, it would only make sense.

  I took in a deep breath. In one, swift motion, I pulled at the golden threads around me. I didn’t need to think, or concentrate, or hope it would work.

  Because I was going to make it work.

  Everything around Ivan and I stopped. The screeching of distant alarms cut off; the drops of ice cold water froze in mid air. Everything was still. Silent.

  Ivan’s clapping echoing loudly in our personal chamber of frozen time.

  “I see you’ve been practicing. Well done.”

  “Thanks.” I replied acidly.

  “Ah, but, you cannot hold this for long,” he said with a smile. If he wasn’t in Leon’s body, I would have punched all of his teeth out. I knew I had to do this. I couldn’t sit here and let Leon be taken over. Leon had fought so hard to suppress Ivan—and he never once told anyone. That thought in itself stabbed me in the heart. Was Leon so scared of telling me he kept it to himself? What about all that talk of trust?

  But then again…I was no better, was I?

  My eyes glued to the clock tattoo on his chest, but there was something different about it from the one on Jack’s body. It was a light shade of black, almost like a shadowy gray. No wonder why Ivan wanted the Elixir—because he hadn’t taken over Leon’s body all the way, he was still weak. Leon’s body still had Leon inside. He needed the Elixir to become whole, and I had led him right to the only book that could be of use to him.

  Too bad the book was probably on its way out of the country. At least that was one small victory, no matter how much it tasted like poison on my tongue.

  Then, from behind, Ivan withdrew a weapon: a rustic looking fireplace poker, morphed into a lumpy sword, and tossed it at my feet. Where it had come from, I had no idea, but seeing one of Leon’s bracelet dangle of his thin wrist made me remember how powerful Ivan was—even being such a weak soul, he had the power to move the earth when he was in Leon’s body.

  But now he was in the body of an alchemist. I guess it made sense that he could easily control Leon’s iron element.

  My eyebrow rose as the black sword clanged near my feet. I watched with hawk eyes as Ivan walked calmly away, beckoning me to follow. I was reluctant to leave Dove anywhere alone—she needed my help!—but even if I tried to do something, there would be no doubt he would stab me in the back.

  Literally.

  Swallowing my grief, I walked around Dove’s limpless body, pushing back tears, and found Ivan at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Be grateful that I’m giving you this once chance, dear,” Ivan said, flitting the sword in the air as if trying to adjust to the weight. “We will have a battle. If you win, I will release this boy and you will be able to help your friend. If I win, the boy becomes my vessel. Permanently. And I will give you two choices: you will become my servant and find me the Elixir, or you will die.”

  “I’d rather have my eyes clawed out by honey badgers, but thanks.”

  His lips curled into a snarl, “Insolent little girl.”

  I picked up the sword, testing its weight. And then I did what I never would have done during Leon’s practice drills, something that I had always been too scared and too unconfident about—I attacked first.

  It was a bad move, but I caught Ivan by surprise. He brought his blade up just as mine came down. All those days of practicing had come in handy.

  The familiar weight of the hilt pressed into my palms; the muscles shrieking with pain from the blows; everything was coming back to me. I could finally—

  finally—hold my ground. The clanging of metal against metal rippled in the air, but I wasn’t backing down. Even though my chest was starting to hurt and I felt numb all over, I wasn’t going to stop. Not ever. Not even if my heart gave

  out and shattered right inside my chest.

  Nobody messed with my family and got away with it.

  CLANG!

  Nobody messed with my friends and got away with it.

  CLANG!

  And nobody messed with Leon and got away with it.

  Hours could have passed in that one moment. Ivan continued to attack, but I could tell he wasn’t up to his usual strength. How much hold did he have on Leon anyway? With Jack, he had possessed his body soon after killing him, but Leon was still alive somewhere in there. Was he fighting Ivan? Or had he given up?

  No. Leon would never give up.

  Ivan came down on my again, and it took everything I had to hold the sword against him. The force almost brought me to my knees, and I remembered a move I had seen on some cop drama show. I dropped down and kicked my legs out, hitting Leon’s shin. Ivan let out a howl of pain, and I used that moment to slice the sword into the air, cutting his exposed chest.

  Drops of bright crimson blood fell to the ground, staining the snow white fabric of Leon’s shirt. I pulled the sword up, preparing for another swing when Ivan moved, punching me hard in the gut. I coughed, seeing stars, and I felt the alchemy around me faze just a little before it froze again.

  I was slammed into the ground, and my vision blurred. As Ivan’s form loomed over mine, I could make out the air around us rippling, like a mirage on an incredibly hot day. All the warmth seemed to drain from my body and I felt cold. My alchemy was about to give out.

  Ivan gave out a choked laugh, pressing the blade of his sword to my

  chest—right over where my fake heart was.

  This was it. I couldn’t fight anymore. My limbs felt heavy, like they were held by sandbags. But I refused to close my eyes, watching as Leon’s once deep, summery eyes, now black pools of evil, widen in glee, as Ivan brought his sword up.

  “I changed my mind, poor thing,” he cooed, “I’m going to kill you after all.”

  And then he brought his sword down, and I braced myself for death.

  CHAPTER 26

  The tip of the sword sliced through my clothes and broke skin when he stopped. His mouth suddenly twisted into a grimace, eyes narrowed like a cat as if he were seeing something invisible to me.

  Then Leon’s lips began to move. His words— Leon’s own voice—were so small, I almost missed them.

  “No…”

  My heart leapt to my throat. That was Leon’s voice—real and full and….just Leon!

  I stayed planted on the ground, watching Leon’s eyes churn like black paint was being mixed with green, over and over until the black seemed to blink away, and dull green eyes met mine again.

  And then the black orbs consumed the light greens. Ivan’s voice came out of Leon’s lips once more. “How dare you defy me?”

  Veins throbbed in Leon’s neck, and his whole body turned red, covered in a film of sweat. He was shaking horribly, like the very bones in his body had become solid ice.

  “I…won’t!”

  “You will!”

  Leon’s eyes flashed open, and the sea greens came back. Tears began to form out of his eyes. I knew this was too much…too much to fight and to take it. My heart ached so much. Leon’s tears fell down his cheeks, splashing on to my own face, mixing in with the tears that leaked out of my eyes.

  “It’s okay…Leon.” My words were barely a whisper, but I said them.

  Leon didn’t need to fight this alone. It was okay. Everything was going to be okay. “It’s okay.” I told him that, over and over and over as more tears fell, as Leon lost himself in an eternal struggle with evil.

  “I won’t k-kill you,” Leon hissed. “I won’t!”

  And then, it was like looking into a mask. One side of Leon’s face was still him: flushed cheeks, thin kissable lips, and a warm green eye. The other was Ivan: cold and stiff, with one black eye that seemed to taunt me. I could only lay here, watching as Leon struggled, and with every struggle he lo
st the tip of the blade was pushed a little farther into my skin.

  “You think all of this is my doing?” Ivan said, “You think I am the one who tempted the darkness in your heart? It was already there, boy. All I did was give it a little shove.”

  “Enough!” Leon whispered in pain, “Enough lies! Stop this!”

  “You say you aren’t a bad person, Leon,” Ivan hissed out, “But bad people don’t think about hurting others. They don’t think about killing every man who puts a hand on your woman. They don’t think cruel thoughts about a sister that doesn’t care about you.” A laugh bubbled out of his throat, and I winced when the blade pressed even harder. “If you had the chance you would kill whoever was in your way!”

  “That’s….that’s not true,” Leon said limply, “I never—I never wanted to kill anyone—”

  “Oh? Then what about your dear sister? Twice now you’ve attempted to kill her, and look at what has happened.”

  “No! No, I was never going to kill Dove!” Leon cried out, “I was just going to stop her before. I would never—”

  “But you did .”

  Leon was losing. He was losing horribly, and I saw as his one good green eye began to become consumed by black ink. It was as if something inside of him was preparing to break. I couldn’t let that happen. If Leon cracked under the pressure, he would break into a thousand irreplaceable pieces.

  I choked out, “Fight it, Leon! Fight it!”

  “Silence!” Ivan roared, pressing the sword deeper into my flesh. The act sent spikes of pains up and down my body, but I gritted my teeth, refusing to cry out.

  But this time I wasn’t going to just sit here. With every muscle in my arms, I pulled them up and gripped the sharp edges of the sword; the flesh of my palms digging into the makeshift blade with all my strength. My own blood poured out, opening the previously healed cuts from my escape at the church just a week ago, mixing with Leon’s on the floor and my clothes. They burned horribly, but I held firm.

  “You have to fight this Leon! You aren’t a bad person. You’ve made mistakes in the past, but you’ve still living with them, fighting them, and learning from them every day of your life! You’ve—you’ve saved my life so many times I could never thank you enough. And what have I done to you? I couldn’t even save you from yourself—I was so blind as to what was going on.