Alchemist Academy: Book 1 (23 page)

“Don’t you get it? This whole place is a lie. Verity just killed a student to prove a point. If she finds out we know anything, we’ll be back in that room.”

“Or the globe,” Mark added.

“Yeah, we can’t tell a single person what we saw.” Carly paced in the tiny hallway. “I wish I could unsee this. I wish I’d never come to this blasted Academy in the first place.”

I couldn’t keep this inside. My soul had filled with sorrow, and if I had to bottle up another thing in my life, I felt as if I might explode. The words wanted to pour from my mouth, but I knew if I started I wouldn’t stop. I turned and pushed open the stone wall, then darted across the small room. I didn’t want to look at Mark and Carly. I didn’t want to look at anyone.

The bright light and Daniel’s screams wouldn’t leave my head, so I ran. My legs felt free and I didn’t look back. I ran all the way to my house door and up the stairs. When I reached my bedroom, I slammed the door behind me and jumped on my bed, burying my face in the pillow.

Another thought hit me and I wanted to scream. Tomorrow, room five, just me and Verity. Life stone or not, I had to find a way out of the Academy.

The next morning, I crossed the hub with Mark a few paces behind. A couple of harsh looks were all it took to get some distance. I slowed down near the statue of Clymene. It’d once inspired the woman inside of me, thinking of her holding the world up, protecting it. But now I knew she wasn’t holding the world up … she was being crushed. This statue was just a snapshot of her futile struggle against the overwhelming pressure above her. Another second and the world would smash her into nothingness.

Many of the Blues and Reds walked by, but I didn’t pay attention to them. I kept my focus on room five. Verity was sitting in that room, probably waiting for me with her vapid smile and endless pit of lies, hoping I’d make a stone for her. A stone she might use to harm others, or maybe even kill someone else. I wouldn’t make a single stone again for the Academy.

“Whatever you want to do in there, raise holy hell, burn the place to the ground, I’m right there with you,” Mark said.

I glanced back at him and kept walking. It was the right thing to say, and he knew it. I wanted him by my side and I wanted to burn this whole freaking place down, but I also wanted to be smart about it. They were right last night in stopping me. At best, I’d have saved the boy and we’d still be stuck in the Academy, eventually being killed. At worst, we’d all have ended up dead on the spot.

Room five.

A group of Reds and Blues loitered near me. I heard their whispered comments and questions. I hadn’t told anyone but Mark and Carly about my upgraded status; and as far as Carly knew, no one had ever gotten above room ten. They watched as I stopped in front of the door and knocked.

I crossed my arms and tapped my foot. The Blues snickered and probably thought I had been pranked, but eventually the door opened. Verity stood there, studying me from top to bottom. I wanted to punch her in the throat and rip her fingernails off one at a time.

“Hello, Verity.”

“President Verity,” she corrected me. “Come in, and bring your toy with you, if you must.”

I entered the classroom and stood at the doorway. I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, but it wasn’t a small library. Books lined the walls and only a few desks filled the middle of the room. I gasped at the sight. I hadn’t seen a single book since arriving at the Academy. I couldn’t help but smile. If I could have one alchemist wish, it would have been to have a library at my disposal.

A girl sitting at one of the desks turned and looked back at me.

“What’s she doing here?” I asked.

“We needed a special stone made last night and when I looked for you, you couldn’t be found.” She raised an eyebrow. “Bridget filled in for you and did a marvelous job. Where were you?”

“I was—”

“It was my fault,” Mark interrupted. “I took her to a hidden section of the Red house … to be alone.”

Verity gave the slightest roll of her eyes while she sighed. “Keep it in your pants. But if you must, please use the Academy-provided protection.” She glared at him. “We can’t have little ones running around here, now, can we?”

She turned and walked to her desk at the end of the room. The glow of the books surrounding me faded, and I felt empty again. Verity appeared as casual as always. Maybe murdering people didn’t affect her.

Bridget turned and gave me a blank look. I stared at her and she turned back around as I sat behind her. I wondered which version of her I’d be getting.

“I can smell your foulness from here. Can you move farther back?” she said.

Well, that was cleared up.

I ignored the comment, but felt my anger building. This was the same thing I had done at Summerford, staring at the back of Bridget’s head. Now we were who knew where. The hug and laughter we’d shared in the teachers’ hall hung around me like a ghost and I started to question if it had really happened.

Mark took the seat next to me as Verity pulled a few dusty books from the shelves and placed them on the desk. The soft lighting illuminated the dust stirring up. The room smelled old and dusty, not like the sanitary feel of the other rooms.

“Pardon me. It’s been a while since I’ve had a special to teach, let alone two.” She thumbed open a book and skipped past a few pages. “Here we are. Have any of you heard of the alchemist wars of 1747?”

I shook my head.

“I suppose it isn’t something taught in public school.” She turned another page. “It was thought that one side had obtained the knowledge to create a philosopher’s stone.” Verity looked up from her book. “Come on, now. Tell me you’ve heard of the philosopher’s stone?”

Bridget glanced back at me and shrugged. It sounded familiar for some reason, but I shook my head, failing to grasp it.

Verity sighed and closed the book. “There is an end game for alchemists, a stone whose powers are beyond comprehension. Some say it can give alchemists the power of eternal life; others feel it’s the stone that will turn any metal into gold.” She smirked. “A long time ago, a great and terrible war started over this stone and in the end, both sides took great losses, both personal and historical. In fact, almost all of the documentation on this stone was destroyed by one side or the other in this war. We’ve pieced together many of the stone diagrams, but most remain a mystery. I’m sad to say that the dark alchemists have been trying to destroy us good alchemists for a great many centuries.” Verity walked to the front of her desk.

“I’ve never heard of such things. Why doesn’t the world know about us?” Bridget asked.

“In the past, alchemists were more open about their studies, but most historians passed them off as pre-chemists at best. If anyone got close to knowing what we could make, a simple memory stone would be used.”

I took a deep breath and squeezed my hands under the desk. I wanted to throw questions at her, like, why she would kill that man’s son directly in front of him? How could she not be considered dark for the deeds she’d done? I kept my mouth shut for fear of spilling the wrong words and exposing Mark.

“It just doesn’t seem possible to hide all of this.” Bridget waved her hand around the room.

“You’d be amazed by what people choose to believe and what they choose to ignore.” Verity turned back to her desk and grabbed the dusty book. “This whole room is filled with knowledge about alchemy. It’s a collection some would kill for, just to look at for a few hours, and you have me as a personal guide. I know all of these books. I’ve pored over them and tried to make many of the stones. Some I can, and some I can’t. That’s why you’re here, in this room with me. Room ten is too remedial. This room will challenge you. I will be directing you each day to make a particular stone. Whoever makes the stone first will have a significant victory for their house.”

I wanted to throw up. She still wanted to play the houses against each other, even when I knew she’d killed one of us. I’d made a promise to Daniel’s father, and I intended to find a way to keep it.

“Like what?” Bridget asked.

“I won’t say specifically, but I will tell you this: you’ll want to win for the good of everyone around you.” Verity stared at Mark and then at the book in her hands. “Today’s stone is one we’ve been trying to make for a long time. Aluminum dust, universal solvent, and two more ingredients. It’s best you don’t know what they are.”

Probably baby seal oil or something equally awful. I could just picture Verity going out onto the surface of Antarctica to steal penguin eggs and club baby whales popping up for a breath.

“Is there something amusing, Allie?” she asked.

“No.”

“Good, because these ingredients are of the highest level and one drop can be the accumulation of years of work. Come on up here and get them.”

I hesitated at first, but walked to her desk to find a selection of vials and bowls divided into two pairs. I took the left-hand group of materials and carried them back to my desk.

Mark made like he was going to get up, and Verity spoke.

“Please, Mark. Don’t kid yourself. The only reason you’re here is because Allie thinks you help her make stones.”

He didn’t say anything, but mouthed a few words as he sat back down.

“Now, these aren’t simple stones that you’d see in room twenty-eight. These are going to take everything you’ve got.”

“What does it do?” Bridget asked.

“Let’s not worry about what the stone does, as much as how you’re going to make it.”

Bridget clattered around the vials and the bowl of silver powder. She turned back to me so Verity couldn’t see her. Her eyes went wide and she mouthed the word “no” to me. She widened her eyes even farther to punch home her meaning.

Of course it could be a trick, something to throw me off my game, to allow her a chance to make the stone first and shove whatever horrible thing the loser got in my face.

The aluminum powder sat in front of me in a bowl. I thought about aluminum being toxic and wondered if I should ask for a mask. Oh, well, I’d just hold my breath. I poured in a small amount of powder. Dust particles didn’t float around like I’d feared. All of it clumped together at the bottom of the bowl.

I cleared my head as I took the vial of opaque yellow fluid and poured it in. The next one looked like plain water and had a pungent, vinegary smell. I shook as I poured in the solvent, while keeping my thoughts clear of any emotion.

With wooden spoon in hand, I stirred for what seemed like a long time, until I finally dropped it into the bowl. I took a deep breath and felt dizzy from the pressure I’d put on my head.

Verity watched from the front of the classroom. She frowned as I gave up and took a long breath when Bridget did the same. We had both failed to make the stone, and for another moment, I felt a bit of the poison Bridget had put in my blood drain out.

“You both failed. Very interesting.” Verity rubbed her chin and moved away from her desk. “I thought you two bitches might be up to something.” Hate filled her face.

I leaned back in the chair, unable to avoid her piercing stare.

“I tried my hardest—” Bridget began to say, but Verity stuck a hand in her face.

“Don’t even think for one second that you two have me fooled. You think I would waste good ingredients on this testing stone? Yes, that’s right, this was a test. I put out the simplest of stones that even your pet could have made.” Verity closed her eyes and crossed her arms. “I blame myself.” She smiled, and I recoiled from it. It was the same smile she’d given Dave before she murdered his son. “I haven’t properly motivated you. I haven’t given you a sufficient reason to make a stone, now, have I?”

“I’m sure we can make a stone. Just give us another chance,” Bridget whined.

“I know you will. Bridget, if you can’t make this next stone, I’m going to use a freeze stone on you and turn you over to some of the eager boys in the Red house. I’ll make sure they have enough freeze stones to do whatever it is they want to do to you for a long and horrible time. And don’t worry, you’ll be awake enough to hear and feel everything.”

Bridget whimpered and lowered her head. Verity turned to me and in an instant, threw a stone.

I recoiled, protecting my face, and I heard Mark moan. He held his hand and shook it. The tips of his fingers turned blue, and then it traveled down his fingers into his hand. His whole hand turned blue in under a minute. He kept shaking his hand and wincing from the pain.

“You’re tough, Mark. Most people would be screaming by now.” She stared at me with her hateful glare. “If the blue reaches his heart, he’ll die. Not even a life stone would bring him back.” She walked to the front of the room and continued. “Now, this is the real stone I need you to make.” She pulled a beige cloth off a stand in the corner of the room. “You’d better hurry, Allie. He doesn’t have much time.”

Mark shook his head.

“If he dies, I will never make another stone for you again.” I glanced at Mark and put my shaking hands under the desk.

Verity took a few steps closer. “Each second you wait, it works farther into his muscles, tearing down tissue and weakening his bones. How’s the arm, Mark?”

I twitched at each side effect. Mark shook his head again, but he looked paler and gripped his arm tight. His face was filled with pain.

“Don’t do it. I’ll be fine,” Mark croaked out. I saw the panic building in his face as he stretched his arm out from his body as far as he could.