The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) (16 page)

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The library was packed, which was pretty unusual for a Saturday morning. But when I unbuttoned my fleece jacket I could see why—it was impeccably warm and toasty in here, the strong scents
of cappuccino
s and cinnamon buns smelled delicious. (I made a mental note to
buy some after my detention. Did
Dove like sweets?
Where does she even eat? I mean, I offer her some of my snacks every once in a while but she never really takes them…
)

“Emery
!
It’s so good to see you!” Mrs. Callaway
called from her place at the front desk. There were stacks and stacks of library books that she was sorting through, but even through all of this mess and the clamoring of numerous (and really loud) students, not a single gray hair was out of place. She had the kindest eyes and the sweetest smile, like a grandmother that baked you
fresh chocolate chip cookies everyday and hand knitted itchy sweaters that looked tacky, but were still made of love.

“Good morning,” I replied merrily, “It’s nice to see you again.”

She gave a quick laugh, “If only the circumstances were a little different! Here to do your
volunteer work
?”
She gave me a wink.

“I thought I’d go ahead and get it over with,” I said with a sheepish grin. It was the truth—the sooner I finished, the sooner I could get
on my own personal Dove Project.

She nodded before leading me towards the back. I’m sure a lot of people would think working two hours a week in a dark and damp basement sorting papers and books was torture, but it was just the opposite—it was pretty relaxing.

I gave her a quick wa
ve before descending the steps, shutting the door behind me with a soft click.

The room was large, but it wasn’t dark. Far from it—there were basement windows up high (“up high” as in, you can’t even reach up to climb through it) that shone enough light to work with. But it was cold, so cold that I could see the puffs of air coming from my shivering lips and I wished I had grabbed a hot chocolate before I came.

I dropped my bag and struggled back into my jacket again, buttoning up to the collar. But the thin material wasn’t enough to protect me from the cold. The pile I had left last week was still sitting where I had left it so I trudged over, not so eager to get to work now. What if I froze to death organizing papers? I almost laughed at the thought. What could be worse: frozen to death in a library basement or end up killing myself from exerting a fake heart?

The first option made so much more sense, it was sad.

After half an hour of work (my fingers already felt numb!), that’s when I heard it.
A faint muffling sound from the other side of the room.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination (and I hate to admit I started daydreaming again—this work was simple but boring). The second time I thought it was just some l
oose papers ruffling from a draft
. T
he t
hird time I thought it was a rat scurrying around and almost bolted for the stairs.

And I should have—bolted for the stairs, I mean.

Especially when I heard somebody
breathing
on the opposite side of the room.

I got up slowly, scanning the other side. The lights from the windows were starting to dim, and I could see gray clouds overhead. Even the florescent light wasn’t giving me much, but
it would do. The shuffling and breathing continued slowly, like whoever was hiding didn’t want to be caught.

Probably just a kid who snuck in for…a nap, or something
, I tried reasoning,
and he’s scared that he’s
gonna
get caught, so he’s trying not to say anything—

My heart was fluttering fast in my chest, like a hummingbird. Damn. I was so sick of scaring myself all the time. Still eyeing the other side of the room, I unzipped my bag, wincing at how loud it was, and pulled out a book (and I wanted to scream at being the only kid on campus to not have a cell phone. I needed to give my dad a good talking to about that.). I gripped the book in my sweaty hands, and backed slowly up the stairs until I was halfway up.

Some more shuffling and a loud crash that sent my heart flying out of my chest followed suit. I almost tripped backwards but caught myself just in time to see someone lying face down on the floor, boxes of old records and files piling on top of him.

Shoot, shoot….what should I do?

“
Oh my God
!
Are you okay?” I called out, still holding the book like a weapon as I stepped towards whoever it was. There wasn’t enough light in the room to make out who he was, but he was panting and groaning in pain. So what if he almost gave me a heart attack? I couldn’t just leave him.

I stepped forward and shoved the boxes off of him. Papers scattered everywhere on the stone floor, leaving a huge mess that I was sure I’d have to clean up. “Hey, come on, are you okay? Don’t just lie there like—Eek!” I let out a startled shriek as one of his hands grabbed my ankle. His grip was hot and bone crushing hard as I lost my balance, flailing my arms like a windmill in an effort to stop the fall.

I crashed uncomfortably
onto a pile of boxes, the hard edges poking into my back as my own weight crumpled them. The boy’s grip loosened on my ankle and before I could think I kicked in his direction.
Hard.

There was terrible crunch and a wail of pain, but he finally let go. I sure wasn’t sticking around anymore! I lunged away, slipping and sliding on stray papers and reaching out to grab my bag. But it was so hard to concentrate with my vision blurred and my chest hurting with each breath.

“Wait!”

I froze, one foot on the first step. My palms started to sweat again, but I felt cold. Not because the room was so cold, but it was a cold
inside
me, like I had just swallowed a bucket of ice cubes and they were settling painfully in my stomach.

“Please….wait…”

Despite that horrible dread sinking in my gut, I turned around
to meet…
my somewhat murderer.

Dove’s brother—Leon.

CHAPTER 15

Leon slowly got to his feet
, clutching the
hem
of his black
hoodie
against his bloodied nose.
Good
, I thought bitterly,
He deserves it
. His head lifted unhurriedly, those oddly beautiful sea green eyes locked onto mine. I felt goose bumps prickle all over my body, even though I was wearing a thick green sweater and my only good pair of jeans.

He took a step forward and I flinched, backing up. “Not another step closer,” I threatening, feeling my voice quaver, “Or I’ll scream!”

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Leon said through his shirt. It sounded like “I’m nah
goen
to
hur
you” and it took me a few seconds to realize. But to his benefit, he didn’t move another step. “Please, just listen to me.”

“Why should I?” No way in hell was I going to listen to him. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.

And if Dove didn’t trust him, neither did I.

Leon’s eyes never bore away from mine, but he did reach into his back pocket. I almost screamed, thinking he was about to bring out a weapon when he tossed something my way. A flash of silver and red flew in the air before it clanged at my feet. I stared at the object in disbelief.

It was my bracelet!

“You don’t have to trust me,” he breathed, his voice sounding faint, “This is my white flag. I won’t hurt you. I won’t lay a hand on you ever again.”

Needless to say I was pretty shocked. I still remember how vivid his look was when he had stabbed me. His eyes were full of so much shock and pain; I thought it was just because he had killed the wrong target. But now here he was, bent at an awkward shape, blood dripping from his nose, looking…
guilty
.

I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if I could trust myself to speak, but Leon continued either way, “I know you’re looking for the Elixir. I have some clues that could help.”

I
bit the inside of my cheek to force myself to keep quiet
, tightening my grip on my bag. Just because he looked guilt ridden didn’t mean I should believe him. Not just yet.

There were muffled shouts an
d screaming coming from outside the library.
Heavy footsteps passed overhead. But nothing else was heard except our breathing and pulsing heartbeats.

Leon turned his head away, his ruffled brown hair hiding his eyes. But even from here, I could see how much pain was plastered on his face. I saw his hands, clenched in fist, trembling so hard; his knuckles were so white I saw a trickle of blood seep through his clenched palm.

He was serious.

“I know you can’t trust me,” he finally said, looking at me again, “But if you want to know where the Elixir might be, I can tell you. Meet me at the clock tower tomorrow. It doesn’t matter what time. Any time is fine. Just….”

“Why should I?” I blurted, instantly regretting it seeing the hurt in his eyes. But…so what?! He had killed me, because he was trying to kill his sister! W
hy should I feel sorry for him?
“Why should I meet you? Why should I trust you?”

And yet…

“You shouldn’t.
” he said matter-of-factly. Gee, what was it with siblings who had the same kind of annoying “you aren’t ready to hear it yet” kind of tone? He reached into his jacket and pulled out a rolled up parchment, tied together with some sort of twine, placing it on the nearest stack.

“This is compensation.
For her.”

“Wait! What do you mean—
”

Light instantly flooded the room, the door behind me cracked open as Mrs. Callaway peaked her head in, “Emery, dear? Are you alright?”

I mumbled some weird excuse, asking why she was here when my time wasn’t even up, praying she didn’t see Leon inside. How could I explain that I was alone in a room with a boy like this? Oh, I’m sure Mrs. Callaway would have understood but she’d still have to go to the dreadful Headmistresses about it. I had enough marks against her.

“Oh, dear, I know it’s a little early, but I just remembered the heaters are broken on the bottom levels. I was sure you would have frozen to death!” she chuckled, “It’s my fault for forgetting, so why don’t we just call it a day and get you something warm to drink?
It’ll be our little secret.
Just this once?
”

I nodded, realizing I wasn’t cold at all—I felt hot and sweaty and nervous, like I was just caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to do.

“Uh, just give me a minute to get my things and I’ll be up!”

“Of course, dear,” and with a final nod she closed the door just enough to where there was a thin slit
of light
. After I heard her footsteps fade, I whirled around, eager to finish with Leon.

But he was gone. A blast of cold wind came from
the
left side of
the room and I twirled around, just in time to see the farthest window slam shut; a shadow melting into the light.

He had disappeared like air, leaving me standing alone and confused in a library’s basement.

What on earth had just happened?

◊◊◊◊◊

“What were
you thinking
, being alone with
him
?!”

I winced from Dove’s outburst, telling her to tone it down before one of the neighbors heard her ranting. Although I didn’t think I’d need to worry too much
. It was a Saturday night. Most people
were
was
chilling in the lobbies watching movie marathons, or sneaking out to infamous parties at the boy’s dorms
.

Either way, everyone was stuck inside as
huge fat drops of rain splashed
against the windowpane,
falling so hard
it sounded like bullets pelting against the rooftop.

After meeting
Leon in the basement I couldn’t stop shaking. Even when buying two hot chocolates with hazelnut and a half dozen box of chocolate
glazed
donuts in the coffee shop, I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. And certainly not from the cold, but a weird feeling like I was being watched, even when I dashed back to my dorm room and locked myself in there until Dove came to get me for training.