by Morgan Rice
“Oh no!” Ralph yelled. “Here we go again!”
He felt his feet come slowly up off the ground.
Terrified, Oliver grasped out for something to hold on to. He managed to grab hold of a roof ledge overhanging the streets. Esther and Ralph did the same.
They hung there, feet pointed to the sky. It was the most peculiar, discombobulating feeling ever. It wasn’t just that the directional pull of gravity seemed to be switching directions, but its strength was fluctuating too. One second Oliver felt weightless, like when sitting in a car cresting a hill. The next second his body felt heavy, like during a sudden deceleration. It felt like being on a rollercoaster only the tracks didn’t exist!
A man who’d been unable to grab anything to hold himself down floated past them with his hands in prayer position.
“Please Lord,” he cried. “We’ve endured your plague. Then your burning fires. Please, Lord, we cannot take any more of your punishment. The people of London repent our sins!”
Oliver felt the strain in his muscles as the gravitational pull on his body became even stronger.
“I can’t hold on much longer,” he cried to his friends.
Then, suddenly, everything switched again. People yelled with terror as they fell down to the street. Ralph, Esther, and Oliver flipped back the other way, their feet now facing downward. They were stuck dangling two stories off the ground.
“We’ll break our legs if we let go,” Ralph exclaimed.
Just then, two bales of hay came flying past them. They must have floated off into the sky when gravity reversed. They smashed into the ground and the straw spread out like a blanket.
“Excellent!” Esther cried.
She let go of the ledge and plopped into the hay bale.
Then she popped back up and called to the boys. “Come on! It’s safe!”
Oliver and Ralph exchanged a glance. At the same time, they let go of the ledge. They fell and landed heavily into the hay next to Esther. They popped back up, unscathed.
“Let’s get to Newton’s before gravity flips again,” Oliver said.
Ralph nodded. He looked a bit green. “I don’t think I can take another one of those.”
They hauled themselves to their feet and ran, their pace even faster than before, now running full pelt along the cobblestone road.
When Newton’s house came into view, Oliver could see that the door was blasted off its hinges. There was a huge hole in the thatched roof, through which the black vortex was coming.
“Everyone be careful,” Oliver yelled over the roar of another rumble from the earth.
They approached cautiously. Panes of glass were falling from the top floors of Newton’s home, smashing to the ground. Ralph had to leap out of the way to avoid falling debris.
As they drew closer, Oliver saw the splintered door. He quickly deduced that someone had kicked it in to gain entrance.
Then he noticed that the large, gold door knocker had disappeared. For a brief moment, he wondered if someone had stolen it. Then he saw the golden drips running down the wood and the pool of congealing liquid gold on the doorstep.
“Something melted the door knocker,” Oliver said, his voice a mixture of curiosity and fear.
Esther shook her head. “Not something. Someone.”
“Obsidians,” Ralph added, finishing off her thought.
Oliver swallowed his nerves, recalling what he’d seen Chris do in the pub with the glass, his demonstration of his power to melt things. It was the only explanation. Chris was here.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE
Knowing how his brother’s mind worked, Oliver realized that Chris must have come here to harm Newton just in order to lure Oliver to this place. Fury made his cheeks burn.
The ground was still shaking violently as they stepped cautiously through the doorway and into the house. The whole place was in disarray. Newton’s butler lay slumped against the wall.
Esther gasped and ran to him, crouching down to feel for a pulse in his neck. Then she sighed with relief.
“He’s alive,” she said, coming back to the boys. “Just unconscious.”
As the corridors shook around them, Oliver picked out the sound of noises coming from the parlor. Unlike the last time they’d been here, these were not the sounds of merriment or joy, but panic. Terror. Fear. Oliver felt his stomach churn in response.
Gravity switched again, the change more sudden than before. Rather than floating, the three friends were slammed into the ceiling.
“Agh!” Ralph cried, as his head smacked right into it.
Oliver landed painfully on his shoulder. Esther hit the ceiling with her back. Glass from the chandelier smashed as it hit the ceiling with force, spraying sharp little shards in all directions.
Rubbing his bruised shoulder, Oliver stood. His feet were now on the ceiling. Up had become down. His whole body ached from being slammed into the ground so many times. But he had to keep going.
“This is so confusing!” Ralph yelled as he stood too, his feet on the ceiling, his head pointing to the ground.
Esther joined them in standing. “It’s giving me a whole new appreciation for gravity.”
The three friends staggered along the ceiling through the corridor toward the parlor. Oliver noticed how the artwork was all damaged. It clearly wasn’t damage caused by the flip-flopping gravity; it looked like they’d been melted with paint thinner. Oliver realized that it must have been done by Chris. He was the one who could melt things. His brother had defaced priceless historical artwork just for the fun of it. He ground his teeth with fury.
They reached the upside-down parlor door and—finding it open—burst straight inside. The scene that awaited them made Oliver’s fury reach boiling point.
In a heap on the ceiling were all of Newton’s distinguished friends; the greatest mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers of the age. They were bound with vines and looking petrified. Around them the Obsidian students were running rampant, using their powers to make all the teapots and vases fly through the air, smashing them against the walls, laughing hysterically when Newton’s friends screamed with fear.
When the unruly schoolkids saw the three Amethyst seers standing in the doorway, their crazed expressions turned even more evil. It was only then that Oliver realized Chris was not with them. And neither was Newton.
Esther must have realized it at the same time, because she turned to Oliver and said, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
She cast out her shield, trapping the Obsidians within it. Some slammed their fists against the invisible barrier, while others tried to melt through the shield with heat rays.
Ralph quickly ran into the room to untie Newton’s friends. As he fiddled with the knots of the vines, he looked up at Oliver. “Try the lab!”
Oliver backed out of the room, then turned and ran for the lab Newton had shown him earlier that day. The door was shut. Coming from the gap at the bottom was flashing light.
Just as Oliver reached the door there came another sudden shake. Gravity switched again and Oliver fell onto the hard wooden floor. Pain raced through his whole body.
He grabbed the door handle to pull himself up. Once standing, he barged the door open with his shoulder and staggered inside.
Immediately, wind began to batter him. The swirling vortex he’d seen over the house was coming from this room. It was bursting through a hole in the ceiling that went right down into Newton’s head. The scientist was floating above the table, struggling against invisible chains that seemed to be binding him in place. The vortex was coming right out of him. Out from his brain.
The scene made Oliver gasp in shock.
Standing around the table were two Obsidian students—the black-haired boy Chris has argued with in the pub, and a ginger-haired girl. They were both in a trance-like state, casting out their powers to make Newton float and bind him with invisible chains. Neither noticed Oliver sneak into the laboratory.
Then Oliver saw Chris
standing beside them. And to his disbelief, it was Chris who seemed to be powering the whole thing, making the black vortex come out of Newton’s head. He was completely engrossed in whatever evil activity he was engaged in. Whatever powers Chris had, it was much more than just the ability to melt things.
“What are you doing?” Oliver screamed at his brother.
Chris’s face snapped toward him, suddenly noticing his intrusion. His eyes glittered with malice as he realized it was Oliver standing there. Oliver could see the swirling black vortex reflected in his pupils.
“I thought this would get your attention,” Chris sneered.
“Stop!” Oliver cried. “Whatever you’re doing, you must stop now! It’s me you want to hurt, not Newton! Can’t you see the damage you’re doing?”
Chris just laughed. “Yes. I can. And it’s amazing!”
“You’re upsetting the laws of space-time. Reversing gravity.”
Oliver shook his head, completely appalled with what he was seeing. What Chris was doing was impossible. It wasn’t something a seer could do.
It occurred to Oliver then that Chris’s powers may not be seer powers at all. As Esther had pointed out, the universe gifted powers to seers. They couldn’t just be taken. Chris was something else entirely. Something that seemed incredibly powerful.
“You need to stop!” Oliver screamed.
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
Chris just smiled. “Try and stop me.”
Oliver knew there was no reasoning with Chris. That wasn’t why he’d lured him here anyway. Chris wanted to fight. He could only be stopped by force. And that left Oliver only one option. He’d have to fight.
They’d sparred so many times in the past and Oliver had always come off worse. His brother was physically bigger and stronger than him. It was only ever Oliver’s fledgling seer powers that balanced the weighing scales. But now Chris had powers too. Evil powers by the looks of things.
Just then, he heard footsteps. Ralph barreled into the room.
“The men are free,” he said hurriedly. “And Esther’s holding back the Obsidians.”
Then he realized the scene before him and his eyes widened.
“Get those two,” Oliver said, nodding to the boy and girl. “I need to stop Chris myself.”
Ralph hurried for the boy and girl, blasting out his powers as he went. Oliver focused all his energy toward Chris as he tapped into his seer powers.
Oliver suddenly remembered the light prism on the table that Newton had shown them earlier. He’d also seen it in the vision well.
Quickly, he pushed out with his powers, forcing lights to burst through the windows and into the various glass prisms around the room. Multicolored rays were projected all over the place. Oliver used his powers to angle the lights, burning them into Chris’s eyes.
Chris growled like an animal. He turned to Oliver, losing his focus on Newton, and began to thunder toward him. But Oliver dashed out of his way. He’d always been quicker than his lumbering oaf of a brother. It was the only ace he had up his sleeve.
As he ran he blasted his powers out behind him, turning the ground to the consistency of Jell-O. Chris’s next lumbering foot went right into it. It stopped him in his tracks. He staggered, trying to wade toward Oliver but struggling to even take a step.
“You’re DEAD!” he screamed.
Meanwhile, Ralph managed to bind the two Obsidians together with a tangle of vines. They were completely incapacitated.
Just then, Oliver caught sight of a silver serving dish lying on the floor. He used his powers to make it fly toward him. It caught the light of the rainbows as it flew into his hands.
He turned back. Chris was barreling toward him, freed from the Jell-O. His eyes had turned completely black. Steam was coming from his hands, which were covered in a lurid black goo. He was a millisecond away from grabbing Oliver by the throat and throttling him with his toxic powers.
Quickly, Oliver brought the silver dish crashing down on his head.
Chris’s eyes immediately returned to normal. Then he slumped to the floor. He was out cold.
The shaking around Oliver immediately ceased. With a swooshing noise, the black vortex coming from Newton’s head disappeared.
Newton suddenly fell from his invisible chains and landed with a thud on the table. He took a huge gasp of air, coming back to consciousness.
Dazed by the experience, Oliver stood there panting, looking at the scene of complete destruction around him. Then he dropped the silver dish and ran to Newton.
“Are you okay?” Oliver asked, as he helped him down from the table and to his feet.
Newton looked like he was in shock. He glanced from the hole in the roof to the rays of rainbow light bursting through the room, then finally to the tied up Obsidians and Chris lying on the floor.
He rubbed his head. “What happened? Last thing I remember was you telling me I was going to be knighted.” He tapped his head. “Then I came home and found that all my friends were tied up!”
“He did something to you,” Oliver said, gesturing to his brother. “Somehow he tapped into your mind and reversed gravity.”
Newton’s expression turned to rage. “He went into my mind?” He looked furious. “In that case…” He stood and thundered over to a closet. He pulled it open and heaved out a strange wood and metal contraption. “…I’ll go into his!”
He went over to where Chris was lying passed out on the floor and plonked the helmet on him. Then he grabbed some of his alchemy materials—vials of strange, multicolored, shimmery goo—and tipped them into a spout at the top. The he took a vial from his pocket. The black liquid was immediately recognizable as coming from the blade of the melted Obsidian knife.
“What is that?” Oliver stammered.
“My elixir of confusion,” Newton said with a grin. “I suspect that just like my last alchemy potion, this is the key ingredient I’ve been missing all along.”
Just then, Esther ran in. She took a quick look around the room before grinning at the sight of Newton safe, Chris sprawled on the floor, and the other two Obsidians bound and gagged.
“Are my friends okay?” Newton asked her.
She nodded. “They’re fine. I’ve tied up the Obsidians but I don’t know how long my bindings will last. Some of them are pretty good with their powers. I’m sure they’ll break through soon enough.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Newton said. “Just a bit of my confusion elixir will render them gibbering wrecks.”
Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Wait! Why are you three still here? I thought you were off to find the portal that will get you back home.”
“We had to rescue you,” Oliver said. “When we realized the laws of gravity were being messed with we knew it must mean you were in danger.”
“I’m okay now,” Newton replied as he looked at the three children incapacitated in his lab. He held up his vial and jiggled it. “I have just the thing to deal with these scallywags.”
Oliver felt torn. Leaving Newton with a gaping hole in his roof and a house full of evil seers didn’t seem like a good idea. But if he didn’t find the portal and get the Orb of Kandra home soon, everything may implode anyway.
Newton turned back. “Hurry, now! Go! I’ve got everything covered here. Thanks to you showing me that obsidian was the secret ingredient, my alchemy potions will work. The Alchemists Guild won’t kick me out.”
He seemed quite chipper.
“Come on…” Ralph urged Oliver. “Please, let’s go and find that portal!”
Oliver finally made up his mind. They’d neutralized the threat here. Newton didn’t need him anymore. He had to carry on with the mission.
He turned to leave the lab.
“Wait, Oliver, before you leave,” Newton said. “Take this.”
He pressed something into Oliver’s hand. When Oliver looked down he saw it was a small glass tincture. Inside was a golden liquid. One of his alchemy alloys. Not the obsidian liquid but something
else entirely.
“What is it?” Oliver asked.
“Advanced vision. I believe you will soon need it.”
Oliver clutched the vial protectively in his hand. Then he gave Newton a final parting glance, and ran with Esther and Ralph with all he had.
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
As they hurried through the corridors of Newton’s house, Oliver had to tell himself over and over that the scientist was safe now. That Chris would get his just deserts. But another part of him knew that wasn’t the last he’d see of Chris. Newton wouldn’t be able to hold the Obsidians indefinitely, and the moment they got free, they’d be after him. All those shenanigans with Newton had just been to draw Oliver to this place and divert him from his mission, after all. He was the one they really wanted. They’d let him slip from his fingers once before. Now a second time. What were the chances they’d fail a third time if they got the chance?
Better not give them the chance then, Oliver thought.
They ran back out into the damaged streets of London. Soon they reached the area that had not yet been rebuilt after the Great Fire. The blackened shells of houses stood ominously about the place. They were now even more damaged thanks to the flip-flopping of gravity. The place looked completely ravaged.
Esther pulled out the spyglass, searching the ruins for any sign of the portal. She muttered with frustration.
She turned sharply to face Ralph and Oliver. “This is useless!”
But no sooner had she spoken than she gasped.
“What?” Oliver asked, looking over his shoulder at the river, suddenly panicked that the Obsidians had already escaped and found them.
“The portal…” Esther murmured, her attention focused on the glass, her voice filled with wonder. “I see it! It’s there! On the south of the Thames!”
“The portal?” Ralph exclaimed.
Hope leapt into Oliver’s heart.
But then Esther’s expression fell. “Oh. Actually…”