envelope and a large folder inside. Scrawled on the top of the manila folder was HISTORY NOTES in a flowing cursive with a heart dotted on the eye.
I tore open the smaller envelope first, and found a letter inside.
Emery,
Thank you so much for letting me borrow your history notes from last semester—and I am so, so sorry that I forgot to give them back to you when I moved! I found them while I was going through my boxes. I can’t believe what an idiot I am!
Even though its waaaay late, I’m sending them back. But you’re totally smart so I’m sure you passed the finals with flying colors! <3
Have a super duper awesome summer!
Hugs and Kisses,
Samantha
I smiled at the cutesy note that smelled faintly of Samantha’s signature vanilla bean perfume. I could almost picture her taking great pains for such pretty cursive, putting a loopy signature and sealing the envelope with a kitten shaped sticker.
Putting her letter to the side, I pulled the large folder to me, and carefully pried it open.
And out came Guinevere’s book. It was wrapped up in clear plastic wrap and I had to send a mental thanks to Samantha for thinking
that far ahead. My curiosity was peaked when I saw something sticking out of the book and I cracked open the cover gently to see a folded up piece of paper wedged inside, like a lost bookmark.
It was another note from Samantha, completely different from her first letter.
I hope that this is what you wanted! I tried not to touch the book too much—wow, it looks so old!—but I wrapped it up in plastic just in case it got wet! I don’t know what kind of book this is (and yes, I totally checked inside. Sorry!) but I know it’s important to you. So important, yet you trusted me to help you.
That means more to me than you could think! After what happened with Mals, I wasn’t sure we could ever be good friends. But even so, you saved my life, and I owe you, just like I promised.
That being said, I’m really worried about you. I don’t know much about what’s going on in your life, but I want you to call me as SOON as you can so we can talk.
Please don’t think that I’m going to be all mad or accuse you of stuff! As a sign of good faith…I’m going to tell you something that I haven’t told anyone else.
I saw you use magic. In the tunnels? I was awake for some of that part. Not a lot—it’s all really, really fuzzy, but I remember some things.
At first, I thought I had dreamed it and totally forgot about it, until you
asked me for this favor.
Em, I’m not mad at you. I want to understand. I want to be your friend, someone you can rely on to help you! I know I’m not much of a good person, and we hardly know each other, but I you went into those tunnels because you thought something was wrong, didn’t you?
No matter what you say, you saved my life.
I’m not pushing for you to tell me—just…tell me whenever you want. I want to be friends, Em.
So whatever it is you’re going through, I wish you the best of luck! <3
-S
PS: I’m coming back to St. M’s in the fall. I’ll see you in September!
-S
CHAPTER 27
The next day passes in a blur. The news of Dove recovering has sent everyone into a bubble of happiness. Nobody seemed to think it was strange that Dove miraculously recovered the very night I came back home; except Julio—who, I think, had a suspicious feeling but didn’t put it into words. And Christopher, but he didn’t press at all when I handed him Guinevere’s journal, settling my half of the bargain.
“This isn’t yours to keep,” I told him firmly. “You can study it, you can decipher it, you can do whatever it is you think you need to do. But this book belongs to my friend, and when she wants it back, I want it back.”
Christopher smirked, tucking the book inside a suitcase with great care. “Strong words coming from a child like you, using other people’s possessions in your bargains.”
My face burned, but I kept quiet. I had already told Dove about the book and my deal with Christopher to free Rick. In my surprise, she seemed totally nonchalant about it, waving off my worries with a hand.
“I doubt they will be able to find anything useful,” she had said with a smile. “And once Guinevere comes back, they won’t have a choice
but to give it back. And besides, I think this is a good thing—her book will be safe with the Black Crown. They wouldn’t dare do anything to damage it.”
After Christopher left—reminding Oliver and I that our new training schedule would commence early the next morning (I was hoping they would forget about it), and once Dove felt stable enough, we all had a small party in the living room. It was mainly to celebrate Dove’s recovery.
And to welcome two new guests: Oliver and Rick.
True to his word, Christopher let Rick stay with Frankie Ann, making him her new assistant. However, because of the lingering distrust, his gloves had been stripped from him and burned up, and he wore special silver bands around his wrists. Chrys explained to me that those were some of the Black Crown’s newest creations, still in progress: devises made by alchemy to temporarily block someone’s alchemy up from the inside. It works more efficiently on Self Taught alchemist, but there were some kinks that still needed to be sorted out.
Just seeing those tight bands strapped to his wrist made me realize that even though Rick was “free”, he was still a prisoner. But when he finally got a chance to speak, his old snarky self seemed to come back to life. “I never thought I’d land an office job, but I’ll take what I can get. Better than cleaning up ditches.”
Dove was the only one hesitant to try to converse with Rick, but that may have been due to her weak state. And not to mention it was White who attacked Guinevere, and Rick who attacked us. But she had told me once, and had told me again: she trusted my judgment.
Frankie Ann seemed absolutely thrilled to house six growing kids in such a tiny place, and we all set to work to sort of rearrange some of the rooms for easier resting. Chrys moved in with Dove and I, and the two of us shared a sofa bed while Dove had the bed, even though she protested about it the entire way. I kept my foot down, saying she was still recovering and I wouldn’t budge an inch, jokingly claiming to strap her down to the bed if she kept it up. But she did make me promise that once she had healed one hundred percent we would all take turns rotating from the bed to the pull out sofa.
The boys moved into Frankie Ann’s room with a similar set up, and it made me curious how the stoic Ru would get along with the quiet, but heart throbbing Oliver (who certainly made Chrys’s heart swoon), and the hotheaded, sarcastic Rick who looked like he could punch through the wall if he wanted. I told Rick to be on his best behavior, and he claimed he would if I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He got a pinch instead.
Frankie Ann moved into Chrys’s old room, which was actually her office. The setup was perfect (if a little squished in), but with two
bathrooms to share with six other people, some mornings were a lot crankier than I could imagine. How did the Brady Bunch stay so sane?!
Every morning at eight-thirty on the spot, someone from the Black Crown would come to whisk Oliver and I away to begin our training. After some protesting, Chrys got to join in, too. And I think as punishment for tricking the Black Crown and running away, the first full week of our training was nothing but copying terms and definitions out of typical school books that had little to do with alchemy. It was sort of like summer school, so I treated it as such. Besides, I felt most comfortable in school than I did anywhere else.
Dove rested back at home and while Rick aided in whatever Frankie Ann needed, Ru took it upon himself to do most of the chores and shopping for her. People misjudge Ru because of his “emo” look, but just because he wore a lot of black and had hair that swept over his eyes and only said five words a week didn’t make him fit into some stupid stereotype. He was surprisingly caring. Like a mother. But if I
said that he’d shock me. Literally.
All the while, through “summer school”, some chores at Frankie Ann’s and even preparing for sleep, I kept trying to figure out what my next step was. Could I chance running away again in hopes of finding Leon? Where would I even s tart?
One night, while everyone had settled into much deserved sleep, I
sat out on the tiny back porch, cradling a cup of lukewarm tea in one hand, and clutching the pouch I had stitched together that was roped around my neck, that held the shards of the Elixir.
Nobody from the Black Crown realized what I had. And the few people who did know—Chrys and Dove, I suspected, and maybe Rick—
didn’t say a word about it. I only had five shards left—well, four, when I finally used one on myself to heal my fake heart—so that left four.
Four shards to change the fate of the world.
I needed to hide them and use them wisely. If I used them at all.
The screen door creaked open and I looked up to see Rick standing beside me, scratching the back of his neck as he let out a yawn.
“You okay?”
My grip on the pouch tightened. “Not really.” I said bluntly.
Without asking, though I didn’t mind, Rick settled himself on the porch swing next to me. It creaked noisily under his weight, and I found myself swaying back and forth as Rick used his long legs to swing us.
The night was eerily silent, and I suddenly felt awkward. Taking a long sip of my now cold tea, I turned to face him. “What are you going to do now?”
“Well since I’m under house arrest there’s not much to do,” he replied glumly. Even though he claimed to hate working here, he still found some respect in the loveable Frankie Ann. It was hard to hate her
—if you did, you had no soul. But seeing a Fire alchemist like Rick, ready to explode at any given minute, stuck inside of a little office sorting through papers didn’t really suit him at all.
“Well then…” I tried again. “When you get out of house arrest, what do you plan to do? Are you going to go find Ash?”
Rick scratched his chin, close to where the faint white scar was on his lips, and I blushed, slapping my brain at gazing at his lips, thinking how….nice they looked…and stuff.
“I will eventually,” Rick finally spoke up. “I’m not gonna give up, but if he wants to be found I’ll find him. But for now…” he leaned close, coffee tinted eyes with bits of silver flashing. “I’m sticking with you. You need some devilishly handsome man to sweep you off your feet and save your ass again.”
I shot him a playful look and punched him in the side. “Oh, like you’re the only handsome guy here? What about Ru? Or Oliver?”
“Those two?” Rick scoffed, though it was all playful. “I think they both have a certain someone on their minds. And did you just admit to calling me handsome?”
“Did I say handsome? I meant annoyance.”
Rick let out a chuckle and inched closer, brushing a stray lock of hair from my face. His fingers grazed my skin just so, sending sparks through my veins. My face flushed, and I told myself it was because he
was just a naturally warm person, and he was too close.
“I want to stay with you, Emery,” he murmured. “If you’ll let me.”
My heart did that stupid flutter-swoop thing, like when you’re riding a twisting, swirling roller coaster. The swing creaked in protest when Rick moved and that one noise spooked away the fog in my head, and I scooted back with probably too much force than I intended, almost spilling the drink on my lap. I couldn’t meet his eyes.
What the hell was I even thinking?
I couldn’t be attracted to Rick—of all people!
I…had Leon.
But it’s not like we’re dating… a stupid, shallow voice in my brain said. Dating or what, it didn’t matter! Leon trusted me to protect Dove, to save his life.
I only felt like this towards Rick because he was just damn hot and sexually attractive! And he’s saved my life numerous times…he’s gained my trust and betrayed his own “family” because of me.
So yes…I will admit (to myself), there is a part of me that likes Rick.
But no matter what my stupid heart was saying, I wasn’t going to let myself feel this way. I wouldn’t lead Rick on like this. He didn’t deserve it.
I stumbled for the words that just wouldn’t come out. “I’ve
already…I mean—there’s…”
“I know.”
I blinked. “What?”
Rick gave me an, “Are you stupid?” look and replied with a scoff.
“Newsflash: people talk, even guys. I know all about this Leon. So you don’t need to panic over nothing. I’m…not the best guy in the world but even I wouldn’t go after some guy’s girl. I may be an idiot—a hot, flirtatious idiot—but I won’t push you into anything uncomfortable like this again.”
“Rick…” I smiled, though my cheeks still burned like the sun.
“Thank you. Really. For everything. Not just this…for trusting me and for saving me, too. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Your damn right about that.”
We stayed like that for a long time, long enough to see the sky begin to turn pale pink, signaling a new day when the moon wavered for the sun.
“Do you know anything about soul possession?”
Rick gave me a curious glance, but clenched his jaw in thought.
“White’s mentioned it a few times, and I think I may have seen it in a book I read once. But that was a long time ago. I don’t even want to talk about White anymore. I want to forget everything that bastard’s ever done. But why ask? You think Wh—that man—mentioned something to
you?”
I shook my head. “Not him. I just…I’m just curious.”
“Sorry, but I can’t help you,” Rick replied, and he truly did sound sorry. “From what I remember reading, soul possession is one of those very rare skills that were forbidden to use by old alchemists. And really, no alchemist can do it except a Natural.”
“Natural?” I repeated. “What kind is that?”
“It’s said that the very firsts alchemists that ever existed didn’t need Runes to use alchemy,” Rick explained, “They could easily manipulate the four basic elements—maybe at that time that was all they thought they could do, but compared to the alchemists now its still pretty damn powerful. Over the centuries, the art of alchemy would die off, but it still lives inside of us, showing sometimes as Blood-Borne or a Self Taught. But there aren’t any Natural’s left in the world. They died out sometime during the Dark Ages…”
How come this never occurred to me before? “There is one other Natural left in the world.”
Rick blinked, cocking his head to the side like a puppy.
“Elaborate.”
I turned to him, almost knocking my cup off my lap, and gripped my pouch with a trembling fist. “Rick, how would somebody find a missing immortal alchemist?”
To Be Continued…
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thank you to my family for constantly pushing and encouragement me to get back to the computer and write when I felt like it was pointless. Thanks to my amazing friends Rebekah and Brittany for just being there, and thanks to YOU, the reader, for coming to the end of this novel. It means more than words could ever say!
LUMI!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“The Fake Voice”, the third in a four book series, is Allice Revelle’s third work. The fourth title, “The Fake Mind” will be released soon!
If you enjoyed this book, the author would love to hear your honest thoughts and reviews. She is also open to constructive criticism.
To leave a comment, please visit her tumblr at: http://arevelle-books.tumblr.com/
Document Outline
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4<
br />
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Table of Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Fake Voice (Time Alchemist) Page 16