Ethan Wright and the Alchemist's Order, (Book 2)

by Kimbro West

  “Yeah,” answered Ethan. “I think so.”

  “Boys,” interrupted Odin, “let’s go inside.”

  The three of them walked up the rickety staircase that led to the door of the hut. A chubby black and white cat followed them up. It was Wegnel’s cat, Ivy. She rubbed against Ethan’s leg as he waited for Odin to get the door open. As they entered, Ethan fixed his eyes on the familiar chair sitting in the middle of the room. He walked over to the chair and ran his hand across the back. The roughness of the wood scraped over his fingertips as he traced the aged border that glowed when a person was traveling through the chair. Ethan then noticed that Dimon was on the table next to him, and not in the silk bag. The eyes of the mighty Oroborus were open, and its tail was free from enveloping jaws. The creature appeared as if it were ready to speak, for it looked more alert than Ethan had ever seen. The young alchemist inferred that Dimon must know what had happened to MacArthur in Tirguard. He thought the creature could be paying his respects, or maybe he was simply looking for a new alchemist to bind with.

  “Ethan, sit down in the chair, we have to get you two going as quickly as we can,” ordered Odin.

  “Going where?” asked Auren promptly.

  Odin saw that the coffee table had been broken to pieces, so he placed his basket on the floor next to an end table. He quickly cleared off the end table, laid down a towel and pulled Ethan’s alpha cat from the satchel basket. Loki was mostly limp, compelling Ethan to rush to his pet’s aid. The cat’s mouth hung open and his eyes were shut. Loki’s breathing was erratic and occasionally he gasped for a breath.

  “What’s going on, Odin? What’s wrong with Loki?!”

  “This is going to be rather difficult to explain, Ethan,” answered Odin coolly. “Almost four years ago, I was hired to be your caretaker. It was shortly after your father had disappeared. The man that hired me told me he had been watching out for your well-being since you were born. He kept an eye out for things using a very strange practice — just as Wegnel bound himself to the Oroborus, this man bound himself to the Wright family cat, to Loki. In fact, the man who hired me isn’t a man at all — he’s a Mitan, and I think that Mitan may be in trouble.”

  “Loka?” asked Ethan softly.

  “Yes.”

  “Loka and Loki? Did my father name the cat?”

  “Yes, and because he—”

  “He had such a bad memory — he named the cat Loki so he wouldn’t forget the connection between the two,” interrupted Ethan.

  Odin ran his fingers through his beard and gave a calming smile. “Exactly,” he replied. “Your father had a terrible memory. He also had an obsessive disposition when it came to his profession as a mapmaker. I never understood how he could create such good maps, having not remembered where he was.”

  Auren’s face contorted for a moment. “Oh, no,” he exclaimed. “Loka saw us put those toads in Margret Tanbe’s house!”

  “No, no, Auren, it was more like if Loki sensed danger then Loka would feel that threat as well,” the old caretaker corrected as he looked over the feline.

  Ethan comforted his cat but could perceive he was not well. Ivy jumped up on the end table, sniffed Loki and started cleaning the alpha cat.

  “So what’s wrong with him then?”

  “As far as I can tell, nothing. My suspicion leads me to believe that just as Wegnel suffers from MacArthur getting attacked — well, I fear something has happened to Loka Tattur as well. It may be that General Xivon is making his move — could be trying to eliminate your allies.” Odin thought for a moment. He started muttering to himself, as if contemplating his next move in a chess match. Odin approached the Oroborus slowly and spoke very politely to the creature. “Can you, Dimon — can you send us to Tirguard?”

  Dimon shook his head as if to say he could not send them. It seemed with Wegnel’s passing it would now be impossible. Only a highly skilled alchemist that bonded with the Oroborus could provide travel between the two worlds.

  “So … he can’t send us?” griped Auren, irritated.

  “Can’t or won’t, Auren. This is indeed a problem,” said Odin as he paced back and forth between the chest that regularly housed the Oroborus and the chair that acted as a gateway for their travels.

  “Odin, what are we going to do? There can’t be another alchemist around here for miles,” stated Ethan. “How do we get back?”

  But his question went unanswered. Instead Odin lit up one of Wegnel’s pipes and began to smoke as he paced back and forth. He began muttering again. He was now walking from one end of the hut to the other. He would walk to the shelves with the broken contraptions on them, stop, shake his head, mumble something, and turn around and walk to the other side of the hut by the door. This went on for a bit, while the boys remained quiet. Auren took a seat in the comfy chair and proceeded to doze off.

  Suddenly, Odin lit up with an idea. He approached the Oroborus and stared into its ageless black eyes. “Dimon, may I … bind with you, until we find a new alchemist?” asked Odin, as humbly as he could.

  “Odin no, only a trained alchemist….” said Ethan in distress. But again his protest went unanswered.

  Dimon was still looking at Odin. His request to bind with the creature must have worked, because the Oroborus nodded its scaly head. Odin bowed slightly and spoke as calmly as ever. “Thank you, my friend.”

  He turned to the boys. “Only for a short time, Ethan — you heard Wegnel, you must make your way to King’s Point. There you will find another alchemist to take my place,” said Odin calmly. “Once I am relieved, I will go investigate what has happened to Loka Tattur. Ethan, this is very important — I do not know what repercussions there may be to an untrained person binding with an Oroborus. It is very possible that you will no longer recognize the way I act. But whatever happens, you must convince me to send you quickly. Do you understand?”

  Ethan nodded.

  “You too, Auren — it may take both of you to convince me.” Odin stared at the Faryndon boy intently, until he received a nod from him as well. “Use whatever resources you can obtain — do whatever’s necessary to get that alchemist back here — I will not be able to hold out for long. And remember … the alchemist you will be searching for is a woman living in King’s Point … got it?”

  “Got it,” replied Ethan and Auren in unison.

  “Good, now if you would please move from the chair, I will try and start the binding. Good luck, you two.”

  Ethan went and stood next to Auren, still in the comfy chair but now wide awake. Odin sat on the magical chair and leaned toward Dimon. Ethan was very interested to know how the binding would work, but then realized that Odin probably did not know himself. Odin pulled back his robe and held out his crippled hand to Dimon. Ethan had never seen his caretaker’s hand this close before. It looked weathered and disease-ridden, with black veins that ran from his forearm and into the sickly-looking appendage. Odin painfully outstretched his stiff fingers and held his palm out to Dimon.

  “I bind with you, creature; born of the first, master of the seven, and servant to none.” As Odin spoke, Dimon examined the withered hand. The creature waited for Odin to finish speaking before biting into the extended palm. The bottom fangs sank deep into their target, Odin’s wrist, and the top fangs perforated the flesh of his palm.

  Ethan and Auren suddenly felt woozy. Auren sank into the cushions of the comfy chair and attempted to retain the pumpkin spice cake he had inhaled earlier. Ethan grabbed the side of Auren’s chair as the room started to spin. The Oroborus had not bitten either one of the boys, yet they both felt as if their feet no longer made contact with the floor. Flashes of light, originating from the chair, came and went. For a brief moment, Ethan thought he was seeing an amalgamation of both huts at the same time. He felt as if he was somehow being wrenched in half — or was in both huts simultaneously. He focused on the floor to try and keep things still, but as he did he found himself looking up at the ceiling. The entire ordeal was a
shock to his body. He strained to view Odin through the chaos, but lost him in the bedlam of madness inside the alchemist’s hut. His eyesight faded and his hearing drifted away.

  Chapter 3

  The Two Sides of Odin

  Everything was still in the old hut of Wegnel the alchemist. Ethan’s vision and hearing started to return to him; he was waking up. A sick smell of cream and fig filled Ethan’s nose as he pushed himself off the floor. The young alchemist snapped to his senses, and just as quickly as the dizzy feeling had started up, it was gone.

  “I found the bucket,” moaned Auren, looking paler than ever. “I think we should wait outside the hut next time someone decides to bind with Dimon,” he added with a weak chuckle.

  “Agreed,” replied Ethan, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the magic chair and realized it was empty. He stood up with a groan and glanced at Auren, who was still rooted in the comfy chair with the cream- and fig-filled bucket on his lap. “So you felt that too?” asked Ethan.

  “If you mean the spinning, and the up … and down … and up … and down,” replied Auren sarcastically. He suddenly stopped his rant, feeling it would only make him sick again. “Yeah — I felt it.” He saw Ethan looking at the magic chair. “I thought he wasn’t supposed to go anywhere.”

  “He didn’t,” said Ethan, pointing under the end table that Loki was resting on.

  There was Odin, hunkering under the table, holding his crippled hand with his hood pulled over his head. His bottom stuck out from the confines of the small refuge as he unconsciously rocked back and forth. Ethan could hear whimpering coming from the old man as he breathed erratically.

  Ethan walked to the table and knelt down. “Odin?” he said, concerned. “Odin, are you okay?”

  “Ethan!” Odin exclaimed. “No … I, uh …” Odin’s breathing grew deeper, causing a small amount of spittle to run down his chin. He was in an obvious state of panic as beads of sweat streaked down his face.

  “Ethan, you don’t understand … I didn’t mean for this. No! Where are they? They are coming for us; we have to get out of here!” Odin was cautiously crawling out from under the table.

  The old man appeared to be Odin, but something was not quite right. He had a befuddled look, as if something was missing from inside his head. Ethan thought his caretaker might lose it at any moment, and the fact was, Odin was doing everything in his power to hold himself together.

  “Calm down, Odin, you have to send us to Tirguard! You bonded with Dimon and you told me this would happen — you told me you would act out. Please, get yourself together and send us, right away … right now!” It felt odd giving orders to his caretaker — Odin had been the one in charge since Ethan’s father disappeared.

  “No, too dangerous — too dangerous, that place. Ethan, I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this — voices, Ethan … whispers … inside my head and an evil that’s after me! It’s after us….” Odin rambled on and Ethan turned to address Auren, who was now standing up.

  “Now I know why Wegnel was so nuts,” said Auren smartly.

  “Come on now, we have to figure out how to get him to send us,” replied Ethan frantically.

  “Just tell him the truth. He can’t leave here until we get him a replacement — remember when MacArthur got separated from the Oroborus last year? He nearly lost his mind,” said Auren.

  “Did you hear that, Odin? We’re all stuck here until we get you a replacement.”

  Odin stood up tall and removed his hood. “I can’t stay here.” His hands were shaking and he looked terrified. “They will get me like they got Wegnel, you know they will, Ethan … you know he will come for me — Xivon doesn’t want us using this Oroborus,” he whispered frantically.

  “Then send us and we’ll get you a replacement,” offered Ethan insistently. “Send us, Odin.”

  Odin paused and walked toward the magic chair, then turned to look at the boys. “Have it your way,” he said softly. “Don’t leave me here too long — you hear me? I need to get out of here … so don’t forget about me, do you understand?” beseeched Odin as he looked Ethan in the eyes. He did not suspend his stare until Ethan nodded. It seemed to satisfy Odin’s desperate urge to leave.

  Odin peered at the scaly creature that lay on the table. It frightened him terribly, but the thought of staying in the hut any longer than necessary terrified him even more. Ethan took a seat in the magic chair with the old-looking border around it. Odin reached out to pick up the Oroborus. He did not quite know how to pick it up and hesitated several times before finally coercing himself to close his eyes and just grab Dimon. His hands trembled as he quickly brought the tail-devourer near Ethan. The Oroborus sank its fangs into flesh, and soon Ethan was in darkness.

  ***

  “Hold, you brigand!” Ethan heard a loud bellowing voice as he regained consciousness from his trip through the stars.

  Ethan opened weary eyes to see a sword tip at his throat. He followed the blade up past the handle, until he saw its master. It was Odin, the other Odin. This version of him had a fierce and bold demeanor, and he looked quite serious. His lip curled as he flared his nostrils. His eyebrows drew down in a scowl of mad delight, showing distrust to the boy that had appeared in the magical chair.

  “Thought you could slip past the mighty Odin, did you?” he said in a deep, commanding voice. “Thought you could just magically appear and I wouldn’t notice you? Ha, but I do have you now … don’t I? I scoff at your foolish attempt to usurp me!” he added with much conviction.

  “Odin, it’s me,” said Ethan nervously. “It’s Ethan!” He squirmed in the chair as he leaned back, attempting to create distance between the sword tip and his neck.

  Odin squinted his eyes and leaned forward a bit. He studied Ethan’s face carefully, looking for a reason to doubt the boy’s claim. “That’s what you would have me believe — how do I know it’s really you?”

  “You’ve been my caretaker for three years!” argued Ethan.

  “Prove it,” challenged Odin.

  “Prove what? That you’re my caretaker … or that I’m Ethan Wright?” asked Ethan, confused.

  “You’ll do both if you know what’s good for you!” answered Odin fervently, dramatizing the sword tip at Ethan’s neck.

  Ethan’s eyes grew wide as he realized how serious Odin really was. He spouted off words as fast as they came to him. “Loka Tattur hired you to be my caretaker shortly after my father Thomas Wright went to chart new areas as a mapmaker and never returned home — shortly after a youth sword competition my brother Isaac went missing. Later on I found out about the Curse of Silence and how it ended and I was punished by you to go help Wegnel collect poison spikes from a legendary creature and traveled through the Oroborus where I was hunted by a Stonewolf and eventually fought against the most dangerous Mitan in Alfhemir which later on I discovered was only a trap and he still threatens to destroy me and my friends in a great Game created by the two conflicting Oroborus’!” Ethan gasped for breath, his chest heaving. Sweat rolled down his forehead as he anticipated a response from the violent version of Odin.

  “Oh! So it is you, Ethan — can never be too careful these days,” he said plainly. “You can call me Odin the Mighty!” he announced in a deep and commanding voice. The caretaker lowered his sword and Ethan was just about to get up, when Odin lifted the blade back to the neck of his quarry and cocked his head. He shot Ethan another untrustworthy look, as if second-guessing his identity.

  Ethan thought about it for a moment and blurted out, “I was there when you and Ghislain laughed about the Lake Hunter story … over at Ghislain’s house. Auren got bored and—”

  “Ahh, yes,” Odin put his sword away. “Those were the days, fighting the Lake Hunter — lucky for him, we had other engagements. Another hour or so and I would have finished him off,” he said with a smile on his face.

  Ethan thought all was calm now, but it seemed Odin could not keep his hands off his sword. He drew it back out and start
ed swinging it around. He lunged forward with much skill, continuing the threats to the Lake Hunter that he and Ghislain had encountered previously.

  “Ha, take that, you vile beast. You’re no match for me!” yelled Odin with authority. “Go back to Hel; and tell your master about me!” he added while giving his sword a final swing forward. Odin’s aim was slightly off this time and he cut the corner of MacArthur’s table off. Not only that, but his blade had stuck into the floor of the hut — quite deeply.

  “Odin, I didn’t know you carried a sword around,” snickered Ethan while watching the spectacle.

  The old man was pulling and pulling on the handle with little success at removing the blade. He then started a wiggling motion. “No, you could not tell by looking at me, but I’m … a master swordsman.” He started sweating while wrenching harder on the grip. “Creatures all over the … land, fear me,” he added while struggling to remove the sword. Odin dug his feet into the floor, now leaning back while pulling. “Heh, seems to be … stuck … rather good,” he grunted.

  The sword remained embedded in the floor. Holding his aching back, Odin gave up and had a seat in the comfy chair.

  “So what is the plan?” asked Odin quite plainly.

  “Well, Auren and I are going to go to King’s Point and find the new alchemist that can come and take your place,” said Ethan, moving to stand by the freshly cut table.

  “I will join you — dangerous road to King’s Point. I can’t wait ‘til someone tries to interfere. I’ll—”

  “No,” interrupted Ethan. “You have to stay here … you have to look after Dimon, it’s your job while bonded with the Oroborus.”

  “No! What do you mean? I’m the prize stallion — the greatest weapon of all time. What kind of fool would leave me behind when going into battle?” bellowed Odin.

  Just then a blinding flash came from the border of the magic chair and Auren appeared. The pale-faced Auren opened his eyes, stood up, and darted outside with his hand over his mouth.