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

by Kimbro West

  “Are we concluded then?” asked the alchemist with the gold medallion.

  “Yes … alchemist. We are finished. I would, however, like to keep Seafarer; he has been most useful. Consider him a gift to me.” Xivon focused his cold grey eyes on the human contingent, giving them a demanding look.

  The man with the gold medallion nodded. “Of course,” he replied. He and two others, having concluded their business, briskly left the room before any further demands could be made.

  “What kind of distraction, my Lord?” asked Ciprian humbly.

  “For once, Ciprian, you have asked an intelligent question.” Xivon clasped his fingers together and took a moment for himself. “I have been made aware of the sudden … appearance … of the Mortuus Manus bracelet.”

  This captured everyone’s attention, including Hitomi, whose irritation quickly evaporated with the news. “The bracelet is in Tirguard?” asked the assassin.

  Xivon gazed around the table to observe everyone’s reaction to the news. “Yes … the device had been hiding in an old Aeroseth library in Tirguard — recently unearthed by the current Castellan. The fool doesn’t even know what he has.” Xivon’s pleasure at releasing the news was suddenly overtaken by a great seriousness. “I want it made perfectly clear — there is nothing more important than getting that bracelet in my hands. If it requires killing our partnership with…,” he laughed, “or just killing the Alchemist Order altogether, then so be it — any problem with that, Seafarer?”

  The hooded alchemist shook his head gracefully, indicating he had no issues.

  “And if we should happen to run into Ethan Wright while in Tirguard?” asked Hitomi.

  Xivon reached inside his cloak, pulled out a metallic arrow and set it on the table. “This,” replied the General.

  “A torture arrow? Am I correct to presume … you do not wish us to kill him?” asked Hitomi, leaving the arrow where Xivon had placed it.

  “You cannot interfere with the will of the Oroborus — the boy’s death will be on my hands. However … the one to sink this arrow in the boy’s alchemy hand will be rewarded … greatly.”

  “To destroy the alchemy symbol…,” stated Ciprian, referring to the symbol most alchemists bear on their palm.

  “…is to destroy the alchemist,” replied Xivon, “leaving him … well … ordinary.”

  “I will do this task for you, my Lord,” groveled Ciprian. He took the opportunity to snatch the arrow off the table, but his hand was immediately pinned down by Hitomi’s extraordinary reflexes.

  “You, Ciprian … will be staying here — Hitomi will carry the arrow with him,” announced Xivon.

  Hitomi picked up the arrow and stood to take his leave.

  “One arrow?” said Ciprian under his breath, in disbelief of what was being asked.

  “I only require one,” stated Hitomi.

  “But … that’s an impossible shot!”

  Hitomi shoved the arrow inside his jacket and walked out of the room, with no acknowledgement of Ciprian’s comment.

  Xivon stood up to take his leave. “I am disappointed, Ciprian … you have indeed lost your touch — but calm yourself … I will find a use for you yet.”

  Chapter 6

  The Sad Lady

  Ethan angrily marched down the street, intending to get some answers from Keavy on Edison’s surprise confession. He withheld his questions from the new alchemy professor while Marcus was present, as he was accompanying the alchemists to the academy.

  The moonlight shone on the streets as the four figures walked silently in the dark. They approached the overhang of the academy. Keavy pushed his way through the stone wall, followed by Ethan and Auren. Marcus scratched his head at the spectacle in front of him, shrugged his shoulders and pushed forward with his hands. He closed his eyes to brace himself for impact and was immediately stopped by the stone wall. He felt around the featureless wall, looking for an area he could pass through.

  “Wait,” shouted Marcus. “I’m still outside! Can someone let me in already?”

  From inside the academy, Ethan heard the muffled pleas of the youth Guard bully and ignored them completely. He focused his anger on their new instructor. “How is it you can even get in here anyways?” snarled Ethan. “You’re not a Stone Sanctuary alchemist,” he added angrily.

  Keavy started to speak when a voice answered Ethan from across the room. “I gave him a pass,” answered a familiar voice. “That didn’t go exactly as planned — but good enough I guess. I do say, I enjoy a good scandal,” said Edison, smiling.

  “Edison?!” Ethan went to draw his sword at the sight of his confessed professor. As his hand approached the sheath, he remembered Heinrich had taken possession of the blade. Realizing his mistake, he nodded to Auren who drew his sword instead. Keavy instantly put his hand in front of Auren’s chest to stop his advance upon the history professor.

  “What are you doing here?! Did you … KILL Wegnel?” choked Ethan. Not giving Edison time to answer, he continued his line of questioning. “You’d better tell me what’s going on! Answer me! What happened to him?!”

  Edison looked surprised for only a moment. “Oh, you misunderstand. I didn’t attack Wegnel — just needed to give those idiots something to focus their attention on while we took care of business — part of the plan.”

  “Aye, but ye may hae dain too good a job. Th’ Castellan is wantin’ a city wide search fur ye.”

  “A part of the plan? To confess to murder?” asked Ethan in disbelief.

  “Well, it was either that or let Heinrich put you in prison,” retorted Edison in an attempt to ease Ethan’s mind.

  “Worry nae wee jimmy, he knows whit he’s doin’.”

  “He knows what he’s doin’ alright, there was blood on that dagger!” yelled Auren.

  “Some strawberry jam left over from lunch,” answered Edison, smirking. He suddenly realized how upset Ethan was over the death of the alchemist and ceased his lightened mood. “I am sorry about Wegnel — you’ll have to trust me … we’ll find out who did it, but for—”

  “You mean you don’t know?” interrupted Ethan.

  “I’m afraid not … we think it could have been an assassin sent by Xivon. But until we get more evidence, we won’t know for sure.”

  Ethan was quite disappointed at the lack of information on Wegnel’s killer, but at the same time felt relieved that his professor had no involvement in the matter.

  “For now, we need to concentrate on replacing Odin as quickly as possible. You two will … wait, Ethan, where’s your sword?” asked Edison, looking about Ethan’s person for the blade.

  Ethan clenched his fists and shook his head. “Heinrich took it,” he replied somberly.

  “I see. I need you and Auren to go to King’s Point as fast as you can. You’re looking for a woman named Abbey Valisa — she is the new alchemist who will replace Odin,” ordered Edison. “I don’t know how much longer he will last bound to the Oroborus, so you must hurry.” Edison suddenly remembered Ethan’s involvement in freeing him and Auren from the pendulum during Auren’s test. “Ethan, take your bow with you — you can get a little practice on the way.”

  Ethan grabbed the bow and some arrows from the table. Auren shoved some food in their packs as Ethan patted his pockets and chest as if he was missing something. Edison tossed Ethan his alchemy jacket.

  “You’ll be needin’ this for sure,” added Edison, smiling.

  Ethan caught the jacket and slid his arms through the sleeves. He instantly felt more secure having the jacket on, even with the damaged sleeve.

  “What do we do about that jerk standing outside?” grumbled Auren.

  “Who?”

  “Eh, Mr … er, Marcus Grendlehorn?” stuttered Keavy. “Th’ Castellan ordered heem tae accompany th’ wee jimmies sae they don’t gie in onie mair trouble.”

  “Oh … my — Marcus Grenwise is outside? Well, take him with you then. Cooperation with other squads is good practice,” said Edison c
heerily.

  Auren mumbled under his breath, displeased at the notion of anything that required teamwork with Marcus Grenwise. He huffed and snorted as he threw his pack over his shoulder.

  “And what are you guys going to do?” asked Ethan.

  “We need things to appear as normal as they can. Keavy will take Stanley and Availia to the Summer Sword while I get the Dead Hand bracelet back to the academy to protect it, hide it … whatever can be done. Xivon has many spies. He will, no doubt, be aware of the bracelet’s sudden appearance.”

  “Why does Xivon want it so bad anyways?” asked Auren.

  “Well, boys … this is what I didn’t tell the Castellan. The Mortuus Manus is special in a few ways. First, it forces you to tell the truth by threat of death — while this is useful, that is not the reason Xivon seeks such a device. The wearer cannot die, unless he lies.”

  Auren stood at attention upon hearing these words. “Wait … what?” he asked in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

  “Anyone who is wearing the bracelet can get wounded to the point of death and they will simply … continue on,” said Edison gravely.

  “Like Stanley?”

  “Well, sort of. But Stanley seems to have very little sensitivity to pain. The wearer of the bracelet can feel pain beyond the point of death. But if Xivon gets the bracelet, who knows what he could do with it,” replied Edison.

  “So, he couldn’t die … unless he tells a lie,” concluded Ethan.

  “Long as he kept eis gob shut, e’d be invincible,” stated Keavy while helping Ethan with his pack.

  Ethan remembered how powerful Xivon was the last time he had faced him, and worse, finding out later it was only a trap and not the real thing. The thought of Xivon being unable to die horrified Ethan. “He cannot be allowed to get that bracelet,” murmured Ethan to himself.

  “So you can understand why I didn’t tell the Castellan that bit of information; he would have wanted it for himself.” Edison noticed Ethan’s mind had started to wander as the Orobori stared off into the distance. “Ethan!” snapped Edison. Ethan jumped out of his trance and looked up at Edison. “Just focus on getting the new alchemist here as quickly as you can. Her name is Abbey Valisa, okay?”

  “Abbey Valisa — got it,” replied Ethan agreeably.

  “Remember, boys — a sword isn’t everything. Your sharpest weapon is your mind. We will see you two when you get back.” Edison nodded, as did Ethan and Auren.

  ***

  “I can’t believe you two left me standing outside of that revolting … thing, you call an academy! It’s awful out there — dirty!” spat Marcus. “You shouldn’t be leaving me anywhere! How often do you get to work under a youth captain? It must be a huge honor for the two of you to have actual leadership around — I think I should have the two of you clean my boots before we leave,” he sneered.

  Auren was furious and looked as if he were about to punch Marcus in the face. Ethan quickly interceded and pulled Auren aside.

  “If you beat up Marcus, this trip will be over before it begins!” whispered Ethan.

  Auren nodded hesitantly.

  “I need to look at the map — would it hurt you to distract him? I mean, you know … without beating him up?”

  Auren shrugged his shoulders. “What, like … be nice to him?”

  “Well, yeah … can you?” asked Ethan, smiling.

  Auren thought for a very brief moment. “Ah … nope.”

  “C’mon, Auren — we need to do this for Odin,” begged Ethan.

  “I can’t even stand to look at that jerk without feeling like I want to lose my lunch or punch him in the face … or both at the same time. How do you expect me to be nice to him?” complained Auren in a loud whisper.

  “Just do it long enough for me to look at the map, okay?” muttered Ethan while pulling his pack off his shoulders.

  Auren huffed and quickly caught up to Marcus. “Hey … so, what’s it like to be a captain anyway, eh? It’s got to have some pretty nice perks or somethin’,” asked Auren awkwardly. He looked back at Ethan, only to be signaled to keep talking to the youth captain. “You ever come out here at night before?”

  Marcus sneered. “Why? You scared of the dark?”

  Auren clenched his fists and took a deep breath. “Of course not … just wondered how often you … people … leave the city at night. There’s got to be loads of dangerous creatures out there.”

  Ethan, seeing that Marcus was distracted, began to browse the map for the location of King’s Point. He was having a difficult time seeing the map in the dark, so he pulled out a miracle torch and tapped it on the side of his pack. Brilliant light erupted out of the alchemist torch and Ethan shone it on the map.

  “Hey!” yelled Marcus.

  Ethan looked up to see Marcus right in his face. He quickly attempted to stow the map in his pack, but it was snatched up by the youth captain.

  “What’s this? A map?” he sneered. “Not a very good one, either,” he jested, shoving the map back at Ethan’s chest. “You won’t need a map. I know the way to King’s Point — been there a few times. Like I said, it’ll be an honor for you two … being around me. Not that I want to show you anything, but maybe you’ll learn something for a change, just from being around greatness.”

  Auren snorted at Marcus’ remark while Ethan sighed in relief at getting the map back in his possession. He shoved it back in his pack and followed the youth Guard captain out of the postern gate at the north wall of the great stone city.

  Ethan clasped the top fastener on his alchemy jacket. They clicked from top to bottom, pulling his jacket shut. The fabric hardened slightly as an eerie feeling crept down Ethan’s spine. It was strange, leaving the walls of Tirguard at night. It made Ethan feel troubled — like danger lie ahead. He felt even more bothered having Marcus leading them to King’s Point.

  “Now then, if any trouble comes, I don’t want you two messin’ things up. You do as I say and we’ll come out on top every time,” bragged Marcus, sticking his chest out and striking a statuesque pose.

  “I’m not telling you again, Marcus, you’re not in charge — you’re only with because the Castellan said you need to tag along,” muttered Auren.

  “But I know where I’m going, and you’re following me — which makes me the leader,” boasted Marcus with his nose in the air.

  They continued walking, but did not get very far before a new argument ensued between Marcus and Auren. It seemed avoiding conversation altogether was the only way to side-step any potential fights.

  Just ahead, on the right side of the trail, Ethan saw a dilapidated structure emerging from a roil of fog. The smell of moist grass and earth filled Ethan’s nose as he walked toward the scene that lay before him. He felt drawn toward the mystery that nestled in the chilly night’s fog.

  Auren and Marcus continued their argument, which was currently on the best dessert in the market district. Ethan interrupted Auren’s point on how pumpkin spice cake tasted good on the way in and the way out. “That’s enough! I see something over there — we need to check it out,” he said as he pointed at the large iron gate that now showed through the fog.

  Marcus immediately cut in front of Ethan to ensure himself a prime view. “That’s the old cemetery — you can just see it from the top of the walls when we patrol the city. You would know that if you alchemists actually performed any real duties in Tirguard,” belittled Marcus.

  Ethan walked around Marcus and toward the cemetery to get a better look. He saw it was much smaller than he had initially observed. Stone spires surrounded a small iron-rod gate which was covered in vines. Ethan pulled at the vines, uncovering carvings on the weathered stone. “Looks like it says something — ‘The Saints of Tirguard’,” he read aloud. “What do you suppose it means?” He glanced at Auren, who was trying to stick his head through the bars of the gate.

  “I’m not sure, but it looks like there aren’t very many of them — you know, the deceased … ‘bout fou
r of ‘em. Room for a couple more in there I’d imagine,” replied Auren, counting the headstones. Auren noticed Ethan seemed mesmerized by the carvings.

  “Who cares?! It’s just a stupid cemetery with stupid dead people in it,” whined Marcus. “Let’s just get this over with!” Suddenly a loud SNORT echoed nearby. The hairs on the back of Marcus’ neck stood on end. “What was that?!” he exclaimed in a whisper.

  “What, Marcus — you scared?” ribbed Auren.

  Marcus shrugged off the comment after he had surveyed the area and spotted no immediate danger. “Stupid oaf,” he mumbled under his breath.

  Fog rolled through the cemetery and traveled past the headstones in the graveyard. Ethan removed his hand from the cold stone of the spire as a dreadful chill rolled down his back. He had never liked cemeteries much, so he was agreeable to Marcus’ suggestion to leave.

  The three continued on until they noticed a statue of a woman on the other side of the cemetery. The woman looked as if she was frozen in time, with tears streaming down her face in permanent stone. She had both arms resting on a giant sword that was embedded deep in the ground in front of her. The sword was longer than Ethan was tall. She sat high upon a large rock that could have been lodged in the ground since the beginning of time. Vines and other plants had grown around the rock, up the sword and even covered parts of the sad lady.

  “That’s an incredible statue,” said Auren, looking up at the woman. “That sword is huge — wonder if it’s real — looks real. It’s as wide as my head! Not really realistic for such a small lady to carry such a large sword though. How would you lift it?”

  “She’s beautiful,” mumbled Ethan to himself as he stood in admiration.

  Marcus drew his sword and walked up to the statue. He took a good grip on his sword and started his backswing.

  “What are you doing?!” yelled Ethan. “Wait!”

  Suddenly a loud SNORT followed by a nasal HISS came from a black and white blur that shot out from the bushes nearby. Only Ivy stood between the Grenwise boy and the statue.