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

by Kimbro West

  Edison fastened the top-most clasp of his old alchemy jacket. The rest of the clasps followed suit, closing down the length of the garment. He adjusted the collar slightly and looked over to Heinrich, who stood at the ready. “Just because this duel has more serious repercussions, doesn’t mean we can’t behave as gentlemen,” stated Edison.

  “If you didn’t say it, Edison … I would have,” replied Heinrich with a hint of respect in his voice.

  Edison’s empty hand rolled forward. His sleeve grew until his hand could no longer be seen. Small stones tumbled out of the sleeve, bounced about the floor and came to rest in a uniform pattern around the dueling circle.

  “Aren’t you a little old for a gateway attack? Rather … I don’t think you can … keep up, with that sort of … pace,” sneered Heinrich.

  “And how do you think you could get past such an attack?” retorted Edison.

  “Ringworm,” answered Heinrich, smiling.

  “I see — then I would simply counter with—”

  “Wishbone,” interrupted Heinrich. “Your old moves are so predictable, Edison. I can easily eliminate your weak assault with a Trident Passover.”

  “Stone Trials,” replied Edison.

  “Constrictor,” stated Heinrich.

  “Sage Counter,” retorted Edison.

  “Eyes Behind,” hissed Heinrich.

  “Dancing Susan.”

  “Renbottom’s Balcony Fire!”

  “Then I have you!” Edison grinned triumphantly.

  Ethan looked over to Auren, and Auren back at Ethan. “Are they ever going to fight?” asked Auren impatiently.

  Ethan shook his head in bewilderment and shrugged his shoulders. “I … I’m not entirely sure.”

  “Trughilda’s Sunrise,” stated Edison smugly. He rocked back on his heels and smiled as if Heinrich was all out of strange things to say.

  “Gold Dust,” replied Heinrich maniacally.

  “You wouldn’t dare?!” exclaimed Edison, his voice echoing through the dueling hall.

  Heinrich did not flinch. “I would.”

  Edison looked over at his two alchemy students, who seemed to recognize the term Heinrich had just used. Ethan grew concerned, wondering if their professor was in serious doubt of winning. The Orobori knew if he was forced to sign a confession, he would most assuredly be sent away from Tirguard. Auren, on the other hand, pulled a fistful of candy out of his pocket and started crunching obnoxiously. It echoed slightly as Ethan pushed the treat out of Auren’s hand.

  “What?!” argued Auren indignantly. “I’m hungry!”

  “Not now, Auren.”

  “You force my hand then, Heinrich — can’t let you win … not this time,” replied Edison. “Song Bird,” he said boldly, his words booming throughout the hall.

  Heinrich raised an eyebrow. He sneered and lifted his sword. “You’re bluffing. That would kill everyone in this building, including your own students … that is, if you could even pull off such a move.”

  With those words, Auren started to pay much closer attention to the duel unfolding in front of them.

  Edison looked at his students and then back at his opponent. “I don’t think it will. Only an Orobori can kill another Orobori —”

  “But what about me?!” whined Auren. His protest went unheard.

  Both duelists seemed to have reached the maximum they were willing to go. Edison nodded to Heinrich, and Heinrich back to Edison. They raised their sword tips and the rivals began their duel.

  Heinrich dashed forward, stopped quickly and turned. Edison had already disappeared through a portal behind himself and reappeared behind Heinrich, who was ready. A distinct CLANK of two swords colliding rang out through the hall. Edison jumped backward again, disappearing from view. Heinrich was not able to anticipate the new location in which the old history teacher appeared. Edison dashed in from the side, but Heinrich countered with two golden serpents that extended out from the pommel of his sword. They reacted with great speed, the first one blocking Edison’s sword and the second wrapping around the chubby professor.

  The second golden serpent tightened its grasp around Edison. He winced, but then his alchemy jacket promptly reacted by forming a hardened shell around the professor. Four more stones dropped out of Edison’s sleeve and he vanished in the blink of an eye. The serpent tightened down on thin air, while the first serpent was left hanging in its master’s defense.

  The contest was unlike anything Ethan had ever seen. Edison seemed to be fighting for his life. Ethan understood what Heinrich had said about the pace Edison needed to maintain. Then suddenly Edison appeared again, but this time there were two of him, one on either side of Heinrich.

  “There’s two of him now!” exclaimed Auren, who was on edge at the spectacle in front of him. “How is that possible?”

  Edison started to attack from both sides, but the two serpents were poised to defend and another loud CLANK echoed off the walls of the dueling hall. Heinrich heaved his sword in the air, straight over his head. The two serpents shot upward, coiled around the guard of the blade and formed a massive trident. The Captain of the Guard grabbed the tails of the serpents, which were now free from the pommel, and swung them around his head while pivoting on his heels. The trident blasted around, hitting one of the Edisons square in the chest. A small explosion ripped through the air, as the history professor shattered into a thousand pieces of stone. The trident’s momentum continued toward the remaining Edison, who vanished backward, leaving a giant stone pillar in his place. The trident obliterated the stone as Heinrich continued to spin. Edison appeared again, and again he vanished backward, leaving pillar after pillar. One after another the stone columns exploded when the serpent trident ripped through, until Heinrich’s momentum finally started to slow.

  Small stones were landing throughout the hall. Ethan shielded his face as debris flew across the room. Auren activated his alchemy jacket and drew his sword, as if he intended to help his professor. Ethan quickly grabbed him and pulled him back.

  “No!” barked Ethan. “He told us not to interfere — we need to stay back on this one, Auren. I trust Edison … besides, they are way outta our league.”

  Auren nodded and reluctantly sheathed his sword, but left his alchemy jacket fastened.

  As Heinrich’s trident lost momentum, it seized halfway through the next stone column it struck. His weapon locked into position, the Captain of the Guard gasped for breath as he tried to pull the trident from the stone.

  Edison once again appeared through a portal that formed between two stones on the floor. He rushed forward with sword cocked. Heinrich guided the serpents to quickly wrap around the stone pillar. They squeezed and constricted, compressing the column until it too exploded. Edison shielded his eyes as stone shards and bits of golden serpent flew at him. Heinrich took up his sword and thrusted violently. Edison avoided the assault by falling straight through the floor of the hall, right next to the scorch marks left by Ethan’s sword earlier in the year.

  Heinrich’s sword hit nothing but air. The Captain looked all around, but Edison was nowhere to be seen. He stood for a moment with his chest heaving, trying to catch his breath. He reached into the bottom of his chestplate and pulled out a pair of golden goggles, which he briskly strapped on. A flash of light shot out of the goggles, beaming across the dueling hall. He immediately rotated the goggles around to the back of his head.

  Ethan and Auren wondered if the fight was over, when suddenly, they got a good look at the back of Heinrich’s head.

  “His eyes!” exclaimed Ethan, pointing.

  Auren looked at the goggles that were affixed to the back of Heinrich’s head. Two golden eyeballs were moving inside the goggles. As the Captain of the Guard turned, Ethan saw he also had his eyes in the front of his head.

  “He’s got eyes in the back of his head!” cried Auren.

  Heinrich turned to look for his opponent. Suddenly, a small stone fell from the ceiling, followed by another and yet
another. Soon, hundreds of stones started to fall from a small portal above Heinrich’s head. With eyes in the front and back of his head, he easily spotted the commotion and darted out of the way. After the stones finally stopped falling, scores of them lifted off the ground and floated in mid-air. They formed complex points, radiating outward from Heinrich at precisely measured intervals.

  Heinrich cussed and kicked the stones at his feet. “COME ON! Fight me, you hermit!”

  Suddenly Edison appeared far above, amongst the sword trusses that held up the roof of the hall. Edison was falling directly on Heinrich’s position, but the Guard Captain was ready with his sword. Just when Heinrich was expecting the blow to come, Edison disappeared and reappeared from another portal. Heinrich, able to see behind himself, quickly blocked the rear assault and countered with a strike of his own. Edison, who was breathing quite heavily, blocked and jumped backward, disappearing yet again. FLASH! He reappeared, and again FLASH — he disappeared. Heinrich was unable to keep track of which portal Edison was entering and which he was leaving. FLASH! He popped in and out of the dueling hall until Heinrich stamped his foot.

  “Enough of this!” Heinrich pulled a small golden flask out from under his chestplate and popped open the lid. He dumped the contents into his mouth, filling his cheeks with the alchemical concoction. He held his sword at the ready. As soon as Edison reappeared, Heinrich dropped to the floor and spat the fluid on the flat side of his blade. Nothing happened — but when Edison realized what Heinrich was doing he quickly turned his back to the Guard Captain. Heinrich flipped a small switch on the handle of his sword and a giant ball of golden fire erupted throughout the hall. It completely engulfed Edison and his floating stones. One by one, the stones fell and turned to charred sediment.

  Heinrich stood up to check the aftermath of his alchemical reaction. He was quite pleased with the results, until the hunched-over figure at the opposite side of the dueling circle stood up tall and turned to face him. Breathing heavily, Edison brushed the soot off the shoulder of his alchemy jacket. He reaffirmed the grip on his sword and spit in his free hand.

  “You’ve got nothing left, old man,” stated Heinrich, who was also gasping for breath.

  Edison’s hand started to turn grey. Flakes of stone peeled away, followed by new cracked stone showing through. Edison pointed down at Heinrich’s feet. “Guess again, Heinrich.”

  Heinrich looked down, realizing he was encircled by the small stones that Edison had placed while he had been jumping through portals.

  “What is this?!” exclaimed Heinrich, but it was too late.

  With a crack and a crunch, the stone skin on the professor’s hand scraped as he reached into the tile of the great hall’s floor. His hand simultaneously came up through the portal underneath Heinrich, taking hold of his leg. Edison clamped down and started to pull. Heinrich was being forcibly drawn into the floor of the dueling hall. He stumbled and dropped his sword, pushing on the tile with both hands in an attempt to hold himself above ground.

  “You FOOL!” yelled Heinrich. “LET … GO OF ME!” he exclaimed as half his leg was enveloped by the floor.

  Edison’s hand was now visible above the floor and Ethan could distinguish Heinrich’s black boot being pulled upward, away from his body. Auren was absolutely enthralled with Edison’s every move.

  Heinrich, realizing that he was in real danger of losing, reached back into his chestplate and pulled out a small glass vial filled with gold dust. Edison saw the vial and yanked as hard as he could, pulling the Guard Captain farther up through the floor.

  At the same time, Heinrich held fast. Desperately pushing against the floor with his forearm, he squeezed the vial until it broke in his palm. Shards of glass stuck into his hand with a crunch. Blood seeped out of his clenched, white-knuckled fist. He slowly opened his hand to reveal the resulting slurry of gold dust mixed with blood. He inhaled deeply and blew a stream of arid breath on the slurry. The gold dust sucked the blood dry and flew into the air, spiraling upward until it coiled from floor to ceiling.

  “It’s over, Edison … do you yield?!” shouted Heinrich, still struggling to stay above ground.

  Edison eyed the golden dust that made a slow cyclone, spiraling to the ceiling. He looked over at Ethan and Auren, who were eagerly anticipating the next move.

  “It was a good match,” stated Heinrich, “…too bad you cannot … earn … extra points for being clever in a duel such as this.”

  “You’re right, Heinrich — it’s over….”

  Edison let go of the Guard Captain’s foot, sending him off balance and tumbling forward. The history professor undid the top clasp of his alchemy jacket and the remaining fasteners quickly came free. Heinrich hissed and held his hand outward. A stream of golden dust coalesced and shot through the air at an amazing velocity, right toward Edison — toward an alchemist with no armor.

  Ethan gasped as Edison quickly removed his jacket. The professor dropped two stones behind himself, whipped the garment to the side and re-clasped the top fastener. Using the jacket as a vessel, he caught all the dust inside. The fasteners clasped shut as the velocity ripped the garment from Edison’s hands, shooting it through a portal that formed behind him.

  “YOU…,” stuttered Heinrich, furious.

  “Won some extra points for being … clever,” interrupted Edison, snidely.

  “MY GOLD DUST,” he shrieked. Heinrich picked up his sword and marched forward. “Fine!” he spat, furious. “But, without an alchemy jacket, you’re worthless!”

  Heinrich cocked back his sword — but was unprepared for the history professor’s trickery. Edison turned while walking into his opponent, revealing that he had been wearing his alchemy cloak underneath his jacket. The cloak reacted instantly, blocking the elementary attack above Edison’s head. The history professor countered with cutting Ethan’s sword free from Heinrich’s waist. He flicked the fire sword with a controlled swing, sending it toward the boys. The blade slid across the hall, skidding to a stop right at the Orobori’s feet. Ethan quickly snatched it up and fastened it to his waist.

  Heinrich jumped back and spat on the floor in disgust. He held his sword firmly and re-engaged his opponent. Back and forth the two swung, each swing more precise than the one before. Edison’s cloak made up the difference in sword skills, helping him fend off Heinrich’s accurate attacks. Edison attempted to disarm his opponent by slipping his blade tip through Heinrich’s sword guard, as he had last year, but the Guard Captain was ready and grabbed Edison’s wrist. They struggled back and forth until, exhausted, they both ended up on the floor. Edison gasped for breath and was sweating profusely. The Captain of the Guard fared no better, becoming pale as a result of being so winded.

  “You give up yet?” breathed Edison.

  “Never,” grumbled Heinrich. “You?”

  “Not today, my rival….”

  Heinrich tried to lift his sword, but it was too heavy. “This has to come to a conclusion — can’t have a draw.”

  “You let the boys go and we can indeed have a draw,” snapped Edison.

  “I let them go … but get to take you in,” conceded Heinrich, still gasping for breath.

  Edison nodded and sheathed his sword. Heinrich followed suit.

  Chapter 14

  A Summer Vow

  The CRACK of swords sounded throughout the great Stadion, followed by the deafening roar of the crowd. Availia was in the final round, competing against the tall skinny boy named Renkins, who had trained under Heinrich. Stanley paced back and forth on one side of the ring, shouting tactical advice to Availia. Keavy, using his great size as a deterrent, kept the admiring fans at bay.

  Renkins lunged his sword toward Availia, but was deflected downward. He continued the momentum of his blade in a full circle and jumped high, unleashing a powerful overhead strike. Availia did her best to block, but the violent blow knocked her flat on her back. Her head bounced, sending her helmet rolling. Seeing his opponent down, Renkins quick
ly scrambled toward his prey, and toward victory. He leaped and swung wildly at Availia’s unprotected face.

  Magnus, seeing a possible disaster, started toward the two combatants, but it was too late. Renkins’ sword was inches from Availia’s head. She rolled to avoid the strike at the last moment and got to her feet. Renkins, now unbalanced and on the ground, was completely exposed to Availia. But instead of taking the shot, she slowly composed herself, picked up her helmet and calmly fitted it back to her head. The crowd went mad with delight. They roared as the Tanbe daughter disregarded Renkins’ scorn for the rules and left him on the ground in shame. He composed himself and stumbled to his feet. Embarrassed, he adjusted his own helmet. Magnus quickly stepped in and had a word with the boy as Availia gave a small wave to the crowd. They ate it up as they roared and hollered. Keavy was now physically restraining the more adamant admirers from swarming the ring.

  “WEEL, GIE OAN WI’ IT ‘EN, MAGNUS!” yelled Keavy over the roaring.

  Magnus gave the signal for the match to continue and the Tanbe daughter whirled with sword extended, slapping Renkins on the back. She then followed up with a downward strike on the back of his leg, bringing him to one knee. She finished the move by spinning again, executing a controlled upward swing that stopped just short of Renkins’ chin. Renkins slowly put his hands up and dropped his sword in submission.

  The crowd was ecstatic. Stanley clapped his hands together as Magnus happily awarded Availia the victory. Stanley was separated from Availia as the mob of students and admirers broke past Keavy and swarmed their new champion. Red’s voice echoed through the great Stadion, announcing Availia’s victory. He rambled on about how it was the first time in many years that any alchemy student had won the Summer Sword.

  Ethan and Auren strode down the stairs and entered the arena. They quickly found Stanley, who was collecting Availia’s armor and sword. They hurried over to him, but were assailed by Keavy.