Secrets and Alchemy

by Linsey Hall

  “This place is wild.”

  She shivered. “They’re creepy.”

  “And you’re glowing.” I stared at her, feeling a frown twisting my features. “And sparkling.”

  “So are you. I can’t really make out your face.” She gestured to her own. “It’s too…glittery.”

  “Yours, too.” I touched the smooth glass wall, feeling the magic within. “Something in this building is interfering with the invisibility potion.”

  “At least no one can identify us like this.”

  She had a point. We might not be totally invisible, but no one could pick us out of a lineup since we sparkled like glitter bombs, so it was an improvement. “It’ll have to do. Which way do we go?”

  “Follow me.” She started forward, and I stuck close by her side. “There might be different protections in place, but I know the basic directions.”

  Together, we moved silently and quickly down the hall, passing several other hallways. Each was identical to the first, endless expanses of black glass that threatened to make me lose my way.

  “There are no doors,” I murmured.

  “None that you can see.”

  We reached a crossroads and stopped. Five other hallways joined ours, forming a star. Magic seemed to pulse from the space, reaching inside my head and twisting.

  I blinked, feeling my thoughts slip sideways. “What’s going on?”

  “Um…” Sora frowned.

  A strange thought slipped into my mind, taking root and growing like an oak. “We should find the sorcerers.”

  “You’re right.” She looked at me, eyes oddly bright. “I think I know where they are. We should tell them what we’ve done to the door.”

  “And what we planned to do in their tower of treasure.” I nodded, the idea exploding inside my head. It felt…wrong, somehow. But I couldn’t get rid of it. “We should definitely tell them we were going to steal from them.”

  Sora gripped my hand. “Come on, I know the way to them.”

  She pulled me, and I hurried to join her, hoping we could find the sorcerers soon and turn ourselves in. Something deep inside me shouted that this was a bad idea, but I ignored it. This was definitely a good idea.

  “Hang on.” Sora stopped, pulling hard on my arm. “We can’t go to them.”

  “Yes, we should.” No! Something inside me shouted. But it was easy to ignore. I pulled on Sora’s hand. “Come on, let’s find them.”

  “No.” Sora squeezed my hand painfully tight. “We’re enchanted.”

  I blinked, the words making sense. “Holy fates.”

  She nodded, then shook her head fiercely, as if trying to drive out the thoughts. I pinched my arm so hard it would bruise fiercely, but the pain steadied me. Using the few seconds of mental clarity, I drew a tiny potion from my wrist sheath and stepped close to Sora. I crushed the glass vial so that smoke rose up from it, and inhaled.

  My head began to clear immediately.

  “Breathe it in,” I said.

  She drew in a deep breath. “That feels better. I can think straight. Mostly.”

  “Which way to the tower? We need to power through.”

  “Come on.” She pulled my hand hard, and we ran back to the crossroads. I held my breath as she turned left and ran. The sorcerers’ enchantment was so strong that it was difficult to fight the pull of their magic, even with the help of the clarity smoke that we’d inhaled.

  Together, we pulled each other along as the magic tried to force us to betray ourselves. Finally, we got far enough away from the crossroads that the strange effect seemed to fade.

  We stopped, panting, and leaned against the wall.

  “I hate shit like that,” I muttered.

  “Same. But come on. We’re almost there.” She moved slowly and silently down the hall, her form alert for any attack. At the end of the hall, the narrow space opened up to a larger room. Within, there was a massive emerald door guarded by two sorcerers in long sapphire robes.

  “This is it,” she said. “We need to keep one of them conscious to perform the spell that we steal from the tower.”

  “I’ve got just the thing. Can you distract them so that they’re paying attention to you?” Shit, that could be dangerous. “Actually, what kind of long-range magic do they have?”

  “They won’t strike right away. Don’t worry about me.”

  Still, I did.

  She glared. “I mean it.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  “See you in a sec.” She straightened and strode out into the main room.

  The two sorcerers frowned at her, clearly confused by her glittering form. They could see her, but they didn’t recognize her.

  “Hey, boys.” She spoke in a far lower tone of voice, and with any luck, they’d never know who she was.

  They stepped away from their posts, and she walked toward the far side of the room, forcing them to turn toward her. If either turned his head, he’d be able to see me, but I just needed to get behind them enough to throw the cage bomb. I only had one, so I couldn't risk them seeing it and smacking it out of the air with a spell.

  Sora kept up a running commentary about how hot they looked in their uniforms—which was hilarious, considering that they were essentially just capes that made the sorcerers look like sapphire pillars—but they seemed to buy it. Or else, they thought she was nuts.

  Either way, their attention was distracted enough.

  I pulled the proper potion bomb from my bag and sprinted out of the hall, running on silent feet to get behind the guards. One of them twitched but didn’t turn, seemingly entranced by Sora’s glittering form.

  When I was in position, I chucked the potion bomb. It flew through the air and smashed to the ground behind them. Arcs of electric light shot upward and over them, forming a domed caged that trapped them—and their magic—inside.

  They spun, their cloaks swirling, and their mouths opened on silent shouts. Magic sparked around them but couldn't escape the cage.

  Sora hurried back to me. “The cage blocks sound?”

  “It blocks everything.” I turned to the door. “Come on.”

  We ran toward the huge emerald door, which shimmered with a pale green light as we approached.

  “What’s the deal with the door?” I asked.

  “Don’t know.”

  I reached it and hovered my hand over the handle. Protective magic sparked. Before I could reach for my potion bag, figures leapt from the door. Eight emerald green soldiers who gleamed like jewels converged on us. Their faces were entirely smooth, and they didn’t look human. They didn’t look like stone, either, and they moved with a grace that was eerie.

  I jerked Sora backward, reaching into the ether for the sword that I kept stashed there. Sora plunged her hand into her pocket and withdrew the black blade. It lengthened into a sword.

  Armed, we lined up back to back.

  The emerald guards charged, and I struck out with my blade, slashing into one. My sword severed an arm, which dropped to the ground with a strange thud instead of shattering like I’d expected. No blood poured, and the creature kept moving. I struck out again, severing it in half at the waist. It tumbled into two pieces, then lay still on the ground.

  Behind me, Sora fought her attackers with grace and speed, her black blade whirling. The attackers swiped out with their arms, which had lengthened into green blades.

  Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I attacked, slicing out with my sword as I ducked blows from the emerald army. Time flew as I hacked away at them, ducking and dodging their blows.

  The guard in front of me raised a hand, which widened and broadened to form a gleaming green shield. My blade clanged off it, and I kicked up, smashing my boot into the shield and sending the guard flying backward. One by one, I took them out, leaving their prone bodies lying around me like strange, gleaming jewels.

  When all of the guards were still, I turned to Sora, my breath heaving.

  She looked at me, eyebrows raised
. “Well done.”

  “You too.”

  “I took out one. You got the other seven.”

  “Yours was big.”

  “It wasn’t. I’m just not much with a sword.” She looked me up and down. “Whereas you are.”

  I shrugged. “Practice.” I turned to the door. “Now, let’s get this spell.”

  The heavy door opened easily, and we stepped into an enormous square room. It was probably a hundred feet wide in each direction, but it soared overhead, rising over two hundred feet straight up. Shelves surrounded us on all sides, and hundreds of tall ladders reached toward the ceiling twenty stories overhead, going from shelf to shelf like in an old-fashioned library. The shelves themselves were packed with millions of bottles of ingredients, fully made potions, and presumably spells—which were essentially potions that required extra magic and incantations to work.

  “It’s bigger inside than it looked on the outside,” I said.

  “Like the witches’ tower. Most of the guilds are enchanted this way.” She ran toward the side wall. “Come on. We need to check the map.”

  “The map?”

  “Yeah. It’ll show us where to find what we’re looking for.”

  I joined her in the corner, where she stood over a massive book that sat on an ornately carved pedestal. She flipped through the pages, muttering to herself. Finally, she pointed to a page. “There!”

  I leaned over her shoulder, spotting the growing spell that we sought. It was located about halfway up on the far wall, nestled on the right side.

  An idea flared. “Give me a moment.”

  “What?” Surprise sounded in her voice.

  “Go get the other ingredient, I need to find something.”

  “What do you mean, you need to find something?” There was the slightest strangeness to her voice, but we didn't have time to discuss it now. More guards would be coming any minute.

  “Hurry, I’ll catch up,” I said.

  She huffed, but turned and hurried to the shelves.

  I flipped through the book, looking for a specific ingredient. It was a rare one—so rare I’d never even seen it before. But if they had it, I might be able to remove the curse that made it impossible for Sora to control her magic.

  Finally, I found the page with the ingredient’s name: Rowenia bark. A very rare type of rowan tree that had been extinct for ages, but the sorcerers had a bit of the bark preserved. It looked like it was at the very top of the tower, which made sense, since it was so valuable.

  Armed with the info, I sprinted into the middle of the room. Sora was already partway up the wall, climbing quickly up the ladders like she was in some kind of video game.

  I hurried to join her, scaling the wooden rungs as fast as I could. We didn’t have long to spare, and it would take time to reach the very top

  About fifty feet overhead, Sora stopped near a shelf.

  “You got it?” I asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Okay, I’m headed to the top for one more thing.”

  “It’s too dangerous. Guards will be coming soon.”

  “It’s worth it.” I climbed fast, missing whatever she shouted at me. She was right about the guards. They had to have been alerted by us breaking into this room. No way eight magical emerald fighters could come to life without their sorcerer masters knowing about it.

  My muscles burned as a I climbed, lungs heaving. An alarm began to sound, the shrieking noise tearing at my eardrums and making my head ache. My heartbeat pounded as I raced upward, determined to get what I needed to help Sora.

  Finally, I reached the top and searched through the shelves, trying to find the chips of bark.

  “Hurry!” Sora’s voice hissed from below me, and I looked down.

  She’d climbed up to join me, and was only about ten feet below my ladder.

  “I’m coming!” Suddenly, I spotted the bark. It was contained in a little glass jar, which I grabbed and shoved in my pocket.

  Shouts sounded from below, and I looked down just in time to spot two sorcerers run into the room. Their ruby cloaks flapped around their legs as they looked upward. One of them raised a hand and shot a blast of green magic at us.

  It struck Sora, and she lost her grip on the ladder.

  Her shriek iced the blood in my veins. She began to fall, and everything turned into slow motion. I could see her floating in the air as she started the two-hundred-foot fall toward the stone floor below.

  “Sora!” My heart lurched into my throat.

  There was no way she could grab one of the ladders, no way she could stop herself.

  And I didn’t have a potion that could save her.

  Panic flared, and my mind raced, moving a million miles a minute.

  There was only one way.

  I didn’t even think. The consequences of this action—whether or not I would survive—didn’t matter. I’d live long enough to save Sora.

  If it worked.

  Please work.

  I yanked the potion from my pocket and popped the top off, then swigged it back. Prayers raced through my head as the magic shot through my veins.

  Sora continued to fall, and fear nearly drove me out of my mind. Pain flared at my back, and my wings burst forth. It was an insane, heady feeling. Something I hadn’t felt in years.

  I launched myself off the ladder, not knowing if my wings would even work. Had they come back strong enough?

  Didn’t matter.

  I had to try.

  I shot downward, my wings pushing me hard. It took everything I had to control my movements, and I barely managed. I raced gravity, desperate to reach her before she hit the ground.

  8

  Sora

  Wind tore past me as I plummeted, fear like I’d never known freezing my bones. Somehow, that sorcerer had hit me with a spell. Above me, Connor raced for me, his ebony wings flared wide.

  In a clash of limbs, Connor collided with me, and we spun through the air. I clung to him, my arms and legs wrapped tight around his body. My heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest, and fear had turned my limbs into a shaking mess. It took all my strength to keep my grip on him.

  The world spun around us, and my mind buzzed with panic. We were going so fast, and we were so close to the ground.

  We might hit.

  Connor’s magic flared, and his wings moved powerfully. Finally, they caught the air and pushed us toward the ceiling.

  “Oh fates, you got me.” Shock flashed as I looked behind him. “With your wings. But you said getting them back was deadly.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  Below us, the guards shouted. I looked down, spotting them as they started to hurl magic toward us. It exploded, flashes of green indicating a sonic boom that could knock us out of the air.

  Fear made my heart thud, and I was distracted from his wings.

  Connor darted right. “We can’t let them hit us.”

  “Give me your bag of potion bombs.”

  He called on it, dragging it from the ether and shoving it between us. We were glued chest to chest, so I was able to dig around inside of it.

  As I tried to find an appropriate bomb, Connor flew in circles to approach the ground, making sure to stay near the walls. The guards seemed unwilling to throw their blasts of magic toward the shelves of potions, so his technique kept us safe for now.

  “What’s this?” I pulled out a round blue one.

  “A stunner. Use it.” He reached into the bag for another one, pulling out a red star-shaped bomb.

  I chucked my own bomb at the guards, hitting one right in the chest. He tumbled backward and slammed to the ground, unconscious.

  Connor landed near the other sorcerer, who was still on his feet. I untangled myself and jumped off him. The sorcerer raised his hand, his palm glowing with green light, but Connor was faster. He threw his potion bomb, hitting the sorcerer in the chest.

  The guard didn’t so mu
ch as twitch, and Connor lunged for the guy. He was nearly as tall as my Fae, but far thinner. Connor grabbed his arms and pulled them behind his back, holding him tight with one hand. With his other hand, he deftly removed a tiny vial from his wrist sheath.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “It’ll make him help us. The first bomb—the red one—has wiped his memory. He won’t remember a thing about this.” Connor’s gaze flicked to me. “Did you get your spell?”

  “Yeah.” I yanked it out my pocket, worried about his wings. He’d said getting them back was deadly…

  And why the hell had he gone to the top of the tower?

  “Hold the spell out,” Connor said.

  I did as he asked, holding out the small glass globe that glowed with light. In my other hand, I held the seeds.

  Connor directed his attention to the sorcerer. “We need you to make this spell work on these seeds so that they grow.”

  The sorcerer’s gaze was blank as he nodded.

  “Hang on,” I said. “Will the seeds need dirt to grow?”

  “Not with the spell.” The sorcerer’s voice echoed hollowly.

  “Then get to work.” Connor released the guy’s hands and rested one of his own on his shoulder. “Quickly.”

  The sorcerer’s dark brows drew together as he raised his hands over the seeds. Magic sparked from his palms as he met my gaze. “Open the vial.”

  I popped open the lid, and the pale wisps of golden magic floated out. The sorcerer began to chant words I’d never heard before. It was almost like he was singing to the smoke, and it followed his command the way a cobra would follow a snake charmer. The smoke curled around the seeds in my palm, surrounding them. They glowed, beginning to unfurl as a tiny green stalk shot from each seed.

  As they grew, the alarms blared all around. More sorcerers would be here any minute. My heart raced as I watched the magic work. We were so close…

  Within seconds, four beautiful flowers lay in my palm. I grinned. “It worked.”

  Connor released his grip on the sorcerer’s shoulder. The guy just stood there, staring into space.