A Thief's Treasure (3 page)

I was beyond shocked; why in the world would they hide it for over 20 years of my life?
 
Was I really in that much danger?

“But…why?
 
I mean who are these bad guys and why are you protecting me?
 
And brainwashed?
 
I’m not that stupid,” I retorted.

“You’re not stupid at all; I’ve seen your report cards.
 
You need to work on that math a little bit though.
 
You don’t understand their power sweetie; they have a special trick that can put almost any average alchemist or human in a trance.
 
And once they did that they can easily say that they worked with your parents or say that they left you to be taken care of by them.
 
Or even worse, that your parents gave you up and hated you which would’ve helped quell your desire for revenge.
 
They have a myriad of ways to do this, but nonetheless they’re all very dangerous.
 
Their leader’s name is
Karakan
and I went to the alchemist academy in Milan where they taught the best alchemists in the world.
 
We used to be best friends, but he started to dabble in some black alchemy and he started to distance himself from me.
 
Despite my attempts to help him he eventually ran away from the academy.
 
About a year later he gather a bunch of other dissident alchemists to join his legion along with some humans that can’t help but be tantalized by the desire black alchemy exudes.
 
Now there’s about ten very strong alchemists in his ranks and they want to permeate the world with black alchemy.
 
It’s incredibly dangerous; the last time this happened initiated the destruction of Rome,” he said.

“But I thought Rome was conquered by other countries?
 
And you’re that old?”

“It wasn’t some other countries, that’s what we put in the books to get suspicions away from us.
 
We don’t want people to know so when something like that happens I can wipe people’s memories.
 
It’s important that we lay low.
 
That’s why Darren wasn’t able to leave as easily as we thought.
 
And as for the age thing, it all depends on the alchemist and if they can keep their life going.
 
I’m about a thousand years old but my wife is only 350.
 
Darren’s actually only 35 at the moment but he looks about your age because of his regeneration powers,” he replied.

“That makes sense.
 
But what does any of this have to do with me?” I asked.
 
This was interesting and all, but I wasn’t getting the point and how I felt about everything.

“You are the key to opening the tool to destroy these bad guys and wipe out black alchemy forever.
 
See you have powers that you might not know of, and I’m going to help you wake them up.
 
Your parents are both very strong alchemists and with your power you will be able to open up the Great Rune.
 
That is a stone that very few alchemists can read and if they do their enemies will perish in a bright light.
 
I wanted to tell you all this and ask if you’d join us.
 
I can take you to your parents if you want me to.
 
They have seen pictures of you from your foster parents, but it would be nice to pay them a visit.
 
We will train you and open up the power and together we will defeat them.
 
Are you willing to stay with us?
 
We’ll support you and you won’t have to be an intern at that museum anymore.
 
And we’ll also take care of your schooling with online classes.
 
Plus I know Darren would like someone more his age around,” he replied.

I thought about it; were these guys telling the truth or were they going to kill me when I was the most vulnerable.
 
And were my parents really still alive?
 
It seemed almost too good to be true and I almost didn’t believe it.
 
Yet there was something telling me to trust him.
 
Even though it was a risk it was one I was willing to take.

“I-I’ll do it,” I stated, “I’ll join you guys.
 
Just please be honest with everything.

“I will Alyssa.
 
And we won’t kill you, don’t worry.
 
Remember we can all read minds and make sure to keep your thoughts clear in case if you want to keep something secret.
 
Now in regards to why we needed that vase, it was because it had a deadly enchantment that
Karakan
had personally put on it.
 
Normally we get a bit of notice and salvage it before its put in the museum, but this time we couldn’t due to the rush that was on it.
 
We also thought it was time to let you know about the truth.
 
I know it was wrong to kidnap you and I’m sorry, but it was for the best.
 
It had to be done,” he stated.

“It’s fine.
 
I know you’re trying to save the alchemic world and the human world.
 
By the way, how many alchemists are there?” I asked.

“We comprise about eight
percent
of the overall population.
 
We hide it well and most of them don’t even know.
 
About 15,000 of us are active alchemist,” he replied.

“Wow, that’s crazy.”

“Indeed.
 
Say why don’t we join Eliza and Darren in the library?
 
They’re performing a spell to seal the magic and then after we can have dinner.
 
Is that okay with you?” he asked sweetly.

“Sure,” I replied.
 
He placed his hand on my shoulder and walked me over to the small door where Darren and Eliza were.
 
It was weird, but this man seemed like more of a father to me then my foster parents have been all my life.
 
Sure they loved and cared for me, but they seemed like they wanted me to do more and learn the truth.
 
I felt safe around these people, and I was curious as to what they had planned for me next.

Chapter Four

I went with Anthony to the other room through the door that partitioned it.
 
We walked in and Darren and Eliza were taking care of the
artifact
.
 
Darren was holding the vase closed and Eliza was saying an incantation.
 
I had no clue what she was saying but it seemed to anger what was in the jar, for Darren was holding it like it was a rabid dog.
 
I wanted to get closer but Anthony grabbed my body and pulled me back lightly.

“Don’t go over there yet.
 
They’re trying to get rid of the black alchemy and it could be very dangerous for you to get any closer,” he admonished.

I nodded and watched as the vase continued to rouse in an angry manner.
 
Yet as Eliza continued the shaking started to quell and after a few minutes the vase stopped shaking, a puff of black smoke dissipating from the vase.
 
After Eliza said the last of the chant she turned to me, smiling warmly.

“Sorry about that.
 
I wanted to make sure the black alchemy was done from that quickly.
 
The faster we get it out of here the easier it is to vanquish from the world.
 
It was already pretty strong so I wanted to handle it rather than Darren.
 
It’s gone now though, so we should be fine,” she explained.

“Interesting.
 
So you guys know magic too?” I asked.

“No it’s an alchemic incantation.
 
It’s very powerful and takes someone of equal strength to control it and if you can’t then it’ll back fire on you.
 
That’s why we waited until Darren was a little older before teaching him it,”

“Wow,” I replied.

“Yep.
 
It takes practice but just about anyone can do it.
 
So are you going to stick around?
 
I would love to show you some of the cool alchemic cooking that I’m sure you’ll love,” she asked.

“I think so.
 
This seems interesting and if what you said is true I would love to see my family again,” I replied.

I looked at Eliza and she was smiling warmly.
 
Darren was smiling too and I could tell the ghost of a little flush was present on his face.
 
He was really hot and even though originally he did kidnap me I could tell it was for the best.
 
With his long, brown hair like that I couldn’t help but feel my desire for him increasing.
 
He was so hot and I was enthralled by him.

“Awesome Alyssa.
 
Well we can explain it to your foster parents and we can grab your clothes and anything else you need.
 
You can sleep in the guest room, we hadn’t really prepared your room quite yet for you so that’s kind of the best we can do,” she replied.

“Thank you,” I voiced.
 
I was starting to get sleepy and I could feel the tiredness looming over me.

“No problem.
 
Now I know you’re getting tired but let’s have a little bit of food first before you go to sleep okay?” she asked.

“Sounds fine to me,” I replied.
 
The four of us went to the dining room which after a minute was filled with a lovely dinner of spaghetti.
 
We ate and talked and I found out a lot about Eliza and Anthony and I could see that Darren was staring at me the entire time.
 
I flushed a little at his gaze but I continued to eat.
 
After about twenty minutes we were all done and I was stuffed.

“That was great.
 
Thank you,” I stated.

“No problem.
 
Now I’ll clean up and in the meantime I’ll let Darren show you to your room.
 
You’ll be training and learning the ropes from my husband for a little bit and then I’ll let you go out on a few trips with Darren after.
 
It’ll be a bit complex at first, but you’ll get used to it,” she said warmly.

I flushed; I think she knew I liked Darren and that was why she was asking him to take me upstairs.
 
He nodded in assent and got out of his seat, walking over to me with an apparent warm smile.

“Ready to go?” he asked.
 
His smile was still present on his face.
 
I don’t know if he knew or not, nor if he just liked teasing me but as I stared at him my sense of logic disappeared.

 
I need to come back to reality though and after shaking my head for a second I replied.
 
“y-yes,” i muttered.

He chuckled and started to walk up the stairs.
 
“This way then Miss tongue-tied,” he said sardonically.
 
I flushed crimson and started to follow him, praying to god that he wasn’t reading my mind and see me as a beet-red fool.

We walked up the stairs to a small hallway that was a lot longer once we walked on it.
 
There were four rooms and one larger room at the end of the hall.
 
It was flanked by a cabinet with a small vase on top of it.
 
It was really pretty; I could tell Eliza had a keen eye for aesthetic things like that.
 
We walked to the larger room at the end of the hall where he stopped and turned to me.
 
He was smiling and I was a little curious as to why.

“So…I guess I’ll be going now,” I stated as an attempt to break the awkward silence.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied.
 
I smiled and opened up the door but before I walked in a pair of hands circled my waist, pulling me close.
 
I gasped in shock but at the same time I was a little embarrassed.