Alchemist (36 page)

Edward stared at
her with hollow eyes, as he gasped desperately for breath. “Bitch!”
he cursed, grinding his teeth. “I’m not the monster here, you are!”
he attempted to lunge for her, but the press of the metal blade
caused him to wince and give-up. Leaning his head back, he shut his
eyes, suddenly feeling tired. Taking a few ragged breaths he opened
them again, but this time it struck Terry how empty they
appeared.

“Will it kill me
this time?” he asked, looking both directions. He could not see the
prongs, but he could feel them.

Terry shook her
head. “No. And I’m sorry that they didn’t last time. But it doesn’t
mean you will not die.”

He smirked. The
smile quickly vanished as he broke into a fit of coughing. Once it
had subsided, he wheezed, “How?”

“What was your
wife’s name Edward?” She asked, changing the subject.

His eyes narrowed
and he shook his head slightly, confused. “What does it matter?” he
demanded hoarsely.

“It matters
because you can’t remember it, can you?”

His eyes blazed.
“Of course I do!”

“Then tell
me.”

He glared at her
with renewed anger. But a few moments later his conviction began to
falter and his eyes widened. He swallowed hard, his face turning
even paler. “I don’t remember...” his eyes darted to hers,
searching desperately for answers. “How can I not remember?”

But there were no
answers, only more questions. “What did she look like?”

Edward’s gaze
drifted away. He slumped beneath her blade. Silent tears began to
stream down she cheeks as he shut his eyes. “She’s gone...” he
mumbled.

Terry shifted her
position to a more comfortable one. “Edward.” She said and his eyes
opened, focusing on her. She sighed, “Edward, the reason why you
can’t remember is because you’re not really here. You died nine
years ago."

Confusion etched
his features.

“That’s why you
can’t remember your wife, or how she died.”

He slowly shook
his head. “Lies...” he mumbled, his voice brittle.

“Where have you
been all these years Edward? You’ve been gone a very, very, long
time. Surely you must remember where you’ve been.”

The tears fell
from his eyes, cutting trails through his dust covered cheeks. “I
don’t know...”

She nodded
slightly, her expression sombre. “That’s because you’re not alive
Edward. You’re only a memory, a ghost, nothing more.” She shook her
head again. “And I’m sorry for that, I really am. But it’s time to
let go.”

He stared up at
her through his bleary eyes and for the first time she had known
him he looked truly afraid. “I’m scared...” he whimpered.

“Don’t be. It’ll
be fine, I promise.”

The light from his
eyes began to fade and his gaze grew distant. “The others...I tried
to wake the others...” And slowly, ever so slowly he lay his head
down and shut his eyes. Then he was still.

The device in
Rufus’s hand bleeped and he glanced at the screen. The readings
were flat. He looked at Terry, questioningly.

She slowly stood,
withdrawing her blade. Then she turned to look at him, her
expression sad.

Trepidation filled
Rufus. He did not want to believe what he had witnessed for fear it
was another trick by the Phantom, but finally he gave in and asked,
“Is he really gone?”

She looked at the
body that lay before her. “Yeah, he’s gone.” She said quietly.

“How?”

“I’ll explain
later, if that’s ok with you. We still have a lot of work to
do.”

Despite his
desperation to know, he resisted pushing the issue. She was right.
The city was a mess, thousands had died and there was no
government. The first thing they needed to do was restore order to
the crippled capital.

Fallo squeaked and
rubbed his head against Terry’s back. She stumbled forward.
Turning, she smiled. He dipped his head again and closed his eyes
as she hugged him, pressing the side of her face against his. They
stood like that for a long minute then parted. With silent consent,
Fallo leant forward and dropped onto all eight. Extending his right
arm, Terry clambered up.

“Rufus.” She said,
leaning forward and extending her hand. Fallo remained still, his
gaze drifting silently to the Acara.

Rufus hesitated,
unsure whether it was safe to approach. Terry smiled. “Come on, you
just helped kill one of the most dangerous men in the world, he’s
not going to bite you.”

His eyes widened
but he did not speak. Rufus was more than certain one bite from
Fallo would kill him if he took the notion, so her comment came as
little assurance. Deciding he trusted the heir to the Alchemist
Empire, he took her hand and she helped him up onto the King’s
back. Standing, Fallo took one last look at Edward’s prone form. He
sniffed at it, snorted and stomped off.

*****

Lyle held a cup up
to Faye’s mouth. She drank slowly, grateful for the water. “Thank
you.” She said quietly, managing a faint smile. Setting it on the
wooden stool next to her pallet he offered her the painkillers one
of the medics had handed to him. She shook her head.

“You must be
feeling better if you don’t want any more of these. They’re not
even strong enough to soothe a cut to the thumb.” He said,
discarding them on the table.

She smiled again,
Lyle’s humour distracting her for a moment from the trauma of
having nearly died a few short hours before. “My back still hurts
quite a bit. No amount of painkillers or water will make it better
any faster.”

“We’re the same.
Some parts of us our probes and nanos can’t fix because they’re too
complicated. Terry was very lucky today.” He had told her about how
he, Connor and Rufus had found the princess and how her father had
saved her knot.

A sharp knot
formed in Faye’s stomach but she said nothing. She looked away for
a second, unable to gaze him in the eye. Lyle did not notice; he
was looking the other way as four medics sprinted past their tent,
carrying a stretched between them.

Lyle did not know
how many casualties there were, but he guessed thousands by the
uncountable number of tents he encountered when he and Connor
arrived with Faye. They were almost attacked when they first
arrived. It wasn’t until Connor had shouted to the Kamari that they
stood down. Little word had reached the medical pavilion about the
attack; it was no doubt one of many scattered throughout the city.
Even fewer words had reached the citizens; most believed the
Alchemists had invaded. Only a handful of officials and doctors
knew what had really transpired. Once he had returned to his human
form, Lyle had spent the best part of an hour under armed guard
explaining to two of the handful of military leaders who he was and
what was going on. The two men seemed dubious of his tale
throughout; it was only by chance when one of the minister’s
apprentices was passing that he was handed a reprieve. The young
man, who had escaped the attack on the parliament, recognised him.
It was his insistence that quelled the doubts of the two colonels
and they had let the old general on his way; but with a guard in
tow.

They remained
outside the tent even now, wary that his presence may still be some
sort of trick.

“They have been
away a long time, what if something has happened?” Faye asked.

Lyle looked back
at her. “Nothing has happened. There fine, I’m sure. I saw Edward;
there was no way he was getting back up, not with Fallo about
anyway.”

“Then where are
they?”

That he could not
answer. He shook his head slightly. “I don’t know, but they’ll be
back, don’t worry about it.”

As if she had
heard him, Terry pushed back the flaps of the tent and walked in,
flanked by Connor and Rufus.

“Look who I
found.” Connor said wearing a big grin from ear to ear.

“Terry.” Lyle
threw his arms around the princess, lifting her off the ground for
a moment. “Where’s your father?” he asked.

“Speaking to the
Prime Minister and what’s left of the cabinet.”

Lyle’s brow rose.
“About what?”

She sighed. “What
do you think? We just killed Edward and saved Marrich from our own
dead. I agree with him that they owe us, but I don’t agree with his
timing to demand my exile be rescinded.”

His eyes widened.
“Edward’s dead?”

She nodded.

He suddenly
appeared sceptical. “For good this time?”

“For good.”

A smile slowly
crept across his lips.

“What?”

“Sorry, I know
this isn’t the best timing either but something just occurred to
me...”

“What?”

“For someone who
has been exiled you do seem to spend a lot of time here these
days.”

Terry stared at
him, her face an unreadable mask. He thought she would scold him.
Then a smile flicked across her lips and her eyes brightened. “That
is true.” She looked to Faye. A shadow of terror ran across the
water elemental’s face. Then it was gone. None of the others seemed
to notice.

She made to sit up
but Terry raised a hand and said, “Hey, careful. Where do you think
you’re going?”

Faye peered at her
warily, but sat back. Her gaze softened again as she looked about
her friends, who were all watching back. “Sorry, I was just trying
to get comfy.” She lied, her gaze fixing Terry again.

The princess
deliberately kept her distance. She wasn’t sure how Faye would
react if she drew too close. It was not like she could run
anywhere, anyway, not in her condition.

“How are you
feeling?” Terry asked.

If the question
surprised Faye, she did not show it. “Better, thank you. But I was
saying to your uncle, it will be a while before my back is better
though, I’ve got quite a few bruises.” She brushed her cheek
delicately; a deep swollen gash now ran from ear to nose where it
had been struck by the cold lash of the chain.

“You’re lucky you
weren’t paralysed.” Lyle added.

“Can you walk?”
Rufus asked, taking her hand in his. “If I have too, but it’s quite
painful standing and moving.”

“I’m relieved to
hear that, I feared the worst when I saw you among the rubble.”

She smiled. “It
would have been far worse if Lyle had not got me here so fast.”

Connor folded his
arms. “Not to be rude or anything but I just want to be put out of
my misery...”

“You want to know
how we killed Edward?” Terry asked, turning to him.

He nodded. Feeling
guilty for asking, he looked to the others for their approval.
“Sorry guys, is that ok?”

Faye smiled. “Its
fine, I want to know too.” She turned her attention to the young
Alchemist.

Terry hesitated,
not sure where to begin. She looked around all their faces. They
watched her attentively. Finally she said, “Edward died because I
told him what he was.” The comment only drew confused looks.

“What?” Connor
asked.

She sighed. “I’m
sorry Connor, I’ll start again. It’s just not easy to explain.”

“Then I will.”
Rufus offered. “Terry worked out what the Phantoms were.” He looked
around the faces of his friends. “For generations every race that
has walked this world has lived in fear of them. No one knew where
they came from.” His gaze returned to Terry. “But Terry worked it
out.”

“Then what are
they?” Faye asked, desperate to know.

“They’re ghosts,
or rather, a combination of lost and troubled spirits. Yet what
gives them strength is our fear. They draw off it and that is what
sustains them.”

Faye shook her
head. “I don’t think I understand.

“I know it is
difficult to understand but there is power in our emotions. Most
ghosts are just echoes of people who died under traumatic
circumstances and as a result a piece of them has become imprinted
on the world. They go to the same places and do the same thing over
and over again, like a recording. That is what most ghosts are.”
Rufus explained. “But Phantoms, they are ones that have taken form
and gained free thought, leaching off our fears and our strongest
emotions. It is something scholars have speculated for years but
have never proven.” His gaze returned to Terry once more. “Until
today.”

All eyes were on
her now. “I was the one who brought Edward back, though it was
purely accidental. We must have not killed him properly the first
time we did and I think a small part of him survived somehow.”

Connor furrowed
his brow. “Then how exactly did he come back?”

She nodded at
Rufus. “It’s like he said, Phantoms feed off fear and emotions.
Remember a few weeks ago when I told you about how I missed what we
used to get up to all those years ago?”

He nodded.

“Well...” she
sighed. “I think my longing for that brought him back somehow.”

“I still don’t
understand.” Connor admitted.

Rufus inclined his
head. “The Alchemists are all part of a hive mind Connor. Even
though it is usually inactive, they still always have a degree of
telepathy about them.” His large, round, blue eyes regarded the
princess, as they sparkled in the afternoon light. “I think when
Edward attacked Terry nine years ago and damaged her mind a bit of
him got stuck in there as well. That combined with Terry’s recent
reminiscence and the emotion attached to those memories acted like
a trigger and brought him back.”

“But not fully.”
Terry added. “That is why he accused me of killing his wife and why
he could not remember her. It’s like I said, it was only a part of
him that came back.”

The others gazed
at her for the longest time.

“I still don’t get
it.” Connor said.

Terry rolled her
eyes.

Connor, Faye and
Lyle had many questions after that and even once they had received
their answers they still seemed baffled. None of them had ever
heard such a tale like it. The conversation was only finally broken
up when a courier appeared; the King required the general’s
presence. Not long after Lyle’s departure, Rufus headed off to help
the doctors with their aid. The Acara was a man of many talents. He
was not a qualified physician in the books of The Southlands
stringent academic system. Rufus may not have held any
qualifications their nation recognised, but he was trained
nonetheless. Shortly afterwards Terry sent Connor to fetch some
more water for Faye.