Alchemist (20 page)

“A credit to the
crown as always Micca?” she shouted. The two men looked in her
direction. Terry could make out Micca’s nervous expression despite
the poor light.

Getting up she
walked over to them. “You must be Lord Rilario.”

He gave a slight,
if impromptu bow as she approached. “Yes, I am. And you are Her
Royal...”

She cut him off,
“Everyone just calls me Terry.”

Rilario was a
little surprised by the remark. “You must forgive my appearance.”
He added.

“You’re fine,
you’ve been tied up and beaten no one expects you to look your
best.”

He gave a slight
smile, unsure of what to say next. “Yes, like you say...”

“And just so you
know, the Kamari we killed attacked us first.” She glared at Micca,
who lowered his gaze. “It was self-defence.”

“You still killed
them.” Micca mumbled.

“And what would
you have done?” she asked, raising her voice.

Rilario held up a
hand in supplication. “Please, this is not the place.” He said.
Seeing he had their undivided attention he continued, “I hate to
say it but the men who held me were operating outside their remit.
I was an officer for nearly twenty years and I trained the Kamari,”
he shook his head, “They were acting in a way they should not have.
If they were my men I would have had them all court
marshalled.”

Terry looked him
up and down. He was in a right state. “How long did they keep you
down there?” she asked

He nodded the pain
evident in his expression. “I think it was two days...I’m not
sure.” He looked away glumly, remembering. “They kept hitting me.
It’s hard to recall.”

“
Do you
think you’ll be able to walk?” Terry asked, changing the
subject.

He looked back to
her, nodding. “Yes, I think so. I am a little stiff and a little
sore but I should manage.” He glanced around.

Reading his
expression Terry said, “We’re about forty miles north of
Newport.”

He hesitated.
“Forgive me for asking...”

“We’re not taking
you back to Marrich and we’re not turning you in. It’s up to you
where you go from here I only wanted to talk to you.”

“About
Edward?”

She nodded. “It’s
definitely him?”

“Yes.” He replied.
There was sadness in his eyes. “You will want to know about him?
The last I heard he had killed several people and forced his way
through a portal to Earth.”

“Ladre?” Terry
asked.

A fleeting look of
surprise passed over him. “When I think about it, it would make
sense that you know him. You and your uncle seem to be well
connected.”

Micca scratched
his ear. “Maybe we should take a seat?”

Terry shrugged but
Rilario seemed keen. They headed back to the burned out
campfire.

With Connor and
Darius up, the five gathered in a circle around the cinders to
discuss the matter at hand.

“Where shall I
begin?” Lord Rilario asked, looking around each of them.

“Can you tell us
when you first met Edward?” Terry asked.

Rilario nodded.
“Certainly, it was about eight months ago. But it wasn’t until he
tried to kill me that I realised who he was.”

Her eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?”

He sighed, his
gaze growing distant. “The first time I met him he looked
completely different and was using a false name. He came to me
expressing an interest in becoming a junior politician,” he shook
his head, “My previous two apprentices had both died a few months
before that in an accident. At the time I said no, I was in no
condition to take on any new ones so soon after what had
happened.”

Micca inclined his
head. “We think Edward may have been responsible.”

“Yes...” Rilario
nodded, lost in thought. “But I will keep a long story short as it
upsets me to talk about it too much. He persisted and eventually I
said yes.” He looked around them all. “I spent many days with him,
teaching him the basics, which is normal when you take on a new
junior for the first six months. Now that I think about it I spent
too much time with him. I don’t know what it was, but he was very
persuasive at getting me to stay with him, even when it was getting
late.”

“He does that to
gain control of people.” Connor added. He and Terry exchanged a
knowing look.

Rilario
nodded. “Yes, I know.” He said regretfully. “But one day, I tripped
and fell down the stairs, hitting my head off the steps.” He tapped
the back of his head absently where he had struck it. “Two of my
aides had seen me fall and came to help.” His gaze met Terry’s.
“And so did
he
.” He shook his
head. “I don’t know what it was but from then on I could see him as
he really was. The blow must have snapped be out of his trance or
something. Without thinking I said his name. I thought he was going
to kill us all but instead he ran.” He looked at Terry again,
confusion in his good eye. “I’ve never seen him again. Four weeks
later a unit of Kamari turned up at my door with a warrant for my
arrest, accusing me of killing the Duke of Naris’s
daughter.”

“What happened to
you?”

“They locked me up
and questioned me.” He looked at Micca. “That is when I met Micca.
He too had been arrested and was being kept in the same
prison.”

Terry glared at
him. The Alchemist lowered his gaze, shifting nervously.

“He was in the
cell next to mine, so as you can imagine we spent a long time
talking. Two weeks later Micca broke out and he took me with
him.”

“And what were you
in for?” Terry asked, her focus falling squarely on the outcast
Alchemist.

Micca looked at
her with pleading eyes. He shook his head. “Please...” he
begged.

“Tell me.”

Micca hesitated,
the tears coming unbidden. “I raped someone...a Pyrovite.”

Terry stood,
drawing her blades.

“Terry! No!
Terry!” Connor yelled, grabbing her by the arm and. Terry stopped
and glared back at him. “Let go of me.” She warned coldly.

Connor let go and
stepped back. He knew she would kill him in a heartbeat. “Please
don’t do this.” He begged.

“And why not?” she
asked, turning to face him.

“Because we have
enough going on right now, don’t stoop to his level.”

Terry turned her
attention back to Micca, then back to Connor. For a long moment he
thought she would kill him. She flexed her wrists and the blades
retracted.

Rilario stood. “I
do not condone Micca’s actions but the fact of the matter is I may
have been executed long before now if he had not freed me. His help
since has also ensured the safety of my entire family.”

Terry fixed him
with a deadly gaze. “That’s doesn’t make it okay.”

“You killed people
yourself yesterday my lady, people who had families despite their
actions.” Rilario pointed out.

“Don’t
you
dare
compare me to him. He
raped someone for no good reason at all. We killed those guards to
save you.” She jabbed a finger at him. “Chances are they would have
killed us on the spot if we had surrendered.” She looked at Micca.
“What did that Pyrovite ever do to you?”

Micca swallowed
hard. “I was in bloodlust...I could not stop myself...she was the
only one around.”

Terry
laughed - a humourless, cynical bark. “That’s not an excuse! It
is
never
an
excuse!”

Tears streamed
unbidden down Micca’s face. “I am sorry...I am so, so, sorry.”

Terry shook her
head, her stomach turning with revulsion. “So what were your plans
then Rilario? You stick up for him and he sticks up for you until
the heat dies down?”

The disgraced
lord’s jowls quivered as he shook his blotchy, bruised head. “No,
it was not like that. He was going to escort me to the temporal
gateway that Ladre had. Then we were both going to go our separate
ways. But it never happened, because Ladre stopped using it a while
ago. I don’t know why.”

“That would have
been you seeing him.” Connor said quietly, looking to Terry.
“Edward must have framed Rilario after the mind control he had on
him snapped.”

Terry turned to
him, nodding, her face still etched with rage. She looked back
round at the two outcasts. “Why infiltrate the Senate by
brainwashing a minister when you could start a civil war by framing
one?”

The two men
remained silent, partially silhouetted in long shadows cast by the
rising sun.

Connor looked at
Rilario. “Do you know any reason why Edward did not try to kill you
when you realised who he was?”

“I don’t know. I
thought he was going too. I always heard he killed anyone who got
in his way.”

Connor and Terry
exchanged puzzled glances but said nothing. Connor folded his arms.
“That is true, that is weird. But is there anymore you can tell us
about him? What he said to you?”

Rilario shook his
head. “No, most of it was just politics. That’s all we ever really
discussed.”

“Before coming to
Marrich did he tell you where he had been staying?”

“His documents
said that he was from Naro, but they must have been forged. I’ve
never taken on an apprentice without checking their background
first.”

“Then no-one
really does know where he’s been all these years.” Terry said
impatiently. “We’re done here, let’s go.” Turning she stormed
away.

“Wait...but you
said you would defend him...”

She stopped and
turned to face him. “That was before I realised he was in league
with someone like you.” She pointed a finger at him. “And if I ever
see either of you again I’ll kill you.” That said Terrifallo left
on her long way home.

“Terry! Terry!”
Connor shouted running after her.

Darius stared at
the men for a long moment, unsure what to do. Finally though, with
great reluctance, he turned and hurried after Connor and Terry.

******

“Where are you
going?” Connor asked, struggling to keep up.

“Marrich, where do
you think?” She replied bluntly, striding quickly across the open
plains. The sun was now hanging half over the horizon, causing long
shadows to run behind them on spindly legs as they went.

Connor fell in
step with her. “I don’t know if that is a good idea after what
happened yesterday. The Senate may find out that we killed those
Kamari before we get back to the city.”

“I doubt it, not
unless the Kamari want to draw attention to the fact that they
caught Lord Rilario and didn’t let them know.”

“You don’t know
that. The person who gave them their orders might try covering
their tracks. No minister from the Senate would ever go to that
cellar to see for themselves. The Kamari are self-regulating, this
whole thing could easily be swept under the rug.”

She stopped and
turned to him. “What are they going to do, arrest us? They’ll
arrest us anyway as soon as we step into the city for running off
in the first place.”

Connor sighed,
deflating. He suddenly looked very tired. “Thanks for dragging me
into this by the way, now my own country will be chasing me like
I’m a criminal.”

Terry scoffed.
“Now who doesn’t know what he’s talking about? They’re not going to
know who killed those men in the cellar, there weren’t any
witnesses! And I don’t think Micca or Rilario will be telling
anyone about what happened anytime soon!” she exclaimed.

He jabbed a finger
at her. “We still ran away without telling anyone! I could go to
prison for that!”

“You worry too
much. You’ve got my father’s protection remember?”

He frowned. “That
doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Well tough, it’s
all you’re getting...it’s not like I can offer you anything better
anyway.” She noticed Darius trailing behind them. “Are you okay?”
she asked.

Darius looked
away. “Yeah, I’m fine, thanks...”

She looked at
Connor, who shrugged.

“He must think I’m
going to eat him.” She whispered as they carried on.

“I think he’s more
likely still shaken after what happened yesterday.”

Terry glanced back
at the shell-shocked man for a moment but looked ahead again when
she spoke. “Why is he still following us anyway? None of this has
anything to do with him anymore.”

Connor shrugged.
“I don’t know. But he’s not causing any harm, is he?”

He had her there.
“No not really.” She agreed, staring off into the distant horizon.
“He’s actually ok, even if he is a bit spineless.”

Connor smiled,
digging his hands into his pockets. The morning sun may have been
above the horizon now but it was still chilly. “Never let anyone
off lightly do you?”

Terry regarded him
suspiciously for a moment then smiled. “Of course not.”

They walked on in
silence for a few minutes. “There’s no way we’re going to get back
to Marrich on foot.”

“I would carry you
two but I’m too exhausted. I think that’s why I changed back during
the night, to save energy.” She shrugged. “I don’t know it’s never
happened before.”

Connor stared at
her thoughtfully. “That is weird.”

It was her turn to
shrug. “Hopefully we won’t need to walk that far anyway. Our two
days are up. Dad and Lyle should be coming for us now.”

“I don’t know if
I’m looking forward to it or not. On one hand I’d appreciate the
lift but on the other I don’t want to see your dad if he’s pissed
off again.”

******

The Prime Minister
ran into Fallo’s quarters, a small unit of guards hurrying in
behind him. One of the captain’s, who was already there, turned to
him, his expression grim. The reason why he had been summoned did
not need to be explained - the twenty foot wide hole in the floor
said everything.

******