Ethan Wright and the Alchemist's Order, (Book 2) (20 page)

Each pulled a life stone from their respective pouch and held it out. Four transparent stones, each hanging from a chain, were presented to the person on the right.

“Remember,” said Availia, “this works by imprinting the last person that touches the stone. So after the stone is touched, put it back in your pouch,” she said, glaring at Auren and his slightly misshapen stone. “And if the last person to touch that stone is in danger, dark smoke will swirl inside the stone.”

Ethan, Availia and Stanley stared at Auren, waiting for him to acknowledge the instructions.

“
What?!
” snapped Auren, irritated. “I know … I studied!” He grabbed Ethan’s stone with his free hand and everyone else followed suit. A flash confirmed the imprint had succeeded and they put their life stones back into their pouches.

Ethan nodded at his friends, put his hand on the door and pulled.

Chapter 17
The Djinn

The door made a grating noise as it scraped open, stone on stone. They entered a great hallway with a single row of pillars lining the center. The ceiling was as tall as the room was long. The four walked to the end of the hallway, past the pillars and through an archway. To their left was a plain, dark passage with a much shorter distance from ground to ceiling. To their right was a grand archway, much taller, with a hallway that curved so that they could not see the end.

“Well … I think we should split up,” said Ethan, looking down one hallway and then the other.

“I agree,” replied Stanley.

“What? Why would we split up?” argued Auren. “That seems stupid — what if we run into somebody? I don’t think we’re supposed to be here, remember?”

“We have no idea how far these hallways lead — we’ll have a much better chance of finding Loka if we split up,” argued Availia.

Auren shrugged his shoulders, reluctantly agreeing with them. “Fine … Ethan and I get to go down the wicked hallway, over there,” he announced, pointing toward the archway with the curved hallway. “You guys can go down the dark and spooky one.”

“Fine,” replied Stanley agreeably.

“Any problems, we meet back here,” ordered Ethan.

Everyone nodded. Stanley and Availia each lit a miracle torch and started down the plain hallway. Ethan and Auren headed through the archway and down the curved hall. The walls were quite fascinating, with intricate carvings that depicted what looked like Black Lake. A long blue mass trailed from the lake, which ended in a young boy who was crouched over. The boy looked scared, and quite alone on the enormous wall.

“You think that’s the boy trapped inside the tongue?” asked Ethan, pointing.

Auren shrugged, staring at the wall. “Not sure — that boy looks pretty miserable. The one we saw was a jerk — kinda reminds me of Marcus.”

Ethan and Auren both snickered. Realizing there were no clues to Loka’s whereabouts, they studied the pictures for only a moment before continuing on. They came to the end of the hallway where a great double door stopped them from proceeding. To the side was a small glass container half-filled with water, very similar to the Regal Seas door in the main chamber.

“Regal Seas alchemy?” asked Ethan.

“Yeah … I dunno what we’re supposed to do,” said Auren as he tried pushing the doors open. “They won’t budge.” He stuck his hand in the basin of water and placed his hand on the door. “How did you get that other door open — do I just try and make a reaction?”

Ethan shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, that’s all I did.” He then dipped his hand in the water and placed his palm on the door. He concentrated on creating a reaction, but nothing happened.

“Maybe you have to be a member of Regal Seas to get in here,” grumbled Auren.

Ethan noticed that, like the first basin, water was pooling on the ceiling above. A small drip released from the ceiling and splashed into the container.

“Could be,” answered Ethan.

Auren shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t wanna turn back — wonder if we can break the door down somehow.”

Suddenly, Ethan had an idea. He held his hand over the bowl, palm up. The next drip that fell landed on his palm, right in the center of his alchemy symbol. It glowed a crystal blue color. “Or maybe … this could work.” He put his hand to the double door and the same crystal blue color seeped through the edges. He pushed forward and one of the doors slowly creaked open.

“That’s wicked,” exclaimed Auren, eagerly stepping through the doorway.

Neither of the boys was prepared for the spectacle they had walked into. They had entered the largest room Ethan had ever seen. It was more of an enormous cylindrical cavern than a room. Rising unimaginably high, the massive walls were rocky and adorned with large cracks and crevices. The floor was dirt and chunks of rock that had fallen from the walls over time, layered over footprints from past travelers or inhabitants of the cave. In the center of the floor there was an immense circular chasm. Ethan and Auren walked toward the massive pit, its circumference slightly less than that of the cavern itself. Ethan walked to the edge and looked down — Auren cautiously approached the brink as his heart leapt from his chest.

“No, no, no …
that
is one deep hole,” exclaimed Auren. “I don’t really like heights, Ethan. I’m not going near that thing.” A small draft of air came, blowing Auren’s hair about. He quickly took several steps back.

“You can’t see the bottom!” replied Ethan, leaning over the edge. He backed up, standing next to Auren, and looked upward. He was amazed at the incredible sight they were standing under.

Auren, seeing Ethan staring upward, also glanced up. “Whoa — is that…?”

“Yeah,” replied Ethan in awe, “that’s Black Lake … or the bottom of it anyhow. It’s just hovering up there — but …
how?
”

The lake itself was a half-sphere, flat side up. The bottom was held a few hundred feet above them by what seemed to be a mystical force, directly over the hole that went endlessly downward. Glints of sunlight shone all around the cave as the water calmly flowed and swirled. The natural lighting allowed the two alchemists to see almost all the way across the room.

Ethan had noticed something else that was strange about the chasm in the center of the cavern. Thousands of white bottles were floating in a rotating motion over the hole. They managed to stay relatively even with the cave floor that Ethan and Auren were standing on.

“What are those?” whispered Ethan, just loud enough for Auren to hear.

“Don’t know … but maybe we should have taken the other hallway,” complained Auren.

Ethan got down on his stomach with his head hanging over the enormous pit. He, unlike Auren, was not afraid of heights and slid forward so his chest was hanging out. Auren quickly grabbed Ethan’s foot and anchored him.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” yelled Auren in a panic.

Ethan stretched out his arm as one of the milky white bottles came bobbing around like it was floating in water, except it was hovering in air. The bottle was the approximate shape of a wine jug and had strange black writing on the face. A cork was stuck in the top and a white label covered the cork, holding it fast to the neck of the bottle. As he reached, he outstretched his fingers and the bottle glanced off his fingertips. He patiently waited for the next one.

“Do we have to do this?” begged Auren.

“Don’t you want to see what’s inside?”

“NO … no, I really don’t!”

“It’s like we found an invisible alchemy force holding up these bottles — and the lake above! Edison would think this is really fascinating, don’t you think?” insisted Ethan as he wiggled himself farther out.

“No … he most likely thinks being released from the dungeon that he’s locked up in would be fascinating,” retorted Auren.

“Are you that nervous up here?”“ inquired Ethan.

Auren thought for only a moment. “Um … yes … I really am.” His voice trembled while he refused to break his stare from the seemingly bottomless pit in front of him.

“Well, try checking on Availia and Stanley to get your mind off it.”

Auren, initially unsure what Ethan was talking about, remembered the life stone in the pouch tied to his waist. He held Ethan’s ankle with one hand, opened the pouch and pulled up on the chain with his other hand. A light-colored smoke was whirling around inside the stone.

“Light smoke — maybe a mild amount of danger? I dunno — how do I read this thing?”

“That sounds about right. I think they’re doing fine — well at least one of them. Who was the last one to touch that life stone?”

“Stanley,” answered Auren, whose voice was now a bit more relaxed.

Another bottle came bobbing around. Just like the last one, it behaved as if it were floating on water. Ethan spread his hands out flat and relaxed his arms. They felt as if they were floating. He became mesmerized as he hung over the deep black hole, fixating on the endless depths of the pit. As his eyes probed deeper, the absence of light hypnotized him.

“Ethan!”

Ethan quickly snapped out of it. “What?!”

Auren, still holding Ethan’s foot, was starting to panic again. Being so close to the edge of the pit was eating away at his supply of courage. “Grab the bottle already!” he demanded.

Ethan looked directly in front of himself. This bottle was also milky white but was sealed with a purple label. He grabbed it and Auren quickly pulled him back to safety. Ethan sat up with the bottle in hand while Auren slid his bottom away from the edge.

“We did all that for the Alchemist Order’s personal wine store?!” snapped Auren harshly.

Ethan jiggled the bottle and held it next to his ear. It did not sound like there was any liquid inside. “I don’t think this is wine, Auren.”

“Maybe that one leaked? We’re not getting another one!” he griped, protesting the idea of going anywhere near the pit.

Ethan studied the purple label covering the cork. He could not read the writing; it seemed completely foreign to him. The Orobori started to tear the label.

“Wait!” squeaked Auren. “You think this is a good idea?”

“Not really, no — but it could be a clue. Maybe there’s something inside that could help us find Loka.”

Auren nodded hesitantly.

Ethan put his fingers back on the purple seal and tore it from the neck of the bottle. The cork started to shudder. Ethan dropped the bottle on its side. The jug began to vibrate wildly, until it righted itself. Ethan and Auren both backed away. The cork made a small
POP
as it burst off the top. The mouth of the bottle started to distort. It spread outward and turned itself inside out, engulfing the base of the bottle. The insides were exposed, showing a wooden surface in a wide conical shape. Small wooden tassels hung around the edge of the object.

“Is that … a
hat
?” asked Ethan, puzzled.

Auren quickly stood himself up. “I say we throw it off the edge,” he exclaimed.

Suddenly, the hat shot off the ground and a figure stood in front of them, with the hat firmly on its head. Its body seemed to be made of dim purple smoke that was starting to compact itself into physical form. The wooden tassels hanging off the large conical hat partially covered the creature’s face. Its eyes opened, a bright purple that could be seen glowing through the tassels. The cork that had originally held the bottle closed was hanging from one of the tassels, slightly lower than the rest — the purple label still affixed to the side.

“BffffHwwaaahhh! THROW ME OFF THE EDGE?” bellowed the creature. “I … didn’t sleep for a hundred-thousand years to be thrown back into the depths of Hel,” he grumbled. The creature looked at his hands as they started to form fingers.

Ethan and Auren backed away slowly. “What … what are you?”

The creature looked up at Ethan and studied him. “I am you. I am djinn.”

Ethan was taken aback. He remembered the old woman with the markings around her eyes, and the young girl from his dreams, both calling him djinn before.

“A genie?!” exclaimed Auren. “Do we get wishes then? Are you here to grant us wishes?”

“Wishes?” mumbled the being. “I am djinn.”

“Um, what do you mean you’re like me? I’m not djinn,” stated Ethan. “I’m human.”

The djinn stepped back and reexamined the boys. “YOU,” he howled as he pointed with his newly formed finger, “are
human
? However did you survive?”

Ethan was momentarily distracted by something he saw from the corner of his eye. A black swirl inside the floating lake twisted and swam through the light from the sun. “Survive what?” asked Ethan, refocusing on the djinn.

“Human? Why did you leave us?” asked the djinn.

“Look … um … djinn, I’m not entirely sure what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen you before—”

“HUMANS ARE DESERTERS,” bellowed the djinn, “…traitors,” he added in a loud whisper that echoed throughout the cavern.The djinn took a small step forward, testing a leg that was forming. As his foot jolted against the ground, purple smoke rolled down and away from his body. The creature looked pleased with his progress and refocused on Ethan and Auren. He took another step toward them.

“Wait a second,” stammered Ethan. “We mean you no harm — we’re just here looking for a friend. Do you know Loka Tattur? Do you know if we can find him down here?”

“I care not of this human, or any other,” mumbled the djinn.

“Oh … no, he’s not a human. He’s from Losalfa—”

Auren cut himself short as he noticed a rather large shadow swimming through Black Lake and blotting out the light from the sun. He pointed up to where he had seen the ominous shadow. Ethan looked up and saw it getting larger — moving toward them. The shadow suddenly broke out of the water with a great
SPLASH
and glided through the air.

The djinn turned, seeing something it recognized, and grew even more agitated. “No … is this a trap? HUMAN TRAIT—” yelled the djinn.

BOOM!
The djinn was instantly extinguished under the webbed paw of the large black water drake that had landed right in front of Ethan and Auren. The dragon lifted his chin, opened his giant beak and
ROARED,
sending a horrible echo throughout the cavern. The figure, once a forming djinn, was now purple smoke whirling in all directions with a
poof
. The glowing smoke glided up and around the armored dragon, whispering as he sailed upward and dissipated. “
Traitors
….”