The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) (19 page)

And I was here, conversing with her sworn enemy.

CHAPTER 17

“Your alchemy is…
metal
, right?”

“Iron.”
He nodded, raising his arm to show me a thick, heavy silver ban
d on his wrist. It was carved with deep, gray R
unes, almost exactly like
the pale yellow
tattoo
on my chest
and
the fading crimson patterns on
Dove’s arms.
The lessons Dove taught me about “Blood Borne” and “Self Taught” alchemists popped in my head. Although they were related by blood, Leon wasn’t a Blood Borne like Dove? Interesting…

“These are the transmutation R
unes I use for my alchemy,” he says, “All I have to do is touch anything made of
iron,
metal or steel, and shape it to what I see fit.”

“Like…making a black sword
out of a black iron school gate?”

“Precisely.”

“I know you and Dove are both trying to find the Elixir—even for different reasons—but…why are you two trying to hurt each other?”

“Because…she
, Dove
wants to
find a way to
destroy it!” he said shaking, “It never occurred to her to think about
using
i
t to help people! It’s because—”

“You’re lying.” I said. Leon’s face went pale as milk again, his eyes darting away from mine. “It’s ridiculous to think a brother and sister would fight over something like that. What’s the real reason, Leon? Answer me! You owe me that much at least!”

“I’m not—”

“You are,” I said, rising to my feet, “I can see it on your face. It hurts you to talk about Dove. It hurts you even more to
talk about your mentor. This is something even bigger than her disappearance
,
isn’t it
?
Dove told me a little of the details, but from what it sounds like; I think an
immortal
alchemist who’s been around for
centuries
even can take care of herself. You’re angry! I understand why, but do you really think that fighting with your own sister is
gonna
solve any of this?
”

He jumped to his feet, spilling his half empty coffee cup all over the table. He was in my face so fast I couldn’t even blink, “
Don’t talk like you understand
!
Do you honestly think that she would have just walked out on us, to let us fend for ourselves? Do you really think that, even if she was the most powerful alchemist in the entire world even she could have been ambushed? And that she could have gotten severely injured protecting a weakling like me?! I don’t believe
for a second that she disappeared on her own—not one! Yet Dove refuses to listen! She thinks everything is alright, that if we stick to our Master’s rules, then everything will go back to the way it was. But she can’t face the truth—that something truly terrible happened to Master. And what does she want to do? Find these powerful pieces of the Elixir and d
estroy them,
when we could use it to
avenge our Master
. We could bring the world
peace
!”

His outburst was so sudden and full of pure, hot hatred I felt my words lodge in my throat.
It was completely obvious now.

Leon didn’t just admire and mourn for Guinevere, the mentor who probably saved his life and took him under her wing.

He loved her. He loved her so much that he’s taking it out on Dove—the only family he has now.
His idea on saving Guinevere has become…twisted. He honestly believed that if he had his hands on that shard of the Elixir that he could become just as powerful as Guinevere…and protect her at all costs.

“I’ll show myself out,” I replied, hoping he didn’t see my clenched fists trembling, “Please stay away from me and Dove until I ask you to, alright? Neither of us—especially
me
—owe you
anything
right now.”

Without another word, I walked out. He didn’t follow. But as I descended the stairs I could have sworn I heard him sobbing.
Crying…for what?
Himself?
His regrets?
Me? I didn’t know. I didn’t
want
to know.

My hear
t
felt like it cracked in half. I guess it was a good thing it really didn’t do that literally…but it may as well have.

It sure felt like it, anyway.

◊◊◊◊◊

I didn’t know what to feel.

Upset that Leon had snapped like that? Angry at the fact that he lost
his temper like
some little spoiled child? Hurt that I honestly
did
want to get to the bottom of this sibling rivalry and that nothing I could do would make them feel any better?
To help lift there burdens?

I wasn’t a miracle worker. But why did I want to see these two get along so well? I couldn’t
under
stand it. Dove and Leon were living on the same grounds yet they couldn’t see or talk to each other because of their brainless fighting.

But I was scared now. What if Leon was beyond pissed at my remarks and went to take it out on Dove? She didn’t have her alchemy anymore—she wouldn’t be able to defend herself. Or what if he came after me and tried to finish the job? But what would he gain from that? If he killed me the second time, there was no way Dove would help him; he would be back to square one.

I was the bridge between these two, whether I liked it or not. I had to get both of their stories in order to fix everything.
Because,
I told myself,
if we all work together to find the Elixir it would be better.
Either way,
Dove or Leon had the right to complain. I knew Dove wanted to find the Elixir to save my life, and I was sure that Leon wanted that too, after his mistakes.

The rain pelted harder as
I walked. The water was cold
, making my toes numb
even inside my boots
. It wasn’t until the rain fell harder—

It wasn’t rain anymore, it was
hailing
!

I snapped out of my thoughts and raced to the nearest building—the gym. Perfect. The gym was the only building on campus besides the library that they left unlocked during the weekends. I reached the double doors just as the hail, the size of quarters, bombarded faster onto the wet lawns.

The hallway was stuffy and warm, and smelled like lemon scented Pin Sol, rubber and sweat. I thought I was alone, until—

“
Hey
Em
!”

My heart ski
pped three beats at that voice.
“Jack!
H
-Hey.”
I called out as he emerged

from
the basketball courts.

“What are you doing here?” we both said at the same time, and then laughed. His laugh was as warm as milk and honey. I just wanted to be wrapped up in it forever.

“Ladies first,” he grinned, leading me into the court. The gym was ten times bigger than the one back home. There were black polished bleachers on both sides, and the walls were covered in bright posters for the basketball team.  There were
a few guys dribbling a ball who
gave us a wave before continuing their practice. “Hey, are you…you know, alright?”

I blinked. Besides the confrontation with Leon, I felt…well, bummed, but I wasn’t really going to tell Jack that. “Yeah
,
of course I am.”

He gave a sigh of relief. “That’s cool. I keep thinking about what happened to you last week and I was, well, worried.” He scratched the back of his neck, shifting the chain a bit that hung around his neck.

I
blushed
head to toe; like I had swallowed the most amazing
hot chocolate in the world, but there was still a smidgen of disappointment that I hoped didn’t show on my face.
Of course he
was going to ask if I was okay. What else would he ask?
“Hey
Em
, I just realized that you are the most amazing girl in the world. My life would never be complete without you! Let’s get married!”
I inwardly giggled, daydreaming about my Jack in a handsome black tux; me in a stunning white dress; imaging a disheveled Mallory clutching to Jack’s pant leg, her mascara running down her cheeks like some creepy clown out of a horror movie.

I shifted my we
ight, tilting my head a little and
a few wet strands slapped at my face. I wiped them away, hoping I was acting as cute and flirty as I thought. “Thank you, you know, for keeping me company when I was in the nurse’s office.”

He laughed, “It’s no problem.”

I also got yet another shocker of the day as Jack told me they finally got the guy who did it. As it turns out, it really
was
some random student who broke into the girl’s bathroom, which made me feel both relieved…and pissed. The cover story was that the boy was just trying to sneak a few peeks at the cheerleaders unchanging, but the campus whispered something different: that it was his assigned initiation task to steal—of all people’s—Mallory’s underwear to prove he had pulled it off.
That
was the flash of white I had seen before the jerk performed his daredevil act flying through the windows. (
Ew
.
So
gross
.)

Boys.
Really.
But at least the perverted idiot had a week
of
suspension.

“You play basketball?” I asked as he led me up to the top row of the bleachers.

He chuckled and shook his head, “I wish I was that good, but no. I’m just running laps around the room. It’s the only room large enough to stretch out.”

“Oh, fo
r your cross country meet
coming up,” I said, “Yeah, the weather outside is horrible!”

“Tell me about it!” he groaned, “I had everything planned out perfectly and the storm had to keep going on all through the night. But forget about me, what are you doing on in this weather?”

“I was in the library,” I lied, “I thought I’d take a walk around—the rain does that, you know, it clears my mind—and it sta
rted hailing so I headed in here
.”

“I get what you mean,” he said seriously, “I like to run through the rain, too. It really does cleanse the spirit. But the rain was a little too cold and heavy today.” He leaned back against the wall and dropped his arm around my shoulde
r. The warmth and the gesture w
ere just too much; I felt like swallowed a bucket of po
p rocks and my insides were
exploding and bouncing up and down without stop. I couldn’t help but notice how his white tee seemed to cling to his skin
; I saw the bumps underneath it—
that must have been the chain necklace he always wears.

Maybe it’s his
pers
onal lucky charm, just like my bracelet.

“
Em
, there’s something I’ve been
wanting
to ask you,” he said, turning towards me. His coal black eyes reflected the lights and made him shine like a prince.

“
Y-
Yes?”
I said, feeling my heart flutter like a butterfly.

He laced one of his hands in my own, tangling our fingers together. His hand was so firm and calloused, but soft and warm and the same time. It was a little sweaty too, but I could deal with that.

“
Em
, I just wanted to say…
it’s so cool how you put all of your effort into your studying.
That’s really admirable, you know?
”

I just stared. My heart started to shrivel like a raisin. Was it a southern thing to act flirty with someone when you gave them a compliment?

“That’s it?”

“That, and there’s one more thing,” he said, blushing a little as he leaned in until our lips nearly brushed together. He gave a slight chuckle, and I could feel it reverberate through my spine.

“I—well, it’s k
ind of hard to say it outright—”

“Then…
just say it,” I teased, my voice a whisper.

He ran a hand through his blonde locks, cheeks redder than before, “
What I’m trying to say is,
Em
, you’re rea
lly…cool. Not to mention pretty…
and smart.”