Alchemist Academy: Book 1 (13 page)

Damned Blues … they’d ruined my party.

A loudspeaker crackled to life and a buzzer sounded in two quick bursts. I sighed with relief, figuring the teachers were putting a stop to this. The stones stopped flying and everyone stayed still, waiting for something.

“All students are required to attend a retirement ceremony for—” The woman talking over the speaker paused, and everyone seemed to lean forward, waiting for the last words. “Costas Vance of the Red house.”

The Blues roared in excitement. The Reds slumped and many eyes turned to a guy who was maybe eighteen. He rubbed his hands and looked at his housemates.

“I guess it’s my time to go back to the rubes.” He smiled. The Reds around him patted his shoulder and whispered to him. Everyone started walking toward the hub.

My adrenaline was still firing as I kept watching the Blues, waiting for one of them to throw another stone. But they all seemed to forget the full-blown fight we’d just been in. Reds and Blues alike walked toward the Hub.

Carly walked near me and I grabbed her wrist, bringing her attention to me. “What was that all about?” I pointed to the Blues.

“We have wars with them all the time. We aren’t supposed to have our own stones, but it isn’t exactly like they enforce shit here. I think they like it. It keeps us hating each other, especially if someone gets hurt bad.”

I took a deep breath and watched the Reds and Blues walking toward the hub, giving the fence a wide berth. The Reds for the most part kept their heads down, while the Blues hurled taunts over the fence.

“I hate them,” Carly said and walked away.

I knew what she meant. It was so easy to hate someone who had attacked you the way they had. I had been a victim at the fence not long ago. I fingered the soft bruise under my hair.

“You okay?” Mark asked.

“Yeah. Just a bit freaked out after our first stone war, I guess.”

The Reds moved past us toward the hub.

“Guess we’d better start sneaking stones away if we’re going to have a fighting chance here,” he pointed out, taking my hand in his. “Did you hear Costas? I think he’s getting out of here. This could be our chance of finding a way out.”

Once we crossed into the hub, the taunting and swearing stopped. Everyone kept silent and formed a mass of people around the huge statue of the woman, whose name someone told me was Clymene.

I’d been to many assemblies and pep rallies, but this took on a whole different vibe. With the Reds around me, sulking and mostly looking at the ground or the ceiling, I didn’t expect a cheer squad to come out and get things started, but there were definitely two teams involved. The hub didn’t have a fence, but there might as well have been one. A solid twenty feet separated the Reds from the Blues, making a clean line across the hub to a set of double doors.

The large wooden doors opened and the professors emerged, each wearing a black suit or dress. A dozen or more of them formed a circle around the statue. Only a few coughs and rustling feet broke the silence.

A woman with blonde hair pulled into a tight bun stood at the edge of the fountain. She took a white stone from a sack at her hip and dropped it into the fountain. It struck the water, sending ripples through the shallow circle. The water bubbled and steamed, shooting up Clymene’s legs and reaching her chest. The blonde woman then pulled out another stone and hurled it into the water, which froze over the statue, encasing it from the chest down.

The blonde took off her glove and handed it to Priscilla. Behind her, the globe opened in sections, like a sliced orange. One of the wedges lay on the floor next to the woman.

Even from our considerable distance, her bright smile was a beacon as she held her hands out. “Will Costas Vance please come forward?” she asked.

Costas walked past me and made his way through the crowd. The Reds shuffled out of his way, not making eye contact with him. He reached the clearing near the fountain and stopped, wiping his forehead with a shaky hand. The Blues on the other side of the fountain clapped and grabbed each other as they pointed at him.

The woman stepped down from the fountain and greeted Costas with a big smile, her hand landing on his shoulder. “Costas, the Academy and I would like to thank you for the years of service you brought us. I know you’ll carry the memories of what you have learned here, and perhaps you can make the world better than the way you left it,” she said.

I noticed Ira next to me, staring at the floor.

“Who is that?” I whispered.

“President Verity,” she answered so low I thought I had misheard her name.

The president.
The very person I had come here to find.

“What’s all of this about?”

“Just watch, if you can,” Ira said.

I turned and watched. Verity pulled Costas up onto the edge of the fountain. The Blues cheered and a few Reds politely clapped.

“Are you ready for your retirement?” Verity asked.

“Uh, I guess. I haven’t seen my family in a long time.”

“Good. I bet they can’t wait to see you.”

The boy kept looking at the open globe. Verity took both of his shoulders and steadied him. “Costas, I have sacks carrying one stone each. Once you have been accepted by our goddess, you will open the sacks and combine the two stones. There isn’t any light in there, but I’m sure you can feel your way around a bag, yes?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. “Good. Now, up you go, and tell your mom ‘hi’ from us.”

Costas held the bags in his hand and glanced back at us with a small smile. He then stepped onto one of the slices and walked up the ramp onto the flattened part at the center of the globe.

“Are you ready?” Verity asked.

Costas didn’t say anything as he looked at the bags in his hand.

“Great. Then let it begin.” She put her glove back on, jumped onto the edge, and tossed a stone into the fountain. The frozen water liquefied and fell … some splashing out and washing onto the Blues’ feet.

They didn’t seem to mind as they stared at Costas. The slices of the globe retracted and Costas ducked down as they closed over him. The sound of the metal clunking together resonated through the hub.

The room fell silent again and even the teachers looked up at the globe.

I leaned forward in anticipation and wondered what it was we were waiting for. Was Costas going to sprout wings and fly?

The whisper of a scream emanated from the globe before bright slivers of light shone through the gaps. The bright light lasted for a few seconds and then blinked out.

I swallowed between quick breaths and wondered what it meant. I didn’t remember any bright lights when Mark and I had portaled into the Academy, but maybe we couldn’t see it because we were on the inside.

A clanking sounded, like a ball was rolling around on metal. Verity stepped into the fountain, thigh deep in water, held her hand near the boot of the woman holding the globe and placed a bag there. The ball continued to rattle down the statue until it dropped into the bag. Verity cinched it up with a drawstring and held it high over her head.

“Another retirement.”

The Blues cheered and the Reds gave a smattering of polite applause.

“What happened to Costas?” I asked Ira.

“He was sent back home.”

“And the stone?”

“It’s supposed to be a culmination of what he learned while he was here. On retirement day, you’re given two stones to create something new. We don’t know what the results are, because she never lets us see what drops from the boot.”

I didn’t get it, but I looked over at Verity, who had stepped down from the fountain and started walking toward the double doors. I sidestepped, pushing through the Blues, trying to make it to her. I heard Mark apologizing behind me, keeping pace as I rushed to her.

I reached the edge of the crowd of Blues just in time to watch her approach. When she was only ten feet from me, I noticed the slight creases at the corners of her eagle-like eyes.

She passed me and her hazel eyes met mine. I slowed down, thinking she was going to say something as her mouth opened, but she closed it and moved on. With a smile plastered across her face, she left, and soon all the teachers had gone into the hall behind the double doors.

Mark brushed against my arm, looking at the empty space left by the teachers. Ira had followed me as well, and was rocking side to side, looking at my shoes.

“What the hell was that about?” He pointed at the globe.

Ira opened her mouth, but Mark interrupted.

“I heard what you said before,” he said to Ira. “But what really goes on in there?”

Ira shook her head and looked at the floor. “I don’t know.”

Mark brushed his hair back and looked at the people walking around us. “I don’t think that’s the way home.” He raised an eyebrow at me and pointed at the globe.

Some of the Blues could be seen laughing and hollering at a few nearby Reds.

“Why are the Blues so happy?” I asked.

“Costas used to be a great stone maker. He won quite a few battles for us, back in the day.”

“What happened? He stopped making stones?”

“The elites push themselves hard and burn out quickly. It’s hard to hate forever. You become desensitized. Being numb is a big fear here.”

Ira looked past me and I turned to see Jackie walking against the traffic.

“Ira, I hope you aren’t spooking our new team members.” She kept her eyes on me.

“I just … no, Jackie.” Ira rushed away as Jackie watched her with a big smile.

Once Ira was far enough away, Jackie leaned in and said, “She’s sort of different, but we love her, as we do all the Reds.”

“Yeah, well, this whole place is sort of different. I mean, what the hell was that all about?” Mark asked, pointing to the statue.

Jackie took a deep breath, which made the smile she maintained seem strained. “We always have to make room for the new.” Again, she just looked at me.

“But—”

“Another loss for ya, Jackie. Pretty soon I’ll be winning in every room.” The bleach-blond guy said from his side of the hub. He was surrounded by other Blues.

“Please. Costas was as numb as your nuts,” Jackie said. She wrapped her arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. “This little lady, here, is worth ten of him.”

The guy rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I bet she’s a quick fuse and burns out by the end of the week. Then I’ll be right back to where I was, kicking your ass.”

“You’re going to eat those words every day.”

He chuckled. “We’ll see.” Lingering, he stared at Jackie for a moment before heading toward the Blue houses.

“What a dick,” Jackie said, watching him leave. She took a deep breath and turned to me. “Leader of the Blues, if you couldn’t already tell. The sad truth is, he’s been kicking our asses on the reg for some time now.” She smirked. “But now we have you.”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable being considered a replacement for Costas.”

“I’m not going to lie to you and say I won’t miss Costas, but that’s just part of the deal here. Besides, that globe is the only way a person leaves this place.” Jackie looked at me. “If you’re as special as I think you are, I’d like to get to know you better. Would you have dinner with me?” She glanced at Mark and then back to me.

My stomach rumbled at the mention of food, and I wanted nothing more than to sit down with someone and discuss this cuckoo-land academy.

“It’s always empty here after a retirement. People just want to go back to their houses,” Jackie said as she looked around. “That’s why I like it.”

Rows and rows of tables filled the large cafeteria. A woman in an apron was sitting on a stool behind a glass case of all sorts of meats and containers designated more by color than actual contents. I forked the mashed potatoes, smeared them over the Salisbury steak and broke off a piece. It had gotten cold from my spending most of my time answering all the endless questions Jackie threw at me.

What celebrity is dating who? What won best movie? How were the Super Bowl commercials? What are the hit songs right now and can I sing them?

My mouth hurt and my shoulders slumped. For everything I asked, she came back with quick, one-word answers and then went back to pop culture questions.

“So no Google, Facebook, cellphones or anything here?” I snuck in a question.

“Please. Like they want us communicating with the outside world. Besides, I doubt they have internet where this place is. I wasn’t much of a tech geek anyways.” She laughed. “But some of these kids come in here and go into freaking withdrawal over losing their digital tethers. We had to talk a girl down just a few months ago from the edge of her window. She kept screaming about getting a charger for her phone. Crazy bitch.”

I tapped the phone in my pocket. The battery was long dead and I’d never had a moment of cell coverage since arriving here. The idea of not being connected edged me a little, but the things around me filled my every thought, drowning out my need to update my status.

“One person here asked us about her dad. Do you have anyone back home you’re waiting to get back to?” Mark asked.

Jackie took a deep breath and stirred the whipped cream on her plate with a spoon. “No.”

The double doors to the cafeteria swung open and I whipped around to see a new face. I recognized her as the girl who had stared for a while at Mark. She was cute in a way, but she’d be much cuter if she didn’t have a resting bitch face. I didn’t think she was upset as much as she was in deep thought.