The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) (22 page)

It hadn’t sunk in that my life had been saved for…what, the third, fourth time this semester?

“Are you alright?” a voice said. I almost cried out in relief with a mixture of anxiety.

“Leon! What are you—“

He placed a finger to his lip
s, signaling me to be quiet
. I couldn’t help but notice the shovel in his hand, except the end of the shovel was
n’t
really a shovel anymore; it was the shape of an axe. With quick ease, he shattered the remaining icicles above us, the tiny shards bouncing all around, hitting my head and skin with their sharp edges.

There was a hissing sound from the woods—most likely my attacker—and with a quick, chilled wind there was nothing. The ice all around us started to melt and the block
that
surrounded my foot soon turned into a sopping wet puddle. The tempera
ture around us must have rose
at least ten degrees, but it felt like a warm, balmy summer day compared to
seconds
earlier.

Leon told me to stay put as he went after the other alchemist and I rolled to my side to inspect my foot. It was numb, but I could still wiggle my toes. I didn’t think anything was broken but there was a dull pain. I probably twisted or sprained it. I crawled to a sitting position and leaned against the same tree that almost ended my life (funny, except I didn’t want to laugh). I felt exhausted, cold, and completely numb. Not from the ice, but from yet another near death experience.

That was…completely terrifying. I wrapped my arms around me, trying to get warm, but I couldn’t stop shaking. If Leon hadn’t shown up—

I burst into tears the same moment that Leon came back; saying whoever had done this was long gone. One look at my face, however, sent him in a panic state.

“I know you didn’t want to see me! But I had a bad feeling and followed you here—not like a stalker, or anything, I swear!” he fussed about, then held up his makeshift weapon, “I felt
the presence of another alchemist in the woods and ran to the clock tower to get a weapon, but this was all I could find—shoot, it looks pretty scary, doesn’t it? I—”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
Dove’s voice pierced through the forest as she ran towards us. “
Get away from her
!”

Instantly the warmth in Leon’s eyes turned dark, and he held his weapon up for a fight. Dove had nothing on her except the clothes on her back, but she took a stance, ready for battle.

“Dove, listen,” I tried, “It’s not what it—”

I had never seen Dove look so upset. She
yelled
at the unsuspecting Leon
, completely ignoring me, “It wasn’t enough that you killed her once, but now you try to do it a second time?!”

“I—I didn’t mean to kill her!” he screamed back, “And I was just trying to help her, my God! Dove, why
can’t you
just
—!”

“No, why can’t
you
—!”

“Enough!
Both
of you!”
I screeched, sending a ripple through the air. All I wanted to do was head home take a long hot bath and go to sleep forever. I didn’t need a little sibling spat in the middle of the pathway, thank you very much.
“Enough, enough,
enough!”

They both
stopped; their mouths gaping open in a pair of double “O” shapes
. Two pairs of eyes stared; the clear, crystal waters like that o
f Hawaii’s shores and the
deep green of the ocean’s waves that crash against the Atlantic coast. Even though they looked completely different, their mannerisms were the same.
And their stubbornness.
Slowly, aching all over, I gripped the wet bark of the tree for support and stood up, glowering at the two.

“I am going back to the dorm,” I said slowly,
as if I was talking to children
, “I am going to take a long, hot shower, change, and get something warm to eat. I want you
both
to meet me in my dorm room in exactly two hours.” When they opened their mouths to protest, I yelled, “No buts! I mean it! Leon, you just…go back to your place, okay? And thank you for saving me, but we’ll all talk about this later. Dove, you come with me, alright?”

Nobody said a word, but with a last concerned look in my direction, which I nodded to tell him I was alright, he walked off. We waited until his form disappeared around the corner before I trudged to our place. Dove wanted to say something, I could tell it by her worried expression and her angry eyes, but she didn’t say a thing as she helped me home.

After we finally reached the inside, enveloped in beautiful warmth, I turned to her and said, “I’m sorry. I wanted to bring you Thanksgiving dinner but it sort of got freezer burn on the way here.
Happy Thanksgiving.”

◊◊◊◊◊

Exactly two hours and eleven minutes later I felt as happy
as a fat frog napping on a warm rock on a hot July day.

But the atmosphere in my room was bitter. I sat on my bed wrapped in my plaid blanket with crossed legs, sipping on a hot chocolate I made from the dorm kitchens. L
uckily,
neither Nurse Alexandra
or
the other three
freshman
girls were here (possibly, they were all at the boy’s dormitory for a movie marathon that one of them had mentioned earlier). Whatever the reason, I was glad they weren’t here.  The entire building was empty, save for me and two alchemists who were inches away from strangling each other.

I had offered to make a hot chocolate or coffee to
Dove and Leon, but neither s
aid a word, so I just took it as is. Dove sat perched on the window seat (the closest place next to me), glaring daggers in Leon’s directions. Leon in turn had pulled my computer chair over to the far corner next to the door (I guess in case he needed a quick escape), also sending bad waves in her direction.

But neither of them spoke a word, or started clawing at each other’s throats (yet). I think in their own way, they knew if I was upset, bad things would happen. Normally I didn’t really like being treated like some delicate flower, but I’ll take advantage of it for today, at least.

“We are here,” I finally said after I gulped down half of my cup, “To discuss a way to work together.”

“Work together?” Dove asked, looking at me like I had grown an extra head. I might as well have, with the hurt look she gave me, like I had betrayed her. Leon finished with a sharp, “Not likely!”

“That’s enough,” I snapped. This was like dealing with toddlers! I sighed, rubbing the bandage that covered my scraped chin and looked at the two. Dove sat high and alert on her seat, the red sweater she had borrowed from me hid her beautiful frame, and covered the markings on her arms. It was a size too big, even for me, but it looked perfect on her, along with an old pair of
jeans I had found in the Lost and Found bin. Leon wore a heavy brown coat with black buttons. The cuff of the sleeve
s were worn and tattered, as were
his dark black pants. His boots were caked with mu
d and ice, and
they looked like they belonged to the groundskeeper instead.

I, in my favorite pair of flannel
jammies
with red pin stripes, did not feel intimidated by these two nicely dressed alchemists.

“Listen to me. This is going to sound harsh, but it’s the truth. We all need to work together to find the Elixir before it’s too late. Just look at what happened near the woods earlier,” I pointed out, seeing their face filled with confusion. I had already filled Dove in on the details of the attack,
including
the fact that Leon had saved me. “It’s only a matter of time before something worse happens. To me, or to both of you, whoever attacked me must have known we’re trying to find the Elixir, and they want it too. That’s why we need to pull together, despite your past indifferences. Siblings can’t fight like this! It’s insane!”

“Well,” If Leon said, breaking the silence that followed my speech, “If somebody wasn’t such a stickler in the mud, and thought beyond our Master’s wishes, this wouldn’t be a problem.”

Dove jumped from her perch, like a cat ready to fight, “Maybe if somebody
respected
our Master’s wishes it wouldn’t have come to this either!”

“But don’t you
see
, Dove?” Leon also shot up from the chair, knocking it to the floor with a clatter, “Our Master wanted to help people! To save them! How could you just ignore her dreams and happiness with your selfishness? We could save the world with the Elixir!”

“That isn’t what she wanted and you know it!” Dove shot back. I looked back and forth, like a spectator in a tennis match as the two continued their verbal assault. Neither one of them had moved from their spot,
but they may as well be two prize fighters circling each other in a boxing ring. “She wants
us to
find
a way to destroy
the Elixir because no good would come to anyone to possess it! Even if it could save the dying and the ill, in the end it will only become the matter of something corrupted and full of greed. She knew the risk, that’s why she’s entrusted us with her mission!”

“If it was such a big deal, wh
y did she
ever tell us where the pieces of the Elixir where?”
Leon huffed, his face red like an angry bull, “We…we could have
helped
her, Dove!
We couldn’t even put up a fight against the alchemist that attacked us
, but if we had the Elixir we could—”

He choked on his last words, and even Dove had tears in her eyes that were full of hurt and hate, “How could you even
think
of
using the Elixir in such a way
?” she said, her voice barely above a whisper, “
Hasn’t she taught us better?”

“But we should continue in her footsteps,” Leon said, “She wanted the world to be a beautiful, peaceful place, and gaining the Elixir is the only way to make it happen.”

“No, it isn’t.” I said, surprising them both. They both turned, suddenly realizing I was still here. I uncrossed my legs and placed my now empty cup on the
nightstand, stretching my muscle
s. “Dove is right—the Elixir is a powerful thing. And anybody can get their hands on it if they tried. Don’t you see, Leon? That person who attacked me, what if they got their hands on it? Instead of a beautiful and peaceful world, it would be deadly and dangerous. How many people would get hurt because of something like that? How many people have
already
gotten because of this Elixir
?”

His eyes loo
ked so forlorn and heartbroken
as he slumped back into the seat, utterly defeated.

“But I also agree with what you say too, Leon,” I continued, looking at them both with determination, “The Elixir can save people. But you need to focus on saving me. As selfish as it sounds, the only person in this room who needs to find the Elixir is
me
. So…why can’t you two just put your differences aside and work together to help me?”

I felt my face burn red at their stares, but I held
my
ground. I knew it was selfish to say something like this. But I was a stronger girl than I was in September (at least, I hoped so). I knew I couldn’t stop this bickering, but if I could just bring them together to work for a similar cause—me—maybe something good would come out of it. Maybe they can both see the error in their ways. One could hope.

“You should both do what you think is best for
you
, not your mentor. Not for the world, because as harsh as it sounds, it’s impossible to save the world. Wouldn’t she want you to live happy and proud of the fact that she taught you two so well? I think she would be heartbroken to see her pupils fight and almost
kill
each other over the Elixir
—the very thing she dedicated her life to protecting
. It isn’t what she would have wanted, and it isn’t what I want.”

I walked over to Dove, clasping her warm hands in mine. Her eyes widened beneath her short, blonde hair as soft as silk. “You saved my life, and I could never forget that.
But
I’m asking you as your friend—
not your self-pi
ty project or your new student—
to stop this fighting.”

I turned away and walked towards Leon, who stayed rooted in the spot. I didn’t touch him, but I could see in his eyes that it wasn’t needed, “Leon—you made a mistake. And it almost cost my life. But I can see.
I think…I think you didn’t want to really kill Dove—or me—back in the woods. And
I can really see you’re trying to make up for it. There were so many opportunities that you could have easily killed me if you
really were that black hearted, but you aren’t.

“
And you wo
uldn’t have saved me from that Ice A
lchemist if you really didn’t mean it. But now I’m
also asking you
to stop this fighting, alright? I hate this, seeing you two bicker and hurt each other. It wasn’t my choice to get caught in the middle of this, but now you both need to take responsibility and make it right.”