Alchemist (2 page)

“
Yeah, okay
then.”

While Jo continued
to fumble, Conner rolled his eyes. Terry smirked, but hid her grin
behind her glass.

******

Terry woke up at
the sound of knocking at her door. She glanced across to the clock
on the draws by her bedside. It was just after two in the
morning.

Getting up she
quickly dressed and headed to the door, her right hand transforming
into a metal gauntlet as she cautiously opened the door. She
relaxed when she saw who it was.

“Jesus, Conner.”
Her arm returned to normal as she opened the door to him. “What are
you doing here?”

Conner made sure
he had shut the door properly before he replied. “Sorry, I just
didn’t think we got much of a proper chance to talk at the
pub.”

“We were there for
two hours.”

“No, I mean
talking about proper stuff. I didn’t think Jo would be coming until
the last minute. We’ve not had a chance to catch up properly on
things for a few months now.”

She looked him up
and down. She recognised those clothes. “Did you fly here?” she
asked.

Conner grinned.
“Yeah, it stopped raining for a bit.” He said, unintentionally
straightening the thick black collar on his flame retardant jacket.
“The fog provided good cover, no one saw me.”

“Accept the
Ministry of Defence.”

Conner laughed as
he walked through to the lounge. “Yeah, it wouldn’t be the first
time. Anyway, I’m sorry it is so late but it feels like we never
get the chance to talk anymore, not when Jo’s around anyway. She
fell asleep so I snuck out.”

“You were the one
who decided to get married.” Terry teased him as she wandered into
the kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”

Conner realised
his throat was dry. “A glass of water would be great, thanks.”

“Ok.” Terry took
two glasses to the sink and turned on the tap. That always seemed
odd to her. He was a fire elemental, yet he had to drink water just
like everyone else. Holding the second glass under the tap, she
turned it on again.

But half filled,
the fluid from the tap suddenly turned murky. Shutting it off, she
held it up to the light to get a better look. “Ugh.”

“What?” asked
Conner, coming into the kitchen. She showed him the glass. “Did
that come out of your tap?”

“Yeah, there must
be something stuck in the pipe.”

Conner took the
glass and had a sniff. “It isn’t sewage or anything. I think it’s
just mud.”

“Well I’m not
drinking it. Do you want a glass of orange juice instead?” Terry
offered, taking out a carton of from the fridge instead.

“Yeah, please.” He
took another sniff of the murky fluid. “I think I know why you
might have had that metallic taste in your mouth over the last few
days.”

“Why?”

“Because this
smells like metal a bit.” He said, sitting the glass down.

She shook her
head. “I had a glass earlier and I couldn’t taste anything.” She
handed him his orange juice. “I’ll call the water board about it
tomorrow.”

Conner took a sip.
“When was the last time you fed?”

“I had fish for
dinner.” She said, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Conner swallowed
another mouthful of juice and pointed an accusing finger at her.
“You know what I mean. You really have to gorge yourself in your
fully evolved form sometimes. You know how much Lyle goes on if you
don’t.”

Terry looked
annoyed by the mention. “If you must know I ate four cows at the
weekend.”

“Four? Really?” he
said, unimpressed. “You should have had more than that.”

“Farmers tend to
start noticing if anymore than a few go missing.”

“I know it isn’t
easy, but it’s not for any of us.”

Terry folded her
arms. “Oh I’m sorry, are you comparing your life to mine? Yours is
hardly difficult to keep secret.”

“You can transform
any time you want. I can’t even do it in the comfort of my own
home.” He said, sitting his empty glass down on the kitchen
table.

“You were the one
who chose to get married.”

He sneered and
shook his head. “That isn’t a fair comparison. I love Jo and I
would do anything for her.”

“What? How is it
any different? You had the choice and you made it.”

He shook his head
again. “One day when you’re married you’ll understand.”

She folded
her arms again and leant against the kitchen side. “Okay then,
explain it to me. What makes it so different for
you
?”

“No, were not
having this discussion, you just wouldn’t understand.”

“Do you ever
intend to tell her?” she asked, changing the subject.

He looked at her
for a minute. “Maybe,” he looked away regretfully, “maybe one
day.”

Terry sighed.
“That’s what worries me.”

“Me too.” He shook
his head in resignation. “She’s likely to freak out if I ever told
her. It could destroy our marriage.”

“Jo might
understand.” She said, but Terry could tell by Conner’s expression
that he knew she was only being polite.

“Yeah...maybe.” He
looked away, lost in reflection. He smiled. “Do you remember when
all this was fun? The secrets, when you’re younger its fun having a
secret. Having super powers.” His smile faded. “But now it’s just
not the same.” He looked at her again. “I remember when we were 15
I was scared to death almost all of the time with everything we
did. I just wanted it to be over.” He shook his head, his look
regretful. “Now, I’m ashamed to say, I miss it a bit.” He laughed,
more at a loss than humour. “Isn’t that weird? Do you ever feel
like that, or is it just me?”

“No, I feel like
that too. Life was a lot easier when we were saving the world.”

Conner
laughed. “I wouldn’t say that, we never quite
saved
the world.”

“No, but we did a
lot more than most people will ever do in their lifetimes.”

“It makes you kind
of long for trouble again doesn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t go
that far. In fact, I just wish that I could go home.”

Connor’s heart
sank. “I’m sorry.”

She waved
his apology away. “It’s ok, it wasn’t your fault.”
It was mine
.

A sudden flash of
lightning in the night sky caught their attention. And the metallic
taste was in terry’s mouth.

After Dark

Conner and Terry
made their way across the field. “Are you sure it was over here?”
asked Conner, directing the torch.

“I’m positive, I
can smell it and I had that metal taste in my mouth again. It was
too strong to be anything else.” Terry said with conviction.

Connor waved the
beam of light far in front of them. “I still can’t see anything.
Wouldn’t it have left a mark in the grass?”

Terry stopped
without word.

When he noticed,
Connor turned back and directed the light at her. “What?”

She looked about
for a few moments before settling to the south west. She cursed
under her breath.

“What? What is
it?”

She sighed. “They
tried to open a portal here then when it failed they tried one over
there.”

Connor pointed the
torch the direction she was looking, the white beam dissipating
into the gloom. “How far?”

Terry sniffed at
the air. “I’d say about a mile.”

Conner sighed.
“Now you tell me. If you had told me that five minutes ago I could
have saved us from walking.”

“I didn’t want you
to light up like a Christmas tree and attract even more attention
if we’re not the only ones who saw it.” She said as her skin began
to change colour.

“No one would have
seen me.” Replied Conner, as he watched her transform.

In her standard
Alchemist form Terry appeared to be wearing a metal suit of
armour.

Her torso was
reminiscent of the top half of an hour glass. Although thin near
her middle, she widened again at the waist, her limbs were thin but
coated in plates, raised in parts, but smooth. It appeared black in
the poor light of the moonless night. Her feet were wide, pronged
into two large toes and a third support at the back

Two raised metal
plates lined both her shoulders, curving up and back, the ones at
the back larger than the first. But the armour ended swiftly at her
neck, forming a bulky collar.

“You can never be
to sure.”

Connor looked her
up and down, the torch light glinting off her armour. The dense
alloy seemed to drink it, dulling the brightness. “So why’s it ok
for you to run around looking like that?”

“Like I said,”
Terry raised an arm and a twelve inch curving blade grew out of the
underside of her elbow. Flexing her hand, it retracted. “I don’t
light up like a Christmas tree.” Without waiting for a reply, she
turned, running off into the night at a high speed.

Conner lost sight
of her in less than ten seconds. “Whatever.” He muttered, flicking
off the torch and dropping it. Ignoring her warnings and igniting
himself into a human flame. The fire rippled over him like liquid.
With a small burst beneath his feet, he took off into the sky.

Terry was first to
arrive, with a bitter copper taste in her mouth. It was so foul,
she had to spit. A burned semi circle of grass drew her attention.
She knelt down for a look. But on closer inspection there was
nothing remarkable about, no tell tale signs of who had came
through. There were no signs of footprints; which she found odd.
Standing, she let her gaze sweep across the hillside, but there was
no sign of anyone.

Conner landed just
behind her. “Was it one then?” he asked, hurrying up to her
side.

“Yeah...but I
don’t think anyone came through. Not that I can tell anyway.”

Connor peered into
the gloom. His eyesight was nowhere near as good as hers but he was
happy to take her word for it.

“Why would someone
go to all that hassle to open a gateway and not bother coming
through?”

She shrugged,
seeming even larger than before as the plates on her shoulders rose
for a moment before falling. “Maybe the machine broke. It would
explain why they tried to make two portals.”

Connor scratched
the stubble on his jaw line, realising that he had not shaved for a
couple of days. “A bit worrying...who do you think it was.”

She shook her
head, staring off into the night. “I don’t know.” She knew who she
hoped it was though, but she did not say it allowed. “It could have
been anyone.”

Connor looked at
her. “How long has it been since the last time this happened? It’s
got to be what? Five, six years?”

“Seven. Five
months and twenty three days.”

He stared at her
in open amazement. “You’ve kept count?”

“No, I just have a
far better memory than you.” She said, turning away.

“Should we not
hang around for a bit and see if they come back?”

“There’s no point,
no one came through.” She shouted in reply, heading back the way
they had came.

The two of them
arrived back at the house at around the same time, Connor changing
back to normal behind a hedgerow before making their his way across
the street. Terry had to bolt, still dressed in her full armour.
Without it on, she would have been naked; having shredded her
clothes earlier when she transformed.

“I should be
heading back.” Said Conner.

“Yeah, no
problem.” Terry stopped at the flight of the steps and stared at
the door.

“What?” said
Conner following her gaze. Then he saw it.

The front door to
the house was slightly ajar. Terry lowered her voice. “You closed
the door behind you properly, right?”

“Yeah.” He
whispered.

Stepping toward
the porch, Terry drew one of her blades, which she kept low at her
side so as to hide from view of anyone who might be on the other
side of the door. Conner followed closely behind, a flame ball in
one of his hands. “Don’t throw anything unless you see someone.”
Terry whispered, looking over her shoulder. Conner nodded.

Terry carefully
pushed the door, opening it only a little, but enough so that she
could peer round the side. While most people would consider the
move dangerous in case robbers were armed and opened fire Terry had
no qualms about being shot in the head. It had happened before and
had done no damage. Even as a human the microscopic metal robots
that lived in her cells would repair any damage within a few
seconds while in an Alchemist guise the bullet would have
ricocheted, causing no damage. It still hurt though when it pierced
the flesh though. It was the microscopic robots that gave her the
ability to change her body to almost any metal creation she could
imagine. They manipulated the bones, the tissue and the vast
amounts of minerals in her body to form any extension she
wanted.

Seeing no one in
the hall, she gestured Conner in. Pressing her back against the
wall, Conner did the same on the opposite side. She gestured for
him to sweep the bottom floor while she indicated that she would go
upstairs.

Conner
nodded in understanding and carefully moved off into the first room
on his left. Terry glanced through the open door to the living room
as she walked passed. There were no signs of anyone within. She
sniffed but there was no scent.
Odd, yet
again
, she thought.

Turning her
attention to the stairs, she slowly made her way up, walking at an
angle to conceal the blade from the sight of anyone who might be
standing on the landing above. Making it to the top of the stairs,
she swept her room and the two spare ones, but there was no one
there. Nothing had been disturbed, just like there was no sign of
anyone ever having been there.