Scrap Iron Angels

Chapter 8: A Little Closer

A mockery of silence filled the room as Vincent stood before the group with none other than Kieren held by the back of his shirt like a cat as he glared the man down from the corner of his eyes. the people had seen him mumbling to himself and thought nothing of it until by a mere set of carefully placed events they saw him leafing through the old book as if he wasn't interested, but then he said something and a handful of books fell from the shelves in a neat stack. Now they were all staring at the boy who had fought Vincent, Lucy, and Wilkinson tooth and nail to keep from being pried from his own room. At this moment though many were questioning what the boy was doing and why he was hiding things from them.

"Well, how about you answer for that little mishap in the library room?" asked Lucy.

"You do have a ghost on the ship...you do realize that right?" the others seemed a little surprised.

"How..." Vincent sighed.

"He informed me and H.B that he can see and speak with spirits. Apparently this kid is a pretty talented little sneak," he said shaking the boy.

"Shake me again pirate and I will kill you." The man rolled his eyes.

"Pirate? And what are you? Alchemist?" the boy glared.

"Hardly...why are you holding me like a cat?" the man shook him and the boy glared harder.

"Because cats are sneaky...and you are being quite cattish," Elice told him.

"Stay out of it gear head." the blonde appeared to blow steam from her ears for a moment making the boy feel a mixture of amusement and fear.

"Alright now, enough – how about clear questions with clear answers?" asked Lucy.

"How clear do you want them? Crystal? Quartz? Glass?" the woman narrowed her eyes.

"Water...nice glacier water," she stated.

"Just...what do you expect me to know?" the woman sighed.

"The book...you were reading it – clear as day and said something the book responded to you because the books stacked neatly on top of each other. Even magic users can't match the perfection of an Alchemist's work," said H.B

"For your information I don't know anything about Alchemy – why do you think I know all this important information? I've never...I don't know the first thing about that book."

"You keep saying those things and...when you look at that book you instantly seem to know what to do or read from it. Kieren...have you thought that you might know but are suppressing it?" asked Aven.

"Why would you think...I really don't understand what all of you want from me. Why are those charms and holders so important to all of you?" Vincent fixed his grip on the boy's shirt collar.

"Because if we keep them out of the other's hands then we're safer and so is the rest of the world. They want Iornon to come knocking so that they can control the seventeen countries and use that to let him restore the ancient world. We'd lose everything we've all strived to work for all these years," he explained.

"That's what I don't get. It's a book – written by Alchemists who were supposed to be one of the reasons that Iornon is dead. Why would they leave the information out to people?" Kieren felt a knot form in his chest at the thought and a sudden wash of betrayal fell through him before he tried to shake it off.

"The Alchemists knew their time was ending. Zelferia was being destroyed by war, and the lands were sour with bloodshed and death. As much as they wanted to restore their land they couldn't. They left things behind for safety measures, and in hopes of reaching out to a descendant or relative of their heritage," he stated.