Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Breaker

Chapter Thirty-Three ~ Run ~ Part I

The Conversion Circle in his journal glowed yellow. A vortex sprang up from the Transversion Conversion Sigil and linked Chadwick and Thea. Tug, he thought. But not too hard or he could kill Thea. But if he didn't pull hard enough, she could kill him.

He held his hand out to the vortex and felt Thea's Energy take hold of him. He yanked hard. Thea had so much Energy, and it was angry. It funnelled into him at an alarming rate. Unsure of just how much Energy to take from her, he figured that if he took enough of her Energy to fill him all the way up, she'd still have at least half her Energy left. Wouldn't she?

So he tugged, and the vortex increased its velocity. He didn't have time to channel the Energy into his Chakras, so it flooded about his spine and made him gasp as it billowed up and down his body.

Thea opened her eyes. It seemed she finally realised what he was doing. He tried to put an end to the Conversion, but Thea's Kundalini held him tight, like she had claws in his back.

'Stop!' he yelled, but she didn't understand. Or maybe she couldn't hear. It was certainly deafening, this vortex of Energy. His heart already raced, but now that he had tried to stop it and couldn't, his heart beat like it would burst. 'Stop!'

Thea snapped out of it. She blinked at him, looked at the vortex, and then closed her eyes. The miniature tornado dispersed, blowing their hair as it spread outward.

'What happened?' Thea looked at Guru Amathaon with a furrowed brow. Her lips turned down into the deepest frown he'd ever seen on her face.

'A Shadow...' was all he could bring himself to say. Then he wiped the tears off his face and squeezed his Protégé's shoulder. She was trembling hard, her face white and shiny with sweat. It seemed she would pass out any moment. 'You need to explain to Miyamoto Sensei about the secret passageway. You remember, I swore that Oath to you to keep it a secret.'

She nodded with her eyes closed.

Chadwick situated his arms under her back and her knees, took a big breath, and hauled Thea up in his arms. He staggered to his feet and turned toward his godfather and Veneficus Drummond.

The fight still raged on between them. That's when Chadwick realised it was very quiet down below. The giant Crowning Chamber was all but silent. Surely any Shadows down there would hear this fight.

Kazuo's water attacks had made the walkway slippery, and as Chadwick inched his way close, Kazuo blasted Drummond in the face with frozen water, and the Shadow slipped. Kazuo slammed his bo staff into the Shadow's head so hard he clearly lost consciousness.

'Somebody go check on that.'

Chadwick's stomach lurched. An Alchemist below had just ordered someone to come check out the walkway. 'Quick! Tell him where the passageway is,' he told Thea.

'The first statue.' She tried to point but failed miserably. 'Push on the staff.' Then her head lolled to the side and she seemingly passed out. Chadwick hoped it was enough for his godfather to find the passageway.

Kazuo nodded. He pulled out a feather, reached out to Thea, and performed an Air Conjuration Conversion to make her light as a feather. Chadwick breathed a sigh of relief. Then they ran.

After they made it about halfway across the walkway, Shadows floated up on clouds on either side of them. 'Don't stop,' Kazuo ordered. He reached out to Chadwick and said, 'Tempus!'

Chadwick nearly fell. Suddenly, he could run so fast, almost effortlessly, that the Shadows on their clouds couldn't keep up. Kazuo Converted the same Duration Conversion on himself and raced behind him. They reached the statue at breakneck speed, and Kazuo touched the statue's staff. He pushed on it, unlocking the hidden passageway. 'Go!' he said.

With Thea in his arms, Chadwick stumbled into the secret passageway and Kazuo followed.

The door slammed shut behind them.

Chadwick felt himself starting to panic in the cramped dark space. He tried to walk, but in the dark, with Thea's weightless trembling body and his own panic making him feel shaky, he just couldn't stay on his feet. Rather than drop Thea, Chadwick managed to go down to his knees with his Protégé still in his arms.

Kazuo somehow found them in the dark, and he gently took Thea from Chadwick. 'Come on,' he urged, and he made his way down the passage.

Chadwick got to his feet unsteadily. He started to follow his godfather, but then he blinked his eyes against a sudden bright light at the end of the passageway. Kazuo jumped out into the alley. Chadwick followed quickly. He missed his last step down out of the passageway, and he literally faceplanted in the dust with a grunt.

'Chadwick-kun! You alright?' Kazuo said.

He groaned. 'Yeah. I'm a klutz, but I'm okay.'

Kazuo scoffed and set Thea down. She was still trembling and seemingly passed out.

'How are we going to help her now?' Chadwick asked. 'Guru Amathaon—she—' Chadwick's voice cracked.

Kazuo's shoulders sagged and his back bowed as if he was suddenly unable to hold up a great weight that was pushing down on him. His head bent forward in a nod, and he said, 'I know a Guru that works for the Giver. She should be able to help her.' He started drawing a Dimension Gate in the dust as he said this. 'I don't know where she is, but I should be able to contact her, if I'm lucky. It's probably Aru-chan's only chance.'

Chadwick silently watched his godfather finish drawing the Circle with a sprinkling of diamond dust. Finally, he finished making the Insignia and said 'Spatium!' as he stood with Thea in his arms. 'Come on, Chadwick-kun. One, two–'

Chadwick quickly grabbed Kazuo's arm and stepped into the portal.

Phew! That was close, huh? 

Thank you for reading. Please vote or leave me comments! See you soon for the last half of this chapter.

~A.C.