Exigent

(4) A New Deal

Chapter Four
A New Deal

“Olivia!” Sera yelled while slamming their front door open. The stick was still clutched in her hand as the door smashed against the wall. Sunlight poured into the house, illuminating their blood stained couch and casting Sera’s shadow into the small space.
     
Sera trudged into the house, her hair spilling around her shoulders from her angrily tugging out her ponytail on the way back to the house. She kicked the door closed and called out for her sister again.
     
“Sera?” She heard Olivia’s quiet voice from upstairs. Sera looked up. Her sister was leaning against the railing, her blonde hair still in the same messy bun, though now strands were loose and falling around her face. There was blood on her forehead and a weird metallic looking powder smudged on her cheek, as well as on her fingers. She was frowning. “What are you doing here?”
     
Sera shook her head. Her whole body was shaking, from nerves or anger, Sera didn’t know. She looked up at her sister again. “Some guy just tried to abduct me in the park.”
     
Olivia’s blue eyes widened to diskettes. She hurried down the steps, almost tripping over her feet as she moved, before coming to a stop in front of Sera. Olivia’s eyes burned into her. “What happened? Tell me everything.”
     
Sera tightened her hold on the stick. “He came into work and was acting really nice and sweet. He asked me to dinner but I told him I was busy so I suggested a walk on my lunch. He came back at noon and we went. Not even five minutes in he started talking about how I was who he was looking for and how people thought I was dead. He then wanted to take me to something called a Elder. Olivia first these two show up and you can glow from your hands then this guy tries to kidnap me? What is happening?”
     
Olivia looked at Sera, her eyes wet with tears. Sera watched as her sister sunk onto their armchair. Olivia shook her head. “We tried to keep you out of this for so long. Tried to keep you living a normal life, tried to keep you hidden. Mom and dad, they made me promise to always keep you out of this world.” The tears started to fall now, “I’m sorry. I failed.”
     
Sera felt all her anger disappear. Her grip loosened on the stick to the point that it fell from her grip. Sera fought back her own tears. “Olivia, you have to tell me what’s going on. What did mom and dad make you keep from me? Who are Torin and Yuri? What is an Aagor? What is an Alchemist?”
     
Olivia put her face in her hands. Her voice was muffled when she spoke. “I’ve let mom and dad down. This is all my fault.” Olivia dropped her hands and looked at her sister with wet eyes, “Oh Sera. I am so sorry.”
     
Sera forced herself to stay strong. She wasn’t going to cry. “Tell me what is going on.”
     
Olivia took a deep breath. “We come from a very powerful line of Alchemists; people who use science and magic to create a balance between the worlds. Or, that’s what Alchemists used to do. Nowadays most of us are either in hiding from the Elders or have joined them,” Olivia paused and sighed. “I can tell that you’re confused but just listen. The Elders are Alchemists who have deserted their calling and devoted themselves to better humanity in ways that they think will do it. They are very dangerous, very selfish people who have lost all their belief in our original duties.
     
The Elders are fanatical. They will kill anyone who opposes them and they will do anything to make their goal come true: to be the most powerful beings and have every single person honor them and bow down at their feet. As an Alchemist it is our duty to protect the balance, not to be supreme. The Elders have betrayed that. They perform experiments on innocent people, they make themselves stronger. They are the ones who created the Aagor.
     
The Elders crafted a serum that fries the human brain and turns them into these mindless drones that do the Elders bidding, no questions asked. They are strong but not the smartest creatures. People like Yuri and Torin are called Pursuants. They exist solely to destroy the Elders and the creatures they create. They are normal people, like you and me, who have dedicated their lives to this cause. I have made it my goal to help them destroy the Elders and I also act as a healer for them. If they get hurt, they come to me and I help them. That’s why Yuri and Torin are here.”
    
Olivia took a deep breath. “Mom and dad had the same goals. They were extraordinary. They never turned a Pursuant away and they often helped them on their missions. I never knew about any of this until I was ten. I was in the dark just like you, until I accidently found their cellar. Yes, the same one downstairs. I asked them what it was and they told me. Told me what I just told you. Then they made me promise to never tell you about it. They made me promise to keep it hidden. They said it would be dangerous if anyone ever found out about you."
     
"Sera, to this day I still don’t know why mom and dad needed to keep this world from you. All I know is that they said you would be in danger if anyone knew about you and that is what kept me quiet all these years. Sera, I couldn’t live if something happened to you. When you got in that accident,” Olivia choked up. “I thought I lost all of you. I can’t go through that again. I can’t lose you again.”
     
Sera stood in stunned silence. Half of her felt angry that Olivia and her parents were keeping such a massive secret from her but the other half felt somewhat appreciative. They were just doing what they thought was best for her. Olivia would have never let anything happen to her, Sera knew that with such certainty she felt it deep in her gut.
     
Sera grabbed her sisters hand. “You have no idea why mom and dad wanted to keep me hidden? Why me? Why not you, too?”
     
Olivia shook her head. “I don’t know. Every time I asked mom would tell me to just watch out for you. They never told me more than that.”
     
Sera let out a breath. “So you’re telling me that I’m an Alchemist, too? I can do things like you can do?”
     
Olivia smiled. “Eventually. It takes a lot of training. It’s not something you can just think about it do. That’s not how it works. But I can show you some basic things after Yuri is back on his feet.”
     
Sera nodded. She pushed back her fear over such a momentous change and tried to channel it into acceptance. Markus confirmed that all this was real. So did Yuri and Torin. So did Olivia’s Alchemy. Sera couldn’t deny that this wasn’t real, no matter how much she wanted to.
     
“He followed us here, didn’t he?” Torin’s sudden voice made both girls jump. Sera whirled around and stared at the figure leaning against the wall.
     
“Were you listening to us this entire time?” Sera asked skeptically.
     
“Yeah. Sorry.” Torin said while pushing away from the wall and walking towards them. He was dressed in just a plain white T-shirt now and his blonde hair looked freshly scrubbed. All the blood was gone from his face and hands. He eyed Sera, “You said this guy wanted to take you to the Elders?”
     
Sera opened her mouth to answer but didn’t know what to say. Olivia pushed up form the chair and gave her a little nod. Sera nodded once then said, “Yeah, he did. He said he had been looking for anything about me ever since the accident. I don’t know if he thought I was alive or if he just wanted to know more about me from finding Olivia or something, I’m not sure.”
     
“Why would he be looking for you?” Torin asked. There was no judgement in the question, just curiosity.
     
“I don’t know.” Sera frowned. “Apparently I’m important in your world.”
     
“Hm.” Torin frowned. “Did he say anything else?”
     
Sera thought back. “Um. He said something about meeting with someone, I think. Bane?”
   
Shock made Torin’s blue eyes even bluer. He stared at Sera as if she just said something insulting. After a moment he blinked and repeated, “He said Bane?”
     
Sera nodded slowly, realization dawning on her that the two guys he saw were obviously Yuri and Torin. She looked at Torin with wide eyes, “Yes. He said he saw you guys. He said he followed you because Yuri needed an Alchemists help,” Sera looked at Olivia, “that’s how he found me. He followed them here.”
     
Olivia looked over at Torin, her eyes wide. “You led him here? You let him find Sera.”
     
Torin opened his mouth then closed it. He looked shocked. “I,” he took a breath. “I wasn’t watching for a tail.” He looked at Sera, “I’m sorry. This is my fault. If I had made sure no one else was there—.”
     
“Then Yuri might have died.” Sera interrupted. She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter if he followed you here. Your friend was badly injured. What else were you going to do? Sit and let him bleed out? No, this wasn’t your fault. It’s just a coincidence.”
     
Torin shook his head. “There is no such thing as coincidences.” He looked at her, the amount of sincerity in his eyes shocking. “At the end of the day it’s my fault that you were compromised and I am sorry.” A light went off in his eyes and he took a step forward. “How about Yuri and I help you two find out what the Elders want with Sera?”
     
Olivia shook her head. “No, I couldn’t ask you guys to do that—.”
     
“It’s the least we could do.” Torin said. “Besides, we have to repay you for your services somehow. I know you said you don’t take payment but it wouldn’t feel right not doing anything for you. Plus, I know Yuri. He wouldn’t just walk away. He doesn’t like to be in anyone’s debt.”
     
Sera looked at her sister. Olivia looked panicked, as if the thought of people helping them terrified her. She swallowed, her blue eyes wide with uncertainty. “How can we know we can trust you?” She asked.
     
Torin rubbed his chin then said quietly, “If you thought you couldn’t trust us, why let us stay in your home? Why help us?”
     
“Because you’re Pursuants.” Olivia said, as if that explained everything.