Alchemy by Alison Gardiner

Author:Alison Gardiner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Published: 2016-12-05T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Seeing Flick so pale brought all of Alex’s worries about her flooding back. ‘Are you sure? He was all right when we left and was fighting its power.’

‘I’m positive. When he arrived at Makusha to give it back, the Xo force slammed him out of the mountain to the rocks beyond. Only by swiftly summoning some spell did he avoid breaking his legs or shattering his skull.’

‘What on earth are you talking about?’ asked a grumpy voice from the waste-paper bin. ‘What’s a Xo force?’

‘Who’s that?’ asked Flick, whipping round to look at it. ‘Have you got a stowaway?’

‘No,’ said Keeko, voice falsely bright. ‘It’s our new friend. Come to help turn Tariq back out of stone.’

‘I’m not your friend,’ replied the bin. ‘Furthermore as soon as we’ve dealt with Bylock, I’m returning to my tribe.’

‘Threat or promise?’ asked Skoodle, miming strangling someone.

‘Both,’ replied the bin. ‘What’s a Xo?’

‘A force within the mountain of Makusha,’ said Flick. ‘If your heart is not pure and full of the right intent, it blasts you straight back out of the mountain. It’s usually a fatal experience.’

‘Why did Zorrin go there in the first place?’ Alex asked. ‘If he intended to keep the sapphire, wasn’t it always going to be a wasted journey?’

‘He may have thought he was mentally strong enough to give it back when he first set off, but he must have been corrupted further on the way to Makusha. Although he probably transparticulated to the plains at the foot of the mountain, he still would have had to walk up to the summit holding it.’

‘Why did he tell you this?’ asked Ikara. ‘It seems very strange. If the sapphire had got to him, wouldn’t he want to keep that fact a secret? Wouldn’t he have pretended that he had made it to the heart of the mountain and got rid of it?’

Flick began to pace the floor. ‘No, he was furious with Makusha, ranting about the evil within the mountain. He kept telling me how much good he could do with the power of the sapphire.’

‘But couldn’t he?’ asked Skoodle. ‘There’s plenty of wrongs to be righted on Eridor, aren’t there? You’re just overanxious.’

‘Skoodle may be right,’ said Alex, hoping Flick would agree with him. It hurt him to see her so agitated with all of her usual lightness and fun drained out. ‘If somehow we could help him control its power, all could be fine. Perhaps Makusha chucked him out because he wasn’t going to give the stone back, not because he’s got an evil heart.’

Flick shook her head, a slow movement, shoulders sagging. ‘The stone makes whoever possesses it feel as if whatever they want is right. In his heart he’ll believe that the sapphire is good, but only in his hands. What’s terrifying is that the owner feels anything is acceptable in order to protect the stone. People have murdered their closest relatives to keep it.’

‘Like if somebody crosses him, they must be evil?’ asked Skoodle.

‘Exactly,’ said Flick, eyes dropping to the floor.

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