The Alchemists' Council, page 20
“Abducted?” replied Ruis. “Did you witness the abduction?”
“No, your Eminence. But from his position in a window of the Qingdao protectorate library, Arjan witnessed her disappear from the street below. Despite our efforts, we have not been able to locate her or find any clue that could lead us to her. What explanation could there be beyond rebel abduction? We seek Azothian intervention.”
The commotion immediately following Obeche’s announcement was enough to astonish even the most stalwart Council member. After several minutes of indecipherable debate among the Azoths, Obeche, and Tera, Ailanthus announced the plan: Azoth Ravenea would stay in Council Chambers to administer Elixir to the remaining Magistrates and eligible Initiates. After the distribution of Elixir, Magistrates and Initiates were to return directly to residence chambers. Readers were to convene in the Scriptorium to seek further explanation of today’s events. All other Elders were to report to the portal chamber, where the Ritual of Return would be enacted at the Quercus portal in an attempt to return Jaden to Council dimension.
Thus Cedar, having no say in the matter, proceeded as directed with her Elder cohorts to the portal chamber, relieved at the return of both Tera and Arjan, but distraught over Jaden’s disappearance. She knew perfectly well that if Jaden had been abducted, she was not in the hands of the rebels. Her well-laid plans had been dashed beyond recognition.
After pacing the narrow street of Qingdao for more than two hours, Jaden’s annoyance turned to apprehension. She wondered how far the Qingdao protectorate extended beyond the manuscript building. Regardless, she considered abandoning the protectorate vicinity in search of someone — anyone — who could direct her back to the street with the murals. She could then wait at the temporary portal ground. But she also worried that in wandering the streets she might find herself irreparably lost or, worse, in danger — unable to communicate her need to find a specific street with a specific portal. She decided the safest option was to remain here. So she sat down on the ground outside the manuscript building and waited. She repeatedly reminded herself that Obeche and Tera would return eventually. But after an hour of waiting, her imagination began to lead her unwillingly to a variety of worst-case scenarios — one of which involved an elaborate plot in which the rebels had captured and imprisoned both Obeche and Tera. In this particular fantasy, Kalina and Dracaen had lied to Jaden all along, luring her outside the relative safety of the protectorate library with the help of Jinjing and her fragment of the Dragonblood Stone. She would be trapped forever in the streets of Qingdao.
She also thought through the actual chain of events. She regretted not having revealed to Arjan the gift Jinjing had bestowed her. She took the fragment from her pocket and examined it closely. Perhaps she could use it to contact Kalina or Dracaen. She held the fragment tightly in one hand and called to Kalina in her mind. She held it to her forehead and called for Dracaen. She held it up towards the evening sky and thought of the Flaw in the Stone. Nothing happened. Finally, in an act she worried might be sacrilege but which she was nonetheless willing to attempt as a last resort, she touched the Dragonblood fragment lightly against her interim pendant. The sudden spark caused by this action startled her.
Jaden stood up. She positioned herself immediately in front of the manuscript building door and firmly pressed the Dragonblood fragment against her pendant. The force threw Jaden off her feet. She could feel herself moving through alternating light and darkness as if she were being transported through a portal. She gripped the fragment and pendant, holding her hand still against the force propelling her body. Flashes of bright colours filled her vision. Suddenly, all movement ceased. Her body wrenched forward, and she instinctually reached out to steady herself, inadvertently letting go of both the fragment and the pendant. Nausea overwhelmed her. She could not make out the features of the figure standing before her in the dimly lit room.
“Welcome back.”
Jaden blinked repeatedly to regain her focus.
“The disorientation is an unfortunate side effect of ritual transport. You will be fine within a few hours.”
“Cedar? Where am I?”
“You are in the portal chamber. You have been ritually transported back to Council dimension by the Elders.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The transport disorientation prevents us from investigating the matter or explaining our methods now. Please return to your chambers to rest. We will talk in the morning.”
“Where is Arjan?”
Obeche stepped forward. Jaden noticed then that several Elders stood silently in the shadows along the edge of the room.
“He is safe. We returned together several hours ago through the temporary portal in the Qingdao main street.”
“You returned without me?”
“You were nowhere to be found. Hence our need for ritual retrieval.”
“It is late,” said Cedar. “We are all tired, and I assume you are nauseated. You will be escorted to your chambers, Jaden. War measures are still in effect. Report to my office tomorrow immediately after breakfast for debriefing. You will feel physically better by then.”
Jaden bowed her head slightly to Cedar, to Obeche, and to the other Elders. She understood by Cedar’s tone that she was not to attempt to find Arjan. Accompanied by Rowans Kai and Esche, she walked slowly and silently, still quite off balance, through the main building and across the courtyard towards residence chambers. Just as she reached the willow tree near the courtyard fountain, she remembered the Dragonblood fragment. She stopped. In desperation, she checked all her pockets. She remembered holding it tightly before and during the transport. She must have dropped it in the portal chamber — or worse, during the journey within the distorted space between dimensions before even reaching the Quercus portal. How could she have been so careless with such a precious item again?
“What is wrong?” asked Kai. “Have you lost something?”
“No. I . . . I thought I felt something. Crawling. Under my clothes. It’s nothing.”
“You are most likely still experiencing the unsettling effects of ritual retrieval.”
As they progressed towards residence chambers, Jaden fought the nausea and tested her memory. She thought of Kalina and of Dracaen. She thought of classes with Kalina. She thought of Dracaen offering her the cup of Dragon’s Blood. She thought of standing at the wrought-iron railing watching the mists of the Dragonblood Stone. She thought of Kalina as they stood together under the willow tree near the Amber Garden. Though she feared that the memories would soon vanish along with the Dragonblood fragment, Jaden made every effort to retain them for as long as possible.
After reaching her chambers, after Kai and Esche had bid her good night, she repeatedly brought to mind all she could remember of both Kalina and Dracaen. She thought of them as she moved about her room. She thought of them as she lay down on her bed. She thought of them even as she drifted, overwhelmed with fatigue, to sleep. But most surprisingly and most importantly, she thought of them when she woke again several hours later. I will remember. I will remember, Jaden continued to chant silently to herself as she washed and dressed and walked to the dining hall. She had not eaten since the meal in Qingdao.
She hoped to find Arjan awaiting her, but to her dismay, the only Initiate in the dining hall was Laurel. Jaden contemplated skipping breakfast to avoid having to speak with her, but she was too late. Laurel had already spotted her and, to Jaden’s amazement, had suddenly jumped up, run over, and embraced her.
“You’re back! Obeche said you’d been abducted by rebels.”
“What? No. I wasn’t abducted. I’m fine. I just — I was delayed in Qingdao. I’m supposed to meet Cedar after breakfast. But I wanted to find Arjan first. Have you seen him?”
“No — not since Council Chambers yesterday. So what happened to you?”
“I was separated from Arjan, and I didn’t know how to return to Council dimension.”
Jaden worried that Laurel would continue to interrogate her about the events of Qingdao, necessitating the fabrication of a plausible story. But instead, as she reached in front of Jaden for a biscuit, Laurel asked the most unexpected question.
“What happened to your pendant?”
Jaden grasped for her pendant, afraid for an instant that she had lost it along with the Dragonblood fragment. But thankfully the pendant remained on its chain around her neck.
“What do you mean?”
“Let me see it,” said Laurel.
Jaden removed her hand and noticed for the first time what had captured Laurel’s attention. The pendant had been damaged. It contained a sizable chip, to all appearances a blood-red scar, just left of its centre.
“A flaw in your stone,” Laurel laughed. “I guess you made the wrong choice in Santa Fe. Mine is still perfectly solid.” She held her pendant aloft for Jaden to see.
But Jaden sat transfixed. She understood in that instant the reason she could still remember Kalina and Dracaen. The Dragonblood fragment had merged with her pendant. Jaden did indeed have in her possession her very own flaw in the stone.
“I need to find Arjan,” she insisted to Laurel.
“Then stay here. He’s unlikely to skip breakfast.”
“Did you speak with him yesterday after he returned from Qingdao?”
“After he returned from Qingdao? Seriously? As if the war measures weren’t enough of an obstacle already, do you honestly think that in the aftermath of an earthquake and potential abduction that the Initiates would be allowed to mingle?”
“Earthquake? What earthquake?”
“When you were in Qingdao, there was a disturbance in Council dimension, and it caused something like an earthquake. They said it originated in Qingdao. Cercis and I were terrified.”
“It couldn’t have been that bad. Everything looks fine. Nothing was damaged.”
“Alchemical transformation,” replied Laurel in a slightly patronizing tone. “The entire Council dimension repaired itself in the aftermath — except, if the murmured rumours are to be believed, for the Flaw in the Stone.”
Jaden’s startled expression communicated her lack of comprehension.
“The Flaw has apparently grown. No one knows yet what the implications will be.”
Jaden glanced around the dining hall. Most of the tables on the main floor were now occupied. Only the Elders remained conspicuously absent. They were, she assumed, discussing the rebels, the change in the Flaw, the earthquake, the events of Qingdao, and, most likely, her.
“Where is Arjan? He should be here by now.”
“Maybe a Scribe already has him working.”
“I can’t wait any longer. I need to find Arjan before I meet with Cedar.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“To meet Cedar?”
“No — to find Cercis. He and Arjan may be together.”
Jaden saw no point in taking the time to argue the illogic of Laurel’s theory or to convince her to stay behind. They walked together through the corridors of the main building, across the courtyard, and through residence chambers first to Arjan’s door and then to Cercis’s. They checked the North Library and then the reading room where Laurel had last seen Cercis. Other than a few of the groundskeepers and a cook, they did not cross paths with anyone in their hour of searching. Finally, just as they turned the corner near the entranceway to the Amber Garden on their way to the South Library, Cedar called out to them.
“Jaden, come with me. Laurel, report to Katsura — you have been paired with her, not with Jaden!”
Jaden did not speak en route to Cedar’s office. She remained disgruntled about not finding Arjan; from Jaden’s perspective, Cedar had intruded. She had little desire to describe the events of Qingdao to Cedar or any Elder.
But everything changed once Cedar opened her office door to reveal Arjan seated at a small table perusing a manuscript.
“Take a seat at the table,” said Cedar to Jaden. “We don’t have much time.”
Jaden sat beside Arjan. Out of necessity and protocol, she remained calm, eyes on Cedar. But she rested her arms on the table, longing for Arjan to do the same. Arjan sat back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, hands hidden by the fabric of his robes. Did Arjan not understand how desperately she needed to hear his voice, to learn from his perspective what had happened after she had left the manuscript room in Qingdao?
“Later today, we will join the Elders in Azothian Chambers,” Cedar began. She stood in the centre of the room, in front of her desk, gesturing emphatically as she spoke. “In the meantime, you are to remain under my supervision. I suggest you spend these next several hours wisely. If I were you, I would spend the time contemplating how to respond most effectively to the Azoths. You will each be asked to recount what happened yesterday. Some Elders believe the Rebel Branch may be targeting the Council through their most vulnerable members — you, the Junior Initiates — outside Council dimension. Therefore, when recounting the course of events, you must include not only your actions and their consequences but also the smallest particulars of your experience: sounds, scents, tastes. The most seemingly insignificant detail could have been the trigger point — the epicentre, if you will — for the collapse of elemental balance that originated in Qingdao and rippled through Council dimension and protectorates yesterday. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” replied Arjan and Jaden simultaneously.
Jaden’s swift response masked her uncertainty. Could she, should she recount every detail? She raced through a flood of conflicting possibilities — truths, half-truths, utter deceit. The hours of waiting were spent in agonizing silence. Cedar refused to allow Arjan and Jaden to rehearse their stories aloud to one another; after the first hour, Jaden had given up even looking to her friend for any sign of reassurance. The agony was punctuated only by the occasional supervised break. Finally, when the time to proceed to Azothian Chambers arrived, Jaden was almost relieved. She just wanted the day to end.
As she followed Cedar and Arjan through the corridors, Jaden adjusted her robes to conceal her pendant. What if the Elder Council determined that she had been contacted again by the Rebel Branch, that she was the one who had possessed again a fragment of the Dragonblood Stone, that she was potentially the one responsible for the earthquake in Council dimension? Jaden could feel her knees shaking as she crossed the threshold into Azothian Chambers.
Arjan, for the first time since Jaden had met him, seemed disconcerted. He sat on a bench against the far wall of Azothian Chambers, his back straight, his head resting against the tapestry behind him, his eyes closed. Jaden waited on another bench, directly across the room from Arjan. She breathed steadily, silently willing the fires of the Azothian kiln to emit more light than its current amber glow. Her efforts had no effect. She watched the shadows dart across Arjan’s face. She listened to the quiet rustling of robes as the Elders positioned themselves for the proceedings.
“Approach,” said Azoth Ruis. He gestured towards Jaden.
As she moved towards the middle of the room, she noticed Arjan open his eyes. She took a seat in the large wooden chair placed in front of the long table, where not only Azoths Ravenea and Ruis sat alongside Obeche and Cedar, but the Azoth Magen himself presided.
“Describe in precise detail your experiences and the sequence of events at the Qingdao protectorate,” said Ravenea, an underlying urgency in her tone.
What details could Jaden fabricate to replace those associated with Jinjing and the Dragonblood fragment — with memories of Kalina and Dracaen and the secrets she had been keeping? Would the Elders be able to tell if she lied? What if they forcibly read her pendant? What if they noticed and understood its flaw? She looked first towards Cedar, with whom she felt at least a modicum of comfort. But when she finally spoke, she addressed herself directly to Ailanthus.
“We were working.”
“You and Arjan?”
“Yes. We were working with the manuscripts. We had been told to search for images of bees. But we found only one possibility — an insect of some sort, perhaps a bee. Then, shortly after that, Jinjing brought us a meal. We ate—”
“Which manuscript?” asked Ailanthus.
“What?”
“In which manuscript did you find the indecipherable insect?”
“I don’t know, your Eminence. We set it aside to show Obeche and Tera when they returned — but, of course, they didn’t. I mean — I did not see them return. I had gone outside.”
“You ate the meal outside?”
“No. Not then. Jinjing, the Keeper of the Book, brought a tray of tea and food to us.”
“You ate in the same room, at the same table, as the manuscripts resided? Did you damage yet another manuscript through your carelessness?”
“No. We had set the manuscripts aside. We were careful.”
Various Elders gestured their disapproval.
“Describe the food — taste, smell, whatever you recall,” requested Ruis.
“The tea was steaming and fragrant — earthy and dark, like no tea I had tried before. There were noodles in a light broth, fried gai lan, and steamed buns. The buns were filled with spiced meat — pork, I think. Everything was delicious, and I wanted to take more time to relax and talk, instead of returning to work.”
“You wanted to continue to relax and talk with Arjan?” asked Obeche.
Jaden felt a rush of blood to her face. “Yes,” she stated emphatically, unwilling to be cowed by Obeche. “The work you assigned us seemed pointless — to me, not to Arjan.”
