Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Keeper

Chapter Twenty-Three ~ Meditation ~ Part One

Thea's head wouldn't stop spinning. Her own uncle. In line with the Breaker. She didn't want to believe that Uncle Van was a Shadow Alchemist, but the more she thought about it, the more she had to admit it made sense. C.C. had acted the way she did because she didn't trust Uncle Van. It explained C.C.'s fear, as well as the odd vibe she got from Uncle Van when she met him at her birthday party. He'd given her such an odd look when he'd first met her. Probably because he had been worried she would remember him and what he'd forced Todd to do to her.

She looked at the schedule again and saw that the instructor for the very next lesson was also marked. Guru Ellhorn, of the Celestial Fragment. She dreaded the idea of going to yet another lesson with an Alchemy tutor she couldn't trust.

She marched across the Keeper's Antechamber and up to the Bookkeeper's desk. Tenebrous saw her coming and rolled his eyes before she even opened her mouth to speak.

"I need to talk to the Keeper. Something very serious has happened."

"The Keeper is meditating. Privately." Tenebrous spat the last word. "Not to be disturbed!"

Thea huffed and stamped her foot. "Will you just listen to me? I think I may be in very real danger!"

Tenebrous glared at her. "Keep your voice down, missy! This is no place for a tantrum."

"I'm not having a tantrum. I just need to see the Keeper."

"And like I said-"

"I know!" she interrupted quietly. "Fine. I'm going back to my dorm room and I'm not going anywhere until the Keeper comes to see me." She wheeled around and began to walk away, but Tenebrous came out from behind his desk and grabbed her vest, bringing her to a halt with a scowl on his face. Thea brushed him off and clenched her jaw as she looked back at him.

"You need to go to meditation, or you will lose your Spectrum Scholar Vestments." Tenebrous scowled at her.

Thea clenched her jaw. "Surely you can make an exception?"

"The only exceptions we offer are for illness and injury. Otherwise, you must attend each lesson."

She rolled her eyes up to the marvelous arching ceiling of the magnificent Antechamber. What would her favorite character, Hermes Trismegistus do? Hermes wouldn't get caught in a trap, but he wouldn't run away from an enemy either. The library was definitely the safest place for a lesson with a known enemy. Ellhorn couldn't very well get away with any foul play in the crowded library. Now that Thea knew she couldn't trust Ellhorn, she could go to her meditation lesson without too many risks.

Finally she nodded. "Fine, I'm going."

Tenebrous sighed heavily and nodded curtly.

Thea spun on her heel and walked all the way up the main corridor toward the Crowning Chamber, her head swimming with frantic thoughts. What would her parents think if they knew what was happening? Would they take her somewhere far away from here? Or would they side with her uncle because he's family? Would they allow the Keeper to continue to manipulate her? Would she ever truly be able to make a choice, or would he manipulate her for the rest of her life? The thought made her stomach swim, and she regretted having such a large lunch.

She'd never felt so vulnerable. Who in the whole world could she trust? She couldn't trust anyone in her family. They had allowed the Keeper to manipulate her. She couldn't trust any of her Alchemy tutors. Either their names were marked on her schedule and they worked for the Breaker, or they worked for the Keeper, who couldn't be trusted either.

What about Todd? He had erased her memory, after all. Could she trust him? She longed to talk to him about her uncle. He would probably be in the Crowning Chamber for meditation. Maybe she could arrive early and try to talk to him. She picked up the pace as she walked by the green hallway where her dorm resided.