[October Sky] Part III

PART ONE | PART TWO
Emma found herself awake in the dark of morning waiting for something to happen. No sounds issued from the other room where Cedric lay. What to make of him? He appeared only a little older than herself. He claimed to be doing the best he could for his king, the king of the well of souls. Emma wrapped her arms around her covered knees and stared hard at the line of light under the door. Maybe he would reconsider what she had said and send her home. Mr. Amon would be a much better choice to do some sort of alchemy to save a king. Though that thought brought her round to the stranger who had come into the shop the day before. He had agitated Mr. Amon certainly, but why?

Shifting and shuffling came to her ears and the door opened a crack.

“Emmaline,” Cedric whispered to her.

“Yes.”

“If you are awake, we should go to the king now before the castle wakes.” He entered the room on quiet feet and stood with the light at his back. Emma tried in vain to read his shadowed face. Throwing off the cover, she put her feet on the chilly floor.

“Do you have shoes I can wear and perhaps something more substantial than this nightshirt?”

“No, I’m sorry.”

Great. She would meet a king barefoot in her nightshirt. What a first impression that would make. Emma focused her thoughts as she had been taught by her master and stepped forward. If this was how it was to happen, then so be it. She followed Cedric out of the room. They descended the staircase in silence and when they reached the castle proper, Cedric began to sneak. Emma kept her footsteps light and stayed close. They moved through the corridors avoiding others. When the sound of someone coming came to them, Cedric would stop and hide in the shadows. Emma did the same. Then once the sound left, they continued on. Before long they came to an ornate door with skulls in profile. A man, perhaps a guard, stood beside it. Cedric crossed the floor to him.

“What’s your business?” the guard asked.

“A petitioner to see the king.”

“You know well that the king sees no one. Chancellor Lawrence will hear your case.”

“This can only be heard by the king himself. Let me in to see him.”

“You have to go through Chancellor…”

“The Chancellor will let no one see him. Let me through.”

Emma waited at the edge of the hallway, keeping herself small to avoid the gaze of the guard. The two men argued for another moment before the guard said,

“If I let you in, you must say nothing to anyone. It’s my head if I don’t do my duty.”

“I will say nothing. You have my word.”

Cedric gestured for Emma to join him. They proceeded through the door together. The light thud of the door shutting behind them made Emma jump. Her nerves, calm as they may have been, wound tight. They crossed a sitting chamber and entered into a sanctuary. Supple tapestries hung against the walls and depicted great scenes of what Emma guessed was the past. A strong bed sat against one wall and curtains were drawn about it. As they drew closer, Emma could see a figure in the bed through the light curtains.

Nearby a window allowed the first shreds of daylight in. They illuminated the man lying there. Cedric knelt down next to the bed and said,

“My lord. I have come with aid.”

A raspy, whisper came from the man.

“Cedric.”

“Yes, my lord. I have brought an alchemist to cure you.” He waved Emma forward.

All too aware of how she looked, Emma reluctantly came close enough to see the eyes of the laying man. He had gone pale under what had once been a tan. Strong features said he had been attractive once. Now he lay wasting away. Emma patted his hand then asked,

“What are his symptoms?”

“He’s so weak he can hardly stand. The last time he appeared in court, he had to be assisted on and off the throne. He is flushed, but there is no fever. He shivers and shakes at the slightest breeze. He refuses food, but will sip water if its given to him.” Cedric did not look at her as he spoke. He bowed his head to the man in the bed.

Emma considered what it could be. In the few years she had worked for Mr. Amon, she had only heard of one case like this one and the person had died of it. That either meant the medicine didn’t work or it was given too late to be able to effect a cure. What had Mr. Amon used in that instance? Emma racked her brain. She could see the purple tincture in its clear glass vial. No more than three thumb fulls. It had a relative of wonderroot in it, meant to give it a strong kick. The purple color came from a thread-like herb called Lamia’s hair. Emma pinched her nose and closed her eyes. Most alchemy mixed few ingredients prepared just so. There had to be a third. Was it Demon water? Uh.

A loud clap came from the sitting room. Emma stiffened. Cedric shot to his feet. Three men stamped into the room.

“Arrest him,” the leading man said. He wore a thick, heavy gold chain with a skull emblazoned on a disk. The two others wore the skull across their chest and bore weapons.

“You cannot arrest me, Chancellor. I have done no crime,” Cedric said.

“Your attempt to kill our already weakened king will not succeed. Take him into custody.” Then his eyes fell on Emma. “And your accomplice will suffer with you. Get her as well.”

Neither of them resisted as the guards came to tie leather straps around their arms. The Chancellor watched with stony eyes. Cedric set his jaw and refused to say another word.


The few light globes illuminated the lower levels of the castle. The nearest one to Emma’s cell only threw in a glimmer. She curled up in the corner farthest from the door and tried not to shiver. Having nothing but her nightshirt for covering left her feeling cold and exposed. After a few minutes of sitting there, she went to the door. No one stood directly outside, but if she shifted her gaze a bit, someone waited a few doors over. Cedric looked out from the cell opposite hers.

“Cedric,” she said.

“Emmaline.”

“What did you mean when you said only the king could reopen the well?”

The guard standing a few doors over came toward them but seeing that they weren’t trying to escape seemed content to let them have their conversation. It kept Emma’s mind off how cold she was.

“The well is a sacred place. It is opened and closed at the whim of the king. The Chancellor convinced him to close it, meaning it only to be for a day or so, but then the King fell ill and it was never reopened. Every day it remains closed, our kingdom stagnates.”

Emma considered his words. Her eyes slipped to the stone floor, then she brought them back to Cedric’s face.

“Why do you call it the well of souls?”

“Because from the well come the souls of the living to inhabit this, the realm of the dead.”

The realm of the dead, Emma mouthed the phrase again. She stood in the realm of the dead, but death had yet to take her, had it? Or did passing through the mirror kill her? Her mouth went dry and she paced. Cedric’s answers were so clear and concise she saw no reason to argue with them. If they were wrong, then he fully believed in them anyway.

Petunia Evers came to mind. How she had writhed on the floor and sought to drag Emma down. The fear from that moment came into the present and she shivered harder. Was that because of the well?

“Cedric!”

He had disappeared from his cell door and Emma hopped from foot to foot waiting for him to come back to it.

“The well affects the dead, right? Would a person not stay dead if the well were to remain closed?”

“I understand what you’re asking, but I don’t know the answer.”

The guard grunted as if to remind them of his presence. Emma watched him for a moment then sought Cedric’s eyes again.

“I think it’s true,” she said. Perhaps the reason the spell had come to her was Mrs. Evers. She had seen what happened. She knew what could happen. Her imagination saw hordes of those who could not die trying desperately to find their way out of their lives. What would happen to those who stood in the way? She shuddered to think. The well had to be reopened.

Moving away from her door, she closed her eyes. They needed an escape, but how? She felt her way along the wall to the corner, then toward the next corner. There were cloth on the floor along with some straw, a bed maybe. Something grew on the far wall from the door. Her fingers found it and she sniffed it. The spicy but watery scent tickled her thoughts. From there, she moved to the third corner. Here chalky powder covered the lower level of the wall. Finally, she made her way to the center and stood there in the dark. Taking slow, deep breaths, she centered her thoughts. Mr. Amon insisted she do that whenever she attempted something difficult. Escaping from prison certainly counted as difficult. Identify what she had at hand. Morpheus’s beard smelled spicy but watery in its powdered form after it dried. It burned with a sophoric effect. Knockout gas? That would take care of the guard, but the door would still be locked. She needed the door unlocked before she could do anything about the guard. The hazy edges of a plan formed in her mind. It could work, but she needed fire or at least one of those warming crystals. Going back to the chalk, she dipped a finger in it and rubbed her fingers together. Touching her tongue to her fingers, she tasted it. Nothing came immediately to mind. Alchemy could use even the most basic things to do the incredible.

“What are you?” Her tongue tingled and her fingers developed a creepy crawling sensation. She wiped her hands hurriedly and spit several times. “Charmot.” Added to a brew, it would amplify the effects. On it’s own, it plucked the nerves and made the skin crawl.

So she had Morpheus’s beard and Charmot. It would make one hell of a knockout gas, but it needed to be mixed and heated. The cloth could be used to put a fuse on it, if she could get a heat source. Going back to the door, she hung one hand out the small window.

“Hello,” she called. With some clanking, the guard moved down toward her. “I’m terribly cold. Could I perhaps get a heat rock?”

“A heat rock?” he asked. Cedric appeared at his door to watch the exchange.

“Yes, one of those fabulous rocks that create heat. I haven’t much on and no shoes and I’m freezing. You wouldn’t want me to die before the Chancellor has his chance to execute me, would you?” The words came out glib, but Emma felt a trace of fear at the idea of being executed. Best to insure that didn’t happen.

The guard came close enough to look inside her cell. Emma moved back from the door so he could see her more clearly. He knocked his head from one side to the other, then shrugged before going away. Rushing back to the door, Emma watched him as long as she was able. He moved out of sight and Emma stayed at the door.

She met Cedric’s eyes and smiled. He didn’t smile back.


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