Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Keeper
Chapter Thirty-Eight

The Secret Code

Thea’s stomach flipped in her chest as she rushed toward the ground. C.C. went into a steep dive near her shoulder. The sensation of falling sparked an instinctual response in Thea.

Suddenly, without knowing how, she knew exactly what to do.

Thea reached out for C.C., who quickly flew to Thea’s hand. The earth sped toward her, but she felt strangely calm. She closed her eyes and took a slow calm breath. Her Kundalini activated in a burst of Energy that engulfed her body and without a Word or a Symbol, she subconsciously performed a magnificent Conversion.

Thea opened her eyes and stared at the ground as it rushed past her. She flapped her wings to get higher, and then she realized she had wings! She was flying!

“Thea!” someone cried, and she tilted her wings to fly toward the thin high voice. She saw Quentin behind some trees where he had been hiding, and Thea touched down to the ground and galloped toward her cousin.

Quentin was sobbing, big gasping cries with snot dripping from his nose. Thea folded back her wings and nuzzled her cousin’s curly head.

“Thea,” Quentin sobbed, and Thea realized that Quentin didn’t know what had happened to her. He likely thought that Thea had just fallen to her death, and somehow C.C. was all that remained.

I’m right here, Thea tried to say, but in this form she couldn’t talk. So she stared at Quentin hard and tried to send him a message similar to the way she had tried to speak to C.C.

It’s okay, she thought. I’m here.

“…Thea?” Quentin hesitantly looked up into Thea’s eyes.

Thea nodded her horse-like head and nickered happily.

Quentin smiled and threw his arms around Thea’s neck.

Come on, she thought, and she knelt down on her front legs so Quentin could climb up onto her back. Let’s move before the Shadows replace us.

Quentin wiped his nose on his sleeve and clambered up onto Thea’s back. Quietly, Thea trotted away from the mansion, unsure of exactly where to go. Quentin clung awkwardly to her back, and she wished she had a saddle for him to sit on. She tried to replace a place that was sheltered somewhat from the view of the mansion, but in which she would be able to see the Shadows who were pursuing them.

Quentin bounced along on her back, tense and awkward, but he did well enough considering this was likely his first time riding a noctos, or a horse for that matter. Thea finally stopped in the shade of some trees near the wall and turned back to face the mansion.

Then she realized that Chadwick should have been with Quentin. Where is Chadwick?

“Chadwick? He distracted a Shadow and led him that way.” Quentin pointed, and Thea looked over her shoulder in that direction, but there was no sign of Chadwick.

We need to replace him! Thea snorted.

“What about Tajana? Where is she?”

I don’t know! Thea snorted again. She was getting rather agitated. We got separated inside. Did Chadwick call for help?

“What?” Quentin asked. “Oh, make contact, you mean? We were looking for the Components we needed when the Invisibility wore off, and he distracted a Shadow and ran away. Maybe he found the last Component and called for help?”

A twig snapped, and Thea snorted again. She swung her head in the direction of the sound and shied away. Someone was coming and most likely trying to sneak up on them. Quentin held on tightly and managed to stay on Thea’s back as she quickly stepped to the side.

We might need to run, Quentin, Thea warned. Someone is coming, probably an invisible someone.

Quentin grabbed Thea’s long gray mane. “Who’s there?” Quentin said softly.

“Shush!” came a female voice from off to the right. Thea turned to see a ripple in the air, and then Aunt Fanella was there with them. She was wearing a Keeper’s uniform with green trim and a billowing white hood and wide flowing sleeves. On her feet, she wore shiny green dress shoes. The wind tugged on her sleeves, blowing them back to reveal beautiful white wrists.

“Mom!” Quentin uttered in a relieved whisper. “I knew you’d come!”

“Of course I came,” Aunt Fanella said as she stepped up to them and reached out for Quentin.

But something didn’t feel right. Just before Quentin leaned down to slide off Thea’s back and into his mother’s arms, Thea shied away. Quentin nearly fell to the ground. “Whoa! What’s wrong?” he asked as he grasped Thea around her neck.

I don’t know, but something is wrong! Thea snorted and blew air through her nose. Some instinct was telling her that this couldn’t possibly be her aunt, even though she looked right. She just didn’t feel right.

“Quentin, get down from the noctos,” Aunt Fanella said.

And Thea knew. There was no way Aunt Fanella would call her the noctos. She wouldn’t be calmly trying to grab Quentin, as if she was wary of getting hurt by C.C. Aunt Fanella would have Twitchet with her, Thea knew, but this woman was alone. The real Aunt Fanella would be wearing her green dress and apron, her black knee-high boots, and above all else, Thea knew she would be enveloped in a green aura. But not this person. Whoever she was, she only looked like a younger and flawless copy of Aunt Fanella, and she didn’t sound right at all.

The real Aunt Fanella would have tattoos all over her wrists, and a zebra butterfly in her blonde hair. She would smell like tea leaves and wood smoke, not perfume.

Quentin, that’s not your mother! Don’t say anything. Act natural. On my signal we’re going to run. We’ll fly if we have to, so hold on tight!

Quentin gripped Thea’s mane hard and squeezed his knees.

“Quentin?” Not-Aunt-Fanella said. “I told you to get down from there. Just climb down. You’ll be safe. I won’t let the noctos hurt you.” The lady tried to inch her way close again, and Thea stamped the ground with her front hoof, acting very much like a cornered wary animal.

Get ready … Thea thought hard, and Quentin hunched down, ready to bolt. Now!

Thea sprang into motion, slowly at first, but faster as she grew more and more confident in Quentin’s ability to stay on her back. Not-Aunt-Fanella shouted in confusion and tried to bolt after them, but then she gave up and pulled a Component from one of her pockets.

Thea didn’t wait to replace out what the Shadow Alchemist would do.

She leapt into the air, flapped her wings, and soared right over the wall. Suddenly, Quentin started slipping. Instead of flapping her wings again, Thea let herself fall right beside Quentin as they cleared the wall. They dropped down a small distance into a body of water—almost like a moat surrounding the castle-like mansion.

Thea made a gigantic splash in the water, and Quentin followed after. They both surfaced, Quentin sputtering and gasping, and Thea snorting and blowing air loudly.

They swam across the moat and climbed out onto the shaded bank. Come on, Quentin, Thea pleaded, kneeling down to let her cousin climb back on her back. Something went wrong. I don’t think Chadwick was able to make contact. It’s all up to us now. We need to fly home and send others back to rescue Tajana and Chadwick

“What? You want us to leave them?”

What else can we do? Thea asked hopelessly. Tajana and Chadwick are probably already captured again. The Shadows will recapture us too if we don’t get away now. Tajana warned me this might happen, and she would expect us to try and escape so we can bring back help. We have to go!

“I guess so,” Quentin said with tears in his voice. He clambered onto Thea’s back again, and Thea took off in an easy gallop, making sure that Quentin was comfortably staying on her back; meanwhile she unfurled her wet wings and tried to dry them out by flapping them gently in the wind as she galloped.

After a mile or so of galloping through the countryside, Thea felt ready to fly. Get ready Quentin. We’re going up, so hold on tight!

Thea worked her giant wings, lifting herself and her cousin off the ground. That was when Thea truly appreciated how light she was, even in this large version of her Chimaera. She must have the hollow bones of a bird, she realized, and her light frame made it easy for her to effortlessly fly through the air.

Before long, they were a good distance above the earth, and Thea tried to get her bearings; then she remembered something that suddenly seemed very important.

She had made this journey before! Except before, she had been asleep and dreaming, and now she was awake and flying for real.

And now, thanks to the dream she’d had on her birthday—right after she made C.C.—Thea knew the way to fly to get help.

Thea pivoted on her wings and turned so the setting sun was over her right shoulder. She flew with Quentin clinging to her neck, for as long as she could, her wings slowly becoming familiar. By the time Thea decided to land and rest, she was so used to flying, it was as if she’d been born with wings.

Thea spotted a good place to stop for rest. There was a small town close by, but it was mostly secluded, so she figured she wouldn’t be spotted by any Recreants. She alighted in a green field and let her wings hang down and drag in the soft grass. She hung her head and snorted for air, her sides heaving.

“Are you okay, Thea?” Quentin asked.

I’m okay. Just need to rest.

Quentin swung one leg over and slid down Thea’s side. He stumbled into the grass with a grunt.

Are you okay? Thea asked her cousin.

“Flying on a noctos is hard!” Quentin said with a smile at her. “Thea, how did you turn into a Chimaera?”

Thea realized that she had Converted without a Conversion Circle again. She figured it was best to keep her natural ability a secret from Quentin, so she told a half-truth. I have no idea, Quentin, Thea replied. I fell off the roof, and it was like my body just knew what to do to save me.

“Wow, you can shapeshift like the Keeper!” Quentin said. “You make me think about Mórrígu; she was a famous Keeper who turned into a crow all the time. Do you think that means you could be the next Keeper?”

I don’t know Quentin. Maybe.

“I think that’s got to be it. How else can you explain it?” Quentin smiled up at Thea. “Do you know how to turn back?”

Thea tossed her head. I have no idea, but I bet the Keeper knows.

“How did you do that without knowing though?” Quentin asked, sounding extremely uncomfortable.

I wish I could tell you! Thea thought with a snort. She had no idea that most Alchemists couldn’t shapeshift. Now she was doubly uncomfortable. Not only had she performed a Conversion without knowing about it, but she had subconsciously chosen a Conversion that nobody else could perform. Nobody but the Keeper.

Let’s just keep going for now. Thea knelt and Quentin scrambled back up on her back, wrapping his arms around her neck. She broke into a canter and slowly sped up until she was at a full gallop, then she leapt into the air and flapped her wings fiercely. Quentin held on expertly. It seemed he had learned a thing or two about riding a flying horse.

Thea quickly found her bearings and pivoted in the right direction again. But then her eyes caught on something in the grass below. Without thinking, Thea slowly turned back and began a slow descent, because she had just spotted what looked like an Alchemy Symbol in the grass outside the nearby town.

Thea landed again and trotted around the Alchemy Circle. “Why did we land again?” Quentin asked.

There’s a Symbol in the grass here, Thea replied. I think it could be an Insignia.

“Thea, look!” Quentin pointed down the hill at an old church. Someone wearing white robes came out of the church and walked up the hill. He looked like a very plain old man with white thinning hair, a bald spot on his head, and wrinkles. Thea realized that the old man had been in her dream. He was hunched over and shuffling, so it took him a while to ascend the hill. Thea snorted and swished her tail with agitation. Just as she was about to take off, the man stood up straight, held up his arms, and seemed to melt away.

Slowly, his white hair started to change until it turned silvery gray. His eyes shifted from a pale blue to a dark chocolate. His white robes melted into a charcoal pinstriped suit and gray vest. He was the Code Keeper!

“It’s the Keeper!” Quentin said, and he slid off Thea’s back and ran down the hill. “You found us!”

“I Divined your coming here many years ago,” the Keeper replied. “Althea, that is you, is it not?”

Yes, Keeper! Thea replied. She stamped her hoof and nickered. What happened to me?

“You have shapeshifted into the form of your Chimaera,” the Keeper said. “Shapeshifting is a Secret Code that I am charged with keeping secret.”

How did I do that if it’s supposed to be secret? Thea stamped her hoof and came closer. I don’t even know the Conversion Circle or the Code Word.

“Thea, I would tell you if I had not sworn an Oath to keep what I know a secret.” The Keeper made a genuinely apologetic face.

Who made you keep it a secret? Thea tossed her head impatiently.

“Your father.”

Thea went very still and stared in disbelief.

“The important thing right now is that you are here, and that means you escaped from the Shadow Alchemists,” the Keeper said. “You alone can lead the way back there so we can rescue the other Spectrum Scholars. We will have time for questions later, and I promise you, Thea. I will make sure your father gives you the answers you seek.”

Thea stamped her foot and snorted. Her father had lied to her, Thea realized. On her birthday, when Thea had asked why she was special, her father had said they didn’t know. She desperately wanted to know why her father would lie, but she knew that the Keeper was right. Every moment counted now, and she was going to rescue her friends. She came forward the last few feet to stand beside the Keeper, who held up his hand and touched Thea’s nose, right between her eyes.

A peaceful sensation overcame Thea, and she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She felt herself changing, reverting to her original form. When she opened her eyes, she was a girl again, wearing the white tunic and slacks she had been wearing when she changed into a noctos.

C.C. sprang out of thin air and fluttered around Thea’s head, beating her wings against her curly brown hair. She held out her hand and caught the tiny Chimaera. “I’ve got you,” she crooned softly. “Thank you for saving me, C.C.”

C.C. stared at Thea with her golden owl-eyes, and a tickle danced in Thea’s brain. Fun flying; she heard the words in her head almost as though they were her own thoughts. But Thea had had C.C. long enough to recognize that peculiar feeling when she was sensing C.C.’s emotions. Those were not her own thoughts.

Thea’s eyes went big. “C.C.?”

Yes?

Thea couldn’t believe it. Her Chimaera was talking to her!

Can’t talk, came the response with a blast of annoyance. No voice, just thoughts.

And you can hear my thoughts as well, I take it, Thea replied telepathically.

C.C. sent a blast of happiness that most certainly meant, Yes!

How? I mean why now? Thea asked.

C.C. ruffled her feathers and sent Thea a mental image of an owl hatching from an egg, followed by another visual of an older hatchling flapping his wings. This was followed by one last image of the same owl, now a juvenile, flying out of the nest in a wobbly first flight.

You grew up, Thea explained simply.

C.C. responded with a blast of irritation. I matured, she corrected smartly. Growing has nothing to do with it, or I would not still be this tiny.

Thea couldn’t help but notice how mature C.C.’s thoughts had already become. Her telepathic voice had a nice feel to it, like a sister who was just a bit older and wiser than Thea was. And a little bit harsh in a caring-older-sister sort of way. Most interestingly, the more C.C. spoke, the more Thea recognized two distinct voices, speaking in unison. One was slightly older and deeper, while the other was higher and energetic.

Thea laughed, and then she realized how good it felt to still be alive. “Thank you C.C. And thank you, Keeper.” Thea looked up into the Keeper’s eyes. “For meeting me here and helping me.”

“You’re welcome, my child,” the Keeper said. “Now I’m afraid I need to ask you for your help.”

Thea nodded, but then a white circle appeared on the grassy hill nearby, and in the blink of an eye, Thea’s parents, Aunt Fanella, Uncle Van, a stranger, and three Alchemists in white came through the portal.