The Quest of the Prodigy (The Alchemist of Time Book 1) Read online

  Albert and Mimi stared at each other, shocked that someone could love a monster like Deatherage.

  Albert pointed around the corner. “He’s chasing Bas. How can you end up with a jerk like him? You’re way too pretty for him!”

  “Thank you, young man. But our relationship is a long story. What’s going on? I thought they were just capturing a thief. Girl, why are you hurt?”

  Mimi and Albert looked at each other. An explanation was in order.

  BAS WAS trying to make the cat-and-mouse game last as long as possible. Running he could deal with. Fighting he wasn’t such a fan of. But Deatherage had an advantage in that he hadn’t been dancing on stage earlier, and as they reached another wooded area, Bas’s legs were slowing down.

  Deatherage let out a yell as he tackled Bas to the ground. Bas grunted and was thankful when a thick layer of snow broke his fall. He had purposefully led the big man far away from Mimi and the others, and away from innocent bystanders. But now he was on his own.

  The two men wrestled on the ground, trying to get a leg up on each other. Without a weapon, Bas knew his only option was to knock the man unconscious and disarm him.

  Deatherage pushed Bas further underneath the snowbank, trying to suffocate him. Bas felt a wave of panic as the snow blocked his airways. He squirmed and flailed until Deatherage had to move back a bit and Bas could catch a breath. Deatherage punched him square in the face, breaking his nose.

  The thought that this brute had damaged his perfect face enraged Bas. Determination coursed through him. “You’ll pay for that!”

  “You are but a skinny man. How can you hurt me?” taunted Deatherage. “But if you give me the book, I’ll leave you alone, Barkley. This could all be over.”

  Bas let out a smirk. “You want the book so bad, Deatherage? Then come and get it!” He pulled the crimson Diary from his inner coat pocket and charged at the man, holding the book at an angle.

  There was a sickening, crunching noise as the book hit Deatherage in the left eye. The man collapsed. Bas wondered if this was how David had felt after knocking out Goliath.

  “Books really can be a weapon,” he said, and shook his head at his fallen enemy. “You look awful mate, sorry about the eye. Looks like wits win after all.”

  There was a very nasty, purple and black mark on the man’s eye. He’d probably need an eye patch for some time.

  Bas briefly thought about drowning him in the snow so the cruel man couldn’t hurt anyone again, but shook his head. He was a better person than Deatherage was, and Mimi would never let him hear the end of it.

  MIMI WAS barely listening to her brother explain their story to the princess. She was focusing on not passing out while they waited for Bas to return. Indecision gripped her. Should she get them back to safety and return? Should they wait for Bas? Albert seemed preoccupied with meeting a real princess and would probably put up a fight.

  “Aimon, I think I’m okay. Why don’t you check up on Bas?” she suggested as he gingerly wrapped her hands with strips of cloth torn from his shirt.

  Aimon frowned at her. “Are you sure? You look pale, Mimi.”

  “Yes. I’m sure,” Mimi said, turning her head as the sound of panting filled the alley. Bas had returned. “What happened to Deatherage?” she asked him.

  “I had to knock him out. He tried to kill me. Let’s go.” He looked around and gasped. “Princess Odette?”

  Odette nodded.

  Mimi looked confused. “You know her?”

  “My father has mentioned her when he told me about the Queen’s Court. Princess, what are you doing here?”

  “Get this,” stated Albert, “she’s dating ugly-head!”

  “Odette and Deatherage?” asked Bas, looking sickened.

  “Can we please just get out of here?” groaned Mimi, ready to get back to the Bas House.

  “Yeah, yeah of course.”

  “Wait!” cried the princess. “Please, take me with you. I only knew Daniel through letters. Very romantic letters. I thought he was someone I could love for all of time. But after I learned he took the life of a boy, I cannot stand to be with him. Please can I go with you? I think I may have made a horrible mistake!” Tears trickled down her face.

  Mimi frowned. She knew that look. It was the look of someone with a broken heart. Meredith had sometimes looked like that when she realized a guy had moved on with someone else. Mimi felt a wave of pity and looked at Bas. “Is it possible, Bas?”

  “Well,” said Bas and nodded, looking at the golden statue of Bellator. “I think so. And, it might not be so bad having the princess with us. She’s also the daughter of the King, you know.”

  Mimi’s jaw dropped at that. This was the daughter of the King she was supposed to defeat? She swallowed and nodded. “Fine. I just need to get to JAB. My hands…I can’t feel them.”

  Worried about Bellator unfreezing at any moment, Mimi insisted they leave the alley. The group dragged themselves to another secluded alley, and Bas instructed Odette to close her eyes while he and Mimi set their Time Shifters. Mimi wondered if it was a good idea to allow the daughter of the King so close to the secret of time travel. But in a golden flash, the choice was made.

  The group took four days to rest after the attack, and Mimi was grateful for it. Even after four days, the incident was very fresh in her memory.

  Her hands still felt like she had dozens of paper cuts, but JAB tended to them frequently with a cream to alleviate the burning and pills to help Mimi sleep. The holes in both of her hands would leave permanent scars. Permanent reminders of how much work she needed to accomplish to prepare herself for the next time she met with Bellator and Deatherage.

  Aimon and Albert had been showing Odette around, and keeping her company. Mimi was happy the boys were taking care of Odette, because her own heart was still too broken over losing Richie to be of much comfort to someone else. She felt bad for Odette, but wondered how the princess could ever think that Deatherage was capable of loving someone. He was a monster who had killed her Richie. Murderers couldn’t love, right? She frowned, knowing it wasn’t that simple in the real world. Bad people could do good things, and good people could do bad things.

  Like Bas. He was a good guy. He just had a Klepto problem.

  Pulling from around her neck the set of keys, Mimi gazed at the sun key. She wondered if this deep feeling of grief would ever go away. Bas had insisted distractions would help.

  She was still in too much physical pain with her hands to begin her training. Perhaps Bas would want to take back another item from the Lootery. Smiling at her necklace, Mimi thought of the story Bas had told of Sara Rogers, and the necklace she had given Bas to remember her by. She knew exactly which item to take back next.

  Leaping off the bed, Mimi wrapped a gray robe over her black pajamas and slid into black slippers. She still wore black to mourn Richie. There was no expiration date on grief. Mimi also grabbed her satchel containing the Elemental Launcher. She knew she was in the Bubble Universe, and supposedly safe in the Time Zone, but after the most recent ambush, she wasn’t taking any chances.

  Pulling the robe tighter, Mimi headed for the kitchen to find Bas. He was there, enjoying teatime. She smiled at the comforting smell of the rich black tea.

  “Hey kiddo,” said Bas kindly. “You look like you’re feeling better.”

  “Not really,” admitted Mimi with a sigh and sat next to him. “But I have an idea.”

  “Well why aren’t you feeling better yet?” asked Bas worriedly.

  “I still miss Richie,” she said, reaching for her sun-key necklace. “And my hands still hurt. But mostly I miss Richie. Bas?”

  “Yes?”

  She frowned, feeling slightly immature for asking such a question. “Why is life so hard?”

  Bas looked surprised by such a question, and took a sip of his tea. There was a bit of silence as he thought about her question. Finally he sighed. “Well, the thing is, life is hard. Don’t know why. But I find life
has as many hardships as treasures. You’ve got a treasure, right?”

  Mimi frowned. Did she? She felt the familiar bump of her Elemental Launcher and the Diary in her satchel. There was also a round object, and Mimi remembered the gift from Aimon. She still wasn’t ready to view the funeral of Richie. She was scared to see it. Scared of how hurtful it would be to hear what everyone would say about Richie, and scared that she would miss him even more, if that were possible. But maybe it was a treasure. The black orb represented memories of Richie, and the memories Richie had given her were some of the best treasures of all.

  “I have treasures, of sorts.”

  “What was your idea?” asked Bas to change subjects. He took a long sip of his tea.

  “Oh!” She’d nearly forgotten it with thoughts of Richie. “Well, I was hoping we can start to take back items from the Lootery. You know, like you said. Distractions help grief.”

  Bas winced. “I think I gave you too good of advice.”

  “Oh come on, Bas!”

  He sighed. “Fine, fine. What do you want to take back next?”

  She smiled and pointed to her necklace, then at his neck. “Remember that story you told me about Sarah Rogers?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, I know she gave it to you as a gift. But, I think that’s what we should take back next. You see, I was thinking. I may have had to cut my love life short, even before it really began. But there’s no reason both of us should have a broken heart. Do you still care about her, Bas?”

  Bas stared at his tea for a long moment before nodding again.

  She smiled, feeling excited for a change. “That’s great! C’mon, what do you say? You can at least find out how she feels about you, if nothing else.”

  “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you’d rather take back? I’ve got the Mona Lisa, the original tablet of the Egyptians, whatever you want!”

  Mimi smirked at him and shook her head. “No way. I want you to be happy. You deserve a proper treasure. You deserve your Sarah.”

  Bas glared at her for a moment before sighing. “And this will make you happy?”

  “It’s a start.”

  He groaned. “Very well. But I’m not sure if she still even remembers me.”

  “Oh, I doubt she can forget you. You’re the Incredible Bas!”

  That actually made him smile. He raised his mug of tea to her. “Cheers to that.” He sipped. “You’re okay, Mimi Mockel.” He thought a moment, as if reconsidering, then said again, “Yeah, you’re okay. Friendship status confirmed.”

  Mimi beamed at his quirky compliment. She was glad he was back to his cheerful self, and glad they had a destination. Her hands still burned. Her heart was still broken. But progress was starting. Change was in the air. And for once, it was kind of exciting to be the underdog of her own story.

  It is a common misconception that authors work alone. I know this author has met many friends online who share the same passion as writing and reading, and I wanted to leave a quick note to thank you all. Thanks for all the RTs on Twitter, the posts on Facebook that make my day, and anyone who has ever liked or commented on my blog.

  To my fellow authors, your talent and encouragement inspires me every day.

  To my editor, Bailey, thank you so much for putting up with the many revisions of this story.

  To my design team, Blue Harvest Creative, thank you for your patience in crafting this story, and for your awesome design elements that help breathe the story to life. And a special thanks to author Katie Jennings who introduced me to the team.

  To my brother, Preston, thank you so much for being my biggest fan and sharing my love of Steampunk.

  And to my parents, thanks for everything.

  To my readers, thank you so much. It is because of you I do what I do. Keep on reading.

  I was born and raised in the northwest suburbs of the great Windy City: Chicago. I’ve been writing since high school in desperate hope to fend off a nasty case of insomnia that started from having strangely vivid dreams. Luckily, the writing trick worked to break insomnia, and a decade later I’m still happily addicted to writing. My favorite things in life are a freshly steaming cup of coffee, chocolate, music, spending quality time with friends and family, Sunday mornings, and being able to sleep in late. My least favorite chore is laundry and my favorite feeling is having a productive writing day. I now live in South Carolina where I moved to be closer to family.

  Visit the author at:

  Websites

  www.authorcesmith.com &

  www.bhcauthors.com

  Facebook

  www.facebook.com/authorcesmith

  Twitter

  @authorcesmith

  Cover, interior book design,

  and eBook design

  by Blue Harvest Creative

  www.blueharvestcreative.com

  Editing provided by

  Bailey Karfelt

  Table of Contents

  About The Book

  Title Page

  Copyright Information

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Act One: The Prodigy Discovered

  Chapter 01

  Chapter 02

  Chapter 03

  Chapter 04

  Chapter 05

  Chapter 06

  Chapter 07

  Chapter 08

  Act Two: The Ageless War

  Chapter 09

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Act Three: Jazz And Alchemy

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  A Note From The Author

  About The Author

  Visit The Author

  Meet The Creative Team