Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Breaker

Chapter Three ~ Breaking an Oath ~ Part II

Chadwick felt that unnerving sensation of falling into space, and he had to inhale and swallow so that he wouldn't throw up. It was worse than normal this time; only yesterday he'd woken up in the Crystal Dimension because a Shadow had just kidnapped him. The fourth dimension was decidedly one of Chadwick's least favourite places now, perhaps only second to that bloody Shadow Mansion. If he ever had to go back to that place, it would be too soon.

The Crystal world became a blur as Fiona led the Chemists to a destination. They stopped long enough for the Alchemist to make a portal that would take them back to the third dimension, and then they walked into the black sphere together.

Chadwick stumbled as he looked around and realised they were in a zoo; a nearby sign said Bioparco di Roma.

'Separo!' Fiona said with her hand full of centella, and the Recreants who had stopped to stare at them all made blissful faces as they forgot what they had just witnessed. 'Think fast Chad,' she ordered. 'What two animals do you want to use to make your Chimaera?'

'I want a volucerta; part flame skimmer dragonfly and part sungazer lizard,' he said without hesitation.

'Wow, that's rather specific,' Fiona said.

'At least I'm prepared,' Chadwick countered.

'Chadwick!' Tajana said as the group started walking. 'You can't ... make a volucerta.' She gasped for air.

'Yes I can,' Chadwick retorted. 'The metazoan Affinity will be easy for me to protect, plus the fire Affinity can protect you and Splenda. Trust me Tajana, I thought this through.'

Tajana shook her head as Fiona and Chadwick walked her down the sidewalk beside the polar bear exhibit. They had to support her so she could walk, but she seemed to be recovering slightly, now that her Chakras were shielded from her surging Kundalini Energy.

'Separo,' Fiona said again, because they made an odd group-the two Chemists in all white, Tajana in her handmade garment covered in many-coloured pockets, unable to walk on her own, and Fiona with her frilly yellow dress and white apron covered in pockets. The Recreants couldn't help but stare at them.

'I thought ... you always wanted ... a feline bird Chimaera? The wind Affinity could ... protect you and ... then the Chimaera could fly?' Tajana sucked air in through her teeth.

'I changed my mind,' Chadwick said simply. He didn't want his Chimaera to die, the way that the vulpardus had died last night. A dead Chimaera almost always meant death for the Alchemist too, so it was vital that the Chimaera be strong enough to defend itself, but also that the Alchemist could protect it. Flight was essential, but even more than that, it needed to have the metazoan Affinity, so that Chadwick could protect it with his earth Affinity. Plus, he liked the idea of protecting his Mentor and her Chimaera too. 'Besides, I have you to protect me, Tajana.'

'You might have to settle for a different lizard or insect,' Fiona warned him. 'Don't be too disappointed, alright? The lizard is probably not a problem, but we'll see. Any lizard and insect will have those affinities.'

Chadwick set his jaw and didn't say anything. The truth was he had made his final decision because his mate Charlie had a volucerta, and it was the most magnificent Chimaera Chadwick had ever seen; fashioned in the image of Dragon himself, Drake was by far and away the coolest Chimaera Chadwick knew. Charlie had used a lime green dragonfly and an iguana, and as a result, his Chimaera was a dull green colour.

Chadwick wanted his Chimaera to be positively beautiful, and he knew that the sungazer and the flame skimmer would have a good chance of combining to make an orange Chimaera, which was his favourite colour. But was it okay to admit that he cared about what his Chimaera looked like? When Tajana was suffering like this, the answer was most definitely no.