Prophecies and Lies

Chapter Eighteen

 Well, as I said before: this chapter is longer. Though I didn't expect it to be this long... well, no matter, rejoice! Long chapter! Huzzah! 

They'll finally meet the alchemist. I have mixed feelings about her, but I guess it is up to you to decide what you think of her :).

Enjoy!

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          At the end of the corridor, there was a large door that was closed shut. There were claw marks on it, and streaks of dried blood. Terrance smiled as he saw it, but June hesitated. How could he thing something like that was funny? What had happened here, that there was someone's blood on this door? And why had no one ever cleaned it?

          “This must be it,” he said, still smiling as he tried the doorknob. The door didn't open; it was locked from the inside.

          “Knock?” June asked as he was pondering something—she was afraid that he would either pick the lock, or rip it apart.

          “We could do that... but there's hardly any fun in it, is there?”

          She threw him an annoyed look. She wasn't in the mood for jokes. Not now.

          He shrugged. “Okay then, I'll knock. But, if nothing happens, don't blame me—it was you who wanted to do things the boring way.” With three quick taps, he knocked on the door, and both of them listened to any sound coming from the other side. Neither of them could hear anything.

          Terrance  knocked again, but still, no answer.

          Grinning, he turned to June. “What do you propose we do now? Keep on knocking, or...” He made a strange gesture that, she suspected, meant forcing the lock.

          She hesitated. If they did that, it was hard to tell what the alchemist would do in reaction—he might attack. There could be boobytraps. After all, if Nikolai was so protective of her, it would make sense there was some kind of defense against intruders... However, they could hardly stand around here until that alchemist finally heard them knocking. They might be waiting all day!

          “Know what? You can do it,” Terrance said.

          “Me? No.” She shook her head. “I'm not kicking that door down. Besides, you're much better at jerking out the lock.”

          “I wasn't talking about that. I meant, you can do it... using magic.”

          “Magic?”

          “Yes. You're borrowing Maya's power, no reason not to use it, right? In fact, a bit of practice is good—it'll teach you how to efficiently use all that magic energy that you now possess.”

          “But I...I have never done that before,” June said. “What if it goes wrong?”