A Raven Comes Calling

The Truth

Anna laid her bag gently on the table in her tiny kitchen area before she pulled off her shoes and padded across to the lonely beanbag near the window. That made up the bulk of her furniture. The only other things she had were several full bookshelves that she refused to sell that still lined an entire wall, and her bed shoved into the corner farthest from the window and city lights. Not that it mattered much. These days she didn't spend much time in it. As she plopped down, she realized it was about to get even less.

She only gave herself a few minutes to admire the way the darkness allowed the city to look beautiful. Not that there weren't parts of it that were gorgeous during the day, but the darkness hid the gritty and made it easy to imagine the lights were captured stars, or fairy fire, or other such nonsense. Anna felt one side of her mouth perk up in a half-smile at her thoughts before she heaved herself back up and to her table. There was no time like the present to get started. It wasn't like she didn't work at both places nearly every day anyway. If she wanted time, it would be up to her to make it.

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The next two weeks turned into a blur, but if anyone asked why she looked so tired, Anna would claim a bad bout of insomnia. It wasn't exactly untrue, but this time she had something other than her hectic thoughts keeping her awake.

The book she found was astonishing. She had expected some of it since she had been exposed to alchemical teachings in the past. It was kind of a hobby of her mother's that grew into a lot more the last few years of her life. But this, this was more.

So many of the books she had read previously were allegorical. They were never meant to teach a person step by step instructions on how to follow through with experimentation. When Alchemy first made it resurgence during the renaissance, it was almost seen more for its esoteric pursuits. The transmutation of the human soul on the path to enlightenment. That obviously didn't mean others didn't follow the exoteric as well, and this book was a prime example. She wasn't surprised to have found it where she did. It was important enough to be treasured but controversial enough to warrant a place on a back shelf.

The thought had her frowning as she read through a set of instructions again. She wasn't sure how she felt about the whole thing, other than fascinated to find a piece of history in such good shape. Still, the premise behind it was interesting, and to her shock, everything was written with the basic principles of scientific theory in mind, even though it didn't state them as such.

She grinned as she weighed the idea of trying it a few times. Obviously, there was no real philosopher's stone, and people couldn't turn lead into gold. However, despite the infamy that alchemy was relegated too, it still seemed to hang around. Maybe there was something there? Her mother certainly believed so. She sighed at that random thought, but when she thought how her mother might feel if she could see her at that moment, she smiled.

That was all it took for her to clear her floor of any debris that she had left during her last two weeks of manic research. Once that was done, she planted herself on the floor with some old sidewalk chalk she had dug up. It was the best compromise since she was renting. At least she would be able to get it up easily.

She drew the circle out and set up the items inside that she would need. She was able to scrounge up a makeshift boiler and got the first step started. She would let it run overnight and bring back the rest of what she needed the next day. She grinned after she climbed into bed as she watched the small flame. It wasn't long before she was out.

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Two more weeks passed, and Anna was beginning to doubt this endeavor had been anything other than a waste of her time and money. She had seen some spectacular things, but nothing that amounted to anything other than pretty chemical reactions. With a sigh, she decided this was her last try. She would take the book back the next day, no matter what.

It wasn't like she hadn't copied parts of it down anyway. Even the strange words she couldn't read. Those had all gone in her notebook first. She had hoped that if she had them all in place and written clearly, she might at least be able to get the translator app to recognize the language, but it was a lost cause. She might have asked a colleague, but that was the problem with being a, uh borrower.

As she was putting the last of the ingredients in, her gaze snagged on the cover art she had transcribed and the words that went around it. "One is all, and if you have not all, all is nothing."

Every time she read those words, it made her smile. One of her favorite shows growing up had used something like them, and it was funny how close they were. She suddenly froze and blinked a few times as she read through it again. She looked down at the page, at the undecipherable writing, and then back to her pot. "Surely not."

Still, the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to try it. It wasn't as though it would hurt anything. If it failed, it would just be one more failure, right? She laughed at herself as she grabbed the knife she had been cutting ingredients with. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Still, she gritted her teeth and sliced the end of her finger open. "A little life material to gain life material back? Maybe."

She held her finger over the pot and let it drip for several seconds before she pulled it back and grabbed a rag she had on hand. She then turned the heat on and sat back with a stupid grin. She chuckled to herself. "Well, at least I know that perhaps I should have focused more on my soul instead, huh?"

She hadn't been expecting an answer and didn't really get one. At least not in the form of words. She was shocked when she saw the circle she had drawn started to glow. She jumped up out of pure reaction and knocked her pot over. Not that it mattered. The floor under her had already begun to shake, and her feet felt like they were glued to it.

Suddenly the boards seemed to twist, and a line formed. It then snapped open to reveal an eye that was staring up at her. Anna wanted to scream, but nothing was coming out. This couldn't be real. Her mind was rejecting what she was seeing and immediately thought she must have added something that created noxious fumes. As she felt herself plummet, she did finally scream. All she could think was that she hoped her landlords came to check on her before whatever it was did more than knock her out.

She closed her eyes and tried not to be sick as she rushed past twisted images that made no sense. It wasn't until she finally came to a stop that she opened her eyes. She blinked a few times to get used to the brightness. There was nothing but white. No walls, no floor, no source for the light, and her mind was rejecting the impossibility of it.

Before she was given a chance to panic, a voice called out. "Anna, Anna, Anna. Do you know how long it has been since I have seen someone from your particular corner of the multiverse?"

Anna jerked around and froze. There was someone there, but there also wasn't. She couldn't quite see a person. It was more like the air was denser, or the light refracted just a little differently. Again, her mind could not accept it. She was given no time to argue as the thing took a step closer, and she suddenly saw that it had an eye. At that same moment, she felt a sharp pain explode in the left side of her face.

Her hand reached up instinctively, but she cringed at the warm, sticky, wet feeling her fingertips encountered. She choked back a scream and shook her head. "What is this?"

The being chuckled. "Do not pretend you don't know. It will be easier for you to accept if you quit lying to yourself."

"No." Her voice was barely a whisper, but she wasn't given a chance to do more when the thing smiled, and Anna felt sick. She knew what was coming and refused to admit it. Still, despite her horror, she looked over her shoulder. She did scream then. Long and loud as her gate opened, and the many hands came pouring out to take her.

She tried to grab the doors as she felt the things wrap around her and pull her into oblivion. The last thing she saw was a wave that was barely seen. The last words she heard before the blackness took her did not help her understand at all. "Since it's been so long, I think it might be best for you to take a little trip. See, I can be merciful too."