The Alchemists

"Make yourself comfortable," Ven replied, sitting at the table, facing the couch of course, and pulling a book out of the front pocket of his suitcase, settling into a more relaxed reading position.

"Ah, I...see," he said somewhat awkwardly, looking away, pretending to admire the ocean for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss." He wasn't good with grief, not his or anyone's. He knew that from experience.

"I will do what is within my power to help you find him," he promised. Something in her eyes, more than just determination, but fear for the professor, and hope. Who was he to crush such a fragile thing?

"This is an RF detector," he said, showing her the green screen. "An extra ounce of protection, in case anyone is listening. It detects radio frequencies, and emits white and pink noise for audio jamming." He adjusted the antenna and then gave her a steady look. "I think, Miss Alves, it would be best if you told me everything you know."

---

Halcyon leaned over the arm of the couch, resting her head in a hand. "What are you reading?"

Ophira curled her fingers around her can of pepper spray. "Everything?" She echoed the word. It seemed much heavier than she had intended, but it was indeed a heavy topic. She wasn't supposed to know what she knew. Caldwell made her promise to never tell a soul, but she had to.

"I know very little," she said softly, just barely audible over the sound of the waves. She was telling the truth; she didn't know much, but what she did know was already far too much. "Caldwell told me some things about...Alchemy." For some reason, the word sent shivers down her spine. "He told me how there was this secret Society that he was a part of, and that unless your family was part of it, it was very unlikely that you could get in. That is, if you ever found out about it."

She gulped, as if trying to swallow back down the words she had just spoken. "Caldwell told me he wasn't supposed to talk about it to outsiders, but he said that he felt like he could trust me. He said that as long as I kept it a secret, everything would be fine." She took in a deep breath. "And then he just disappeared."

He nodded his affirmation. "Everything," he murmured. As she spoke, he was for the most part silent. From an Alchemist's point of view, he knew the immense risk that presented itself when associating with outsiders. What if they were trying to divulge their secrets? What if they were involved in their own pursuit of metallic warfare?

Still, she didn't seem like the type.

"Maybe his office was bugged. Some of the higher-ups in our Society have been known to do that. We have other ways of getting people to talk as well...less civilized ways." For a moment, he thought of his sister and scowled.

"But he did not divulge enough information to you to warrant such silencing..." He was quiet for some moments as they walked along the beach.

"What was his purpose in mentioning the Alchemists to you?"

"It was all an accident, really." She frowned at remembering that day. It had all seemed so long ago, so far away. "I had forgotten one of my books for his class back at my apartment, so I was searching his desk for one of his copies." Here, she chuckled, remembering how untidy his desk had been, with papers and pens lying in unorganized piles.

"But then I found this other book," her eyebrows scrunched together as she remembered. "I couldn't read it since it was written in Latin or something, and it had all sorts of strange symbols and diagrams." The image of the book was so burned into her memory that she could almost feel the dry, leather binding in her hands.

"I asked Professor Caldwell about it after class, and he went silent for a little while. He looked...scared, but I couldn't tell why, so I kept asking him and asking him about it before he finally told me." It took all that she had to keep her voice from shaking. She let out a sigh.

He was starting to see why Professor Caldwell had liked her. She was so very unassuming, very frank. After 25 years in a top secret Society, such blatant honesty was like a breath of fresh air.He frowned at the tremor in her voice.

"You were persistent," he stated simply. "It seems he told you of our order to protect you. Your curiosity could have gotten you in trouble, if you'd gone openly searching for clues." He thought for a moment. "Do you think you could sketch any of the symbols on the book? Or remember some of the Latin?"

"The Picture of Dorian Gray. I don't suppose you have an interest in literature, Miss K?" he inquired.

Once more, Ophira bit back a retort. She knew that she behaved foolishly, pushing Caldwell for information he shouldn't have given her, but it was another thing entirely to hear it from someone else. Perhaps her innermost fears were true, that it was her fault Caldwell went missing. She dismissed those thoughts before they had a chance to bubble up from her subconscious.

Ophira breathed in deeply. She could still see those strange drawings in her mind whenever she closed her eyes at night. "I could probably sketch them." Her eyebrows knit together. "The Latin's a bit fuzzy, though, but I remember some of it." Oh, what she would give for a photographic memory at that point.

As far as she knew, the book disappeared along with Caldwell. When she went searching his desk for clues after his disappearance, it was no where to be found.

"An interest," she laughed, "Why, I once had quite the investment. Shakespeare was breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He and Mr. Shelley."

---

"Here." Andreas stopped walking and sat down in the sand, removing a small un-lined notebook and a mechanical pencil. "Before it has any more time to fade. Also, I'm assuming the book disappeared along with Professor Caldwell?"

"As far as I know it's gone," Ophira said as she took the notebook and pencil and sat down beside Andreas Kostopoulos. She began to draw what she could remember. The images weren't perfect, but they would have to do. She jotted down a few of the Latin phrases as well.

She handed the notebook back to him. She wasn't sure what that book had to do with Caldwell's disappearance, but at least it was a start. She had gotten no where in her personal search. Besides the phone number, there weren't any clues on Caldwell's desk that even remotely connected him to the Alchemists.

"Mmm," Andreas mused softly. They certainly weren't common markings. He did not recognize them from any of the typical textbooks all apprentices learned and memorized.

"Well, I think I may be able to decipher these Latin phrases with some help from a friend." He gave her a reassuring half-smile. "Don't worry, he's trustworthy. As for these symbols...well, if you still have some ties at Oxford, as I imagine you must, perhaps you could try researching them in the libraries. Be discrete of course. Your life could depend on it."

"Aha. Quite impressive," Ven said flatly. "A fool thinks himself to be wise, but..."

"The wise man knows himself to be a fool," Halcyon finished. And wasn't she the fool? "I actually performed in that play, As You Like It." She smiled, remembering.

My life could depend on it, Ophira thought to herself. She wasn't surprised by that statement. What did surprise her was how easily she digested the information. But then, hadn't she known all along that her life was in danger? Hadn't she realized even before she found that phone number on Caldwell's desk, before Caldwell even went missing, that her life was forever going to be changed? Hadn't she known all along that the moment she saw that strange book, written in a language she couldn't understand, that she was in big trouble?

"I should be able to research them at Oxford." Ophira hummed in thought. "No one will know what I'm researching, I promise you that." She glanced out at the ocean, but directed her words at him, "Will you contact me if you find anything, or should I contact you?"

Andreas watched her for a moment, contemplating, then followed her gaze out to sea. "You contact me," he murmured. "It's safer that I don't know your whereabouts. Call me from a phone booth like you did last time." He offered no explanation as to how he knew that. "And not the same one."

He checked the sun, sinking below the horizon. Had it already been an hour?

"Now that you're involved... I think it's best you know a few things. First, our Society has not survived so many centuries by being meek. It has rules, vicious rules. If you break them, even inadvertently, you will receive no mercy. Second, everyone of us should be considered power-hungry and dangerous." He gave her a serious look. "Even me. The foundations of our Society were built upon avarice. Third." He paused and smiled weakly. "If you ever hear anyone mention gold, or dust, or both... run."

Rising, he dusted off his jeans and offered her a hand. "I hope to hear from you within the week. If not, I'll assume you met with trouble."

Ophira listened intently as Andreas warned her about the Society, making sure not to miss a thing. I wonder what they've done with Caldwell. She thought darkly once he told her just how merciless Alchemists were.

"Thank you," Ophira said quietly as he offered her his hand. Once she had gotten to her feet she gave him a smile. "I'll call you in a few days, then." She cleaned off the sand that still clung to her clothes.

What's so dangerous about gold and dust? Ophira thought to herself, but didn't verbalize it. This man had already told her much more about the Society than Caldwell did; she didn't want to risk getting him into anymore trouble than she already had.

"Alright then." Andreas shoved his hands in his pockets after he had re-packed his bag. "A few days." He let out a silent breath, wondering if he shouldn't walk her to the underground. But it would be best if they weren't seen together more than necessary. "Until then, Ms. Alves."

With a nod of his head, he turned and walked back towards the street, disappearing quickly among the thin stream of patrons.

Ophira let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding once Andreas Kostopoulos left her. The weight of everything suddenly came crashing down on her, threatening to knock her to the ground. Her legs shook as she made her way back to her car.

Everyone she passed seemed like a potential threat. Before, their curious stares and innocent glances could simply be passed off as just that. She was carrying a bright pink umbrella in sunny weather. But now it was completely different. Any one of those people could've been an Alchemist. Any one of them could've been the person/people behind Caldwell's disappearance.

She ducked into her car and locked the doors behind her. Never in her life had she driven away from a place so quickly.

"An actress," Ven remarked jovially. "Interesting, yet no surprise. However, I doubt literal stage life is your central profession." She had an air about her, an aura almost, of something quite similar yet not so simple, with an added flair of danger.

Halcyon's smile slowly faded. "No," she said simply. "You know how it is within the Society. Being so openly in the public eye is strongly discouraged." Especially by her father. "Although, if I had the freedom to choose..." she trailed off guiltily. If she had the freedom to choose, Andreas wouldn't exist. "Well, things would be different. A lot different."

Brushing these thoughts aside casually, she let a smile play at the corners of her lips. "But enough about me," she murmured. "How did you meet Andreas?"

---

On the underground going back into the city, Andreas pulled out his laptop and entered the Latin phrases, encrypting them in his files. When he exited out onto the street, he quickly slipped down an empty alley. Taking out a box of matches, he lit the paper, letting the flame devour the parchment. When it was a black, shriveled thing, he washed it and the match down the gutter, using the water dripping from a drain pipe.

"Dear old dad tyranizing you too?" Ven inquired about her lack of freedom. "And as for me, I was in a similar situation to you two, however my dad was less powerful and I escaped. I actually met Andreas in a little cafe that we would both frequent, and given our somewhat similar natures and feelings toward our fathers, and that we were both living alone, decided to become roommates. It wasn't until a while later on an odd coincidence that we found out we were both connected to the Society."

"Similar situation?" Halcyon lifted a brow in much the same way her brother did. "I wouldn't be so keen to empathize, if I were you. Perhaps our situations aren't as similar as you think." She pursed her lips. "How exactly did you manage to 'escape'?"

"My father has power. He now believes me dead. He lives in Italy and only four people who know me to be alive know my old name. Not much else to it," Ven summarized.

The manner he had of speaking... his presumption. Halcyon rose from the couch. "Well, this is a stimulating conversation, but I have a prior engagement elsewhere." She grabbed her bag and made for the door, making a face when her back was turned.

When her hand was on the knob, Andreas suddenly burst into the room. Halcyon leapt back nimbly, noting her brother's contemplative countenance. Her bright eyes lit up.

"Mystery's afoot."

"Aha," Ven remarked, smiling quietly at the entrance of his roomate and its perfect timing. "Something to catch my interest, my dear Watson?" he asked, knowing full well he wasn't the Holmes in this relationship.