The Soothing Scent Of Earth (Elemental Awakening, Book 2) by Nicola Claire Page B
Book: The Soothing Scent Of Earth (Elemental Awakening, Book 2) by Nicola Claire
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Authors: Nicola Claire
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fingers automatically found the dirt at my sides. Earth washed through me and whispered it was ready.
For a moment I couldn't reply. The Alchemists had always appeared a shadowy figure in the back of my mind. Apparently they'd been in Auckland and had fought the Pyrkagia , distracted them enough so that the Gi slipped in and attacked Theo, Aktor and myself at the Pakuranga Country Club. But I'd never seen them. I had no idea what they looked like.
Until now.
I tilted my head and took a good look at the man before me. He had the dark blue eyes of a Gi , whether they were contact lenses or natural colouring which defined which branch of Ekmetalleftis he would spy on, I don't know. His cheeks were rounded softly, like Gi , his shoulders broad and muscles thick, like all Athanatos . His hair; the right shade of brown and grown long to blend in. His features fitted those of the Gi , right down to structure and height.
But I was sure his DNA did not. Being the doctor, he would have been able to hide or alter those results, had the Gi even tested them.
He also wielded some Stoicheio from at least two different branches; Gi and Pyrkagia . That was not an Athanatos trait. How hard had it been to hide his eye colour when he touched an Element? The gold had flashed there when he burned that root, which I now realised he'd actually done elementally, not with a Zippo lighter at all. But he'd been careful to only show green at the Gi stronghold.
He looked and acted Gi . But then maybe all the Alchemists looked and acted like one of the Ekmetalleftis branches; Aeras, Nero, Pyrkagia, Gi . If any were as successful as Noah, they were a cunning and devious lot. I was not the only one to have been duped, I was certain.
"How long did you trick them?" I queried, unable to stop myself from asking.
"I introduced myself as a young Gi thirty years ago. They were in turmoil, having just discovered their fertility problems. It was easy to fabricate a connection to a recently exiled and deceased family of Gi . In their desperation to cling to new Gi life they accepted the ruse willingly."
"And you looked the part, acted the part. How could they really tell?" I offered.
"Indeed." He didn't look ashamed at the fact that he had deceived them. "My instructions were to train as a physician, thereby I'd have knowledge and access to my medical records to keep the secret safe."
"How old were you when you got here?" I asked, a little surprised that he hadn't already been a doctor and looked only thirty-five now.
"Eighteen."
That would make him forty-eight. He didn't look forty-eight. Which meant Alchemists had indeed found the answer to a longer life. Isn't that one of their philosophies? Noah and the voice in the fire had said, "May your life be blessed with longevity." Even Theo had mentioned briefly in Auckland that the Alchemists had learned to use aspects of Ekmetalleftis Stoicheio and increased their lifespan, I think.
I sucked in a breath of humid air trying to clear my mind. This was a lot to take in. I wasn't sure if I could reason it all out, but what I did know, was right now my safety was the most important thing. My continued escape from the Gi came first. But not at the expense of being handed over to the Alchemists to study.
I needed a plan. I needed to separate from Noah, whether he was on my side for now or not. Eventually I'd just be trading one prison in for another. The Alchemists were greedy, their only concern was furthering humankind. How much could they learn from me? From my DNA? From my body?
I most definitely did not want to find out.
"All right," I said resolutely. "You're an Alchemist. Do you know what I am, then?"
"You're important," he said, in an almost awe-filled voice. "One of a kind," he added. "We don't even know if someone like you has existed before. There are stories, but they could just be legend, fairytales the Athanatos tell their young when they put them to bed."
His eyes had glazed over; a zealot's
For a moment I couldn't reply. The Alchemists had always appeared a shadowy figure in the back of my mind. Apparently they'd been in Auckland and had fought the Pyrkagia , distracted them enough so that the Gi slipped in and attacked Theo, Aktor and myself at the Pakuranga Country Club. But I'd never seen them. I had no idea what they looked like.
Until now.
I tilted my head and took a good look at the man before me. He had the dark blue eyes of a Gi , whether they were contact lenses or natural colouring which defined which branch of Ekmetalleftis he would spy on, I don't know. His cheeks were rounded softly, like Gi , his shoulders broad and muscles thick, like all Athanatos . His hair; the right shade of brown and grown long to blend in. His features fitted those of the Gi , right down to structure and height.
But I was sure his DNA did not. Being the doctor, he would have been able to hide or alter those results, had the Gi even tested them.
He also wielded some Stoicheio from at least two different branches; Gi and Pyrkagia . That was not an Athanatos trait. How hard had it been to hide his eye colour when he touched an Element? The gold had flashed there when he burned that root, which I now realised he'd actually done elementally, not with a Zippo lighter at all. But he'd been careful to only show green at the Gi stronghold.
He looked and acted Gi . But then maybe all the Alchemists looked and acted like one of the Ekmetalleftis branches; Aeras, Nero, Pyrkagia, Gi . If any were as successful as Noah, they were a cunning and devious lot. I was not the only one to have been duped, I was certain.
"How long did you trick them?" I queried, unable to stop myself from asking.
"I introduced myself as a young Gi thirty years ago. They were in turmoil, having just discovered their fertility problems. It was easy to fabricate a connection to a recently exiled and deceased family of Gi . In their desperation to cling to new Gi life they accepted the ruse willingly."
"And you looked the part, acted the part. How could they really tell?" I offered.
"Indeed." He didn't look ashamed at the fact that he had deceived them. "My instructions were to train as a physician, thereby I'd have knowledge and access to my medical records to keep the secret safe."
"How old were you when you got here?" I asked, a little surprised that he hadn't already been a doctor and looked only thirty-five now.
"Eighteen."
That would make him forty-eight. He didn't look forty-eight. Which meant Alchemists had indeed found the answer to a longer life. Isn't that one of their philosophies? Noah and the voice in the fire had said, "May your life be blessed with longevity." Even Theo had mentioned briefly in Auckland that the Alchemists had learned to use aspects of Ekmetalleftis Stoicheio and increased their lifespan, I think.
I sucked in a breath of humid air trying to clear my mind. This was a lot to take in. I wasn't sure if I could reason it all out, but what I did know, was right now my safety was the most important thing. My continued escape from the Gi came first. But not at the expense of being handed over to the Alchemists to study.
I needed a plan. I needed to separate from Noah, whether he was on my side for now or not. Eventually I'd just be trading one prison in for another. The Alchemists were greedy, their only concern was furthering humankind. How much could they learn from me? From my DNA? From my body?
I most definitely did not want to find out.
"All right," I said resolutely. "You're an Alchemist. Do you know what I am, then?"
"You're important," he said, in an almost awe-filled voice. "One of a kind," he added. "We don't even know if someone like you has existed before. There are stories, but they could just be legend, fairytales the Athanatos tell their young when they put them to bed."
His eyes had glazed over; a zealot's
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