Chapter Twenty-Two
Alex followed the noise to a small room that was close by. Once inside, Alex's attention was focused on a small little man who was backing away from a cloud of black smoke. The man was dressed in a purple robe and was sputtering and coughing as he waved his arm frantically in front of himself.
"Are you all right?" Alex asked as he entered the room.
"Oh, yes. Cough! Cough! Quite all right. Cough! Cough, cough, COUGH!"
"What are you doing?" Alex glanced around the room. For being attached to the library, there weren't that many books in here. Instead, one wall was full of colorful jars. Various contraptions hung from the ceiling, mimicking the look of birds wings he had seen during the festival. The rest of the room was devoted to tables strewn with papers and bits of metal.
"I am doing my work. Who are you?" The little man asked.
"I'm Alex."
"I see."
Alex wondered how the man could see anything through his blackened spectacles. "What were you doing? What was that noise?"
"Science," the strange man coughed. "I am the king's royal alchemist."
"Oh. What's alchemist?"
"I am alchemist. I am, Kurt Anders, royal alchemist."
"Oh," Alex replied, even though the answer didn't seem like an answer.
"Well, what's a young boy like you doing in the library at this hour?"
"I'm trying to find information on Elementals. Do you know anything about them?"
"Of course, I do. Earth, air, fire, and water. Each element has its' own unique attributes and qualities. There is too much information about them to list all at once. Do you have a more specific question?"
"What about Saleen?"
"Saline? Saline is a solution of water and salt…"
"No, no," Alex protested, getting frustrated. "I mean, Saleen the Elemental. Do you know anything about her? How her magic works?"
"Magic? What are you talking about?"
"This!" Alex slammed the book down on the closest table. He opened it to the illustration page and pointed.
"It's a book." The royal alchemist was not impressed.
"Yeah, but she's not supposed to be in there."
"Who?"
"Melody!"
"I guess this picture does look like the princess," the royal alchemist conceded after gazing at it for a time. The room was starting to feel slightly awkward now that Kurt Anders could see the boy sniffling.
"What was that noise before?" the boy asked again.
"I'm trying to improve the design of the cannon."
"Cannon?"
"Yes, it's a weapon that uses projectiles of immense force."
Alex found himself lost in the alchemists' explanation of gunpowder and cannons. Nothing like that existed under the sea. The Atlantican soldiers used swords and non-magical tridents.
"Sorry, but I have to get back to work. I have to find out about Saleen," Alex said. He hoped he could listen and learn more about gunpowder soon.
"I'm not sure what you want can be found in a library," the small man said, his voice lower and kinder than it had been.
"I have to try something."
"Well, then. The best thing to do in this case is an experiment. Follow me, boy," the alchemist said.
Alex did, and he was led to a nearby balcony. From his current position, it was hard to see the sea. The sight that stretched before him was the night sky. It was ebony black, speckled with twinkling stars.
"There is the legend of Reul Ghorm. A force as old as time; powerful enough to grant the wishes of those that are pure in heart. If it's magic you're after, and magic is real, this might help you. Now, repeat after me: star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. That's the moment you wish with all your heart for your deepest desire."
Alex searched out the brightest star. Once found, he closed his eyes and repeated the rhyme, wishing from the deepest depths of his heart that Melody would be freed. He crossed the fingers on his right hand and even scrunched up his nose for extra good luck.
"How do I know if it worked?" Alex asked when he thought the appropriate time had passed.
"That isn't part of the legend," the alchemist explained. "Wishing only gets you so far, anyway."
The alchemist went back inside, but Alex stayed behind, still gazing at the star he wished upon. He couldn't help but think that the bright star, the one he had chosen, was shining brighter now. As if it was trying to communicate that his wish had been received.
Soon, the cold, night air forced him back inside. The mythology section of the library had been a dead end, but maybe he could search out a magical section and try and locate a "freeing" spell of some kind.
But the book was not where Alex had left it. His blood ran cold as he scanned the table.
"Where is the book?"