The Alchemist's Touch Read Online Free PDF

you have been able to experience all of the island’s…oh, what word am I searching for…pleasures?”
    Ebon blanched, but again kept his mask of tranquility. “I have—that is, I have spent most of my time here, at the manor. But I have walked the streets once or twice, and found them to my liking. It is a grand city, to be sure.” He had to avoid any notion that his father held blame for Ebon’s presence at the manor, for that would be an insult worthy of punishment.  
    Halab’s brows drew close. “You have not wandered much? I thought you would eagerly poke your nose into every corner of this city. Surely you have visited the Academy?”
    Ebon swallowed. “No, I have not. It holds little interest for me.” Those words nearly stuck in his throat, yet somehow he managed to make them sound earnest.
    Halab glanced at Shay, but his eyes were fixed on his food. “That is unacceptable. You must venture out upon the Seat. I suppose I could show you one or two of my own favorite haunts…” She seemed to think for a moment, and then snapped her fingers at an idea. “I know. I will take you on a tour of the Academy myself.”
    The world froze, and Ebon could not feel his fingers. His head, already aching, became light, and his stomach turned more than it had even in Adara’s arms.
    “Yes, that will do nicely,” said Halab, and now it was as though she was talking to herself. “The Dean is Cyrus, my cousin—and your cousin, too, Ebon, or at least your second cousin once removed. Surely he would be only too happy to share his school with us. And whether you think it holds interest for you or no, you will love it. There are wizards of all four branches practicing their crafts. Oh, flame and wind and weremagic and—yes, alchemy. It is a sight to behold.”
    Ebon could not speak; he could barely breathe. He looked fearfully at Shay. Surely his father would not allow this. But his father still stared down at his hands. When the silence stretched a moment too long, his gaze snapped up to Ebon. He saw his son looking at him in fear, and growled through his dark beard, “Well? Your aunt has asked a question. Answer, damn you.”
    Still Ebon could not speak. In his heart he wanted nothing more than to go. But then he thought ahead. In a matter of days he would be leaving the High King’s Seat, likely forever. Already he knew he would miss it, and would waste away days in Idris thinking of its white stone streets and high, pristine spires. That pain would only magnify if he saw the Academy itself, for there was where his heart truly lay.  
    But then he thought further still. In Idris, his sister Albi would be waiting for him—Albi, in whom he had confided all his deepest wishes about the Academy. He had spoken of it for so long, and in such warm terms, that she herself had come to dream of seeing it. He could return to tell her all about it. If he did not, Albi would not only be disappointed for herself. She would berate Ebon for years.
    His hands steadied on the tabletop. “Thank you, dearest Aunt. It would be my pleasure to accompany you.”
    “Then it is settled,” said Halab.
    The dining hall fell silent. Ebon’s father stabbed his knife savagely into his meat, and his mother dabbed gingerly at her lips with a napkin.

five

    EBON HAD ASSUMED THEY WOULD take a carriage, but Halab surprised him by proposing a walk instead. “It is not so great a distance, and I would find it most invigorating,” she told him, as though he did not already know. Ebon had memorized the streets between manor and Academy, though Tamen had never let him draw too close. Halab had ordered Ebon’s retainer to stay at the manor, to give her a special time with her nephew. But she did bring Mako, the beast of a man following them closely on the streets, almost within arm’s reach, so that Ebon felt his presence behind them no matter how hard he tried to forget it.
    It was just past midday, and the streets were busy with all manner of