Fragments of Alchemy: The Code Keeper

Chimaeras

Thea watched the tiny winged cat glide through the air and land on her aunt’s shoulder. “Wow!” she exclaimed. “What’s that?”

“Not what,” Aunt Fanella said. “Who. Thea, this is Twitchet, my Chimaera.”

The small winged cat flew across the room and toward the banister by Thea’s hand. Twitchet settled herself on the rounded top of the banister. The creature mesmerized Thea. Up close, she could see that Twitchet wasn’t a normal kitten. She looked like a feline cub, maybe a jaguar. No, with her short stub of a tail, she most closely resembled a bobcat. Her dappled brown wings had white stripes near the tips. She even had some feathers in her fur. She watched Thea with her pitch-black eyes, and the little black tufts of feathery fur on the tips of her ears twitched.

Wow, she is beautiful, Thea thought.

“May I … ?” Thea asked, holding her hand out to the tiny creature.

Aunt Fanella nodded with a bright gleam in her green eyes.

Thea carefully reached out and petted Twitchet’s head. The creature stood up on hind legs with her front paws together under her chin. She nuzzled her furry face against Thea’s hand, instantly purring and making Thea laugh. Finally, as she ran her hand down Twitchet’s back, the tiny Chimaera stretched her wings out and twitched her ears. Then she licked her lips and settled back down on the banister, eyeing Thea with interest. Her stubby tail twitched.

“I thought a Chimaera was a three-headed monster,” Thea said. “A Greek myth?” She turned to look at her parents, who stood and approached the stairs.

“Thea, if you are going to become an Alchemist, it would be best for you to keep an open mind,” her mother said.

Thea couldn’t help but smile. She would become an Alchemist. She would finally leave the ranch and go to school with other kids. And she would have friends who were people instead of animals. The thought gave her pause. Up until this moment, she hadn’t thought about what she’d be leaving behind when she left the ranch. Now she realized that her horse Cecelia—her only friend—would be left behind.

“A lot of old myths and legends have a bit of truth to them, though Recreants always seem to get the details all wrong,” Aunt Fanella explained. “A real Chimaera is made by combining any two animals together. I used Alchemy to combine a bobcat with a nighthawk, to make Twitchet, my lyndis.”

“Cool!” Thea’s face brightened. “Did you ever have a Chimaera?” she asked, looking at her parents.

“We did, once.” Her dad frowned for only a split second. “I wanted an exceptionally loyal Chimaera, so I chose to combine my pet dog with a hawk to make a canitris.”

She sensed that her father was very sad about what must have happened to his Chimaera. She looked at her mother and noticed she too looked somber. If they didn’t have their Chimaeras anymore, then it must mean they had both died. “Can I make one?” Thea asked to change the subject.

Her mother laughed. “Of course our daughter wants a Chimaera,” she said, smiling at Thea’s father.

“Chimaeras are not pets,” he explained. “They are much more than mere animals. Chimaeras are organisms with the DNA from two different animals, combined to make a being that shares a connection with you. They are intelligent, loyal creatures who are bound to the soul of their creator.”

“Like a magicians’ familiar?” Thea asked.

“I suppose you could call it that.” He smiled.

“No!” Aunt Fanella said. “Don’t you dare call it that. Familiar is a horrid Recreant word.”

There was that word again. “What’s a Recreant?” Thea asked.

“A common person,” Aunt Fanella said. “We keep Alchemy a secret from them.”

“Why?” Thea asked, and the adults all stared at her in surprise.

“Well, why wouldn’t we?” Aunt Fanella said. “If Recreants knew about us, it would throw the whole world into chaos.”

“Chaos?” Thea asked.

“Utter chaos!” Aunt Fanella exclaimed.

“So Chimaeras are not familiars.” Thea put her hands together and tried to smile. “But they sound awesome. Can I have one?”

Thea’s mother paused as if considering.

“Please!” Thea put her hands together at heart center.

“Hopefuls such as yourself aren’t allowed to make Chimaeras,” her father said.

“That’s true,” Aunt Fanella admitted. “But I think it would be foolish to allow Thea to go to Blackthorn without a Chimaera to protect her.” She put her hands on her hips. “I know the Keeper would make an exception for Thea.”

“Fanella!” Thea’s mother exclaimed.

Thea furrowed her brow and cocked her curly head to the side. “What’s a Keeper?”

Thea’s mother sighed and turned her attention to her daughter. “The Keeper is one of the three leaders of the Alchemists,” she explained. “He’s in charge of Blackthorn and Burtree.”

“Why would I get an exception?” Thea asked.

“Because you’re special, Allie,” Aunt Fanella said. “This ranch was the Keeper’s idea, to keep you safe from harm while you grew up.”

Thea suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She’d asked her parents why they lived on the ranch before, and they’d only said it was to keep them all safe. This was the first time she’d heard of the Keeper and his plan to protect her. Now thanks to all these questions, Thea realized how much she didn’t know about herself. Thea suddenly wanted to meet the Keeper and ask him why she had grown up on the ranch with only her parents for company; what made her so special that she could break the laws of Alchemy? “The Keeper made the White Walls?” Thea asked finally.

“He did,” Aunt Fanella said. “He’s done a lot to make sure you grew up safe. That’s why I’m sure the Keeper would make an exception for you.”

“I think you’re right,” Thea’s mother said.

“So can I have a Chimaera?” Thea turned to look at her father. “Please? It would be the best birthday present!” Thea put her hands at heart center and stood on her tiptoes.

He pressed his lips into a fine line. “Chemists aren’t allowed to have Chimaeras until their Joint Trial with their Mentors. I’m not letting you break the rules. End of discussion.”

“But you heard what Aunt Fanella said,” Thea protested with a frown.

“Listen to your father, Thea,” her mother said. “You’ll have to wait like everyone else.”

“But it was going to be my birthday present.” Thea stared at Twitchet, who was still on the banister.

“I know it’s disappointing, but it’s for the best,” her mother promised.

“I know, but …” Thea made a conscious effort to stop whining. She had learned early in life that her parents never succumbed to whining. “What’s a Joint Trial?” she asked, to distract herself from the awful feeling of disappointment that was washing over her.

“It’s a test for you and your future Mentor,” her father explained. “There are several Trials at Blackthorn and Burtree, but only one Joint Trial, making it very special. That’s why your prize for completing the Trial is a Chimaera. You’ll only need to wait a few months for your Joint Trial at Blackthorn and Burtree, okay?”

Thea sighed and nodded begrudgingly. She inhaled and exhaled in a huff as she reached out to Twitchet again. The tiny Chimaera half jumped, half flew to her, and she caught her against her heart and petted her wistfully.

With a sigh of disappointment, Thea trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. She slammed her door shut and collapsed on her bed, rather melodramatically.

Thea closed her eyes and breathed slowly. For a moment, she lay on her bed and tried to calm down, but it was no use. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get over this feeling that she just needed to have a Chimaera. Not just because she wanted one, which of course she did, but because it was meant to be.

Thea ran her hands over the soft cotton quilt underneath her; the quilt her mother made for her when she was three. On the worst days of her life, lying here on this purple quilt had made everything better. It reminded her of the many mornings she had awoken on this bed with dreams swimming in her head. She actually had a recurring dream about flying on a winged horse. She always just thought it was a fun dream. Now she knew it just had to be more than that. Thea sat up and got off the bed very suddenly.

Twitchet put out her claws, which easily went through Thea’s overalls and gently pricked her skin. Thea held the Chimaera close and crossed her small room to the window. Once she stepped off the rug, she made sure to walk softly so her shoes wouldn’t pound on the wooden floor. “Want to come outside and play?” Thea asked Twitchet, and the Chimaera’s stubby tail twitched.

Thea set Twitchet on her shoulder, carefully slid the window open, and climbed out. Compared to trees, climbing down from her window was easy. It was her birthday, and she wanted to be with her friend. She wanted to have some fun on the ranch, especially if she would need to leave to go to Blackthorn and Burtree soon.

Thea inched her way along the edge of the slanted roof to the front side of the house, right above the porch. She held onto the gutter and swung herself down so she was hanging above the deck railing. After taking a big calming breath, Thea let go and landed on the railing, balancing perfectly as she bent her knees and held her arms out.

Thea jumped to the ground and sprinted to the wooden fence. She put her thumb and pointer finger in her mouth and whistled a single high-pitched note. Over the grassy hill, Thea’s horse Cecelia responded with a shrill neigh. She came over the ridge and galloped right up to the fence where Thea waited, her white mane blowing in the breeze.

“Hi Ceil!” Thea said. “Look, I have a new friend to introduce. Twitchet, this is my best friend Cecelia. Cecelia, this is my aunt’s Chimaera, Twitchet.”

Thea leaned over the fence so that Twitchet could look at Cecelia from her vantage point on Thea’s shoulder. The tiny Chimaera’s stubby tail twitched as she cocked her head and studied the giant horse. Meanwhile, Cecelia blew air through her nose and backed up a little.

Thea closed her eyes and reached out with her mind. She easily slipped into the mental connection she had established with Cecelia over the many years she had known her. The horse nickered and came closer, no longer apprehensive about the new creature on Thea’s shoulder.

As soon as she was close enough, Thea leaped from the fence to her horse’s back.

Cecelia took off quickly across the golden field in the direction of the river. Thea concentrated on staying on her horse, and Twitchet dug her claws into Thea’s shoulder. She unfurled her wings and glided along on the wind, her claws still caught on Thea’s shirt where she perched on her shoulder. Thea’s curly brown hair flowed over the Chimaera, and the Chimaera’s dappled brown wing buffeted Thea’s ear.

By the time the trio reached the river, Thea had forgotten everything else except for the wonderful exhilaration of holding on for dear life on the back of a horse. She relished in the feel of the horse beneath her and the wind in her hair.

She unsheathed an invisible sword and shouted a ululating war cry, leading an invisible army into battle, just like Brigid the Brave. In her mind, they charged across a charred battlefield, slaying a horde of goblins and trolls. She broke through the masses and slayed the goblin king with a magnificent flurry of her sword.

She had a mental flash of that winged horse from her recurring dream. The flying horse had always been gray in her dream, but maybe she could be brown and white instead. Maybe her horse Cecelia could become her Chimaera, the way that her dad’s dog had become his canitris. Then she could bring her best friend with her to Blackthorn and Burtree!

Cecelia slowed to a canter, turned up-river toward the forest, and began to wind her way along the bank. The current moved slowly past them, trickling softly in the still morning. Thea took a big heavy breath of the sweet-scented air. Clouds of mosquitoes swarmed the bank, but Thea focused hard and managed to repel them.

Thea leaned forward against Cecelia’s neck. Both her mother and her aunt had said that Thea was special. She needed the protection. The Keeper would make an exception for Thea. Maybe it didn’t matter what her father said. She had always been good at apologizing after the fact anyways. It happened all the time, if she was being honest with herself. This wasn’t any different, not really.

Thea had always been able to do something magical–Alchemical once she saw her parents do it. She could make seeds take root and grow, because she watched her mother grow plants in their garden. She could manipulate animals after watching her father do the same. She could make anything float while meditating without breaking a sweat. She had even managed to light a match after only a few seconds of thinking about it, and she hadn’t even known she could do that until today. Couldn’t she also make a Chimaera, now that she knew it was possible?

She wanted to try for herself and see. It just felt like it was more than mere wanting. It was something that needed to happen. Her dreams had meaning all the time. She could predict all sorts of things, like what her father would teach her for her lessons that day, and what her mother would plant in the garden, and even what would happen if she just let Cecelia take her wherever she wanted on the ranch. A dream about a flying horse had to mean something, didn’t it? And not just one dream. Several dreams over the years, as far back as she could remember.

Thea used her mind to pull Cecelia to a stop. Then she slid down to the ground and rubbed her horse’s side. “Ceil, you trust me, don’t you?” she asked in a whisper.

Cecelia swished her tail and lowered her head to eat some grass.

“I’m going to give you wings, Ceil, so you can fly. Then you’ll be a Chimaera, like Twitchet, and I can bring you to Blackthorn and Burtree with me,” she whispered.

Thea took a few steps away and sat in the tall grass. Twitchet glided down to the ground and sat in front of her, like an audience member watching a show. Thea crossed her legs in the Sukhasana meditation pose and looked up into the sky. She had called animals to her side before, but never had she tried to summon a creature that she hadn’t already encountered before. She tried to imagine what type of bird she should combine with a horse. An eagle came to mind, and Thea closed her eyes and pictured the bird of prey in her mind. She imagined the beautiful creature down to the color of its feathers and the motion of its wings and the shape of its talons and beak. Then she held onto the image and focused on her breathing.

After meditating for a few minutes, Thea opened her eyes to see an empty sky. Twitchet stared up at the sky and then looked into her eyes. The tufts of feathers on the tips of her ears shuddered, almost as if she was laughing at her.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’ll get it; just you watch.”

There weren’t any eagles in the sky, but she wasn’t about to give up. She doubled her efforts, closing her eyes and going into the deepest meditation of her life.

Finally, after an indiscernible amount of time had passed, Thea felt a tug on her consciousness. She opened her eyes and looked up to see not just a bird, but a whole flock of birds, heading her way from all directions.

Thea’s mouth fell open in awe. She jumped to her feet and turned a circle, simply astonished to see all the birds heading her way. She couldn’t help but laugh. Then she realized a ruckus like this was bound to catch her parents’ attention. She would have to work fast!

A few of the birds reached her and began landing in the field. There were a few crows, a blue jay, and a whole swarm of tiny birds. The noise of all the birds calling made Thea furrow her brow.

Cecelia snorted through her nose and shied away. Thea turned to her horse. “What’s wrong, Ceil?”

Cecelia looked toward the river and went tense. Thea followed her gaze and spotted what looked like a large white and gray wolf just on the tree line across the river. It had glowing yellow eyes and strange humps on its back. Thea had only seen wolves in books, but she immediately noticed something strange about this wolf. Then she realized that the wolf had brown and black striped wings on its shoulders and feathers mixed in with its fur.

It was a Chimaera!

And it was here because of her!