Chapter 3

 

 Arleine Mullins was not a woman given to anxiety but now, as she paced frantically up and down the length of the corridor, she decided that this must be what it was like. This strange and frightening new emotion that was creating a restless, impatient mood, all senses on full alert for any sign of Kaiden’s return, was something approaching panic even. She had been entrusted with Laqueta’s care many times while he went off on tonic-related missions but it had never once been as bad as this. For the first time since the girl had come to them, Arleine genuinely feared for her. She had never felt this highly sprung before, jumping at the slightest sound from the street though she knew in her rational self that it would still be the best part of a day before Kaiden was due back. He always knew just what to do; had a knack for calming the girl down and seemed to take everything in his stride. Arleine had not failed to see, however, the fear that flashed across his eyes as he left them this time. Laqueta experienced these episodes once every three months and they tended to last for about 2 ½ weeks each time. They were agonisingly painful and the tonic acted as a strong painkiller and, more importantly, helped to stabilise her condition and reduce the mutations to a minimum. On a normal cycle the girl would quickly recover and in the intervening weeks she was just like any other teenager. Outwardly human with no visible signs of mutation, she was small and shapely with bright purple hair in a variety of tones. Thanks to the tonic, devised years ago by the elder members of her tribe and passed down through the generations, she lived easily in the city and no one suspected the truth, not even her. Now she was 16, though, she had reached the time of Change. The mutations were starting to show, despite their best efforts. If Kaiden returned on time with the tonic, the effects could still be minimised to a few discreet mutations and she would still look, outwardly, human. Timing was critical. The Change had begun already so he must return soon. Meanwhile, Arleine knew, Laqueta was suspicious. She was aware things weren’t right; a lot of questions were forming, rapidly, and the landlady had no idea how to answer them. She paused, mid stride, by the window and stared keenly out across the city, willing Kaiden to hurry.

 

   Saquin was moving fast and Apothekary Distryct lay directly ahead. The air was so thick with magic that, from the right angles, you could see it, oozing from every building and rising from every chimney. He could sense the change as they crossed the threshold into the alchemists’ domain. The air became thicker, heavier and Kaiden felt the weight pressing down on him. It was a little unnerving for a first time visitor but he had long ago learnt to ignore the feeling and continued on his way. The streets were hectic, full of scientists, alchemists, magicians and sorcerers of all kinds, all tied up with life-changing experiments and breakthroughs. Saquin weaved a path through the masses, wending his way down a maze of back streets and forgotten alleys until at last they reached Zentox’s Warehouse. This was the one and only place in the city that synthesised the banned substance known as Frigitte. It was the last element of the tonic and the key to its power. Frigitte had key medicinal properties when used in the right way with the correct dosage but, inevitably, the formula fell into the wrong hands. People quickly learnt that, brewed up a certain way, it had the makings of the most potent drug ever seen, with a high that lasted for days. It was cheap and easy to obtain and marked the start of a widespread drug industry across the city until the government were forced to ban its use altogether.

   After some lengthy negotiations with Zentox’s owner, during which Kaiden had to prove, in a variety of ways, that he was not ‘government’, he finally held in his hand 3 units of the powerful chemical. Now all that remained was to brew up the tonic before returning across the city to Laqueta. There were many laboratories along the main roads of Apothekary Distryct but, due to his eclectic mix of ingredients, Kaiden did not wish to draw too much attention to himself. He and Saquin remained in the more ‘open minded’ region of the district’s back alleys, passing door after door, searching a range of different lanes, streets and alleys until he found the door he was looking for. This was a laboratory he frequented, using its facilities during every trip he made. One would think, then, that he would by now know exactly where to find it without having to search. However, a curious characteristic of this lab, one of the many side effects felt by the region from the leaked magic hovering in the air, was that it never stayed in the same place for more than a day. Every person that visited the lab discovered it in a different place at any given time. Less then a day later the same person would find that it had vanished altogether. As a result, many ‘businessmen’ felt it to be by far the safest place for them to carry out their not-altogether-legal affairs. It suited Kaiden’s needs just fine, despite the difficulty in locating the place.

     With all the components and instruments laid out on the bench, the faded scrawl of instructions from Laqueta’s original tribe open in front of him and a clean pair of the elastic-y ‘latex’ gloves, that he had originally discovered at that very laboratory, covering his hands, Kaiden was ready to begin. He had been through this process many times over the years since Laqueta had been left with him, but it was complicated procedure and he felt safer referring occasionally to the instruction parchment, to check his progress. To begin with he decanted the alcohol into a beaker, along with the Sertith roots. This neutralised any venom residue that had been left on the plants by the leaves and helped to draw out the active ingredient in the root. They had to soak for an hour or 2 at least so whilst that was happening he retreated to take care of Saquin. Contrary to what may be expected, given the nature of the people who frequented this lab, he knew he was safe leaving his gear unattended. Criminals, thieves and drug lords they may be, but there were standards after all. Each respected the property of others. Saquin, waiting patiently for him in the back yard, was beginning to look tired so Kaiden removed the heavy saddle from his back and gave him a long drink of water before fixing the nosebag to his bridle for a well deserved feed. He stayed with the horse for a while, watching him munch his way contentedly through the bag, and then returned to the tonic.

    The Sertith roots were coming along well now, Kaiden could see the beaker was turning a bright purple as the plant broke down in the strong alcohol. While they continued to soak, he set about preparing the other components. He crushed the salt and, with the juice of the Jiper Pod, made a thick paste. Then he chopped the dried Pharrow Root, as small as possible, and mixed in the flakes of grass root extract. By the time all this was done it was time to check on the purple alcohol mix. With great care, Kaiden dropped a small sample onto a glass plate and examined it under a high resolution microwave. The cellular structure of the plant root was completely broken down and mixing free in the alcohol. It was time to create the tonic. He scraped the salt paste into a large glass phial and, a drop at a time, added the purple alcohol mix, stirring vigorously all the time until a thick smooth liquid had been created. He set the phial over a burning flame and, when the mixture was at boiling point, added the mixed, dried ingredients and stirred them in. Kaiden left the whole concoction to boil for a further few minutes and then added the Frigitte. Now, at last, it was finished. He removed the heat and left the phial to cool down, while he cleared up the workstation and washed the instruments thoroughly, before sealing the tonic firmly. He held the phial aloft and stared at its innocent looking contents. It contained enough to help the girl through the duration of the episode. It would help, of course, if he were able to synthesise enough to last for a few episodes but that was not possible. One of the main reasons the tonic was so potent and had the effect it did was due to the chemistry between components. The reactions that took place to combat the mutations worked best when all ingredients were relatively fresh. They could just about survive the 2 ½ week duration of an episode but the time in between had proved too long. Any stored tonic was useless after that long so it had to be made from scratch every cycle. The job was done now; all that remained was to get back to Laqueta.

    Daylight had long since passed and it was dark outside by this time. Kaiden decanted some more water for Saquin to drink and saddled him up quickly. He secured the precious tonic in the saddlebag and mounted up in one seamless move.

  "I know you are tired old friend," Kaiden leant over the horse’s neck to whisper in his ear. "You have done well this past day but I must ask even more of you. We must return home now, at the fastest pace you can manage."

    Saquin understood urgency and, no sooner were his instructions given then he set off: feet flying over the cobbled streets. The main roads were still alive at this time but Kaiden was aware only of himself and his companion. He could only hear the rhythmic beat of hoof on stone and the steady breathing of the horse as they raced home.

 

 

   It took all night to ride across the city and dawn was once again poking her sleepy head over the horizon as the pair approached the Old Town once more. Kaiden dropped Saquin off at the stables and left him in the care of a stable hand.

  "We have had a long journey and he has served me well. He has earned his rest. Look after him." Kaiden pleaded. 

   "I can assure you. He will receive the very best care with us," replied the lad. Kaiden lingered a moment to bid his old friend a fond farewell and whispered his thanks: that done, he returned to the rooftops and began the long run home. He had long ago discovered that it was by far the fastest route across the district. It was the most direct and there were no people or traffic to dodge.