“Sir Newton?” Oliver stammered. “What are you doing here?”
The scientist looked out of place in the sinister dark alleyways of London rather than his cozy parlor.
Isaac Newton looked sheepish. “I followed you. I wanted to see the shrouded school for myself.” He sighed heavily. “You see, the rest of the Alchemists Guild are… well, they’re starting to doubt me. I’ve failed in all my alchemy experiments so far. People are starting to call me a quack. I thought if I found the school they might not kick me out.”
In Oliver’s mind’s eye he recalled what he’d seen in the vision well. “You’re not a quack at all.”
Newton’s eyebrows quirked upward. “What do you mean?”
“Your alchemy work,” Oliver said, deliberating momentarily over whether it was prudent to divulge what he’d just seen. “You’re on the right track. In fact, I think it’s your recipe that will help us find the Orb of Kandra.”
Newton’s eyes widened. “So I’m right? My experiments will bear fruit?” He puffed up his chest with pride. There seemed to be a sudden shift in him. Back at his manor house he’d come across as somewhat scattered, almost on the edge of a nervous breakdown. But now he seemed determined. Focused. “What do you need me to do?”
Oliver paused for a moment. He needed Newton to create one of his alloys, the one he’d seen in the vision. But Newton’s lab was miles away. It would be a long trek and they were running out of time.
He looked at Michael. “Do you have a lab at the school?”
Michael nodded. “Yes. For potion class.”
“Can we use it?”
Michael and Samuel nodded.
Everyone headed back into the school. Newton in particular seemed to be thrilled to be inside the mysterious shrouded school. As they hurried through the corridors, Oliver explained what he’d seen in the vision well. Newton listened with rapt attention, his expression growing more excited with every step.
The laboratory was in the basement. They descended several stone staircases before they hurried inside. It had a very creepy vibe. Like a torture chamber.
But Newton did not seem fazed. He strolled right in, pushing up his shirt sleeves. He seemed suddenly very focused in a way he hadn’t appeared before. He was clearly in his element.
“Right. I will need a source of flame, glass beakers, tubes.”
Michael and Samuel scurried off to the closets around the side of the laboratories.
“What metals do you have?” Newton asked Oliver.
Oliver frowned. “None. I mean, there’s some copper on my compass. And this amulet is made of silver.” He took out the amulet from Professor Amethyst.
Newton shook his head. “No. No. That won’t do.”
Ralph spoke up. “What about this?”
Everyone turned to look at him. He was holding out the Obsidian knife. Seeing it again made Oliver’s spine tingle. After what he’d seen it do in the vision well he never wanted to see one ever again.
Newton’s eyes widened. “What is that made off?”
Ralph shook his head and handed it to Newton. “It’s an Obsidian knife. So I guess it’s made of obsidian.”
Newton gasped. “Not metal. Glass. Of course!”
Oliver frowned. “Of course, what?”
But Newton was in full flow. He began to speak very rapidly. “So far, all my experiments have been on metal. I’d not even considered obsidian because it’s a naturally forming glass. The glass of a volcano. But this might just be it!”
Just then, Michael and Samuel returned, their arms laden with all the pieces of equipment Newton had asked for.
Without missing a beat, Newton began to lay all the items out, connecting tubes to beakers with expert precision. He lay the Obsidian knife out in front of him, lit a candle, and placed it beneath the contraption he’d set up.
Then he began to shake his head. “No, no, no, this won’t do. The flame is too small.”
Ralph jumped forward. “I have a biological specialism. I should be able to do this.”
He focused on the small flame and made it grow bigger.
“That’s it!” Newton exclaimed.
Everyone watched on with rapt attention as Newton worked. Oliver felt relieved as he watched the blade of the Obsidian knife melt. Ralph was clearly relieved as well that he no longer had the burden of carrying something so dangerous around with him. One less Obsidian knife in the universe was clearly a good thing.
“This will take some time,” Newton said. “I need to adjust the ingredients. My original recipe was for a metal alloy, not a glass one. I need to find out the exact amounts to distill this mixture by.”
Oliver knew Newton could not be rushed, that the scientific process took as long as it took. But on the inside his guts were churning. They were running out of time to get the Orb and return it to the school before it collapsed. Every second that passed felt agonizing.
But there was nothing they could do now. They moved back from the scientist, giving him space to work, and sat at another table.
“If this works,” Oliver said, “how will we go about returning the Orb to the school?”
“Did the vision well not show you how?” Esther asked.
Oliver shook his head. “No. It only showed me how to retrieve the Orb. Not what to do with it once I had.”
“There are portals to the school scattered all over the universe,” Ralph said. “We just need to find one.”
“Your amulet,” Esther suggested.
Oliver took it out from beneath his overalls, shaking his head as he did so. “It’s cold. Always cold. We’re never near a portal.”
Michael’s eyes sparked suddenly. “There’s one here! A portal, I mean. Right here in London.” Then he deflated. “But it’s shrouded.”
Esther clicked her fingers and pulled the spyglass from her satchel. “We have this. It’s a special device that only seers can use. It makes magical things give off a glow. Your school, for example, is aquamarine.”
“That might well work,” Michael said, nodding.
Just then, there came the sound of a sudden explosion. Everyone looked over at Newton. A tendril of smoke was rising from the melted pool of obsidian in his petri dish. The scientist was staggering backward.
Everyone jumped up and ran toward him.
“What is it?” Oliver asked.
“Something’s happening,” Newton stammered. “Look!”
Oliver turned and saw that on the surface of the melted black glass there was a strange shape forming. It looked like a small plant. It began to grow from the puddle. As it grew, branches sprouted from it.
“You did it,” Oliver cried. “It’s exactly what I saw in the vision well.”
Newton seemed flabbergasted. “This is a thousand times bigger than what I’ve ever achieved before. What is it doing?”
The only answers Oliver had were from what the vision well had shown him. “Its branches can pierce the dimensional fabric. It’s growing toward the Orb of Kandra.”
“Like a light source,” Newton exclaimed. “All plants grow toward the sun.”
“And the Orb of Kandra is at the center of our universe,” Oliver said, gasping.
Everyone watched on, their mouths gaping, as the tree sprouted yet more and more branches. Then, just as it had done in the vision tank, the farthest-most branches sliced through the air, cutting through the dimensional fabric. A brilliant white light burst through the slit. Then the Orb of Kandra appeared.
“There she is!” Oliver cried, tears flooding into his eyes.
He couldn’t believe it. They’d done it. They’d really done it.
The Orb fell through the slice and began to bounce on the branches as it fell down to earth. Esther reached out and grabbed it, cradling it in her arms like a baby.
“We’ve got you. You’re safe now.”
“Let’s get her back to the school where she belongs,” Ralph said.
He and Esther weren’t wasting any time. They hurried to the exit. But Oliver turned to Newton.
“Thank you. For everything. We’d never have done this without you.”
Newton waved the compliment off like it was nothing. “Thank you. I was about to give up on my experiments. I thought I’d tried everything. I was wasting my days entertaining. But you’ve helped me realize my work isn’t over yet. There’s more for me to do.” He shook Oliver’s hand. “Now, run along. Back to your school. Save Professor Amethyst.”
“Will you be okay? You’ll get back home safely?”
“I will,” Newton said.
With the rest of his friends, Oliver hurried for the exit of the labs. But he paused at the threshold and looked back at Newton.
“By the way,” he called, “you’re going to be knighted. You’ll be the first scientist to ever become a Sir!”
A small smile twitched at the side of Newton’s lips. “That’s very good to know. Thank you, Oliver Blue.”