Prism: The Color Alchemist eBook #1

I didn’t collect secrets. I only had one. One little, messy mistake I’d kept buried in the back of my mind for months. Now, I felt the danger of its existence as I stared into the eyes of the person whose job it was to dig up those secrets. She would inch around it, gentle at first, before she’d rip it out by the roots. Then the intruder would take it away, and I would go with it.

“Do you know why we’re here?” the royal officer asked. Her glare locked me in. I shook my head, knowing the lie had to be seamless.

The officers had come with their questions on the worst possible morning. Every minute of this day should have been spent preparing for the most anticipated ballet performance of my life. Not this. Anything but this. 

I wanted nothing to do with magic. 

I glanced at my parents and little sister. The four of us sat side by side on the sleek couch. Our bodies stuck together as the summer heat pressed its way through the family room. Lately, our luxuries, like air conditioning, were faltering. We didn’t ask why. We just waited, letting the sweat permeate our lives. 

My sister Lacey nervously held our dad’s arm with one hand and grasped mine with the other. Aged six, she couldn’t know what was at stake, but she could sense the danger all the same. 

“Lacey, I have some questions for you,” the royal officer in charge said, showing a tight-lipped smile. She was a pale woman, with severe cheekbones and a glossy, tight blond bun. 

Her subordinates lined the walls of our living room. They stood at attention, stony expressions etched into their features. They wore white uniforms, the royal family insignia was stitched on the left shoulder of each. I’d never actually seen a royal officer of the court before, and I’d hoped I never would. They were the highest level, the protectors of the monarchs and alchemists. They didn’t belong in my living room. 

The lead officer reached into her pocket and pulled out a small vial. It was deep crimson, filled to the brim. She held it up between her long fingers, showing us the blood inside. She reached into her other pocket and pulled out a second vial. The lifeless, gray fluid seemed unrelated, but from the way her eyes leered at Lacey, something wasn’t right. 

“Do you know what this is?” 

But Lacey’s face only registered the same confusion as before. How was a child supposed to understand what it was, especially when everyone else was clueless? Well, not everyone. Not me. 

“What about you, Jessa?” She arched an eyebrow in my direction. “Any ideas?” 

“I don’t know.” The lie burned my throat but came out smooth. 

“This is a sample of Lacey’s blood.”

My father sprang from the couch. He grabbed Lacey. She wrapped her thin arms around him and began to cry. The room grew unimaginably hotter. Gray blood? That had to be linked to alchemy. And anywhere there was alchemy was not a place Lacey should be. 

My mother shook her head, apparently refusing to understand. “What’s wrong? Is Lacey sick?” 

“Lacey is lucky. She’ll be fine. Our mission is to find out who did this to your daughter. Of course, it’s likely she did it to herself.”

Mom’s hand flew to her mouth. Dad tightened his grip on Lacey. 

I sat still on the couch, lost as to how to fix this. I tried to keep my breathing in check, fighting the suffocation pressing down on my body. How could this be happening? I’d kept Lacey’s run in with alchemy hidden for months. Never uttering a word, I protected my family. But despite all that, our life was about to unravel anyway. 

“Did you see anything you didn’t understand? Did anyone hurt you?” 

The woman’s voice drew us back to the truth. Something was happening to Lacey and this woman didn’t care how that might affect the rest of us. 

Everyone quickly settled back into the couch. 

“No,” Lacey replied. She looked at Dad as her lower lip trembled. He wiped at her tear-stained cheeks. “Am I in trouble?” she asked.

“No, you’re not in trouble,” the woman continued with fake tenderness in her voice. She wasn’t fooling me. “But it’s important you tell the truth so that you won’t be in trouble later.” The threat lingered. 

Lacey nodded, her eyes glued to the woman. 

It was finally clear that she was speaking of color alchemy. She had to be probing for something, hoping that Lacey would slip up on an important detail. Then they would take her away to some guarded place color alchemists go, to train her as their own. The problem with that? She wouldn’t come back. 

Something had happened to Lacey on that cold day six months ago. I wanted to believe it was just a playground accident gone awry. But I’d known. Of course I’d known. It was color alchemy; the strange ability, that mysterious magic that allowed color to be used as a tool. Sure, it was mostly an unknown to a regular girl like me. But what else could it have been? It was the only explanation. 

An explanation that I hated accepting. 

Color alchemists were sent away from home as soon as they were discovered, no matter their age. And they didn’t return. I’d seen it twice myself. 

The first time, it happened to the neighbors, three houses down. Their boy seemed normal enough. He was the instigator, the ringleader of the boys our age. On those warm summer nights, I sometimes watched as they ran wild through the quiet streets. Even though I was also seven, they always said girls weren’t allowed to play. I didn’t mind so much, I wanted to be a ballerina anyway. 

And then one day, that boy, his name long forgotten now, was simply gone. When I asked Mom and Dad, they’d briefly explained what a color alchemist was, then asked me to drop the issue. No one talked about it. His parents moved a few months later and that was the end of it. It wasn’t until the next spring, when the same thing happened to a girl in the classroom across the hall, that I started to ask more questions. 

Between the hushed whispers and rumors, I knew little, but enough. The younger the alchemist was when discovered, the better. They were trained, day in and day out, to harness the magic in color and use it to society’s advantage. No one I knew really understood the details about color alchemy and those who wielded its supernatural power. They, and their strange magic, were kept out of the public eye. We did know that it kept our electricity strong, our medical facilities advanced, food on our tables, and most importantly, alchemy kept the rest of the world out of our prosperous kingdom. Our neighboring enemies hadn’t maneuvered a successful attack in decades. 

We also knew to keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary, anything unexplainable. The law mandated us to report possible color alchemy immediately. 

Again, I wasn’t entirely sure what “possible alchemy” was, or how I’d recognize it. I guessed the idea was that I’d be a good citizen, going about my business, and if something magical happened, I’d report it.

Instead, I kept the secret hidden. When Lacey’s blood had changed before my very eyes, I didn’t report a thing. I couldn’t risk the outcome! 

One thing everyone knew about color alchemists: they became members of the most elite and secretive branch in the kingdom, the Guardians of Color. “GC” for short.

 The Royals assured us that we needed the GC. They said the guardians assisted our society economically. Their magic provided us with extra power, aided industry in advancement, and even sustained crops. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be enough food to go around. While most of the world suffered, the people of New Colony, our home, thrived. We had everything we needed in our kingdom. More, actually. And it was all because of alchemy and the royal family’s guidance. 

But having this mysterious ability ruined people’s lives. Freedom wasn’t a possibility for alchemists. Not really. Their mission was too important. I was grateful I wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t imagine having such valuable abilities discovered as a small child, being trained to forget about my family just to learn how to do a job. A job so important that there was absolutely no other choice but to do it, and do it well. 

The royal officer droned on but I couldn’t quiet my mind about the day that started all of this. The day, six months ago, when Lacey had injured herself on the playground and the unimaginable happened. 

My heart ached to think Lacey was an alchemist, but I didn’t have any other explanation. After all, it was little children who developed color alchemy. She was six. It made sense. 

I wanted to protect her. Whether on the playground or in my own living room, I couldn’t. 

With the gray vial now gripped in this royal officer’s hand, I was sure Lacey had used alchemy on her own blood. What had that done to her? The magic only lasted a moment. 

I peered at the royal officer as she ordered her underlings to begin searching our home. They wanted answers. Too bad there was no way I was going to let Lacey slip away. Valuable to society or not, she was my little sister, my only sibling. She wasn’t going anywhere.

I peered out the window and wondered if any of our neighbors were aware of what was happening in their seemingly safe neighborhood. Did they have any idea that we were harboring a potential color alchemist?

“Jessa Loxley.” The royal officer turned her gaze on me. “We have reason to believe that either you or your sister may have performed unauthorized color alchemy. One of you, or someone you know, tampered with Lacey’s blood and failed to report the incident to the proper authorities.” 

So it was true…

Lacey was a color alchemist. Her own blood betrayed her.

Lacey was still confused. I was grateful she didn’t remember the accident. She had likely been so traumatized that she’d blocked the whole memory. Lacey needed to stay here, with us. Her family. The truth would only get in the way of that. I had to come up with a plausible story and cover for Lacey, to convince this woman that there wasn’t an alchemist here. 

“Why is her blood gray?” I prodded. “What does that mean for Lacey?”

“That information is classified.” 

“Okay,” I said. “And who are you again?” 

I had to be bold. I had to do something to get the attention away from Lacey. 

“As I already told your parents, I’m Royal Officer Faulk, I preside over the Guardians of Color.” 

Her official-sounding title wouldn’t stop me. 

Dad reached out, resting his hand on my knee. “Jessa, please behave yourself.” His tone didn’t scold, but it was stern. Could he know I was lying? And if he did, would he want me to continue? 

Mom and Dad were accustomed to me being on my best behavior around “important” people. I was walking a thin line. 

“Are you an alchemist, then?” I asked.

“No. Royal officers are never alchemists. I’m here as part of our Illegal Color Alchemy Task Force,” Faulk spoke slowly.

“Yes, I get that,” I said. “Which is why it makes no sense that you’re here.”

“Jessa!” My mother’s sharp elbow jutted against my arm. I caught her wide eyes, but quickly looked the other way. She might’ve disliked my attitude now, but she’d thank me later. 

“We’ve been alerted about unusual properties in Lacey’s blood work.” Faulk narrowed her eyes. “You are aware that she recently underwent a physical examination?”

I stared at her dead on. Bring it, lady, let’s see what you’ve got. 

Dad was the first to respond. “Lacey had a bad accident about six months ago on the playground. She went to the hospital recently for a follow-up. But what does any of this have to do with Jessa?” His brow furrowed as he exchanged a quick look with Mom.

“You were the only one with Lacey during her accident.” Faulk watched me as she spoke. “There were no other reported witnesses, except the person who heard the cry and called the police. After going to the hospital, Lacey was stitched up and sent home. If it hadn’t have been for the follow-up, no one would have known that she had a small amount of gray blood flowing through her system. The doctor immediately extracted it. She’s lucky there wasn’t more of it…very lucky.” 

“I didn’t see anything unusual during her accident,” I said pointing to the vial still in Faulk’s grip. “How was I supposed to know she had gray blood? Was I supposed to be watching out for something specific? No one told me.” 

Once again, Faulk ignored my question. 

She held my gaze. “As you know, any unauthorized color alchemy is illegal. If you or someone you know has failed to report their abilities, now is your chance to speak up before we start a full-scale investigation. This is a very serious offense that could result in jail time and many citizen privileges revoked.”

“Citizen privileges?” my mother asked.

“Surely, Mrs. Loxley, you already know what I am speaking of.” Royal Officer Faulk peered closely at my mother. 

I frowned. What did they know that I didn’t?

The room was silent as I considered my next move. If I lied to cover for her, I risked getting caught. I didn’t care about what would happen to me as much as I cared about how it would damage my family. What would this woman do to my parents if she knew I was hiding alchemy? I had heard rumors of people losing their jobs and homes, being forced to relocate to undesirable locations and work long hours in factories or other menial jobs outside the capital city. Was it true? 

Surely, the consequences couldn’t be that harsh? Surely, it was understandable why a sixteen-year-old girl wouldn’t want her little sister to be taken away? 

Surely, New Colony didn’t care? 

I didn’t think my parents knew about Lacey, but if they did, what would they do? If I told the truth right now, then Lacey would be taken from our home. There was no way they’d be okay with that. 

Her color alchemy had been an accident. No one had meant to break any laws. From the looks on the officials’ faces, they wouldn’t take pity on us either way. Maybe Faulk could help Lacey, but that was a risk I couldn’t take. 

And of course, there was ballet to think about. Ballet was my life. My passion. I’d worked so hard to become a dancer with New Colony’s Royal Ballet Company. Last season I was signed as a novice, and had attended classes nonstop for months. I had pushed myself through vigorous training and worked through the pain of bruised feet and sore muscles—not to mention the mental and emotional stresses that were normal in the world of competitive dance. 

I’ve worked too hard to let anything get in my way. 

Tonight, in fact, was one of the deciding moments of my life. I had landed a solo. And, as small as it was, it was a significant step forward for my professional career. I finally had a chance to dance on the most coveted stage, in front of a truly respectable audience. The royal family, many members of the court, high-ranking citizens, and government officials, were all scheduled to attend. It would be the chance of a lifetime. My problem? The opening performance was tonight. If I told the truth now, I would certainly lose the opportunity. I’d no doubt be sent away for more questioning. 

Even if that didn’t happen, if word got out about Lacey, the Royal Ballet Company wouldn’t want me anymore. They were incredibly cautious about their reputation—any opportunities they afforded us dancers came with the expectation that we were unblemished model citizens. I had no doubt that hiding a color alchemist would make me unsavory. I might never be allowed to put on another pointe shoe.

 That thought alone terrified me far beyond Faulk’s threats. 

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told Faulk. “I’ve never even seen color alchemy in person. Most people never do. And it’s not like I would know what it was if I saw it.”

Faulk shook her head. “I’ve been doing my job a long time, Jessa. I know that the most probable scenario here is that someone in this family or Lacey herself caused the abnormality in her blood. And you all also have the biggest motive to keep any involvement with color alchemy hidden. Illegally, I might add. So if you choose to keep lying to me, where do you think I will go from here?”

This can’t be happening. How am I going to fix this? If I don’t figure out how to get these people out of here, Faulk will take Lacey away for sure. 

The idea came quickly, like an unexpected gift. 

“Didn’t they give Lacey a blood transfusion? Have you questioned everyone at the hospital? Maybe there was an accident.”

Faulk paused, and from the frustration lining her face, I knew I had backed her into a corner.

She stood up, barking orders at the other royal officers to get ready to head back to headquarters. From the way she took control over everyone, I figured she was a general or something. Didn’t matter. A wave of triumph swept through my body. She wouldn’t be gone forever, but at least I’d bought us some time.

My parents, each visibly relieved, stood to see the officers out. I smiled slightly, happy that I’d managed to save the day.

When she got to our front door, Faulk turned around and gave her final warning. “Color alchemy is an extremely rare and dangerous talent. There are reasons we’ve created strict laws policing it. Those who don’t know how to use it properly aren’t just hurting themselves. They are ticking time bombs waiting to explode.” 

She slowly looked us each over as she waited for someone to break. When a confession didn’t come, she nodded at one of her remaining royal officers. He was the oldest man in the room, and I could tell he didn’t buy my story either. 

“Let’s go, Thomas. I’ve got a busy day. I don’t have time to deal with people who won’t talk.” 

The man began rallying the final few officers out the door. They were eerily quiet for such large creatures. 

“You had your chance,” Faulk added as she moved out into the morning light. The door shook when she slammed it behind her.

We sat there for a moment, frozen, before Lacey broke the silence. 

“Am I in trouble?” She rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. 

“Don’t worry, honey,” I said, reaching for her hand again. “Everything is going to be okay. Let’s just get back to our day and forget about all of this.” 

“What’s going on here, Jessa?” My mother turned to me, her voice shaking. “Did you lie to that royal officer? If something happened with alchemy, you need to tell us right now. We can help but we need to know what we are dealing with here.”

Everything in me wanted to tell them the truth. But I just couldn’t put them in such a terrible position. 

“I told you. I have no idea what that was about. That woman is jumping to conclusions. Lacey is fine. I mean, look at her.” 

My parents exchanged a guarded glance. Mom held her hand to her hip, head cocked, as she studied me before taking in Lacey. There was no question that she appeared the same as always. After a tense moment, Dad let out a long sigh. 

“We’d better get you something to eat,” he said as he reached for Lacey.

I immediately went upstairs to my bedroom. Finally alone, I let out a deep breath, willing the stress to fall away. It didn’t work. Not with what I now knew. Not with the truth burning its way into my every thought. 

Lacey was an alchemist, and I’d just committed a crime. 

The accident flashed through my memory.

Babysitting Lacey for a few hours between ballet rehearsal and Mom and Dad getting home from work was part of my daily agenda. On that day, just like most days, I took Lacey to our neighborhood playground. On that brisk January afternoon, the cool air was refreshing on my sore dancer muscles. 

Lacey immediately ran to the swings. She jumped in the seat and rocked herself higher and higher with each motion. Giggling as she swung, she leaned forward as if she were about to sprout wings.

“Slow down, Lace!” I yelled, and a twinge of worry cracked my voice.

Beyond her, the bare trees held onto the last fragments of fall.

I sat down on the bench and began running through the highlights from this afternoon’s rehearsal. Ballet had been tough lately, but I smiled knowing that I’d done well. Better than yesterday, which was always my goal. 

Abruptly, Lacey’s hands slipped and her little body catapulted from the seat. For the brief moment, she was in flight. 

Stunned, I watched my little sister crash into the waiting earth. Mounds of frozen gravel pummeled her face. 

What followed was blood. A lot of blood. 

It poured from her knees, her wrists, and her palms. And the worst of it streamed from her mouth. 

I sprinted to her in a dizzying frenzy. I held her close, fumbling to assess the damage. The mix of confusion and anguish cut into her features as she let out a sharp cry. There was so much blood. I didn’t know how to fix her. I frantically looked around for help. The area was deserted.

I looked back at Lacey, and something strange and peaceful grew inside. An overwhelming feeling of love passed through me. The world stilled as a gentle calm ran through my body. I looked at my beautiful little sister, battered and hurt, and a fierce urgency to help her took over my senses. 

“It’s okay. I’ll take care of you. It will be as if this never even happened. You’ll see.” 

Lacey wailed, oblivious as I tried to soothe her. Tears rolled down her face as she gasped for breath. I needed her to calm down, to hold still so I could help.

“Stop crying.” 

She immediately relaxed, her cries fading. We sat there, covered in her blood and stared at the stream of life pouring from her. All logical thought disintegrated as I realized what I was seeing. 

The deep red of her blood had turned pale pink. And just as strange, it continued to change as it faded to ashy gray. I sat motionless.

Her red blood had actually changed, physically altered its color. How was that even possible?

It still poured out of her in waves, but the blood was no longer its normal color.

Even stranger was the air that wrapped around us, a cloud of luminous red energy, seemingly not of this world. I almost didn’t notice when Lacey lost consciousness.

It all happened so fast. Too fast. 

Later, when she came to, I questioned Lacey. She didn’t understand what I was talking about. The whole incident was wiped from her vulnerable mind. How was that possible? 

It took the medics a while to arrive at the scene and cart Lacey off to be stitched up. Thankfully, a neighbor had heard the cries and called an ambulance. Maybe Lacey had become so weak that her mind blocked the memory. I could only pray it was all a big mistake.

I still didn’t want to admit how one second her blood could be gray, and the next, return to vibrant red. It had to be alchemy. 

It all happened so fast. The next thing I knew, the medics were shaking me, calmly asking their standard questions. They took my pulse and gave me some water as they assessed Lacey and the wide pool of red blood around us. The gray was nowhere to be seen. She was small enough that the wounds on her knees, palms, face, and tongue warranted her going to the hospital for stitches and painkillers. She even ended up needing a blood transfusion.

They drove away with Lacey, actually leaving me in that empty playground. I couldn’t believe it. At least someone had contacted our parents, who were already on their way to meet the ambulance. 

I sat in a daze. The worn black crescent seat of the swing still swayed.

The next six months were spent in anguish over what really happened. I had nightmares about it, tortured by the idea of speaking up. Whatever had happened to us, it seemed no one knew. I doubted Lacey would understand it. When it turned out she didn’t remember, I tried to push the memories away, hoping my suspicions were all wrong. 

Either way, I was grateful no one else was on the playground that day. And thank goodness that a neighbor had alerted the authorities. That someone was able to find us, and help her. 

Because, apparently, I couldn’t. 

 I walked to the bedroom window and peered between the curtains. Outside, the flashing lights from the officers’ vehicles were gone, but I was sure this wasn’t over. It appeared to be a quiet, lazy morning in our typical capital city suburb. The tall trees in our neighbor’s yard cast long shadows in the early sunrise. Something shifted beyond them. 

I stopped, not daring to move as I waited to see what, or who, was there. Several minutes passed before a royal officer emerged. He was dressed in the same white uniform. He stood motionless, his eyes scanning our house. 

General Faulk might be gone for now, but that didn’t mean we were in the clear. She’d left someone to watch us.

Why would she do that? 

The answer hit me like an arrow to the heart. 

To make sure we don’t take Lacey and run.