Since I was the only one who lived off-campus, on the edge of Topaz City and the Academy, I was the last one to the Alchemy lab with no time to spare.
The lab was located in one of the oldest parts of the Academy, at the bottom of the hill, adjacent to the glass-encased hydroponics building.
The early morning pinkish-orange glow of dawn reflecting off the hydroponics clear glass structure with its lush green inhabitants made the alchemy lab beside it look that much more squat and homely.
Its nondescript, general-purpose two-story stucco with the ubiquitous red clay roof and black wrought iron balustrades on all the balconies was boring at best.
The only thing differentiating it from all the other squat stucco structures was a red sign on the door with the magikal symbol for Alchemy, a caduceus with its double-serpent winged staff.
From a distance, I could see Simon's scraggly blonde hair and short thin form standing outside the lab. He peered at me through half-open eyes, his arms crossed over his chest in mild protest.
Apparently, it was unusually early for him too, and he was not going to make it easy for me.
Although he was standing near the twins, it was obvious that they had not spoken a word to each other, preferring instead to wait for me to arrive.
Connor and Corwin stood nearby, tall and athletic, sucking on some juice boxes. When they saw me they finished the rest of their juice and snapped their fingers, disposing the boxes.
"Right on time," Connor said as he smiled and waved at me. I ran the last few yards and stopped in front of them huffing and puffing.
I was very much aware that standing next to the cool looking guys, my damp unkempt hair and unsophisticated Overlord bodysuit made me look like a scruffy school kid instead of a full-fledged Academy graduate.
But oh well. There wasn't much I could do at this point.
Corwin gave me a perfunctory nod but otherwise did not meet my eyes.
I sniffed at his aloof behavior. Here I was, trying so hard not to be late or to give him any reason to be annoyed at me, but he still seemed to be sullen and pensive.
"Why so early, Nana?" Simon said with a yawn. "You certainly could have used some extra beauty sleep." He glanced at my disheveled hair and flushed face with a wicked smile.
"There are more important things in life than beauty." I lied. I caught Connor scowling at Simon's lack of civility, but the boy's jab did not bother me.
Perhaps if they were formally introduced, things would get a little smoother.
"Connor, Corwin," I waved in their general vicinity. "Simon." I jabbed a thumb at the boy.
Perfunctory introductions out of the way, Simon led us into the alchemy laboratory and then latched the door once we were all inside.
My jaw dropped as my eyes took in the sterile, immaculate condition of the lab.
Although I had made many delivery routes to the storage area behind the lab, I had actually never been inside the lab itself. This was a place that only Alchemist students were allowed access.
And now I understood why Professor Quimby was so keen on protecting his lab from whatever disturbances swirled around the Academy.
As squat and boring as the outside looked, the interior sparkled with the coruscation of a million refracted light beams. The light gave off bursts of dazzling white brilliance interlaced with colorful rainbows.
Rows of pure white lights recessed into the ceiling blazed down upon seamless spotless white floors and walls made of some inert material that looked as if it was fire-and-chemical-burn resistant.
There were four long work stations topped with light grey slabs of granite which held a small assortment of concatenated glassware that looked as if some type of experiment was going on. Along the walls, floor-to-ceiling glass shelves held more glass equipment behind glass doors.
Every object gleamed in the light, spotless in appearance. There was no clutter, no dust, no smell, no sound. It was a perfect aseptic playground for the alchemist who needed such a space to delve into his genius mind and allow it to play at will.
Simon stood amidst this bright radiant glory, a single solitary dissonant bum in his faded blue jeans and rumpled blue tee-shirt. He was scratching his shining blonde head and yawning up a storm.
I could tell he wanted to get straight to the subject of the Demon book, but the twins were having none of that. They began asking Simon all sorts of question as to what he thought the object at Alder Alley was.
I listened to their conversations with mild curiosity. Most of this I had already garnered from Simon. The rest of what they were discussing, I had gathered from Connor's brief excursion up to the roof of the building where the object existed.
"So you think the source of this 'wave-disruptor' is located behind the Academy, somewhere within the hillside?" Connor probed. "How did you know that it actually disrupts waves, and more importantly, how can you tell that it's coming from the hill?"
Simon snorted. "I can sense it." Then he looked back at the twins.
"What? You were there. Don't tell me you couldn't feel it. It was so strong, it nearly made me gag."
"We could sense it too, although not as strongly as you obviously can," Connor stood languidly with his arms folded across his barrel chest.
Corwin scowled. "If you are able to tell where it comes from, I need for you to take us to the source of this wave-disruptor."
Simon raised his eyes. "Only if you open that book for me."
Corwin moved towards Simon, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes. Without missing a beat, Connor stepped in between the two.
"Hey now. The two are not necessarily linked with each other. Besides," he looked at Simon, "we can't really open that book without taking a little bit of time to figure out the best method. One wrong move and POOF," he made a gesture of his hand across his throat, "either we lose our arms up to our elbows OR the book gets damaged beyond repair."
Simon frowned, but I could tell he was not eager to see people's arms blown off, nor for that matter, the destruction of a book about which he was so curious.
"Fine," he acquiesced. "But you have to promise me you'll look into getting that book open if I help you find whatever it is you're looking for."
"We promise you we will look at it," Connor said.
Maybe it was just my naturally suspicious nature, but I did notice that Connor only promised to look at it. Whether he was going to do anything other than look was up for debate. It was, however, enough to assuage Simon.
"Let me leave a message for Professor Quimby and then—"
"No need." Corwin cut him off. "I've already told him we were taking you for the day."
Simon gaped. "How? The man doesn't wake up till past 11."
"He also doesn't sleep until after 2 am." Corwin scoffed. "I called him last night to tell him you would be with me."
He pointed to Connor. "You ride with him."
"Oh good!" Simon said as he danced a jig. "I've been wanting to get on one of your boards for like, forever!"
"You!" Corwin directed his attention at me for the first time that morning, his eyes, frosty sapphires. "Come with me. Try not to fall off the board." He strode out of the lab without waiting for anyone to follow.
I wrinkled my nose in distaste and glanced at Connor. He gave me a warm smile and a wink that promised me a next time.
Yeah right.
As if there was ever going to be a next time.
I had a feeling that I was going to be stuck riding with prickly Corwin for the duration of this crazy adventure, most likely because Corwin did not like Simon.
Simon and I followed Connor out of the lab and found Corwin already on his board. He gestured for me to get on, but the board was hovering three feet off the ground.
I came closer and clutched the edge of the board, thinking I could hoist myself on.
"Hey!" Corwin yelled as he fought to rebalance himself on the board which buckled and swayed from my grip.
"What in blazes do you think you're doing? Stand back!" Corwin barked.
I pulled back, startled by his rough demeanor. He made a quick firm motion with his hand and I felt myself being levitated up to the level of the board.
"Now get on and stop fidgeting or you'll throw us both off this thing," he snarled.
I stepped onto the board without looking at him. Was I supposed to touch him or would he yell at me again?
"I swear, woman. Hold onto me or you'll fall off!" He reached behind and grabbed my arm, pulling it around his waist. "Give me your other arm."
"Nasty grouch…" I grumbled under my breath.
Simon snickered at my apparent discomfort.
As if to show off, he levitated onto the hoverboard landing with a thump behind Connor.
The sudden movement unbalanced the hoverboard causing it to dip at an alarming pitch.
"Stop that!" Connor yelped.
"Are you ready?" Corwin patted my arm.
"Yeah." I said.
"Hang on. We're gonna surf the blast." And with a whoosh, we took off from the chapel grounds.
The early morning windsurf was exhilarating beyond belief. The sun was just starting to peek through the eastern hills when we soared up above the shadow of the hillside.
I gritted my teeth from the sudden shifts in altitude change and tried to keep my eyes open. He seemed to be more comfortable with me on his board today and rode the wind with a dexterity that I was envious of.
Ahead of us, I could hear Simon hooting with joy, his bright flaxen head glowed a pale rare gold. The twins' red hair took on a bright red fire blaze, touched by the first rays of the morning sun.
I had no doubt my own mud-colored hair was probably just twisting around in the wind and getting tangled in knots like it always did.
Such is life.
It was still early, but already, there were other air riders out, enjoying the morning. Most of them braved the drafts in a steady, basic fashion—and they considered to be the adventurous ones.
Standing on a moving hoverboard with no handles and no seats while magikally manipulating external as well as internal forces was a feat that only the most dexterous of mages could do.
Most mages preferred to use the hover pods to travel about because it took no skills to sit inside a pod. Nobody zipped around doing stunts like the Osiris guys did.
To them, it was not just a quick way to get from one point to another. It was a lifestyle.
Although the art of wind control technically belonged to the school of thaumaturgy, it was a skill that was universally spread throughout the entirety of the mage population, with varying degrees of aptitude and strengths.
Several young guys in tees, ripped jeans and backwards baseball caps, rode the airwaves past us, calling out a greeting to the twins in the local surf-speak yodeling mode.
The air rider yodel always sounded to me like a cross between the modern-day yodeler and the pigmies of ancient Africa, and although it was perfectly understandable to the windsurfing community, it was completely baffling to me, what they were saying to each other.
The yodeling windsurfers blew past us, taking full advantage of the fact that they were solo riders unburdened by a passenger, but I could tell by the way they held their bodies that they were nowhere near as skilled with windsurfing as the Osiris twins were.
The very fact that the twins were able to take on a passenger each spoke volumes about their air riding abilities.
Amidst the rabble of the crowded airways, they looked every bit the undisputed kings of the blast surfing world.