The Artist's Alchemy Read online

  By four, I was starting to feel tired. I’d only been up for five hours, granted, but I think the stress I was feeling about how the weekend would go was draining my energy. Plus, I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling of doom that hung over me, as thick and heavy as the rain clouds above.

  A strong cup of chai tea, provided by Penny, helped to restore my energy. I was able to bustle around the lobby with my witchy sisters to prepare for the evening’s meet and greet, which was supposed to start at five. Asti joined us at 4:30, and I helped her hang her paintings, which she magically pulled from her rolling suitcase just like Mary Poppins pulled her umbrella out of her purse. The canvases were huge, and the lobby looked quite stunning once they were up around the room.

  Asti’s art was bright and bold, with lots of swirling, curving lines and beautiful patterns. Most of the paintings were of ordinary, mundane scenes, like a cup of tea and a newspaper, a bird on a windowsill, a hat hung from the back of a chair. Yet they had a lovely, light, alive quality that made me feel like I was seeing the ordinary objects in a new way.

  The sky continued to darken above. The lobby is the only space in the center in which all three stories are connected. The high ceiling above the lobby, which is three stories up, is made mostly of skylights. Rain pattered on the glass, wind howled, and I heard thunder rolling in the distance.

  At five, guests started to descend the staircase that traveled from the third floor down to the first. Annie closed her eyes and spoke under her breath, and trays of appetizers magically appeared, suspended in mid-air. Azure waved her wand and little lit candles materialized in the space above us, the flames twinkling like stars. I pointed a finger at the piano in the corner of the room and whispered a chant.

  “Give us music,

  Give us sound,

  Let your notes,

  Joyfully abound!”

  The keys started moving of their own accord, and a lovely melody swirled through the air and mingled with the flickering candle flames.

  The platters of food slowly traveled around the lobby, as if carried by invisible caterers. I saw Justin step through the front doors, with Gordon Groover right behind him. I was excited to meet The Groover. Because I’d lived in Hillcrest my whole life, my track record with celebrity sightings was extremely low. I’d once spotted a famous actress in Melrose, at a gas station, but that was the extent of it. I felt a little bit starstruck as I headed toward the two of them.

  Before I reached them, I was intercepted by a short, slight man with a bald head and silver spectacles. He wore plaid slacks in the most awful combination of clashing green hues.

  “Excuse me,” he said. His voice was so quiet, I could barely hear him over the piano music and surrounding buzz of conversation. “Are you the owner of this place?”

  “I am,” I said. I stuck out my hand. “Marley Greene. How can I help you?”

  “I’m very upset,” he said in the same, quiet monotone. “I’m a scientist, not an artist. I thought that this weekend was going to help me further my research into the molecular transmutation of particles to gasses, yet on arrival, I discovered that it was about art.”

  His eyes, behind his spectacles, looked cold and calculating. Though his tone was flat, I picked up a strange vibe of anger emanating off of him.

  He went on. “I also found out that Asti Rose is the speaker. I have a personal history with Ms. Rose, which would really make it impossible for me to learn from her.”

  “Oh!” I said, with sudden understanding. “You must be Robert Elgin, Asti’s ex! She was just telling me about you.”

  Finally, his voice took on some emotion. “What did she say?” he asked.

  I wasn’t sure I wanted to get into particulars, so instead of answering directly, I said, “Sounds to me like the two of you need to have a nice, long talk.”

  I sensed that he wanted to get his money back and leave for the weekend, and I didn’t want that to happen. It’s not that I didn’t want to give him a refund—I was fine with that. The truth of the matter was that I was starting to sense that maybe the weekend was meant to be. All these scientists and artists under one roof has to lead to some healing, I thought. If only I can keep them here.

  If Robert left, I was sure other scientists would follow suit. I didn’t want that.

  Robert went on. “Talk to her?” he said with disbelief. “I don’t think so! That’s the last thing I want to do. I don’t even want to be in the same room as her!”

  I looked around and spotted Asti. “I’m sorry, but it’s a little bit late for that,” I said.

  He followed my gaze, and then backed up in a direction that created distance from me and Asti both. “No,” he said. “I don’t want—this can’t be—I’ve got to go!”

  He disappeared into the thick of the crowd just behind him. Skili, who had been perched up in a top branch of the tall tree situated in the middle of the lobby, now swooped down to my shoulder.

  “What’s his deal?” she asked me telepathically.

  “He’s got some unresolved feelings for the guest speaker, Asti,” I responded with my mind. “They used to date and it ended badly. They haven’t spoken since they broke up, decades ago.”

  “I see,” Skili said. It was a favorite phrase of hers, and the way she said it often made me wonder what she could see that I couldn’t.

  “He asked me for a refund,” I said, “but I kind of stalled him. I’m hoping after this meet and greet is over, he might have a renewed interest in the weekend’s events. Maybe I can even get Asti to talk to him tonight...” I looked over to where I’d spotted Asti before, but she wasn’t there anymore.

  “Justin and his guest are here,” Skili told me.

  “I know,” I said. “I can’t wait to meet The Groover. He’s a really famous musician, you know. I’ll go talk to them soon, but I just want to find Asti first and maybe encourage her to go talk to Robert. It would be so nice if the two of them could become friends. It would really get the weekend off to a perfect start.”

  “Be careful, child,” Skili transmitted, before lifting off of my shoulder and heading once again for her top-branch perch. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

  Neither did I. Apprehension coursed through my system. It made me even more desperate to talk to Asti. Maybe if I could help to resolve one conflict in the room, I would start to feel more settled.

  I finally spotted her, and I hurried toward her.

  “These paintings are amazing,” I said as I reached her side. “You’re very talented.”

  There was a window to the right of the display, and in the peripheries of my vision, I saw thick torrents of rain coursing down from the skies. The water was like a sheet of gray. The sky was so dark, if I didn’t know better, I’d have thought it was at least eight or nine at night.

  A flash of lightning lit up the sky, illuminating a few trees in the woods to the side of the center. A few seconds later, thunder boomed.

  “You caught the light so perfectly,” I said, as my eyes moved over her painting. It was a kitchen scene: table, two coffee mugs, and a vase of bright flowers. Splashes of warm morning light danced across the folds of the tablecloth. “I feel like I’m there, standing in your kitchen,” I said. “Like if I put my hand out, I might feel the warmth of the sun.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “Light can be hard to capture. It shifts, from second to second... constant movement. It’s very miraculous, if you—”

  She paused as another flash of lightning lit up the world outside. Together, we waited for the boom of thunder. It rumbled through the lobby, drowning out the piano music and the light bubbling buzz of conversations. The sound faded and she continued. “If you pay attention. You have to look in a certain way—like an artist. That’s one of the things I’ll talk about this weekend.” She drifted into silence.

  I jumped in. “I just met Robert,” I said. “He seems very interested in your presence here.”

  “I’m sure he is,” Asti said. “We’ve
been avoiding each other for so long. It’s hard to believe we’re here together.”

  “Maybe there’s a reason for that,” I suggested. “Do you maybe want to talk to him at some point... maybe even tonight? Try to patch things up? It could set a nice example for the workshop participants, and really get us off on the right foot.”

  I watched her expression carefully, to see how my suggestion would land. She frowned, which wasn’t a good sign.

  “Patch things up...” she said thoughtfully. “As though the rift between us is just a small hole that needs sewing. Ha!” She shook her head. “The problem between Robert and I runs much deeper than that, I’m afraid.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “This center is designed for deep healing. Asti, I think there’s a reason that the two of you are here together.”

  “Hm,” she said. For a moment, I thought she was about to agree, but then she pointed. “Is that wine I see, floating on those trays?” she asked. “I think I need a drink.”

  I nodded. “There are other appetizers, too.”

  “Great,” she said. “I’m going to use the ladies’ room and then help myself. If you’ll just tell me how to find the lavatories...?”

  “Right through there,” I said, pointing to the double doors that led to the first-floor spa area. “The women’s locker rooms are on the left.” I checked my phone for the time. “It’s just 5:10, so we have plenty of time before your welcome speech. I was thinking you could address the guests around six, right before dinner is served. Does that sound good to you?”

  “Wonderful,” she said.

  She hurried off, and I watched her disappear through the double doors.

  I stayed where I was, just staring at the painting in front of me, thinking over Asti’s behavior. Is she open to the idea of talking to Robert? I wondered. Will they be able to set their old hatred aside, and become friends?

  After a few minutes, Penny joined me.

  “How would you say it’s going so far?” she asked me, despite her mouthful of cheese and crackers. She had two glasses of wine in her hands, and she handed me one.

  I sipped it thoughtfully. When I swallowed, I said, “It’s kind of interesting... Asti’s ex-boyfriend Robert is in attendance, and they haven’t talked in decades. You know what? Maybe your mistake wasn't really a mistake at all, Penny. Maybe this weekend is supposed to bring together artists and scientists... and even Asti and Robert in particular, you know? Like this was destined to happen. Our intention behind this center is healing, so maybe this is something that really needs to be healed. Yes, a few scientists might be disgruntled about the content that Asti is going to teach, but so what? It could be worse.”

  Just as those words left my lips, I saw a dark form out of the corner of my eye, through the windows. It was moving fast, falling from above as if ejected from the clouds along with the raindrops.

  Only this was no raindrop.

  It was much bigger—about the size of a body.

  Though it all happened so fast and it was very dark outside, I thought I saw two arms, two legs, and a head.

  I turned to Penny. I could feel my eyebrows inch up on my forehead. My mouth formed an “O.”

  “Did you just see that?” Penny asked.

  I was so shocked, I couldn’t speak. I nodded.

  “That looked like... didn’t that look like... ?” She was having trouble forming words, too.

  I gulped. Then I managed to speak. “A body,” I supplied. “Falling from the sky.”

  “That’s what I thought!” Penny said. “Maybe the roof?”

  “No....” I said. “No... no... no....” I was starting to feel really scared. I looked around, but the lobby full of guests seemed to be oblivious to what Penny and I had just witnessed.

  “Come on!” Penny said. She hurried toward the French doors that led out to the deck and the side yard beyond, which was just where the body would have landed. “Let’s go!” she told me. As she passed the piano, which was still playing, she set her wine glass on top.

  I followed her lead and set my glass down, too. Then I hurried out through the doors on her heels, into the downpour of cold April rain.

  Maybe that wasn’t a body, I thought to myself. Maybe it was just a big bird, swooping down off of the roof to pick up a worm. Or it was a scarecrow that Geoff put up on the roof that got tossed down by the wind...

  But I’d never seen a bird that big, and Geoffrey hadn’t told me anything about a new scarecrow.

  At the very least, I prayed silently, if that was a person, let them still be alive.

  We bolted across the deck and out onto the soggy grass. Despite the dark, windy, rainy conditions, I could see the crumpled form of a body lying face-down on the grass. Penny reached it first, and I was just seconds behind her.

  I felt sick as we approached. Not only was the man before us clearly dead—unmoving, with limbs at odd angles—but also, I recognized him.

  I recognized his slight figure, his bald head, which was only partially covered by the hood of his black rain jacket, as well as the clashing pea and grass greens of his plaid pants.

  There go my hopes of Robert and Asti getting back together, I thought, as I looked down at the body before me.

  Robert Elgin lay face down in the grass, dead as a doornail.

  Chapter Four

  “Go get the ladies!” I said to Penny, once we’d confirmed that Robert didn’t have a pulse. I wasn’t sure what to do about the dead body before me; I needed my coven’s help. Penny raced off, and I was left in the dark alone, crouched next to Robert’s body.

  It was then that I heard a subtle noise coming from the yard at my back.

  I turned, wiped some rain out of my eyes, and squinted. Skili was a very wise bird, and one of the things she’d taught me recently was to perceive non-physical forms. I sensed that there was something—or some being —in the yard for me to perceive, so I used the technique she’d taught me. I quieted my mind, slowed my breathing, and focused on the empty yard with a sense of anticipation. A shimmery form emerged amidst the raindrops. The more I directed my focus on the ghostly form, the clearer it became.

  It was Robert. I recognized the bald head, his ghastly plaid pants, and even the glasses he wore, which in his ghost form weren't smashed or crooked at all like they were on his dead body, but rather perfectly intact.

  He was standing in the middle of the open yard, watching me through the rain. Seeing him actually made me feel less terrible about his death. At least his life was continuing, even if in a different way than before. I lifted my hand and waved at him. “Are you okay out there?” I asked.

  He folded his arms across his chest and didn’t speak.

  But he didn’t turn and run, either, so that was good.

  I called out again. “Robert, how are you doing?” I stepped toward him. “Are you in any pain?”

  He stayed put. “I feel fine,” he called out. “A little bit cold, but otherwise okay.” He looked down toward the body sprawled on the grass next to me. “Is that me?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  “I look... broken,” he observed.

  “I’ll say.” I looked at his crumpled body, with limbs akimbo. Then I looked up to the roof far above. The building was three stories high, and each of those stories had vaulted ceilings. Robert must have fallen almost forty feet. “What were you doing up there?” I asked.

  I looked from the roof back to the ghost.

  He didn’t answer me. Instead, he walked across the yard toward me. When he reached me, I noticed that the raindrops actually fell right through his ghostly body. “It was upsetting, seeing her here,” he said in that same quiet, metered tone that I remembered. I could barely hear him above the howling wind.

  “So you went up to the roof?” I said. “Were you so upset that you decided to end your life?” The thought horrified me.

  “No!” he said. “Of course not. I have so much work still to do in my study of astrophysics. I’m so close to discovering
the weather patterns of the Fire Realm’s second sun. It will be so much harder to conduct my research as a ghost. I’d much prefer to have a body.”

  I wasn’t sure that he’d be able to continue his work as a scientist in ghost form, but I let that slide. Instead, I said, “So what were you doing up there?”

  “Magic,” he said.

  “On the roof—in this storm?” I asked. “Robert, that’s dangerous.”

  “I wasn’t thinking clearly,” he said. “That’s what she’s always done to me... She makes me act irrationally. I hate it. And I needed privacy. I figured no one else would be up there.”

  “And you fell?” I guessed.

  “No—not at all,” he said. “I was almost finished with my spell when I heard footsteps approaching. Before I could turn around, I felt hands on my back. Someone shoved me so hard that I flew over the edge. I didn’t even have a chance to see who it was.”

  Just then, I saw a second figure in the distance, emerging from the woods. He was wearing a dark raincoat with the hood up, and for a second, I thought it was another ghost of Robert. I’d never seen duplicates before, but then again, the whole seeing-the-non-physical thing was new to me, too, so I figured anything was possible. However, this figure was solid, not shimmery.

  As the figure got closer, I recognized his loping stride and lean build. It was Justin. A vague sense of annoyance rose up in me. What was Justin doing out in the woods while my event was falling apart at the seams? I needed his help, but he was off doing who-knows-what in the forest instead of giving me assistance.

  I think I was glaring at him as he approached.

  “What’s going on?” he asked. “You alright, Mar?”

  I almost said something about how obviously I was dealing with a catastrophe, but then I realized that Justin couldn’t see Robert’s ghost, and hadn’t noticed the body in the grass next to me, given that he was focused on me. To Justin, it must have looked like I was standing in the yard talking to myself, soaking wet, in the middle of a rainstorm. I really couldn't blame him for asking if I was alright.