The Alchemist’s Memory

By Katie Gatto

Callia has been uncommonly lucky and uncommonly unlucky. Since waking up with no memory of who she truly is her life has been calm and peaceful, but the urge to know who she is, and to find out the meaning behind the mysterious items in the bag found with her when she awoke. A trip to see a clerical healer, who she hopes will be able to give her a clue to her past, turns out to be much more than she counted on. Soon, Callia finds herself in an uncertain world where what she knows could change the fate of the whole kingdom and put her and her ambitious older brother on the throne.

Katie Gatto is self releasing this e-book, the first in a series of three novella length stories centered around Callia's decision and it's consequences, on the Smashwords platform on February 1st. Free review samples are available upon request in .pdf, .mobi and .epub. Other formats preferred by reviewers can be provided on a request basis.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katie Gatto
• Release date: Jan 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301783984

Book preview

The Alchemist’s Memory

By Katie Gatto

The Alchemist’s Memory

Copyright 2013 by Katie Gatto

Published: Feb 1st, 2013

Publisher: Katie Gatto

Smashwords Edition

The right of Katie Gatto to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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Table of Contents

A Not So Good Morning

A New Life and An Old One

An Uncertain Road to Ascieri

A Morning Service

A Sort of Welcome to Ascieri

A Quick Stop at The Temple Doors

A Second Chance Meeting

An Almost Proposal

A New Dawn

A Day In The Garden

A Second Meeting and Tea for Two

A Second Sermon

A Rough Night

A Not Quite Escape Attempt

A Gruesome Cost

Another Bad Dream About The Past

A Real Escape Attempt?

A Restorative Day

A Ritual, A Knife, A Plan and A Prayer

A New Sort of Dream

A Bit of Information

A Less Abrupt Wake Up Call  

A New Set of Bars

A Meeting With The King

An Unwelcome Discovery

A Look In The Lab

An Insider’s Perspective

An Act of Uncharacteristic Kindness

A Supervised Visit with Erdan

A Good Night

A Finishing Decision

A Drinking Brew

A Not So Good Morning

Slowly, she opened her eyes. It took some effort to get them to open all of the way, it as if she had been sleeping for a very long time. The effort that it took to open them properly consumed the whole of her attention. The first thing that she actually noticed were the shafts of sunlight streaming down through the few bear spots in the canopy of broad, bright green leaves above her head. The leaves were wide, with seven points, each spreading out in a different direction, like the fingers on a hand when it was stretched open wide. They rustled gently above her in the breeze. It was soothing.

After a few seconds of enjoying the comfort and peace of this place a disconcerting sensation made its way into her awareness.  A strange throb in the back of her head was suddenly the only thing that could hold her attention. Her sense of peace flew away as she began to become deeply concerned about what exactly was causing the intense pain.

Cautiously sitting up, so as to not make the pain worse, she put her hand into the knotted mess of hair near the back of her head, searching for the source of her pain.  The first time that she made contact with the right spot the pain was so strong that her hand reflexively pulled away to make it stop.

Trying again, more gently this time, she felt around the edges of the sensitive area. It was about the size of silver coin and sticky but no bones felt compromised.  As she moved her hand away she caught the scent of iron.  One look at her hands confirmed her suspicions.  They were covered in a thin coat of rapidly drying blood.

Staying here in this condition was not an option.  She had to find some kind of help.

The first time that she tried to stand up was an abject failure.  Her brief upward push ended abruptly when her right arm decided not to cooperate and collapsed out from under her.  As her arm fell back to the ground it landed not on the grass and patches of rich, moist earth that surrounded her but on something smooth and supple. It was a black satchel made from the hide of an animal that she couldn’t quite place.  Its oversized flap was held shut by a great silver buckle.  Unthreading it deftly she peeked inside, hoping that its contents might reveal some useful information about who she was and where she was meant to be. 

Its contents however created more questions than it supplied answers.  The first item she pulled out of the bag was a book, large enough that it had to be held with two hands. She opened it and began turning the pages. It looked like this was a book of recipes.  The ones early in the book were easy to read but those in the back were written in a language she didn’t recognize immediately. The truly confusing part was that not one of these entries was labeled. The top line of each page was blank, so she had no idea what these combinations were for.

The other contents of the bag were equally puzzling. The first was a quill, made out of a long black feather that only had plumes on the left side of the stem, was crusted with several layers of a dark red ink. There was also and an ornate silver crown in the bag. The woven metal braids formed a series of intricate patterns that held in place many clusters of stones that were a deep blue color, set in the shape of stars.  Near the base was set a stone of jet that had the image of a lion, standing up on his back legs carved into it.  The carving looked well worn, as if fingertips had been passed over the image many times.  When she tried to put the crown on it was so large that it unceremoniously fell onto the bridge of her nose, falling forward and renewing the pain in the back of her head.

She began putting the items back into her bag.  As she closed the book she realized that it too was emblazoned with the crest of the rearing lion, almost identical to the one on the crown, only this one featured a set of extended, silver claws on each of its four paws. She was beginning to realize just how valuable the items in this bag were, and sincerely hoped that she was not a thief.

Placing the last of the items back in the bag she attempted again to lift herself into a standing position. This time the attempt was more successful and she managed to get to her feet after a few hard