Alchemist Academy: Book 2 Read Free Page B

agreed.
    I looked left and right down the streets, looking for an indication of where to go.
    “Anywhere is better than here right now.” Mark took the lead and we ran down the street.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     
     
     
    I couldn’t talk if I wanted to. In fact, I feared if we kept up this pace, I’d end up vomiting. We’d been running for at least a mile when Mark turned another corner and started gaining ground in front of us. He wasn’t going faster, but we were definitely going slower. My legs burned and my hurried breaths started to sound as if I might be in real need of a doctor.
    He looked back and stopped. We finished the distance to him. I bent over and tried to find my air. Jackie matched me and looked up at Mark.
    He patted our backs. “It’s okay, we’re here.”
    “Where’s here?” Looking up, I saw a boy behind the glass door of a bakery. He flipped its Closed sign to Open and unlocked the door.
    “You kids okay?” the guy asked, holding the door open.
    “Is Jerry here?” Mark asked.
    The guy laughed. “He’s the baker. Sometimes I think he lives here. Come on in.”
    Mark turned to us. “He’s a friend of my mom’s. She told me to come here. Let’s go.”
    The smell of bread and sugar filled the inside of the store. Summerford had a cake shop, but this place displayed loaves of bread, muffins, multi-colored donuts, and an assortment of croissants.
    My stomach rumbled, but I kept my attention around the store. The guy who’d let us in appeared to be the only person in the shop.
    “Jerry,” he yelled. “You got a customer up here asking for you.”
    The back door swung open and a heavyset man wearing a white apron stepped through. He wiped the flour from his hands and took us in. He wasn’t wearing any stones that I could see, but that didn’t ease my discomfort at being in such a small area. If they were dark alchemists, we would be defenseless.
    Jerry set the towel on the glass counter and walked around it. “Who are you? You look familiar.” He looked at Mark.
    “You know my mom, Sarah Duval.”
    His eyes went wide and he glanced at the guy who’d let us in before returning to us. “Come back here, quickly. Oscar, turn the sign over and lock the door.”
    “But our rush hour is coming up. We need the sales—”
    “I don’t give a damn. Close it up.”
    Oscar had more to say, but he took a deep breath and mumbled the rest as he walked to the front door. Jerry motioned for us to come to the back of the store with him.
    I passed a section of cupcakes perfectly lit in the glass display. Some had swirls of frosting and were decorated with edible sugar flowers or glitter. Maybe just one. . . . The running and hiding were starting to catch up to her and just a moment of relaxing made her feel the exhaustion. Or maybe the adrenaline was all gone.
    “Come on, Allie,” Jackie said.
    I bounced at her command and glided away from the cupcakes.
    Huge mixers and long stainless steel tables filled much of the back room, while the rest of the space was ovens, as tall as the ceiling. The smell in the store was faint compared to the powerful smell of sugar and bread in the back. My nostrils filled with the fantastic odors and I enjoyed it while it lasted. Soon my nose would be overloaded and I’d lose the smell.
    “What are you doing here? What happened?” Jerry asked.
    “We were forced to stay at some academy,” Mark said. “But I don’t think it was anything like the place you and my mom attended. They pitted us against one another, and only cared about having us create stones for them. We barely got out with our lives.”
    Jerry rubbed his hand over his mouth and looked past Mark. “I’ve heard rumors that they started an academy like that, but never thought it was real.” He gave a humorless laugh and his large double chin shook. “I’ve even heard the Intrepid were trying to break into