by Becca Andre
“If you’re not anxious, what’s this?” James stopped beside the disassembled compass resting on the laboratory workbench.
“I didn’t say I wasn’t anxious.” Ian straightened and met his eyes. “Nor will I be unprepared.”
“I can soul track her.”
“And if something befalls you? I prefer to have a backup plan.”
James frowned, but could find no fault in his logic.
“Interested in giving me a hand?”
“It’s either that, or climb the walls,” James admitted.
Ian smiled. “I suspected as much. Lab work is an excellent way to keep the hands busy and the mind engaged.”
James stepped up to the bench. “Is that why you had a lab in your tomb?”
“One of the reasons, yes.”
James didn’t ask for the other reasons.
Ian was right about the lab work, but then James had always enjoyed spending time at the workbench. He had started his study of alchemy to try to puzzle out his own creation, but the discipline had become an end unto itself. At some point, he had decided to make it his career. Which was why he was leaning toward a chemistry degree.
He capped the last test tube and set the rack of multi-colored liquids on the bench before Ian. The shower kicked off upstairs and James glanced at the clock. It was already after 7 a.m. Ian had been right about the lab work taking his mind off his worries.
Ian reached for a tube, fumbling it before he got a good grip. His lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t comment. Addie wasn’t the only one who had fallen prey to Gavin. Ian had been dismembered, but thanks to one of Elysia’s bizarre blood gifts, she had been able to reattach his limbs and make them functional. The incident had damaged his dexterity, though not enough to truly hamper him.
He held the test tube aloft and eyed the contents. “Excellent work.”
James looked up, surprised by the praise.
“You have a talent for this—at least the foundational processes.”
James’s feeling of accomplishment faded. Ian was praising him as little more than a glorified assistant. “Do you always wrap your compliments in a qualifier?”
Ian lowered the tube. “Have you actually bottled magic?”
James frowned. “Not on my own. Addie insisted I start with the basics. She said I would never truly progress if I didn’t master this first.”
“True.” He carefully returned the tube to the rack, then turned to the beaker of clear liquid he had removed from the hot plate a few minutes earlier.
James watched him a moment. “Do you think I’m ready to move beyond it?”
“That is not for me to say. You are Addie’s apprentice. Besides, I wish to keep you humble.”
“I’m not likely to get a big head over a few successful potion foundations.”
“Confidence is confidence, and that can translate into other aspects of your life.” He dipped a glass stir rod into the beaker, then touched the rod to a pH strip.
“So you prefer to keep me…uncertain of myself?”
“Yes.” Ian picked up a dropper and added two more drops of nitric acid to his beaker. “A lack of confidence might deter you from pursuing my granddaughter.”
“That was convoluted as hell. For one, why tell me your reasoning, and two, I already know how you feel about Elysia and me.”
Ian sighed, but didn’t look up from his work. “You have the potential to be a very talented alchemist. As for my convoluted logic, I wanted to come clean, but I was conflicted.”
James rubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t think you’re as sane as you appear.”
“Probably not.”
His easy agreement killed any further argument James might have made. He sighed and began gathering the dirty glassware and carried it to the sink.
“It’s nothing against you personally,” Ian said after a moment. “Addie’s right, you are a fine young man. I’ve seen no flaws in your character, but that does not forgive the fact that you are not among the living.”
“Elysia knows what I am.”
“Then it doesn’t bother you that she seeks to adopt a child because you can’t give her one?”
The wet beaker slipped out of James’s fingers and clinked against the others in the bottom of the sink. Fortunately, nothing broke.
“That’s not why she’s adopting Kari’s baby,” James explained. “She feels responsible for him. Besides, it’s not like we’re some married couple trying to have kids. We’ve done little more than go out a few times.”
Ian looked up, arching a brow.
James knew he was blushing and hated it. “Seriously. I haven’t touched her. Not like that—and not that it’s any of your business.”
Ian eyed him a moment longer, then returned to his work. “You are not alive. You are animated. You know that. She knows that. The timing of this adoption might be a little off, but deep down, she knows the truth. As do you.”
James frowned, not sure he bought that. Elysia feared this baby might bear some lasting effect of her necromancy. She wanted to watch over him. That was why she was pursuing this.
Right?
“You are drawn to the life in her, just as she is drawn to the death in you. Nothing more. It can’t be anything more.”
James picked up the beaker brush and began to scrub. He worked in silence, refusing to give Ian the satisfaction of an argument. It wasn’t as if he could convince him, anyway. Not that he believed a word of his crazy logic. All this little chat amounted to was Ian trying to preserve his blood line. Despite what he claimed, he was like his brother in that respect.
Finished, James dried his hands and turned to go.
“James.” A thread of command underlay the word and James stopped. There was no denying that Ian was an incredibly talented necromancer. He probably hadn’t even intended it to be a command, but that didn’t stop the snarl that rose in James’s throat.
“Am I interrupting?” Addie stepped into the room.
James turned to face her, surprised he hadn’t heard her tread on the stairs, but Ian had distracted him.
Ian cleared his throat. “It is recommended that a woman your age get eight hours of sleep.”
“Which age is that?” Addie asked. “The age I am or the age I appear to be?”
“I’m sure the requirement is even longer for one recovering from an injury such as yours.”
Addie turned to James. “You’re welcome to growl at him some more if you like.”
“Thanks, but I better be going. Rowan might have need of me.”
“You should rest, as well,” Ian spoke up.
Addie snorted. “He’ll be forcing you to eat next.”
Ian lifted his brows.
“I had two slices of whole grain toast and a big glass of milk,” she hurried to add. “What’s all this?” She gestured at the cluttered workbenches.
“I couldn’t sleep,” James admitted.
“It’s not my place to say,” Ian spoke up, “but your apprentice may be ready to move beyond foundations.”
“He has been for some time.” She gave James a wink. “But since we moved to Cincinnati, there hasn’t been a lot of…opportunity to continue his training.”
One of the biggest reasons was standing in the room with them. Until Elysia came along, Addie hadn’t wanted James around Ian. She feared Ian would see him as too much of a temptation.
A knock at the back door sounded before anything else could be said.
“It’s too early for Era,” Addie said. “Rowan?”
James glanced toward the hall that led to the back door, and called the hound closer to the surface. His vision shifted, allowing the brilliance of the souls around him to become visible. Solid objects weren’
t a hindrance—only distance. He had no trouble seeing who stood on the stoop. Two someones.
“It’s Grams and Livie.”
“Did Elysia tell her grandmother and cousin where she was going?” Ian asked.
“No. She didn’t want to worry them.” James headed for the hall.
“They’re here awfully early,” Addie said to Ian. “Especially since they live almost an hour away. Do you think they found out?”
“Who would have told them?” Ian asked. He spoke softly, but James had no trouble catching the words. Suddenly apprehensive, he pulled open the back door.
“James.” Grams’s eyes widened a little. “I didn’t expect you.”
He realized that she had probably sensed his death and expected Ian to open the door.
“Hey, James.” Livie grinned at him over Grams’s shoulder.
“Good morning.” He returned the smile. He liked Elysia’s young cousin. “Won’t the two of you come in? Addie and Ian are in the lab.”
“Aren’t they always?” Livie asked.
Grams chuckled and both women bent to pick up the large cloth tote bags that rested on the stoop at their feet.
“You go ahead,” James said. “I’ll get those.”
“Thank you, James.” Grams was always polite to him. Almost too polite.
“I got this one,” Livie said, hoisting her awkwardly shaped bag.
“Do you fear I’ll drop it?” James teased, lifting Grams’s bag. The scent of bacon and peppers wafted out.
“It is glass,” Livie said.
“I think I got the better deal.” James peeked inside his tote.
“Hey.” Livie lightly smacked his hand. “That’s for Addie.”
“I’ll give you my car if you don’t tell her.” He followed her into the lab.
“I can’t get my driver’s permit for another eight months. What else do you have? A phone?”
James smiled. Of course a fourteen-year-old girl would want a phone. She and Grams were on a tight budget. They had almost lost their funeral home before Ian stepped in.
“Actually, I recently got a new phone,” James lied. “You want my old one?”
Livie stopped in mid-stride to stare at him. “Seriously?”
“I can even add you to my data plan. It’s like ten dollars a month.”
“You can’t get rates that low.”
“Rowan has one of those corporate things. I pay ten dollars a month.” Actually, he didn’t pay anything, but he knew Rowan wouldn’t bat an eye at adding another phone.
“The Flame Lord would let me share his data? I’m Old Magic.”
James smiled. “What do you think I am?”
“Good point.” She laughed.
“What are you two scheming over?” Grams asked, releasing Addie from a hug.
“James is going to give me his old phone,” Livie said.
Addie met his eye, a small smile curling her lips while Livie shared the details with her grandmother. Addie knew he didn’t have an old phone.
“What’s in the bag?” Addie asked before Grams could refuse James’s offer.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice, but it smells like breakfast.” James set the bag he was carrying on the counter.
“You drove all the way down here to bring me breakfast?” Addie asked Grams.
“I have an appointment with the insurance company this morning,” Grams admitted. “And since we would be in the area—”
“Which probably means you’ve been up since five a.m. peeling potatoes.” Addie hugged her again. “You’re the best grandma ever.”
Which was true. They had all adopted her. She even insisted everyone call her Grams. Well, everyone except Ian.
Speaking of, James noticed that Livie had stopped beside him.
“Hi, Grandfather.” She gave him a shy smile.
“Good morning, Livie. Elysia tells me you managed a dual animation the other day—just as I showed you. As fast as you’re progressing, you’ll be ready to perform a blood animation soon.”
James frowned. Ian had refused to let Elysia do one the other day. Why did he encourage Livie, but always seemed to hold Elysia back?
“Thank you, sir.” A little color bloomed in Livie’s cheeks. “Though I don’t know why Ely would get excited about me animating two zombies at once. I mean, I’ve seen her go out into the cemetery to let off the tension, and I once counted fourteen.”
“Don’t compare yourself to your cousin. We’re all individuals, with our own talents.” He leaned closer. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. If I’m backed in a corner, I’ll take a skilled necromancer over one with raw power any day.”
“You have both.”
“I’ve also been at it a lot longer. But I had to learn the hard way. I once made a grand mess of things when I was seventeen.”
Livie grinned. “Will you tell me the story?”
“Livie, we need to go,” Grams cut in. “My appointment is in twenty minutes. Perhaps he can tell you at your next lesson. I think I might want to hear it myself.”
“If you insist.” Ian gave her a sheepish glance. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments.”
“Lay you odds he was trying to impress a girl,” Addie said.
“I raised three boys. I wouldn’t take that bet.” Grams winked.
“Was it Isabelle?” Livie asked Ian.
“Yes. It was fortunate she was a better necromancer.”
Livie’s eyes went wide. “She was stronger than you?”
“I said better, not stronger.”
“But—”
“Livie,” Grams interrupted again. “Show him what you brought him. We need to go.”
“Oh, right.” The color returned to her cheeks.
“You didn’t need to go to any trouble,” Ian said. “Making Addie eat is gift enough.”
Addie made a face while Livie pulled the oddly shaped item from her bag. It turned out to be a picture frame.
“I couldn’t save your coat,” Livie said, turning the large frame toward him. “So I used it as a mat. I watched some videos on how it was done.”
Ian stared at the framed pictures matted in red brocade. There was a pair of sepia-toned 5x7s, and a single 8x10. After working with Era, James had developed an appreciation for the framing process. Livie had done an amazing job.
“I hope it’s okay.” Livie’s brow wrinkled when he didn’t speak. “I wanted to make a waistcoat, but the holes…”
“You’ve left him speechless,” Addie said, stepping up beside Livie to help her hold the big frame. “That’s a rare thing.”
“You did this?” Ian asked, his tone soft.
“Yes.” Livie still looked concerned. “Since the older pictures were small to begin with, I couldn’t blow them up much.”
“This is perfect,” Ian said.
“Yeah?”
James had been present when Elysia and her family had given Ian a guided tour of the Family photo albums, so he recognized the people in the photos. One 5x7 featured Ian’s eldest son, Joseph and his family. The other showed two teenage girls: Ian’s granddaughters by his daughter Matilda. But it was the larger photo that made James smile. It was a professional shot of Elysia and Livie, done in sepia tones to match the others.
“Yes.” Ian finally stepped forward to take the frame from her. “I must find a special place to hang this.”
Livie beamed, then bent to pick up the empty tote. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She reached inside and pulled out a small white box, like something from a jewelry store. “I found it on my night stand. Ely must have left it.”
She offered the box to James. A familiar bronze ribbon had been tied around it. He remembered Elysia using a similar one to b
ind her hair last night. A scrap of paper had been slipped beneath the ribbon. For James.
“I don’t know why she didn’t mention it,” Livie said as he accepted it.
“Yes, that’s…” He caught a faint, but familiar scent. If he had hackles in this form, they would have risen. Blood. He smelled blood.
“That’s what?” Livie asked.
“Odd,” he finished lamely.
“Are you going to open it?” Livie asked, a smile in her voice, though he didn’t look up to see it.
“Livie, don’t pry,” Grams said. “We really need to be going.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Ian offered, setting his new picture on the counter by the phone.
James was aware of Addie saying her goodbyes, and fumbled through his own. Instinctively, he knew he didn’t want to open the box in front of Grams and Livie. The possible reason for that made his hands shake. He stared at the box. No, the ribbon wasn’t like the one Elysia had worn, it was the one she had worn. He would have brought it to his nose to verify the scent, but he didn’t need a stronger whiff of blood. It was overwhelming him now. He wondered how he hadn’t smelled it the moment he let Grams and Livie in the lab, even though he knew the scent of breakfast had masked it.
“James?” Addie returned to his side and gripped his wrist. “What is it?”
“Blood,” he whispered.
“Inside the box?” Ian rejoined them.
“Yes. The ribbon is the same one Elysia was wearing last night.” He gripped one end of the ribbon and tried to untie it.
“Here. You’re going to knot it.” Addie took the box from his shaking fingers and set it on the workbench. Then she carefully untied the ribbon. It fell away and for one long moment they all stared at it. Then Addie lifted the lid.
“Oh God,” she whispered.
Chapter 5
James stepped forward at the same time as Ian. Neither of them reached for the box, but they both leaned forward to see inside. At first, James thought the interior was covered in blood, then he realized it was lined with burgundy fabric. Velvet. But it wasn’t a bed for a piece of jewelry. Nestled inside was the last knuckle of what appeared to be a pinky finger. A female pinky finger.