The Alchemist's Flame

by Andre, Becca

  “Don’t,” Ian said, his blue eyes flickering white.

  Alarmed, I stepped up beside James, but I had done little more than grip his arm when Rowan climbed into the plane.

  “How—” My question was answered when Donovan, Rowan’s brother Element, stepped up to the open door. As an Earth Element, Donovan could manipulate any solid object—including an unstable floor.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Rowan asked Ian.

  “Knockout Powder doesn’t work,” Ian said. “And apparently, whatever you’re doing isn’t working, either if he’s knocking planes out of the sky.”

  “What?” Colby whispered. All the color had drained from his face.

  “Release him,” Rowan said.

  Ian did as told.

  Colby slumped against the wall, but remained upright. Orange still colored his irises, but it was the pain in his eyes that I found the most distressing. The poor kid couldn’t be much older than James.

  “Sugarcoating it isn’t going to help him learn control,” Ian said.

  “Don’t give me a reason, Mallory.” Rowan moved over and took Colby’s arm. “Everyone, off the plane.”

  The two chairs Colby had ignited were burning in earnest now. I didn’t need any more encouragement and hurried to the cabin door.

  “Hey, little alchemist.” Donovan smiled—a flash of teeth through his beard. His expression always reminded me of a grinning bear.

  “Hey, dirt boy.” I took the hand he offered me and let him help me step down from the plane. “You here to hold up the red carpet for us?”

  He gave me a wink, then reached up to help Rowan with Colby. As soon as Colby was safely off the plane, something over his shoulder drew Donovan’s attention. I followed his gaze to where Elysia was weaving her way around the last of the overturned chairs.

  “Elysia?” James exited the plane and stepped forward to meet her.

  She laid a hand on his arm, but stepped past him without a word. She walked between the rest of us, intimidated by neither Donovan’s size nor the orange light still faintly glowing around Rowan’s pupils. Ian stepped off the plane and stopped.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t feel that?” she demanded of him.

  “You shouldn’t be out here.”

  “Do not tell me what to do. And if you ever touch him again, I will put you back in your tomb.”

  Ian’s brows ticked upward, but he didn’t speak.

  “He’s mine, understand?” Elysia added.

  I pulled in a breath, ready to deny that claim, but Ian looked up at that moment, his eyes meeting mine before returning to Elysia.

  “Understood,” he said.

  “Then go.” Elysia’s pale eyes went completely white.

  Ian grunted and a portal whispered open behind him. I expected anger, but the corners of his mouth twisted upward, revealing those dimples. He stepped back into the darkness. “As strong as me.” The portal vanished and he was gone.

  “No shit,” Elysia muttered. “You made me this way.” Hers eyes had only darkened a little when she released her magic.

  I should be upset that my antidote had failed to cure her, but at the moment, I wasn’t terribly torn up over it. I glanced at James to see how he had taken her claim, but he was watching Rowan, a concerned wrinkle on his brow.

  “I assume this is the necromancer who bound my grim,” Rowan said.

  Elysia turned to face him. “His name is James.” She lifted her chin, boldly meeting Rowan’s faintly glowing eyes. “And he belongs to no one.”

  “That wasn’t the impression you just gave Ian.”

  “He’s a necromancer. Give someone like him an inch, and he will take everything.”

  “You’re a necromancer,” Rowan pointed out.

  Elysia crossed her arms and frowned at him.

  “Addie used a truth serum on her,” James cut in. “She’s cool. Right, Ad?”

  “She claimed, under truth serum, that she bound him by accident, then tried to release him after she learned what he is,” I said.

  “Good.” Rowan’s gaze remained on her. “But she had me when she humanized him.” He gripped Colby’s elbow and turned him toward the narrow strip of floor that still remained along one wall. “Come. We can talk where Donovan doesn’t have to hold up the floor beneath us.”

  I glanced up at the big guy. “Are you really?”

  He grinned, but I picked out the metallic sheen in his hazel eyes. All the Elements had unique eyes, but it was more apparent when they were actively using their magic.

  “Sorry,” Elysia muttered, and hurried back the way she’d come.

  “Seriously, she’s cool,” James whispered to Rowan, then hurried after her.

  Rowan glanced at me.

  “She did pass my test,” I admitted, “but that little display with Ian made me uncomfortable.”

  “Perhaps, but as she pointed out, Ian follows his own agenda.” Rowan directed Colby away from the plane and nodded toward the far side of the concourse. The young man shuffled along beside him, his head hanging.

  We fell in behind them, and I frowned at Rowan’s back. I wanted to talk to him and try to smooth over the problem that was Ian, but if I had learned anything these past few weeks, I knew that was pointless.

  With Donovan’s help, we made it across the remaining section of floor without incident and walked into the wide corridor that led away from the demolished gate. The area was still empty of onlookers, leaving only the firefighters and a few men in airport security vests.

  The fireman who had tried to run us off earlier stepped forward to greet Donovan. “You were able to get across.”

  “Yes.” Donovan didn’t elaborate. I wondered what he had told the guy to get past the barricade.

  “Did you see that demon dog?” the fireman asked.

  I remembered James chasing everyone off the plane and glanced over at him. Elysia had retrieved the box of salve, and James was pulling on his T-shirt. Neither appeared to be paying much attention to the conversation.

  “No dog,” Donovan said. “And no one left on the plane.” He started forward, gripping one of Colby’s elbows as Rowan held the other.

  The man in the security vest moved closer. His brow wrinkled as he watched Colby shuffle along. “There’s first aid up the concourse, and those needing transport to the hospital are being gathered in—”

  “Thank you,” Rowan said without looking up. “But we aren’t injured, just a little shook up.”

  “What about the salve?” Elysia gestured with the box.

  “Salve?” the man asked, perhaps thinking she had spoken to him.

  “I brought some of my burn salve,” I explained.

  “Oh.” He pulled a walkie-talkie from his belt. “I’ll radio ahead and let them know you’re here.”

  Rowan glanced over, his eyes meeting mine.

  “Shall we go help?” James asked me, taking the box from Elysia.

  Rowan gave me a nod, then he and Donovan led Colby away.

  “Addie?” James asked.

  I pulled my attention from Rowan’s back. “Okay.”

  “Let me show you,” the guy in the security vest offered.

  He led us to another waiting area a short distance down the concourse, then took a set of stairs behind an Employees Only door to the lower level. He showed us to a large room that held a surprising number of people. I realized these were people who’d been evacuated from the plane and were currently awaited transport to the nearest hospital. My new security friend introduced us to the medical personnel who were determining who left on the next ambulance, and who waited. Soon, James, Elysia, and I were working right along side them.

  I had never been this close to the actual healing. Usuall
y, I delivered the salve to the hospital, and the nurses administered it. Now, for the first time, I realized how rewarding the experience was.

  I knelt on the floor, gently dabbing salve on an older man’s blistered lower leg. He flinched when my gloved fingers touched the tender flesh, but within half a minute, he was slouched in his chair, sighing in relief.

  “That is truly amazing, Miss Daulton,” a female voice said from behind me.

  I looked over my shoulder and squinted in the bright light shining in my eyes. A camera was pointed at my face, and a woman in a fitted pink blazer and skirt gave me a big smile. It was Natalie Gomez, Megan Field’s replacement.

  “So you make, um, house calls?” Natalie asked. Admiration lit her eyes. She had interviewed me on several occasions over the past few weeks. Unlike Megan, Natalie actually liked me.

  “Not exactly. I was at the airport, dropping off a friend,” I lied.

  “And you had some salve with you?”

  “I had some brought over.”

  “That’s nice.”

  I turned to the man I had been treating. “Better?” I asked.

  He had straightened in his seat when he noticed the camera crew. “Completely.” He turned his leg, displaying the healed flesh. “I had read about what you were doing at the hospital, but experiencing it…”

  I rose to my feet. “Glad to help.” I stepped aside as Natalie moved in to ask the man a few questions. This was excellent. If the man allowed his story to be aired—and he seemed very pleased to be on camera—it could go a long way toward opening more minds to the positive things alchemy could do.

  Glancing around, I searched for any others in need of healing. The medical staff still worked on the injured, but there had been relatively few burns. Most of the passengers had been evacuated before the plane had truly begun to burn. More prevalent were broken bones, contusions, and lacerations. I left those to the medical personnel. I couldn’t do anything to help, and I didn’t do well around blood.

  Elysia didn’t suffer the same concerns. At the moment, she was holding a compress to a bleeding gash on a young woman’s shoulder. Earlier, I had seen her help a paramedic stabilize a middle-aged man’s lower arm. I had to look away when I noticed the bone poking through the taut skin. No, blood and gore didn’t faze Elysia at all, but then, she was probably a mortician. Most necromancers were. I suspected she had been pulling organs out of bodies for years.

  James was just as blasé, and I couldn’t help but notice that he never strayed far from her side. At some point, I needed to get him alone for a talk. Did he know about Gavin?

  My thoughts were interrupted as another burn victim was brought to my attention. This one a teenage girl with burns along her cheek and neck. Her injury responded as expected, and the girl threw her arms around my neck in a fierce hug. A few words of thanks from her parents, and she was loaded on a gurney bound for the last ambulance.

  I stripped off my gloves and watched them wheel the girl away. That could have been Rowan on his way to the hospital. My throat tightened at the thought of how close he had come to dying today. I would have had to live with the fact that the last words I had with him had been exchanged in anger. Our argument before he left for California had been an impressive one.

  “Miss Daulton?”

  I turned to find Natalie and the camera crew still present.

  “Do you mind if I do a follow-up interview? Just a few more questions?” she asked me.

  I forced a smile. “Sure.” I would prefer not to, but I couldn’t waste this opportunity.

  “Let me begin by expressing my own shock at how effective your salve is. When I heard that your salve accelerated healing, I still expected it to take a few days. But this was…instantaneous.”

  “For minor burns, yes. When there is no skin to heal, it’s not so easy.” I had to brew each of those individually after requesting a blood sample from the patient.

  “Easy.” Natalie shook her head. “I’ve heard that you’re going to start teaching alchemy.”

  “The University of Cincinnati has approached me about developing a curriculum.” The prospect thrilled me. More alchemists meant more hands to brew salve, freeing me to develop other formulas.

  “You don’t plan to reestablish the Alchemica?”

  “I would prefer to work with an accredited university. Alchemy needs to be shared, not hoarded. That always bothered me about the Alchemica.”

  Technically, that was a lie. I didn’t remember a thing about my time at the Alchemica. My Grand Master had wiped my memories when he stole the Final Formula. All he left me with was my knowledge of alchemy. I remembered nothing else about my life before that. And since my past was a dark one, that was fine by me.

  “Addie?” James stood behind Natalie and the camera crew. He gestured with his phone, then mouthed one word. Rowan.

  “I need to go, Natalie. Would you excuse me?”

  “Yes, of course.” She gave me a bright smile. “Thanks for talking with me.”

  “My pleasure.” A final smile, and I hurried over to where James stood. He wordlessly handed me his phone, then turned and led me away from the commotion and the camera crew. Elysia waited nearby and fell in beside us as we walked past.

  “Rowan?” I said into the phone.

  “What are you doing?” Rowan got right to the point. “James said the last of the injured had been taken away.”

  “There was a reporter. You know how important it is that I—”

  “Cora disposed of the Extinguishing Dust. I need you to make more.”

  I sighed. “Her paranoia is a real pain in the ass.”

  “Can you do it?”

  “I think you mean will I. Of course I can.”

  “Addie, don’t.” His tone made it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for word games. “What do you need?”

  I gritted my teeth, but held back what I really wanted to say. “To work best, I need to key it to him.”

  “His blood.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll have him give you a sample. Have James bring you by the manor to get it.” The line went dead.

  I handed James his phone. “I get that he’s under a huge strain at the moment, but he could try to be nicer.”

  James grunted and tucked the phone back in his pocket. “Back to the lab?”

  “The manor. I’ve been commanded to make some more X Dust, keyed to Colby.”

  “Ah.” James understood exactly what I needed. “Let me find a place to change.”

  I stood in the sunroom at the Elemental manor and watched the sparks fly. For once, I wasn’t the target of Cora’s impassioned outrage.

  “You had no right to bring her here,” Cora said to James, waving a hand at Elysia.

  “She doesn’t know where we are.” James’s tone was surprisingly calm in the face of Cora’s rage. “Besides, she has no desire to harm you. Ask Addie. She gave her a truth serum.”

  I snorted. “I hardly think my testimony will carry much weight with Cora.”

  Cora turned her glare on me, eyes of multi-hued blue narrowing. I met that stare, doing my best not to fidget. As a Water Element, Cora had the ability to manipulate any liquid in her environment. That included the liquids inside me. I had once seen her use that ability on another human being, well a lich. It wasn’t pretty.

  “I trust James’s judgment,” Donovan spoke up.

  I smiled at the big guy, pleased that he had joined us. He was often the voice of reason among his more volatile brethren. At a burly six-eight, he was a gentle giant. His quiet strength had pulled me through many dark moments in my recent past.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Cora. “James’s judgment can’t be trusted if he belongs to her.”

 
Era crossed her arms. “Exactly. And she might have passed Addie’s truth serum test at that moment, but she can always change her mind.”

  I sighed. This was going nowhere fast. “Where’s Rowan? Let me get what I need, and we’ll get out of your hair.”

  “The den,” Era said, collecting a frown from Cora.

  I didn’t wait around to see what that was all about. I gave James and Elysia a sympathetic glance and left the room.

  It turned out that I didn’t need Era’s help finding Rowan. All I had to do was follow the raised voices. I stopped outside the doorway to the den, not so sure I wanted to step between a pair of angry Fire Elements.

  “I get it,” Colby was saying. He tossed the TV remote onto the coffee table and rose to his feet. The image on the TV was paused, leaving the burning plane on the screen to bear witness.

  “If you get it, then why don’t you show up for your workout sessions?” Rowan asked. “Your brother and sisters tell me that you haven’t even met with the meditation specialist I found you.”

  “I’m not into all this spiritual mumbo jumbo.”

  “A six-pack is not going to give you control over your Element.”

  “Then maybe I should try a case—or find myself an alchemist.”

  I had shifted my weight to take a step into the room, but hesitated.

  “I’m still in control,” Rowan said.

  “They say she makes potions for you, keeps you stable.”

  “She’s improved the healing draft my apothecary always made for me.”

  “So now you can vaporize rivers without consequence. Hell, Rowan, you’re in me right now. You realize that right?”

  Within a certain range, Elements could see into the objects around them, and once inside an object, they could manipulate it. At least, that’s how it had been described to me. Rowan had once admitted that it wasn’t truly a visual image.

  “We’re discussing you,” Rowan said. “Alcohol and alchemy are not solutions. It comes down to our control. It always has and it always will.”