The Alchemist's Flame

by Andre, Becca

  He frowned. “I was unconscious. Neil took a lot of blood when he resurrected Gavin.”

  After he forced James to kill his own brother. I reached out and gripped James’s forearm. “I’m so sorry.”

  He uncrossed his arms and took my hand in both of his. “I’m okay.”

  “Brian was your brother.”

  “Maybe it says something about me, but I feel no remorse.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “He wasn’t a good person, none of my brothers are, but I did discover that Gavin was right. I felt Brian’s death. And I felt the power redistribute. I suspect George and Henry felt it, too.”

  “And if they die?”

  “I cease to be.”

  I stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug. His arms came around me, his embrace tight. I pressed my cheek to his chest, aware as always of his silent heart beneath my ear. “I won’t let that happen.”

  “Ad.” He squeezed me.

  “Alchemy created this, there’s got to be a way to fix it.”

  Footsteps echoed from the hall, preceding Elysia’s entrance. “Fix what?” She glanced between us, a frown creasing her brow.

  I lifted my head, feeling oddly guilty about hugging James. “His link to his brothers.”

  “What do you mean?” She looked up at James. I guess he hadn’t told her about that.

  “If they die, so does he.” I stepped out of his arms.

  “What? That sounds like a soul bond.” Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “But your brother…”

  “I have three brothers,” he said. “Had.”

  Elysia turned her frown on me. “And you think you can sever this link—with alchemy?”

  “It stands to reason that there should be such a solution.”

  “There must be necromancy involved, as well.”

  I shrugged. “Then I’ll incorporate that, too. If I only knew how it was done originally…” My mind ran over that familiar problem, but nothing new came to light. God, this was so frustrating.

  “You plan to incorporate necromancy,” Elysia said. “I didn’t think you were magical.”

  “I’m not. I’m an alchemist.”

  James cleared his throat. “I haven’t seen her do it, but apparently she can raise and command the dead.”

  “With necromancer blood,” I clarified. It wasn’t like I could create that kind of magic out of thin air.

  Elysia’s brows rose. “Necromancer blood?”

  Right. She didn’t know me. “I’m a blood alchemist. I know we get a bad rap, but it can also be used for good.”

  “Um, necromancer.” She raised her hand. “I get bad reputations.”

  I smiled. Yeah, I liked her.

  “So, are we going to order some pizza?” James asked.

  “We? You’re staying?” He hadn’t yet told me what his relationship was with Elysia.

  “I’ll help you with this potion. And if you don’t mind, I would like to sleep on the couch,” he said.

  Okay, maybe they weren’t as close as they seemed.

  “You can stay for pizza,” Elysia said, “but you don’t need to sleep here. I can call you, remember?”

  “But—”

  She reached up and pressed a finger to his lips. “I’ll call you if I need you. Now, what do you like on your pizza?”

  “Order him a large meat lover’s,” I said, opening a cabinet to grab a couple of flasks.

  “A large?” she asked.

  “Apparently, you haven’t seen him eat.”

  She laughed. “Even after all we’ve been through, no I haven’t.”

  I held the test tube up, eyeing the dark orange powder. The light glinted off the occasional golden flake, and the powder sparkled.

  “And that’s the essence of his power?” Elysia asked me. Her white eyes narrowed as she studied the tube I held.

  “Yes.” I pushed a stopper into the end of the tube and set it in the nearby rack.

  “You can do that with anyone’s blood?”

  “Anyone who has power.” I looked up, meeting her eyes. “As soon as I talk with Ian, I’ll start on your antidote, but I need to do this first—before Colby burns something else.”

  “I understand,” Elysia said. “After seeing the plane, I think Colby should definitely take precedence.”

  “Will this do?” James asked, setting the crucible on the trivet to cool. He removed the tongs, and I leaned over to eye the lightly smoking contents. The white powder was uniform—not a single grain scorched.

  “Nice work.” I gave him a smile and selected a vial of dried water lily. Ian did keep my lab well stocked in finely ground ingredients. I sprinkled a little into the crucible, then picked up a glass rod to give it a gentle stir.

  “You really are an alchemist,” Elysia said to James.

  “In training,” he admitted.

  “He’s going to be a good one.” I nudged him with my shoulder, then laughed when he blushed.

  Elysia was watching us again, but she didn’t say anything.

  “Let’s finish this up,” I said. “The pizza should be here soon.”

  Ten minutes later, I had the Extinguishing Dust—keyed to Colby—in a vial. Tightening the cap, I set it on the counter, then jumped as a knock sounded at the back door.

  “Must be the pizza,” Elysia said.

  James glanced toward the short hall that led to the back door, his eyes glowing. “Nope, not the pizza.”

  I gave him a curious glance then went to open the door. Rowan stood on the doorstep.

  “Hi,” I said, too surprised to formulate anything more intelligent. I stepped back and gestured for him to come in, then I led the way to the lab.

  “Look, I—” He stopped when he noticed James and Elysia.

  “I finished the X Dust.” I walked over to retrieve the vial.

  “Hey, Roe,” James greeted him. “You’re just in time to help us wash up.” He carried a handful of dirty dishes to the sink.

  A faint smile curled Rowan’s lips. “I’ll have to take a rain check this time.”

  Elysia watched them with a curious expression, clearly not sure what to think of Rowan.

  Rowan accepted the vial from me.

  “Be careful how you administer that. I really need to convert it to a liquid.”

  “I thought you keyed it to Colby.”

  “You’re still a Fire Element.” I shrugged. “It’ll work best on him, but it’ll still work on you.”

  “Ah.” He tucked the vial inside his coat. “Thanks for finishing this so quickly.”

  “It was no trouble.” I stepped closer. “You won’t consider rescheduling the summit to another time?” I whispered.

  “Too much has gone into it. I don’t think I could reschedule even if I wanted to.”

  “But Xander said—”

  “That he had a task for Neil. A way to prove himself. It could be anything.”

  I rubbed my face with both hands, then dropped them to frown at Rowan. “Neil has a grim. Gavin. You remember him. Big guy with the glowing red eyes, completely insane.”

  “I remember him.”

  “Then why won’t you—”

  Another knock sounded at the back door.

  “That must be the pizza,” Elysia said.

  James once more turned his glowing eyes toward the back hall. “I would say you’re right.” He picked up a towel to dry his hands.

  “I’ll get it,” Rowan said.

  “That’s not necessary.” James followed him into the hall.

  I glanced at Elysia and shrugged. “I’ll let them duke it out.” I carried the last of the beakers to the sink.

  A few mi
nutes later, James returned with the pizzas, alone.

  “Rowan leave?”

  “Yes. He said to tell you bye. He was really concerned about Colby.”

  “Of course.” I forced a smile. “Let’s wash up and go eat.” Perhaps between the food and the company, I could distract myself from the fact that Rowan hadn’t bothered to say good-bye himself.

  I watched the shadows play across the ceiling as another car drove through the quiet street outside my window. I turned my head to check the clock—3:09 a.m. Three minutes had passed since I checked last.

  “This is pointless.” I threw back the covers and sat up. No way I was going back to sleep. There were too many problems rattling around in my head. And the only place to solve a problem was the lab.

  Five minutes later, I stepped into the lab. I didn’t have to turn on the lights or fire up the gas range.

  “Look who’s back,” I said.

  Ian glanced up from the test tube he was swirling. “Expecting someone else?”

  “Smartass. Where were you last night?”

  “I was told to go, so I did.”

  “You were pouting?”

  He gave me a frown and turned back to his work. “My granddaughter is staying with you.”

  “I think there are a few greats in front of granddaughter.” When he didn’t respond, I continued. “Do I want to ask how you know your granddaughter is here?”

  “She touches the land of the dead when she sleeps—as all powerful necromancers do. Apparently, no one has trained her to control it.” He sounded annoyed.

  “How does that work? She’s more or less stunted.”

  “The antidote really didn’t work?”

  “It worked, but…” I dropped onto the nearest stool. “It wore off.”

  Ian frowned.

  “Unless you can give me a good reason to blame her magic, I’m going to suspect it’s something Neil did. According to James, Neil claimed to have designed his potion using his own blood.”

  “Then it’s not a version of your Necro Extinguishing Dust. He’s designed it around his own stunted power.”

  “That’s what I suspect.”

  “So, we’ll need a sample of his blood to reverse it.”

  “If I knew where he was, I would definitely take that route. Few things would give me more pleasure than taking a sample—or all—of his blood.”

  “Your dark side is showing.”

  “I would love to show Neil my dark side.”

  Ian’s dimples made an appearance. “And I would love to watch.” His expression turned serious. “Barring draining the little weasel, what do you suggest?”

  I shifted on my stool. “The azoth.”

  Ian pursed his lips, his expression skeptical. He had a right to be. So far, my success at harnessing the power of the azoth—the universal medicine or universal solvent, depending on how you used it—was hit or miss. I could create a burn salve to heal third-degree burns, but it had to be tailored to the individual. I could also make my Fire Element remedy using my blood instead of Rowan’s, but nothing else I had tried to make with the azoth had worked. Eventually, I got tired of cutting myself and gave up.

  “I need to figure out how it works.”

  “No success at the library?”

  I had done some research on the topic, but the true reason I had been visiting the Cincinnati Public Library was their amazing genealogy department. I had promised Ian that I would learn what happened to his sons. But I hadn’t told him about it because I didn’t want to get his hopes up should I fail.

  “I doubt I can find anything in the public record.” I had read everything I could find on Paracelsus. He had supposedly found the azoth in the fifteenth century. According to Ian, Paracelsus was the azoth, and I was most likely his descendant.

  “We need to cure my granddaughter, and soon. She’s far too powerful to last long stunted.”

  I remembered his smile when Ian realized how strong Elysia was. “Do you want to tell me about this curse you placed on your own family?”

  “No, but I know you won’t let it rest until I do.”

  “True.”

  Ian picked up another test tube and swirled it in silence. “I didn’t curse my daughters,” he said without looking up. “I cursed Alexander.”

  Alexander Nelson. The Deacon of Ian’s day and the man who stole his daughter.

  “In what way?” I asked.

  “His purpose for joining our blood was to father an heir with our combined strength. To ensure the Nelson Family dominance in future generations. He didn’t value a daughter.”

  “Because she couldn’t pass on the Nelson name.”

  “Correct. So I saw to it that our power would only pass to his daughters.”

  “And from what Elysia says, I’m guessing you were successful. Impressive. How’d you hit him with it?”

  “He enjoyed tormenting me. He frequently took his meals in my tomb. It was a simple matter to slip the potion into his wine while he entertained himself with the women he brought.”

  I cringed. It wasn’t enough that Alexander had taken Ian’s daughter as his wife against her will, he also cheated on her in front Ian.

  “He must have really hated you,” I said.

  “It was a simple thing. Isabelle chose me—and he blamed me for her death.”

  “Ah.” Isabelle had been Ian’s wife, but he spoke of her so infrequently that I barely knew more than her name. “But for Alexander to take a young girl—”

  “Mattie shared a likeness with her mother. Plus, Alexander was insane.”

  “I see.” It was a common affliction among necromancers, especially the powerful. “That’s some impressive alchemy. I assume you targeted the X chromosome.”

  “The what?”

  Right, modern science was lost on Ian. “Tell me the formula?”

  “I don’t remember it.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, right.” The guy had a top-notch brain. It was his ethics that were suspect.

  “That was nearly 190 years ago. I haven’t used it since.”

  I frowned. I didn’t believe him, but I couldn’t speak from experience. Maybe a person did forget formulas after 190 years.

  “What are you doing up at this hour?” he asked, clearly changing the topic. I didn’t call him on it. I had learned that Ian wouldn’t back down on things he didn’t want to talk about.

  “I couldn’t sleep. What are we going to do about Neil’s grim?”

  “Break the alchemy that binds the grim, and take him for my own.”

  “No offense, Ian, but no grim for you.”

  He looked up and smiled. “I was teasing. We’ll end him.”

  “Okay.” I studied him, wondering if he really was teasing. I didn’t need another worry. “But first, we have to find him. I’ve got an idea.”

  “I’ve learned to be afraid when you say that.”

  “You’re already dead. What do you have to fear?”

  “Exactly.”

  I rolled my eyes and got to my feet. “The body Gavin currently possesses belonged to Brian, James’s brother. I know where he was before Neil took him. If we found something that belonged to him, we could scry for his body.”

  Ian grunted. “Not bad. What’s the catch?”

  “He was in a PIA jail cell. And his brothers are still there.”

  “His brothers, the Hunters? That could prove useful.”

  “How’s that?”

  “I would imagine that Hunter’s blood would make a dandy finder’s potion.”

  I smiled at the archaic term. A finder’s potion was a generic potion used to find lost items in the old days. They rarely worked, but I suspected Ian had a formula that did. And I could see where
Hunter’s blood would make it extremely effective.

  “If I can get the azoth to work, I bet I could adapt it to finding a person—without needing something of theirs.” And it would work much better than the compass I usually constructed for such a task.

  “Yes.”

  “But I’ve seen these guys in action. Collecting a blood sample might be a problem.”

  “Only for them.”

  I grinned.

  Chapter

  5

  I stepped out of the portal into a cinder block corridor. The only light was the dim glow from one of the plastic-covered lights in the ceiling. Emergency lighting. The switch by the door would probably turn on the rest of the lights, but I didn’t want to alert anyone to our presence.

  We walked along the corridor and I glanced in the first two cells. I couldn’t make out much in the dim light except to determine that both cells were empty. Were magical criminals rare or were they kept elsewhere? I wasn’t that familiar with inner workings of the PIA. I would have to ask Rowan about that sometime.

  In the next cell, a shadowed shape lay on the bunk. A thatch of blond hair poked out above the blanket. Henry.

  I pointed at his prone form and gave Ian a nod. The portal whispered open and Ian vanished into it. A moment later, it opened within the cell and Ian stepped out. Henry hadn’t stirred.

  Ian crossed to the bunk. He reached out a hand to grip Henry’s shoulder, but suddenly, Henry was moving. He rolled off the side of the bed and dropped into a crouch, eluding Ian’s grip. Then he sprang to his feet and ran straight at me.

  I gasped and stumbled away, forgetting that the bars of his cell separated us until my back bumped into the cell across from his. I straightened, feeling a bit foolish, when a hand suddenly gripped my throat from behind.

  Henry turned to face Ian who had charged after him. Henry ducked his outstretched hand, moving with the eerie grace and speed that echoed James’s animal-like body control. I had seen this side of the Huntsman brothers so infrequently that it still astonished me.

  Springing up behind Ian, Henry wrapped an arm around his throat. His biceps flexed beneath the rolled up sleeve of his orange prison coveralls. Henry grinned at me over Ian’s shoulder.