The Final Formula

by Becca Andre

  “I couldn’t let them have you.” Emil’s eyes flicked to Cora and back to me.

  “Have me? I’m not their prisoner. The Elements have been helping me figure out what happened to the Alchemica.”

  Cora snorted and then moved over to speak to Donovan who’d just returned to the room.

  Emil gripped the arms of his chair, but lowered his voice before he continued. “Have you stopped to consider that perhaps they happened to the Alchemica?”

  “Yes, I did consider it—until I hit His Grace with a truth serum.”

  “How did you manage that?” Emil scanned the room then frowned, no doubt wondering where Rowan had gone. “A truth serum must be ingested. I couldn’t even get a gas—”

  “What was that?” I asked, curious about the potion Emil had thrown. Besides, I didn’t want to go into detail about how I’d gotten the better of Rowan.

  “It’s one of my staple formulas. I’m surprised you’ve forgotten that. You helped me name it: Identity Crisis.”

  The hairs on my arms stood up, but it was a gut-level reaction. I didn’t recall what the formula did.

  “The subject forgets who they are for a time,” Emil said. “A good defense against the magical.”

  Because if they forgot who they were, they’d possibly forget how to use their magic. I shivered again. Even if short-lived, the idea of losing your identity was a concept I was a little too familiar with.

  “You need to leave.” Cora returned to us. Donovan stopped behind her, his large arms crossed over his wide chest. Of the two hooded Elements, he looked the most imposing, but I now wondered if that were true. Water had seemed the most limited of the foursome, but I’d failed to consider the liquids in the body.

  “It was a misunderstanding,” I said. “He thought—”

  “I don’t care what he thought or didn’t think. He leaves. Now.”

  “Okay, I’m going.” Emil pushed himself up out of the chair. “Are you coming, Amelia?”

  I glanced at Donovan, though I couldn’t see his face, before turning back to Emil. “There’s something I need to do. Give me your number. I’ll call when I finish.”

  “When you finish? What could you possibly need to finish?”

  I ignored his question and stepped over to the receptionist’s desk. The woman had backed her chair against the wall and sat watching us with wide eyes. When I asked for something to write on, she shoved a pen and notepad toward me.

  “Number?” I asked Emil.

  He sighed, but gave it to me.

  “Let me walk you out,” I said after writing down the number. I half expected Cora to protest, but she turned and walked off down the hall, no doubt going to check on Rowan.

  I lead Emil to the front door and reached for the knob. The sun shone through the sidelights making me squint in the brightness as I looked out on the front lawn.

  “What the hell?” I stared at the news vans lining the street. Apparently, no one was brave enough to risk the Elements ire by camping on the front lawn, but at least three cameramen stood on the sidewalk, cameras trained on the house.

  “As I said,” Emil followed my gaze, “a living Alchemica alchemist is big news.”

  “I can’t go out there.” I glanced up at my mentor. “And I’m not certain you should either.”

  “No one will recognize me.”

  I continued to stare at him, noting his youthful, wrinkle-free complexion, the lack of white in his blond hair.

  “You found it, didn’t you? You found the Final Formula.”

  He studied me a moment. “Yes, I did.”

  I turned away and led Emil into the small room where James and I had waited for our first visit with Rowan. “You gave it to me?”

  “You insisted.” A smile colored Emil’s words.

  Even hearing him say it, I had trouble believing it. I fought back the despair. I really had failed to find it first. “I saw the invitation you sent the Elements. Were you going to reveal that you’d found the Formula?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did anyone else know?”

  “Dmitri.”

  I gripped the back of the nearest chair as a wave of déjà vu rolled over me.

  “What is it?” Emil moved closer.

  “I know that name.”

  “Of course you do. He’s a fellow master. Been with us since I founded the Alchemica.”

  I remembered the first picture in the file Neil had given me. The other young man was Dmitri. Tall and slender, he’d preferred the solitude of the lab to interacting with others.

  “Are you okay?” Emil asked.

  “I get a bit of déjà vu from time to time. I’m fine.” I rubbed a hand over my face and turned to face him.

  “You really can’t remember anything before the night the Alchemica burned?”

  “I remember the alchemy. Formulas, techniques—all of it.”

  “Every formula?” He folded his hands behind his back. For a moment, I thought he reached for a potion. What a silly thought.

  The low growl registered at the same moment a weight settled against my hip.

  “What the hell?” Emil stumbled back, staring at the enormous black dog that leaned against my side.

  “Fido,” I chided, laying my hand on his shoulder. The softness of his fur surprised me. “This is hardly necessary.”

  “He walked through the wall,” Emil said.

  With my back to the wall, I’d missed James’s entrance.

  Emil’s eyes widened. “Is that a grim?”

  His accurate assessment surprised and annoyed me. Was I the only one who’d never heard of a grim?

  “What’s he doing here? With the Elements?” Emil asked.

  “Technically, he’s with me.”

  Emil considered this a moment, and then a smile spread over his face. “And now it all comes clear.”

  “What does?”

  “Your working relationship with the Elements.” He shook his head. “You’ve always been a resourceful woman. I really shouldn’t be surprised, but I do wonder how you found him.”

  He thought I was using James to influence the Elements. “Emil—”

  James growled, circling around me and forcing me to take a step to the side—toward the door. Had Rowan gotten worse? I twined my fingers in James’s fur.

  “I need to get back. I’ll call you.”

  Emil took a step toward me, but stopped when James snarled. “Soon, Amelia.” He didn’t wait for a response before he turned and headed for the front door.

  Sunlight caught in his blond hair, reminding me of the way it’d caught the light in the parking lot last night.

  “Emil?”

  My mentor stopped and looked back at me.

  “Why were you at that club?”

  “You don’t believe I was there for the atmosphere?” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

  “I saw vials changing hands. You were selling potions.” I didn’t phrase it as a question.

  “You don’t miss much. You never have.”

  “What potion?”

  “Something new. The subject temporarily believes he can wield magic.”

  Whoa. “Can he?”

  “The power of the mind, Amelia.” He tapped his temple and grinned. “Brain chemistry is such a delicate balance.” He gave me a wink then pulled open the front door and walked out.

  James growled.

  “Unethical, yes, but brilliant all the same.”

  James bumped his shoulder against my ribs.

  “Okay, okay. I’m coming.”

  We found the Elements in the library, or rather, James led me to them. I was relieved to see Rowan sitting up—almost. He shared a small couch with Cora and Era, his head on Cora’s shoulder and one hand clasped in both of Era’s. Donovan had
been at the window, watching Emil leave, I assumed.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” Cora frowned at James. “Are you trying to threaten us?”

  I sighed. “No. Fido thought it’d be fun to mess with Emil.”

  Era patted her leg and to my amusement, James walked over and sat down beside the couch. He placed his head on her knees, letting her rub his ears.

  “Emil thought you’d abducted me,” I told Rowan. “He thought I needed rescue.”

  “What kind of potion was that?” Rowan asked.

  “It temporarily confuses the target. Makes them forget who they are and what they’re capable of.”

  “It would cut us off from our element,” Cora said.

  “Not technically. It’d just make you forget you have one.” I met Rowan’s eye. “Though in your case, that may not be a bad thing.”

  “No, thank you,” he muttered. His eyes slid closed once more.

  A knock sounded before I could comment further. Donovan walked to the door and opened it. I expected the receptionist; I didn’t expect Gerald.

  “I got your call. I—” Gerald’s eyes widened behind his glasses as they settled on James. Donovan gripped his shoulder; otherwise I suspected he would have bolted.

  “Thank you for coming so quickly,” Donovan said. “Rowan’s a little under the weather. Care to give us a lift to the manor?”

  “So that’s how you’ve managed to keep the location of the manor secret.” I’d wondered how they’d avoided having the media follow them home.

  “Until now,” Cora said.

  “I’m not going to tell anyone.”

  She glared at me. I guess she and Rowan hadn’t agreed on my stay at the manor. Though I didn’t realize until now how much he’d put on the line to let us stay. Had my attention to Era meant that much or had Marian said something?

  “Normally, Marlowe, our driver, can take care of anyone brazen enough to follow,” Donovan explained, “but I thought it best we not walk outside right now.” His eyes flicked to Rowan before returning to me. In other words, he didn’t want a camera crew filming Rowan’s weakness.

  James rose to his feet and stepped away from the couch. I opened my mouth to tell him to behave when that dark portal shimmered open. Glowing green eyes meet mine, then he leapt through the dark tear before it winked out.

  “Where’d he go?” Era asked.

  “I suspect he’s waiting for us at the manor,” I said.

  “He what?” Cora rose to her feet.

  “We can discuss it later,” Donovan walked to the couch. “After I take Addie to the clinic.”

  “Sounds good.” I watched him help Rowan up. “We need to get Rowan well. It weirds me out when he doesn’t argue with me.”

  Rowan’s lips curled at the comment.

  I stood at the clinic’s front counter between James and Donovan, waiting for the receptionist. Donovan had called ahead, but maybe they didn’t get too excited when an Element came to visit.

  James had been waiting for us at the manor, much to Cora’s consternation, but we didn’t stick around for the drama. A quick shower and change of clothes, then Donovan drove us to the clinic in his big green Suburban.

  I looked around the clinic’s full waiting room noting the clean, but well-worn decor. I’d estimate the faded wallpaper a good decade out of fashion and the furniture even older. “This isn’t the place I imagined giving exclusive care to Elements.”

  “We’re here to see the apothecary, not the doctor,” Donovan said.

  “I’m surprised a clinic like this hires an apothecary,” James said. “It looks so…mundane.”

  By his hesitation, I suspected he meant nonmagical. “Apothecaries aren’t magical,” I explained. “Think of it as alternative medicine.”

  The receptionist arrived and gave Donovan a smile of recognition. “Ginny told me you were coming. You can head on back.”

  “Thank you, Angie.” Donovan led us around the counter to an empty hall.

  “Does she know who you are?”

  “No. Just Ginny.”

  “Oh, okay.” I made a mental note not to give away his Element status. Not that I expected it to come up in conversation. Aside from his size, Donovan was an unassuming guy without the robes.

  He led us to a door at the end of the short hall. I followed him inside and stopped. I was in a lab. Not a modern lab, but one from times past. The smell of dried herbs rose from several enormous mortars and pestles on a nearby table. A variety of apparatuses occupied the bench lining the far wall, most with mixtures bubbling happily over old fashion gas burners.

  “Be with you in a moment,” a muffled voice called. A portly, gray-haired woman bent beside one of her set-ups, adjusting the flame beneath a porcelain dish. She wore a wispy dress of teal blue and her feet were bare. She grumbled when her adjustment caused the flame to wink out.

  “Let me help you,” I offered, snatching up a gas lighter. A rasp of steel on flint, a tweak of the temperamental knob, and I had a healthy blue flame. “Boil or simmer?”

  “Simmer.” She looked up and her hazel eyes widened. “You’re the alchemist.”

  “Addie.” I slipped the flame back into position under the dish.

  “Ginny.” She wiped her hand on her floral-print apron before offering it to me. “I’m honored to have you in my lab.”

  “I’m honored to be in a lab.” I took her hand. “It looks wonderful.” In truth, it looked a little strange with beaded window dressings and assorted wind chimes hanging from the florescent lights, but all the lab equipment was quality—if a little eclectic.

  Ginny smiled at the praise. “Let me show you the tonic recipe you’re here for. I’ve laid out all the ingredients.”

  She led me to an open notebook, and I soon lost track of the world around me.

  After refining the blood sample I’d taken from Rowan’s wastebasket, I devised a pair of remedies. One, an antidote for his current symptoms, and the other geared at prevention. I doubted he’d be pleased with the effects of the prevention potion, but it might be handy to have around in an emergency.

  When Donovan returned a few hours later, I handed him the antidote.

  “It looks different.” He held the vial of deep violet liquid up to the light.

  “I tweaked Ginny’s recipe a bit. Well, quite a bit, actually. I’d be glad to give you the formula—”

  “I trust you, Addie. You wouldn’t hurt, Rowan.” His simple statement of trust surprised me. What had I done to earn that?

  He lowered the vial. “This will cure him?”

  I sighed. “Cure, no. That will take a lot more work—and a better understanding of how his power works. But I think I’ve figured out why he’s different.”

  Donovan raised his brows, but let me continue.

  “Rowan must create his own element. He produces fire by transforming various states of matter to a plasma. None of the rest of you does—or can. Cora can’t turn water to ice. Era can’t turn water vapor to rain. That’s a phase change. Rowan’s talent is nothing but a phase change, and somehow it damages him in the process.”

  Donovan dipped his head in agreement.

  Good, I was on the right track at least. “Ginny’s tonic helped with the symptoms of the damage, but not the damage itself. What you hold is a formula to accelerate healing. But I had something Ginny didn’t.” I hurried on before I lost my nerve. “I stole a bloody tissue from Rowan’s wastebasket.”

  “So, this is specific to him.” Donovan held up the vial.

  “Yes.”

  He lowered the vial and his hazel eyes met mine. A brow lifted in question.

  “That doesn’t upset you?” I asked.

  “I assume you refer to your use of blood alchemy?”

  He knew the term. I wanted to grip my hands, but forced them to remain loose
at my sides. “Yes.”

  “Since you didn’t kill anyone to get the blood, I really don’t have a problem with it.” He tucked the vial into an inner pocket of his jacket.

  I opened my mouth and closed it. I decided not to describe all the things a talented alchemist could do with a drop of blood. What I could do with a drop of blood. Granted, I’d done a good thing here, but the use of blood alchemy was taboo for a reason. It was a slippery slope, and I couldn’t help but wonder how far I’d slid in my forgotten past.

  “My goal is to get him back on his feet,” I said, shifting the conversation away from blood alchemy. “Next, I’ll work on prevention.”

  “Prevention?”

  “His gift is killing him. I need to find a way around that. Prevent the damage in some manner. I’ve got another formula going. Would you like to see my notes?”

  “I’ll take your word on it.” He gently patted his jacket over the vial. “We’ll start with this.”

  “Thank you for trusting me to help.”

  A big hand came to rest on my shoulder. “You’re a good girl, with a caring heart and a kick-ass brain.”

  I laughed. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever had any part of me described as kick-ass.”

  He grinned and then turned to open the door.

  “Do you mind if James and I stay to finish the other formula? Ginny said she’d be here until six.” And if she had the ingredients, I wanted to whip up a self-defense potion. After last night, I didn’t want to be caught without a way to defend myself.

  “Then I’ll be back for you at six.”

  “Thanks, Donovan.” I followed him out into the hall. “You could loan us a car and then you wouldn’t have to play chauffeur.”

  “Rowan wouldn’t want you out on your own.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  “You’re a valuable commodity, little alchemist.”

  “Thanks. I feel the love.”

  He laughed, gave me a wink, and headed off down the hall. I watched him go, feeling warm inside. Who knew I’d befriend an Element?

  I’d brought the file Neil had given me and decided to study it closer while waiting for my newest formula to dry. It was so surreal to look at pictures of me I didn’t remember.