Forbidden Alchemy (Elemental Book 7)

by Rain Oxford

  “I got here ten minutes ago,” Cy said.

  “What could have done this in five minutes?”

  “A ghost,” I said. I pushed my magic into Cy’s mind, though, looking for anything suspicious. He only remembered being with Darwin until he came in here, alone, and found the books destroyed. If it was him who told me to go to the West, he hadn’t been in control. The only ones I knew who could do that aside from me was the twins, and I doubted they were strong enough to make him forget something. More likely, it was an imposter.

  What really surprised me, however, was the other presence in his head that pushed me away. Misaki appeared on the table in front of him, glaring at me threateningly.

  Unlike regular familiars, which had to be summoned by their wizard, the beautiful red fox was born at the same time as Cy and grew up with him. She was also the most overprotective familiar I had ever met. Despite her small size and innocent appearance, she was also one of the most powerful.

  “You still have your familiar?” I asked.

  “Of course,” he said. “I couldn’t lose her if I tried.”

  “What’s wrong?” Darwin asked.

  “The teachers have all lost their familiars. I was cut off from Rocky because she doesn’t stay at the school, but then I found out others can’t call theirs, either.”

  “Misaki can’t leave my side.” Cy paused, frowning at her. “Well, I guess it is strange, then.”

  “What is?”

  “Misaki said she was told to leave.”

  “By who?”

  “By me… I tried to drive her away a couple times when I was mad at her. I blamed her for me not having a mother… but I don’t anymore. It’s her mother’s fault that I don’t have one.”

  “But she thinks that you tried to make her leave?”

  He nodded. “She says it was six days ago… which would have been the day before the school was cursed.”

  “Then whoever did this didn’t just separate us from the familiars that were gone; they drove them off.”

  * * *

  The sandstorm kept us inside until it settled at sunset. During dinner, Mr. Murphy, Remington, and I were watching students in one dining room while Darwin, Ms. Holland, and Mr. Grant watched students in the other. The students weren’t allowed to eat in their rooms until we were sure there wouldn’t be another storm.

  Murphy decided to use the opportunity to talk to Remington while the students and I acted as a buffer. I ignored him. When my ghost mark tingled hard, I ignored it, as well. A woman entered through the kitchen wall. She had been a cook at the school when a fire killed her thirty years ago. Since I didn’t spend much time in the West before the curse, I had only met her once. I tried to help her at the time, but she was extremely private.

  I didn’t think anything of it when she stopped in the middle of the room, until she raised her head and screamed. I covered my ears, as did a dozen students. Four of the students who heard her also screamed out of shock, startling the students who didn’t hear her. Before I could respond, the ghost was engulfed in flames and vanished.

  “What the hell just happened?” Remington asked.

  “A ghost screamed and burned up in the middle of the dining room.”

  Her face turned ashen. “I didn’t think about how ghosts would react. Spirits like that are almost like elementals.”

  “So the curse that’s affecting elementals is also screwing with ghosts? That’s just perfect.”

  * * *

  When I told Darwin that the ghosts might attack, he suggested I keep a salt-shaker on hand. “I don’t get to talk to them like you do, but the general idea is that ghosts can’t cross a salt line. That could be hogwash, of course. The idea that salt repels evil was started because people used to preserve meat with salt. Then again, like I said before; belief is the oldest form of magic. Speaking of, that gives me an idea. Grab some salt and spread it over the glowing lines of one of the sigils. Let’s see if that does anything.”

  “Other than killing the grass?”

  “It would make a cool story to tell the newcomers.”

  “Do you have any theories on why my mind control is working and not my regular powers?”

  “I do have a hypothesis, but you wouldn’t like it.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Maybe your mind control wasn’t created by elementals. Maybe Arthur was less human than we thought.”

  “Yeah, I don’t like that hypothesis.”

  “There’s also a chance that your mind control is more powerful than whoever cast this spell.”

  “Well, that’s a better---”

  “It’s not,” he interrupted. “I was just trying to cheer you up, but anyone who can do that to elementals is a powerful bastard. More likely, your mind control vibes well with elementals, like how Amy’s powers cancel out my curse.”

  “Speaking of which---”

  “The matter worked itself out,” he interrupted again. “Amy can touch me again.”

  “Oh. Okay, good.”

  “In fact, last night, I licked---”

  “Nope,” I interrupted. “I’m out.”

  * * *

  I grabbed a couple of salt shakers and a full canister and got to work spreading salt over one of the sigils when Jason and Jamie found me. “Isn’t it a bit late for you two to be out?” I asked.

  Jason shrugged. “Don’t worry about that,” Jamie said. “We had another dream.”

  “Let’s go to my office.” I finished the sigil, set the salt canister down, and led them to my office. Once I closed the door, Jason sat on the couch and hugged his knees. I noticed that he didn’t have any bruises and wondered if Jamie had stopped bullying him.

  I sat in the chair behind my desk, because Jamie felt threatened when adults stood over him. “The kids in the dream are hurt,” he said.

  “How so?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t talk to them. Jason heard some of them crying or calling for help. I can’t control them or read their minds.”

  “Our magic doesn’t seem to work in those dreams,” I agreed. “If you can’t talk to them, how do you know they’re hurt? Some people cry when they’re afraid.”

  “Because…”

  “That’s not the only dream we’re having,” Jason said.

  Jamie glared at him and Jason shrunk back. I wanted to scold Jamie, but that would cause him to snap back and probably take it out on Jason when they were alone.

  “There’s someone else. She wants us to join her. We don’t know what she looks like or anything, though. She threatened that if we didn’t do what she says, we’ll end up like the others.”

  “What others?”

  “The ones in the vision,” Jason said. “I think they’re trapped. They feel trapped.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “You know what they feel?”

  He shook his head.

  “Is there anything else you can tell me about them, the person threatening you, or the curse over the school?” They shook their heads and started to leave. “Hang on. What can you tell me about Haylee Rower?” I asked.

  “We barely know the boys in our own room. What would we know about some girl?”

  * * *

  I headed to the library to check the underground rooms. Cy and Darwin had done an excellent job of putting the books back in order, considering they couldn’t do magic to repair the damage.

  I pulled on the gas lamp and the bookshelf slid out of the way. “What the hell?” I asked, shining my penlight into the inky-black water that filled the underground hallway. Maybe the lake drained into it. When something like a massive snake breached the surface, I pushed up on the lamp to close the passageway.

  As I opened the door to leave the library, Darwin asked, “You aren’t going to tell anyone about your heart?”

  I turned to him. “How did you know?”

  “Do you really have to ask? Without your familiar, your heart will fail, and you’re running out of time.”

&
nbsp; “The pain is back, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to die. I’m wearing the scorpion.”

  “And how’s that working for you?”

  Not as great as I remember.

  “You used up a lot of its power when you sustained Marcus. You have taken a lot of damage since getting Rocky that she protected you from, but the damage was done nonetheless. She couldn’t reverse the damage; she could only stop you from suffering it. While the scorpion is still a healing amulet and you shouldn’t take it off, you can’t expect it to keep you alive on your own anymore. Maybe if you sit in your room and read, eat healthy, and never feel stress again, it can give you a few months. They would be painful months, filled with misery, though. The only thing that can save you is getting you back to Rocky.”

  “I thought I was immortal because of my deal with Heather.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you because I figured it would upset you. Since Heather went back to Dothra and the tower was destroyed on her side, you lost your immortality. Had she stayed, you would have kept it.”

  “I thought everyone whose deal was already complete got a free pass. Their souls didn’t go to Dothra and the demon didn’t have to return, but if their deal was done, it stuck. If not, then it was undone.”

  “That’s correct according to the deal-makers and deal-receivers I have talked to.”

  “Heather made me immortal and took my key. That was it. The deal was done.”

  “She didn’t have the ability to make you immortal.”

  “What?”

  “Only gods could do that, if there are such creatures. What Heather’s deal did was bond you to her. Any mortal blow you received would be reflected onto another person. If you got hit by a bus and she was still here, someone would die and you would be revitalized.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t shout.”

  “She stabbed me to get the key! When Krechea and Langril were fighting, I got hit and it should have killed me. Are you telling me that two innocent people suddenly died?” My heartbeat sped, followed by a sharp pain that made it difficult to breathe. I knew I needed to calm down, but that was easier said than done.

  “Yes. One by a mysterious stab wound, one by what probably looked like electrocution.”

  “I didn’t know! I never would have made a deal with her if I knew!”

  “That’s the balance of magic, Dev. A life for a life. Someone had to die for you to live. Healing is one thing, no life can ever be spared for free.”

  “That’s sick! I’m glad the deal was broken.”

  * * *

  I took two steps into the Center before cooks in the kitchen screamed. I gritted my teeth and entered the kitchen, half expecting another ghost meltdown, half expecting a storm. Instead, the scene was much worse. The floor was covered in blood and the three cooks were splattered with it.

  I couldn’t catch a break. “What the hell happened?”

  “It was water!” Maria said, pointing to a stewpot on the floor.

  I realized she had filled it with water, screamed when she saw it full of blood, and dropped it, causing the gory mess. I couldn’t avoid it, so I went to the sink and turned on the faucet. Thick red blood flowed from it. I grabbed a coffee mug and took a sample before shutting it off. “Wipe as much of it down as you can. I’m going to find out what this is and hopefully how to reverse it.”

  “It’s the damned plague!” Shelly insisted.

  “I highly doubt that, but we’ve had worse. Let me know if frogs start coming out of the faucet, though.”

  * * *

  I took the blood to the infirmary, only to find myself alone with Kubota. Although the unconscious shark shifter looked healthy, I wondered how long he could really last without shifting. Darwin couldn’t shift for most of his life, but since he learned to, he did it at least once a month so that the wolf wouldn’t get too out of control.

  I sensed movement behind me at the same time that my ghost mark warned me that I was in the presence of the dead. I turned to see Rhonda. She was in her mid-forties with wheat-blond hair and grass-green eyes. She had been a nurse at the school when she was alive and still helped Dr. Martin out sometimes since he could see her. I didn’t know the reason she became a ghost, as all of them I’d met had unfinished business, but she was friendly.

  She didn’t seem to notice me, though. She opened a drawer and pulled out a syringe. When she turned to administer it to Kubota, I asked her what she was doing.

  “I have to wake him. He’s been asleep too long. It’s not good for him.”

  “You can’t wake him yet.”

  “I have to wake him. He’s been asleep too long. It’s not good for him.”

  “Rhonda, look at me.”

  She looked at me and frowned. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Devon. Remember?”

  “Are you a patient?”

  “No.”

  She smiled politely. “Then you will have to leave. I have patients to attend to.”

  “Kubota isn’t your patient.”

  She studied Kubota for a moment, but the vagueness in her eyes was worrisome. She wasn’t really seeing him. “I have to wake him. He’s been asleep too long. It’s not good for him.”

  I reached for her, but my hand passed right through her arm. My first thought was that she couldn’t really inject something into Kubota as a ghost. My second thought was that I couldn’t take the risk.

  I pulled the salt out of my pocket and tossed some at her. She vanished and the syringe shattered on the floor. I cleaned up the mess and then spread some salt around Kubota’s bed in case Rhonda returned.

  Dr. Martin entered as soon as I was done and I explained what Rhonda had done. “She has been a bit off today. Since the curse, really.”

  “Remington said the ghosts are like elementals.”

  He nodded. “Yes, you can say that here.”

  “Not on Dothra?”

  “We have no elementals on Dothra. That is why our magic is fueled by souls alone. Your magic is created by elementals and controlled by the soul.”

  “Then wouldn’t it be possible to control elementals?”

  “Wizards here used to do that. It seems to have fallen out of fashion a few hundred years ago, though.”

  “Maybe we can get them under control long enough to break this curse and get out.”

  “I can’t help you with that,” Dr. Martin said.

  “But you don’t rely on elemental magic, so you’re not affected by it.”

  He nodded. “That is true. Very well; I will help if you insist. Who should I kill so that I can get enough power to do what you ask?”

  “Is that really necessary?”

  “Elementals are extremely powerful. Keigan could have done it without killing, but I don’t have his strength. He is far older than me and has killed many more people, which makes his soul stronger than mine.”

  “Can you tell me what blood that is?” I asked, pointing to the mug. This time, I didn’t flinch when he took a sip of it.

  “Rabbit blood again, but it doesn’t have any spices.”

  I explained Darwin’s theory of the bloody footprints and how this blood came from the faucet. “It kind of sounds like they’re both a prank, but whoever did it is stepping up their game. Maybe they’re getting better at it.” Which doesn’t make sense if elementals are out of control.

  Except it did. There was one explanation for everything, even if it wasn’t perfect. I went to the West, where Remy was on the couch in the common room, rubbing her temples.

  “Where are the students?”

  “In their rooms. Did you see what happened to the water?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is completely crazy,” Remy said.

  “Yeah, it is. Too crazy, even for us. This is a distraction.”

  “What?”

  “The vampire hunters, stolen pups, and possibly even the council’s news… it’s all been a distraction.”

  “So that no one would hel
p us?”

  “No, they’re messing with us, too. There are a hundred ways to take our magic from us that are easier than fucking with elementals. The attacks, the imposters, the lake drying up… someone is messing with us to keep us distracted, and they’re messing with everyone else to keep them distracted.”

  “The only ones I can think of who are powerful enough to do this is the council.”

  “I’ll find out who’s doing this and stop them. I need you to keep the school from falling apart while I do.”

  Chapter 8

  Friday, November 25

  I heard heavy pounding and groaned.

  “Why did you lock your door?” Darwin yelled through the door.

  “Because I don’t have any damned roommates!” I yelled back.

  Remy rolled away from me. “Get rid of him,” she groaned.

  “It’s illegal to do what you’re thinking.” I got up and answered the door. Darwin was almost bouncing on his feet with excited energy. He was also barefoot with baby-blue pajama bottoms and an orange hoodie with “Spank you very much” written across it. Darwin had a strange sense of style. Or maybe just a complete lack of it.

  “I have a way to break the curse.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I know how to stop the elementals long enough to break the ward and get out.”

  “That’s great!”

  “Yeah! I mean, there’s a sixty-eight percent chance that it’ll work.”

  “That’s more than fifty.”

  “It is! And there’s only a fourteen percent chance that we’ll all die.”

  “What are the chances that some of us will die?”

  “Twenty-eight percent.”

  “That’s more than a quarter.”

  “No, bro, a quarter is a coin of American currency worth twenty-five cents.”

  “What’s the plan?” Remy asked, wrapping my sheet around herself.

  Darwin was too excited about his dangerous plot to make a rude comment. “It’s an elaborate ritual that will require tons of ingredients and participation. I’ve got it written down in my…” he trailed off, looking at his empty hand. Then he patted his pockets. “I had it here somewhere. Have you seen my notebook? I just had it.”