The Alchemist's Flame (14 page)

A thump sounded from the direction of the hall, and I turned toward the door. No one entered. Shouldn’t Elysia and Colby be back by now?

Doug’s hand settled on my shoulder and I jumped.

“I felt—”

A scream rang out. Elysia.

Doug ran for the door.

I followed, apprehension a fist in my chest. Unable to touch her magic, Elysia was as susceptible to the animated dead as I was. But Doug had been with me. Did Xander frequent the city morgue? Maybe it had been their intent to get us here, alone.

Doug ran across the hall, not slowing when he hit the swinging doors. By the time I reached the threshold, the door was already swinging back, but it didn’t get a chance to close as Doug stepped back into the doorway.

I pushed open the opposite door and stepped into the room. Mortuary drawers lined one wall with three evenly spaced autopsy tables occupying the center of the room. Elysia stood beside the one in the center, her back to us as she faced a familiar figure. His glowing red eyes left Elysia and focused on me.

“Alchemist.” Gavin grinned, exposing his animal-like teeth.

I took a step forward.

Doug grabbed my arm. “Don’t. He’s a—”

“Grim, I know.” I shook off his grip. “Does your master know where you are, Gavin?” I walked forward and Doug moved with me.

“Yes, he does,” a voice said from behind us.

I whirled around.

Neil stood just inside the room. His white eyes settled on Doug. “Consorting with the enemy, cousin? I guess I’ve got you to blame.”

“How’s that?” Doug asked.

“Neither of my prizes was where I left them.” His attention shifted to Elysia.

Gavin had moved closer to her. He reached out, running one clawed finger along her jaw.

Elysia squeezed her eyes closed, and her lips parted as if she was about to speak.

“Do not let her summon him!” Neil shouted.

Gavin grabbed Elysia.

“Ja—!” The word was cut off as Gavin’s hand covered her mouth.

A series of loud bangs came from behind us, and I spun to face the mortuary drawers. One burst open, then another. I looked up at Doug. He was still watching Neil, but his blue eyes were as white as his cousin’s.

“You challenge me?” Neil demanded.

“You can’t have Elysia, Dunstan. And you can’t have my birthright.”

Neil snorted. “Who the hell would want it?”

Doug frowned. “What game are you playing?”

Groans began to fill the room as the zombies crawled from their drawers. I sincerely hoped Doug was on my side.

The double doors burst open behind us and Colby ran into the room, his eyes already aglow. I didn’t get to sigh in relief before Neil spun to face him, throwing out an arm. Green powder exploded in Colby’s face.

“Colby, run!” I shouted and ran at Neil, a vial clutched in my fist.

“Stop her, boy,” Neil said.

I tried to duck beneath Colby’s hands, but I wasn’t quick enough. He snagged the hood of my coat and pulled me back, the zipper digging into my throat.

“Addie, what’s happening?” Colby asked, his tone panicked. “Why did I obey?”

“He’s an alchemist. An Alchemica alchemist. He hit you with my compulsion potion.”

“Which has been incredibly useful,” Neil said. He looked Colby over. “A Fire Element?”

“Get him.” Doug spoke the words softly, but the zombies heard him. The three that had escaped their drawers sprinted toward Neil—and since I stood in front of him, they were running right at me.

Chapter
14

I
stumbled back a step as two naked men and one woman ran toward me. All bore the now familiar Y-incision of a recent autopsy. A fourth still struggled with its body bag, but it would be free soon.

“Boy!” Neil shouted at Colby. “Eliminate the zombies.”

The closest zombie went up in a pillar of blue-white flame.

I pulled down the zipper of my coat and slid out of the garment. “Neil, don’t!” I lunged at him, then dove to the side when he lifted a palm full of green powder to his mouth, and blew it in my direction. Fortunately, I had moved quickly enough. The heavy powder drifted to the ground between us.

“Are you trying to save the zombies?” Neil asked, smiling.

Another zombie went up in a flash of flame and I flinched.

“He’s new to his power.” I waved a hand at Colby. “You’ll hurt him.”

A snarl echoed off the tile. I looked over my shoulder, afraid for Elysia, but Gavin still held her, her back to his chest, and his hand covering her mouth.

James, the hellhound stood before them. A shimmer of darkness and James rose to his feet. “Let her go.” The glow that hadn’t left his eyes brightened and claws glinted at his fingertips.

“Are you certain you want to do that, little brother?” Gavin grinned at him and lifted a hand. His claws were longer, and if possible, darker. They seemed to absorb the light, as if he wore a slash of darkness on each digit.

Blue-white flame took out the third zombie, and Colby doubled-over, coughing. Blood speckled his lips.

“Interesting,” Neil said, watching him. “Good thing I didn’t knock out his power.”

Colby lifted his head. “Knock out my power?”

“You will not—” Neil didn’t get to finish the sentence as Colby tackled him. They slammed through the swinging doors and crashed into the hall. The doors swung closed before I could see the outcome.

The vial still clutched in my hand, I took a step toward the hall when a moan sounded behind me. I turned and instinctively ducked as the remaining zombie reached for me.

“Doug!” I shouted.

He was watching James and Gavin, but faced me at my cry. His white eyes met mine, and I realized I was completely at his mercy. James was occupied, Elysia was stunted, and Colby was in the hall with Neil. If Doug had lured us here, now would be the perfect time to act.

The zombie took another step toward me—then collapsed at my feet.

I met Doug’s gaze once more and watched his white eyes return to their former vibrant blue. He lifted a brow, but James’s snarl pulled our attention to him. Darkness swallowed his form and an instant later, he was the hellhound.

“Are you fast enough, little brother?” Gavin asked.

James sprang, leaping at Gavin and Elysia.

“Ely!” Doug shouted.

Gavin shoved Elysia forward and jumped back.

I flinched, expecting James to collide with her. Instead, he jumped
through
her, landing on the tile behind her without a sound.

Elysia gasped and dropped to her knees, clutching her chest.

“Elysia!” Doug fell to his knees beside her and pulled her against him.

“Not fast enough.” Gavin slashed the air with his claws, physically ripping open a portal.

James ran toward him, but Gavin jumped through the portal before James could cover the distance between them. The muscles tensed beneath the shaggy black fur, and he jumped.

“James, no!” Elysia shouted.

Twisting to the side, James avoided the open portal and slammed into one of the autopsy tables.

Gavin reached back and gripped the edge of the portal with one furred and clawed hand. He had morphed into his true form, just like James did when he entered the land of the dead. Yet he hadn’t become the hound to jump through the portal as James must.

She has you on a short leash
. Gavin’s voice whispered out of the portal.
Lucky you
. He released the portal and it winked out.

James rolled to his paws and walked to where Doug still held Elysia. His toenails clicked on the tile, the sound loud in the quiet room. James lifted his lips in a silent snarl exposing his plentiful teeth.

It was almost humorous how quickly Doug released her and scooted away.

James became human and took Elysia in his arms. “What are you doing here?” His words were for her, but his glowing eyes remained on Doug.

“Doug offered to show me Neil’s lab,” I said.

“Why would you offer that?” James asked Doug.

“I thought Addie might be able to find a clue to help her cure Elysia.”

Content that the pair wasn’t about to start throwing punches, I walked to the door and peeked out through the small window. The hall appeared empty. Where had—

“What are you doing?” Doug asked.

I jumped, then gave him a frown. My attention on the hall, I hadn’t heard him walk up behind me. Did he think I was going to go snooping around his morgue without him?

Doug frowned. “You’re not going after him on your own, are you?”

The question threw me. He sounded almost…concerned.

“Who?” James asked, helping Elysia to her feet.

“Neil,” I answered.

“So much for your Elemental bodyguard,” Doug complained. “All he did was ash my zombies.” He picked up some folded green fabric from a shelf by the door and tossed it to James. “If you’re sticking around, put something on.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing, then followed Doug out into the hall.

“Where did they go?” he asked.

“The lab,” I said.

“How do you know?”

I shrugged. “He’s an alchemist.”

“She’s right.” James walked into the hall, Elysia following. The green material had been a set of scrubs. He had pulled on the pants, and slipped on the shirt as he joined us. “But there’s only one soul.”

I hurried forward.

“How about a little caution,” Doug complained.

“So, bring your zombie.” I walked into the lab and sighed in relief. Neil hadn’t taken Colby. He sat on a stool watching us, a frown on his features.

“Neil’s gone, isn’t he?” I asked.

Colby nodded.

“Let me guess,” Elysia said. “He commanded you to sit on that stool and not say a word.”

Colby nodded again.

“I can carry him out to the car,” James offered.

“I got it.” I pulled out my own vial of green powder and tapped a little into my palm.

Colby lifted his brows.

“Trust me?” I asked.

He dipped his head in agreement and I blew the powder in his face.

“You’re free to move and speak as you please,” I said.

Colby slid off the stool. “Thank you.”

I gripped his forearm. “Are you okay?” His eyes weren’t glowing and the blood had been cleaned from his face, but he still looked pale.

“He had some X Dust.”

A box of tissues sat on the counter beside Colby’s stool. “Did he take some of your blood?”

“No.” His brows wrinkled. “Why?”

“Addie?” James called to me.

I walked over to where he stood by one of the refrigerators. “What is it?”

“He took something from here.”

“How do you know?” Doug asked.

James pointed to the handle and the smudge of green powder.

“Did anyone check this refrigerator?” I asked.

“I did,” Elysia said.

I stepped to the side to give her a good view of the shelves.

She studied the contents for a moment. “Sorry, I can’t tell if anything’s missing.”

I looked up at James and he pulled open the door. While he nosed through the refrigerator, I turned back to Colby. “Did you see what he took out of here?”

“No, sorry.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I’m no use to you here. I’m going to go wait in the limo.”

“Cole?”

He waved away my concern and left the room.

I sighed, but there wasn’t anything I could do now. We could talk later.

“Maybe this,” James said, drawing my attention. He lifted a rack of small capped tubes from the refrigerator. Blood collection tubes. There were several empty spaces, but that may not mean anything.

The tubes in the first row were all half full and had computer-generated labels, complete with barcodes. But the back row held three empty tubes with handwritten labels.

I selected the first and turned the tube on its side to read the label. B. Huntsman.

“Bingo,” I said. “This was Brian’s.”

“I didn’t know to look for blood,” Elysia said. “I thought we were looking for herbs and notes.”

“He’s an Alchemica alchemist,” Doug said.

I ignored the implied slur and studied the tube. A rusty red smudge covered the bottom. This was probably the blood sample Neil had used on the potion he gave Brian.

“If Neil didn’t rinse this, I might be able to use it.” I set the tube aside and pulled out the next one. D. Nelson. There were still a few drops in the bottom of the tube. I offered it to Doug.

“How did he get this?” Doug demanded. “I wouldn’t let him stick me.”

“What about when he knocked us out?” Elysia asked.

Doug’s brow wrinkled and he turned to me. “What does this mean? What can he do with my blood?”

“Any number of things. Watch your back.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

“Sorry.” I shrugged. There wasn’t a whole lot I could do about that now. “If he gets you, come see me. I’ll fix it.”

“Like you fixed Elysia?”

“Hey, I’m working on it.” I frowned, more than a little annoyed that everyone kept bringing that up. “That’s why we’re here, remember? Rectifying the mistake
you
made.”

I picked up the next tube and turned it to see the label. I sighed.

“Addie?” James moved closer.

I handed him the tube.

“Damn,” he muttered. “He’s used it already.”

“What does it say?” Doug asked.

Elysia leaned in to see the tube. “Amelia’s failure,” she read.

“Amelia.” Doug’s eyes rose to mine. “That’s you.”

“Yes. Last December, Neil used me to capture the essence of failure.”

“What? How—”

“Suffice to say it can be done.” I didn’t want to share the painful details. “What you need to be concerned about is the things he can do with that.”

“Like what?”

“The ability to induce failure,” James said.

Doug snorted. “As in my car fails to start or I fail to pick the trifecta at the track?”

“Or you fail to cross the street safely,” James said.

Doug frowned. “Because of a potion. Yeah, right.”

“Don’t discredit what alchemy can do,” Elysia said.

“Yes, because some long-dead alchemist cursed you.” Doug rolled his eyes.

I picked up my tube and Brian’s. “I’m keeping these. You can keep yours,” I said to Doug. “Thank you for letting me see Neil’s lab.” I headed for the door, James and Elysia following.

“Addie?” Doug called.

I turned to face him, waving James and Elysia on. They left the room.

“You really think you can fix her?” Doug asked.

“Yes.”

He crossed the space to join me, and cast a frown at the door. “Good. Once she’s whole, she’ll be continually reminded that her paramour is a dead man.”

Didn’t I just have this argument with Ian? “This concerns you? I’m going to have to rethink my opinion of necromancers.”

Doug frowned.

“Necrophilia jokes aside, James is truly the very best of men.”

“You know him so well?”

“He’s my best friend. Anyone who tries to take him against his will goes through me. The things Neil can do pale in comparison to what I can do.”

He studied me. “What is it about that guy that inspires such loyalty?”

“What do you mean?”

“Elysia was just as adamant in defending him. She let Neil stunt her in an effort to free him, to free the grim. Her family’s fortune was set when she found him. Hell’s blood, my father would grovel at her feet.”

“She knew that?”

“Of course.”

I glanced at the door to the hall. “You could take him now.”

Doug snorted. “And bear her wrath—and yours?”

I arched a brow, waiting for his true answer.

“My hold would be temporary. That bond can’t be broken.”

“Because she’s so strong?”

“Because she loves him—whether she realizes it or not.”

My mind flashed back over the events of the last few days. I had liked Elysia from the start. I knew she was kind and compassionate, and seeing her in that light made it understandable that she would want to free James. But deep down, I still harbored some concern that when she was up against it, she wouldn’t hesitate to use him—just like every necromancer did. Yet she was up against it now. She had been stunted, her immediate family attacked, and Xander had made it clear what he thought of her. And though she lacked her power, she could have presented James to Xander and claimed her place in the necromancer hierarchy.

Suddenly, I understood why the azoth had failed. Deep down, I hadn’t wanted to heal her. I loved James, too. I was protecting him. If she remained powerless, I didn’t think she could command him.

“God, I’m such an ass,” I said.

Doug lifted his brows. “Are you expecting an argument?”

“No.” I laid a hand over his heart. “Thank you.”

His brows rose higher. “For what?” He sounded so apprehensive, I laughed.

“For making me see why I’ve failed to heal Elysia.” I gave his chest a pat and took my hand away.

“You figured out how to heal her.”

“Yes.” I gave him a smile. “I’m not sure I actually like you, but you may not be the evil toady I thought you were.”

“Thanks. I think.”

I left him standing there and hurried from the room.

James and Elysia waited in the hall, wrapped in each other’s embrace. James caught my eye, a small smile on his face. No doubt he had heard every word of my conversation with Doug.

“You know how to cure Elysia,” he said.

“Yes,” I answered.

Elysia lifted her head, her eyes wide. “Did you find something else?”

“No.” I walked over to join them. “Ironically, it was something Doug said.”

She released James and turned to face me. “What—”

“There’s a lot more to alchemy than just mixing potions, but James can explain it.” I offered her the two blood vials. “Take those to Ian.”

She frowned.

“None of that. Ask him to purify what’s left in Brian’s tube and get started on the foundation for your cure. I need to take Colby to the Offices and let Rowan know what happened here. Then I’ll be back.”