The Catalyst of Corruption (The Final Formula Series, Book 4) (15 page)

“That's not even human,” Blake whispered.

“No, you're wrong.” Elysia moved to James's side and ran her fingers through the fur along his back. James growled and leaned into her.

I resisted the urge to rub away my chill bumps.

“Give me the bone.” Doug once again held out a hand to Blake.

“It's okay,” I reassured him. “No ghost will come near us with James here.”

Blake wordlessly stretched out his hand and dropped the bone into Doug's palm. The portal reopened, and James jumped through, reaching back to catch it before it closed so Doug could follow.

What's going on?
James asked. The question and a glimpse of his true form through the portal had Blake whispering what sounded like a prayer. Mediums must be able to see portals, too.

“Ely was compelled to bring back a souvenir from the opera.” Doug stepped through the opening. “We're going to return it.”

The portal closed and they were gone.

Blake turned to Era. “You never told me you had magical friends.”

Era shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“That was the Deacon's son.” Blake waved a hand at where the portal had been. “Are you going to take me to dinner with the Flame Lord next?”

I exchanged a glance with Elysia.

“Not anytime soon.” Era looked uncomfortable.

“Aren't you magical, too?” I asked Blake.

“I'm sensitive to the spirit world,” he answered. “I have no inborn magic I can… wield.”

“Same here.” I smiled. “Well, minus the spirit sensitivity part.”

He frowned.

“Alchemist, remember?”

Blake studied me, then suddenly stood straighter. “Hey, aren't you—” He turned to Era. “She's the Flame Lord's girlfriend. Oh my God, you probably really do know him.”

“Blake.”

“Look. I gotta go.” He headed for the stairs. “Please take me home.”

“Blake, wait.”

When he didn't listen, Era hurried after him, the pair disappearing into the stairwell.

“Someone is keeping a secret,” Elysia said.

“So it would appear.”

“Odd to see her out of sorts.”

I glanced over. Elysia and Era got along much better now, but sometimes the old animosity flared up. Though it usually came from Era.

“I didn't mean that the way it sounded.” Elysia must have picked up on my expression. At least, I hoped it was my expression and she hadn't started reading my mind. “Era is always so confident. So with it,” Elysia explained.

“I would have disagreed with you before our adventures at Music Hall, but she certainly showed her competence there.”

“Maybe it was because none of the other Elements were there to overshadow her.”

I frowned. “They each have their strengths and weaknesses, but magically, Elements are equal.”

“The others raised her. She's the kid sister they all protect. Do you ever see her in her robe doing interviews, or on TV, coming and going from the Elemental Offices?”

Elysia was right. Era always complained about being treated like a kid, but I usually brushed it off, or took Rowan's side of the argument.

“You might be right,” I said.

Elysia gave me a smile, then walked to the table. “Want something to eat?”

I realized I was hungry and took a seat across from her. We spent a few minutes building sandwiches.

“So what happened with Steadham?” I asked after we'd eaten in silence for a few minutes.

Elysia sighed. “I don't remember much of it. I walked in his office and he was on the phone, telling someone that
the problem had been taken care of
.”

“Me.” I was the problem.

“I'd say you're right, because I'm almost certain he was talking to Xander.”

“Go on.”

“Steadham looked up and saw me. His eyes went wide, and he told whoever he was speaking to that
the Mallory girl is here
. Then he dropped the phone and grabbed his putter. So, I took him.”

“You tried to blood bind him?”

“No, I just commanded him to stand still. I was about to force him to tell me everything when he looked up and made eye contact. That's when he spoke to me. It was Alexander.”

A chill crawled along my spine. “I guess that's how Alexander knew I was at the hospital.” As a ghoul master, Alexander could take over the creations of his puppets, and Xander was his primary puppet. “What did Alexander say?”

“I don't know. I don't remember anything until I woke up here.”

“But Alexander can no longer control you.” Elysia had been his puppet, as well—before James freed her.

“It wasn't Alexander controlling me.” Her faded eyes met mine.

“The ghost from Music Hall. Did you have the bone on you?”

She set down her sandwich and rubbed her hands on her thighs.

“It was in my pocket. I wanted it close, where I could touch it and reassure myself that it was still there.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I want it still.”

Damn. The formula wasn't a complete success. It might drown out spirit voices, but it didn't remove the compulsion from the ones that already had a grip.

My phone buzzed and I pulled it from my pocket.

“Is it Doug?” Elysia asked. “I should think they'd be back by now.”

I looked at the screen and my heart lodged in my throat. “It's Rowan.”

Chapter 13

I
stared at the fireball icon
I had set up for Rowan's incoming call, and the phone buzzed again.

“Answer it,” Elysia said.

I tapped the screen and brought the phone to my ear.

“What did Alexander want?” Rowan demanded before I could even say hello.

“What do you mean?”

“At the hospital. What did he really want?”

“James told you.” Damn, why would James do that? He knew that Rowan was having trouble. Why make it worse?

“James knew about it?” Rowan demanded.

Ah, hell. I got up and walked away from the table. “It's on TV isn't it?”

“It seems the new Burn Unit director has been killed. A couple of interns stated that you and your friend were alone with the body, well before the PIA arrived. Later, you were seen arguing with the new Deacon over what is speculated to be disruption of the crime scene.”

I rubbed a hand over my face.

“There's even some footage of your conversation with Alexander to back it up.”

“Damn it, I've already had my fifteen minutes of fame.”

“Waylon called, but I want to hear from you what really happened.” Rowan sounded more subdued.

“Steadham was Xander's lich. When Elysia challenged him, Alexander took him over and…” I glanced at Elysia.

“Tell him,” she said.

“Long story short, she accidentally reaped him, leaving a corpse.”

“Is she okay?”

“She's better now.” I gave Elysia a reassuring smile to hide my doubts, then continued my recitation of events for Rowan. “I had to call Ian to come get her, then I called Waylon to help me clean up the mess. Unfortunately, Alexander showed up before I could run interference with the media, and everything went to hell.”

Rowan didn't respond.

“Hey, you still there?” I asked, suddenly worried. Was he struggling for control? Had he ignited something?

“What did he whisper to you?” Rowan asked.

“He wanted to know where Ian was. When I refused to tell him, he told me to watch and learn. Then he proceeded to take Natalie away from me.”

“He used his blood gift on her?”

“No. He smiled at her.”

“What?”

“That's what he does. He even tried it on me, but I told him to quit grinning at me before he strained a dimple.”

Elysia laughed. “You didn't.”

I gave her a wink before focusing on the conversation once more. “I know I shouldn't have taunted him,” I said to Rowan, growing serious. “But I don't do submissive well.”

“I'm aware of that.” Rowan sighed. “I know it's not my place to tell you want to do, but I want you to stay away from him.”

I turned away from the table and walked over to the couch. “I want it to be your place,” I whispered.

“Addie, don't.”

I closed my eyes.

“Stay away from Alexander.” He ended the call.

I took the phone from my ear.

“Addie?” Elysia asked. “Are you—”

I waved away her concern and headed for my room. I couldn't stand there and pretend everything was all right when nothing was.

 

A knock at my bedroom
door pulled me from the good long wallow I had allowed myself. I sat up and rubbed a hand across my cheeks. My pillow was still damp, but I had cried myself out—finally.

“Yeah?” I called.

“I got something for you, if you're interested,” Elysia said through the door.

I knew she was trying to cheer me up. I wasn't so sure I wanted to be cheered up, but she had enough of her own troubles. I needed to show her that I was going to be okay. At least, on the surface.

“Come in.”

Elysia pushed open the door and stopped on the threshold. “I have some cheap wine, a freezer full of ice cream, and some big spoons. Care to join me?”

“Ely.”

“It's just sad if I sit out here, get smashed, and eat a carton of rocky road by myself.”

I smiled. “And it's less sad if I join you?”

“I like to think so.”

I couldn't tell her no. I climbed off my bed and followed her out to the living room. The dining table had been cleared, but I saw a bottle of wine and a pair of glasses on the coffee table.

Elysia walked into the kitchen and pulled open the freezer. “I didn't know what you liked, so I got an assortment. There's plain ol' vanilla, double fudge chocolate, cookies and cream, butter pecan…” She continued to rattle off several more flavors.

“Elysia!” I laughed.

She leaned around the open door. “What? Come on, pick your poison.”

“The chocolate.”

She grabbed a couple of quarts and shut the door with her shoulder. “You grab the spoons, the bigger the better.”

Still smiling, I selected a couple of large spoons and met her on the couch. “Did James and Doug make it back?”

“Yes. James didn't bother to step out of the portal, of course, and I sent Doug downstairs to hang out with Ian.” Elysia poured us some wine, then handed me a glass.

“I'm not much of a drinker,” I admitted.

“Good. That'll make it easier to get you drunk and maybe you'll feel me up again.”

“Ely!”

“What? That was the most action I've had in…” She frowned, then took a big drink from her glass. “I can't even remember.”

“You had a finger bone in your bra,” I reminded her.

“You're one to criticize, you carry an entire apothecary around in there.”

“Hardly,” I muttered and took a sip from my glass. The vial I typically carried in my bra was Rowan's antidote. Not that I'd need to do that anymore.

Elysia set down her glass and began opening the ice cream. “Time to mainline some chocolate.”

“Bring it on.”

 

I woke to a splitting
headache and a hand on my shoulder, shaking me. “Please stop,” I muttered.

“Are you okay?” Doug.

“No.” I cracked my eyes open and immediately closed them. I lay on the couch in the living room where way too much light was creeping in around the blinds.

“What did you two do last night?” he asked.

“Go away, Doug.” Elysia's voice was muffled, but close by. “I'll make breakfast later.”

“It's after nine and that's not why I'm here, though it looks like I need to put on some coffee.”

“Addie doesn't like coffee.”

With a groan, I pushed myself into a seated position. Elysia lay on the floor, wrapped in the afghan that was usually draped over the back of the couch.

“How much wine did you two put away?” Doug picked up the empty bottle off the coffee table and carried it over to join the one on the kitchen counter. He gave us a smirk before moving over to the coffee pot.

“Can you do something about him?” Elysia slumped against the front of the couch beside my legs. “He's alive, so my options are limited.”

“I've got something for this.” I gripped the arm of the couch and pulled myself to the edge of the seat.

“You know I'm kidding, right?”

“Not for Doug. A potion for the headache.”

“Seriously? Oh God, if it works, I'll love you forever.”

“Unfortunately, the potion is downstairs.” I massaged my temples.

“Get Ian to bring it up.”

“He's not in,” Doug said, filling the coffee pot.

I stopped rubbing my head and looked up. “Where is he?”

“I don't know. He was gone when I woke.”

“I hope he's not out doing something stupid. He promised he wouldn't.” Great. Like I needed something else to worry about. I pushed myself to my feet.

“I can get it,” Doug offered.

“The vials aren't labeled.”

“That's reassuring,” Elysia muttered.

I started for the door, then remembered what Doug had said before being distracted by the coffee. “You mentioned that there was a reason why you came up here…”

“Agent Bruner called. He's the PIA's pathologist.”

“I remember him.” I massaged the back of my neck.

“He wants me to come take a look at that Dr. Steadham. He says something doesn't add up.”

I stopped rubbing my neck. “I want to go with you.”

A smile spread across his face. “You want to observe an autopsy?”

“Behave or I'll bring up a potion for you, too.”

 

I stumbled out of the
stairwell into the short hall to the lab, my head thumping with every step I took. I was fairly certain I still had a couple of vials of my alchemical pain reliever, but if I was wrong, I was going to have a miserable time mixing up another batch. Would Doug wait for me?

A thump sounded in the lab. Was Ian back? Thank God. If I need more pain reliever, he could mix up a fresh batch while I took a quick shower.

“Hey, where did—” I stopped on the threshold. It wasn't Ian; it was James.

“Hey yourself.” He looked up with a smile as he set a box on my workbench beside several others.

“What's this?” I nodded at the boxes.

“Special delivery.” He cocked his head as he studied me. “Are you okay?”

“I will be.” I walked to my shelf of completed formulas and was relieved to see six vials of pain reliever. Ian must have mixed up a few more at some point. Smiling at his thoughtfulness, I selected a vial and promptly downed it.

“Addie?”

The pain faded almost instantly, and I released a breath. “Headache,” I answered. “Elysia tried to cheer me up last night. There was ice cream…and alcohol.”

“Ah.” He continued to watch me.

I selected a second vial. “For Elysia,” I explained.

He frowned, but didn't comment.

“So, what's in the boxes?”

“An infrared spectrometer.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Rowan asked me to deliver it. He said you needed one.”

I stared at the boxes, remembering our banter at the PIA lab. “I guess he must have ordered one after my comment a couple of days ago.”

“He called over to the Institute this morning. They had one they could spare.”

The Institute of Magical Research, where Lydia used to work. I walked over to the counter. “It was a joke. We were laughing about the fact that I would prefer lab equipment to flowers and chocolates.”

“He remembered this morning at breakfast that you needed one and pulled out his phone right there at the table.”

I frowned. “But… he broke it off.”

“Because he's afraid he'll hurt you, not because he loves you any less.”

I rubbed the back of my neck though the headache was gone. “Then why leave me? Why not give me a chance to help him?”

“Last night, he knocked over his drink while we were watching TV in the den. He ashed the coffee table.”

“He's under a lot of stress. That makes a person… overreact.”

“You should have seen his face. He was as surprised when the coffee table vanished as Donovan and I were.”

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to argue, and yet I feared Rowan might have done the right thing when he left me.

James's arms came around me, and I slumped against him, trying to find some comfort in his familiar embrace.

“They say it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all,” I said. “I'm calling bullshit on that one.”

James chuckled, the sound a warm rumble beneath my ear. “There's another saying: when life gives you lemons…”

“Chuck 'em back and hope you hit something sensitive?”

He laughed. “There's the girl I know.” His arms tightened. “You'll beat this. I have no doubt.”

“I just wish Rowan had your faith.”

“He does. He's just scared, Ad.”

I sighed.

“Addie?” Elysia stood just inside the room, the afghan still draped around her shoulders and her golden hair in disarray.

“Oh. Sorry.” I left James's embrace to give her the vial of pain reliever I still held.

She accepted the vial without comment and drank it down. Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back and sighed.

“Better?” I asked.

“You are a miracle worker.”

I glanced over at James who was watching us with a faint frown. “We'll see,” I said, holding his green eyes with mine.

Elysia followed my gaze. “Have you had breakfast?” she asked James.

“Yes, thank you. I need to get back.” His attention shifted to me. “Rowan has that parade.”

It took me a second to remember. Today was Opening Day for major league baseball, an unofficial holiday in the city of Cincinnati. And the day started off with the Findlay Market Parade, an annual event since the 1920s. This year, Rowan was grand marshal.

“Try to keep him out of trouble, Fido.”

James smiled. “The same goes for you.” A final grin, and he left us.

“What was that all about?” Elysia asked.

“He delivered a lab instrument I had asked for.” I didn't go into detail. “I'd better go shower.” I started for the stairs.

“Shall I whip up a quick omelet?”

“Thanks, but I'll pass. I get to observe an autopsy, remember? The less I eat, the less I'll throw back up.”

Elysia laughed and followed me up the stairs.

 

Fortunately, Agent Bruner had already
finished the messy part of the autopsy, and all he had to show Doug was a body on the table with the typical Y-incision. The problem Bruner had encountered was that Steadham's heart was still intact.

Bruner frowned at the body before lifting his gaze to Doug. “A blood gift. Your necromancer friend said something about that when we examined those three bodies.” He referred to Doug and Ian's conversation last time we were here.

“Yes,” Doug agreed. He went on to give Bruner a short explanation.

Bruner frowned. “So the presence of the heart doesn't rule out necromancy.”