The Heir of Death - The Final Formula 3.5 (5 page)

“If you insist.” Ian gave her a sheepish glance. “It wasn’t one of my finer moments.”

“Lay you odds he was trying to impress a girl,” Addie said.

“I raised three boys. I wouldn’t take that bet.” Grams winked.

“Was it Isabelle?” Livie asked Ian.

“Yes. It was fortunate she was a better necromancer.”

Livie’s eyes went wide. “She was stronger than you?”

“I said better, not stronger.”

“But—”

“Livie,” Grams interrupted again. “Show him what you brought him. We need to go.”

“Oh, right.” The color returned to her cheeks.

“You didn’t need to go to any trouble,” Ian said. “Making Addie eat is gift enough.”

Addie made a face while Livie pulled the oddly shaped item from her bag. It turned out to be a picture frame.

“I couldn’t save your coat,” Livie said, turning the large frame toward him. “So I used it as a mat. I watched some videos on how it was done.”

Ian stared at the framed pictures matted in red brocade. There was a pair of sepia-toned 5x7s, and a single 8x10. After working with Era, James had developed an appreciation for the framing process. Livie had done an amazing job.

“I hope it’s okay.” Livie’s brow wrinkled when he didn’t speak. “I wanted to make a waistcoat, but the holes…”

“You’ve left him speechless,” Addie said, stepping up beside Livie to help her hold the big frame. “That’s a rare thing.”

“You did this?” Ian asked, his tone soft.

“Yes.” Livie still looked concerned. “Since the older pictures were small to begin with, I couldn’t blow them up much.”

“This is perfect,” Ian said.

“Yeah?”

James had been present when Elysia and her family had given Ian a guided tour of the Family photo albums, so he recognized the people in the photos. One 5x7 featured Ian’s eldest son, Joseph and his family. The other showed two teenage girls: Ian’s granddaughters by his daughter Matilda. But it was the larger photo that made James smile. It was a professional shot of Elysia and Livie, done in sepia tones to match the others.

“Yes.” Ian finally stepped forward to take the frame from her. “I must find a special place to hang this.”

Livie beamed, then bent to pick up the empty tote. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She reached inside and pulled out a small white box, like something from a jewelry store. “I found it on my night stand. Ely must have left it.”

She offered the box to James. A familiar bronze ribbon had been tied around it. He remembered Elysia using a similar one to bind her hair last night. A scrap of paper had been slipped beneath the ribbon.
For James
.

“I don’t know why she didn’t mention it,” Livie said as he accepted it.

“Yes, that’s…” He caught a faint, but familiar scent. If he had hackles in this form, they would have risen. Blood. He smelled blood.

“That’s what?” Livie asked.

“Odd,” he finished lamely.

“Are you going to open it?” Livie asked, a smile in her voice, though he didn’t look up to see it.

“Livie, don’t pry,” Grams said. “We really need to be going.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Ian offered, setting his new picture on the counter by the phone.

James was aware of Addie saying her goodbyes, and fumbled through his own. Instinctively, he knew he didn’t want to open the box in front of Grams and Livie. The possible reason for that made his hands shake. He stared at the box. No, the ribbon wasn’t like the one Elysia had worn, it
was
the one she had worn. He would have brought it to his nose to verify the scent, but he didn’t need a stronger whiff of blood. It was overwhelming him now. He wondered how he hadn’t smelled it the moment he let Grams and Livie in the lab, even though he knew the scent of breakfast had masked it.

“James?” Addie returned to his side and gripped his wrist. “What is it?”

“Blood,” he whispered.

“Inside the box?” Ian rejoined them.

“Yes. The ribbon is the same one Elysia was wearing last night.” He gripped one end of the ribbon and tried to untie it.

“Here. You’re going to knot it.” Addie took the box from his shaking fingers and set it on the workbench. Then she carefully untied the ribbon. It fell away and for one long moment they all stared at it. Then Addie lifted the lid.

“Oh God,” she whispered.

Chapter 5

J
ames stepped forward at the same time as Ian. Neither of them reached for the box, but they both leaned forward to see inside. At first, James thought the interior was covered in blood, then he realized it was lined with burgundy fabric. Velvet. But it wasn’t a bed for a piece of jewelry. Nestled inside was the last knuckle of what appeared to be a pinky finger. A female pinky finger.

“Is it…hers?” Addie whispered.

Ian looked up, his questioning eyes meeting James’s.

His stomach clenched in a tight ball, James reached out and touched his own finger to the cold, blood-smeared flesh. The single nail had been polished a glossy translucent white. The same shade Elysia had been wearing. A common color. James suspected there were millions of woman wearing the same shade right now.

He brought his hand to his mouth. Necromantic vibrancy exploded across his senses. Ambrosia.

Addie spoke, but James didn’t hear the words. The need to Hunt filled him and absolutely nothing else mattered. He yanked off his T-shirt, then gripped the waistband of his pants, his claws ripping holes in the fabric when he tried to push them down. Screw it. He—

Arms came around him from behind. “Stop.” Ian’s command slammed into him.

James snarled, twisting in his arms.

“Oh God,” Addie said. “It
is
Elysia’s finger.”

“Let me go!” James shouted.

“No. You’ll play right into his hand,” Ian said.

“And I’ll rip it from his arm before I take him to hell.”

“James, stand still.” The compulsion hit again, stronger.

James froze.

“Ian.” Addie’s voice quivered.

“Listen to me.” Ian’s arms tightened, his mouth close to James’s ear. “Use your head. This is what he wants.”

“I can’t
not
go.” James was so close to changing that the words were difficult to form. “I must Hunt.”

“Fight the magic. Don’t let your other side control you. You’re smarter than this.”

James squeezed his eyes closed, unable to quiet the snarl as he twisted his head from side to side. He wanted Alexander’s soul. It would be a bright, powerful soul. Just like Ian’s. James wanted to feed on it. Suck that last remnant of life out of him.

“James.” Addie’s hand settled on his chest, right over his silent heart.

He heard the thread of anxiety in her voice and stilled. He didn’t like it when she was upset, and his focus shifted though his muscles still quivered, ready to spring. All he needed was her command.

Ian grunted, the sound one of surprise. His arms loosened. “You got him?”

“Yes.” Addie’s dark eyes held James’s own. “Hey,” she whispered. “You with me now?”

He nodded, not yet trusting his voice.

“Good.” She glanced at Ian and he released James.

Ian walked over to the bench, and picking up the lid, closed the box.

James’s breath came a little quicker as his mind returned to the box’s contents.

“James.” The anxiety was gone from Addie’s voice and in its place, that steely confidence that never quit. “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

“That remains to be seen,” he admitted.

She smiled, patting his bare chest before she took her hand away. “I have the Final Formula ready. As soon as it rains, it’ll be good to go. I’ve prepared two vials. One to make Ian stop stumbling around—”

“Ha ha,” Ian muttered.

“And one to make Elysia immortal.”

James understood what she was saying. The Formula would regenerate anything Elysia had lost. He clenched his fists, feeling the bite of his claws.

Addie wrapped her hand around his wrist. “She can call you. Even when she was stunted, she could call you. Right now, she is making a sacrifice to learn where Alexander has entombed Matilda.”

“We don’t know that,” James whispered.

Addie frowned. “No, but putting yourself in his power isn’t the answer.”

“I’ll walk the veil. Evaluate the situation.”

Her brow wrinkled and she glanced at Ian.

“He won’t be able to resist jumping through to her,” Ian said.

“Then come with me,” James said.

Ian looked away first. “I cannot.”

“Why not?”

“He has other necromancers at his disposal. He’s no doubt already taken Doug, and…”

“And you’re a coward.” James knew he was snarling again, but he couldn’t help it. “What happened to all your talk of family? Or was that all that it was? Talk.”

Ian lifted his head, and his bright blue eyes bore into James’s own.

“You like to play the martyr, but the truth is you screwed your family over the first time around, didn’t you? You sacrificed them all to save yourself, but it didn’t work. Now you’re afraid he’ll lock you up again.”

Ian’s eyes lightened.

“Go ahead. Use your magic against the dead man. I may be a soulless animal, but I’m ten times the man you ever were, or ever will be.” He gave in to the fury and slid into his other form. Then he sprang at Ian, pulling the portal open behind him.

“James!” Addie screamed.

James wasn’t certain what he would have done, but he couldn’t soul rip Ian in front of her. Ian might be deceiving her, but her heart would never let her see that. James slid between the planes and jumped
through
Ian. The taste of his powerful soul washed over James, and he sensed regret, fear, and… love.

James landed on two feet in the land of the dead and released the portal behind him. He rose to his full seven-foot height, and though he knew there was nothing to see, he looked over his shoulder to where Ian should have stood.

Okay. Perhaps he hadn’t been entirely accurate. Ian regretted his past, and he very much feared a return to his tomb, but he might actually care.

James huffed out a breath that sounded more like a growl. Screw it. Ian was a problem for another day. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. Right now, he had a soul to track.

Chapter 6

E
lysia threw herself out of Doug’s path, his fingers brushing the sleeve of her robe before she could get out of range. He stopped and regarded her, a slow smile dimpling his cheeks before he started toward her once more, the knife clutched in his hand. She took a hasty step back, and a wrinkle in the area rug tripped her and she fell. Instinctively, she tried to catch herself and cried out when her injured hand slammed against the floor. Pain radiated up her right arm and into her shoulder. Cradling her injured hand against her chest, she scooted backward until one of the chairs stopped her.

Doug stopped, standing over her. This close, she could see the speckles of blood that adorned the lower section of his brown robes. Her blood. A disconnected part of her mind wondered if that was why Alexander favored robes of dark burgundy: they wouldn’t show the blood.

Doug smiled again, his faded blue eyes meeting hers. Elysia wondered if Doug was still in there, aware of what was happening. Alexander seemed to enjoy forcing Doug to do this to her.

“Dunstan said the grim was your lover,” Alexander said with Doug’s voice. “Did he lie or is the grim only your lover when you give him a command?”

She didn’t answer. Heart thumping in her ears, she lifted her chin and waited for his next move.

“If he cared about you at all, he would be here. I left the finger where it wouldn’t be missed.”

Elysia hoped James would see through the deception, but most likely, she suspected that he hadn’t found Alexander’s gift.

“What will he do if I send him the whole hand, or perhaps an ear?”

She lifted her left hand to the side of her face before she could stop herself. She didn’t consider herself a vain person, but she didn’t think she could sit by and let him mutilate her. Yet giving him James was out of the question.

“I force him,” she whispered. “He won’t respond on his own to anything you send.”

“For some reason, I don’t believe you.” He grinned with Doug’s face. There was something about the way the muscles moved beneath the skin, or maybe the smile itself that screamed to her that this wasn’t Doug at all. She strongly suspected that even if she hadn’t known about Alexander’s ability, she would have recognized that this wasn’t Doug.

“There is still the fact that you can summon the grim. And though I prefer not to claim you, it is clear that you favor our line. You are a beautiful woman. You won’t want to lose that.”

“The Nelson narcissism,” she said. He was right. That certainly seemed to be genetic. She would like to claim that she hadn’t fallen prey to it, but that might inspire him to prove the contrary.

He chuckled. “Is it narcissism or simply a recognition of truth?”

“I think it’s in my best interest not to answer that.” She used the chair to get to her feet, and he let her, watching with that amused twinkle in his faded eyes. “I won’t summon him, no matter what you do.”

“How about if I take both hands?”

Her knees trembled. It wasn’t an idle boast. “I might bleed to death,” she whispered. “Then he’ll be banished from the mortal world.”

“I’m not ignorant of how to avoid that, and young Doug here is trained in the medical arts—or so dear Xander tells me. Did he exaggerate?”

“No.” She swallowed, trying to strengthen her voice and not to let her fear show. “Doug went to medical school.” It should strike her as odd to say that, since it was Doug she was speaking to, but she didn’t even think of him as Doug anymore.

“See? You’ll live.” He reached out and gripped her upper arm.

She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened. Doug was a big man, and one of those fortunate guys with a natural muscle mass others envied. And though he didn’t obsess about it, Doug did take his physical fitness seriously. He had a gym membership he didn’t neglect. She wouldn’t win if this contest became physical. Her still throbbing hand could attest to that.

He pulled her closer. “Summon the grim.”

She threw her magic, her soul against him. But his body—Doug’s body—was alive. No death to latch onto. Her soul bounced back, and she grunted with its painful return.

“Completely uneducated, aren’t you?” He shook his head. “But I guess my brother wouldn’t want you to know what you were truly capable of.”

She frowned. Was there any truth to what he was saying? Ian certainly hadn’t been in a hurry to move beyond the basics.

“Now. Which hand shall we start with? The left?”

She let him pull her closer and once within range, brought her knee up with as much force as she could muster. He didn’t even grunt, but he did smile.

“I should mention for poor Doug’s sake that I don’t feel pain—like this or in my own body. However, Doug won’t be happy when I release him.”

Her cheeks warmed and guilt wormed through her stomach. She hadn’t been happy with Doug’s actions lately, but she didn’t want to hurt him.

He pushed her toward the chair, and she twisted in his hold, trying to get free. It might be futile, but she wouldn’t make this easy for him.

“Perhaps I should bind you,” he said. “This body isn’t as strong as I am accustomed.”

She had noticed that when he took full control of Doug like this, he didn’t attempt to control her at all. Were there limitations to how many he could control at once?

The chair bumped into the back of her knees, folding her legs. She fell backward, her butt smacking the seat as he released her. She hadn’t had a chance to wonder how she had gotten free when a hair-raising snarl filled the room. James!

Doug was jerked off his feet and sent flying.

“James, no!” She cringed as Doug smacked the far wall. Springing to her feet, she hurried to step in front of James, pressing her left hand against his bare chest. “That wasn’t Doug.”

“Elysia.” He snarled her name, but when his glowing eyes met hers, the rage faded. His gaze dropped to her cloth wrapped hand she held curled against her chest.

“That wasn’t Doug,” she repeated. “Alexander was controlling him.”

“Ah.” James slipped a hand behind her neck and gently pulled her to him, his claws lightly brushing the side of her throat. “Let’s go.” He opened the portal.

“We can’t leave Doug.” She looked past James’s shoulder to where Doug lay at the base of the wall. He hadn’t moved. “Is he okay?”

James glanced in his direction. “His soul is still firmly attached. Unfortunately.”

“We’re not leaving him here. He—” She tried to say more, but the words failed to leave her throat. She was no longer alone within her own body.

James cocked his head. “What?”

“The grim,” Alexander spoke with her mouth. “I knew you would come.”

James frowned, his dark brows shadowing his still glowing eyes. “Alexander,” he whispered.

“Nice to meet you,” Alexander forced her to say. “Release the portal.” To her horror, he made it a command, hitting James with her magic.

The portal winked out and James snarled.

“What are you going to do?” Alexander asked him. “Attack her?”

Before James could answer, another portal opened and Neil emerged. Elysia glimpsed Alexander’s servant lich before the portal closed. Apparently, the guy served as Alexander’s taxi service.

“Don’t move, grim.” Alexander used her power to give him another command.

“James.” Neil eyed him. “I see you fell for it.”

Unable to move, James glared in return.

“Were you able to acquire what was needed?” Alexander asked.

Neil walked over to her. “Right here.” He held up his hand, displaying the steel chain and padlock he held. No, not a simple chain. It was a choke collar for a dog.

Elysia wanted to knock the chain from his hand. She hadn’t seen Neil since he had held her down while Alexander forced Doug to remove her finger. Alexander must have sent him off to get a collar for James.

“You!” Doug was on his feet and running at Neil.

Elysia took a hasty step away from Neil—then realized she had moved on her own. Alexander was gone.

Doug suddenly stumbled and almost fell. When he righted himself, he looked up. His faded blue irises met hers. Alexander had jumped bodies. He was controlling Doug once more.

She spun to face James, opening her mouth to command him to flee.

“Stay where you are, grim,” Alexander used Doug to speak before she could.

Necromantic power sheathed the bond, and suddenly Elysia couldn’t sense James at all. Oh shit. She had forgotten that Doug could do this, that he had done this once before. She fisted her hands. It was pointless for her to have this kind of power when she could do nothing with it.

Alexander studied her through Doug’s faded eyes, then made a tsking sound. “You have no idea, do you?”

She glared at him.

A chuckle, and he turned aside. “Get that collar on the grim, Dunstan.”

“You have him?” Neil asked Alexander.

“Are you implying that I could not take him from an inept girl?”

“Not at all.” Neil smiled, his tone smooth and conversational. “I didn’t want to get too close if you weren’t actively holding him. He’s completely lethal.”

Alexander gave him an impatient wave, gesturing for him to continue.

Elysia tried to find the bond, but she was so blind to it, it might as well not exist. Desperate, she gave up on using the bond as her link to James and fed her soul into him as she would any corpse.

A blow took her in the head, and she didn’t realize that Alexander had hit her until she was on the floor at his feet.

“Now, Dunstan!” He shouted the command over James’s snarls.

Her hand throbbing where she had caught herself, Elysia blinked her watering eyes and tried again. This time, he aimed a kick at her, but she dove to the side to avoid it. Still, he accomplished his goal. The snap of the lock was loud in the enclosed space.

“Done,” Neil said.

“And that will hold him?” Alexander asked.

“It makes him human.”

“How? He’s still dead.”

“Something like human,” Neil said.

“Interesting.”

“Absolutely.”

Alexander looked up from his study of James to watch Neil.

“What is it?” Neil asked.

“You have a very confident air.”

Neil shrugged. “I’m an alchemist. It’s a requirement.”

“I don’t like alchemists.”

“Because you’ve never had one on your side.”

Alexander took a moment to consider this. “The grim is a creature of necromancy and alchemy. What is your opinion, can its handler be Made?”

Elysia swallowed.

“Stay away from her.” James fisted his hands.

“I wouldn’t risk it,” Neil said as if no one had interrupted. “I have potions that can be used on his handler. The results are the same. I’ve used them before. Right, Elysia?”

She glared at him, refusing to give an answer that would make him look good in front of Alexander.

“Return to me. You can explain while we wait for the rain,” Alexander said.

The portal shimmered open and Neil turned and walked toward it, seeming completely at ease. He glanced back, giving them a small smile before he stepped into the portal and was gone.

Doug abruptly turned and staggered away. He made it halfway across the room before he dropped to his knees and retched.

“Doug, please,” Elysia said. Now that the immediate threat was gone, she was so weary, she could barely force the words from her throat.

“Yeah, man,” James added. “The odor of vomit won’t enhance this experience.”

She glanced over at James, and he shrugged. She couldn’t decide if his comment amused or annoyed her.

Doug managed to contain himself without making a mess, but he remained doubled over, his head almost touching his knees. It took Elysia a moment to realize he was crying. Stunned, she stared at him. Doug, with all his arrogance and swagger, was the last person she’d ever expect to breakdown. There was a time that she believed he wasn’t even capable.

She pushed up to her feet, her head and hand thumping in unison, and made her way over to him. “Doug?” She knelt beside him, laying her left hand on his shoulder.

He covered his face with his hands and didn’t acknowledge her.

James frowned, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he bent and picked up Neil’s discarded robe. He curled his lip when he saw what it was, but pulled it on, anyway. He noticed her watching.

“What? My ass was cold.”

She snorted. “What is it Addie says? The full moon: the bane of the shapeshifter.”

“Oh not you, too.” James gazed down at himself in the brown robe. “This is so wrong.” The robe fit him fine, but Elysia suspected it wasn’t the fit that was the problem.

“You look like a necromancer,” Elysia said, throwing his earlier words back at him.

“Ha ha.” He walked over to join them. He eyed Doug for a moment, his brow wrinkling, but it wasn’t in anger. Even so, unease churned Elysia’s stomach when he squatted beside them.

“You about done?” James asked Doug. “You can feel sorry for yourself later.”

“James,” Elysia whispered.

A pause, and Doug sat up. His cheeks were wet, but anger burned in his eyes. “He made me cut off her finger,” he spoke between clenched teeth.

James shrugged one shoulder. “Neil made me kill my brother.”

Doug frowned.

“Your aunt once commanded me to rip out Rowan’s soul.”

“Clarissa?” Doug sat up a little straighter. “How did you avoid—”

“Addie. She threw herself in my path.” James stopped, then continued in a softer tone. “I never told her how close she came to dying that day.”

Doug’s brow wrinkled, but he didn’t speak.

“It gets worse. Clarissa once stuck her hand down my pants and commanded me to enjoy it.”

“How can you command—” Elysia stopped when James lifted a brow. “Never mind.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Doug said to James. “But it doesn’t make me feel any better about what I did.”

“But you didn’t do it,” Elysia said.

Doug studied his hands. A moment of silence, then he looked up at James. “How do you live like this?”

“Live?” James lips twisted into a wry smile that wasn’t a smile at all.

“You know what I mean.” Exasperation entered Doug’s tone. He was starting to sound like himself. “How can you stand it, knowing that someone can take your will at any time and make it their own.”

“No one takes my will. That is one thing that is always my own. When I am taken, I become an object, a tool. That isn’t me. The real me is inside watching, waiting, and when I get the opportunity, I make them pay.”