The Heir of Death - The Final Formula 3.5 Page 4

  A few stragglers had just arrived, adding their number to the group gathered near the large Nelson monument.

  “Who are these people?” Elysia whispered to Doug.

  He hesitated before answering. “Heads of household throughout the necromancer community. Most are cousins.”

  “But they’re not all Nelsons.”

  “Not all.”

  “I’m guessing Grams wasn’t invited.” As head of a necromancer Family, she should have been.

  “You know how it is, Ely.”

  She glanced over, shocked by his honesty. In the past, he had always tried to ignore or downright deny that the Mallory Family members were pariahs within the necromancer community.

  Xander called for everyone’s attention, cutting off any further comment she might have made.

  “Friends, Family, I want to thank you for venturing out on this cold March night to send off those who would lead us into the future.”

  The crowd gathered closer, mumbling softly among themselves.

  “This generation has proven unique among those of the modern age,” Xander continued. “For the first time in nearly a century, we have more than one candidate. This time, we have three.”

  The mumbles became voices as the gathered necromancers discussed this new development.

  Xander called for silence and once again, got it, though it was a little slower coming. “Allow me to introduce them. First, Douglas Jacob Nelson, my son.”

  Doug left her side and walked over to join his father, shoving his hood off his head as he walked. The moonlight glinted off his blond hair, making it appear almost silver.

  “I know what you’re up to,” a male voice whispered close to her ear.

  Elysia took a hasty step to the side, looking up at the man who stood beside her.

  “Next,” Xander continued, “my nephew, Alexander Nelson Dunstan.”

  The man beside her pushed back his hood, revealing Neil’s smiling face.

  Elysia fisted her hands, but he said nothing else before walking over to join Doug and Xander. Was she doing the right thing? Doug was the only one who might speak up for her, but she doubted he could do anything if the others decided to tear her apart. Then there was Neil and his potions. Without Addie or Ian, Elysia had little hope of stopping him if he tried something new.

  “And our last candidate.” Xander crossed his arms. “It’s nothing I would have condoned, but I’ll leave it for him to decide.” He turned his hooded head toward her. “Elysia Mallory.”

  The gathered necromancers burst into full-voiced conversation this time. Elysia tensed, half-expecting them to start hurling stones. When no one did, she forced her feet into motion. She stopped before Xander, and imitating Doug and Neil, pushed back her hood.

  “You’ve got to admire her guts,” Neil said to Doug. She could just hear him over the voices of the others. “I assume she understands what we’ve truly volunteered for.”

  “She knows,” Doug answered softly. His brow wrinkled and his eyes met hers. It was clear that he regretted his decision to pull her into this.

  The familiar sensation of a portal opening drew her attention away from Doug and Neil. A hush fell over the crowd. The dark doorway into the land of the dead hung open directly over Alexander’s false grave. As the silent crowd watched, a figure stepped through the opening. It wore aged brown robes that were frayed around the edges. Skeletal hands gripped a silver tray. A lich. A very old lich.

  For a moment, Elysia feared it was Alexander himself, but there was something submissive about the way it moved toward them, head bowed and tray outstretched. As it drew nearer, she could make out three small squares of dark fabric on the silver surface. The dim light made it difficult to judge, but it looked like burgundy velvet. On each square of cloth, a small piece of…something lay. It had a disturbing resemblance to beef jerky.

  The lich stopped before them. Silence stretched and it seemed everyone held their breath.

  Supplicants. The voice floated out of the open portal, collecting a gasp from those gathered. To guide the Family into the future takes unity and a single purpose. Consuming the flesh of the First represents your willingness to give your life, and death, to the Family. To be Deacon is to be one with me.

  Elysia stared at the small pieces of jerky in horror. Alexander’s flesh. His blood gift was that of a ghoul master. He could bind the living. But as a lich himself, he lacked blood. Apparently, his flesh served the same purpose. Maybe that’s where the title of his gift came from. After all, ghouls were said to consume flesh. Though that made her the ghoul…and him her master.

  Take and eat, the voice intoned. The formal words making it sound like some kind of twisted communion.

  Neil reached out without hesitation and plucked a piece of desiccated flesh from the tray. Grinning, he popped the tiny morsel in his mouth and swallowed.

  Doug took his piece and glanced at her.

  She resisted the urge to knock the sliver of flesh from his fingers, and watched him bring it to his mouth. She bit her lip, longing to remind him that he had no immunity. Instead, she watched him swallow.

  Though the crowd wore hoods, she knew all eyes were now on her. She reached out, fingers unsteady, and picked up the final bit of shriveled flesh.

  “Ely,” Doug whispered.

  “How far down this rabbit hole are you willing to go?” Neil asked.

  She lifted her chin, meeting his white eyes. “All the way to the bottom.”

  Neil smiled, then bent down, his mouth close to her ear. “Did you know that only a lich king is immune to the power of the ghoul master?”

  “I’ve Made with my blood.”

  “But that is not all you can do, is it? You are not a lich king, like me. You are something else.”

  “And how is it that you are so knowledgeable?”

  “I’ve done a lot of research on the topic. Do you think I would have taken this risk otherwise?”

  She frowned, but maintained her silence. He was trying to rattle her.

  Throughout the exchange, Doug stood with his head bowed, but now he began to walk, his stride a little awkward as he moved toward the portal.

  Neil sighed. “My poor cousin has no immunity at all.”

  Elysia stared at Doug’s retreating back. He was under Alexander’s control? Already?

  “Well?” Neil prompted, his gaze dropping to what she held pinched in her fingers.

  Holding her breath, she pushed the unsavory morsel between her lips and swallowed it down before it did more than touch the back of her tongue. Her stomach clenched and her throat tightened. For a moment, she feared she might vomit. She took a couple of deep breaths to steady herself, then stood tall and once more met Neil’s white eyes.

  “See,” she whispered. “I—”

  Hello, daughter, a voice whispered within her mind. The crazy thing was, it sounded like her voice. Come to me.

  Her feet moved, carrying her toward the open portal. Panic seized her, and she tried to stop, to turn and run, but her body didn’t respond. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t even open her mouth. Her body was no longer hers to control.

  Neil chuckled behind her.

  Her feet carried her forward, whispering across the short, spring grass of Alexander’s false grave. Heart pounding, Elysia fought the compulsion, trying to find a way to break free of the ghoul master’s control. Blindly, she tried to find something to throw her magic against, but there was nothing. He was inside her, controlling her movements. At least, she could still control her thoughts.

  She stepped into the portal and stumbled to a stop, suddenly in control of her body. Doug reached out, catching her elbow to steady her. Neil joined them, and a moment later, the lich followed. The portal closed stranding them in the land of the
dead.

  Elysia looked around, expecting Alexander to be present. After all, it had seemed to be his voice that had echoed out of the portal, but aside from the silent lich, they were alone.

  A new portal opened, and Elysia glimpsed a flickering of light and stone. The lich stopped beside it. He, or maybe she, gestured toward the opening. It hadn’t even glanced in their direction or uttered a word of its own—if it could. Was it a servant of the ghoul master, as well? Judging by the decay, it had been in his power a long time.

  “I guess this is our stop,” Neil said.

  Come. A male voice intoned.

  Neil immediately obeyed while she glanced at Doug.

  “I shouldn’t have agreed to include you,” he whispered.

  “It’ll work out.” She walked forward, and Doug fell in step beside her. “James is standing by,” she whispered. “We just have to play along.”

  They stepped out into a windowless room that reminded her of a castle. The floors, walls, and ceiling were all constructed of the same gray-brown stone. Old-fashioned oil lamps hung from hooks around the perimeter of the room, illuminating the almost modern furnishings. The dark burgundy area rug looked new, or at least, well kept. A pair of leather armchairs sat to either side of a polished, dark wood table that held a large chess set. The chamber was furnished much like Ian’s crypt, only nicer and lacking the books.

  The portal closed behind them. Their escort hadn’t followed them into the room, but they weren’t alone.

  He stood at the far end of the room on a small dais that held a flat black sarcophagus. He didn’t wear the brown robe she expected. His were a deep burgundy, so dark they were almost black.

  Come closer, my children. He spoke directly into their minds, a faint accent coloring the words. Goosebumps pebbled her arms as she recognized his accent. It was just like Ian’s.

  They crossed the carpet, even Neil’s steps hesitant, and stopped at the base of the dais. She couldn’t see Alexander’s face within the deep shadow of his hood. Did he hide his face out of vanity? Liches rotted far more slowly than the average corpse, and a two-hundred-year-old lich was undoubtedly a gruesome sight.

  It saddens me to see how far the Family has fallen. The best they can send me is the stunted alchemist, the childless heir, and the cursed one.

  Elysia wanted to cross her arms against the coldness of his tone, but she made herself stand still, chin up, refusing to give in to the fear that tingled along her spine.

  Or it says something about dear Xander’s power of persuasion that he can convince the Family that this is the best they have to offer. He must know that if this scheme fails, not one of you is qualified to take my name and lead the Family into the future.

  “The scheme will not fail.” Neil stepped forward. He shrugged off his brown robe to reveal the closer-fitting black robe beneath. A robe Elysia had seen Addie dressed in on more than one occasion: an Alchemica alchemist’s robe.

  Neil slid his fingers along his ribs and extracted a vial from the narrow pockets hidden in the folds. The golden liquid within sparkled in the lamplight.

  “The Elixir of Life, lacking only a drop of spring rain. Tomorrow, the true Deacon will return to walk among the living.”

  Elysia stared at the vial in horror. It was the Final Formula. Neil had already brewed it.

  “The stunted alchemist cannot be trusted,” Doug said, the typical necromancer arrogance heavy in his tone. “I suspect he has my father under an alchemical spell.”

  “I wish I had that kind of power,” Neil muttered.

  Doug ignored the comment. “My cousin does nothing unless it benefits him, and there’s no benefit in this for him.”

  “I will have proven my worth, my contribution to the Family.”

  “Since when has that ever mattered to you?”

  A weird huh-huh-huh sound came from Alexander’s direction, and Elysia realized he was laughing.

  What of you, Douglas? What can you offer me?

  Doug straightened to his full height, his golden hair catching the lamplight much as Neil’s potion had. “My lineage. I am my father’s son.”

  Yet you have no offspring of your own.

  “No.”

  Are you sterile?

  Neil glanced over on that one, a small smile curling his lips.

  “I chose to focus on my career first, to expand the Family’s business interests.”

  Commendable, but that doesn’t answer my question.

  “There is nothing wrong with me.”

  Alexander seemed to study Doug a few minutes longer before his hooded head turned in her direction.

  The urge to fidget was almost overwhelming, especially when he stepped down from the dais. She tried to take a step back, but he reached out and captured her chin in one skeletal hand. She froze, not certain what he intended.

  It is amazing how much you resemble your ancestress.

  She was tempted to ask if he referred to his niece, but thought better of it. His grip was tight enough; she didn’t want to give him a reason to squeeze.

  He seemed to be studying her now, but unable to see his expression, she wasn’t sure.

  “Yes?” she said, or tried to. It was difficult to speak with her chin clamped in his hand.

  I guess I can still be surprised. He released her.

  “Deacon?” Doug prompted.

  I have never seen a soul bond of this intricacy.

  Elysia stilled.

  “You can see a soul bond?” Neil asked.

  If I know to look. Xander told me she soul bound the grim.

  Neil gave Doug a frown, giving Elysia the impression that he hadn’t wanted Alexander to learn about James.

  Summon it, Alexander commanded her.

  “Him.” She lifted her chin. “And I will not.”

  “I should probably mention,” Neil spoke up. “Elysia’s attitude toward the dead is…unhealthy.”

  Meaning?

  “The grim is her lover.”

  That seemed to stun Alexander to silence.

  “But she has eaten your flesh,” Neil said. “I thought you could command those she has bound through her.”

  If she had simply soul bound him.

  “She didn’t bind his soul?” Doug asked.

  No, she took it.

  Elysia frowned. “What?”

  Alexander made that odd huh-huh-huh noise again. My brother has told you nothing.

  “Would you care to clarify?” Doug asked.

  Neil snorted, then covered his mouth as he struggled to control his laughter. “All this time, you didn’t know your very soul was in danger.”

  Elysia wanted to demand that he explain, but she didn’t want to confirm her ignorance in front of Alexander.

  “What the hell are you talking about, Dunstan?” Doug demanded.

  “The girl you were going to marry is a soul reaper.”

  “Ely? A soul reaper?” Doug seemed to be struggling not to laugh. “Give me a break.”

  His response reassured her. “The soul reaper is a myth,” she said. “A story told to frighten children.”

  “There are stories and exaggerations,” Neil said. “But at its heart, it really is a blood gift. The rarest, most powerful, and the one with all the nasty side effects.”

  Which is why my brother used it as the basis for his curse. And why I cannot take the bond from her. But if he is truly her lover, I don’t need her to summon him. I can convince him to join us on his own.

  Chapter 4

  James jumped through the portal, his body morphing into the hellhound as he crossed the threshold. His paws made no sound as he landed on the carpeted floor of Elysia’s room. He shifted human, then pulled a pair of sweatpants out of the bottom dra
wer of her dresser. He was adjusting the waistband around his hips when movement drew his attention to the hall.

  “We need to find a way for you to knock,” Ian said. The sleeves of his linen shirt were rolled up above the elbows. He must have been working in the lab.

  “Any word?” James picked up a T-shirt and walked over to join him.

  “She is more likely to contact you than me.”

  James moved past him into the hall. He glanced at the closed door to Addie’s room. “Is Addie asleep?”

  “I assume. She went to bed as soon as everyone left. I told her she overdid it today, but of course, I might as well talk to the wall.”

  James smiled. It was such a relief that Addie was recovering at last. He still woke some nights, drenched in sweat and unable to remember if she had gone into the light or not. On more than one occasion, he had traveled to her room, to make certain she hadn’t. And just like today, Ian had been aware of his visits, often calling softly through the door to make certain it was James. Gavin had been vanquished, but like James, Ian still kept watch.

  “Since you were asking about Elysia, I assume you’ve had no word from her, either,” Ian continued.

  “No.” James stopped in the living room and raked a hand through his hair. “I tried to sleep, but every time I dozed off, I thought I heard her call.”

  “Are you certain she didn’t call?”

  “We’ve tested it. If she calls me, I’m instantly awake. If she makes it a command, I’m on my way before it registers.”

  Ian grunted, then headed for the stairs. “Then this must be a product of your anxiety.”

  “And you’re not anxious?” James followed him down the stairs and into the lab. Judging by the various equipment setups, Ian had indeed been busy. Ian was far too meticulous to leave a mess when he wasn’t working on something.

  “We must give her time to accomplish her goal.” Ian bent to adjust the speed on a magnetic stirrer. The spinning stir bar within the flask of amber-green liquid slowed to a gentle swirl.