The Heir of Death - The Final Formula 3.5 (15 page)

She obliged him. He had already taken her blood into himself, establishing the link she now used to hold him here.

“Don’t…Make me.” Dark blood bubbled from his lips with each word. “Let me…go.”

She tried to blink her blurry vision into focus. “Doug?”

Movement in her field of vision, and she realized that Neil had lifted his head from the sink. His dark hair was plastered to the side of his head, and one eye was still squeezed shut, but he was watching her.

She didn’t get a chance to question him, as he abruptly turned and ran from the room. A split second later, a hellhound appeared. James. She closed her eyes, sending warm tears down her cheeks.

“I lost him. Again,” James growled the words, even though he was human now. “He’s faster than hell.”

She might have made a quip about that in a better moment. “I’m losing him, too,” she whispered, nodding at Doug. “He doesn’t want me to Make him.”

James looked down at Doug, his forehead wrinkling. “You’re right. His soul is leaving.”

“I know. I’m holding it.”

James’s brow wrinkled even more. “We need to get him to Addie and Ian. Maybe…”

“Why?”

“He hasn’t stopped breathing. His body hasn’t died. The Final Formula.”

“It’ll heal him.” Hope surged in her heart. “We’ll take him through the portal.”

“How? He can’t touch me when I shape shift, and you’re not strong enough to carry him.”

She looked around them, mentally searching for inspiration rather than expecting a physical answer. Her gaze settled on the gurney near the mortuary drawers.

“The gurney! Quickly!”

James rushed off to obey while she circled the table to unbind Doug’s other wrist. “Hold on,” she told him. “We’re not done yet.”

She wasn’t sure if he heard her. James returned to her side, and carefully lifted Doug from the table.

Doug’s breath shuttered, and she was forced to tighten the grip on his soul. He was minutes from death.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” she whispered. It was more of a litany than a command, but James had him on the gurney, then he dropped to all fours, a portal opening before her. She didn’t hesitate to push the gurney through the opening.

An instant later, a second portal opened. This one into Addie’s lab. Trying to hold back her sobs, Elysia shoved the gurney toward the new opening. But the soft ground slowed the wheels. It didn’t help that Doug was a big man.

Here.
James nudged her with his shoulder, and she let him take her place. His claws clanked against the metal handle as he gripped it, but he had no trouble pushing the gurney across the soft ground.

He shoved it through the opening, and it rolled into the lab. Elysia hurried after it.

“Addie?” she called out.

James landed with a thump behind her.

“She’s not here,” a female voice answered.

Elysia turned to find Era standing by the sink. She shut off the water and hurried to them. “Dear God,” she breathed.

“Have you heard from her?” James asked. He had moved across the room to pull on a pair of sweatpants.

Era didn’t answer him. She was staring at Doug. “He’s not breathing.”

“Oh no,” Elysia whispered. “We needed to keep him alive for the Final Formula.”

Doug’s chest suddenly expanded.

Elysia looked up, meeting Era’s amber eyes. They glinted with an odd metallic sheen. “I can move the air in and out of his lungs. I can even up the oxygen content. But I can’t keep him alive if his heart isn’t beating. Is it?”

“I don’t know,” Elysia whispered.

“Do we dare do chest compressions with that knife where it is?” Era asked. “If it hasn’t penetrated his heart, it might if we start compressions. Do we remove the knife?”

“I don’t know,” Elysia repeated.

“Aren’t you a mortician? You know how all the body parts fit together.”

“I’ve helped with a few embalmings. I majored in history.”

“I majored in interior design.”

Elysia wanted to laugh. They were so screwed.

“Who is he?” Era asked.

The question surprised her. Maybe Doug had always worn his robes while around her. “Doug Nelson.”

“Xander’s son?”

“Yes.”

“Come on,” James said. He stood by the shelves in the corner. “I know you made it; where did you put it?” He muttered to himself, but she knew he was really talking to Addie. “I have
got
to taste her blood,” he continued his monologue. “If I could soul track her, it wouldn’t matter if she forgot her phone.”

Elysia could picture Addie’s phone lying on the kitchen counter. That’s where she usually charged it. She had seen it that day they made sandwiches. Before the weirdness with the mustard.

“Oh.” The word escaped before Elysia realized. Both James and Era were now looking at her.

“What?” Era asked.

James frowned and moved closer. “Elysia?”

The bond tightened, and she gave him a frown. “I might be able to…summon her.”

“What are you talking about?” Era asked.

“Do it,” James said.

Elysia swallowed and looked down at Doug. He would be dead in minutes without the Final Formula. Time to see if Bella was right, and prove that she really was a soul reaper. If she really had taken a small piece of Addie’s soul.

Elysia closed her eyes.
Addie, come to me.

Chapter 16

A
portal opened and James tensed, ready to shift forms and rip out his soul if Alexander stepped out of the dark doorway. He came really close to doing just that when a familiar figure stepped into the lab, his golden hair glinting in the light. It was the old-fashioned clothes that stopped him.

“Really, Ian,” Addie’s voice carried out of the portal. “I think you’re a little paranoid.” She stepped out beside him. Her dark eyes settled on the gurney. “Oh, no.”

“We need the Final Formula,” James said. “Have you brewed some?”

“Yes,” Addie whispered. “One vial to make Ian quit limping around and one for Elysia.”

“Give him mine,” Elysia said. “Quickly.”

Addie pulled a vial of the golden liquid from one of the pockets lining her black robe.

“Here.” Ian took the vial from her and hurried to the gurney. James followed.

“You’ve tethered him,” Ian said to Elysia, more statement than question.

Elysia answered, anyway. “Yes. Era is breathing for him.”

“Okay.” Ian pulled the cap off the vial. “How close to consciousness is he?” he asked Elysia.

She frowned. “I don’t…”

“You do.”

She took a breath that shook, and James resisted the urge to backhand Ian, hard. What was it about the guy that always put her on edge?

Elysia closed her eyes. Her brow furrowed more. “He’s just below the surface.”

“He’ll be able to swallow,” Ian concluded. “James, hold him. He’s not going to like this.”

“Beats the alternative,” Era muttered.

James was gripping Doug’s shoulders before he could even consider Ian’s request. “I really wish you would quit giving me commands.”

“Sorry.” Ian placed the fingers of his empty hand on Doug’s chin. “Once he swallows, I’m going to pull out the knife. I don’t think he would like his body regenerating around that.”

“Would it really?” Era asked. Apparently, her curiosity had overcome her dislike of Ian.

“Yes. I want you two ladies to step aside once we begin. He’ll probably flail around a bit.” Ian’s blue eyes rose to Elysia’s. “Let go of his soul once the Formula kicks in…if you can.”

She held his gaze, her brown eyes several shades lighter than they normally were. “You lied to me,” she whispered. “You knew what I was.”

Ian studied her for one long moment before looking down at Doug. “Here we go.” He pulled open Doug’s mouth, and a trickle of blood ran from one corner. Then he slipped a hand beneath Doug’s head and lifted it slightly.

Doug’s features constricted in pain, and he closed his mouth. Elysia was right. He wasn’t truly unconscious.

“Era, would you help me get the potion in him?” Ian asked.

“Of course.” She pulled open Doug’s mouth once more, not a bit bothered by the blood. “Here.” She held out her hand for the vial.

Ian hesitated. “That’s all we have. He’ll die before we can brew more.”

Era’s amber eyes rose to meet his. “Not a drop will spill.”

“That seems more of a boast for your sister.”

“My element encompasses all things. I can demonstrate after we save this man.” She wiggled her fingers.

A faint smile curled Ian’s mouth, but he passed her the vial without comment.

Era brought the small glass bottle to Doug’s lips then slowly poured its golden contents into his mouth.

“Swallow, Doug,” Elysia whispered.

Doug’s Adam’s apple bobbed once, then twice.

James didn’t get to question whether he had obeyed her when Ian reached out and gripped the knife handle.

Doug tipped his head back, gritting his teeth so hard that the cords stood out in his throat.

“Now,” Ian said. He pulled the knife straight up and out of Doug’s chest.

Doug shouted, and his back arched off the gurney.

James sprang up on the gurney and straddled Doug’s body as he held his arms against the steel surface. The strength of Doug’s thrashing surprised him, but James’s own strength far exceeded his, and he had no trouble holding him.

Golden light began to glow within the open wound, and James watched in wonder as the flesh began to knit itself back together. Ian placed his hands on either side of the wound, pressing it closed.

Doug cried out again and again as his flesh continued to mend. Bones reformed, then muscle crawled along the unbroken pieces, only to be covered by unblemished skin. James couldn’t say how long the process took—perhaps only minutes—but Doug’s thrashing gradually subsided, and his cries of pain became only grunts of discomfort. Finally, he stilled completely.

Concerned, James leaned closer, listening to the soft thump of his heart.

“Did it work?” Addie asked in the silence. She stood a few yards away, her skin pale. Addie never did well around blood.

“Yes.” Doug’s voice was little more than a harsh croak. He opened his eyes and looked up at James. “You’re not going to kiss me, are you?”

James lifted a brow. “You sound so hopeful.”

Doug smiled, then his expression sobered. “Thank you.”

“It was a group effort.” James released him and hopped off the gurney.

Doug looked up, his gaze stopping on Ian who still stood beside him.

“Welcome to immortality,” Ian said.

A frown creased Doug’s brow. “You—”

“Not me. Addie.” Ian nodded toward her. “You will notice that your heart still beats in your chest.”

“Oh.” Doug didn’t seem to have more of a response.

“I guess this means I’ll have to put up with you a while longer,” Addie said, joining them.

“I guess.” Doug still looked a little shell shocked. He rolled onto his side and struggled to sit up.

Era stepped forward to help him. “Should you be doing that?” she asked.

“We’ll find out when I end up face-first in the floor.” Doug looked up and lifted his brows, apparently not realizing who had helped him. “Do I know you?”

“In name only—thanks to my over-protective brother.”

Doug frowned, his expression puzzled.

“I’m Era. Rowan’s my brother.”

“Oh.” Doug looked her over. “Era, Element of Air.”

“That’s me.”

Doug smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Era.”

James smiled, as well, feeling better about Doug’s recovery than he thought he ever would. A thump pulled James’s attention away from the exchange. He turned in time to watch Elysia back into the counter behind her, then her knees seemed to give out and she slid down the cabinet to sit on the floor.

“Elysia?” Concern colored Ian’s tone as he hurried to her.

James followed, all but vaulting the gurney to get there quickly.

She pulled up her knees and pressed the backs of her bloodied hands to her forehead. Her shoulders shook, and James realized she was crying.

He knelt beside her and gripped her shoulders. “Ely?” He intentionally shortened her name to avoid the bond tightening. She didn’t look like she needed anymore magic today.

“Talk to us, Elysia,” Ian said.

“Talk to you?” she whispered. “How about I strangle you?” To James’s complete surprise, she tried to do just that, catching him by the front of the shirt and shoving him back.

Ian didn’t resist. He did little more than blink when she pushed him against the cabinet across from them, his head thumping against the door with a hollow echo.

“I know what I am,” she whispered, her voice low and broken. “Bella told me everything.”

“Bella?”

“Your eldest granddaughter. Didn’t you even know her name?”

“I held her in my hands when she was a month old.”

Elysia frowned then leaned back. Her shoulders slumped and the fire seemed to go out of her.

“You spoke to her?” Ian asked, an intensity in him that put James on edge. “Where is she?”

“Dead. Alexander killed her.”

“He Made her?”

“No.” Elysia’s voice gained strength. “She traded her soul to a hellhound to get her sisters away from him, to Joseph. Then she watched over us for the next two centuries.” Elysia’s voice dropped to a whisper, a single tear sliding down her cheek when she blinked. “Your psychopath of a brother ripped off her head when he caught her. He killed her with no more consideration than you’d give a, a…” She pushed off him. “I don’t even know how to finish that sentence.”

“Elysia.”

“Don’t. Just don’t.” She scrubbed a hand across her face, leaving a smear of red across her cheekbone. “Your refusal to teach me anything about my magic left me vulnerable. Your selfishness nearly cost us everything.”

“I wasn’t being selfish. I was trying to protect you.”

“No, you were protecting yourself. You didn’t want to see what you had wrought. Well, using my magic is my decision. Leaving me ignorant, means I stumble into it blind. It doesn’t make me unable to use it.”

Ian frowned.

“Had I known how to travel, I could have gotten us out of there before Doug nearly died. Had I understood why Alexander was afraid of me, I could have used it to save Bella.”

“No,” Ian said, his tone stern. “You must never use it. Not even to travel.”

She glared at him, her eyes still lighter than they normally were. “Traveling is the least of my worries. I reaped another soul.” Another tear ran down her cheek.

James realized that she was talking about Doug. That bothered him on so many levels.

“Elysia, it’s okay.” Doug had walked over to join them, though he kept a hand on the counter for balance. “I don’t mind.”

“Good, but that’s not the point. That makes four.” She turned to Ian. “How many more do I have?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, I—” She abruptly doubled over, pressing a hand to her chest. “He’s here.”

“Ely?” Doug asked.

A chill ran up James’s spine. “Alexander.”

Ian reacted the fastest, grabbing Elysia and pulling her against his chest. He slipped one hand around the back of her neck, pressing her face against his shirt, just beneath the bloody handprints she had left on the white fabric.

Elysia grunted and pushed against him, but she couldn’t get free. “Who’s the dead man holding me? It’s not the grim.”

Ian looked up, his gaze meeting Addie’s concerned expression. “The solvent.”

“I’ll have to brew some.” Addie said.

“Elysia,” James said. “Push him out.” He moved away from her, preparing to change.

“The more she reaps, the easier she becomes to control.” The voice was Elysia’s, but the tone was Alexander’s.

“He’s right,” Ian said.

“Is that you, Lory?” Elysia, or rather, Alexander asked.

James frowned at the name, until he realized that Alexander had shortened Mallory. A childhood nickname, or was he taunting Ian about losing the right to the Nelson surname?

Ian glanced up at Doug before turning to James. “You’d better watch him.” Ian jerked his chin toward Doug.

“I already gave him the solvent,” James said.

“It worked,” Doug added.

“It
is
Lory,” Elysia said, her laugh muffled by Ian’s shirt. “Is your face as pretty as mine?”

“Leave her, Lex,” Ian said through gritted teeth.

Elysia laughed again. “And leave this power? I don’t think so. Feel that?”

Ian grunted, but he didn’t let her go.

“She can take a lich’s soul as easily as taking a breath. The living, however, are a little more tricky. Your theories on soul transference were dead on—if you’ll excuse the pun.”

“Dear God,” Doug whispered.

“James,” Ian said, the name little more than an airy wheeze. “Change.”

Ian’s voice might be failing, but his power wasn’t. James became the hellhound an instant later.

“What are you doing, Lory?” Alexander asked.

Ian didn’t try to answer. He surged to his feet, keeping Elysia pressed against him, and pulled open a portal into the land of the dead.

“Don’t make me kill you,” Alexander said. “Again.”

Ian jumped through the portal, carrying Elysia with him. “James, follow!”

The portal began to close, but James caught it, leaping through after them.

Ian let go of Elysia and fell to his knees at her feet.

She took a few stumbling steps away from him and doubled over, holding her head. “He’s gone, but you’re not. I feel you, inside me. It’s like I’ve tethered your soul.”

James stared in fascinated horror at the fine glittering rope that stretched between Ian and her. It was the same brightness and hue as Ian’s vibrant soul, but once it reached Elysia, it vanished into her sun-like brilliance.

“You must release me, Elysia,” Ian whispered. “I’ve already been Made. If you reap me, you will take it all, and that will destroy you.”

So he claims,
James said.

Ian glared up at him. If James’s true form made him uneasy, it didn’t show at all. “This isn’t about me, or you, this is about her. My brother was right. Soul transference does work, but if the soul being transferred belongs to a powerful necromancer, you sacrifice the soul reaper in the process. Elysia cannot hold my soul within her own.”

“I don’t want to know how you know that,” Elysia whispered. Her brow wrinkled as she watched him. “Let me try to release you.”

The rope between Elysia and Ian glittered brighter, then Ian’s soul suddenly dimmed.

“No!” Ian shouted.

Wrong way,
James said.
You were taking, not letting go.

“But that’s how I release a tether,” she said. “It’s always worked before.”

“On the living. I’ve already been Made.” Ian looked up at James. “Do you have enough finesse to free me from her? If so, do it.”

James showed him his teeth.
You can’t command me here.

“I know. I’m trying to get through the animal to the man beneath. If you care about her half as much as you claim, you will try.”

This is how I manipulate souls
. James held up a hand, displaying his ebony claws.
She has tied your soul to hers, and her soul is inside her.

Ian bowed his head, then gave it a small shake. “There is so much I have to make right, but I can’t hurt her, and I can’t ask you to.” He looked up, meeting James’s eyes once more. “If she cannot release me, take my soul. Don’t let this destroy her.”

James didn’t know what to say. If Ian was willing to give himself to save Elysia, maybe he really did care. But this was a hell of a time for that realization.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was a soul reaper?” Elysia asked Ian, her voice soft.

“I didn’t want you to give up.”

“Then you don’t know me very well.”

“No, I don’t. But I would like to.”

Her brow wrinkled, and she looked up at James.

You’re going to ask me to do this.

“When you and Gavin fought in this place, I watched you each tear out little pieces of each other’s souls. I know you have the finesse.”