The Necromancer's Betrayal (The Final Formula Series, Book 2.5) (14 page)

“Wait!” Elysia called. “Please let James heal.”

Neil met her eyes. “Gavin, put him back in the drawer.” Without waiting to see if he would obey, Neil left the room.

Oh God, no.

The new grim, Gavin, rose to his feet. He swayed and caught himself on the table, then stumbled across the intervening space to James’s table. He snorted. “New body.”

James fisted his hands, but didn’t say anything.

“Please, Gavin.” Elysia shifted on her stool. “Let him heal.”

Gavin looked up, his eyes taking on that disturbing glow while he studied her. “I want to taste you.” He watched her for a moment longer, then turned his attention to releasing James’s ankles.

Elysia gripped her hands. “I’ll let you,” she whispered.

Gavin’s head came up, his red gaze locked with hers.

“If you free him,” she finished.

“Don’t.” James twisted on the table, trying to see her.

Gavin pulled back his lips, his eyes still on her. “You’ll try to bind me.”

“Not if you free him.”

“I cannot disobey my master.”

“Give James the key when you put him away.”

Gavin’s grin became more feral—if that was possible. “I like that, pretty necromancer. You are devious.”

Gooseflesh rose along her arms, but she didn’t look away.

“Elysia, no,” James whispered.

“You’re not going to perish because of me,” she said.

Gavin chuckled and went to work on James’s restraints. When he freed a wrist, James took a swing at him.

Gavin caught his fist against his palm and tsked. “None of that, little brother.” He picked James up, locking his arms around James’s upper body when he continued to struggle. He carried him to the mortuary drawer that still stood open and dropped him on the tray. When James tried to rise, Gavin shoved him down with one hand to his chest, then slid the drawer in and slammed the door.

“You are bound in iron,” Gavin said. “Even in this new body, I can defeat you easily.”

Elysia gripped the stool beneath her as Gavin turned to regard her. “The key is on Neil’s cart. Quickly, before he returns.”

The corner of Gavin’s mouth twitched upward. It was creepy how he reminded her of James. The hair wasn’t as dark, and the eyes—when not glowing—were hazel green, but the family resemblance was still there.

“You will be in my debt, pretty necromancer.”

“Yes, I will.” She glanced toward the door. “Please hurry.”

A final grin and he did just that, his stride more easy and coordinated. He snatched up the key, then glanced at the door. “My master comes.”

“Hurry,” she whispered.

“Gavin won’t disappoint you.” A flash of teeth, and he sprang across the room, jerked open the door, and tossed the key inside.

It clattered against the steel lining of the drawer and Elysia grimaced. Would James be able to reach it? There was only an inch or so of space on either side of the tray he lay on. He wouldn’t be able to squeeze his hand through the gap. Worse, what if the key had landed beneath the tray near his feet? He couldn’t turn in the tight confines of the drawer.

Gavin slammed the door as Neil returned. “I did as you asked, master.”

“Of course you did,” Neil said, not even glancing in Gavin’s direction. He gathered up a couple of vials from his cart and tucked them away in the long narrow pockets lining his ribs. “Gavin, there’s a dead woman on the floor in the lab. Go get her and put her in one of these drawers.”

“Which drawer?” Gavin asked, nonplused about being asked to fetch a dead woman.

Neil turned to Elysia, tipping his head toward the drawers. “Find an empty drawer to put your friend in.”

Gritting her teeth, Elysia rose to her feet and did as told. She wanted to check on James and make certain he had the key, but with Neil in the room, she didn’t get the opportunity.

Gavin returned a few minutes later with Kari slung over his shoulder. He walked to the drawer Elysia had pulled open and callously dropped Kari onto the tray. Her head bounced against the metal with a clang.

“Hey, easy.” Elysia stepped up beside her and smoothed her hair. Kari’s wide eyes focused on her.

“Unhealthy, Elysia,” Neil said.

Gavin chuckled softly.

Elysia ignored them both. “I’m sorry.” She rested a hand against Kari’s forehead. “He’s bound me with the same potion.”

Concern and perhaps sadness entered Kari’s eyes.

Elysia glanced at Neil. He was busy straightening his cart’s contents. She caught a glint of metal as he cleaned the scalpel on his black robes.

An idea forming, Elysia glanced around for something sharp. When she found nothing, she brought her hand to her mouth and pinched a small chunk of flesh between her teeth. The muscles in her jaw tensed and she hesitated, anticipating the pain. Odd that the prospect of James scratching her had been so exciting. Maybe because he could heal her.

James. He would bleed to death if he couldn’t reach that key.

Elysia bit down. Blinking her watering eyes, she pulled her finger from her mouth. Blood welled along the gash she had made.

Gavin growled, his attention on her finger.

“Later,” Elysia whispered, then pushed her finger between Kari’s lips. “Sorry.” A quick glance at Neil, and she whispered the words for a soul bond—and felt nothing when she finished. Did it even work?

Gavin stood watching, his eyes glowing faintly as she pulled her finger from Kari’s mouth. Elysia shivered, but tried to ignore his notice. He didn’t rat her out to Neil, and that was what mattered.

“Gavin.” Neil’s voice made Elysia jump. Had he seen?

“Shove in the drawer and come with me,” Neil continued. “We’re leaving.”

Elysia took a step back as Gavin did as he was told.

“You, too, Elysia,” Neil said.

“Where are we going?” She walked toward him, and Gavin slammed the door shut behind her.

“I can’t leave you here to tell Doug what I’ve done.”

“I’m not going back to Doug.”

“What a shame.” Neil shook his head. “He’ll be heartbroken, but I’m afraid you can’t just… go.”

“But—”

“I could kill you.”

She didn’t have an argument for that.

“Once you go insane perhaps, I’ll return you to him—in front of his father. That should prove amusing.”

She stopped beside him, keeping him between her and Gavin. “What makes you think I’ll go crazy?”

“You’re not as strong as I am. One whisper of a possible curse, and you cave in to despair. I was born stunted, my life has been nothing but despair—and now I stand on the cusp of having it all.” A wink, and he turned toward the door. “Come along, you two.”

She glanced toward James’s drawer. “Kari,” she whispered, not sure the girl could hear her, let alone if she would obey. “Free the grim from his drawer.”

Chapter
15

“I
t seems apt, don’t you think?” Neil stopped to let her get a good look at the mausoleum.

Elysia stared at the name carved over the door. The sun was rising and the weak light left most of the cemetery in shadow, except for a bright beam of sunlight that had snagged on the name, illuminating it in an odd brilliance. Mallory.

“Come inside. I want to show you something.” Neil walked toward the mausoleum, winding his way among the headstones to the rusted door.

Aware of Gavin standing behind her, Elysia hurried after Neil.

A simple hasp was the mausoleum’s only security. Neil pulled out a flashlight and led her inside. The derelict building had multiple holes in the roof, letting in some of the early morning light. It left the musty place shrouded in shadows, and she longed for a flashlight of her own.

Elysia came to a stop, eyeing the black stone sarcophagus in the center of the room.

Neil walked ahead of her, shining his flashlight on the lid. She was close enough to see the name and sucked in a breath. This was Ian Mallory’s tomb.

“I guess you recognize the name.” Neil gave her a smile. He turned to Gavin. “Remove the lid.”

Gavin stepped forward and, without comment, began to wrestle the heavy lid from the sarcophagus. His movements were easy and sure, and though he grunted with the awkwardness of the large lid, he seemed to already possess the strength of the dead.

Elysia gripped her hands as Gavin finally slid the lid off. She didn’t want to peer inside.

“Don’t look so concerned.” Neil stepped up to the side of the sarcophagus. “Look.”

She had seen death in various states. The dead didn’t frighten her the way they seemed to scare the untalented, but this was one grave she didn’t want to gaze into. What if he had been Made. What if—

Neil’s potion still commanded her obedience, and her legs carried her over to join him. He pointed his flashlight inside and she gasped. It wasn’t a sarcophagus, it was a stairway leading down into a crypt.

“Ingenious, huh?” Neil hopped up to sit on the waist-high wall and swung his legs over. “Come on.” He started down the stairs, taking his light with him and leaving Elysia in the gloom with Gavin. That, as much as the command, got her moving.

She climbed up on the wall.

“Shall I help you?” Gavin moved closer, his eyes glowing faintly.

“No, I got it.” She swung her legs over.

Gavin was beside her in an instant. “Remember, you promised.” His hot breath stirred the hair beside her ear.

“I know.” She swung her legs over and hurried down the steps after Neil.

Neil waited a short distance away, standing in the center of a dark red area rug. A pair of wingback chairs sat to either side of a small table. The walls were lined with shelves and though empty, they were oddly clean, as if someone had dusted them recently.

A soft thump, and Gavin landed on the rug behind her.

“What is this place?” she whispered.

“At one time, a library and a lab.” Neil turned away, and his flashlight illuminated a doorway beneath the stairs. She followed him down the narrow hall until they stood in a second, more sparely furnished room. This one held only a couple of tables and a set of rough shelves.

“Ian was a very talented alchemist for his day. Some of the things he accomplished, even in the absence of New Magic, were truly amazing. Once, this room held an impressive lab.”

“Why am I here?” Elysia cut in.

Neil turned to face her. “You’re not interested in your ancestor’s accomplishments?”

“Not particularly.”

“Huh.” He turned and led her back to the first room. “Here’s the thing. I’ve had a bit of bad luck lately, and I’m short on places to keep you that Doug doesn’t know about.”

“You’re leaving me here,” she whispered.

“Well, yes. But don’t worry, I’ll keep you fed and bring you some blankets. Not sure what to do about a bathroom.” He shook his head. “It’s so much easier with a lich, but that’s not an option any more.” He ran his light over the walls as he spoke, seeming to consider the amenities.

“Please don’t do this.”

He turned to face her. “I’m sorry, Elysia. This is a shitty way to reward you. After all, you netted me this wonderful opportunity.” He waved a hand toward Gavin. “Maybe I can brew a potion to wipe your memory. Such things can be done, but they’re touchy. Brain chemistry was never my strong suit.”

Her mouth had gone dry.

“Have a seat.” He shined his light on one of the wing chairs.

She walked over and sat, her legs shaking the whole way.

“I’ll even let you keep my flashlight.” He laid it on the table beside her. “I’ll need to find some matches and a few candles. There are wall sconces. The place won’t be nearly so gloomy then.”

Elysia had stopped listening; her attention was on the flashlight still rocking from side-to-side on the table. How long would the batteries last?

“Come along, Gavin.” Neil climbed the steps and Gavin fell in behind him.

Elysia swallowed as Gavin looked back at her, his eyes still aglow in the dimness. At least she had gotten out of giving him a “taste.” But, oh God, the price.

The two men disappeared upstairs. Moments later, the sarcophagus lid began to slide into place, leaving her alone, in the dark.

Elysia lost track of the time as the flashlight beam grew dimmer and dimmer. She debated repeatedly whether to turn it off and save the battery, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t touch it, afraid that jostling it would knock the last of the power from the battery or damage the delicate wire within the bulb.

She didn’t know how long she sat there staring at the faint light of that tiny bulb before she realized that the glow was only in her imagination. She reached for the flashlight. Her fingers slid across the smooth surface of the table, and her knuckles bumped against the hard plastic case of the flashlight, causing it to roll. She made a grab for it, but it eluded her, rolling off the table to smash against the floor where the area rug didn’t reach. The sound of smaller pieces clattering against the stone was distinctive.

Oh God, no.

She slid off the chair, noting that Neil’s potion must have finally worn off, and felt beneath the table. Her hand ran across something sharp, and it bit into her palm.

With a gasp, she jerked her hand away, imagining a large rat or perhaps a spider hiding beneath the table.

“It’s a broken flashlight,” she whispered. But even with that knowledge, she couldn’t bring herself to reach again.

“Don’t do this, El.” She had to stay calm, rational. It was only darkness. Complete and total darkness.

El?

Her breath caught. The whispers were returning.

“Shh. It’s only a ghost.” Not encroaching insanity.

A light tug of her hair, and she jerked away, crawling on her hands and knees until she cracked her head against the wall.

She groaned, holding her head until the thumping stopped.

Elysia.

She spun around and pressed her back to the wall. Ghosts, just ghosts. She repeated the line in her head a few more times.

What if Ian Mallory was still down here? He would be pissed that a descendant had survived his curse. Perhaps he would want to finish the job.

Her mind leaped to the dark doorway beneath the stairs. The lab was back that way. Ian’s lab.

She strained her ears, listening. Was that the faint clink of someone stirring a beaker? The scuff of a shoe against stone?

“Stop this,” she whispered. Stop, stop, stop. It was her imagination. Nothing more.

She pulled her knees to her chest and pressed her face against them. Neil would return soon. He said he would bring candles, matches. She would have light.

A scrape against stone, then the soft thump of a step on carpet.

She hugged her legs and pressed her face tighter against her knees. Just her imagination.

Another light thump. Closer. Silence, then an exhale followed by a sniff that sounded canine.

James! She jerked her head up, opening her eyes, and screamed.

Red eyes glowed, several inches above the level of her own and only a few yards away. She shoved herself to her feet. It wasn’t James.