The Final Formula (10 page)

Gravel crunched. A teal blue BMW rounded the corner and pulled to a stop beside Rowan’s Camaro.

I sat up straighter, but didn’t get to my feet. Now what?

A pair of women climbed out of the car and started for the house. The driver, her brunette hair neatly coiffed, wore a dark blue pant suit. She looked every inch the hard-nosed executive as she studied us with cool blue eyes. The girl that followed was anything but. Blonde and dressed in a rainbow of bright colors, she didn’t look much older than James.

The brunette continued toward us, her heels clacking on the walk until she reached the section Rowan had destroyed. “What happened here?”

“A misunderstanding.” I didn’t bother to get up.

Her eyes narrowed. “You’re the alchemist.”

“My cover is blown.”

“Where is he?”

“If you mean Rowan, he’s inside.” I hooked a thumb toward the house.

“You shouldn’t use his name. You don’t know who I am.”

“Since you haven’t bothered to introduce yourself, yeah, you nailed another one.”

She gave me a glare and climbed the steps beside me. “Come along,” she said to the girl.

The blonde tore her gaze away from James. “He’s cute,” she said—and not all that softly.

A blush colored James’s cheeks, and I snorted. I couldn’t help it.

“I smell cookies,” the blonde continued, unfazed by the reaction her comment had gotten. “Can I have one?”

The slamming of the screen door blocked out the brunette’s answer as the pair disappeared inside.

“I think she liked you,” I told James.

“Addie.”

“The brunette’s a bitch, though.”

He snorted and dropped to a seat beside me. “You weren’t exactly friendly.”

“She started it.”

“She could be someone important.”

“And that matters why?”

He sighed, but didn’t respond.

I fumed in silence. Someone important, which in the Elements’ world meant someone with magic. The way she’d sneered when she called me an alchemist made that clear.

My eyes settled on Rowan’s Camaro. Of course, I didn’t have to be without my magic. I stood and looked back over my shoulder at the house.

“What is it?” James rose to his feet beside me.

“Anyone coming?”

He glanced back at the house. “No.”

I flashed him a grin and then hurried down the walk toward the driveway.

“What are you doing?” James asked when I stopped beside the Camaro.

“I’m tired of being defenseless.” I opened the driver’s door. “Let me know when you hear someone coming.”

James released a sigh, but did as I asked.

I squatted beside the car and examined the floor around the driver’s seat looking for a trunk release. Rowan had taken the keys, so that option was out. The black interior made it hard to see, so I leaned in for a closer look. It didn’t help that evening approached, taking the sunlight with it.

Leaning too far, I caught myself on the driver’s door, my fingers slipping into a pocket along the door’s base. A pair of smooth cylindrical objects clinked together with the familiar sound of glass on glass. Curious, I reached in the pocket and found what I suspected: a pair of empty vials.

“What’s that?” James asked.

“I think His Grace is cheating on me.”

A small label clung to each vial. I turned one on its side and squinted at the tiny words.
Take by mouth, once an hour, as needed.
Unscrewing the lid, I sniffed the contents. Nothing. I pressed my index finger over the opening and inverted the vial. A pale blue droplet now rested on my fingertip. I brought it to my mouth and lightly touched it to my tongue.

Bleh! The bitter taste lingered. Not the work of an alchemist. Magic brews had a certain bite I’d come to recognize. Only medicine would taste that nasty. Now, what did Rowan need medicine for? He looked fit. Very fit.

A faint cry rang out and I came to my feet.

“What was that?” I asked.

James turned toward the house, his eyes glowing faintly. “This way.” He took off at a jog around the side of the house.

I pushed the door closed and hurried after him, hoping Gerald wasn’t assaulting someone else.

Chapter
10

W
e swung wide around a
flowerbed and came upon a small side porch. I could hear sobbing through the screen door. James hesitated, his eyes still glowing faintly.

“What do you see when you do that?” I stepped in front of him and gripped the door handle.

“Souls.” He met my gaze and the glow faded from his eyes.

“Oh.” I guess that made sense. He had to see what he took. I couldn’t decide if I was amazed or disturbed.

I pulled open the door and found myself in Lydia’s kitchen. Sobbing echoed through the room, but it took me a moment to locate the source. The blonde girl sat on the floor before an open oven. A cookie sheet lay nearby, globs of dough scattered around it.

“Hey, are you okay?” I hurried over to her. Heat radiated out of the oven, and I leaned over to close the door.

She clutched her right forearm and looked up with a tear-streaked face. “He’ll be so mad. I’m not supposed to use the oven.”

Okay. I knelt beside her. “Did you burn yourself? Let me see.”

“Lydia had a tray ready to go in the oven, so I thought I’d help. That’d be nice, right?”

“Yes, very nice.” I took her forearm and pulled away her opposite hand. An angry red welt marred her arm. A nasty burn, but nothing for a girl her age to get that excited about. James had stopped inside the door. He frowned at the girl, clearly as puzzled by her erratic comments as I was.

“You’re pretty,” she said.

I returned my attention to the girl. “Thanks.” I met her amber eyes, wondering where that had come from.

She gave me a big smile. “Do I know your name? Sometimes I forget.” She touched her temple beneath her short, spiky blonde hair.

“We haven’t been introduced.” I began to suspect she might have a mental problem. “I’m Addie.”

“I’m Era. Will you make some more cookies?”

“Um, how about I make a salve for your arm first?”

She gripped my arm so tightly it hurt. “You won’t tell him, will you? I’m not allowed to use the oven.”

Yes, there was something wrong with the poor girl. “Let’s run some water on your arm while I make the salve.”

“Thanks!” She threw her arms around my neck, almost strangling me—for the second time today.

I assisted her to her feet while James walked to the sink and turned on the faucet. “Let me help you,” he said.

Era turned with a gasp.

“I’m James.”

I escorted Era to the sink, and she stood in silence, letting James hold her arm under the running water. I fought back a laugh watching her stare at him. I left him to sooth her, and went in search of the ingredients I’d need for my salve.

I never started a major project in the lab without a jar of burn salve. I made it so often, I could whip up a batch in my sleep. Fortunately, the ingredients were rather mundane, and I found everything I needed in Lydia’s kitchen and the small bathroom down the hall. Granted, this would be a stripped down version of my standard salve, but Era’s minor burn would respond well to it.

I cleaned up her mess in front of the oven while the salve simmered on the stovetop. When finished, I poured the heavy, dark green liquid into a mason jar I’d found in the pantry. It smelled like Lydia’s botanical blend shampoo, the ingredient I substituted for my usual comfrey extract. Era moved to my side to examine the contents of the jar.

“What are you doing?” The brunette stood in the doorway. “Step away from her.” The woman started toward us, her heels clacking on the linoleum.

“Did you find her?” Rowan walked into the room. When he saw us, he stopped so suddenly that Lydia, who was following him into the kitchen, almost ran into him. “What’s going on here?”

“I’m mixing some burn salve.”

Rowan frowned. “Why do you need burn salve?”

Era let out a startled squeak and ducked under the island.

“Excuse me.” I sat the jar down and squatted beside her.

“You said you wouldn’t tell him.” Era’s whisper wasn’t all that soft.

“You were talking about Rowan?”

“What didn’t you tell me?” Rowan squatted on the other side of the island.

Era threw her arms around me, knocking me back into one of the island legs, and pressed her face into my shoulder.

“Era?” Rowan didn’t look angry; he looked worried and perhaps a little sad. “Tell me what happened.” His eyes rose to mine, questioning.

It’s okay,
I mouthed the words, and then tipped my head to the side to better see Era. “You need to tell him, honey.”

“But…”

“When you do wrong, you have to own up to it.” I met Rowan’s eyes again as I spoke, hoping he wouldn’t go off on her. I could feel the poor girl shaking.

He held my gaze and for several heartbeats neither of us looked away.

Era sat up and rubbed a hand across her eyes. “I used the oven, Roe.”

He closed his eyes and then opened them again. I could see him struggle for control. No doubt he wanted to yell at her for her foolishness. “And you hurt yourself?”

“I burnt my arm.”

“Stand up. Let me see.”

We all climbed out from under the island. Era held her arm out to Rowan. He took her hand and gently turned her arm beneath the light.

“Damn it, Era,” the brunette said. “How many times have we—”

“Cora.” Rowan cut her off.

Lydia moved to Era’s other side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You know why we told you not to mess with the oven, right?”

I wordlessly scooted my jar of salve into the center of the island. Rowan glanced at it and then me.

“You’re not seriously considering that,” Cora said. “She’s an alchemist.”

“Which pretty much sums up my qualifications,” I said.

“Exactly,” Cora responded.

I gritted my teeth. “Afraid this mundane human can do things you can’t?”

Cora crossed her arms and gave me a cool stare.

“Try to keep up.” I turned and pressed my hand to the still hot burner on the stove. Heat seared my palm and I jerked my hand back, with a gasp. Damn, that hurt.

“Addie!” Surprisingly, Rowan reacted first. He rounded the island and caught my wrist, rotating my hand to reveal the red stripes across my palm.

“Even better,” Cora said. “She’s crazy.”

I pulled my hand away from Rowan. “Give it a rest.” I squeezed my undamaged hand through the wide mouth of the Mason jar and dipped my fingertips in the warm salve. James leaned over to hold the jar for me as I withdrew my hand. He gave me a grin; he’d seen what my salve could do.

I rubbed the salve over my burnt palm and then held it up for the others to watch. The pain faded in seconds, and I knew the redness did the same.

Once again, Rowan caught my wrist. Cupping the back of my hand, he lightly ran his fingers over my unblemished palm.

My breath caught at the light brush of his fingers. Surprised, I pulled my hand away. “Well?” I rubbed my hand on my pant leg, hoping he didn’t notice my reaction.

“Do it,” he said.

“Rowan,” Cora protested.

I ignored her and once more dipped my fingers into the salve. I moved over to where Lydia still held Era, and gently rubbed it into the red welt across her forearm. Her burn, being older and deeper, took a little longer to fade. Thirty seconds instead of five.

“Oh my,” Lydia whispered. “You should bottle that stuff.”

“It loses potency after twenty-four hours.”

“Then give the formula to the medical profession,” Rowan said, his tone soft. “The burn-unit patients would certainly benefit from it.”

“I’d be glad to give them the formula, but it takes an alchemist to mix it. I know you think I’m only a hopped up chemist, but there is a skill to this.”

“I don’t think that.” His subdued tone surprised me. What happened to my mouthy Flame Lord?

“Give it up, Your Grace. I’m just a human playing at magic.”

“Are you nuts?” Era stared at her arm. “This is magic. Way more cool than kicking up a breeze.”

I smiled at the girl, touched in spite of myself. I glanced at Rowan. “Your Element of Air.”

Rowan sighed, which was all the answer I needed.

“Come along, Era,” Cora said, interrupting my feel-good moment. “We need to go.”

“Let me walk you out,” Lydia said.

“Did you see that?” Era followed the two women into the hall. “My burn disappeared.”

“I hope that salve doesn’t give you a rash, dear.” Cora’s voice carried back to us. We stood in silence listening to Era’s cheerful banter before the closing of a door cut off the sound.

I turned to Rowan. “Cora’s charming. And she is?”

“Water.”

I grunted. “Lucky you.”

I picked up my saucepan and took it to the sink where I’d left a spoon and a measuring cup. It didn’t take long to wash up.

James busied himself putting away the ingredients. “Where’d you get the shampoo?” he asked, holding up the bottle.

“Bathroom cabinet, up the hall.”

He nodded and left the room.

Drying my hands on a blue-checkered towel, I turned to find Rowan still standing beside the island watching me.

“Yes?” I draped the towel over one side of the dish drainer.

“Thank you for taking care of Era.”

After our earlier argument, I didn’t expect gratitude. I leaned back against the sink. “She’s the one, isn’t she?” I remembered the comment he’d made while changing the tire. “The one who was hurt to get to you?”

His brow furled, but not in anger. “Yes.”

I pushed off the sink and walked to the island. “Will you tell me what happened?” I placed the lid on the burn salve. “Maybe I can help.”

When he didn’t respond, I looked up. He still watched me with that odd intensity.

“What?”

“Are you really an Alchemica alchemist?”

“Yes.” I frowned. “Why?”

“I’ve never met one who cared about anything except earning their final band.”

I crossed my arms, wanting to argue, but what could I say? I might have been as shallow and self-absorbed as he suggested. “I’d like to help. Won’t you tell me what happened?”

He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “Almost four months ago, Era was abducted.” He dropped his hand and met my eyes. “I tore this city apart for four days, unable to find any sign of her. No ransom note, no indication of who had taken her. On the fifth day, she was returned.”

“Returned?”

“I found her that morning on the front porch of the Offices, unconscious. Physically, she hadn’t been…touched, but mentally,” he hesitated. “She should have started her senior year of college this fall. I had to call and—”

He fell silent, and I got the impression he’d said more than he intended. I reached over to grip his forearm. He looked down, his eyes meeting mine. Heat climbed my cheeks, and I pulled my hand away, alarmed that I’d tried to comfort him.

“She’s the reason you wanted us to meet your seer.” I tried to draw his attention away from my gesture of compassion.

“Yes, I needed to know if it’d be safe for the two of you to share a house with her.”

“And? What did Marian tell you?”

“She told me nothing; you told me all I needed to know.” He gestured at the salve.

My cheeks flushed again, but before I could comment, James returned. Then I caught what else Rowan said. “Share a house with you?”

“Don’t you want to find out what happened to the Alchemica?”

I opened my mouth and closed it. “What?”

“The Alchemica. The PIA declared it an accident, and it clearly wasn’t. I want to know why. Don’t you?”

“Yes.” Next to my memories, I wanted that more than anything.

“Well then, shall we?” He gestured toward the door.

I met his questioning gaze. The Flame Lord was offering to help me, an alchemist. Why? Should I be concerned?

I glanced at James and he shrugged. I remembered his eagerness when Rowan offered to teach him control.

I took a breath and released it. “Okay, we’re in.”

It took a good thirty
minutes to drive from Lydia’s home to Rowan’s. I learned on the ride over that he shared a house with his brother and sister Elements. No spouses, no children—just the four of them. I managed not to groan when he told us. Era wasn’t a factor, but Rowan annoyed me, and Cora pissed me off. I didn’t have high hopes for Earth’s temperament.

I’d originally thought it a good idea to give James the front seat and take the more cramped back seat. After fifteen minutes of winding country road, I began to regret the decision. Rowan finally slowed and drove through the open gate of a long, paved drive.

Unhooking my seat belt, I scooted up between the front seats to get a better view of the Elements’ house—if such a structure could be called a house. Words such as “mansion” and “estate” came to mind. I guess I should have expected it after seeing the Elemental Offices. Vines obscured the weathered stone exterior in places while the upper story had the exposed timber look I equated with a Tudor style. Overall, it looked like a quaint English cottage—on steroids.

Rowan parked near a side entrance not far from an attached garage that could house a family of four all on its own. I followed James from the car, and we joined Rowan on the cobbled area between the garage and side entrance.

“Nice place,” I said.

“It serves our needs.” Rowan started toward the house.

“My pack—”

“Will remain in my possession,” Rowan said over his shoulder.

“But I passed your test.”

“And you understand why I gave it.”

I opened my mouth, but didn’t get to speak as a large man opened the door. Rowan stepped past him into the house, but I slowed my pace. The man saw my hesitation and gave me a smile.

“Please come in,” he said, his voice deep, but cheerful.

James stepped in front of me and went through the doorway first. The man dwarfed him. My buddy might be lean, but at six-two, I wouldn’t call him small.

I followed James inside and the big guy closed the door behind me. The interior of the house maintained the rustic cottage vibe with its stone floor and rough plastered walls above dark wainscoting. It gave the impression of age, but didn’t disguise the wealth.

Rowan gestured at the big man who still stood beside us. “Addie, James, allow me to introduce Donovan.”