The Final Formula (23 page)

“I’ve got you,” Rowan said against my ear.

“Addie!” James caught my face in his palms, tipping my head up to look in my eyes. A frown replaced his worried expression. “Damn it, Rowan, her skin is hot.”

“It’s just a flush. She was never in danger.” His arms tightened around me.

I pressed my hands against James’s bare chest and pushed him back, giving myself room to step out of Rowan’s arms.

“Sorry,” James muttered. He dropped his hands to cover himself and stepped out of my line of sight.

I raked my fingers through my hair. It wasn’t his nudity that was the problem. Lawson was gone. Rowan had ashed him. Well, I assumed Rowan had killed him. James might have gotten his soul first—not that it mattered. My only lead was gone.

“James.” Donovan tossed him a sack and then turned to close the door.

“What happened?” Rowan asked.

“I found Emil, but guys in black fatigues found him first.” I limped around to the open trunk.

“Addie you’re bleeding,” James said.

“Lawson shot me.” I leaned in the trunk and touched Emil’s cheek. His skin was warm and his breathing seemed okay, but a stain darkened the carpet beneath him.

“He shot you?” Rowan stepped up beside me.

“I wish you hadn’t ashed Lawson. How am I supposed to find out who he called?”

“What do you mean?”

James, clothed now, squatted beside me and ran his hands lightly along my injured calf.

“Lawson wasn’t running the show. He called someone to find out where to deliver us.” I gasped in surprise as James ripped open my lower pant leg. The force threw me into Rowan.

“Easy,” Rowan said.

“God,” James whispered.

I looked down and saw my white sock soaked in blood, trickles running over the sides and heel of my shoe. I’d been fine up to that moment. Now a cold sweat coated my skin and the edges of my vision began to darken.

The world swung around me and then seemed to stabilize. It took me a moment to realize that Rowan had picked me up.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I don’t do so well with blood. Or autopsies. Or zombies.”

“That’s all right.” Rowan turned toward the door. “You have other skills that make up for your shortcomings.” He began walking toward the open door.

“Emil.” I suddenly remembered. “We have to get him to a hospital.”

“We need to get you to a hospital,” Rowan said.

“I got him, Ad,” James called from behind us.

I looked back and watched James lift Emil from the trunk. Relieved, I let my head rest on Rowan’s shoulder. I inhaled the scent of his cologne and relaxed. All the excitement was beginning to catch up with me, leaving me exhausted. My forehead came to rest against the side of his neck. His skin was very warm.

“If I should pass out, there’s a vial of your headache remedy in my bra.”

“Does that mean I have your permission to search for it?” Was he smiling?

I considered his question. “I think I’d prefer to be conscious for that.”

“Really?”

The warmth of my skin now rivaled his. “So I can smack you, of course.”

“Of course.”

Yeah, he was definitely smiling.

Chapter
24

I
opened my eyes and waited
for the outdated wallpaper to swim into focus. A TV mounted high on the wall flickered through a weather broadcast without sound. Nope, not my room at the manor. I squinted at the time in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. 8:32 a.m.

James’s concerned face came into view. “Addie?” My bed shifted as he settled on the edge.

“Hey, Fido.” His dark hair stood in disarray like he’d just gone furry—or had been raking his hands through it. “Is everything okay?”

“It is now.” He smiled. “How do you feel?”

“I’m conscious. I think.”

“You seem pretty lucid to me.” He pushed back my hair where it’d fallen over one cheek. “I was worried.”

“Why? I got shot in the leg, not the head.”

“I know, but…” His brow wrinkled. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

I smiled at his concern. “You’d still have Era,” I teased.

“Era?” He looked up with a frown. “She likes me, not the other way around. I haven’t the heart to chase her away. She wouldn’t understand.”

He was such a sweet guy. I patted his hand then pushed myself up into a sitting position to look around. “They gave me a room?”

“Rowan insisted.”

I smiled and shook my head. “So, no problems with the surgery?”

“None. The doc stitched you up and dug out the bullet.”

“Not in that order, I hope.”

He snorted. “Yeah, you’re fine.” He stood up and I pushed back the sheet. A large bandage covered my calf. I flexed my leg. It was sore, but not overly so.

“Don’t get too crazy,” he said. “You’ll pull the stitches.”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Pain killers.”

“Ah.” The wound must have been shallow. A powerful painkiller would have left me loopy. I felt clearheaded. “Just me and you?” I hoped I didn’t sound too disappointed.

“Rowan walked downstairs to use the phone. Or were you referring to Emil?”

Guilt wormed its way through my gut. I’d forgotten. “How is Emil?”

“He came through surgery fine, but…” James turned away. “Let me find you a wheelchair. You need to see him.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and slid off. The room wavered and I gripped the bedrail. I guess the painkillers hadn’t completely worn off.

“Addie. Your leg.” James stepped forward and steadied me with a hand on my elbow.

My head cleared and I glanced down. I had no trouble standing. “It’s just a little tender.” I tried to take a step toward the door, but he wouldn’t release me.

“Let me see.”

I figured it was easier to comply than argue. I sat back down and leaned over to peel back the bandage. A faint pink line about three inches long bisected my calf. I pulled the bandage off and a tangle of dark knots fell out. I realized they’d been stitches.

“Dear God,” James whispered. “You’re healed.”

“How many stitches?” Stunned, I stared at the three-inch scar.

“I don’t recall, but they had to dig deep. The bullet lodged against the back of your shin bone.”

I looked up, meeting his wide eyes. “It has to be the Formula. I’m not magical.”

“No, just immortal.”

Rapid healing, no aging. I’d been so caught up with being the first to find the Formula, I hadn’t fully understood what immortality meant. I still didn’t, but I had time—lots of time—to come to terms with it.

“Help me find a robe,” I said. “Then let’s go see Emil.” Perhaps he was healed by now as well.

Dressed in my stylish robe
and slippers, I walked with James through the hospital corridors. The stark white walls were broken up by a dark blue handrail and the occasional landscape picture. I guess they made up for the lack of windows.

We passed a little old lady shuffling in the opposite direction. She didn’t glance up; too busy trying to coordinate her small steps with the movement of her walker. I watched her as we passed, noting the concentration on her lined face and the white-knuckled grip of her claw-like hands. Would that ever be me?

I glanced over at James, his youth such a contrast to the old woman.

“Will you age?” I kept my voice low.

He looked over, dark brows raised in question. “That came out of the blue.”

“Not really. I’m wondering about immortality.” I hooked a thumb in the direction of the old lady.

James glanced over his shoulder. “Ah.” Green eyes shifted back to me. “But why ask about me?”

“I know the Elements don’t age. I wondered if you were the same.”

“I should be about done. Once we come into our full powers, Gavin says we stop aging.”

“Gavin? The other grim?” I suppressed a shiver at the thought of the red-eyed fiend. “Do you converse with him often?” I didn’t like the sound of that.

“From time to time. More when I was younger. It was nice to have someone who understood, though ole Gav is quite mad.” He sighed. “Centuries of entombment, you know?”

“So, you could…visit that place when you were younger?”

“I’ve always been able to. I’m told that before I could walk, I used to shift forms and go around on all fours.” He chuckled at that. “That’s why I was home schooled.”

I smiled, imagining James as a puppy, but my amusement faded as I considered the rest of it. “By full powers, you mean rip souls. At the gun shop, that was the first time, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. That’s why it wiped me out afterward.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

We walked in silence for a few strides. “You were going to soul-rip Lawson.”

“Yes.” He didn’t seem remotely troubled by the admission.

I remember the way James had gone after Gerald. “I don’t think I could have called you off.”

“No.”

I stopped and he turned to face me.

“He had a gun to your head.”

“Yes, but—”

A faint glow backlit his eyes and a growl crept into his words. “I protect what is mine.”

I smiled in spite of my misgivings. “I think Rowan is a bad influence.”

James returned a hesitant smile. “If you think I’m hell on earth, you should see him when he gets pissed.”

“What happened?”

“I smelled Emil’s blood from the alley and then Rowan found your compass.” James shook his head. “You saw what happened as soon as he saw Lawson.”

“Is he all right?” I touched the front of my robe, wondering what had become of my bra. “I had another vial of his headache relief.”

“He’s fine.” James gave me a tight-lipped smile.

“What?”

“You. You’re such a good person.”

I arched a brow. “Who’s addled now?”

“I’m serious.” He tried not to smile and failed. “Look at Rowan. You obviously can’t stand the guy, yet you try to help him.”

“You think I hate him?”

“Not even George can piss you off as fast as Rowan does.”

I grunted. Lumping Rowan and George into the same category wasn’t something I cared for.

“I bet you’d even help George if the situation warranted.”

“Not to shatter your illusions, but if I found George lying in the street bleeding, I’d back up and run over him again.”

James laughed and I started walking.

“So, what’s this about Emil?” I asked.

“Ironically, it returns to your questions about immortality.” He gestured at the next room. “We’re here.”

I walked in ahead of him, uneasy about what I might find. How badly had Emil been injured? And why hadn’t the Final Formula healed him as it had me? I stepped into the room and almost collided with someone walking out. He caught me by the shoulders to avoid a collision and I looked up.

“Neil?” My old Alchemica colleague gave me a surprised smile. He was the last person I expected here.

“Amelia.” His eyes flicked to James and back to me, skimming downward to take in my hospital attire. “I heard you were injured. Are you okay?”

“Yes.” I walked passed him, circling around the curtain. “I wouldn’t expect you to visit the man who kicked you out of the Alchemica.”

I turned toward the bed and got my first look at the man lying there. An incredibly familiar man: my white-haired mentor from the Alchemica. Before I could puzzle out why Emil appeared in his sixties again, a wave of déjà vu washed over me, and I fell into a memory.

Emil sat on the side of my bed, his white robes a soft glow in the dim light of my bedside lamp. He brushed back my hair, running a hand down my cheek.

“Ah, Amelia,” he sighed my name. “I wish you could accompany me. I also wish he’d remove that damn hood so I could see his expression. What do you think he’ll say when I show him this?” He pushed aside the sleeve of his robe, revealing the five bands encircling his right biceps. Even in the dim light, the angry flush around the newest band was clear.

“Of course, the real visual will be when I take the Formula before his eyes.” He flashed me a grin and rose to his feet. “He’ll have to declare me magical now.” He leaned over and retrieved something from my nightstand: a syringe. He rolled it between his fingers, and I realized it was blood.

“Addie? Hey, you with me?” James’s voice broke into my consciousness and the image of Emil floated away.

I blinked and focused on the face before me.

“Here.” James touched a tissue to my upper lip. “Your nose is bleeding.”

“Oh.” I took the tissue from him and dabbed away the smear of blood.

“What happened?” Neil stood a few feet away, watching me with concerned eyes.

“Déjà vu,” James said.

“That’s what I call it. Sometimes I get these little flashes of memory.” I sat in one of those oversized hospital chairs, though I didn’t remember sitting down. Unable to see Emil from my position, I pushed myself to my feet. James moved closer, ready to catch me, but the déjà vu didn’t return.

Sixty-six-year-old Emil lay sleeping beneath the sheets. An IV and several monitors flashed and beeped softly at his bedside.

“What’s wrong with him?” I asked. “Did the bullet puncture something?”

“He got lucky with the gun shot. The surgery was uneventful, but he hasn’t regained consciousness. And then there’s his appearance.” James looked at me. “Can you explain it?”

I glanced over at Neil who’d moved to the opposite side of Emil’s bed.

“He didn’t take the Final Formula,” Neil said.

“So it would seem.” I pushed up the right sleeve of Emil’s hospital gown, revealing the five bands. The newest a little darker than the others, but long-since healed. “He must have tested the formula on me first.”

“Why?” James asked. “He’s a master alchemist. Self-doubt is not part of that equation.”

Wishing I could ask Emil, I sat down on the side of his bed and laid my hand on his forehead. His temperature felt good—neither feverish nor chilled. I touched the deep lines at the corner of one eye. I felt so much closer to him. This was the man I remembered. My mentor and teacher.

“Emil,” I whispered, letting my hand slide down to his wrinkled cheek. “Grand Master, can you hear me? It’s Ad—” I stumbled on my name. “It’s Amelia.”

The curtain between us and the open door rattled open. I jerked my fingers from Emil’s cheek and I looked up with a gasp—right into Rowan’s angry gray eyes.

“Why aren’t you in your bed?” he demanded.

“Because I don’t want to be?”

His frown deepened and I sighed. No wonder James thought I hated the guy.

Rowan’s frown shifted to Neil.

“I should go,” Neil said, stepping back from the bed. His brown eyes met mine. “Call me if you learn something?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

Neil nodded. “Gentlemen,” he said to Rowan and James, and then left the room.

“What was he doing here?” Rowan asked.

“He heard I’d been injured.”

“How?”

I realized I hadn’t asked. Who had told Neil? Someone at the PIA?

“You shouldn’t be walking around.” Rowan’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“She heals like an Element,” James said. “Nothing but a pink line where the incision was.”

“The Formula?” Rowan asked.

I shrugged, uncomfortable with the way he watched me. I hoped my cheeks weren’t as flushed as they felt.

“So, what happened to him?” Rowan moved to the other side of the bed.

“He never took the Final Formula. I’m guessing his youth was the product of an age potion.” An extremely powerful one, which was an accomplishment almost as impressive. “I suspect that’s why he didn’t answer his phone. He was in the middle of metamorphosis. Age potions take time to manifest.”

Rowan grunted. He studied Emil in silence while I stole a glance at him. Like James, he wore the same clothes from the night before, his face shadowed with his morning beard. I remembered how he’d carried me away from the garage, and my cheeks warmed again.

His eyes rose to mine and I quickly looked away.

“If he found the Final Formula, then why didn’t he take it?” Rowan asked.

I told him about my newest memory. “He planned to take it before an audience. You. That was the purpose of the invitations he sent out.”

“And then the Alchemica blew.”

“We won’t know until he wakes, but that’s what I think, yes.”

Rowan studied Emil, but whatever he was thinking, he kept to himself.

I stepped away from the bed. “I’m going to go see if I have anything to wear.”

“I had some things sent over.” Rowan glanced at his watch and turned to James. “Would you care to go down to the lobby and see if Donovan is here?”

“Sure,” James said. “I’ll get your things, Ad.”

“Okay. Thanks.” I turned to follow him from the room.

“Addie?” Rowan stopped me, but before he could say anything else, his phone rang.

“Who is it?”

“Waylon.”

I stepped forward and gripped his wrist. “Don’t answer it.”

“Why not?”

“Have you told him anything?”

“I called earlier, but he was out of the office.”

“Don’t give him any information.”

“You’re still angry at him for taking you in for questioning.” Rowan’s phone stopped ringing.

“And when he claims to know nothing about Lawson’s terrorism sideline, we’re going to take him at his word?”