The Final Formula (28 page)

Chapter
29

I
cl
imbed into the back seat
of Rowan’s Camaro, giving James the roomier front passenger seat. My buddy hadn’t said anything since leaving Rowan’s office. I chided myself for not wondering why he’d been so interested in alchemy, especially after I’d learned about the connection between grims and alchemy. It made sense that an alchemist would be responsible for his family curse.

Rowan slid in behind the wheel, laying Lawson’s printed document on the dash before starting the car. “Buckle up.”

Rowan and his seatbelt fetish. Smiling, I slid back in my seat. Something bunched behind me, and I reached back, pulling a roll of fabric from beneath my backside. It turned out to be my jacket from the night before—or what was left of it. I wadded it up and the crinkle of paper drew my attention to the pocket. In all the excitement, I had forgotten about the page of alchemy notes I’d taken from the crypt. The thick sheet of paper was yellowed with age and the uneven writing looked like it’d been made with a calligraphy pen—or maybe a quill. How long had the lich been in that tomb?

I leaned back in my seat, reading the paper as Rowan backed the car out of the garage. I expected to see notes on the Final Formula or maybe the lich’s attempt to recreate it, but this formula had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t even a formula I knew—yet it was familiar. Something I could almost remember. I hadn’t bumped up against a formula I didn’t know since—

“Oh.” I hit my seatbelt release and slid up between the front seats. “Could I see your phone?” I asked Rowan.

He picked it up and passed it back to me. “Who are you going to call?”

“No one.” I scrolled through his pictures until I found the one I wanted.

“Addie? What is it?” James leaned to the side to look back at me.

“Just checking…” My voice trailed off as I compared the two formulas. “That’s why it looked familiar.”

I slid up between the front seats once more and handed James the phone and paper. “Compare those.”

“What do you have there?” Rowan put the car in neutral and watched James compared the pictures on the phone to the paper.

“A sheet of notes I took from the crypt,” I said.

“It’s the same formula,” James said.

“It matches what you found in Xander’s basement?” Rowan asked, recognizing the pictures on his phone.

“Yes. Xander’s alchemist is working with the lich.”

“With or for?” Rowan asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What does this formula do?” James asked. “It’s…odd.”

“Archaic,” I amended. “I’ll need to study it closer, but I can tell you it’s blood alchemy.”

“They are necromancers.” James handed me back the page and phone. “No surprise that they’d know blood alchemy.”

“Yeah.” I slid back in my seat. And since I was an Alchemica alchemist, I shouldn’t have too much trouble figuring it out. Rowan’s phone buzzed in my hand, startling me.

“Who is it?” Rowan asked, taking his hand from the gearshift.

I’d started to hand him the phone, but hesitated to read the screen. I recognized the number. “It’s Neil.”

“How’d he get my number?” Rowan asked.

“Waylon?” I hit the talk icon and brought the phone to my ear. “Neil?”

“Amelia.” Neil sounded relieved. “The director suggested I could reach you at this number, though I didn’t expect you to answer.”

I gave Rowan a nod before turning my attention back to Neil. “What’s up?”

“Emil is missing.”

I sat up straight. “What?”

“Emil’s missing,” James whispered to Rowan.

I gripped James’s shoulder. “When? Did anyone see something?” I asked Neil. “What’s being done?”

“Easy,” Neil said. “The PIA is on it.”

“The PIA?” How did they know where Emil was? “Did you—?”

“I don’t have any other information, but I did visit the scene.”

“What did you find?”

“I’d like to show you. Can you meet me at the hospital?”

I agreed and ended the call. “The compass,” I said, handing Rowan his phone. “Where is it?”

“Desk drawer in my office.”

“I’ll get it.” James hurried from the car.

Too anxious to sit still, I pushed up his seat and climbed out after him.

“Addie?” Rowan followed me from the car.

“All that trouble and Emil is still taken.” I paced to the hedge bordering the drive and back. “Damn it. We should have checked on him this morning.”

Rowan caught my wrist on the way past and tugged me over to him. “I rather liked how this morning turned out.”

My cheeks warmed. “Yes, but—”

“You would have rather spent the morning searching for the man who claims to be your lover?”

“Rowan.”

“You do realize he lied.” He pulled me closer. “You were a virgin.”

“The Formula has regenerative properties.”

He lifted my left hand and traced the wrinkled white line along the second joint of my index finger. “Yet you have a scar.”

“That happened after I took the Formula. At the gun shop.”

“If you can scar, then your body no longer regenerates. You’ve been a virgin since you took the Final Formula—if not before.”

“I’m forty-two. That’s just sad.”

“Perhaps.” A faint smile curled his lips before he grew serious. “Either way, Emil lied.”

“Then I’ll confront him about it when we find him. It doesn’t matter anyway. That old man in the hospital bed is the man I remember. My mentor, a father figure. He’s also the key to getting my memory back.”

Rowan studied me. “So, you didn’t mind spending the morning with me?”

I bit my lip, touched yet amused by this glimpse of vulnerability in him. I pressed my palms to the solid expanse of his stomach. “I regret nothing. I just feel guilty that I was busy enjoying myself while Emil was being taken.”

“Only enjoying?” His hands settled on my hips.

“I’m not stroking your ego.”

“Perhaps I could find you something else to stroke?”

“Rowan.” Remembering this morning, my cheeks burned.

I caught a glimpse of that smug smile before his lips covered mine. He pressed me against the side of the car, giving me nowhere to go—not that I wanted to.

A growl, low and close. “Release her.” James stood directly behind Rowan.

I gasped, surprised by his sudden appearance, and tried to slip around Rowan, but he wouldn’t move. “Step back.” I met his eyes and noted the faint ring of orange around his pupils.

“I said, release her,” James repeated. He caught Rowan by the arm and pulled him back. Rowan turned around trying to reach him, but James slung him aside. He didn’t even grunt with the effort, yet Rowan cleared the hedge and smacked against the side of the house—a good fifteen feet away.

“James!” I stepped in front of him, pressing my hands to his chest. He didn’t even look at me, his glowing eyes focused on Rowan.

“Hey!” I caught James’s face between my palms, forcing his attention on me. “Stop it.”

“He can’t have you.” The words came out in a low growl.

“James—”

Without warning and almost too fast to follow, he caught me by the shoulders and turning, pressed me against the car once more. I opened my mouth to protest and his mouth covered mine. For a moment, I was too shocked to do anything. Dear God, James was kissing me. What the hell? I shoved him back.

“James!”

“You said you loved me,” he whispered.

What? Abruptly he stumbled back as Rowan pulled him away. James snarled and twisted in his hold. For one heartbeat the pair faced off. Gold shimmered through Rowan’s eyes and a hedge bordering the drive went up in a flash of blue-white flame. James didn’t even flinch. His lip curled away, exposing teeth that looked more canine than human. I’d never seen him do that.

James sprang at Rowan who ducked and kicked out a leg at the last moment. His foot slammed into James’s hip with an audible crunch and James stumbled back.

“Stop!” I stepped between them again, my back to Rowan. “Don’t do this.”

“Rowan!” Donovan shouted. The side door slammed behind him as he joined us in the driveway.

I didn’t turn to watch, confident that the big man could calm his brother Element. I had my hands full.

“James, please.” I moved closer and his attention shifted back to me.

“I’m sorry, Addie.” His forehead wrinkled, and he reached in his pocket to pull out the shattered compass. It dropped, piece by broken piece, to the cobble drive. “I’ll get Emil back for you.” Darkness flickered around him.

“James, no!”

A flash of black fur and he was gone. I stared at the spot James had been only an instant before. It had happened so fast, it didn’t seem real.

“Walk it off,” Donovan said behind me.

I turned and found him standing close to Rowan, one hand on his shoulder.

“What the hell?” I waved a hand at the shattered compass. “How do I find Emil now?”

Rowan frowned at me, the orange still visible in his eyes.

“Go on,” Donovan encouraged him. He gave him a small nudge. “You need to cool off first.”

Rowan’s frown deepened. He gave us a curt nod and then turned on his heel and walked around the side of the house.

“Coward.” I glared after him.

Donovan heaved a sigh. “Addie—”

“He lost it.” I gestured at the vacant spot where the hedge had been.

“A lesser Fire Element would have taken out most of the first floor.” Donovan moved closer, his boots making no sound on the cobbles.

“But…” I didn’t know what to say. I pulled in a breath and released it, aware of how it shook. I looked up into those warm hazel eyes. “James kissed me,” I whispered.

Donovan pressed his lips together, a sad smile turning up the corners. “He’s in love with you, honey.”

“What?” I resisted the urge to shake my head. “That’s crazy.” James was my best buddy, my sidekick. Even considering him having romantic thoughts about me felt so…wrong. “He’s like my kid brother.”

“Attraction is a strange beast.”

Didn’t I know that firsthand? I rubbed a hand over my face. “Emil was taken from the hospital. If not by a necro, then by people who work for one. James went after Emil.”

“As soon as Rowan gets back, we’ll go.”

“Why wait? Let’s go get him now.” I started for the front of the house, unable to bear the thought of James walking into a necro lair.

“Addie, please. You need to give him a moment.”

Something in Donovan’s tone made me hesitate. I turned to face him. “Why? Can’t he cool down while he drives?”

A faint smile curled the big guy’s mouth. “The two of you are just alike.” He closed the distance between us. “He’s a Fire Element, honey. You need to make allowances for—”

“The fact that he’s a hot head? A control freak?”

“Exactly.”

His easy agreement silenced me.

“He’s also the only original Fire Element still alive.”

“Original?”

“Those who were adults when the magic returned. Those who became Elements.”

I remembered Cora saying something along those lines.

“It takes an iron will to control such a volatile element,” Donovan continued. “Emotion is the enemy of control. Did you know that most Fire Elements are celibate?”

“That bad?” I remembered the way the air had ignited around us this morning. Did Donovan know?

“Rowan is unique among his kind.”

Heat climbed my cheeks. Yeah, Donovan knew.

“I’m not suggesting you concede to his every whim, but when you see him on edge, give him a moment.”

I didn’t want to concede, but if what Donovan said was true, I’d have to. “I can try.”

“If you need to vent while you’re waiting, you’re welcome to yell at me.”

“I’m not that bad.” I looked up to check his expression. “Am I?”

He gave me a wide grin—a flash of white teeth through his beard. If a bear could smile, it’d look exactly like that.

Before I could say more, Rowan walked back around the house. His eyes settled on me. Gray eyes. He didn’t even glance at Donovan, but came to stop in front of me. “I’m sorry I lost—”

I pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. “The fault is mine. I didn’t see how he truly felt.” I dropped my hand. “God, what a mess.” I looked up again. “Will you help me get him back?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”

That surprised me. Rowan had been angry. Beyond angry. “You’re not pissed? He threw you across the drive.”

“That’s not what pissed me off.”

I couldn’t decide if I was annoyed or amused. “So you’re a possessive control freak?”

“Yes.” He held my gaze.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Donovan asked Rowan.

“I’ve got it. A couple of necromancers, maybe a lich.” He waved away Donovan’s offer.

The confidence might be sexy, but I wasn’t falling for it. “I’ll get my vials.”

“Addie.” Rowan turned a frown on me.

“If necros are involved and James finds them first, you’re going to need me.”

Rowan studied me for one long moment and then gave me a stiff nod.

With neither the compass nor
the supplies to make a new one, I hoped Neil had some valuable information to share. I also hoped that James would be unsuccessful in his hunt and would show up at the manor once he came back to his senses.

If Neil’s information proved to be nothing, then perhaps I could build a compass to track James. I had access to his hairbrush and closet, but what happened when he was the hound? Would a strand of his human hair track his other form? I needed to get a hair sample from the hound—or better yet, his blood.

Rowan pulled into the hospital parking garage, taking the corners fast and tight. Perhaps I should have given him a little more time to cool down, but instinct told me that I didn’t have the luxury of time.

Orange pylons prevented our parking on the first two floors, but Rowan did find a space on the third.

I climbed out, careful not to bump my door against the car beside us. It said something about Rowan’s anxiety that he was willing to endanger his paint job. Maybe he sensed that time was running out as well.

A single light hung from the low ceiling about halfway to the elevator, forcing me to trail my fingers along the car to find the aisle.