The Alchemist's Flame (24 page)

“No, it pleased me to find him. He lived a long, natural life.”

“True.” She studied him. “I have some pictures of him.”

Ian stood straighter, his vibrant blue eyes on her. “Would you permit me to see them?”

“Absolutely. They’re in a fire safe in the morgue office. We could go now, if James would take us back?” She gave James a questioning look.

“No problem,” James answered.

“Or Ian could take you,” I said. “He’s handy like that.”

“But you need me here to—” Ian began.

“Don’t be silly. Go.” I smoothed his lapel, then stepped past him into the hall, heading for the stairs.

“Going somewhere?” Rowan fell in behind me.

“I’m going to take a long, hot shower, then I think I’ll crawl into my bed and stay there.”

He chuckled, but made no further comment as he followed me up the stairs. When we reached my living room, I paused. Rowan stopped behind me and touched my shoulder. I turned and wrapped my arms around his waist. He hugged me back, his embrace tight.

“You did it,” he whispered. “You fixed him.”

“Me and Elysia.”

“True.” He rubbed my back. “So, if I followed that…Ian and Alexander are brothers?”

“I thought it was bad enough that Alexander took a fourteen-year-old girl and forced her to have his kids, but to learn that she was his niece…” I shivered. “Poor Ian.”

“Once this summit is over, I’m going to make it my priority to find this Alexander and end him. If for no other reason than he’s compromised Xander.”

I wondered if that was the only reason, but didn’t ask. I released him. “I guess we were both right. Maybe the evil I saw in Xander was never truly him.”

“Maybe.” Rowan sighed. “But he’s been Deacon for close to forty years. Even if I remove Alexander, his influence may remain.”

“I’ve come to realize that Doug isn’t the monster I thought. A bit narcissistic and full of himself, but not evil.”

“Much like Ian.”

I looked up. I was right, Rowan had finally seen the real Ian.

“I don’t know if I can ever forgive him for what he did to you,” Rowan continued, “but I’m willing to admit that he might not be the devil’s spawn I thought he was.”

I hugged him once more. “Thank you.”

“Go get that shower.” He kissed the top of my head.

“Wanna join me?” The words were out before I really thought it through. After what happened last night, what was I thinking? “Just to wash my hair,” I hurried to add. “It’s so relaxing.”

“Relaxing?”

I had meant to give him an out. A way to be with me and not
be
with me. Had I made it worse? Did he think I was patronizing him?

I stepped back. “Okay. That wasn’t exactly accurate. Being naked with you is never relaxing.”

A small smile curled his lips.

“I spoke without thinking,” I admitted. “I shouldn’t have asked you to join me. Not with the pressure you’re under now.”

“But I want to be with you.”

“I know. I get it. I really do.”

“I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Hello, I was a forty-two-year old virgin. A physical relationship is not the make-or-break point with me.” I help up a hand to forestall any comment. “And don’t go all guy on me and think I’m in any way putting down your amazing talents between the sheets. I’m not in love with the sex.” I placed my hand over his heart. “I’m in love with you.”

I blinked. Oh Lord, I had done it again. There seemed to be a disconnect between my brain and my mouth this afternoon.

“Addie?” Orange encircled his pupils.

“Yes, I said it.” I gripped his arm. “Now please, talk to me. Let me share your concerns.”

“My concerns?”

“The Fire. It’s been getting away from you more and more, hasn’t it.”

He looked away, but he didn’t deny it.

“Has it always given you this much trouble?”

He exhaled. “At first, after…what happened, I locked it down tight. I vowed I would never call the Fire again. Then Cora found me and it got easier. Fire and Water are opposites, we balance each other.” He bowed his head, still not looking at me. “That’s why she’s so opposed to you. She can feel me slipping.”

I crossed my arms, hugging myself.

“Addie, I can’t keep the Fire where it belongs. I can’t seem to lock it down—lock myself down. Not anymore.”

“Is this a recent problem?” I made myself ask.

“I’ve loosened up over the years, especially after we found Era, but…”

“Cora said it was me.”

His brow wrinkled.

“Rowan?”

“I want to say that I shouldn’t have slept with you last October, but the truth is, I wouldn’t undo that for anything.”

I hugged myself tighter, waiting for him to continue.

“Besides, blaming the sex isn’t fair, because it wasn’t the act that broke me. It was the moment I realized I loved you.”

I bowed my head. Who knew that hearing him admit his love would hurt so much. “So Cora’s was right. I
am
going to kill you.”

“No.” He pulled me against him, wrapping me in his arms once more. “This is my fault. I’m the stupid, arrogant bastard who thought he could have it all.”

I tried to laugh. Normally, I would have been more than willing to agree with the arrogant bastard part, but my laugh came out as a sob.

“And I’m arrogant enough to believe I still can.” He gave me a final squeeze and released me. “Come.” He slipped an arm around my shoulders and steered me toward the hall.

“Where are we going?”

He opened the bathroom door. “I’m going to wash your hair.”

“Rowan.”

He pulled me into the bathroom and closed the door. “Have you changed your mind?” He pushed back the shower curtain. “Man, look at all the girly shampoos.” He picked up a bottle of Elysia’s strawberry shampoo.

I laughed in spite of myself, then rubbed my sleeve across my eyes when he turned to start the shower. That done, he reached down and grabbed the hem of his sweater and pulled it off. His hands dropped to his belt and he looked up. “Well?”

“You don’t have to do this.”

He closed the space between us. “Here’s the thing.” He cupped my chin in his hand, forcing me to look into his faintly glowing eyes. “I might be losing it, but I’m not going down without a fight.”

“A fight? What do you have in mind?”

“No definitive plan, but I thought I would start by washing your hair. Just…take it slow. See what happens.”

I smiled. “Take it slow. Like James and Elysia?”

He released me and returned my grin. “I see you’ve been brought up to speed on their problem.”

“Magical compatibility.”

“Yes.” His smile faded. “I’m afraid my magic isn’t compatible with anything, but I think
we
fit together well.”

“We do.”

He slid his fingers along my jaw. “Let me wash your hair.”

“On one condition.” I held up a single finger. “If the Fire starts to get the better of you, let me know. You swallow your pride and back off. We’re going to fight this thing together.”

“Then get naked, woman, and let’s get started.”

“Arrogant bastard.”

He flashed me a grin and undid his belt. Oh boy, this was going to be a tough fight.

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. Warm water peppered my skin as Rowan’s fingers massaged my scalp. My palms rested against his stomach. I had placed them there for balance—or so I told myself. It took a serious force of will to keep my hands still.

“This is relaxing?” Rowan asked.

“Well, it feels good.”

His fingers stilled and I opened my eyes. His irises were orange, but there was no gold flickering through them. He held my gaze a moment, then leaned down and kissed me.

I curled my toes against the bottom of the tub, but was able to hold still otherwise. His hands settled on my shoulders then slid down to my biceps. We kissed for a few moments longer, then he released me. I thought we might be finished, but he leaned over and picked up another bottle off the edge of the tub.

“That’s shower gel,” I said, afraid he intended to use it on my hair.

“I know.”

He squirted a dollop into his palm and set the bottle aside. Rubbing his hands together, he distributed the gel, then began to wash my stomach. When both hands slid upward, I gripped the handhold above the soap dish, but I was saved when his hands moved behind me to explore my back. He rubbed a light smear of gel up and down my arms. I tipped my head back into the warm spray of the shower and closed my eyes. This wasn’t so bad. I could stand here quietly and let him test his limits. I figured that the less I responded to his touch, the more control he would have.

I was doing well until his hands dipped below my collarbone. His warm palms slid across my breasts, swirling in place over and over again. I gripped the handhold more tightly, shifting my weight from foot to foot. When it seemed he didn’t intend to stop, I opened my eyes. He was watching me, his lips curled in that smirk that used to piss me off. He lifted a brow.

“Enough.” I stepped back. Warm water now hit me on top of the head and rolled down into my eyes. I was forced to step toward him once more.

“What are you doing?” I asked, wiping the water from my face.

“Cleaning where I want to put my mouth.” He picked up the shower gel. “I’m not done.”

“Rowan.”

He set the gel aside and lifted a hand to my cheek. “React, Addie.”

I frowned. “I’m trying to help you.”

“I know, but you’ve taken away the best part. I love your reactions. The way you press your body to mine as if you can’t get close enough. The way you moan my name.”

The gold had begun to flicker through his irises, but it wasn’t on full glow yet.

“But—”

He pressed his thumb to my lips. “Give me the satisfaction of pleasing you. It’s bad enough that one of us has to strangle his emotions.”

I realized that was exactly what I had been doing. Suddenly I had a new respect for what he had to do. I thought of young, impulsive Colby, and uptight, stoic David. If I ever figured out how to help Rowan, could I help them, too?

“Are we on the same page now?” Rowan asked.

I nodded.

“Then try not to look so disappointed.”

“I’m not disappointed. I’m frustrated. This is so unfair.”

“Perhaps, but it’s my burden to bear. I must have been a bad person in a past life.”

“The kind of person who torments his lover?”

“You’re saying there’s not much hope for the next life, either.”

“Looks that way.”

He grinned then leaned down and kissed me. I honored his request and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, then pressed my body to his. I drew a deep breath through my nose when he pressed back. His lips curled against mine, but he didn’t stop kissing me. He lowered himself to the floor of the tub and pulled me down with him. In the narrow confines, I had no choice but to straddle him.

My body blocked the shower spray, warm runnels of water rolling down my chest to drop onto his. He watched the play of water a moment, then leaned up and licked it from my skin.

I ran my fingers into his wet hair, encouraging him. A few swirls of his tongue, then he leaned back. I thought the Fire might have gotten the better of him, but he didn’t speak. Instead, he gripped my hips, sliding me back until our lower bodies were aligned.

I pulled in a breath and held it. His gaze locked with mine, his eyes on full glow. He studied me a moment, then smiled. “Breathe.”

I released the breath I was holding.

“Don’t look so concerned,” he whispered. “I can do this.”

“But I thought
you
had to be in control.”

The corner of his mouth crooked upward. “Maybe I like the idea of letting you do all the work.”

“Arrogant bastard.”

His grin broadened and he gripped my hips, lifting me. I braced my hands against the warm skin of his chest and helped him. An instant later, he filled me. I squeezed my eyes closed and arched my back, my senses overloaded. Okay, maybe I had fibbed a bit when I claimed that the physical part of our relationship wasn’t that important. I would do what I had to in order to preserve his health, but damn, this was nice.

His grip tightened on my hips. Concerned, I opened my eyes and caught him smiling. “What are you doing?” I asked.

“Watching you.”

I arched a brow. Was he really or was he just too proud to admit that he needed a moment? I leaned down and nipped his lower lip.

“Ah, hell,” he whispered and started to move.

I grinned. Perhaps he had been telling the truth.

Even expecting it, I still gasped when, a short while later, the air around us exploded in blue-white flame. No, not the air, the water. I turned my head to keep an eye on the fire. The flame climbed the water stream until it met the shower head—then the fixture vanished in a flash of white light. The water now poured down the wall from the small section of pipe left behind.

“Rowan?”

He gripped the sides of the tub. Every muscle in his arms and chest stood out in sharp relief beneath his wet skin. His jaw was clenched so tight I feared he might crack a tooth.

“Hey.” I reached out a hand, intending to touch his shoulder when the shampoo bottle on the shelf beside me vanished in a flash of light. I felt the intense heat against my cheek.

“Don’t…move,” he ground out between his clenched teeth. His body convulsed, and this time, the shower curtain disappeared. He cried out, and his back came off the floor of the tub. I pressed my hands to his chest to maintain my balance. The bottle of shower gel vanished and he gasped, panting now.

My heart pounded against my ribs as I waited for something else to vaporize—praying it wouldn’t be me.

Without warning, all the tension went out of his body. His eyes closed and his head rolled to the side, thumping softly against the tub.

“Rowan?”

No answer.

Hands suddenly shaking, I reached out and touched his chin, turning his face toward me. A trickle of blood ran from one nostril, but he didn’t open his eyes. He had passed out.

Chapter
24

“R
owan!” I gripped his shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. The only sound was the splash of water running down the wall. He didn’t respond at all. “Oh God.”

I climbed out of the tub, then reached back to shut off the water. Snatching up my robe, I hurried to my bedroom. A couple of vials of his headache remedy sat on my nightstand. I had been intending to take them to him, but now I was glad I hadn’t gotten around to it. I grabbed a vial and rushed back to the bathroom, dropping to my knees beside the tub.

“Rowan?” Still nothing. I brushed his wet hair from his face. His skin was hot to the touch though not flushed. I debated grabbing a towel and drying him. The air was cool against my wet skin, and my dripping hair had soaked through my robe, chilling me further. But Rowan felt feverish. Perhaps the evaporating water would help cool him. Didn’t they pack people with fevers in ice? Maybe I should get some.

Rowan groaned, then began to cough. Flecks of blood colored his lips before he licked them.

Heart in my throat, I reached down and gripped his hand. “Hey, you with me?”

He blinked a couple of times, then squinted up at me. It was clear that he had one of his headaches.

“Here.” I removed the cap and brought the vial to his lips. He drank without comment. When he leaned back and closed his eyes, I folded my arms on the side of the tub and bowed my head. I didn’t cry, but I wanted to.

A few minutes later, Rowan’s hand came to rest on my hair. “Addie?”

I lifted my head.

His gray eyes met mine. “Come here.”

I climbed back in the tub with him. Wrapping an arm around his waist, I laid my cheek against the warm skin of his chest. His heart thumped beneath my ear, the rhythm a little fast, but solid and strong. I closed my eyes.

“You’re getting better with my remedy,” he said, his voice soft. “The headache vanishes almost instantly.”

“Good. That was the goal.” I should probably stop calling it a remedy. It certainly didn’t cure what ailed him. It only healed what had been ripped up.

He toyed with a strand of my wet hair. “Well, your hair’s clean.”

I listened to his heart beat and didn’t respond.

“Hey.” He ran a finger along my jaw. “Talk to me.”

Time to lay it all on the table. “Cora said that if I want to save you, I should leave you.”

“I need to have a talk with her.”

“No.” I sat up and looked him in the eye. “Donovan agreed, but he wasn’t too keen on the solution.”

“I’m glad you’re consulting my family about our relationship.” Sarcasm laced his tone. “What did Era say?”

“She brings me slinky dresses and high heels. Her opinion seems to be the outlier.”

He frowned. “What is your opinion?”

“Either way, I rip out my heart.”

He studied me a moment, then gripped the side of the tub and climbed out. He picked up a towel and after a quick rub down, began to pull on his clothes.

I stepped out of the tub and sat down on the rim, waiting for him to finish.

“I have six more Elemental families arriving today—most are already here.” He tugged his sweater into place and turned to face me. “The Offices will be closed, and we’ll be staying at the lodge for the rest of the week.”

“Okay.” Why was he changing the subject? “Keep James with you. This isn’t over.”

He frowned. “What about you?”

“Neil doesn’t want me dead.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better. Come stay with us at that lodge.”

Cora would love that. “I’ve got a lot to do here. Besides, I’ll have Elysia. She can summon James if something happens.”

Rowan pinched the bridge of his nose. It must be frustration. I had already cured his headache.

He lowered his hand. “Join us for dinner tomorrow evening?”

“With thirty-six Elements instead of twelve?”

“Yes.”

“Will I have to dress up?”

He finally smiled. “No. It was established up front that the dress code would be informal.”

“Poor Era.”

“I told her it was for the best. Some of our cousins are from obscure parts of the world where formal means a few swirls of body paint and little else.”

“I see your point.”

“Good. Era didn’t. She heard that Quint had been raised by Aborigines and might dress accordingly.”

“Quint, the hot Aussie?”

“Yes.”

“You know, I’m going to have to come just to check this guy out.”

“Great,” Rowan said, though he smiled.

I got to my feet and gave him a hug.

He kissed my forehead. “We’ll figure this out?”

“Yes.”

He gave me a quick kiss on the lips, then he was gone.

I glanced at what was left of the shower. We would figure this out, but first, Gavin. That crazy bastard was going down. And once I figured out how to remove whatever linked James to his brothers, those assholes would join Gavin in hell. The real one.

A half hour later, I was hard at work trying to make my goals a reality. Rowan and James had cleared away most of the broken glass and equipment, so it didn’t take me long to get going. Fortunately, we had a lot of glassware stored in cabinets.

I swirled the round-bottomed flask, eyeing the tincture inside before setting it on a cork ring to cool. I lay aside my tongs and opened my journal. Turning to the last page I had been working on, I discovered a sticky note.
Don’t forget to call Brenda.
I smiled. Ian certainly knew where to stick a note so I would find it.

Brenda must have been expecting my call, because she answered on the first ring. “You won’t believe what I found.”

“I’m afraid to ask.”

“This Alexander guy was twisted.”

“I’m gathering that.”

“Anyway,” Brenda continued. “Ian Mallory’s three youngest sons didn’t die in the fire that killed him.”

“Really?” That was such a relief. I had been dreading telling Ian about that.

“His brother, Deacon Alexander Nelson adopted them.”

My stomach dropped. “Adopted?”

“He even had their birth certificates changed,” Brenda continued. “Changing the boys’ names and listing himself as the father. I found them when I did a search under their mother’s name. For some reason, Alexander didn’t bother to change that. Maybe he wasn’t married.”

“Alexander married his niece, remember? The boys’ older sister. That would look a little weird on their birth certificates.”

“What a twisted mess.” Brenda clicked her tongue in disapproval. “Anything else I can check?”

“Can you find out where the three youngest are buried?”

“I should be able to, especially if it’s local.”

“I’m sure it is. Thanks for your help.”

“It was fun. This one was a real puzzle.”

I bid her farewell and returned to my bench, lost in thought. I would wait until I located their graves before I told Ian. Perhaps that sense of closure would make up for the fact that his boys had been raised by Alexander.

I looked down at my open journal. I hadn’t made many notes since I began. My first entry stood out at the top of the page:
Neil’s blood
. That’s what I needed. If—

Wait.

The hairs on my arms stood up as the pieces fell into place. Ian’s three youngest sons had been
adopted
by Alexander. That meant the members of the Nelson Family were descended from—

“Ian,” I whispered.

Ian was the founder of the Nelson line, not his brother. What would he say when he learned that Xander, Doug, and even Neil were his descendants?

Ironically, Elysia was Alexander’s only surviving descendant. I remembered her telling him that she was his true heir and a chill rolled down my spine. He would know the truth in those words.

My eyes drifted back to my journal.
Neil’s blood
.

“Oh!” Neil wasn’t Alexander’s descendant, he was Ian’s. He wasn’t a stunted ghoul master; he was a stunted lich king. Neil’s blood power shouldn’t give him the power to bind the living. So how had he bound Brian before Gavin took him?

I hurried to the phone and dialed James’s number. “Hey,” I said when he answered. “Are you guys still hanging out with Ian?”

“Yes. I believe they are on photo album number three.”

I smiled, happy for Ian. At least part of his family had turned out as he hoped. “Would you care to let me talk to him?”

“I can do that. What’s up?”

“I have a necromancy question.”

“You’ve called the right place. I’m ass-deep in necromancers. Grams called in a couple of elderly aunts to help sort out who’s who in the pictures.”

I laughed. “Is that a problem?”

“One tried to feel me up.”

“What kind of feel up are we talking about?”

“The magical kind. Although, the other one keeps checking out my, um—” He shifted the phone. “I told Ian to watch himself, and he told me that if I dressed more respectably, they wouldn’t feel at liberty to pursue their carnal interests. That’s a direct quote.”

I had to pull the phone from my mouth to muffle the laughter.

“Thanks,” James said. “You clearly feel my pain.”

“I’m sorry. Put Mr. Manners on for me.”

“Will do. Oh, and my phone’s about dead, so if it cuts out, that’s why.”

“I’ll make it quick.”

A moment later, Ian’s voice came over the line.

“Having fun?” I asked.

“This day started off a bit rough, but it has become one of the better days I’ve had since you freed me.”

“Grams had some good pictures?”

“I got to see what Joseph looked like as a man. I’ve seen his wife, their children and grandchildren.” He voice dropped to a whisper. “There are also pictures of Mattie’s daughters and granddaughters.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“Judith has offered to have copies made. I don’t want to be rude and offer to pay for what is a gift, but is it very expensive?”

“It’s very
in
expensive.”

“Good.” Relief colored his tone. “What do you need? James said you have a question.”

“A necromancy question. Can the blood of a lich king be used for anything other than making liches? Specifically, could
you
do anything else?”

“You’ve realized that Elysia is more than the sum of her parts.”

I frowned. That wasn’t where I had been going with this line of questioning, but now that he pointed it out, I was very interested. “Her ability to heal the dead. Neither you nor Alexander could do that?”

“No, we couldn’t.”

I glanced at the vial of rust-colored powder that still sat on my bench top. Elysia’s blood essence. “Alexander’s demented experiment worked, didn’t it? He did father a child with your combined gifts.”

“Yes. And unfortunately, I preserved it. We have to stop him, Addie. This has become so much more than vengeance. If he finds out what she is…”

A wave of dread washed over me and the question came unbidden. “What is she?”

“I’m going to reserve judgment until I’ve seen what she can do.”

“What do you think she’s able to do?”

“Think Dr. Frankenstein. Build a body, possess it, give it a soul.”

“Give it a soul?”

“Soul transference.”

“That’s possible?”

“In theory. I wish I could have examined this lich she created. The soul bond between her and James is a work of shocking intricacy. A blood oath to her would inspire fealty. A blood pact would make the oath giver her slave.”

That statement gave me goosebumps and reminded of me of something. I flipped back a page to where I had Elysia write down everything that happened when Neil resurrected Gavin. The very first line read:
Brian said he swore a blood oath to serve Neil
.

Oh my God. It was that simple.

“Addie?”

“I might be on to something.”

“Do you need me to help—”

“No, stay. Enjoy your reunion. I’ll keep you posted.”

He thanked me and we ended the call. I turned to face my workbench, my gaze settling, once again, on the vial of Elysia’s blood essence. We had found a tube of Doug’s blood in Neil’s lab at the city morgue. According to Doug, Neil must have taken it while he was unconscious from the Knockout Gas. I was willing to bet anything that Neil had taken a sample from Elysia, as well. He had referred to her as his prize, so he clearly knew of her potential. He had also once referred to Ian as a forgotten family treasure. At the time, I had assumed he referred to Ian’s alchemy knowledge, but now I wondered. Might Neil be the source of the compiled family records Brenda had stumbled across?

I retrieved my pen and wrote
blood oath
on the next line in my journal. Brian had sworn to serve Neil, but what if he had sworn the oath on Elysia’s blood? Brian wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Neil could have tricked him into a more binding pact rather than just an oath. And Neil could have used Elysia’s blood rather than his own. Maybe I didn’t need Neil’s blood after all. I needed hers.

I picked up the vial of Elysia’s blood essence. I was making a lot of assumptions, but I didn’t need to recreate exactly what Neil had done. All I needed was to undo it. Specifically, undo Elysia’s magic. I needed a solvent, and I happened to have a universal one flowing through my veins.

I was clearing away the last of the dirty glassware when someone knocked at my back door. I picked up my newly designed necromancy solvent and slipped it in my bra for safekeeping before I walked down the short hall to the back door. If I got called away, I didn’t want the vial to get misplaced.

Reaching for the deadbolt, I hesitated. “Who is it?” I called through the thick door.

“Colby.”

I twisted the deadbolt and opened the door. “This is a surprise,” I told him. “I figured you would be at the lodge with the others.”

“I should be. Fortunately, cell phone reception sucks out there, or Lynn would be calling me every thirty seconds.” He rolled his eyes.

I smiled, reminded of the way Era protested her family’s overprotectiveness. “Do you want to come in?” I opened the door wider.

“First, I have a question.”

“Okay?” I suspected I knew where this was going.

“This is the last time I’ll ask,” he continued, confirming my suspicions. “Will you take away my magic, permanently?”

“No. You were chosen for—”

“That’s horseshit.” Fire sprang to light around his pupils. “It’s a genetic mutation. A deformity. A disease.”