Undead Alchemist

by Kat Cotton

“So, what you’re saying, Clementine, is that someone kidnapped her?” the mayor asked.

  I nodded. The enemy had rushed in and taken her. That wasn’t even up for debate. The question was, who was the enemy?

  Chapter 35 Escape

  “OKAY, WE’VE HELD A vote,” Nic said the next morning. “The mayor and I think you should go back to find the alchemist as soon as possible. Kisho and Tarragon think you should wait until you’ve healed. You have the deciding vote.”

  I sat up, ready to hit him. “I… I… Fuck you, Nic. Fuck you all. There is no deciding vote. There’s only my vote. My body, my life, my vote. And why the hell does Tarragon even get a say in this? He’s just here to necromance his ex-girlfriend. And the mayor? Don’t discuss our business with him. Stop trying to oppress me with your damn male entitlement.”

  Nic laughed. “I knew that would get you fired up.”

  I threw a pillow at him.

  “Ow, Clem. That really hurt.” Which was obviously a lie.

  “Not as much as my feelings are hurt,” I said. “I’m happy to get up and do my part. It’s those two being pussies about it. I want to find Fleur more than anyone. Well, maybe not more than Fern.”

  “You squashed the cake I bought you,” Nic said.

  It was only then that I noticed the parcel in his hand. “You’d better not be joking about that being cake, or I’ll stake you.”

  Nic sat on the bed beside me and opened the parcel. It was a box with some tasty little cakes in it. I took one.

  “Not that one. That’s mine. Take one of the others,” he said.

  “Screw you, vampire. I’m the one recovering.”

  I nibbled on my cake.

  Nic handed me a napkin. “You’re going to get crumbs all through the bed.

  “Hey, Nic, you don’t think someone brainwashed Kisho while I was knocked out, do you? He really isn’t himself.”

  Nic shrugged. “He doesn’t seem brainwashed, just feistier.”

  I didn’t mention how Kisho seemed to have doubts about my story.

  “Anyway, we have to find this alchemist,” I said. “I will not let today end without doing that.”

  “Just don’t get hurt, okay?”

  I kissed him on the cheek.

  He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand and screwed up his face. But he smiled at me, and that smile was tinged with authenticity.

  I kicked him off my bed. I needed to get dressed and get out of here so I could rescue Fleur and catch this alchemist, but Nic lingered near the doorway.

  “Get out of here. I need to get naked and shower.”

  He nodded, then hugged me. “We won’t let them take you,” he said. “Once this all sorted out, we’ll think of some way to rescue you. Then we’ll take you far, far away, where the Council won’t find you.”

  I smiled and pushed him out the door. It was nice of Nic to say that, but I wondered if it was possible. The more I got to know about the Council, the more insidious they seemed. Still, I’d worry about that when the time came, and, hey, silver lining. Nic had said that without my cuffs zapping me.

  The shower felt so good, especially since Kisho had plonked me in bed still covered in soot and grime and sweat. I didn’t know where he’d slept while I was out cold. I’d reached for him a few times, but he hadn’t been beside me.

  He came back to our room as I got out of the shower.

  “Hey,” I said. I didn’t want to ask where he’d been, but I did wonder.

  He set his laptop down on the sideboard.

  “Doing research?” I asked.

  “Yep. I thought I’d sit in the lobby, since you were pretty restless in your sleep. But I found out nothing new.”

  “Did I kick you in my sleep? I did, didn’t I?”

  He grinned. I took that as a yes. Poor Kisho.

  “I’m still not sure this is the right idea,” he said. “You need more recovery time.”

  “We don’t have time. We need to get this guy.”

  Kisho nodded. I was glad of that. He was becoming too argumentative lately for my liking.

  I searched for some clean clothes. The mayor hadn’t brought me many outfit choices, and I’d gotten filthy crawling through those tunnels. Then Kisho handed me my clothes, all washed and even folded nicely.

  “I did some laundry while you were passed out,” he said.

  He really was the best. I had to stop having doubts about him.

  I dressed, then we got ready with all the essentials: knife, stakes, demon-fighting jewelry. I put it all on this time, not knowing what we’d encounter.

  I wasn’t sure if Tarragon was still around, but we didn’t need him anyway, although his headlamps had come in handy. We could get to that lab without them this time, though.

  When I reached the lobby, a fat hand clamped down on my shoulder and those damn cuffs zapped like they hadn’t since Fleur had done her magic on them. I almost fell to the floor.

  Then I looked around. The damn Council. Troopers had filled the lobby. It was like Nic had conjured them up by mentioning them.

  My first impulse was to look to the exits, but that just got me another zap.

  Lycra Shorts stepped forward.

  “Ms. Starr.” He nodded. “We’ve decided to take you off this case. We’ve gathered enough information, and our researchers are ready for you at the lab.”

  “Fuck!” My chest tightened. I reached for Kisho’s hand, but he was too far away.

  I gritted my teeth, not wanting those Council bastards to see how freaked out this made me. Fear crept through my body, like chill hands squeezing me tight.

  There was one way out, the exit leading to the elevator, and that was well and truly blocked. I couldn’t even jump out a window without risking serious damage. Well, the damage might be worth it—limbs heal—but I couldn’t see how I could do it.

  “Can I get my things from my room?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

  Lycra Shorts nodded.

  Fool. There might be a drainpipe I could shimmy down, or some other means of escape. Shimmying with these bloody cuffs on my wrists might be painful, maybe even impossible, but I wouldn’t be taken in. If I went with them now, it’d be all over. I’d be screwed.

  Before I went to my room, I saw the mayor make his way through the Council troopers to Lycra Shorts. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Probably trying to cover his own ass.

  Kisho and I got to my room, and I opened the window. Fuck, that was a steep drop.

  “I’ll go first,” said Kisho. “At least I might be able to break your fall.”

  Before he could move, someone bashed on the door.

  “Fix up your bill before you leave.” The old guy from reception sounded especially grumpy. If I didn’t open the door for him, my escape plan would be foiled, but his timing was way off.

  “Talk to the mayor about this,” I said, opening the door just a crack.

  Before I could close it again, he grabbed my arm. “Shhh,” he said.

  He dragged me out into the hallway, and Kisho followed. What the fuck was going on? Then he opened the door to the storeroom and hustled us both inside. Was he trying to help us? Hiding us in a tiny room filled with bed linen and mini-soaps wasn’t the sharpest plan ever. It might work for like ten minutes before the Council found me. Maybe I could disguise myself as a ghost with those sheets.

  Then he moved some mop buckets out of the way, took a pile of sheets from one of the shelves and slid a panel at the back of the cupboard aside to reveal an opening.

  “Go!” he said.

  That old guy. What a legend.

  “Tell them I jumped out the window,” I said as I slid into the hole.

  There was a slight drop, then another tunnel, one tall enough for us to stand up in. Kisho followed me, and the tunnel went black as the old man slid the panel back into place. Then Kisho grabbed my hand. I had to rely on his vision as we ran down that pitch-black passage. I couldn’t see a damn thing, and I didn�
�t trust easily, even if it was Kisho.

  My stomach churned but I had to keep running. I wasn’t even sure where I was running to, but this was the only way.

  Chapter 36 Tunnels

  EVENTUALLY, WE HAD to stop, because I could run no farther. My legs stung, my lungs stung and I had no strength left.

  I squatted down, hands on my knees, trying to recover.

  At least there were no pounding footsteps behind us. No sound at all. That was a small mercy.

  Kisho pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the torch so we could see our surroundings. We’d reached a fork in the tunnel, and he investigated both ways.

  “Don’t have it on too long,” I told him. “Who knows how long we’ll be down here. I’m a fugitive now, and so will you be. Hell, I hope Nic’s okay. He’s going to be a target too. I guess you don’t have phone reception?”

  “Nope. Nothing.”

  I reached for my phone, but it wasn’t in my pocket. Shit. I’d put it on the charger last night and forgot to pick it up.

  “Fuck, Kisho. But, hey, on the plus side, these cuffs did nothing to stop me. That’s weird, right? When we were in the lobby, they shocked the hell out of me.”

  Kisho turned his torch off and squatted down beside me. Our knees touched. That contact stopped me from panicking in the darkness.

  “Maybe they don’t work in the tunnels.”

  “Sweet. Hopefully, that means they can’t track us, either. That’s one thing on our side. I just have to stay down here for the rest of my life. I didn’t need all that fresh air and sunshine shit, anyway. Food, though—I might miss that.”

  I rested my head against my knees. This situation had become dire real fast. What had changed the Council’s mind? Had they caught the alchemist themselves?

  “Do you have any idea where we are?” I asked Kisho.

  He sniffed the air like a dog. “I think we’re near the river, but where, I can’t tell.”

  “We need to get back to that lab. I have no idea how, though. We could walk around down here for years. Well, until I starve to death. I really wish I’d eaten breakfast now. Damn the Council.”

  Kisho put his arm around my shoulder. “At least we have each other.”

  That was true. And Kisho might not die. He could just lie low long enough for everyone on the Council to be dead.

  “We’ll walk around until we find a way out, then I can go outside and get our bearings,” Kisho said.

  “And food, right?”

  My stomach grumbled. In this empty passageway, that grumbling echoed so much, it sounded like we were surrounded by wild animals. Even then, I wondered how the grumbles could be heard over my thudding pulse. All that running and fear and adrenaline.

  “You don’t think they’ll find the entrance to the tunnel?” I asked Kisho.

  “They might believe you jumped out the window.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t. I’d have injured myself, for sure. Kisho, I’m screwed, really. I can’t stay down here forever. They’ll find me, and they’ll do all those bad experiments on me like they do to puppies.”

  Now that I’d stopped running, the terribleness of my situation began to overwhelm me. I didn’t have the strength to think positive. I barely had the strength to think at all.

  “Not if I can help it,” Kisho said. “You have a lot of friends, Clem. A lot of friends who’ll help you. The Council might be evil, but they aren’t all-powerful.”

  He could say that, but even if they weren’t all-powerful, they did wield a lot of power. I’d been so naive, thinking they were some innocuous registry body. I’d thought I could train with them, get all licensed up, then make a ton of money. That’d worked for a while, but now they practically owned my soul.

  Right now, I just wanted to be home with the pack and the girls, the biggest worry on my mind being how to get money to buy new boots. Not only had I gotten myself into danger, I’d dragged Nic and Kisho in along with me.

  I stood up. “I guess we’re getting nothing done, just sitting here. Maybe living underground won’t be so bad.”

  We kept walking through the tunnels, Kisho guiding me through the darkness. I’d have given anything for one of Tarragon’s dorky headlamps. My grip on Kisho’s hand was so tight, the muscles in my hand ached, but I couldn’t let go of him.

  The sounds of the tunnel became louder. The drip of water, like a deafening boom. Scratches and rattles.

  Kisho slid his arm around my waist. “Stop.”

  I inhaled, not sure of the problem.

  Kisho shone his phone torch around. A cave-in. The path wasn’t completely blocked, but it’d be hell trying to get through that tiny gap. Until now, I hadn’t even considered that the ceiling above us might not be stable.

  “Should we backtrack, or try to get through?” I asked.

  “I think going through is the better way. I have an innate sense of direction, and it’s saying this way.”

  I didn’t really trust innate senses of direction. I had a boyfriend once who’d said that and we’d ended up driving in circles for hours. But I had to trust in Kisho.

  Still with his arm around my waist, he guided me through the gap in the rocks. We had to do it in the darkness rather than risk dropping his phone into a crevice where it’d be stuck forever. I wasn’t sure of my footing or which parts were stable.

  “Stay still,” Kisho said, easing his grip on me.

  I heard him jump to solid ground, then he reached up to lift me down beside him.

  “Let’s fill that gap with rocks,” I said. “That might fool the Council if they’re following us.”

  “Na. Not worth it,” Kisho said. “I’ve heard no traces of them, and we’d wear ourselves out hauling rocks.”

  He meant I’d wear myself out, but he didn’t want to say that outright.

  The earthy smell got stronger. It seemed warmer, too. We kept walking, and I squeezed Kisho’s hand tighter.

  “I think we’re getting closer to Old Town,” he said. “I can hear things.”

  Maybe he could. All I could hear was my breath and the sound of trickling water. Then my eyes began to play tricks on me. I could swear there were pinpricks of light ahead of us, but as we got closer, they disappeared or moved.

  A little later, I could see red flashes. Just random streaks. Living underground forever might not be the best thing for me. I’d go nuts.

  Then Kisho stopped. “There’s a candle here,” he said. “If we had matches, we could light it.”

  This was why I should never have given up smoking. I’d have a lighter on me. And, hell, at times like this, I’d love a cigarette.

  “Wait,” he said. “There’s a lighter here. I think someone’s been in this part of the tunnel quite recently.”

  He tried a few times but the lighter didn’t spark, just scrapped metal on metal. Maybe it’d sat there too long.

  But on the third try, we got a flame. Kisho lit the candle, sending flickers of light around the tunnel.

  For some reason, that made the place seem creepier. Before, we’d been part of the darkness, but now we’d pushed it away, and it could harbor anything. There might be more than alchemists down here. Like rats. I hadn’t thought of that until now. There’d definitely be rats down here.

  He handed me the candle and let go of my hand. I didn’t like that at all, but maybe it was easier for him to walk without guiding me.

  We kept walking. I stumbled a few times, but I kept that candle upright.

  “I can smell it,” Kisho said.

  “What?” I almost squealed, my mind still on the rats.

  “The lab. That weird smell it had.”

  I couldn’t smell it, but he had vampire senses. He started off down the tunnel, and I followed as fast as I could manage. Without him holding my hand and only the candlelight to guide me, I felt more unsure on my feet. I kept second-guessing my footfalls.

  We’d walked quite a way through the tunnel. It’d gone from being warm to unpleasantl
y hot.

  Then, suddenly, I could smell it too. That was definitely the same smell. I didn’t know if finding the lab would help us any, but it was something to aim for. From there, Kisho could get back into the old house, if it wasn’t filled with Council troopers. We’d know where we were and, hopefully, would be able to get some food.

  Suddenly, I could see the door to the alchemist’s lab, but I wasn’t sure what our purpose was any more. The alchemist would have disappeared, and Fleur definitely had. I didn’t even know if Kisho could make it back out through the fireplace.

  I didn’t need to use my ring to get into the lab. The door hung open. Inside, the room had been trashed. Broken glass littered the floor. The potions gone, but their remnants splattered the walls.

  Everything else had either been taken or destroyed. I ran through to the next room, and Kisho followed me. The examination table was still there, but nothing else. I looked for a door or some other entrance, but before I spotted anything, I heard a noise behind me. I spun around. I would not get clocked on the head again.

  A vampire stood in the doorway. The undead alchemist—it had to be, but he looked nothing at all like I’d expected. He stared at me with piercing blue eyes. He was no dusty old academic, that’s for sure. Not pale and wan and hunched over from too much book learning.

  The guy’s muscles strained so hard against his t-shirt, they’d almost ripped the fabric. He could’ve been a personal trainer at a swanky gym. His name had to be Thor or Brick or something like that. Was this really the undead alchemist? He didn’t look like he turned metals to gold. More like, he transmuted couch potatoes into triathletes. I didn’t want to judge people on their appearance, but he sure looked all brawn and no brains.

  “Demon hunter? Half-vampire?” he asked, looking from me to Kisho.

  “The undead alchemist, I assume,” I said.

  Chapter 37 Philbert

  “SO, IS YOUR NAME REALLY Philbert?” I asked.

  Kisho glared at me, but I had to ask.

  “Philbert Marley. Pleased to meet you,” he said, sweeping into a very regal bow. “And you are Clem Starr.”