The Apothecary (The Lost Keepers Book 3)
Page 8
I stepped forward, but Dom grabbed my arm. My heart was racing, my vision blurring around the edges. I was having a panic attack. They were about to kill him. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to his cousin Larry! I clutched my chest and turned to my friend.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “He’s not in pain. It has to be this way.”
Osborne raised the box, and before I could look away again, plunged both needles directly into the man’s neck.
He didn’t falter. Didn’t sway. Didn’t fight back. He looked at peace, in fact. Happy.
Osborne continued to whisper words I couldn’t hear, and after about thirty seconds he removed the needles from his neck, and they withdrew back into the box.
Mr. Frowny, or maybe he was Mr. Smiley again, though he wasn’t quite smiling either, dropped gently to his knees. He rested there, alone on the floor, expressionless and silent.
“What happened to him?” I asked, breathless.
“They took his soul,” Dom replied.
“That’s it?” It was so… easy. “What now? What about his body?”
“The life will fade from it over the next several minutes. But there’s no soul. No intelligent life to feel any pain or fear,” Tate’s hand found its way to my back again and my muscles relaxed. He should probably have the opposite effect on me, but at this moment I didn’t care. I appreciated the help he provided in calming my tense nerves.
I inspected the body more closely. He looked completely normal and alive, though more tired now. Aside from the two holes in his neck, there was no sign of any foul play at all.
“The Agarthian cleaning crew will be by to dispose of the body soon. He’ll be a missing persons case here in the mortal world until the humans forget about him, and his fractured soul will rest in the Hall of Souls in Agartha until we can find a missing piece to complete it.”
I pulled away from him. “You’re killing these people so you can Frankenstein new souls back together again? And that works?”
“They don’t know if it works or not,” Sean grumbled. Tate shot him a dirty look.
I put up my hand. I couldn’t think about that any more right now. Not when Smiley’s girlfriend stood just six feet away with that sad puppy dog look in her eyes.
“Will you at least take care of her?” I nodded to the woman.
Tate sighed, pulling his glare away from Sean. He gingerly approached the housekeeper, then softly whispered. “I can’t go to Jersey with you, but you’re going to go there alone. Right now. You’re going to forget everything you saw today. You’re going to forget about your boyfriend, the Mason family, and the entire world of the Keepers. None of this ever happened. Go home and start a new life.”
She nodded and immediately turned to leave.
“What about Mr. Mason?” Sean asked.
“He’ll be fine,” I said. “The poison may take some time to fully leave his system, but he’ll be fully recovered in a couple of weeks.”
Osborne cut his eyes accusingly in my direction. I shrugged. “I work in an apothecary and my aunt is a healer.”
I’d been reading up on the poisons and how they are affected by the spells jotted down in Millie’s book. Herbs that did nothing for common mortals could be completely transformed with a little healer magic and a few Latin phrases.
“I need to see Abby.” Sean’s eyes were glassy with unshed tears of joy.
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll stick with the girls. I promise. Swing by their place after you’re finished. We’ll talk more there.”
“And remember to keep your mouth shut with Abby,” Gayla said. Her tone wasn’t unfriendly, but there was definitely a slightly bitter note to her words. “You don’t want to reveal any secrets.” She winked.
Sean dashed out the door and we moved to follow him, but Tate’s warm hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“You okay?” he asked.
“What do you care?”
He grinned. “The process works best when the souls are at ease. I just wanted to make sure it didn’t scare you. I need you to be nice and relaxed when your day comes.”
I scoffed. “If my day comes. I’d sure hate to clog up your hall of horrors with a gross little mortal soul.”
His golden eyes flashed slightly in the low light of the warehouse. “Oh I’m not worried about that at all. Your powers will show themselves eventually, broken as they may be. And I’ll be ready.”
“Come on, Everly.” Gayla stepped up to my side, looping my arm through hers. Dom did the same on my opposite side. “Let’s head back to the Honey Pot and grab some caffeine. Let the hunters clean up their carcass like the savages they are.”
The girls spun me around and kept me upright until we were back on the street. “Thank you for getting me out of there.”
“That’s what we do, girl.” Gayla smiled. “You know, we make a pretty good team. Just think of all the fun we could have if you were to enroll at Columbia with us.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, actually. You said there’s a professor of the ancient languages there, right?”
“Yep,” Dom nodded.
“And I could learn more about our history. Will I also be able to learn more about the different races and their roles? Every time I think I have a grasp on your world someone throws something out of left field, like the Hall of Souls, and I’m totally lost again.”
“Oh, definitely. You’ll know as much as we do. Maybe more, since you’ll have a degree in it!” Gayla was practically skipping down the sidewalk now.
“Okay.” I sighed. “I think you’re right. I’ve got to learn as much as possible, especially if I want any hope of finding my mom. If it’s not too late, I think I’m going to switch my enrollment from NYU to Columbia.”
Gayla squealed, and the girls wrapped me in a three way hug, spinning around on the sidewalk with zero regard for the pedestrian traffic jam we caused.
As soon as they released me, my eyes were drawn to a little white owl that fluttered down out of nowhere to land on the crosswalk sign up ahead. Taped to the pole was a flyer with a cheap black and white photo of Clayton Miles printed across the front.
I stared at his handsome Agarthian grin, wondering if somehow he was able to glamour through printed photographs as well. But no, I felt just fine. The words across the top were calling for extras in a movie that would soon be shooting in New York. And of course, the movie was going to be filmed on the Columbia campus.
“I just can’t get away from these guys,” I said with a sigh.
“I’m not sure why you want to. Wanna trade spots?” Gayla laughed and tugged me across the street. “Just kidding. Let’s get you an iced coffee now so we can get your schedule figured out. With a major in locating lost mothers and a minor in kicking Agarthian butt, I’m sure you’re going to have plenty of class options to choose from.”
To be continued…
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A DEEPER LOOK
Monkshood: (also known as wolfsbane) is as lovely as it is deadly, with the entirety of the plant containing toxins. When boiled or steamed, the toxicity is reduced to a level where therapeutic effects can be enjoyed, including a reduction in joint, muscle, and nerve pain. But higher doses can cause numbness and tingling, altered heart rates, and gastrointestinal issues. Too much of the herb will induce respiratory paralysis and/or death.
Alma Mater: This statue (as well as the others mentioned in the story) truly stands on the campus of Columbia University. Although there have been many controversies and lore surrounding the statue, she is mostly benign. And there is, in fact, a tiny owl hidden in the folds of her robe!
Rasputin: Grigori Rasputin is a man shrouded in mystery and wrapped in rumors. Supposedly a mystic, prophet, and healer, he was a close mentor to the last imperial family of Russia in the early 1900s. Rasputin was murdered in 1916 in perh
aps the biggest controversy of his life. Some say that he would not die even after several strong doses of cyanide and a gunshot wound to the chest. He had to be shot again much later, after he was already presumed to be dead, then his body was thrown into a half-frozen river.
ABOUT THE SERIES
The Lost Keepers is an ongoing series following the adventures of Everly Gordon and the powerful beings in her world. Each installment is a fun-sized short novel, similar to an hour long episode of your favorite TV show. The installments are released rapidly - one month apart (or faster!) so you never have to wait long for the next book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
AR Colbert is a wife, mother of two, and life-long daydreamer from central Oklahoma. She believes in the magic of a good story and would love nothing more than to spend the rest of her days getting lost in books. Her other hobbies include baking, cheering on the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and obsessively scrolling through Zillow.
You can follow her online on Goodreads, Facebook, or Bookbub to learn about new releases.
Other books by AR Colbert:
The Ember Society Series
From the Dust
From the Earth
From the Embers
From the Flames