The Catalyst of Corruption (The Final Formula Series, Book 4) Read Free Page B

“Answer.”
    â€œDamn it, Ian.” He was starting to really piss me off.
    â€œJust a line or two, here and there.” James’s tone made it clear that he was no happier with Ian than I was. “It was enough.”
    â€œWhere is it now?” I asked.
    â€œWe lost it,” James said.
    â€œAny idea where?”
    â€œHere, the Nelson Funeral Parlor, I don’t know.”
    â€œYou took it to the funeral parlor?” Ian took a step toward him. “You’d better hope Neil didn’t read it.”
    â€œWhy?” I asked, trying to insert myself between them—at least verbally.
    Ian glanced in my direction, a frown wrinkling his forehead, but I didn’t think it was anger. A portal whispered open beside him.
    â€œIan.”
    His eyes met mine before he stepped into the portal.
    â€œWhat’s this about?” I demanded.
    â€œAsh alchemy,” his voice echoed out of the portal.
    I didn’t see the portal close. I fell into a memory.

Chapter 2
    N eil smiled at me, his face lightly sweated in the glow of the cremator. He lifted the jar, displaying the gray ashes inside, then dipped in a finger. As I watched, he brought it to his mouth.
    I wrinkled my nose. “That’s hardly hygienic.”
    He smacked his lips. “Necromancer.”
    I tried not to laugh. “Seriously, that’s gross.”
    â€œHow do you know if you haven’t tried it? Then, too, you wouldn’t be able to sense the power.”
    â€œHa ha.” He loved to remind me that I wasn’t magical, and that he was. “Is he strong enough to suit our purposes?”
    â€œNo blood gift, but he was moderately talented.”
    â€œSo that’s a yes?”
    His white eyes glinted. “That’s a yes.” He offered me the jar. “I know it works on Old Magic.”
    I took the jar, holding it up to examine the ashes inside. Ashes that contained a necromancer’s power.
    â€œThe question is,” Neil continued, “does it work on New Magic?”
    I looked up, aware of the Air Element he had imprisoned upstairs. “Only one way to find out.”
    Â 
    â€œAddie?”
    I blinked my eyes, trying to focus on Rowan’s face in the dim light. He knelt before me on the floor of the catacombs’ autopsy room.
    â€œYour nose is bleeding,” James said from behind me. It was he who I leaned against.
    I brushed a finger beneath my nose, and it came away bloody.
    â€œDéjà vu?” James asked, using the term I had chosen for the magical surges of memory I occasionally experienced.
    â€œYes.” I pushed myself to my feet, turning my back on them. It had been a long time since I’d had a memory surge strong enough to knock me down.
    â€œAnything you want to share?” James asked.
    â€œNot particularly.” I eyed the blood and couldn’t help but wonder just how much blood I had on my hands.
    Rowan stepped up beside me and wordlessly offered me a tissue.
    â€œThanks,” I muttered and dabbed my nose. James and Rowan maintained their silence, making my pounding heart sound loud in my ears. I knew they wouldn’t pressure me, but we were way past the point where I could remain silent. They both knew that my past was a dark one, and they had forgiven me for it, trusting that I was a better person now.
    I took a deep breath and plunged in. “I remembered working with Neil,” I said. “There was a cremator—where, I don’t know. He handed me a jar of ashes, claiming they contained the power of a necromancer.”
    â€œDid he kill him?” James asked, his voice now coming from the other side of the room. He had moved to the equipment table where his clothes still lay.
    â€œI don’t know.” I swallowed. “Nor do I know if I helped him.”
    My response was met with silence. I could imagine them making eye contact, but I didn’t turn to look.
    â€œWhat was the purpose