The Heart of Alchemy James Wisher (book recommendations TXT) 📖

his organs. Ether mingled with blood, enhancing what remained, and allowing it to carry more oxygen than normal. It took everything Otto could spare to keep Wolfric alive. Healing couldn’t begin until the prisoners arrived.

Wolfric’s body started to spasm as something else broke loose.

Damn it!

“Where are those prisoners?”

“The cells are a fair distance away, Lord Shenk,” Borden said.

They had no time. If he didn’t start the healing soon, they’d lose Wolfric.

“Are your men willing to die for their emperor?” Otto asked.

“Would it matter if they weren’t?”

“No. I need a volunteer. Pick one that doesn’t have a family. Quickly.”

“Mader! Step forward. Special duty.”

A bald man in his late twenties moved away from his comrades. “Sir?”

“What do you need him to do?” Borden asked.

“Just stand right where he is.” Otto pierced Mader with five threads then slapped his hands together, linking the guard to the Chamber.

The magic worked with no direction from Otto. Mader collapsed into a pile of fine dust as his life force was used to repair some of Wolfric’s injuries. It did little, but it was enough to stabilize him again.

The other guards stared at the dust pile, their eyes wide and their faces pale. What did they think was going to happen? He had asked if they were willing to die.

Minutes ticked by like hours and Otto’s strength started to wane. Pain built behind his eyes. Ten more minutes at most and he’d have to release the spell keeping Wolfric alive. Much as he needed the emperor, Otto wasn’t remotely willing to die for him.

Luckily, he didn’t have to. Two minutes later, six prisoners were paraded into the room, shackled hand and foot as ordered.

Otto didn’t even wait. Threads shot out, pierced them, and he clapped his hands again. One after another the men collapsed into dust. The wounds in Wolfric’s chest closed a little more with each death until the final prisoner was gone along with the emperor’s wounds.

The lights in the Chamber vanished when Otto released the spell. A minor tweak opened the Chamber and Wolfric staggered out.

Borden hurried forward and slung his cloak around the naked emperor. Wolfric touched his chest where not even a scar remained.

He looked at Otto. “You saved me.”

“Of course. How are you feeling?”

“Astonished to be alive. In truth, I feel better than I ever have. Like I could take on an entire army by myself.”

“That’s an aftereffect of the healing process. The feeling will slowly fade over the next hour or so, then you’ll crash, probably sleep for many hours, wake up starving, eat everything in sight, and finally return to something like normal.”

“And you, my friend? What did my foolishness cost you?”

Otto swallowed a sigh. This was not the time for recriminations. “Nothing a day or two of rest won’t cure. I do have a request.”

“Anything,” Wolfric said.

“Leave Jade alone until I can question her with you. Extracting information from a damaged vessel is far harder than an undamaged one. But do keep her tightly bound. I’d hate for her to bite her tongue off or something before she can answer our questions.”

“Borden will see to it. What will you do now?” Wolfric asked.

“I need to muster the strength to retrieve Abby and walk back to the city. Shall we plan to meet up tomorrow for an interrogation?”

“That’s fine, but what happened to your daughter?”

“Long story. I’ll tell it to you later.” Otto straightened and became one with the ether.

When Otto returned to the cabin, he found Abby sound asleep exactly where he left her. The fire had burned down to embers and Ahmed’s corpse lay untouched on the floor, dagger protruding from the top of his skull. He’d send someone to collect the body tomorrow. Just to be sure, he carved a crude rune on the floor and put the minimum amount of power into it to make it last a couple days. Be a pain if he had to search every damn cabin in the area.

That done, he scooped up Abby and set out at a slow trudge toward the distant city lights. Shin-deep snow hampered him until he reached the main road, which had been tracked down by constant merchant traffic. A good thing too, since his legs felt like iron weights. The bitter cold helped him stay focused, though it also stabbed his lungs with every breath.

He would have liked to warm both the air and his body, but lacked the power. He’d used everything he had getting back and enchanting that rune. If any other assassins remained in the area, they’d have no trouble with him now.

Happily, his six-hour hike passed without incident. Assuming you didn’t count Abby waking up three hours ago screaming for a meal. He had nothing to feed her and no desire to listen to her screeching. A tiny bit of magic put her right back to sleep. Her still-developing mind yielded even easier than an adult’s. Good to know, since teething should be starting soon. If he wanted to work in peace, being able to put her to sleep at will would be useful.

The outer gates were opening as he approached and the sun colored the sky behind Garen bright orange. It was a beautiful sight that he would have enjoyed more had he been less exhausted. As it was, putting one foot in front of the other consumed his entire focus. The men stared as he passed, but kindly remained silent.

The guards manning the gate to Gold Ward recognized him so there was no trouble getting in, though given the blood staining his tunic, they probably thought he murdered someone. They weren’t wrong, though the blood belonged to Wolfric, not Ahmed.

“Otto!”

He’d been so focused on the cobblestones that he didn’t even notice Axel until he spoke. His brother marched at the head of ten scouts, all of them armed with mithril and looking ready for a fight.

“Axel. Coming to rescue me?”

“It is dawn. Where have you been?”

“Walking. The cabin was further from the city than I