The Necromancer's Betrayal (The Final Formula Series, Book 2.5) Read Online Free PDF

lich making was a big deal.”
    “It is. I’m not a normal necro.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Later.” She leaned in closer to the girl. “Do me a favor? Keep what I’m about to do to yourself?”
    “Who would I tell?”
    “My grandmother.”
    “You could command my silence.”
    “I could.”
    He grunted. “Shall we see if death can save a life?”
    Chapter
4
    J ames handed Elysia a box cutter and watched as she snapped it open. This blade looked much sharper than that knife she had used in her kitchen. Maybe he shouldn’t let her do this. She took a deep breath that shook when she released it. He opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t get the words out before she ran the box cutter across her forearm. The scent of Elysia’s blood colored the air, the iron-rich aroma calling to him. James pushed to his feet and hurried away.
    He returned to his clothes, alarmed by his reaction, his longing to once again drink the ambrosia that flowed in her veins. God, what was wrong with him? He pulled on his clothes and considered escaping to the fresher air outside.
    He looked toward the counter, using the hound’s sight to see the souls on the other side. He squinted in the brightness that was Elysia. He had never seen a soul that glowed so brightly. Not even Addie’s.
    He felt it the moment Elysia bound the girl’s soul. It stopped fluttering about her body and sank inside. He didn’t want to think too deeply about what Elysia was doing, but he couldn’t ignore it. The girl was being bound to her dying body. But maybe the baby could be saved.
    A thump sounded from the other side of the counter and Elysia groaned.
    “Are you okay?” he asked.
    When she didn’t answer, he rushed around the counter. She lay slumped against the wall, holding a wad of tissues to her forearm.
    “Hey.” He moved closer.
    “It’s done,” Elysia whispered. Her eyes were half closed, but he still glimpsed white irises where golden-brown had been.
    “I see.” He squatted beside her and then regretted the move when the strong scent of her blood washed over him. His mouth immediately began to water. It was a bizarre reaction he had never had before, but then, he had never been exposed to necromantic blood. The vibrancy and vitality he could smell. Even the color seemed brighter, more full of life.
    “How badly did you nick yourself?” Not wanting to, but knowing he must, he caught her wrist and rotated it toward him.
    “It didn’t heal like it did with you,” she said, the words a little slurred.
    He pulled away her other hand and found an inch long cut, still sluggishly bleeding. “Heal?”
    “Does your saliva have healing properties?” Her head drooped and her tawny blonde hair fell forward, obscuring her face.
    Unease crawled along his spine as he remembered his brothers’ ability to heal him. “I’ve never made it a habit to lick open wounds.” It was hard to tell with the new blood, but he saw no evidence of the cut from earlier this evening.
    “That would be gross,” she mumbled.
    An ambulance siren wailed in the distance. He lifted his head, listening. It was still miles away, but they needed to leave or answer some uncomfortable questions.
    He glanced at the clerk and found both souls still firmly attached. The clean towels Elysia had placed under her head were not as blood saturated as earlier.
    James scooped Elysia up and headed for the door. He paused long enough to retrieve his bag of snacks and hurried to her tiny car. He placed her, still muttering about something, in the passenger seat and cracked his head climbing into the driver’s side. He put the seat back as far as it would go, but still felt cramped. Grumbling, he punched the accelerator and left the ill-fated convenience store behind.
    He continued down the road in the direction she had been headed. How long would Elysia be out of it? Could he make it to Cincinnati? And then what? She had only to give him a command and force him to kill everyone he cared