Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

“A fine alchemist,” Yorrek muttered. “Shame he works for the enemy.”

He didn’t say it, but I heard a slight accusation in his voice that Navan might hold the same allegiances as his father. Even so, it was evident that Yorrek held Navan and his brother in some sort of high regard, given their impressive bloodline.

“It is a shame I couldn’t persuade my father to switch the direction of his moral compass, as I have done,” Navan replied, a sincere expression on his face.

“You say you want me to look at the latest developments?” Yorrek asked.

Navan gestured to the doorway of the gardens. “If you’re not too busy.”

“Bashrik seems preoccupied with the queen. I don’t think his mind is anywhere near the alchemy lab,” Yorrek remarked frostily, his eyes resting on Bashrik, who was leaning over the high table, speaking with Queen Brisha in a way that was making her smile giddily, her cheeks flushing. Good job, Bash.

“Indeed, his mind is otherwise engaged for this evening,” Navan said. “In fact, it’s Bashrik’s assistant, Angie, who wishes to meet with you. I believe you’ve met her before?”

“Short one, hair like a basket of snakes?” Yorrek sniped.

Navan maintained his polite smile. “That’s the one.”

“What kind of developments are we talking about?”

Navan shrugged apologetically. “Honestly, I don’t know. Angie just said she would rather be working on the lab tonight than mingling with people. She mentioned she had some ideas that will quicken the build, but that’s all I know,” he replied. “She’s up in the palace studio now, drawing some designs. I’m sure she’d welcome the insight, since Bashrik is proving useless today,” he added grimly. This seemed to please Yorrek, a cold smile creeping onto his thin lips.

“I admit that I respect a female with a mind firmly on the job. None of this romance nonsense clogging up the brain,” Yorrek said, waggling a finger in Bashrik’s direction. “If she’s at work, then I should be too. Lead the way. The sooner we have that lab built, the sooner I can get back to doing what I do best, under the safety and security of the queen’s protection.” His small eyes glanced around, as if to punctuate the point that he didn’t feel safe. His paranoia was so infectious, I almost felt like someone was watching us.

We led Yorrek, who walked between us, back through the gardens and into the palace, taking him up the staircase and toward the hallway on the first floor, where the annex was tucked away. I glanced over my shoulder as we hurried down the corridor, conscious of someone following. However, no matter how many times I turned to look back, there was never anyone there. Either they were very good at hiding, or my mind was playing tricks on me.

We ushered him into the annex room, shutting the door firmly behind us. As Navan reached into his pocket and took out the hypnosis serum, which had been placed into a syringe, I turned the key in the lock. Navan immediately darted for Yorrek and thrust the needle into his neck, pressing down on the plunger until there was no trace of the purple substance within.

Yorrek yelped and gaped up at Navan in surprise, before raising his fists in a fighting stance. I glanced to Navan in confusion. The serum hadn’t worked!

With his fangs bared, the alchemist lunged for the door, trying to grasp the handle. Navan barreled into him, knocking him out of the way. Yorrek whirled around with surprising agility and swiped at Navan’s face.

“Stop it!” I shouted as Yorrek’s clawed hands reached for Navan’s throat.

Immediately, Yorrek went still, retracting his hands.

The serum had worked—we just had to express commands. Angie looked at me excitedly, and a wave of relief crashed over Navan’s face.

“Which ingredients are needed to make the immortality elixir?” Angie asked, jumping straight in.

“A pressurized combination of some kind of alien blood, extract of Morgana, a base of Vysanthean blood, liquid from the seed of a fenghazi plant, a few drops of maram root, and adrenaline distilled from a frostfang,” Yorrek replied automatically, his voice a monotone.

“In which quantities?” Navan asked.

Yorrek looked thoughtful. “It is hard to say. The quantities are still being studied. I have a book of almost-successful trials, using various quantities. Queen Brisha has it. I could not tell you off the top of my head,” he answered. I frowned at this news, knowing it might necessitate a trip to Brisha’s chambers to see if we could get our hands on Yorrek’s book.

Glancing at Yorrek, it was definitely nice to be on the opposite side of the interrogation table, for once.

“Have any alien bloods worked yet?” I asked.

Yorrek shook his head. “None, though we are hopeful of the new sample being the key.”

“And how might that blood be synthesized?” Navan added.

“It has to be put in a centrifuge to separate the purest part. The plasma of many species is toxic to us, and we believe it is the same with this new blood,” Yorrek replied obediently.

“What is the alchemical process in making the immortality elixir?” Navan asked, the curiosity in his eyes intensifying.

Yorrek smiled. “Each individual aspect has to be allowed to react, one at a time, in sequence.”

Navan frowned. “How long does that take?”

“Ordinarily, synthesis takes weeks, and alchemical reactions can take months,” Yorrek explained. “However, we have successfully completed a new compressor device and a rapid centrifuge, which work together. They are used in unison to speed up these alchemical reactions, meaning we do not have to wait for the synthesis of the blood, or the time required for reactions to occur naturally. And so, we can reduce alchemy time down from weeks or months to hours or days, depending on what we are making.”

I flashed a look at Navan. That was news to me. When I’d last asked Brisha about a timeframe, she’d told me weeks. This was definitely something the rebels hadn’t heard about before, either. I was sure of it. If this technology now existed, that changed the game entirely. It would allow an alchemist to trial a new elixir in super-quick time, meaning a success could be achieved faster. Not only that, I realized it would undoubtedly mean that an elixir could be produced in mass quantities, if it could be done that quickly.

Standing in the center of the room, I noticed Yorrek’s sinewy muscles tense, where before they had been loose and relaxed. His rheumy eyes were still foggy and unfocused, but they seemed to be gathering some sort of clarity.

“The serum is already wearing off,” Angie said, voicing my thoughts.

“One more question,” Navan said quickly, leaning closer to Yorrek and gripping his shoulders. “Do you know where the new sample of blood comes from?”