It was like walking under a waterfall of ice. My breath caught in my throat, my skin so cold, I could barely move. I gasped at the sensation as the portal swallowed me whole, then spat me out onto a rough stone surface. Scarven gracefully appeared at my side, completely unfazed.
“Welcome to the Hollow,” he said.
I swallowed hard, trying to hide my shock.The Hollow. Not only was there an entrance at the stables, but inside the mansion too—through his private quarters.
We were in some sort of lab. Gray-and-cream marbled stone surrounded us on all sides, with bookshelves and cabinets along every inch of wall space, save for two doors. A large table sat in the center of the room, where a man in a white coat hunched over a notebook and three thin glass vials.
The man straightened at our arrival, and a shiver went down my spine when his eyes met mine. From this distance, they looked pure white, with a small black pupil in the middle. The area around them was rimmed in smudged kohl, making the rest of his fair skin look even more pallid. A mane of blackhair billowed around his face and past his chin. He appeared to be in his forties.
“Lord Scarven,” he said, his voice quiet and measured. “I see you’ve brought a guest.” His stare never left mine, his features blank as he tilted his head and peered at me. I quickly looked away.
“Malek, this is Miss Selena Nyte, a member of the Mysthelm contingency. Selena, meet Malek Mortep, my lead Alchemist and trusted advisor.” Scarven nodded to the Alchemist.
Sure, because why wouldn’t the creepy mansion of doom also have a creepy mad Alchemist?
“It’s nice to meet you.” I inclined my head to Malek.
He simply hummed. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other, Miss Nyte.”
Over my dead body.
On second thought, that probably wasn’t too far from the realm of possibility.
“Let’s leave Malek to his work,” Scarven said, taking my arm. “He’s developing a special serum for me now. But that’s not what I wanted to show you.” He turned us to the door on our left, fished a key out of his pocket, and inserted it into the padlock.
Behind the door was another large room, more of an office than a lab. A pine desk was situated against the back wall, with a leather wingback chair pushed into it. Other than that, a bookshelf, and a locked cabinet, the only items in the room were what hung from the walls.
I had to blink to take it all in, tamping down a look of horror.
There were drawings. Dozens and dozens of drawings, diagrams, and charts. Some mere sketches—dark, jagged lines of charcoal—and some were in full color, bright and glaring.
All were of hisexperiments.
A man with his chest cut open and a glowing green heart suspended in the middle.
Flayed skin with runes drawn on the surface.
A diagram of a body strapped to a table with what looked suspiciously like shadows being ripped from the skin by hooks.
A floating head with the eyes sewn shut.
Men, women, and children with burn marks and lacerations spread across their bodies.
Drawing after drawing after drawing, all depicting hisprisoners. I wanted to vomit. But I could feel him gazing at me, studying me like one of his test subjects. Weighing the results. If I gaveanyundesirable response, my chance to find out more would be gone.
“You’ve been busy, my lord,” I said, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Power takes knowledge, and knowledge takes time. I’ve always been interested in how our bodies and magic work.” He brandished an arm toward the diagrams and charts with pride. “For the past three centuries since the Fates gave us our power, we’ve been limited, confined to the magic of our respective provinces. Nobody has ever bothered to seek beyond these boundaries. Butwhodecides what power we possess? The Fates? Our own blood?” He laughed. “Nobody tells me what magic I can and cannot wield. Not anymore.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “One might think you consider yourself a Fate.”
“Not a Fate. Simply a man who knows how to get what he wants.”
I took a step closer to the nearest wall. “I never even knew something like this was possible.” I forced awe into my tone. “You and your Alchemist can do all of this?”
He nodded. “I’m not too proud to admit that Alchemy may be the most powerful of all. But it’s also the most underused. They use their abilities to what, maketea? Light fires? Mix their little potions? They have no idea.” He shook his head. “We have created entirely new powers with Alchemy. Gone to the edge of mankind and back again, reshaping what it means to be a Veridian. If you can findjustthe right combination, pair it withjustthe right spell, be willing to gojusta little further than magic permits, then you can do whatever you want.Bewhoever you want.”
A chill swept down my spine as I took in his words, then squinted to read the inscriptions below some of the images.
