The Heir of Death - The Final Formula 3.5 by Becca Andre

at his solemn tone. “What is it?”
    “Your blood gift.”
    “Which one?” she asked, annoyed.
    “The one that makes you a soul reaper.”

Chapter 7
    “A soul reaper? Seriously?” James snorted, then grinned at her. “No wonder our magic is so compatible.”
    She got to her feet, and both men did the same. “It’s more like manipulator.” She waved a hand, dismissing the question. “Blood gifts tend to favor dramatic names.”
    James grunted. “I see. Soul reaper sounds much cooler than soul manipulator.”
    She smiled before turning to Doug. “And the whole concept is a joke. There’s no such thing.”
    “He said he was getting high on your blood,” Doug said. “You know what the legends say.”
    “The legends say a lot of things, most of them are total fabrications.”
    “I’m aware of that, but I couldn’t ignore the similarities. The blood of a soul reaper is supposed to be like a drug. It addicts you, puts you in their power and gives them access to your soul. My father told me years ago, when he was still grooming me to be Deacon, that if a child is suspected to have inherited that ability, I must never taste her blood.”
    Elysia crossed her arms. “And your father is such a reliable source of information.”
    “Your eyes were white, but you weren’t using your active power.”
    “If I’m a soul reaper—and I’m not convinced of that—I manipulate souls. He doesn’t have one.” She glanced at James, expecting easy agreement, but a frown had replaced his grin. Did he believe what Doug was saying?
    “On the mortal plane,” Doug said.
    She frowned. “And…?”
    Doug ran a hand over his face. “And I don’t know. I’m in uncharted waters here. A little insight would be helpful.”
    “Don’t look at me. As everyone points out, I don’t know the first thing about my magic.” She threw her hands in the air.
    “Dear God,” Doug said. His response threw her until he captured her right hand, then ran the fingers of his opposite hand along her damaged digit.
    She glanced down at her hand resting against his open palm. The pain was completely gone, and flesh now covered the end of her amputated finger, the skin a healthy healing pink. It looked like she had lost the finger weeks ago, not hours. Even so, her stomach rolled over at the sight.
    Doug frowned at her hand a moment before turning to James. “Can you do that for anyone?”
    “I’ve never tried.”
    She pulled her hand from Doug’s. “We can solve these mysteries later. We need to accomplish our goal while Neil and our demented ancestor are out doing rain dances.”
    “There’s a mental image,” James said. “Any suggestions?”
    Elysia glanced around the doorless room. “I should have forced Ian to teach me to travel. All he told me was that I send my soul into the veil to open a portal.”
    Doug’s brows rose. “How do you send your soul into something that isn’t dead?”
    “That’s what I asked. He then went on a rant about my lack of training.” She rolled her eyes.
    “Which he compounded by not training you,” James said.
    “Can’t you teach her?” Doug asked.
    “If she could shift into a hellhound, sure.”
    Doug sighed. Elysia knew how he felt.
    “There are dead in that direction.” Doug gestured to the walls on their left. “My guess is that we’re at the end of a catacomb.”
    Elysia reached out. He was right. There were dozens of dead, and not that far away. “What if we called them to us?”
    He frowned at the far wall, his eyes fading to white as he studied the situation. “That might work.”
    “I’m assuming Alexander has held necromancers here before,” James said. “Why didn’t they try to get out that way?”
    “Because they wanted to be here?” Elysia suggested.
    “And they didn’t have their psychotic cousin distracting the guy in charge,” Doug added.
    “Good points.” James stopped beside Doug. “Before you begin, can I have your belt?” James nodded at the braided