Calumbra 23 - Book 1: The Maid

29 - No Alchemy and Hell

Trinidad knocked on the door and a raspy voice told him to come inside. He pulled Delaware behind him and entered into the huge room. In the large master bed, Dominick laid there, the covers under his arms and his face old and his once black hair grayed.
"Trinidad... My boy... You've returned."
He nodded and went to huge his father. Delaware felt it best that she stay back and let the two have their reunion. That is until Trinidad did some signs and Dominick looked over.
"Ms. Tate..."
She gave a small curtsy. "Dominick."
"You haven't changed a day," he said with a small chuckle. "I don't know why I expected you to."
"It is common thought that when one leaves for a while, they will change. In all honesty, I am honored that you thought I would change... No one ever thinks I will."
He smiled thoughtfully when a series of coughs overtook him and Trinidad held him up to keep him from hurting himself. Once done, Dominick gave Delaware a watery smile.
"I've had this cough for a while... Won't seem to go away."
She nodded and went to sit at the edge of the bed with him, grabbing his hand. He had gained weight since she had last seen him and the wrinkles on his face indicated his hard work as the Duke of Blackwood had served him well.
"They treat you well, yes?"
Trinidad snapped his head to her with a harsh glare. Dominick patted his son on the arm and smiled.
"Don't take that too hard, my son... She means no disrespect nor that neither of you boys take care of me."
Trinidad seemed to take that better and fiddled with something on the bedside table for a moment. He turned around and had a syringe full of some sort of liquid.
"What is that?" Delaware asked.
"Regulate." Trinidad said, pushing Dominick's sleeve up to find a vein.
Dominick stared at his son and he gave his father a lopsided smile. He looked at Delaware and she shrugged.
"It is something that Arnold cooked up when he was looking into some alchemy."
Delaware's eyes widened. "Where did you learn about that? I didn't leave any books around."
"You didn't have to, Ms. Tate." He hissed as Trinidad stuck the needle into his arm and the syringe depleted of its contents. "The books were always around but we just had to find them... In fact, Sullivan was the one who discovered their existence in the library in the manor when he was doing a deep cleaning. You said when I hired you some time ago that this land used to be your father's?"
"Yes."
"Since you were turned immortal by alchemy, I assume your father had books that he used as he was an amateur understanding of the art."
"Well, he wasn't exactly an amateur but he wasn't an expert either... To answer your question, yes, he did have alchemy books."
"He must have hidden them so no one would find them because when Sullivan found them, they were in a crate behind a hidden bookshelf covered by an old sheet. When we found them, we gave them to Arnold to translate for us and he found a mixture that would help with keeping this... disease of sorts that I have at bay. At least until my body gets adjusted to the serum..."
"A disease?"
"We're not quite sure what it is yet but it makes me very weak and this keeps it at bay. It tingles..." he said with a laugh.
Delaware was not amused.
"Do not play with alchemy, Dominick Blackwood."
"We only use it for me. We vowed to never use it for badness."
"'We'? Who is this we?"
"Me, Tavit, Trinidad, Sullivan, and Arnold. We are the only four that know about it. Arnold and Sullivan were the ones who made the serum and decoded the books. I'm afraid that the serum is losing some of its use but..."
"As long as I am in this house, you will not use alchemy."
"I do believe my son runs this household, not you, Ms. Tate."
"I own this land, Mister Blackwood!" Delaware bellowed, standing up. "My name is on the deed to these lands!"
"I beg to differ-"
"It's there. My blood is on that deed just to prove it as well. I knew that the world would advance and I know one day, there will be a way to test blood. I did that for this very purpose!"
"What's going on in here?" Tavit asked, walking into the room.
"This woman says her name is on the deed to the lands."
"They are, Father."
"What?"
"The lands are hers, Father. We found the original deed with the alchemy books. What's wrong?"
"She said we can't use alchemy on the premises while she is here."
"We won't. Except his."
"No. All alchemy."
"Delaware, I can't do that. This is the only equation we know, believe us."
Delaware watched them for a moment and then sighed.
"This one equation is all you will ever be able to do."
"I vow that we will never learn another." Tavit said with his hand over his heart.
She nodded and looked at Trinidad. His eyes were glowing in the light and she knew that she had made him mad somehow.

As Delaware walked the grounds, she suddenly felt something grab her and slam her into the wall. She looked up and saw that Trinidad was growling at her.
"Little One..."
He growled at her more, pushing her harder against the wall. She felt like something was piercing into her skin and looked down at her shoulder. It looked like claws were coming from his hands and she looked back up at him.
"Stop it."
A snarl erupted from him that sounded like the wild animals she had seen in Africa. She had listened to the natives there, learned their language, learned what they had learned from the animals on the plains and knew that this noise, the one coming from the little boy who had turned into a man before her eyes, was one of warning. A threat to her life. She placed a hand on his and looked into his eyes.
"Please..."
He relaxed and she took his hand off of her shoulder. The wounds healed up immediately and Trinidad collapsed against her, breathing hard. He laid his head on her shoulder and she hugged him close, petting him lovingly.
"I know it's hard... I'm sorry if I upset you back there. I never meant that I wouldn't try to save your father but you see what alchemy has done to people. You, me, Werewood Forest... It's all a pile of shite, eh?"
He gave her a muffled but tear-choked laugh as he regained his composure and wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry you have to live like me. I'm so sorry, Little One."
"Hell." He said, pulling back.
"Yes. It is."
She put her hands on either side of his face and wiped away his tears, tears of her own falling down her face.
"We're an interesting pair, huh? The maid and the monster?"
He nodded a little when they heard someone clear their throat. They turned and Samson put his riding crop on his shoulder with a smirk.
"Getting it on with the maid, Blackwood?"