Chains of Silver (Alchemy Empire Book 1)

Chapter 9

“The point, Miss Birdwell, is that in only a few more weeks, you’ll need to perform a double-shifting stunt that may never have been done before. You’ll need to come as close to impersonating a living person as you can, and you’ll need to portray her character the way she would. Oh, and you’ll be doing this in front of the Empress and an audience full of the most notable people in the empire, while being stalked by a serial killer and trying not to get yourself murdered. For some reason, I assumed you’d appreciate the chance to practice. But I can see now that I’m being unreasonable. Do forgive me.” Ever the gentleman, he bowed tightly and walked away down the utility tunnel, his torch casting swinging shadows along the curving walls.

Well! Thea and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Delphine shot us a glance of pure fury and hurried after him. “That’s not what I meant! Of course I want to practice. I just wasn’t expecting to do it here.”

He stopped and turned back, his face stern. “Being Nadine has to become second nature so that you can concentrate on everything else. Practicing in a setting like this should help with that.”

She nodded, eyes wide, looking eager to regain his approval. “All right.”

I shivered. I never liked watching a presul and vicimorph enact the shift into a different personality. I especially wasn’t looking forward to seeing Delphine’s interpretation of the woman I loved like a mother. 

Dietrich tossed her a standard vicimorph wrist chain from the inside pocket of his waistcoat. She looped it around her wrist. Like all presuls, he probably wore one around his neck, under his shirt and necktie. It was no big deal to them. Using their magic required no rituals or incantations. Just a silver chain for each of them tuned with alchemy to the presul’s magical essence. Dietrich’s essence. My heart beat faster. 

They could actually use their magic without the chain if they wished, but the chain allowed them to communicate with each other mentally—similar to how I communicated with Thea, only it could go both directions.

What would it be like to have that mental connection to Dietrich? The thought made my breath catch. The presul/vicimorph partnership was rather intimate, even if the presul was directing several vicimorphs at once. He and Delphine gazed at each other, communicating unspoken things through their mental bond. I felt an inward twinge. Must have been something I ate. It certainly wasn’t jealousy. I didn’t want any sort of bond with Dietrich—mental or otherwise. 

Really, I didn’t.

Delphine nodded in response to something only she and Dietrich knew. Then she inhaled, closed her eyes. I watched with a sort of sickened fascination as her expression changed. Her mouth softened, losing its usual self-centered pinch and curling into the thoughtful half-smile Nadine always wore. Her entire face grew more peaceful, contemplative. Still Delphine’s features, but I could see Nadine reflected in the way she held her head, her posture. Even the way she breathed.

I felt Dietrich’s magic, but it wasn’t as upsetting when it was aimed at another person. He stared at her, narrowing his eyes critically, like an artist surveying a half-finished piece to figure out what to add next.

She opened her eyes—Delphine’s eyes, but it was as if Nadine’s soul shone through them. Only a needle-sharp cynicism remained, like a tiny thorn, to prove that it was still Delphine. 

It was unnerving, even though I knew what was going on. I didn’t want to respond to this Nadine-in-Delphine’s-body, but my heart wouldn’t listen. 

“Claire, dear,” she said, her voice so similar to Nadine’s that they could have been sisters. “What do you think?” She smiled, and it was Nadine.