The Necromancer's Betrayal (The Final Formula Series, Book 2.5) by Becca Andre

making, but she had never paid them close attention because she had never intended to make one. What kind of trouble would she be in for not only making one, but causing a public outcry over it?
    “Why did you come here?” Elysia asked.
    “I felt… compelled to.” She shrugged. “That’s the best I can describe it.”
    Elysia frowned. This made no sense. She hadn’t summoned the girl.
    “What happened to your eyes?” the girl asked. “I don’t remember them that way before. Did he do something to you, too?”
    “No. What’s your name?”
    “Kari.” Her brow wrinkled. “Is he here?”
    “No. This… compulsion you sense is from me.” Apparently. Elysia had no idea how that could work when her power was locked away.
    “From you?” The girl, Kari, took a step back. “Do you know what happened to me?”
    “Yes.” Elysia met her gaze. This wasn’t going to be easy. “One of the bullets hit you and… you were dying. Your soul was leaving your body.”
    “How did you know?” Kari whispered.
    Elysia ignored the question, forcing herself to continue. “To keep your baby alive until help could arrive, I bound your soul to your body.”
    “What do you mean?”
    It was best to come right out and say it. “I made you a lich.”
    Kari stood straighter. “Isn’t that some kind of zombie?”
    “No. Zombies are just bodies, animated by… a necromancer.”
    Kari stared at her. “You’re a necromancer.”
    “Yes.”
    “Oh God.” Kari turned toward the door, ready to flee.
    “Wait!”
    Kari froze. “Why can’t I move?”
    Elysia stiffened. Commanding her to stop had been instinctive; logically, it shouldn’t have worked. She walked over to stand in front of her. “I’m sorry, but—”
    “Why can’t I move?” Kari stared at her with wide eyes.
    “Because you’re dead,” Elysia whispered, “and I gave you a command.”
    A single tear tracked down Kari’s cheek. In a week’s time, she would lose that ability as her body gradually died and the fluids dried up. Though most of the internal fluids would remain for months, slowly rotting along with the organs, and eventually the flesh.
    Elysia swallowed in an effort to keep her churning stomach from expelling her breakfast. The horror of being sentenced to eternity as a rotting corpse. And she had done this.
    “I’m so sorry, but if I’d let you die naturally, I didn’t think the ambulance could get there in time to save your baby.” Elysia took a breath and forced herself to continue. “I should have followed up on what happened to you, but I had other problems and… No, that doesn’t make it right.”
    Kari stared at her. “Did you sell my soul to the devil?”
    “No! Necromancers aren’t satanic.” Why did people always assume that? “It’s a form of magic, that’s all.”
    “But—”
    “Yes, I have the ability to animate the dead. It’s not a popular party trick, but I was born this way. I didn’t make any deals with the dark one to possess this power. The truth is, my life would be a lot simpler if I was talentless.”
    Kari frowned, her expression apprehensive, yet thoughtful.
    Elysia sighed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t snap at you. You’ve been through hell and have no idea why. I’ve had a bad week myself.”
    Kari eyed her. “What’s a bad week for a necromancer?”
    “I accidentally soul-bound a grim and put myself under an alchemist’s influence. I took a potion to knock out my power so I could free the grim.”
    Kari’s brows rose.
    “It isn’t working,” Elysia said.
    “What’s a grim?”
    “You’ve met him.” Elysia continued when Kari gave her a puzzled look. “My friend, your werewolf—except he’s not a werewolf. He’s a hellhound.”
    “And you’re not satanic.”
    Elysia almost smiled at the sarcasm. “He has the ability to shape shift into one of the guardians of the land of the dead. The hellhound moniker is a carryover from centuries past.”
    Kari stared at her, and Elysia realized