Page 176 of Alchemised
VANYA GETTLICH WAS A STUBBY-LIMBED spinster with small eyes, a large round nose, and sharp ears. The combination, she’d always said, that was the secret to her success as one of the best scouts in the Resistance. No one ever noticed a homely woman.
Generally, scouts didn’t live very long. Months was considered impressive. For many it was far less. Vanya had been a scout for years, crossing in and out of enemy territory collecting intelligence and information that no one else dared obtain.
But when she vanished, everyone knew that she wouldn’t come back. She was marked missing for two weeks before being listed among the presumed dead.
It was a shock when Helena received an emergency summons to the gatehouse after one of the patrols radioed in, claiming to have found her. Gettlich was grievously wounded. They’d verified that she wasn’t a necrothrall, but it was harder to be sure that it wasn’t a lich trying to infiltrate Headquarters using her wounded corpse.
When she was checked for any signs of a talisman, they’d found anomalous forms of metal distributed through her body, including detectable lumithium.
There were no exceptions to the rules. Anyone found with lumithium inside their body could not enter Headquarters without full restraints.
They strapped Gettlich down while she screamed, begging them not to, promising it was her, but Helena was not allowed to treat her otherwise.
Helena had just stepped forward when the doors burst open and Luc entered, threatening to put his own guards in the ground if they tried to stop him.
Lila stood beside him, weapons ready, conflict written across her face as Luc leaned over Gettlich, indifferent to the danger.
“Gettlich,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I’m so sorry.”
Gettlich calmed then. Luc had that effect on people. She hushed his apologies, called him a silly boy. While Helena worked, unnoticed, she gave her final report.
She’d been caught while investigating the new lab near the West Port. The Undying had used her as a test subject there, trying to suppress her alchemy. They’d injected her with metal over the course of days. The experiment was deemed a failure when her organs started to shut down.
The guards ordered to dispose of her had decided to make use of the dying prisoner. They’d taken her out of the building for privacy and left her for dead once they were done.
As Gettlich told Luc all this, Helena verified it. The metal in the blood interfered with Helena’s own resonance, making it blur like static. Her arms and legs were mottled with old bruises from restraints. She was slick with blood from the waist down. She would have died from metal poisoning her blood, but the internal damage was going to kill her first.
All the metal interfered with Helena’s vivimancy too much for her to do anything. She had to keep shaking her head each time Luc begged.
Laudanum was all Helena could offer. Relief until it was over.
Gettlich’s heart kept trying to rally whenever Luc spoke, promising that the Eternal Flame would never forget her, that he’d find everyone who’d hurt her. He’d make them all pay.
The Council had to lock Luc in his quarters to keep him from trying to take his battalion and find the lab. The Gettlichs were an old family. Luc had known Vanya his entire life.
Because of the circumstances of the death, the traditional mourning and cremation processes were suspended. The body was placed in a secure room, still strapped to the gurney, covered with a sheet.
Helena was summoned to Falcon Matias’s office, a drab little room with no decorations except one very large painting of the sun. She always felt cold in any room that Matias occupied.
“The Council has determined that an autopsy on Gettlich is necessary,” Matias said without preamble, his face puckering as he looked at Helena. “You have been selected to perform it.”
“I’m not trained—”
“There are books on the matter. You can ask Surgeon Maier for them,” Matias said, waving his hand.
“Then shouldn’t Maier be the one to—”
“I am told the state of Gettlich is deeply disturbing. You have already seen it, it will do you no harm to see it again,” he said, cutting her off once more. “You will be observed throughout to ensure you take no untoward actions.” His watery blue eyes narrowed. “If you are suspected of any violation of that body, I will have your hands cut off and your soul cursed to sink into the dark fires of the earth. Do I make myself clear?”
He glared at her, sticky strings of saliva visible in his mouth as he spoke. He only imbibed enough water to survive, considering the demands of the flesh as something to conquer. It was a common idea among those of faith, although Matias took it further than anyone else Helena had ever met.
Helena stood, her stomach knotted in dread. She’d never performed an autopsy.
Gettlich had taught introductory alchemy, one of Helena’s first instructors. She knew her.
But nothing from Matias was ever a request. His word was law for Helena.
She gave a slow nod.
