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Go away. These assholes want you, not me. The last thing Apollo needed was to have his dragon come out and play when the Sanguis Vitae had already shown an interest in that side of him.

Apollo realized a little too late that Dr. Bellrose had been talking, and he had missed it. "This is all very impressive, but I thought I was going to see the real work?" he said, cutting in to cover the fact he hadn't heard a word she had said.

"We will get there, Apollo. And it's not real work so much as the Great Work," she replied.

Apollo laughed softly. "I have never met an alchemist that wasn't studying some Great Work. Let me guess, Philosopher's Stone? You don't believe it's an actual stone, do you?"

"I believe many things," Dr. Bellerose said as they came to another door. She keyed in a code, and Kovacs stood in the way to hide it from Apollo's view.

Fucking prick . Apollo plastered on what he thought of as his 'pretty and dumb' face and hoped that Kovacs would let his guard down.

The doors slid open and magic resonance hit Apollo in a wave that had him stepping back in surprise. He steeled himself and stepped inside an altogether different kind of lab.

Gone was the modern chrome and white brilliance.

The walls here were stone and carved with sigils, unlike anything he had ever seen.

He had never studied blood magic before; it had always freaked him out too much.

This wasn't the kind of sigil work done by amateurs.

This had real power, and it felt…hungry.

The work areas were made of wood, with ancient-looking tomes on stands next to bubbling beakers, alembics, and other artifice. On a wall were the double doors of a freezer that had thousands of tubes of blood stored in it. Apollo swallowed the bile creeping up his throat.

"And who does that all belong to?" he asked.

"This is our collection of the magically inclined. Some are from our own families and bloodlines. We are collectors first and foremost because, as we all know, magic is held in the blood," Dr. Bellerose said.

"And this is your Great Work?" Apollo asked.

"It is a part of it. You see, Apollo, we are so very close to discovering the greatest alchemical prize of all. The Elixir of Life. With it, we can eradicate the aging process, eliminate disease, and perhaps even conquer death itself," she continued, her voice going breathy with excitement.

"The planet is already suffering from overpopulation, Doctor. Do you really believe stopping the natural process of death is going to be a good idea?" Apollo asked.

Dr. Bellerose laughed. "Oh, we wouldn't give it to just anyone, dear boy. Just the best and brightest."

"Yeah…this sounds more and more like a bad Death Becomes Her scenario at best and eugenics at worst. So which is it?" Apollo demanded.

"Neither. It is at the forefront of science and magic.

We have been hindered for centuries because we have been missing one vital ingredient.

The rarest of them all," she said, looking at him with shining eyes.

"And now here you are. A dragon who is an alchemist. Sent to help us finally achieve our goals because dragon blood is the purest of all alchemical essences. Life and magic in its purest form."

Apollo clicked his tongue. "Sorry. I told you I can't shift. I'm no use to you."

"You can't shift yet . But I believe with our guidance, we can achieve it.

We want you to be our partner in this, Apollo.

After so very long, we will be able to ascend the great masters and achieve what they never could.

Don't you want to try? Aren't you a little curious to know what we know?

We have achieved such wonders already. Join us, Apollo. "

"Yeah, I'm going to have to pass. This whole thing …" Apollo waved at the doors of the wall of freezers. "Really isn't my jam, you know? It's all a bit dark and creepy, and you all whiff of absolute crazy."

Doctor Bellerose sighed sadly. "You are choosing the hard way, then?"

"I guess so. And you can save the theatrics too. You're all shit actors. Especially Kovacs here," Apollo said, pointing to the big man. "We both know you were never planning to let me walk out of here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have given me your names."

"I wanted us to be friends," she said sadly.

"No, you didn't. Friends don't kidnap each other." Apollo gave them his best 'Fuck You' smile. "But that's okay. I won't be staying long. My family will find me soon, but worse for you guys, Lachlan Ironwood will find me, and then you're going to regret ever harming a hair on my head."

Kovacs went to grab Apollo, but he twisted at the last second and kicked him hard between the legs. Kovacs grunted and went down to his knees. Apollo punched him in the throat and ran for the door.

Doctor Bellerose pulled out a small device from her pocket. A high-pitched sound burst through Apollo's brain, making his dragon scream. No. It was him screaming. He collapsed on the ground, clutching his head and shaking.

A pair of high heels appeared before him, and Doctor Bellerose knelt to push the curls back from his face. "Lucien did say you were too clever. Sweet dreams, Monsieur Greatdrakes," she purred.

The pain pierced his skull again, and Apollo curled tighter into himself. Kovacs's ugly face hovered over him as he ran his fingers through Apollo's hair.

"So pretty. Pretty golden dragon," Kovacs said, the crazy shining out of his eyes. "I can't wait to show you my magic."

"Don't…touch…" Apollo wheezed before darkness washed over him.