Blood Alchemy

Chess Tuesday is on the run... And the deadly Twisted Symmetry isn't far behind. They've already hunted down and imprisoned her brothers, Box and Splinter. In a world where neither friends, enemies nor family are what they seem, trust is not an option. And Chess is about to discover that the truth may be more dangerous than she ever thought possible.

In 1573, the alchemist Anna Zieglerin gave her patron, the Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, the recipe for an extraordinary substance she called the lion's blood. She claimed that this golden oil could stimulate the growth of plants, create gemstones, transform lead into the coveted philosophers' stone—and would serve a critical role in preparing for the Last Days. Boldly envisioning herself as a Protestant Virgin Mary, Anna proposed that the lion's blood, paired with her own body, could even generate life, repopulating and redeeming the corrupt world in its final moments. In Anna Zieglerin and the Lion's Blood, Tara Nummedal reconstructs the extraordinary career and historical afterlife of alchemist, courtier, and prophet Anna Zieglerin. She situates Anna's story within the wider frameworks of Reformation Germany's religious, political, and military battles; the rising influence of alchemy; the role of apocalyptic eschatology; and the position of women within these contexts. Together with her husband, the jester Heinrich Schombach, and their companion and fellow alchemist Philipp Sommering, Anna promised her patrons at the court of Wolfenbüttel spiritual salvation and material profit. But her compelling vision brought with it another, darker possibility: rather than granting her patrons wealth or redemption, Anna's alchemical gifts might instead lead to war, disgrace, and destruction. By 1575, three years after Anna's arrival at court, her enemies had succeeded in turning her from holy alchemist into poisoner and sorceress, culminating in Anna's arrest, torture, and public execution. In her own life, Anna was a master of self-fashioning; in the centuries since her death, her story has been continually refashioned, making her a fitting emblem for each new age. Interweaving the history of science, gender, religion, and politics, Nummedal recounts how one resourceful woman's alchemical schemes touched some of the most consequential matters in Reformation Germany.

In our world, where supernatural beings secretly rule, a conflict is brewing caused by the loss of an outstanding alchemist, which could lead to a bloody war.In the center of events – the vampire Selene, who has been hiding from her sire for two thousand years, and the mage Frey, exiled by his own coven. They find themselves in the very center of this struggle, striving to gain freedom and not become victims in thegame of ancient gods and monsters.

A unique approach to the history of science using do-it-yourself experiments along with brief historical profiles to demonstrate how the ancient alchemists stumbled upon the science of chemistry. Be the alchemist! Explore the legend of alchemy with the science of chemistry. Enjoy over twenty hands-on demonstrations of alchemical reactions. In this exploration of the ancient art of alchemy, three veteran chemists show that the alchemists' quest involved real science and they recount fascinating stories of the sages who performed these strange experiments. Why waste more words on this weird deviation in the evolution of chemistry? As the authors show, the writings of medieval alchemists may seem like the ravings of brain-addled fools, but there is more to the story than that. Recent scholarship has shown that some seemingly nonsensical mysticism is, in fact, decipherable code, and Western European alchemists functioned from a firmer theoretical foundation than previously thought. They had a guiding principle, based on experience: separate and purify materials by fire and reconstitute them into products, including, of course, gold and the universal elixir, the Philosophers' stone. Their efforts were not in vain: by trial, by error, by design, and by persistence, the alchemists discovered acids, alkalis, alcohols, salts, and exquisite, powerful, and vibrant reactions--which can be reproduced using common products, minerals, metals, and salts. So gather your vats and stoke your fires! Get ready to make burning waters, peacocks' tails, Philosophers' stone, and, of course, gold!

In thisnovella prequel to the YA fantasy novel Curio by Evangeline Denmark, after losing his family to a devastating plague, Olan is saved by a group of “magickers” who are searching for the cure. But as he accompanies his rescuers to their alpine clinic, mysteries arise surrounding their potions and powers of alchemy. Especially after Olan notices a deep division forming between those who seek to defend the purity of the healing alchemical work and those who wish to wield it as a powerful weapon. Olan is thrust into the midst of this dissention after he discovers he is somehow special—chosen as a guardian like the clinic’s founder. As he spends time with two of his rescuers—Auriana, who has a strong healer’s gift and beauty to match, and Alaric, a brooding young man wrestling with his father’s cruel beliefs—Olan realizes he may have the power to direct the course of blood and alchemy, and possibly find a third way forward. Introducing readers to the fantastical world of Curio, this novella is wrapped in mystery, adventure, and intrigue.

Mathieu Galmier, formerly of the Pasteur Institute, has to leave Paris under a cloud when one of his pioneering experiments in hematology goes awry. He is given refuge—of sorts—in London by Sir Juliam Templeforth. Unfortunately, the rewards both men hope to reap from continuing the experiments are slow to materialize. The research hits snags, and its human costs are beginning to weigh on Mathieu’s conscience. Complicating matters further, some of Sir Julian’s unruly Irish tenants have come to London to demand satisfaction, and Mathieu’s presence has been detected by Philippe and Myrtille de Valcoeur, who have an intense interest in his research—seemingly more mystical than scientific. When complications lead to catastrophe, Mathieu has to flee. But his past proves exceedingly difficult to escape . . .

In the middle of the fourteenth century, the Franciscan friar John of Rupescissa sent a dramatic warning to his followers: the end times were coming; the apocalypse was near. Rupescissa's teachings were unique in his era. He claimed that knowledge of the natural world, and alchemy in particular, could act as a defense against the calamity of the last days. He treated alchemy as medicine (his work was the conceptual forerunner of pharmacology), and reflected emerging technologies and views that sought to combat famine, plague, religious persecution, and war. In order to understand scientific knowledge as it is today, Leah DeVun asks that we revisit the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, and the Avignon Papacy through Rupescissa's eyes. The advances he pioneered, along with the exciting strides made by his contemporaries, shed critical light on future developments in medicine, pharmacology, and chemistry.

I am Hazel Harker. Vampire hunter. Sister. And a liar.I am also London's last hope against the killer known as Jack the Ripper.Chaos reigns in my city following a string of grisly murders, and after growing up in a family of vampire hunters, I know that the Ripper is no common killer. When he claims my sister as his latest victim, I vow to do everything I can before he can hurt the rest of my family. That includes bedding Jared Etheridge, a handsome sailor from America, in an attempt to continue my family's legacy of vampire hunters.Too bad I couldn't protect my heart that night.Then I realize the Ripper has been hiding in plain sight this whole time. I have to stop him if I want a better future for my family, Jared, and my unborn child. Because if I fail, his new, dangerous vampire creations will spread across the entire world-and no one will be safe.New York Times Bestselling Author Erin Hayes treats you to a story that's "like Buffy in a corset-but better" with a steampunk twist in gaslamp London.

Writing in a clear and readable style, two leading women of the Jungian school of psychology present this legend as a living myth that is profoundly relevant to modern life. 17 illustrations.

Master alchemist Addie Daulton hasn't always done the right thing. To atone for sins from her forgotten past, and earn back the respect of the people she loves, she decides to show the world that alchemy can be used for good. For healing. But she can't do anything without a lab. Desperate, she teams up with a new partner whose lab has everything she needs, but does she dare work with a man whose reputation is even darker than her own? The risk proves worth it when she lands a contract to make burn salve for a local hospital. Things are looking up until Rowan, the leader of the magical community and her former lover, returns and demands her assistance. The magical are being gunned down, and cryptic messages are being left at the murder scenes. Messages that point a finger at alchemy-and her. The connection begins to make sense when she discovers that the bullets from the crime scenes have been altered with blood alchemy-and that the design is her own. Working with Rowan won't be easy, not just because of their lost love, but because her new business partner once tried to kill him. If Rowan finds out who he really is, Addie's involvement in the investigation will be over. She can't let Rowan shut her out again. Not when he might be the killer's next target.