Alchemy by K.J. Wignall

By the end of the first book, Blood, we know that Will is not being chased around by just the vampire world, but there is also a sorcerer out there looking for Will, but why?  Alchemy is the story of Wyndham and his connection with Will.  Like the first book there is break in perspectives, but unlike the first book this break is between 3rd person and Wyndham. 

Wyndham is out destroy the true evil that Will represents and for the past 2 or 3 centuries he has been collecting vampires and experimenting on them.  His main goal is to kill Will and stop a powerful prophecy from manifesting.  Alchemy is full of adventure and killing. 

Eloise is now back at a school, which happens to be property of the Earl of Mercia.  Will has taken residence there under a closed portion of the property.  Unfortunately they cannot just wander about looking for clues to Will's existence, because Wyndham has taken on a ward and placed him at the elite school to spy on Will.  As the book progresses there are more spies in the lives of Will and Eloise, and they must battle with the thoughts of betrayal in order to remain safe together. 

For  some reason, either the plot or the writing has gotten better, this book was so much better than the first.  When I say it's full of action, I mean it.  There is always an attack on the horizon and plenty of creepy ghosts, but not to mention we, and Will, finally meet other vampires.  Eloise's faith in Will is rocked and tested by the sorcerer, he gave her a glimpse of what would become of Will if the prophecy manifested itself, and for a moment that scares reality back in to the situation for Eloise.  Thankfully Will is convincing of wanting to be of help and protection of her and Eloise's faith in Will's good side returns.  There are also unlikely alliances that make this sequel great and set up the expectations for the next book in this series.  One of the major things that occur, which would not be a spoiler, is that after a reaction from the vampire Queen, Will and Eloise are convinced that there is two parts to the prophecy and that they have only been hearing of the worst case scenario, which doesn't fit in Eloise's part.  What could the other side of the coin look like?

At the end of this book I felt that Wyndham represented all the "good guys" that really just use evil to accomplish the "good" they are doing.  His experiments and lack of understanding leads me to believe him a zealot, but of unfounded reasons... and I think he sees that too, but it is to too late for him to change.  Wyndham also does something incredibly stupid at the end that will shape what comes next in the life of Will and Eloise.