Chapter 15 The Banshee of Ellesmere Island #3
“Now if that is settled,” Professor Flora continued, as she flipped her hand, making the glowing pictures still floating around the room vanish, “you may begin making the Breath of the Deep Elixir.”
“Shall I run and fetch the kelp?” Odette asked with a whimsical smile. “Perhaps I can convince the jellies to donate a tentacle or two.”
Ember laughed as she shook her head. “If anyone could do it, I have no doubt it would be you, Odette.”
Ember began chopping ingredients and grinding them to throw in the cauldron while Killian and Fen whispered next to each other like they were sharing a secret.
“Do you plan on helping today,” Ember asked, as she scribbled notes in her Field Guide, “or are you hellbent on giving me a terrible grade this term?”
“Lighten up, Starshine.” Killian grinned as he leaned on the edge of the long wooden table. “We were just discussing tryouts for tonight, or have you forgotten already?”
Ember felt her stomach lurch as she swallowed. “How could I,” she replied, as she began to chop more violently, “with the two of you reminding me multiple times a day for the last two weeks?”
She had received no less than two Helios every day from either Fen or Killian, reminding her of the date, time, and place of Rukr tryouts.
Fen also made it a point to send her detailed exercises to do every day after school, and some days, he even tried to follow her back to her house to supervise.
As much as she wanted to be annoyed by their insane behavior, she had to admit it was very sweet how invested they were in her success.
“But you have to admit,” Fen said, as he pulled a candy bar out of his pocket and began to unwrap it, “you are significantly more prepared now than you would have been without us.”
Ember rolled her eyes and tried to hide her grin as she rummaged through the pile of ingredients on the table.
“I suppose so,” she sighed. “Now can one of you make yourself useful and find me,” she squinted, as she read through the list of ingredients in her Field Guide, “one Merrow scale, given willingly,” she grimaced as she shook her head, “and three drops of salt water, harvested during the full moon?”
“On it,” Fen said with a salute, and then took off to rummage through cabinets at the front of the classroom.
Killian leaned leisurely against the table, tapping his finger on the mortar that sat between them.
“Can you hand me the Pickleweed and Samphire?” Ember asked, as she grabbed a bowl of salt and began to pour it on the gold scale. “It has to marinade in the Celtic sea salt for five minutes.”
Killian nodded as he reached across the table, quickly dropping both ingredients into the conch shell and mulling it together with the sea salt.
Ember reached across him for another bowl and felt goosebumps run up and down her arms as their hands brushed.
She quickly pulled away, heat rising up her neck and into her cheeks as she grabbed a paring knife.
“Let that sit for a few minutes while we chop the mollusk eggs,” she tried to say nonchalantly, but the way she stumbled over her words betrayed her.
“You are going to be fine,” Killian assured her, as he took the knife out of her hand and began thinly slicing the mollusk eggs into even pieces.
Ember sat entranced as his fingers moved effortlessly between slicing and tossing them into the bubbling cauldron, focusing on the veins running up his exposed forearm.
She shook her head as she ran her fingers through her hair.
“What are you talking about?” she asked, as she checked over the ingredients in the conch.
“Tryouts,” he replied, tossing the last piece of mollusk egg into the cauldron. “You’re going to do fine. It’s not as treacherous as you think it’s going to be.” He grabbed the towel hanging on the edge of the table and wiped his hands clean.
Ember gave a small nod as she bit the edge of her lip. “I have a tendency to make things harder than they have to be,” she half laughed, as she dumped the contents of the conch into the cauldron. “I always seem to find a way to mess a good thing up.”
“Self-deprecation does not suit you.” He frowned. “Just do your best, that’s all anyone can ask for. Your best is good enough.”
“I come bearing gifts!” Fen sang, as he waltzed back up to the table, Odette trailing behind him with the kelp in one hand and a triumphant grin painted on her face.
“Finally,” Ember sighed, as she took the scale and water from him, quickly dumping both into the smoking cauldron.
Odette diced the kelp, slowly and methodically, and then dropped it into the cauldron next, the final ingredient.
The group took turns for the next fifteen minutes, carefully stirring before funneling some into a small bottle and taking it up to Professor Flora’s desk.
One by one, the other groups dropped their bottles off, and everyone fell into a small hush.
The professor grabbed a small potted plant off her desk and sat it on a table in the middle of the classroom.
“If brewed correctly,” she began, “pouring a drop of the elixir over this plant will create a bubble around it, protecting it from any water poured over top.” Without another word, she uncorked one of the bottles and poured one small drop on the flower’s petal.
Upon contact, it immediately turned to ash.
Ember’s jaw hung slack as Professor Flora uncorked each bottle and watched as each one had the same reaction. Soon, half the plant had turned to ash, and the room was completely silent.
“Well, it seems we are in a wee bit of a pickle,” Professor Flora said with a tilt of her head. “All of the elixirs were done incorrectly.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Ember said, as she furrowed her brow and shook her head. “I followed the instructions explicitly—to the letter.”
“Ah, yes, the instructions.” The professor nodded as she tapped her chin, the shadow of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Perhaps I forgot a component.” She shrugged as she sauntered to her desk, plucking a piece of paper from the center, and mumbling as she read it over.
Fen furrowed his brow. “Forgot something?” he whispered, as he narrowed his eyes. “You wrote the damn lesson plan.”
Professor Flora raised a brow, just for a moment in Fen’s direction, and he quickly averted his eyes.
“Ah, yes, here it is,” she said aloud. “You seem to all be missing one drop of Kelpie blood.” She unlocked the cabinet behind her desk, quickly plucking out a bottle and walking it down to Ember’s group. “Would you do the honors, Miss Lothbrok?” she asked, as she handed over the bottle.
Ember nodded, uncorking the vial, and gently pouring one drop into the cauldron. A puff of smoke rose from the liquid, and it immediately turned a beautiful shade of turquoise.
“Lovely.” Professor Flora nodded, filling a vial, and walking back over to the plant in the middle of the room.
She poured the elixir over it, and this time instead of turning to ash, a small bubble surrounded it. The professor poured a cup of water over it, and the bubble deflected it with ease, protecting what was left of the flower within it.
“Even being off by one ingredient,” the professor said, as she looked down at the plant, “can change a potion in its entirety. This is why it is so important that you read over your instructions carefully and always double check that you have what it calls for. This is one instance where laziness could cost you your life.”
The class nodded silently, and Professor Flora gave them a smile as she dismissed them. The friends gathered their things as they made their way to the door, Ember’s brow still furrowed in confusion.
“Everything alright, Starshine?” Killian asked, as he held the door open for her.
Ember wrung her hands together as she bit her lip. “Do you think that will count toward my final grade?”