Chapter 32 Lemon
Lemon
“Well done, Lemon.” Rykan slow-claps as the potion in his cauldron bubbles happily. “This is a tricky one, but Letitia is right, you’re an excellent potioneer.”
Oh, I just bet she said that, trying to half-ass apologize for throwing me under a parade of buses yesterday. She hasn’t bothered to apologize to my face, but she did send me to one of the other masters, Rykan, this morning for “training.”
I smile up at the handsome green troll, long tusks poking up from his lower jaw. They’re capped in intricate gold. “What do you make of this whole animals freezing thing? I swear it seems like something potion-based, but Letitia hasn’t been able to find anything.”
Rykan smiles. “She asked me to look into it as well, but I’ve never seen anything like it.” His smile fades. “Y’all discovered that antihistamines seem to help, right?”
I nod. “Furyon and Echo are going around with the sheriff to distribute more vaccines and dose everything they can get their hands on. We don’t know if it’ll help long-term, but if it even buys us time to figure things out, that’s a good thing.”
Rykan closes his potion book, tapping the leather front with fingers as thick as sausages.
“All I know is that we’ve got our best monsters on it.
I trust them to find out what’s causing all of this.
They have to. I just can’t imagine the Gulch without our beautiful animals.
” He sighs softly, looking around the cavernous room.
He starts to say something else, but halts and looks over my shoulder.
I can almost feel my father. Somehow, I know it’s him without even seeing him. It’s like his disapproval radiates an icy chill into the room, its fingers scratching up my spine.
He examines his fingernails as if it bores him to death to even be inside another potions house. Hunter hovers behind father, arms planted on either side of the doorway as he grins at me.
What the fuck do they want?
Father straightens and frowns, ignoring the fact that I’m standing next to another being. “We just had the pleasure of meeting your…dalliance, I suppose.” He practically spits the word. “What a charming male.”
Oh my gods, I wonder what happened.
Last night with Furyon rewired my brain chemistry. The way he came for me, the way he held me and got me out of my head. The way he worships my mind and body and soul. I want to do our relationship justice by standing up for it, just like he apparently did.
“He’s not a dalliance, Father.” I cross my arms. “Furyon is my mate.”
Father blanches, going whiter than usual. Behind him, Hunter’s smirk falls, and he shakes his head. “Seriously, Lemon? That guy? I know he comes from a good family, but what a fucking asshole.”
I lift a hand to halt Hunter’s words. “I’ll tell you both this once.
I didn’t expect to find Furyon when I came here.
I expected to come and learn from the potioneers at Glimmer, just like you told me to.
And I have been doing that. Furyon is the cherry on top of my lovely Pine Gulch sundae.
” I move closer to my father and brother.
“In the short weeks I’ve been here, I’ve fallen in love with the Gulch.
With the people, with the town, with Furyon. I’m not coming home, Father.”
His expression goes hard, and he balls both fists. “Absolutely not, Daughter. You’re needed in Rainbow.”
“Am I?” I cock my head to the side. “You’ve been managing without me, cleaning up after the mess you continually blame me for.
Then you came here to make me feel small for my mistake.
” I wave at Hunter. “He’s actually the one who picked the wrong ingredient, but you were aware of that, weren't you? You were fine letting me pay the price.” I sigh.
“You were right to do that, in a way, because it was my fault I didn’t check behind him.
” I glare at my brother. “I shouldn’t have had to. ”
I’ve never spoken to my father like this, but I’m channeling Furyon, because he’d never let Father get away with this shit. And I don’t have to either.
Father grabs my wrist and drags me close. “Gather your things. We’re leaving.”
Rykan clears his throat. “Ahh, not right now. Lemon and I were in the final steps of a potion that needs two potioneers. She can’t leave now, or we won’t be able to complete it.
It’s my understanding that you sent her here for advanced training, and that’s what we’re doing.
Although, if I’m honest, she’s already at master’s level. Your daughter is very talented.”
I don’t want to push my luck too much further today. Pulling my wrist from my father’s grip, I take a few steps away. “I have work to do, Father. This potion is to help fix a major problem this haven is facing right now. I can’t leave Rykan here to do it alone.”
That part is a bold-faced lie, but Father doesn’t need to know. I guarantee he hasn’t bothered to read up on the Gulch’s current issues.
“We aren’t done talking, Lemon,” Father says. “You’ll have dinner with us when you’re finished with this.” He waves dismissively at the potions table.
I’m done being his doormat. I’ve done it for too long. It’s not easy for me to stand up to him like this, but having Rykan at my back and Furyon in my corner helps me gather my confidence.
Leveling my father with a serious look, I make my point.
“Whiskey Business makes a great burger, and that sounds good to me. I’ll be having dinner there, and you’re welcome to join me.
” Not to mention Bluebell’s working tonight, and if I know anything about the spicy witch, she’ll go toe to toe with my father in a second if she thinks he’s hurting my feelings.
Father sneers but nods. When he turns to go, Hunter shoots me a final irritated look, but follows.
Rykan’s quiet after they go, but claps me on the shoulder in a friendly way. “Good thing there is actually one final step, so you might as well stick around for it and avoid those two as long as possible.” He grimaces. “Family sucks sometimes, huh?”
I nod as I stare at the potion instructions.
“Volcanic ash.” It’s a rare ingredient used to deepen the intensity of a potion’s initial effect.
Glancing at the storage shelves set into the wall, I don’t immediately see volcanic ash.
I round the big potions table to check more closely.
Poking my way through giant jars and tiny bubble-shaped crocks, I frown at not finding volcanic ash among them.
Rykan clears his throat. “Try the storeroom down in the basement level where Letitia had you working earlier. I could swear I saw some there. I’ll keep stirring.”
He winks when I groan at being redirected to the basement.
“I am constantly relegated to the bottommost levels of this place,” I say with faux sass. “One of these days, I’m going to work in this room with you all the time. You’ll see.”
When I waggle a finger at him, he laughs. “I’ve no doubt, Lemon. Find me if there’s no ash down there. If it’s not there, Letitia has some in her office for sure. You can ask her.”
I head for the door, calling out over my shoulder, “We can always mix volcanic stone and cherry juice. It’s not a perfect supplement, and the math to figure out the proportions will be terrible, but it could work. Actually, I’m happy to finish this up if you need to go.”
“Brilliant,” he mumbles as I disappear down the hallway. “But yeah I might take you up on that! My mate wanted dinner if we finished in time.”
Smiling, I make my way down the long hallway and down a set of stairs into Glimmer’s basement.
The potion room feels almost familiar to me after working in it several days with Letitia.
Thankfully, the overflow storage shelves at the dusty room’s back appear to be filled with unique ingredients that likely don’t get used all that often.
Unfortunately, ten minutes later, there’s no sign of volcanic ash. Frowning, I head back upstairs and along the hall toward her office.
“Letitia?” I rap at the partially open door to her office.
It swings slightly open, so I peek my head in.
The room is empty, the oversized desk littered with potion bottles and papers like always.
The Type A side of my brain eagle-screeches unhappily at seeing the disorganization, and I take a sec to remind myself that everyone’s process is different.
And that’s fine.
This is her office.
A vial of volcanic ash sits on the corner of her desk atop a stack of papers. I rush across the room and grab it, slipping it into my pocket.
A faint rustling sound pulls my attention from the vial. The giant self-portrait behind her chair moves as if something’s pushing on it from the other side. Soft scratching sounds freeze me in place, a low snuffling sound emitting from behind the painting.
Oh my gods. There’s something back there. An animal of some kind maybe?
Nerves clang in my stomach, my heart thudding in my chest as I move to the painting and grab the edge, wondering if I can lift or shove it. When I press on the edge, the painting swings along a track. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, and then I yip and leap backward.
In a small cage on a table nestled into a tiny dark alcove, a spider the size of a dog lies crouched against the rusty metal bottom. Bright red eyes narrow on me, and it scoots to the back of its enclosure, hissing as it tries to escape my reach.
I’ve never seen a Giant Arakna in real life. They’re incredibly rare, hailing from a small haven in Brazil—the only creature in the monster world that’s both poisonous and venomous. What’s it doing here in a cage behind Letitia’s desk?
My brain rushes to sort through what I’m seeing, but then a door slams somewhere outside. Letitia’s voice echoes along the hallway, “Everything is happening exactly as I would expect it to.”
“It’s actually not.”
Varek. Oh gods. Their voices are getting closer, and they’re in the middle of an obviously private conversation. Rykan told me I could come into this office. But as their conversation continues, I debate running out in the middle of it. They’ll know I heard part of it and—
“I paid you a shitload of coin for this potion, Letitia,” Varek continues. “Nothing’s happening fast enough, and now the sheriff’s breathing down my throat.”
Oh fuck! Is he admitting to being responsible for the sickness? Despite my desire to run from the room, the need to know if I’m understanding him correctly is far stronger.
Heart in my throat, I swing the painting closed and look around.
Panicked as their voices echo from right outside, I rush to the giant armoire she keeps her potioneer robes in and throw myself to the back of it, praying she won’t hear or scent me.
I was in her office earlier, so my scent would be here anyhow.
Hand over my mouth to muffle my heavy breathing, I crouch behind the fabric of her thick robes, praying for the gods to smile on me for once.
The reverberation of Varek’s huge footfalls reaches me in the armoire, and I freeze. Minotaurs have great senses of smell. If he scents me, I’m super fucked.
“I need that potion now, Letitia. You’re overdue.”
Letitia sighs loudly enough for me to easily hear. “And you’ll have it, Varek. I acquired the final ingredient, and let me tell you, it was hard to find and expensive. Your potion will be done in a day or so, and then all of this will be over.”
“I’m down to the wire with the way things are progressing.” There’s tangible threat in his tone.
Letitia tsks. “Now, Varek, you can’t rush these things. Everything’s happening just as we planned. Patience, my friend. Your time is coming.”
A creak tells me he’s either rising or sitting in the singular chair in front of her desk. I pray it’s the former, and they’re both going to leave so I can escape.
“If I don’t get that potion in the next few days, I’ll be back, and it will be a less than pleasant conversation for you.”
Letitia says nothing, and I don’t hear anything further from Varek either. I hold my breath until a door slams. After waiting another few moments, I reach for the door to peek out.
Cracking the door slightly, I peer through it, and fuck me, Letitia’s standing behind her desk, staring at the painting. A bright purple decanter of potion sits on her desk. I recognize it. It’s the potion I made yesterday. What’s she doing with it?
Pieces of the puzzle start clicking into place in my brain. Varek’s waiting on a potion, and here she is, brewing it with ingredients I put together. My potion signature will be all over it, and it sounds like she and Varek needed just one final step to finish whatever they’re doing.
She’s doing something to the animals and she’s setting me up to take the blame.
Letitia grabs an extractor needle set from a drawer in her desk, then shoves the painting aside.
Like with me, the Giant Arakna shoots to the back of the cage with an angry hiss.
She reaches in and grabs one of its enormous legs, big around as my calf muscle, and drags it to the edge of the cage.
After jabbing her needle into the soft, fuzzy side of its rotund body, she pulls venom from the pouch hidden behind its heart.
Fuck her.
Oh, absolutely fuck her.
I burst out of the wardrobe.
She spins in place, eyes going wide. Then they narrow as she turns and deposits the Arkna’s venom into my potion.
My potion. The potion with my magical fingerprints all over it.
“It’s been you hurting the animals, hasn’t it?” I demand. “Are you poisoning them with Arakna venom? That would be magically untraceable.”
She smiles and sets the syringe down. “I wondered if you’d start to suspect me, if I’m honest. Between your…association with our intrepid Ranger Zayle and your natural potions abilities, it seemed likely.”
“That creature belongs in the jungle,” I hiss. “Not in a cage in your office. You’re breaking about forty different potioneer rules with this, and I’ll see to it that—”
She waves my commentary away as if she can’t even be bothered to hear it, reaching into her top desk drawer.
Cautious, I take a step backward.
But Letitia moves faster than I could possibly imagine. Whipping her hand up, she tosses a handful of bright pink powder at my face. It hits and gets in my eyes, and before I can comprehend what’s happening, the floor rises up to meet my face.