Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
I arrived at the pub at seven sharp, groggy after my late-night meditation. I’d had to pay the driver double his usual rate to engage him for the entirety of the day, but I’d rather have had a coach available while I needed it than risk being without, and it had been a rather abrupt request.
Auggie was waiting outside the pub with two suitcases, and he waved cheerfully my way when I leaned out the window. “I wasn’t sure you would actually come through,” he admitted with a lopsided grin as he handed his luggage up to the driver.
“I’m a man of my word,” I assured him, unable to take my eyes from his dimples. “You truly are doing me a service by joining me.”
“I hope I live up to your expectations,” Auggie said, stepping into the carriage and sitting across from me. As the coach took off, he gazed out the window with a breezy smile.
After a few minutes of listening to the tumult of the city, I cleared my throat. “What business do you have in New York?”
Auggie blinked, as if remembering where he was. He sent me a cautious look. “My aunt. I received news that she’s sick, so I’m going to see her.”
“I see. And you’re close to your aunt?”
Auggie hesitated. “Hardly. I only met her once. I didn’t think she wanted anything to do with me, yet she summoned me.”
“And you’re going? Why?”
“Because she needs me.”
If what I saw at the pub was any indication of the lengths he would go to do right, it wouldn’t get him far.
“She also has money,” Auggie added, and I lifted an eyebrow.
He smiled back at me tightly. “It takes money to fund scientific research.”
“Ah, yes.” I nodded, leaning back into my seat. “The alchemy.”
Auggie’s eyes darted around briefly. “Can we … keep a lid on the A-word? It makes people nervous. It’s hard for people to understand that not all magic is a result of demons and witches.”
“I can do that. It just fascinates me, is all.”
“As it should.” He turned to the window as the road out of town leveled off. “We appear to be heading toward witch territory, are we not?”
“No, no, no,” I said. “I’m not in that big a hurry to reach Bristol that I would sacrifice our lives. The driver will ride parallel to it. Won’t add but an extra hour to the journey. And being that close is risk enough.”
Auggie nodded his agreement.
The witch Morgana claimed most of the southern coast as part of her domain, and she only allowed trade to the mainland and access to specific fishing grounds, so Bristol was the closest port taking passengers.
But it was Ambrosia’s territory we would have to circumvent.
Witches didn’t seem to care what difficulties their lands posed to humans, and most, like Ambrosia, did not take kindly to trespassers.
We traveled for an hour, talking about some of the herbs and spices that Auggie had discovered held medicinal properties.
It was different from potion-making, but some of the plant abilities he mentioned made sense, given that they were enhanced by many of the potions I made.
His ways certainly didn’t hold a candle to the magic I performed, but I could also see why the Council of Witches might find his innovation threatening.
If humans had no need for witches, if they could get by without our services, well …
the tide could turn against my kind very quickly.
Humans left witches alone for the most part because of how useful witches could be.
But if we hadn’t been deemed useful, it would be a different story.
Likewise, we needed humans to give us payment.
In the same way Lucifer needed their souls. They were necessary.
I was eyeing the fence that marked Ambrosia’s territory when Auggie abruptly changed topics. “Tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living? And your parents.”
I took a moment to answer, smiling at him sheepishly. “I’m a shopkeeper. My parents were also.”
“Were?”
I nodded, unwilling to say more about them.
“What sort of shop do you run?” he asked.
“It’s a shop of … herbs and spices, I suppose,” I said.
That was true enough. “I suppose that’s why I’m so entranced by your alch—” I cleared my throat.
“Rather, your … predilection for medicinal herbs. I wasn’t completely aware of the properties you’ve mentioned myself. My shop is utilized mostly by … cooks.”
Auggie’s eyes were wide, and I had to avert my eyes to keep from being dazzled by them. “Truly? You must let me visit sometime. Is it a large shop?”
I opened my mouth to reply, but at that moment, the carriage stopped short as the horses whinnied, terrified.
Auggie was thrown to the floor, but I managed to stay in my seat.
I pushed the window down and poked my head outside, letting in the sound of the driver’s desperate reassurances to the steeds.
My eyes snapped to the side of the road, where a figure stood on a pedestal.
Much like the portal in my shop, this was a tree stump, runes glowing an angry red, as if it had just been activated.
The figure who stood upon it must have just appeared, frightening the horses.
I squinted at them; they were covered in layers of what appeared to be black gauze that undulated. What was it?
I had only a moment’s notice from the sound of hoofbeats and pulled my head in through the window as something slammed into the side of the coach.
Chaos erupted immediately. The horses bolted for the shoulder of the road, causing the carriage to careen briefly on two wheels before crashing onto its side.
It tumbled down a short embankment that had Auggie and me thrown about inside like ragdolls.
My head slammed into the wall and stars momentarily burst across my vision until, all at once, darkness washed over me.
When I came to, everything was still.
My head felt like it was split open, and I groaned as I gazed up at the open door of the coach overhead, allowing me a glimpse of blue sky.
“Auggie?” I asked, my voice weak. I coughed, then tried again, louder. “Auggie?” I blinked at my surroundings. Auggie was not in the compartment with me. I frowned, wincing. I stood and opened my pack to find Therese sitting quietly, as if nothing whatsoever was the matter. Good. That was good.
Throwing the pack over my shoulder, I slowly pulled myself up and out of the carriage.
I stopped, gasping with effort on top of the coach, staring around me.
The carriage door was lying a good six feet away, as if it had been torn clear from its hinges and thrown. The horses were nowhere to be seen.
We had been attacked.
My eyes lifted to find the fence marking Ambrosia’s territory, and the tree stump portal.
“Damn it all,” I said, spitting out a gob of blood. I’d bitten my cheek in the chaos of the attack. But at least I knew who was likely responsible.
The sun hadn’t risen too far, so I couldn’t have been out long.
Ambrosia’s territory was large, but I might be able to track our assailant.
I would have to. This job was too important to let Auggie slip away so easily.
With any luck, I would be able to catch up to whoever had whisked Auggie away before they reached the witch.
“Broom,” I said out loud. “I need a broom.”
I used the portal at the edge of Ambrosia’s territory to return to my potion shop. I was disappointed to find the shop empty. David sat still in his chair, as dusty as ever. The spider that had taken residence in his eye socket had created a beautifully elaborate web.
“I suppose the blood moon is still a ways off,” I murmured to myself, brow furrowed as I wondered at the absence of customers. But I couldn’t afford to let myself become distracted just now.
Aside from my broom, I would need to know where Auggie was within Ambrosia’s territory, or I would have no chance of finding him.
Retrieving a few ingredients from a cabinet, I sprinkled gold dust and crushed fae wings into a water basin.
I gave it a counterclockwise stir with my right index finger before squishing a newt’s eye between the fingers of my other hand, dribbling the contents over the water.
“Ostende mihi,” I said, closing my eyes and conjuring Auggie’s face.
His stupid, brave face with his jaw set, dark eyes defiant.
I nodded to myself and watched the water darken and whirl.
It would take a while for the spell to zero in on Auggie, and I took that time to give myself something for my throbbing head, then made my way to the closet at the back of the room, throwing it open to reveal my broom leaning against an old, tarnished mirror.
It had been too simple a broom for my tastes, so I’d painted it a deep purple with a magic that made it shimmer in the light.
There was no need to travel without style, after all, and so the bristles were likewise painted a metallic gold.
Narcissa stood before the broom on her haunches, staring up at me with a glower, as if expecting I would return for it.
I lifted an eyebrow. “What’s this? I don’t have time to take you for a ride just now.”
Narcissa mewed disapprovingly, refusing to budge as I came closer.
Reaching over her, I snatched the broom and was lifting it over her body when she leapt up and grabbed the handle, pulling her back legs up to wrap herself around the broom completely.
I shook the broom, but Narcissa only hissed in return.
“What has gotten into you?” I demanded, frowning. “If only I could….” A thought occurred to me.
I rushed to the fireplace and threw a handful of sulfur and phoenix droppings into the logs beneath the cauldron.
Immediately upon impact, a fire roared to life.
I scoured my cupboards for the ingredients I would need next: tail of a chupacabra, toenails of a yeti, and the shed skin of a cobra.
Adding them to the boiling water, I stirred in a good amount of green algae.
As I waited for the potion to bubble over, I opened my bag to let out Therese.