Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Stepping through the portal was smoother than being teleported via the tree stump in my shop, less a tugging of my body, and more a disorienting nausea. I stepped through to a short three-inch drop to the ground.
“Nearly perfect,” Freya said proudly, sending a grin back at me. “I still got it.”
I pushed down my rising gorge and smiled back politely. Narcissa didn’t show such tact. She coughed and sputtered, then produced a hairball that she deposited at Freya’s feet.
Freya’s smile tightened, but she made no comment on Narcissa’s display.
“Can you check his injury while I whip up a location spell?” I asked, lowering Auggie to a soft patch of grass. I paused to push his shirt down, which had begun to ride up.
I quickly assembled the potion I needed using my map of the area, pieces of copper, and a single hair from a troll that I soaked briefly in an array of ingredients.
As the copper indicated to me where we were versus where we needed to go, Freya grunted. “The bleeding’s stopped,” she announced. “That must be a good sign, right?”
I didn’t reply. I could give him some herbs to tide him over, but he didn’t look like he was in grave peril, and we were lucky enough to have landed just a half kilometer southeast of Lexi’s estate.
“Would you mind planting a rune on him in case we get separated again?” I asked.
Freya considered, then nodded, tracing a symbol over one of Auggie’s limp hands. When she was done, she blew on it and the shape came alive in a shimmer of gold before disappearing. “Done.”
I hoisted Auggie back into my arms and we continued our journey in silence.
Rolling hills crammed with trees greeted us. We strolled up a dirt-packed drive thirty minutes later, a sprawling brick house just beyond, smoke billowing from its chimney.
The scent of autumn hung in the air as apples ripened on their branches and leaves scattered about in a cooling breeze. I spied squash and pumpkin amid curling vines growing in a garden along the path to the front door; crows eyed the vegetation with envy.
Auggie was growing heavy in my arms. His weight hadn’t bothered me at first, but carrying a man, even with Auggie’s lean build, became taxing after a half kilometer.
If I’d had a griffin feather, I could have created a potion to make him feel half his normal weight, but my cloak could only accommodate so many vials and ingredients, and frankly, my supply of energy was nearly at an end, so it wouldn’t have relieved me of my burden for long anyway.
The front door opened as we arrived, and a man with milky dead eyes stared out at us, mouth hanging open as if he was issuing a silent scream.
His skin looked in the process of rotting, with patches of hair sticking to a sparse scalp.
I could see his skull gleaming through his forehead.
But he was dressed in a smart tux, nonetheless, even though blood seeped through his shirt collar. “Uhhh,” the man finally managed.
I smiled politely at the zombie, clearly a victim of some plague spell gone awry long ago, then looked past him into the house. “Um, Lexi darling?”
“Ung,” the zombie tried again, putting his arm in the way of the doorway.
“Xander, what have I told you about being rude to our guests?” a woman hurried to the door, fighting the zombie’s arm down. The woman gazed out at us with a wide smile. “Apologies, my butler is very protective of me.”
“You don’t say,” I said.
The woman blinked as she focused on me. “Callum!” She had Japanese features, straight black hair falling like silk down the back of her powder blue dress.
Periwinkles and baby’s breath adorned her forehead in a crown.
It was a lovely touch. “It’s been too long,” Lexi sighed, the space between her eyebrows pinching with concern.
“Come in, come in. You can set your friend down in the parlor.”
“Ugg,” Xander objected.
Lexi swatted his shoulder playfully. “He will not get the upholstery any more dirty than you do. Be nice, now. Go prepare some tea for our guests. And no cyanide in the sugar this time. It’s just more work for me when I have to heal them.”
Xander grunted in reply and shambled from the room, walking face-first into a door frame on the way out.
“Can’t afford living help?” I asked. Whatever spell had made Xander undead had at least allowed him to keep some of his wits about him. Although he wasn’t the most coordinated bloke.
Lexi waved my question away. “He needs the work.”
I snorted at that. Zombies were an extreme example of spells gone awry. It was rare, and most infected were disposed of quickly, unless deemed not to be a threat to the public. Lexi must have intervened on his behalf, for whatever reason. She always did have a soft heart.
I relieved my arms of their burden, setting Auggie down on a fainting couch. His head lolled back.
“What happened to him?” Lexi asked me. She crouched beside Auggie, eyes flicking back to Freya and lingering on the stitches around her mouth, before focusing on Auggie.
“He was touched by a necromancer’s magic,” I said, pointing to his ankle, where black still oozed from the cut.
“And I hit him in the back of the head,” Freya offered.
Lexi hummed, tilting Auggie’s head to the side to examine a bloody gash on his scalp. I had to look away.
“It doesn’t look too bad,” Lexi said after a moment. “He shouldn’t have a concussion—lucky for you. The ankle might be another thing, however. Do you happen to have chamomile on you?”
I nodded and pulled out a pouch, handing it to Lexi. Lexi dumped the contents into her hand and covered the wound with it. She looked back at Freya. “You. Give me your hand.”
Freya lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because you harmed him. I’m going to use your energy to heal him.”
Freya hesitated.
“She was under the control of a necromancer at the time,” I explained to Lexi.
“Well, that adds another layer of intrigue, but it doesn’t help him heal any faster.” Lexi held a slim hand out to Freya insistently.
Freya scowled but took it.
Lexi examined Freya’s hand in hers. “Your hand is … not yours.”
Freya grinned widely. “Unsettling, isn’t it?”
Lexi yanked her hand away. “You won’t do. Your energy is … already harnessed for other purposes within your own body.” She looked to me expectantly.
I held my hand out to her. Lexi made a sound in the back of her throat and spit a yellow-green gob of saliva and mucus into her hand before wrapping it over mine. I wrinkled my nose.
“Was that really necessary?”
“Yes. It helps make the connection stronger.”
“But you didn’t do that to her,” I whined, signifying Freya.
“I didn’t want to come across as rude. Hush now.” She squeezed my hand tighter. “Now, this will wear you out. That pod around your neck won’t help. This has to come directly from you.”
I nodded. My pod had little left to offer anyway. I would need to find a green space outdoors to meditate to refill it tonight. The gardens outside would do nicely for that.
My body began to glow softly, a gentle electricity simmering over my skin.
It tickled, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sensation.
Some of that glow ran up Lexi’s hand and disappeared into her body.
Lexi had told me previously that she was a vessel for healing but couldn’t heal without an outside source.
Chamomile clearly served as the delivery system of the energy into Auggie, for the dried flowers began to sparkle, then radiate light like tiny suns.
After a moment, I had to look away. But it was only for a moment. Then, the room darkened once more.
I blinked rapidly, focusing on Lexi as she wiped her hands, the chamomile having vanished. I felt a little tired from the energy Lexi had taken from me, but that was the only lingering effect I could detect.
I stared at Auggie, wondering how quickly Lexi’s magic would work. “And how is he?”
As if on cue, Auggie’s eyes opened, and his dark brown eyes immediately found mine.
I froze at the intensity of his gaze, his beauty taking my breath away.
He struggled to sit up and look around. “Where … ?” he began, then seemed to recollect what had happened.
“The coach overturned in the road. I … must have struck my head.” He tentatively touched the back of his head, then fumbled more searchingly, finding no wound.
Lexi had completely healed it, of course. He might find some blood caked in his hair later, but that would be the only remaining evidence of that injury. His eyes danced around the room, but didn’t linger on Freya. That was good. He clearly hadn’t seen her knock him out.
“There was an accident,” I said carefully. No need to upset the boy and scare him off. Nearly being kidnapped by a necromancer might have that effect. “I brought you to a friend of mine. Lexi was just making sure you were all right.”
Lexi nodded down at Auggie. “You’ll be all right.” She gestured to his ankle. “A wound like that might take a little more time to heal, but the toxins are gone, from what I can tell. Just tread carefully on it.”
Auggie reached down and ran a finger over a small, raised patch of skin. The cut was gone, however, and nothing was leaking from him anymore. That was a good sign.
“You should rest for a day or two,” Lexi added. “Your body needs to process the magic.”
“Magic?” Auggie echoed, eyes narrowing at Lexi. “You’re a witch?”
“A white witch, yes.” She sounded concerned. “Is it all right that I saw to your injuries?”
Auggie asked, “What do I owe you?”
“‘Owe you’?” Lexi blinked. “Why, nothing.”
Auggie didn’t look convinced. He turned to me. “How is the driver?”
I hesitated. “The driver … remained with the carriage while we saw you to safety.” Not a lie, really.
Auggie leaned back on the couch, eyes closing momentarily. “Thank you. I admit I am rather tired.”
Lexi placed a comforting hand on his knee. “You can take one of the guest rooms upstairs. Just sleep. I’ll bring you some water and prepare a meal shortly.”