Chapter 8 #2
Lexi nodded. “I apologize. Multiple injuries coming in from the north have kept me busy. I know you’ve been waiting on some of the ingredients I provide your shop. David was very adamant I replenish your store of moonbeams, and look at you now, begging for them.”
“I’m not begging,” I murmured, immediately feeling guilty for reprimanding David about the moonbeams. He’d likely written a note in the books, and I’d overlooked it. He really was more competent than I gave him credit for.
“What’s happening in the north?” Freya asked.
“Oh, a lot has been happening lately.” Lexi sighed. “America is a mess without the Council to oversee things there, but even some of the reports from territories in Australia and Greenland are alarming. Witches seem rather restless lately, like something’s brewing.”
An involuntary shiver ran up my spine. Someone challenging Lucifer was certainly a sign that something was going on. Perhaps the shop had been so quiet of late because of things transpiring in witch territories I wasn’t aware of.
“The Ember King’s territory has expanded another twenty kilometers,” Lexi said. “That brings it to an even 200 square kilometers. And I doubt he’ll remain satisfied with that.”
Freya looked surprised. “He only had thirty kilometers when I was with the council.”
“Yes, he’s been aggressive in recent years.
It’s his demon-hounds that are the problem though.
No one can go out after dark without being attacked by them, and the remaining towns rely on salt to keep them out.
Some poor man from Kingsbury made it to Bristol last month, only to die for his troubles.
No one will risk venturing into that territory.
It’s at least a two-day journey to Kingsbury, and the roads are all in disrepair, so wagons are out.
Carrying any significant amount of salt would make the trek three times as long. ”
“I don’t suppose they have any teleportation rune sites in Kingsbury,” Freya said. She shook her head. “If humans weren’t so fearful of witches, this situation wouldn’t be an issue whatsoever. We could bring them salt straightaway.”
“Yet there are witches like the Ember King who make them so fearful,” Lexi pointed out. “And given his rule, they have a right to be afraid. Imagine having witches like him coming and going into every town. It would be utter chaos.”
There was a creak outside the kitchen, and Narcissa leapt down from the table to investigate as Lexi fetched a fresh cup of tea for me.
She set it before me, and I inhaled notes of orange and hibiscus among the black tea. It was precisely the reinvigorating blend I needed just then. And since my friend had made it herself, I needn’t fear cyanide mixed in. “Lexi, you’re a lifesaver.”
She smiled. “I’ve been told that a time or two.” She continued, “But you know, you could have a supply of salt to Kingsbury within a day if I know you at all. A potion to lighten the load, another to put some pep in your step.”
I smirked. “I very well could, I suppose, but I have more pressing matters to attend to. Seeing Auggie to New York is time sensitive, I’m afraid.” I paused. “Maybe when I return, I can see to all the troubles of the human world, while I’m at it.”
Lexi sighed. “They’re in need, Callum.”
“Oh, Mr. Witch,” Therese chirped, “could you not find it in your heart to bring them some salt? It doesn’t seem like a big ask.”
“A big ask,” I sniffed. “I didn’t ask for those humans to remain in their homes when the Ember King laid claim to those lands long ago.
That was their own pride. Why should I waste my time with them, when next week, they’ll find themselves in yet another mess?
Better yet, they’ll come for another one of my shops with torches.
” I turned to Therese. “They started the last fire with Narcissa still inside. Would you still feel empathy for them if she’d burned along with my livelihood? ”
Therese’s frog throat bobbed. I almost felt bad for laying this on her, but she had asked. She was young yet, not corrupted by the human world. Perhaps something I was saying to her would stick with her, and she could avoid the worst of human failings.
I sat back, crossing my arms. “They call us unnatural, unless it suits them. The townspeople sought out my parents for tinctures and tonics to heal them, yet when someone was too far gone before a potion could do its job, they dragged my parents from their shop and burned them at the stake. I couldn’t even bury them, you know.
The wind carried their ashes away, scattering them before the mob left.
” I took a deep, calming breath, running a hand back through my hair.
I sent Therese a brittle smile. “Apologies, little one. But humans have caused me nothing but grief over the years. Time and time again. Present company excluded, of course.”
Silence enveloped the room until Narcissa returned, a ribbon in her mouth. She took one look at the sober room and settled her gaze on me. “What did you do now?” she demanded.
“Nothing,” Therese replied, simply.