chapter twelve
THE POISONER
A t least twenty glass test tubes were stacked in the wooden holders scattered around my lab.
Some were diluted with water at different rates, some were control samples, and others were extras.
It was hard choosing which poison I wanted to make, so I decided to make them all.
Stocking up on inventory would never be a bad thing, especially now that I had to figure out which would work on this Creature stalking about.
I might have imported too many plants. I only had so much time to make extracts out of them. I doubted I could get through them all in a timely manner.
The clock rang. My pen left a stray mark on my paper in response to the clamor.
Two p.m.
Phoebe’s garden party had nearly slipped my mind in the frenzy. She would have my head if I was tardy to yet another event. It was bad enough that I had canceled our morning walk and blamed it on needing time to prepare.
If every event Phoebe threw was like this one, I would have a lot more fun.
The event was held at the botanical gardens inside their esteemed greenhouse.
For me, it was like bringing a child to the zoo.
My chest swelled with butterflies, my eyes probably wide with awe.
This was the first time I had felt genuine happiness in the past few weeks, out of all the events I was forced to attend.
The glass cathedral towered above in intricate panels. The sky transitioned from blue to pink and red, painting its own fresco for everyone to view through the domes of the greenhouse. This was my personal haven. A chapel of the living world.
The rarest flowers, trees, and shrubs decorated the grand glass fortress.
Birds chirped in delight as they fluttered through their heavenly residence.
A pang of jealousy hit me when I imagined being a bird living in this protected arboretum, genuinely.
Oh, how I wish I could metamorphose into one of those fledglings.
The vermilion evening gown Phoebe picked for me practically glowed under the warm lights and the red sky. She lent me some rubies to match, since I was never interested in keeping any family jewels on me. The only other finery in my home would be the Creature’s cruel display of pearls.
My redheaded friend had yet to appear, though I assumed that she would be buzzing about like a distracted bee. That was more than all right with me. It gave me time to relax for once. While mingling with too big of a crowd made me nauseous, it was tolerable when I was in my element, such as this.
One flower caught my eye, a tall green spindle stuck straight in the air like a spear. Its ambiance practically pulled me toward it, begging me to inspect it closer.
The brass plaque read, The Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus Titanum) .
“Magnificent, isn’t she?” a deep Russian-accented voice spoke next to me.
Glancing to my right, I saw an enamored character staring at the odd specimen before us. His soft amber eyes were curious and full of wonder.
I could sympathize with that, especially in a place like this.
He met my eyes before shrinking into an awkward posture, which looked out of place considering his towering muscular build and handsome face.
A humble smile tugged at the corner of his lip, dimples peeking through as he adjusted the rim of his wire glasses.
He looked maybe twenty-five, two years older than me, in an academic brown suit.
“Viktor Kaskov.” He held out a polite hand, his accent sweet and playful.
My brow rose in what could only be a mixture of surprise and skepticism. A man wanted to shake my hand as equals?
Cautiously, I took it, squeezing gently. “Alina Lis?—”
“I know! Apologies. I should have prefaced that I am a fan of your work.” His eyes were intense, looking deeper than I was comfortable with.
“Your paper on the effects of Ageratina altissima on the nervous system of vermin was fascinating. How did you think to use white snakeroot as the subject? It isn’t prevalent around here.
” He tilted his head to the side, a few black curls falling out of place as he studied me closely.
Overwhelmed was an overstatement. I was not used to men taking anything I wrote seriously. “I was introduced to it on my travels with my father. He had a fascination with these things.” I looked down at my hand clasped between his.
“How interesting. A woman of science and adventure? That is something rare.” He squeezed my hand before letting it go. “Have you seen the display of poisonous and carnivorous flowers within the gardens yet?”
“I didn’t know there was one. I really should visit more often.” I gleamed at the offer.
The poisons and carnivore section was separate from the others. I was not certain we were allowed entry. The closed-off conservatory was in a different wing of the gardens.
Larkspur plants lined the walkway, about four feet tall, coming in blues, pinks, purples, and whites.
Foxgloves bloomed in tall spears as their little trumpet blossoms opened gradually down the stem.
Other flowers on the ground included nightshades, hogweed, oleander, trumpet flowers, and other exotic toxins that I had never seen before.
Hung around the edges were pitcher plants, flytraps, and other sticky-looking counterparts, though I was less familiar with cannibalistic flora.
We explored together for a while. Neither of us kept track of the time.
This was like my little paradise away from the social hell that awaited outside the doors.
Lots of pointing, searching for plaques as we guessed their binomial nomenclature, and stealing a cutting or two while he kept a lookout.
I removed my gloves to save them from any smudges of dirt as I collected.
“Do you know how to propagate these? Some I don’t think I have seen before.” I cupped the little sprigs of plants in my hand like they were gold. We were both seated on the bench before one of the man-made ponds.
“I may have a paper or two. I could send some through the post as long as you can send them back.” He grinned.
His demeanor was so warm and calming in a sense. It should be familiar to me.
“Do I have to return them? How cruel,” I joked, placing the clippings in my purse.
“Your hands—” He grabbed my hand suddenly. “I’m sorry. I should have done the cuttings for you—they’re irritating your skin,” he said worriedly, staring at my red fingertips.
I could not tell him that it was because of the dozen plants I had just processed, but his concern admittedly made me blush. Was I becoming bashful? Around a man, of all things?
“No need to fuss over it. They’re just sensitive,” I assured him, slipping my hand from his, my skin already missing the tenderness. “I…I should be getting back,” I said quickly.
“Of course. I am sure you are quite busy.” Viktor smiled. “Don’t wait for me. I may stay in here for a while. Social gatherings aren’t my forte.”
He really did understand.
I nodded in understanding. “Well, I appreciated the company genuinely.”
“Anytime. I mean it.” He winked.
With that, I departed, leaving him alone in the beautiful mirage along with those heavy feelings.
As I advanced through the buzzing crowd, my eyes stayed focused on the plants along the footpath.
I crouched down and slid a blade from my sleeve, using it to carve away some more of the stems to propagate later.
It felt like I was stealing jewels from a museum, but I doubted that anyone would mind.
Standing again and admiring my new specimens, I tucked them into my clutch and surveyed the crowd.
There was one slightly frantic figure in the middle. It took me a minute to process who it was.
The Creature’s head whipped in my direction, his expression angry, like I had been hiding from him purposefully. He was storming directly toward me.
Alarms blared in my head, and I quickly moved through the crowd to escape the main gathering area. People bumped into me, diverting my route as I slipped through the bodies.
“ Move! ” I hissed.
Off to the far side of the greenhouse, there was a door with a No Patrons sign on it.
The door was almost latched shut behind me when it was shoved back open, only slamming shut when the predator entered behind me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” He flipped the lock on the door.
“Your conclusion is as good as mine.” I stood my ground.
We had stumbled into a nursery. The room was small and made of old, foggy glass. Wooden shelves held a mess of small planters containing a diverse selection of seedlings. It was at least quieter than the central area.
My attention wandered to the small plants, and I was tempted to take a few.
“Look at me.” The Creature stepped in front of me. “Let’s not get distracted so early.” His smile was nothing but sarcastic, irritated, even.
“What is it now? Can’t I just have one night to myself?”
“I let you have a few nights to yourself.” He stepped forward.
I stood firm in place. I would not let him intimidate me.
“As if I were to believe you weren’t watching me the whole time. Do you ever take a day off? Perhaps find someone new to play with?”
“We are far past that, my shadow.” He chuckled, hanging over me like a gallows. His fingers smoothed over the side of my face, and his other hand trailed down my arm toward my balled-up fist. “You’re lucky that you’re delicious. I don’t usually let prey suffer for this long.”
His finger trailed across my cheek, then his thumb pulled down on my bottom lip.
My teeth clamped down on his finger.
He shouted in pain while I made for the door, but his other hand grabbed me by the back of my neck, pinning my chest against the wood of the door.
“ Alina. ” He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “What have we learned about running?”
“Find another damsel.” I spat some of his blood from my mouth.