Chapter 40
Reatha stands outside the cave when we return. She’s moving with a particular tightness, hand placed against the side of her back in a way that suggests her kidneys are bothering her.
“Are you well?” I ask.
She flashes a smile. “A kidney infection is all. It’s likely to go away on its own.”
My eyebrows knit together. That’s not a treatment plan. “The Apothecary cottage will have a bearberry tonic for you. Perhaps I could bring it to our next training session?”
She nods, accepting my assistance. “Thank you. If your mother were here, she’d already have given me some pipsissewa. That’s what always worked the quickest, though she said the plant is fussy to grow.”
I’ve never worked with pipsissewa before and am trying to remember where I’ve even heard the name when a page in my mother’s journal flashes in my mind.
Pipsissewa should be avoided in treatment of the kidneys, she’d written.
And hadn’t the p stood out slightly darker? I didn’t know enough to include it back then. Reatha has stepped over to help Marie, who’s just appeared, bind her hair. It allows me to squeeze my eyes tightly shut, envisioning my current list of letters:
I see V, E, X, in my mind’s eye. Vex.
Below it O, A, R, I, S, H, T, and N.
And if I add P?
O, A, R, I, S, H, T, N, P.
No.
P, O, A, R, I, S, H, T, N.
Hmm.
P, O… I, S…N.
Poison. Of course! A wave of satisfaction courses through me as my suspicions are confirmed. I smile grimly. I got that one, Mom.
That leaves A, R, H, T. Hart? No, that’s not it.
But if I reuse the E…
Reatha.
Looks like I brought my sample right to the source.