Chapter 15
When I heard someone coming down the staircase, I hopped out of the recliner and rushed into the hall to find Salem. “How is he?”
Salem sat at the bottom of the stairs and rubbed his eyes. “I had to give him a sedative because of the pain.”
“Did the ice help?” I asked, thinking about the bowls that Joy and I had rushed upstairs.
“Yes, but it’ll be a few days before the fever breaks. It’s hard for snakes to kill us, but it happens. It depends on how much venom they get in.”
I sat next to him and rubbed his shoulder. “You look tired.”
Salem had been tending to Virgil for the whole afternoon and evening. I tried to work on my drawing, but each time I heard a set of footfalls coming down the stairs or people talking in the hallway, I went to see if there was any way I could help.
Rubbing his forehead, Salem continued. “He’s dizzy and can’t stand. The area’s swollen like a grapefruit, but there’s not much I can do.”
“What about antivenom?”
“That’s not something even hospitals keep stocked, but I checked with Milly, and she had some. She said it’s not very effective on Shifters from her experience, but I still used what she sent over since he was hallucinating. It can’t hurt.”
“I’m glad he’s okay for now.”
Salem glanced up the stairs and then sighed. “I had a long conversation with Tak. We need to give everyone small doses of venom to build up their immunity.”
“Can you do that? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“It’s called mithridatism. Repeated exposure in small amounts creates antibodies that neutralize bites.
It’s actually one of the oldest vaccinations ever created.
Small doses won’t cause reactions like his, and it’s a good idea since we’re outside all the time.
Stuff like this happening to the kids is what keeps me up at night. ”
“Does someone need to sit with him?”
“We tried.”
“Tried?”
Salem stood and stretched his back. “Krys shifted. I guess his wolf was stirred up after all that excitement. It happens. He thinks Virgil’s in danger, so I couldn’t do anything without Tak in the room.
Stay away. He’s dangerous and doesn’t like people.
I mean it. He’s not a wolf an outsider can approach.
Even we have to respect his boundaries.”
“Okay. By the way, Virgil knows about us.”
Salem’s eyes slanted my way. “What?”
“He found my panties,” I whispered. “But he promised to keep it a secret.”
“Let’s see how long he can keep this one.”
We entered the kitchen where Bear was cooking something in a large pot on the opposite side of the island.
“What’s for dinner?” Salem asked.
Bear, who had on a black apron and a beard net, faced us while holding up a long piece of meat.
I grimaced. “Is that…?”
“You bet. Tak wants rattlesnake soup on the menu.” He slapped the meat back on the long counter. “Ask me why.”
I sat on a barstool by the island. “Why?”
He scraped chopped onion into the pot. “His people say it’s bad luck to let the snake live. They believe they’re tricksters who steal your magic, so to get your magic back, guess what you have to do?”
“Eat them,” Salem and I said in unison.
Salem untied his hair. “We don’t all have to eat it, do we?”
Bear gave him a look that made me smile.
“No, but let’s just say Tak will be disappointed if we don’t partake.
It’s custom for the alpha and the person bitten to consume the snake, but everyone should have a bowl.
I’m gonna make this the most delicious meal I never wanna cook again. I don’t like snakes.”
“I’ll have some.”
Both men gave me a worried look.
I shrugged. “You only live once.”
“Unless you’re Virgil,” Tak added when he entered the kitchen. “That one has nine lives. What are we talking about?” He peered around Bear at the soup and snake meat.
Bear shook seasoning into the pot. “Quinn was just sayin’ how she can’t wait to try the soup.”
Tak flashed an approving smile at me. “Good. Especially since you were there. That snake is a magic stealer. I was bitten on my leg as a boy. Still have the scar. Was sick for days.”
I rested my arms on the counter. “How did you live if you were just a little boy?”
“My father hunted down that snake and we ate him.” He patted his belly with a smirk. “Healed me right up.”
“I highly doubt that,” Salem added. “He likely didn’t inject enough venom into you.”
Tak waved at him dismissively. “You know all about the healing world but know nothing of spirit-world magic.”
“Salem’s the smartest man I’ve ever known,” I countered.
“He can fix anyone and knows more than I ever will about medicine and anatomy. And he’s so brave.
He doesn’t flinch when he has to do something really hard that most of us can’t imagine doing.
And half the time, the people don’t even thank him. ”
Salem’s neck bloomed red, and he rubbed it while nearing the hallway. “Thanks, Quinn. I need to work on something.”
Tak looked between us as Salem left the room and then crossed to my side before putting his arm around me.
After a gentle squeeze, he said, “We need more adventurous people like you in our pack.” Tak let go and leaned against the counter on his forearms. “These chickenshits won’t taste a little snake meat without wrinkling their noses.
You’d think I was asking them to eat wild boar. ”
I admired the tattoos on the left side of his face. “What other kind of magic do your people know? Do you have medicines that cure anything or bring luck?”
He scratched eyebrow. “Well, we have many customs and rituals. Anything specific? Hope makes jewelry using stones that hold relevance in both our cultures. If you want something for protection, turquoise. I see your ears aren’t pierced, but if you’d like to, she makes feather earrings from Shifters.
” He tapped his chin. “Or maybe you could use a love potion.”
I snorted. “You mean that’s not in tonight’s soup?”
Tak stood and rocked with laughter. “Tonight’s dinner will be a test of love,” he said, walking around the island and patting Bear on the back. “To see who loves me enough to participate in this sacred custom.”
I glanced at his red palm. “Is that paint?”
He rubbed at the dry coating. “The handprint is on Virgil’s chest along with a design. As the alpha, I offer him spiritual protection for healing. My palm print on his chest will ward off any bad spirits who come to steal him away from this life.”
I tucked my chin in my palm. “You have so many customs. I feel so lost when things happen.”
“What things?”
“Oh, nothing in particular.” I slid off my stool. “I should work on my drawing since I lost time today. Be sure to save me a bowl.”
As I ventured down the hallway, the motion-activated night-lights came on and drew my attention to a sketch on the wall.
The elderly man with dark skin and a sparkle in his eyes could’ve jumped right out of the frame for how real he looked.
It was hard to stop staring, as if his eyes were telling me the story of his life.
“You like it?”
I jumped and turned to see Eden at the foot of the stairs.
She adjusted the belt on her black robe.
“Who is it?” I asked, thinking maybe it was a dumb question because of how similar they looked. Her eyes weren’t dark, but I could see the resemblance.
She joined my side. “That’s my first love—my dad, Afram. He passed on a few months back.”
“I’m sorry. It hurts when you lose a parent. I lost my father too.” After a quiet moment of staring at the picture, I added, “I wish I had a picture of him like this. It’s like he’s staring at us.”
Eden chuckled softly. “Sometimes I think he is. He was remarkable in every way except that he didn’t know how to lose graciously at checkers.
That man right there taught me everything about being a strong black woman.
How to fight for what I believe in and how to whoop someone’s ass who has it coming.
He did so much good in this world and never once asked for anything in return. I sure miss his stories.”
I smiled. “He looks like a real character.”
“Oh, he was.” She briefly touched the picture with her fingertips.
“He was. I’m glad he got to know Lucian and the pack before he went on, but he lived a long life.
He was suffering in the end. Robyn made that picture.
Have you seen the one hanging up at Book Haven?
That’s Cecilia’s father. He passed on too. ”
I opened my locket and showed her the small picture. “This was my dad.”
She tilted her head and admired the picture of a red-haired man with mischief in his eyes. “Now I see where you got your spirit. That picture’s in color,” she said, noting it was relatively recent. “He was so young.”
I closed the locket while clutching it in my hand. “My mom’s still alive, so at least I have her.” Saying that aloud made me miss her hug. “Is Salem’s room upstairs? I want to tell him something before I get back to work.”
“Work? This late?”
“It’s been a crazy afternoon, and I haven’t gotten much done.”
“You have the whole day tomorrow. Have dinner with us.”
“Snake soup?”
She wrinkled her nose. “On second thought…”
We both laughed.
Eden gestured to the stairs. “Salem’s at the end of the hall on the left, but he might be checking on Virgil again. Don’t enter the room with the purple door.”
“Salem warned me about Krys’s wolf. Thanks!”
I hiked silently up the steps to the landing, then up the second flight to my left. The upstairs wasn’t at all like I expected. A short hall ran from the back side of the house to the front, and a long passageway down the center had hallways branching off it.
Once I reached a door at the end, I remembered Eden saying it was to the left. I turned the corner and knocked on the door on the left wall. When the one behind me opened instead, I whirled around.
Salem jerked his head back. “What are you doing up here?”