A Spell for Finding and Foraging
You might have noticed that most of the spells I’ve written are designed to see you through tough times.
I don’t know if you’ll ever wind up lost and far from home, but if you do, I want to help as much as I can.
Hunger is an unpleasant condition, and I am unsure how it would affect you long term.
Most fae don’t need to eat, though we enjoy it socially and take pleasure in flavors and textures.
It’ll come as no shock to you, after witnessing courtly revels, that we all contain some measure of hedonism.
This working will find dew pear and winter berries, honeyheart, wild phlox, fenelon, beetsnips, and savory caveroot.
With a few of these ingredients and some water, you can make stew.
The spell might also locate pigweed. With a little magic, you can turn that into flour, which would make a beautiful porridge with some honeyheart or winter berries.
Or you could whip up some flatbread to go with the stew.
If I can’t cook for you, my gem, then I must provide the tools to allow you to fend for yourself.
This one is best cast right after you awaken. You’ll need:
Green agate, moonstone, jet
Meadowsweet, sweet marjoram, and thyme
A copper pot
Put the crystals in your pocket and the herbs in the pot.
Use your magic to burn the herbs until there’s a savory smoke.
Now follow it the way the wind blows. This may seem random, but imbued with your magic, the smoke will guide you to natural resources.
It’ll be up to you to identify them, and I hope the wildcraft I’ve taught you will stand you in good stead.
You know the difference between honeyheart and bitter palm.
The latter shouldn’t be eaten, though it can be boiled down and added to other ingredients to make a salve that soothes irritated skin.
I used it on your bottom when you were small.
You should have good results if you fix your mind on the type of ingredients you’re looking for.
If you need a hearty breakfast, you’ll want pigweed and winter berries.
For a variety of flavors, I’d look for wild phlox, fenelon, beetsnips, and savory caveroot.
I’ve made that stew for your supper many nights, and you always cleaned your bowl and asked for more.
Thea
“The alliance has failed,” Kerboros says.
He understands the intricacies of court politics better than anyone, except possibly Zeph, who holds their secrets too close for me to be sure what they know.
“There may be soldiers on the move, not just hunters,” Rosa says.
Govannon rubs a hand across his already-disheveled hair. “Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse. Perhaps I ought to have gone off on my own?”
“Too late,” Tara tells him cheerfully.
Olive turns to me, lowering her voice. “If your world is anything like mine, a war will be terrible and devastating.”
“The stories are,” I admit. “But there’s only been peace in my lifetime. I’m so young compared to everyone else here.”
Her eyes widen. “So am I, actually. We’re surrounded by immortals.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Rosa says then.
Zeph nods. “I have Crow keeping an eye on the situation, and she will report back. For now, we should seek shelter.”
“Or make camp,” Kerboros suggests.
I suspect it’ll be the latter. We don’t know what became of Tempest, so I might be a wanted criminal for reasons other than failing at the task set forth by Lord Liskaal.
Everyone needs rest, and I suffer a painful wave of longing, recalling how the court ladies coddled me in the bath.
I haven’t been clean since we ran away from the Summer market.
Nobody has much to say, and we push onward in silence; it feels like my whole life has been reduced to walking.
Olive leavens the journey with explanations about our shared nature, answering questions I didn’t even know I needed to ask.
I’ve been starving myself when I should be focused on a light, continual pull.
No deep drains, just skimming from everyone, always.
“That doesn’t hurt people?” I ask, incredulous.
Olive shakes her head. “I suppose if you lived alone in the woods with only one person, it might become an issue. But for psychic vampires—”
“Is that what we are?” I cut in.
I’ve been called a leech, a siphon, even a demon or parasite. But this is the first time I’ve heard the correct term for my heritage. There might even be books for me to read in the mortal realm. Maybe I’ll read them when I’m sent away. After Kerboros is executed.
My heart clenches. Are we truly doomed, either to run forever or be punished in perpetuity for one failure? Well. Nobody ever accused the Lord and Lady of Winter of being fair.
My sister gazes at me, wide-eyed. “Did no one tell you?”
“I don’t think my dad knows. Rain and Fen…” I hesitate, unsure of her relationship with them. “Never devoted much time to my education.”
That seems like the best way to describe their emotional neglect.
“That’s unforgivable,” Olive snaps. “They have all the time in the world for Iris. And I love Iris, she’s my sister too, but it’s wrong that they just…”
Didn’t care? Regifted me like an unwrapped parcel? I don’t fill in those blanks, and she hugs me instead of speaking, and then we hurry to catch up with the others before they get too far ahead. It’s all woods, all the time.
And I love the woods. I do. But I’m so tired. And hungry. And now there are two of us who need to drain energy. I realize that’s something else I need to worry about.
“Do you feed on anger too?” I ask.
Olive shakes her head. “For me, it’s pain. That’s part of why I became a doctor.”
At least we’re not competing for the same type of energy, but feeding from the same small population doesn’t seem like the best idea. “Do we need to worry about having two of us dependent on the others for sustenance?”
For the first time, she looks troubled. “Over time, it might become a problem. Normally, psychic vampires surround themselves with people to avoid situations like this. But in our circumstances, that’s impossible.”
Fantastic. As I suspected. I don’t ask any further questions because the answers might weigh me down past what I can bear.
From that point, we move in silence. None of the others break it, and my feet ache from the endless march.
We’ve been trudging for what feels like forever, until we’re deep in the woods, when Kerboros calls a halt.
The lights Olive mentioned have dimmed to a purple glow, but they’re not visible through the dense canopy.
Unlike the woods that border Macha’s territory, these trees are lush and vibrant, fully covered in leaves that run the gamut from emerald to citrine.
Zeph picks up a rock and charges it with magic so it offers a faint glow.
With that scant illumination, I process how much the ordeal has impacted our little band.
We’re all filthy, covered in cuts and bruises, from various clashes with beasts and behemoths.
Though we purchased supplies, I wonder what’s left.
Our packs tumbled around the In-Between, just as we did.
And that means the contents probably got soaked.
I don’t intend to eat anything that could be contaminated by that foul water. Nobody suggests a fire. In our situation, that would be unwise. Zeph drops their pack with a thud, digging into it to check the staples they were carrying.
Their lip curls. “Spoiled.”
“We should strive to leave no traces here,” Taragon says. “If we discard our things, it will only prove that we were here.”
“And give them a greater signature to track,” Kerboros adds.
“Then we carry everything, whether we can use it or not.” Zeph seems enervated by that necessity, or maybe it’s the situation. They sink to the ground without doing anything that could be construed as setting up camp.
“Do we have tents?” Olive asks.
Rosa chuckles. “Even if we did, I wouldn’t sleep in one. I’ll be nestled in the branches overhead, if anyone needs me.”
“I never thought I’d say this, but…me too.” Govannon appears to despise the idea, but he’s resigned to seeking refuge in the boughs above.
“It’s kept you alive so far,” Kerboros says.
Olive frowns, glancing at Zeph as if they’ve personally disappointed her. “No food. No fire. No tents. We just sit and hope we’re not discovered?”
“I’ll set magical wards around the perimeter,” Kerboros says.
He slips away to do that before anyone can question him.
Since I think it’s a good idea, I wouldn’t protest anyway.
While I’m watching the direction he disappeared in, Rosa and Govannon also vanish, small enough to tuck themselves out of sight.
Every rustle of leaf and creak of branch makes me jump; I’m nervy as heck, listening for the crunch of boots, the cold whistle of Winter magic cutting through the dark.
No, I trust Kerboros. He’ll make sure we have time to run. His traps will sound the alarm and delay our pursuers, but his absence leaves me with Olive and Zeph, who watches my sister like she’s the most wondrous being they ever beheld.
Is that how Kerboros looks at me?
My face feels hot, and I press my hands to my cheeks to cool them.
Olive turns to me, ignoring their fascination as she whispers, “I’ve extrapolated somewhat by context and active listening, but I was wondering if you’d mind sharing everyone’s pronouns?”
“Rosa and Tara use she,” I whisper back. “So do I. Govannon and Kerboros use he. And Zeph—”
“I can speak for myself,” they say silkily. “If you were interested in me, beautiful, you had only to come closer and ask.”
Olive dismisses them with a flick of her fingers. “I can hear you fine from here.”
“Well, then. Sometimes I feel he-ish and sometimes I feel she-ish. And sometimes I feel they-ish. It varies from day to day, but I generally use they for simplicity. Have you met anyone like me in the mortal realm?” Zeph asks, shifting closer.
They move until they’re next to Olive, drawn to her like she’s pulling them with magical traction.
She regards them with serious eyes. “As it happens, I have. But what does my opinion matter? In this situation, only your feelings do.”
Zeph smirks. “My feelings? What if I feel that I’d rather do you?”
If they’re trying to disconcert her, it doesn’t work in the slightest. “Then I’d say you need to try harder.”
Peals of laughter ring out as the branches above us shake. “Shot down. I never thought I’d see the day.” Rosa cackles. “Serves you right!”
I get a glimpse of a bearded face peeping through the tangled foliage. “Indeed, most entertaining, a bird’s-eye view of romantic failure. I do hope I have better luck with Ragh.”
Kerboros returns, settling beside me as the others quiet. I lean against him, and he wraps his arms about me in a natural gesture.
Keeping my voice soft, I say, “I couldn’t survive any of this without you.”
I can’t be without you now. But I can’t say that part out loud.
“I can’t do anything without you,” he whispers back, creating pleasurable chills with his mouth next to my ear.
This fae warrior has changed so much. Or maybe this is who he was all along; he just couldn’t be himself while following Lord Liskaal’s orders. I raise my face and kiss his cheek, then bury my head in his chest. He doesn’t let go.
After we sleep a little, I use the foraging spell to source fresh water and make porridge. Then the alarms sound, a high-pitched wail that warns us of mortal peril.