Chapter 31
After finding the rock, Elise slept with a smile on her face.
She lay atop the bed, feeling the magic running through her like fire in her veins.
The sensation could only be compared to the Strength Potion.
This time, however, there was no visible manifestation of magic, though that did not prevent her sleeping mind from producing a fair amount of nonsense during the night.
Her dreams had drifted between glorious fantasies of Kurt and other...
more demonic visions. In an unexpected turn and completely against her wishes, Seth had somehow made his way into her dreams. Such heated imaginings had left little room for proper rest. Slightly ashamed to discover she was capable of dreaming about the demon in such a fashion, she preferred to ignore the folly.
She attributed the unpleasant vision to the intensity of their encounter and nothing more.
Elise walked to the workshop feeling ready for action.
Perhaps if she had been claimed by a female divinity, she might have enjoyed a more peaceful existence.
Instead, she found herself thinking all sorts of inappropriate things about both Kurt and Seth, though especially the duke.
Ah, how she wished she would bump into him, if only to see whether they might steal another moment alone to...
She brought a hand to her mouth, remembering Kurt had made clear he was not interested.
At any rate, these were the sorts of thoughts that had plagued her ever since the magic from the Stone of Raj had settled into her.
She had been warned that controlling her magic would be a slow process, but she had not expected this particular inconvenience.
It was difficult enough going about her day without being haunted by visions of handsome men at every turn.
By the time she reached the catacombs, Emery and Conrad were already waiting for her. Emery seemed to carry a renewed air about him, his mood considerably improved. Conrad, on the other hand, greeted her with a thin-lipped look and the smallest of bows.
They had the table tucked in the darkest corner of the workshop.
It was usually reserved for leftover herbs and roots discarded during potion preparation.
It was not the most desirable place to work, but she did not mind.
Elise saw its advantage in being the table closest to the row of black cauldrons used for brewing the potions.
As she walked, people began to whisper, but she paid the murmurs no heed as she made her way to Emery and Conrad. She had more urgent things to worry about. The stone’s energy was still running through her like wildfire.
She spoke with Emery about the general process the fairies followed. He had been there for years, but judging by his explanation, Elise wasn’t quite sure he knew any more than she did.
There was little time to plan, as Fabian made his entrance shortly after the brief talk.
“Morning, all!” the red-legged fairy called from the center of the workshop, his eyes gleaming with mischief. It seemed he had needed only a good night’s rest to go back to his usual antics.
He began walking around the workshop, sweeping his gaze from one fairy to another as he continued, “The appointed day for the Healing Potion has changed. The task needs to be completed in two days. It appears the illness is spreading faster, and there’s no time to waste.”
“But Fabian!” a small fairy named Gwern rasped.
Elise had noticed she was the one closest to Fabian.
It was the fondness the fairy had for speaking loudly about the shortcomings of others that Elise assumed had earned her such a favored position in Fabian’s good graces.
Gwern always managed to deliver her rather petty observations in the guise of light teasing, which of course still managed to inspire a measure of authority and fear among her peers.
“It’s how it needs to be, Gwern,” Fabian replied. “Be thankful the potion is practically finished. Every team will have the opportunity to work out the final step and earn the glory of completing it.”
Gwern’s mouth twisted into a pout, and she immediately began gossiping with the fairy at her side. Elise did not remember the woman’s name, although she was certain she would learn it in the days to come.
Elise was ready to get her hands to work when something around her table appeared to catch Fabian’s attention. She thought he was coming to publicly lecture her and perhaps provide an opening for Gwern to deliver one of her customary jabs, but to her surprise, Fabian went straight to Emery.
“Are you planning to spend the night camped at this table again, hoping the potion will finish itself?”
Fantasies involving physical injury began to fill Elise’s mind as she watched Fabian sneer at Emery while Emery swallowed his pride.
Naturally, Fabian’s chief toady seized the opportunity to support him.
“It would be best if they cleaned the tables once we are done, Fabian,” Gwern chimed in, her high-pitched voice becoming increasingly intolerable to Elise’s altered senses.
“We will do just fine, if you’ll allow us to show you,” Elise said firmly in Fabian’s direction, pointedly ignoring Gwern’s comment.
But being unacquainted with the fine points of restraint, Gwern inserted herself into the exchange nonetheless.
“Who are you going to ask for help? The king or the duke?” Gwern chuckled, nudging the fairy beside her with her shoulder. “Or perhaps the Devil himself will come to lend a hand!”
Elise felt as though smoke was beginning to pour from her nose the longer the grating voice of the fairy continued. Bruno began to caw in protest, but she calmed him before he could fly at Gwern and retaliate. Elise was not yet certain what crimes a crow might commit when sufficiently offended.
“There’s no need for that. I have, in fact, prepared a few potions before,” Elise said, glad Morgaine had given her the chance to mix several brews in the Potion Room.
“So who is going to lead this table, then?” Fabian asked.
“You are looking at her, red leggings,” Elise said in a gruff voice that surprised even her.
Emery and Conrad startled at her side.
“What did you say?” Fabian muttered.
Gwern gasped, immediately finding something new to whisper about. Her entire table now seemed immersed in a brew of gossip.
“I said I would be leading this table,” Elise replied, clearing her throat.
Fabian took a deep, offended breath but held his tongue. He walked away slowly, busying himself with the inspection of the other tables, though he stole a few glances back at Elise’s.
“So what should we do now?” Conrad asked.
From what Elise had seen around the workshop, combined with Emery’s explanations and what she had read in the fairies’ manuscripts, the energy running through her blood was already stirring a few ideas. A spirit of competition quickly took hold of her.
“Bring me the ingredients the others are using.”
Conrad did as Elise ordered, and in no time the three of them were mixing ingredients and carrying their preparations to the cauldron area.
Neither Fabian nor Gwern bothered Elise’s team anymore, though from Gwern’s table she could feel a few curious gazes following her. Every so often, murmurs would rise along with one of Gwern’s pointed remarks.
It was shaping up to be a hell of a challenge, and harder still with so many watchful eyes upon her, but Elise felt a strange confidence that she would do just fine. The energy running inside her was urging her to start, to complete a few potions, to get the task done.
*****
“Wormwood, Spirits of Turpentine, Ratagam,” Elise whispered to herself as she walked to the herbarium.
She was deep in thought about the Healing Potion.
With the day passing so quickly, she was not sure her team would complete a successful brew in time.
Fabian said that the potion required one final ingredient to be effective for every soldier, and the staff had already tried everything.
Fabian had also explained that a few drops of the right potion should be able to clear one of the many glass containers of green liquid that held traces of the illness.
That was how they had tested their famous Mushroom Dust, which according to the fairy had been a small wonder when it came to protecting people who came into contact with the sick.
The incredible discovery, however, could only be produced in extremely small amounts, making it impossible to protect more than a few of the men in the king’s army.
In addition to being scarce, the dust proved largely ineffective when it came time to treat those who had already fallen ill.
The kingdom needed a miracle, and Elise was determined to assemble one from roots, leaves, and whatever else she could find in the herbarium.
The magic of the stone would not allow her to stop even if she wished to.
Not even the Dutiful Maid Potion had been so relentless.
It had to be the force of the male divinity.
She was beginning to see everyone as a rival, and at moments all she wanted was to wrestle them onto the stone floor until a few bones cracked.
Her imagination was quickly filling with delightful thoughts of a similar nature. The lingering effect of them was becoming an itch she needed to scratch one way or another.
She restrained herself as best she could, knowing full well that the only sparring she was permitted was the sort that demonstrated a talent for potion-making.
By the time she arrived at the herbarium, though, Danu’s influence felt stronger than ever. And even if at that moment she felt capable of ripping the panels from the herbarium just to rebuild a new one, she was about to face an even greater challenge.
Elise felt her mouth water and her eyes widen at the sight of an irresistible figure crossing the gardens.
It was none other than Kurt. He was on his way to the maze.