Chapter 27
Elysia was throwing trowels and rummaging through seed pouches to no avail.
This was the death realm, was it not? So why had this man only gifted her nice plants?
She needed snapping plants, poisonous plants, and ones that could be ground into fine powders meant for diabolical ends.
Frustrated, she chucked another pouch filled with peony seeds across the greenhouse.
No one ever pulled a god’s head from their ass with peonies.
“Looking for something?” Dry humor coated Maya’s words as she leaned against a workbench.
Elysia scowled at her, in no mood for jokes. “Obviously,” she muttered.
Maya untied her cloak, dropping it onto a table, and smirked as she walked over. She tapped the crumpled letter from the fates, which was resting on a shelf near Elysia, with a black-smudged finger. “The fates are meddling again, then.”
“According to them, they don’t meddle at all.”
Maya snorted, glancing over the note’s contents. “I take it you haven’t shown this to Aidan yet.”
“No, I’ve been a little busy.” She grunted as she lifted and released a heavy box of seeds onto the table. Sorting through them, she shoved at the box. “This is useless. I need something, something explosive.”
Maya rummaged through the seed pouches, humming as she did so. “I could help.”
Elysia’s mouth flattened. “And what do you want in return?”
“Come now, I’m supposed to mentor you. What did you think I’d be mentoring you in? All that mushy emotional magic you’re doing with Aidan and the new arrivals?”
Elysia wasn’t convinced. “What type of magic do you work with, anyway?”
Maya didn’t answer, instead grabbing Elysia by the wrist. “All kinds. Come on, take a break. You’ve never visited my cottage, and I can tell you more about your magic. Did Aidan even explain what you’re really doing?”
No, no, he hadn’t.
Elysia threw her coat back on and followed Maya to her small stone cottage.
The stark contrast to the reddish-brown brick buildings with iron accents everywhere else in the city piqued Elysia’s curiosity.
The cottage’s chimney puffed happily, and the door was painted a dark burgundy with both dried flowers and nails hanging from its center.
To the right of the cabin were several plots of tilled land that Elysia imagined Maya used for plants in warmer weather.
Stomping her boots on the porch, Maya unlocked the front door and Elysia followed her in, looking around and breathing in the smoky air.
Maya immediately checked on several tinctures and paused at the stove to stir something that did not look remotely edible.
Satisfied her work was progressing, she grabbed a bottle, popped off the cork and poured out two small glass goblets.
“Woodland berry wine. Tart, but good.” She set one down in front of Elysia before taking her own seat.
Elysia sniffed the wine before sampling it, her face screwing up in shock at how sour it was.
Maya laughed, her gray eyes dancing. “Maybe it’s an acquired taste.” Standing up, she walked over to an apothecary cabinet and began to pull out drawers, talking to herself as she piled more and more ingredients into a jar.
Watching her gave Elysia a disturbing flashback to the old meela in Kava. Slamming the last drawer shut, Maya turned around and placed the jar between them before settling back into her chair. “Grim said the Kava boys want to light up a temple? These will do the job when mixed appropriately.”
Elysia nodded, holding up the jar to peer at its contents. “Rollie is probably five steps ahead of me, but just in case.”
Maya took a long pull of her wine, not even wincing as the sour alcohol went down. “Your goal is to destroy the temple or to garner the attention of the gods?”
Elysia fidgeted with the goblet before taking a breath. She’d been sitting on a thought all day, afraid to ask Aidan since he hadn’t brought it up when it seemed like there had been an obvious opening. Finally looking at Maya, she kept her voice even, disinterested almost.
“When I extracted the pain from a newcomer today, I was able to hold it as raw energy, and the river transmuted it to support the realm.” The rocks in her lap had been clods of hardened soot—giant hunks of raw magic waiting to be used.
A slow smile worked its way across Maya’s face. While the woman normally wore floaty flower dresses and boots for mucking through the forest, there was something in her eyes that always reminded Elysia to mind herself, to pay attention when in Maya’s presence.
“You want me to teach you how to use the raw power.”
“Is that possible?”
“You’d be amazed at what I can teach you, Parker.” Maya crossed her arms, considering the task before them. “That type of training will take more than the time you have before visiting the mortal realm.”
Elysia deflated but nodded. “I figured. It’s one thing to assist the dead in removing their burdens, but mortals are still living.
I can’t go around relieving them of their pain.
I just figured there had to be another way to, I don’t know, find excess energy, and use it. ” She frowned, maybe it was too crazy.
Maya placed her hand on top of Elysia’s. “Allow me to be your guide. I will teach you what Aidan can’t, and I promise, when you’re ready, nothing will stop you.”
Her mouth was moving, agreeing to Maya’s offer before she could form a thought. “Teach me. Show me what I can do.”
Even while under the laws of Kava and her father’s thumb, she had trained, plotted, and ensured she never felt entirely powerless.
But her trip to Bellia had left her afraid, all too aware of her current disadvantage.
Luckily, she knew that even the most mediocre of natural talent could be trained into something greater with enough discipline and devotion.
Maya swept up the glasses and bottles. “Good, it’s settled.
I always wanted an apprentice.” She grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled out instructions that she dropped into a small drawstring pouch along with a few handfuls of glass balls.
“Follow those carefully. Aidan will murder me if you blow yourself up.”
Elysia grabbed her loot, heading for the door. “Don’t worry, I’ve made poisons before, it’s practically the same thing, right?”