She suddenly seems to recall that she isn’t here to gossip. ‘Right, little Orry. Where does it hurt, my brave little man?'
I crouch down in front of him when he doesn’t answer.
‘Can you point to where it hurts?' I ask.
The child pats his stomach, and I nod. 'Very good. Has he eaten anything odd or out of the ordinary lately?'
His mother shakes her head. 'No, but he's been complaining for two nights now.'
I nod. 'And he's passing water, emptying his bowel?’
'Aye, though the second has been a bit of a struggle at times.'
'I see.'
I go to the cupboard and bring out some of the herbs that I still don't have names for but know by their look and scent. To make sure, I smell them both before grinding them together in the black stone pestle and mortar until they’re the consistency of a coarse powder, which I then put into a small pot and stopper with beeswax.
'Here,' I say. ‘Sprinkle this on hisfood. It will get things moving. But do come back if he's not well by tomorrow evening and we can try something stronger. Make sure that he eats fruits and vegetables with every meal.'
Claudia nods and takes the pot from me gingerly. She gives me an approving sort of look, as if I’ve passed some test in her eyes. She takes the boy’s hand, gives us both a nod and leaves without another word.
As the door closes, Jak gives me a wink. 'That was very well done, Bryn,' he says. ‘Claudia will tell everyone about you. It won't be long before they're coming to you and asking for your help instead of mine. Soon, they’ll see you as a friend to them.'
A sense of well-being washes over me, and I give him a wide smile. I'm well on my way to beginning my new life here. It's only the training that I must endure with Voss, and the fact that I must help catch Fiana that weigh on me now. The Dark Realms and the pits feel like another life.
I glance at him slyly. ‘Thanks,Fae Jak.’
He gives me a long-suffering look.
‘Why does she call you that?’ I ask, unable to hide my amusement.
He hangs his head and sighs loudly.
‘It’s what everyone here calls me.’
I raise my brows in question, my grin widening. ‘Why?’
‘Because, down the way there’s another Jak. AhumanJak. So, to differentiate between us, they named me Fae Jak.’
I laugh. ‘Why not Healer Jak, or call the other Jak ‘Human Jak’?’
Jak snorts. ‘That would be fairer. I was here first, for fuck’s sake!’
I can’t stifle the laugh that explodes out of me.
‘Fuck off,’ Jak growls good-naturedly. 'Here.’
He hands me a piece of parchment with four lines of writing on it.
‘Want to come to the Trading Post and pick up these herbs with me? If you can stop laughing at my expense for five minutes, that is.'
'What are they for?' I ask, gazing down at the confusing jumbles of letters, though I can now recognize the ones that make up my name within the various words from the dreams I’ve been having every night of the white room.
He sidles closer to me and points at each in turn, going down the list as his body presses against mine in a seemingly innocuous way.
My breathing hitches a little and, when I can’t help the shiver that runs through me, I hope he doesn’t notice.
Did he just smell me?
