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He was rubbing them when he landed at the bottom. Maeve was near her worktable. Sheba stood guard on the sink counter behind her.
“I could have told you not to bother. You’ve got shoulders like an SUV and both my stairwells are too narrow for you.
She drew close. “All right. So, I need to bump up my witchiness if we’re going to be able to reach Kiara’s cell.”
“If you can make telepathic contact with Kiara from here, she might be able to help us both get through. Just a thought.”
“Better communication can’t hurt. But the real problem is that I need to strengthen the spell I use to roll back Veyda’s security spell. In fact, to have even the smallest chance of busting her out of that place, that’s what we’ll need. It’s been as difficult to make my way out of the spell as to get to her in the first place. If we’re caught as a team, we’d be in real trouble.”
“Where do we start?” This was her world.
She turned away from him and headed to her worktable. “While you were showering, I gathered a few herbs, powders, stuff I know has made a difference before.” She then frowned. She drew a metal box close to her mortar. “Then there’s this.”
Braden joined her at the table. He lifted the lid. A clear plastic case was inside containing a familiar, green powder. “So, this is your stash of emerald flame?”
She was stone serious as she met his gaze. “I know you’re opposed, but my instincts tell me we’ll need to use this.”
The drug was rampant in Savage. Alpha Warren had said the main cartel producing and distributing the drug in Savage had taken over two packs in the past few months alone. “It’s one of the worst flame drugs ever created.”
“Except for one thing. When used in really small doses, it can do some good.”
Emerald flame had been a curse in Savage from the time Braden had entered as an alter wolf. When he’d become an alpha and established his own pack, one of his rules was no drugs, emerald or otherwise. “I don’t want to do it this way.”
“Drugs aren’t inherently bad. The abuse of them is. I’m not condoning casual use, either. But for medicinal enhancement, I’m a proponent.”
“This isn’t medicinal. You’re talking the enhancement of your powers.”
“Maybe. The truth is, I don’t know why it works. I also know Veyda uses this drug in a similar way, though in much larger doses. I smelled it on her that night.”
“You never saw her, but you smelled her.”
“Yes. She stood near me the entire time. I’m telling you, I could smell her. And I could smell emerald flame.”
“This is a slippery slope.”
She compressed her lips. “Here’s what I know. I ended up killing women the second week I was in Elegance Territory. Before that, I had a hard time killing flies. I think it’s one of the reasons I do the rescues. I’m trying to make up for what I did. I hate being here, being an alter witch. Half the time, my mind races in circles I’m so upset. But if it takes a small particle of emerald flame to save Kiara’s life, I’ll do it and won’t think twice about it. Or use it in an infuser to complete your healing.
“We’re dealing with an enemy deeply entrenc
hed in the dark arts. She has her watchdog on our asses. The park incident is proof. If I don’t do this and we go in blind, we’re all dead.”
Braden turned away from her, hands on hips. This wasn’t a simple thing she was proposing, not in his books. He turned back to her. “This is against everything I believe in, everything I fight against as a Border Patrol officer. I want a drug free state.”
“I know. But this is fire-with-fire. Also, I’m the one at risk, not you.”
“I thought this would be for both of us. We’d both be taking whatever potion you created.”
She shook her head. “This is essentially a witch battle.” Her lips curved. “You’re the muscle and gorgeous muscle at that. But the rest is on me.”
All right, he liked the compliment. “Don’t try to flatter me.”
“One more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I haven’t done this before.”
He laughed out loud. “Wait a minute. You’re proposing going into battle, high on a drug you’ve never tried before.”
