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The basket was only one-quarter full; it felt like too little. I needed to return to Liall’s shop and buy the other medicinal herbs I saw when we were there.
After thoroughly washing a few wooden spoons, I put them inside the basket. I’d use them to apply the lindenmint paste. I located a few small, covered jars and started scooping the pungent astringent into them.
My fingers stilled, and I stared forward, remembering.
The dresalod spied me hiding in the narrow nook between the buildings. It rushed toward me, smacking its claws against the silver walls.
I cringed, whimpering, trying to shrink into myself to escape what looked like my certain death. My breathing was ragged, and my pulse pounded like a thousand drums in my ear.
Jaus was fully focused on battling the other two dresalods and couldn’t help me.
The dresalod reeled up and flung itself toward me, its claws scrambling across the silver, seeking me. Over and over, while I nearly bit through my tongue to keep from screaming. If I distracted Jaus for even a second, the dresalods he battled could hurt him.
He killed the second one just as the third struck true, its claw sinking all the way through my thigh. My guttural groan wrenched up my throat.
The beast yanked its claw free and stabbed toward me again, this time aiming for my heart. When I was dead, it could pluck me from the nook and eat me at its leisure.
I had too much to live for.
Jaus . . .
With a battle cry burning up my throat, I flung my cup of tea at the dresalod.
Shrieking, it spiraled, its front claws snapping at the air.
Where the lindenmint tea hit, its exoskeleton steamed and rippled as if it was being eaten by something highly corrosive. It collapsed on the ground, writhing.
Jaus grabbed me and pulled me out of the nook, placing me behind him.
The dresalod flipped over and sprung to its feet, spinning in a circle while its body continued to steam.
Shrieking like the dresalods did right now outside our city walls, the one in my memory rose and hobbled down the street. Jaus gave chase, his bloody mace lifted.
I collapsed on the ground and didn’t wake until days later in the palace, but I assume Jaus slayed the final beast.
But it had steamed . . .
“Did the tea cause a reaction?” I whispered, clutching the glass jar so tightly, I worried I’d crush it. “It’s not possible. A simple tea couldn’t harm a dresalod’s exoskeleton, could it?” Staring down at the poultice I’d made; I ran over the scene in my mind once more. “Maybe it was the hot water.”
But my mind kept returning to the lindenmint.
“There’s no harm in trying.”
I rushed to the kitchen and put a big pot of water on to boil, adding the rest of the lindenmint. I hated to think I could interfere with the battle with potentially useless tea, but if I ran this test, I could confirm or shoot down my theory. I just needed to make sure the brew was strong.
When it churned into a rolling boil, I simmered the tea, the minty-tangy scent filling the air and reminding me of when I was little, and my mother made us drinks we shared together. My childhood and teen years were filled with her smiles, my dad ruffling my hair, and the four of us sitting out front in the evening, staring at the stars with mugs of yummy tea in our hands.
If only something so wonderful could help my new people now.
When I felt like the water had sucked all the goodness from the tea’s leaves, I left them there rather than strain them out. Might as well go all in with this experiment. I found a cover and sealed the top of the pan.
Then, with a too-big pair of Jaus’s leather gloves protecting my hands, I carefully carried the pan down the back stairs and out onto the street.
Pandemonium greeted me, weapon-carrying orcs rushing in all directions in an attempt to protect the city.
Where was a dresalod when I needed one? Not that I’d invite one within the city walls to test my brew. Where could I do it, however?
Ah, the wall. I’d seen them carrying the injured orc down a set of stairs. If I could reach the top and avoid being injured again myself, I could dump the slurry over the side and watch. If it worked, I’d see it almost immediately, and if it didn’t, at least I’d be relatively safe on the top of the wall.
