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“I need rejuvenation potions and whatever bolstering drinks you have for Prince Nikolai and myself,” I said quickly. “Then wolfsbane, fireweed, and ground black walnut root.” The healer just blinked at me, not that I could blame her.
“Why do you need such poisons?”
“To save Maddox,” I said frankly. “I think the illness he’s under feeds off healing magic. The more we take care of him, themore it feeds, and the more of him it takes over. If we truly want it out, we have to kill what it’s feeding from.”
“But what it’s feeding on is the patient.”
“I know,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “But this might be the only thing to save him.”
“I…” I braced myself, preparing for a fight to convince her I hadn’t lost my mind, but the woman let out a long, long sigh. “I will assemble our staff to help.”
I nodded, pacing around Mad Dog’s bed, not quite hyping myself up, but readying myself by taking in everything I possibly could.
A different healer arrived a few moments later, carrying a tray chock full of vials and bottles. It seemed our drinks had arrived.
“I made sure to have one of each for both of you,” they said as they handed a bottle to Kai, then me. “This is the rejuvenation potion.”
“Thanks,” I said before I downed it quickly. Almost at once, I felt a fizzy wave go through me, and I was finally able to stand upright.
“This is a healing tea from one of our staff trained in the southeast. It should help with the sickness from the last time.”
I took it, trying not to flush as I recalled the scene I’d indeed caused before. They had to think I was absolutely batshit.
Oh well, something to worry about another time. I had a friend to save.
I downed two more, trying not to wince at the bitterness but still filled with new warmth. I was beginning to feel a bit more normal, and I’d need every ounce of energy I could get.
“This next one is an enervating tea.” We drank it. “This is an alternate rejuvenation potion we use for those who have an allergy to calendula.” Drank it. “This last one is a honey lozenge a druid left us after we treated a bad ear infection. It has healingproperties, and we used them during our long shifts to keep ourselves alert.”
Well, it was certainly novel.
Nodding, Kai and I both popped them in our mouths. By the time we’d finished our literal buffet of magical aids, more healers were arriving with medical trays, some with new IV bags, some with tools, and one with the ingredients I had asked for.
As much as I hated the capital, I was certainly appreciative of their herb supply. They probably had thousands and thousands of ingredients they never used, as money or growing season weren’t an issue for them. The things I could do if I had access to as much of a bounty at Canid…
“Thank you,” I said, approaching the tray with what I needed. Taking the wolfsbane, I laid it in the bottom of the alabaster bowl sitting next to the ingredients. Pressing a single finger to its edge, I channeled my magic through it, filling it with thoughts of famine, of pestilence. When I was sure the energy was thoroughly infused, I moved onto the fireweed.
It was a pretty thing: an orange, yellow, and purple flower with a bird-like plume. I ripped the petals off it and scrunched them in my hand, their oils dribbling out across my palm and fingers. Once I was sure they’d coated my hands, I dropped them in the bowl, too.
Last but not least, the ground black walnut root. I pinched some between my oil-covered fingers and sprinkled it into the bowl, going round and round until I was at the top.
“Once I do this, we start,” I told the room, “And we don’t stop until Mad Dog is healed.” My eyes flicked over to the healer who’d jabbed me previously. “Understood?”
“Understood.”
“Kai, I need you to stand by Maddox’s head. I’m going to come to you, and I’ll need you to hold me like before.”
He nodded. “Understood.”
“What I am about to do seems like it goes against so many of our healing practices, but I promise all of you, this is what’s needed. We are not losing our patient today.”
There were murmurs of affirmation as I drew in a deep breath. Was I crazy for going off of a single curse I’d read about less than an hour earlier? Maybe. But I was sure it’d given me the right idea. I’d been elbow deep in the sickness devouring my friend from the inside out, and although I hadn’t realized the connection earlier, I knew I was on the right track now.
With everyone braced, I placed my oil and ground bark-covered hand in the bowl, pressing it flat against the materials within. Concentrating, I channeled my magic down my arm, willing it to heat. Toburn.
Hardly daring to breathe, I pushed my magic through every fiber of the ingredients, filling it more and more until they all combusted. In any other circumstance, I’d have burned right along with it, but it was quite different when I caused the blaze.
Smoke wafted up from the bowl, filling my nostrils with an awful, acrid scent, but I didn’t stop until everything was ash and oil.
