Ashes of the Wise: A Young Adult Fae Fantasy (Earth Magic Rises Book 2) by A.L. Knorr

Author:A.L. Knorr [Knorr, A.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Intellectually Promiscuous Press
Published: 2020-01-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I woke to the sound of birdsong outside my window. Fyfa had shown me to a soft mattress in a loft at the back of her cottage. I had lain awake for a long time mulling over everything she’d told me, until I saw small dancing colored fireflies outside the windows––not fireflies, but faeries. Watching them flutter and float finally calmed my mind and put me to sleep.

Soft morning light filtered across the floor of the living area below. Stretching languidly, I heard soft sounds.

“Morning, Fyfa,” I said, my head still on the pillow.

A head appeared, looking up into the loft. Laec’s head.

“Not Fyfa, but good morning nonetheless,” he said. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.” I got out of bed as Laec disappeared and the sounds of his making coffee resumed again. After getting dressed in the only clothes I had (smelling less than fresh), I climbed down the ladder. I glanced down the short hallway and saw Fyfa’s bedroom door was closed. Entering the kitchen, I saw Laec leaning against the counter blowing the steam off a mug of coffee. He poured the dark fragrant liquid from a ceramic pot, set it down, and handed the mug to me.

“Stavarjak has coffee.” I took the mug and thanked him. Sniffing the steaming mug, I sighed with pleasure. “Strong. The way I like it.”

“Of course Stavarjak has coffee. Who do you think brought the coffee plant to without?” He gave me a mischievous smile over the top of his mug.

I stared at him. “Coffee is a fae plant?”

“Was. After a millennium of living without, I’m not sure how many of its fae qualities still remain.”

This was an interesting statement. I moved toward the table under the window, looking at Laec from across the counter which separated the dining area from the kitchen. “What do you mean? The fae qualities disintegrate over time?”

“Certainly. There’s not much magic to sustain a fae plant, or the fae themselves in your world.”

“But, Fyfa’s hybrid rose has been without for years, centuries. They never die and they smell incredible. I’ve yet to see their truth powers at work, but I plan to root out a lie with them at the next opportunity.” I took a sip of the coffee and almost groaned at how smooth and chocolatey it was. “This stuff is incredible.”

Laec left the kitchen to come sit beside me. “Yes, the stuff that passes for coffee in your world isn’t suitable to wash our dishes. And to your point, there are different kinds of magic. Some are stronger than others. Some won’t fade for millennia.”

“Like carbon dating,” I murmured.

“Carbon what?”

“There’s this thing that archaeologists use without to figure out how old something is. But it has to be organic; it doesn’t work on stone. I learned about it in history in grade nine. There are two types of carbon, and over time, the amount of one type breaks down. They use special instruments to measure how much carbon has gone in order to date things.”

“Not a bad metaphor, actually,” Laec admitted.

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