The Witch's Secret by Stacie Murphy

Author:Stacie Murphy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2024-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

Bonnie remained frozen for a long moment in the wake of his departure, then sprang to her feet with an air of furious resolve. “I’ll go find someone to send after Lang. I’ll—”

“You stay with her.” I moved toward the door. “I’m already dressed. I’ll go over to the Rangers’ station and ask them to send someone.” I wanted to stop at the apothecary as well. The doctor would send his powders, and we would give them to her, but there must be more I could do. Healing had never been my gift, but I had to try. Stars knew will and focus wouldn’t be a problem. The little bit of magic I had reclaimed had to be enough.

An hour later, I was back. Bonnie had been back downstairs at some point—there was a sign on the door: CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS. I went straight through the darkened dining room to the kitchen with my bundle.

I found a pot to make the potion and laid the herbs out on the worktable.

They hadn’t been grown, harvested, dried, or stored the way I’d been taught they should. But, I reminded myself sternly, it didn’t matter. All the strictures around the making of potions were ways of building belief, of reinforcing the notion that the spells involved would work. None of them, if Josiah was right, had anything to do with the magic itself. Focus, will, and power. Those were the only things that mattered.

If I allowed myself to doubt I could make a healing potion, it would undercut my will and focus, and I wouldn’t be able to do it. To counteract any worries about the herbs, I’d tried to choose ingredients that had some medicinal purpose among the Mundanes. Vervain and chamomile, snakeroot and lemon balm. The apothecary, who had been hard at work mixing the powders Dr. Shaver had ordered, said they were mostly willow bark, or I would have included that as well. I also bought a vial of oil of peppermint. Mixed with cooking oil and rubbed on Samantha’s feet and the back of her neck, it would help cool her fever without chilling her.

Bonnie came down while I was heating the water. “What are you doing?”

“Making a tonic,” I said. “Dr. Shaver’s powders are on their way, but hopefully this will do some good in the meantime. How is she?”

“The same.” Bonnie wrapped her arms around herself. Her voice was tight as a bowstring. “What did they say at the Rangers’ office?”

I grimaced. “They say the Harris place is close enough that if the fugitives were there, Doyle and Garvey will be back with them tonight, so there’s no point sending anyone out after them.” I glanced at her. “Hopefully they’re right. If not, I’ll go ask them again tomorrow morning.”

Bonnie looked no happier with this answer than I had been when I heard it, but there was nothing we could do. She hovered as I chopped herbs for the potion. I needed her out

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