Aunt Maggie blinked for a moment, clearly surprised by Garon’s unusual question. “Well, I just used sauce from a jar, but I’m pretty sure it has oregano and garlic.”
“Hmm. Simon, did we learn about garlic? I remember oregano. Wasn’t that the one you can use for toothaches?”
Simon nodded. “It was. We didn’t talk about garlic, but it can help with a bunch of different things. Problem is, it makes you stinkier than you already are.”
“Hey,” Garon protested, “I’m not stinky.”
Gray put a pile of spaghetti and sauce on his plate and passed the bowl around to Simon as they all chuckled over Garon’s response. “What else did you guys talk about, kiddo?”
Garon started to answer around his mouthful of noodles, but a quick glare from Aunt Maggie had him chewing and swallowing before he spoke. “Dad, did you know Simon knows how to make medicine that doesn’t taste gross?”
“I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah, and he said that mages get a lot of headaches ’cause their magic is in their head and all, so he can make a poul—Simon, what’s that word?”
“Poultice,” Simon said.
“Right, he can make a poultice to put on your head that helps with headaches, and you don’t even have to swallow anything.”
“Garon?” Simon raised his brow, and Garon looked at his dad sheepishly.
“Well, Simon said that you still have to take gross medicine sometimes, and I have to do what you and Aunt Maggie say.”
Gray nodded his approval. “He’s right, Gar, but you know what? I’m willing to let you try what Simon recommends sometimes. But if you’re really sick, you will still have to take what the doctor gives you.”
“I know.” Garon sighed. “Hey, Dad, do you think it’s weird that mage magic gives you headaches? I mean, Simon says we have body magic that helps us shift, but it doesn’t hurt. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
It was funny how kids could get right to the heart of a matter. Simon looked around the table. “It doesn’t hurt when you shift?”
“No.” The three werewolves at the table answered simultaneously, not a moment of hesitation between them. “Well,” Aunt Maggie qualified, “it can hurt if the shift is forced, but that rarely happens. Our bodies know what to do and when we need to change.”
Simon munched on his garlic bread as he thought. Perhaps his problems with his own magic were occurring because he was forcing things too much. It was definitely something to think about.
A ringing phone interrupted his musing. They all looked around for a moment before Simon realized it was the phone Gray had given him. He had left it in the mudroom and jumped up to go answer it. Gray followed behind him.
“Hello,” Simon said after he pressed the correct button.
“Simon?”
“Yes. Who’s this?”
“It’s Cormac.”
15
“Cormac, hi! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
Cormac was a friend of Simon’s grandfather whom Simon hadn’t seen in several years. He traveled frequently, but always stopped by for a visit when he was in town. He often brought along some sort of interesting plant or spice he’d found. Simon remembered that his grandfather always looked forward to Cormac’s visits.
“I just returned from a trip and stopped in to see how your apprenticeship was progressing. I saw your note on the door and thought I should call.”
Simon wasn’t entirely sure how to explain himself. “Well, things are a bit complicated right now.” He tapped his fingers on the table in the mudroom.
“Apparently so.”
“I’m not sure I can explain it to you, Cormac. I don’t mean to be rude.”
“Simon?”
