“Um. What’s that?” I pointed to a metal tool that had been left on a side table in the back of the room. “A hand saw?”
“For amputations, I assume.” Briar examined it with interest.
Okay, correction. Make that atorturedungeon. The macabre vibes were endless. In addition to the jars of teeth and chicken feet, others sat on the shelf holding something shiny like fish scales. I spotted more creepy tools intended to cut through flesh and bone.
The sudden squawk of a bird nearly had my soul leaving my body. It sat perched on the top of a shelf with large dark red wings and orange beady eyes. My brain took a moment to process the sight. Most notable, its size. The thing was three foottall at least. A long, golden beak curved down at the end like a hawk, but the type of bird was a mystery. I’d never seen anything like it.
“Salem,” Phantasia called out, still scrounging around inside the cabinet as she searched for something. “Behave.”
The monstrous bird known as Salem focused on me and pecked the air once. I inched away from his corner. Best to leave the large, mysterious creature alone.
“May I ask what’s in the cauldron?” Briar asked, peeking closer at the bubbling liquid.
“A remedy for insomnia.” She moved to a lower shelf in the cabinet. It drew attention to her tail: vibrant red with a pointed tip. “Sir Koga struggles with sleep. Too many bad memories from the war, even all these years later.”
I recalled what Onyx said about Koga once commanding a unit of warriors. He’d turned his back on that life after the former demon lord’s defeat, but echoes of that life remained. Poor guy.
“Aha, here it is.” Phantasia reappeared with a vial of dense liquid the color of stomach acid. Pale orange and sickly yellow.
“Please tell me that’s orange juice?” I asked, hopeful. Deciding I was done with the exploration of her clinic, I returned to my seat on the stool. It was safer there within the rays of sunlight. Away from the limb chopping saws and the large, possibly murderous bird. “Nothing like a shot of good ol’ vitamin C to help boost the immune system.”
“Orange juice? No.” She set the vial on the table before retrieving a small black cauldron and various glass jars with herbs and powders. “It’s bog viper venom.”
“Bog viper?” Briar asked, his curiosity piqued. At least he was enjoying himself. Torture dungeon slash mad scientist lab aside. Actually… probablybecauseof those things.
“A type of serpent,” she explained. “Roughly fifteen feet in length and with a nasty bite. Their venom, however, can be used to craft strong pain-fighting elixirs and healing potions. If you’re fortunate enough to catch one without becoming its dinner, anyway.”
I gulped. “No thanks. I’ll pass.”
Amusement touched her lips. “Then I suggest not wandering off into any swamps during your stay. Their nasty temperament is worse toward humans.”
“Hear that?” I looked at Briar. “When we see Thane again, we can’t tell him about bog vipers. Because he’ll want to go find one.”
“Indeed, he would.” Briar came to stand beside me. His wandering gaze along the far wall told of his desire to investigate more though. At Phantasia’s confusion, he explained, “My apprentice from Bremloc often gathers insects, specifically highly lethal and deadly beetles, to extract their toxins for medicine.”
Her eyes narrowed. “He harms them?”
“No.” Briar shook his head. “He gains their trust and extracts without causing any damage to them.”
“Sounds like a human I wouldn’t mind meeting.” She added purple powder to a wooden bowl, along with a pinch of salt, some basil, and the petals of a white flower before using a mortar to grind it all together. Once ground down, she dumped it into the cauldron, along with a few drops of venom from the vial and stirred. “This will not taste pleasant, but it’ll help.”
“I have to drink it?” I felt nauseated at the thought. “Won’t the venom hurt me?”
“Drink it, yes. Hurt you, no.” She sprinkled a shimmery dust into the cauldron that caused a littlepopof smoke, added a dash of dark blue liquid from another vial, and gave it another stir. “After, you will feel better. Trust.”
I did trust her. Lake had been a bloody mess after the mercenaries attacked. He might not have been with us if not for her help.
“You healed Lake’s wounds,” Briar said, his mind in the same place as mine. “I’ve seen the scars on his back. More so, the lack thereof. Many have faded. I thought it because of him being a demi-human, but even with their advanced healing, injuries such as his would’ve had him bedridden for days. You say I’m skilled, yet your skills far surpass mine.”
“Our magic is different in this realm,” she responded. “The dark wood is a place of high arcane energy, allowing us access to a greater mana source. We also have marvelous creatures that your world lacks, like the bog vipers. Your demi-wolf was struck by a particularly vile laceration spell. It held powerful anti-healing properties that prevented the skin from fusing back together. No ordinary magic could’ve stopped the bleeding.”
“How did you?” Briar asked, his fascination apparent.
“Tears of a phoenix.” Phantasia stepped over to Salem, who had flown over to the windowsill, and caressed the feathers along his neck, a serene expression on her face. “Without it, your companion would’ve taken his last breath that night.”
A bout of nausea having nothing to do with the potion I was about to drink plummeted to my gut. I’d been so close to losing Lake. Closer than I’d thought.
“The fire spell had those anti-healing properties as well?” Briar rested his hand on my nape and fiddled with the ends of my hair. “It’s why even the strongest elixirs in my arsenal couldn’t fully mend Evan’s wounds?”
