Tortured Compositions

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Roxanne's cottage was nestled in a small alcove at the center of the forest. It was a six hour walk from the nearest town, and the thick brush surrounding the cottage blocked out both wind and prying eyes. Further precautions kept the cottage virtually untouched by human outsiders. Only those told its location knew that it existed.

Kayse and Teagan approached the front door, but their eyes were on the smoke that wafted up from the chimney. A cautious test of the air warned Kayse that something not-quite-humane was cooking within. She exchanged a grim look with Teagan. The smoke could only mean one thing: Roxanne was in a foul, frenzied mood. Being late, as they were, did not help.

Kayse bit her lip, then steeled herself and went inside.

Instantly, the smell of unnatural fumes shoved its fists through her chest. Kayse covered her nose and mouth with her sleeve and gagged silently. What was Roxanne making? The usual concoctions were never this repelling. She wiped at her eyes, then turned at a loud thunk and found Teagan sagging against the door. His fingers clung to the wood like a trapped animal, and a thin sheen of moisture clung to his forehead. She winced and motioned for him to go sit down, moved by the sick, watery look in his eyes. It was probably best she deal with Roxanne alone.

Kayse moved unsteadily toward the back of the living room. Dirty black curtains hung from an empty door frame, acting as makeshift privacy to the kitchen behind them. Both sides of the curtains were stained with old smoke and blood, and they smelled like rot. Kayse wrinkled her nose as she parted the curtains and stepped into the kitchen. Though she held her breath, the smell crept into her sinuses and stung the back of her eyes. Her ears started to ring.

“Ah. There you are, Kayse. Come here, my dear.”

Kayse nodded and pulled the curtains shut.

Roxanne stood in the corner by the fireplace, holding a long, wooden spoon in one hand. She stood taut, tense and impatient. Despite the hard curve of her shoulders, though, she was a pretty woman: tall, slim, and rounded out in all the right places. Her lips were full and glazed with an orange tint. Long, copper hair spilled down to the hollow between her shoulder blades. Strangest of all, Kayse thought, was her age. Though she was in her late forties, she looked a day under twenty-five.

Kayse scrubbed the grime of the curtains onto her breeches as she approached Roxanne. Her eyes moved to the cauldron that hung over flickering green flames, and she hesitated. The scent that had disgusted her earlier now almost appealed to her. That alone made her wary. Cautiously, she leaned over to peer into the cauldron. A thick, sandy black substance shimmered within the bowels of its confines. It churned and hissed, and the steam billowing against Kayse's face made her ill.

“What is that?” she asked as she moved away to clear her head.

Roxanne dipped the spoon into the mixture. “A summoning potion.” Her words got lost in the cauldron. “Knowledge, of course. Not people. However, I cannot finish the potion without your help.” She glanced up at Kayse. Her long eyelashes shadowed her pupils and made her gaze intense and dangerous. “And the boy's. Tell me. Where is Teagan?”

“I told him to go sit down. He's not quite well.” Kayse's eyes traveled from Roxanne to the potion again, wary to look away too long. She felt that if she did, it might ooze over the edges of the cauldron and smother her. “What ingredients did you put in there, exactly?”

Roxanne hung up the wooden spoon and paced across the kitchen to open a cupboard that was nailed to the back wall. “Oh,” she said airily as she rummaged through a dozen different bottles of spell materials, “essence of bat blood, marrow of hog bone, the claws of a cat,” Kayse felt her insides lurch, “and a dozen spider legs.” She picked an orange colored vial among a group of green ones and rattled the contents. Inside, a teaspoon of finely ground powder shimmered like black diamonds. “Last but not least,” she continued, “is powdered tree root and human blood.”