The Autumn Prince

48. A Rose Among Thorns

Pale orange light filtered through Meridian's skylights, hinting at the autumn sunset that peered through a break in the clouds. The indoor lighting had begun to dim as well, except in the living room and other common areas, and we still had no idea how. The only light switches I'd ever found were in the office and the cottages.

Becca grimaced at the tea in her mug and passed it to Katherine who sniffed at it cautiously. "It tastes okay going down, but that bitter flavor sticks to your tongue for a while."

She had begun experimenting with the recipes in the Glim to use up our supply of herbs after it became clear we weren't dependent on Miss Gold's tea. Most of them had been basic, a remedy for a stuffy nose, or a simple pain killer, and they all worked as well or better than prescription drugs. Her latest concoction was a stress reliever, but its effects were shockingly extreme, like a heavy dose of Xanax. It wasn't a bad feeling but it suppressed all motivation for several hours, not just anxiety and depression.

"What changed?" I asked after sampling the cup Rachel passed to me. "It wasn't this bad the first time."

"The Glim gave me a few suggestions. I didn't use the magic mortar on one of the ingredients, and I prepared them in a different order. I didn't think it would affect the taste."

"I don't feel anything," I said, glad I wouldn't spend the rest of the evening drooling into a pillow.

"Well, yeah, it's not supposed to be obvious. It should feel like chamomile only better."

"Get it right and it could solve our money problems." Rachel suggested.

"Don't get your hopes up," I cautioned. "It's hard to get pharmaceuticals to market, and we can't exactly promote ourselves. We're in hiding, remember?"

"It's not a drug, just kickass herbal tea. We could set up a shop online, run a promotion or two, and all we'd have to worry about is delivery. Once word gets out, this shit will sell itself."

Becca smiled at her before looking back at her cup. "Nobody's going to spend money on this flavor."

"It wouldn't hurt to look into it," Katherine said, "and in the meantime you can keep working on it. I think it's a good idea."

We fantasized about an online shop for a while, and though I didn't think it was viable the idea appealed to me. We just had to keep our heads down, reduce the potency to avoid unwanted attention from the big pharmaceutical companies, and make sure our identities were never associated with the product. Success meant at least a partial solution to our financial woes, especially since our budget didn't include extras like clothing, gifts, or big ticket items. If I dropped my phone in the river, we'd need a month's worth of living expenses to replace it.

In hindsight, Becca's tea might have done Amy more good than I had, but I didn't regret helping her. I'd spent the last several weeks grieving, planning, wishing, accepting, but never believing that I could escape the shadow of the Fae. Then, in a near inconsequential moment, I saw the poison in me become a solace for someone I cared about. She'd pay a price, there was no escaping that, but conceding that silver lining forced me to address thoughts and conversations that had been rendered dormant since that night under Stewart Hall, when I learned the nature of the monster within.

Rachel had also been dealing with her demons. I was cleaning the kitchen just before bed when a series of loud bangs sounded outside and I ran, Katherine following close behind, to find the source. We burst through the side door and dashed onto the patio, only to see Rachel standing in the twilight, firing her pistol into a dead trunk on the far bank of the river.

"Good lord," Katherine breathed, leaning heavily on my arm. "I thought something was attacking us."

Rachel emptied the weapon, and pulled little foam plugs from her ears as she turned. "You guys want to try?" My heart continued thudding as I approached her. In some ways that gun had done more damage to Rachel than it had to Katherine, but having looked down its barrel twice before I couldn't avoid a little anxiety.