Fearless Warrior: Isaacson Trilogy Book Two

20

Erasmus ushered everyone inside and closed the door behind Esmund before he hobbled further into the dimly lit room. "Your father told me what had happened while we waited for you to arrive."

Floor-to-ceiling bookcases lined three of the four walls in the main room, overflowing with books and scrolls of varying shapes and sizes. The room smelled of history with a lingering scent of cedar and mothballs. Dust motes floated in the narrow shafts of light streaming between faded, blue velvet curtains drawn closed over a large window.

Two narrow tables were pushed together in the middle of the room, creating an uneven workspace upon which rested bottles of every size and shape filled with liquids, powders, and several other things he'd rather not name. Esmund grimaced when he recognized what had to be hundreds of dried chicken feet in a gallon-sized jar next to a small bottle filled with a bright green-colored powder.

"Terbunicus floxim," Erasmus said, catching Esmund's gaze. He picked up the bottle of powder and handed it to Ulric, "cures baldness."

Esmund snickered, thoroughly enjoying the offended expression on Ulric's face. Then Erasmus' earlier words sank in, and the grin left his face. "Wait a minute." He looked at his father, "You knew I claimed her?"

Vernon nodded.

"Does everyone know?"

They all nodded.

Esmund turned to Ulric and scowled, "Did you tell them?"

Ulric set the bottle on the nearest shelf, quirked a brow, and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, they're just smart enough to figure it out on their own, especially after you and Elsie have been salivating over one another the past two days."

Nora covered her mouth, but not before Esmund caught the smile she was trying to hide.

Gunnar smirked and leaned against the wall. "Not to mention you rumble pretty loud when you're with her."

Esmund's eyes flew wide, and he stepped back, "You can hear it?" His body had betrayed him. All this time, he'd thought it was something only he could hear and feel.

He closed his eyes, mortified at the realization that if they could hear it, Elsie had definitely been able to hear it as well. The entire time he'd spent with her. He groaned, suddenly filled with the urge to throw up. What must she think of him?

Vernon patted Esmund on the shoulder and took a seat near the fireplace. "Don't worry; it happens to us all when we find our true mate."

"All right, enough lallygagging," Erasmus said with a single clap to get their attention. He pulled a squeaky wooden stepladder away from the bookshelf and climbed to the fourth step. "Ulric, come over here, boy, and let me look at you."

Ulric shuffled his way over, sidestepping a tall stack of books and loose paper in his way. He rolled his shoulders and scratched his head when he stood where Erasmus pointed on the floor.

"Scratching won't make your hair grow any faster, you know," Erasmus murmured, placing spectacles upon his broad nose.

He picked up a blue candle, lit the wick with a snap of his fingers, and held it in front of Ulric's face. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Erasmus smirked and turned his attention back to Ulric. "Don't look so surprised. It's a trick I've been able to do my whole life; I just choose not to be showy with it." He held up his left pointer finger and said, "Now, I want you to ignore the light and follow my finger."

Ulric sighed and rolled his eyes but obeyed. Erasmus moved his finger around in a strange pattern for several seconds. "Your father mentioned you ingested redcap spores a few days ago. Is that correct?" The candle's flame changed colors with each motion, shifting from a bright orange-white to an even brighter greenish-blue.