Page 59 of The Robin on the Oak Throne

He grimaced. “Doesn’t work like that.”

“Fine. More specifically, I want to know why my memories of my parents were taken.”

“You’ll need a direction, too.”

“How do we give it direction?” Graves asked.

Rizz looked up at him in surprise as if just remembering he was here. “Intent.”

Graves grinned. “Ah, yes. You need to use the magical intent to push it toward what you want.”

“I mean, intent.” He dropped another bottle on the counter. “Probably can push it in the direction you want.”

Kierse frowned. Two bottles and still no memory potion. “Do you have the memory part?”

“Right!” He muttered to himself in Mandarin as he reached deeper into the depths of the cabinet. “Sold one of these already. So I just have the one.” He dropped it onto the counter. “Not cheap.”

“We’re good for it,” Graves said.

“Right. Right.”

“What’sinthem?” Kierse asked, picking up a bottle and inspecting the little thing.

Rizz shrugged. “I didn’t make them. They were payment for something else.”

Niamh held the now-quiet baby against her chest and grabbed one of the bottles from the counter. “Do you mind?” She plucked the top off the “smoother” and sniffed. “Rosemary for protection. Mandrake root for healing. Moonstone dust, usually for divination, but I would guess here it’s for intuition. And a mix of water and oils. I bet it tastes great.” Niamh stoppered the bottle and set it back down. “Probably from a healing witch. Looks real to me.”

“There you have it,” Rizz said with a shrug.

Niamh inspected the other bottles and proclaimed them all real magic. The market would have a lot to answer for if someone were selling faulty goods.

“All right,” Kierse conceded. “So I take it in this order.”

Rizz nodded. “Smoother. Intent. Memory. Then find a soft surface and prepare to see what you hope to see. But remember I’m not responsible for what you see. How much or how little or if it’s what you want or if you don’t like theoutcome.”

“Got it.”

“And no refunds,” his partner called out.

“Right.”

“Anything else?” Rizz asked with a worried glance to his wife.

“No. This is all we require,” Kierse said.

She took the little bottles in her hands and hoped after all she’d gone through to get it that this was the answer she had been looking for.

Chapter Nineteen

A chair clattered over as Gen jumped to her feet anxiously when they entered the apartment. She looked as if this was the first breath she had taken in hours. Her oldest, most-worn tarot deck was laid out in front of her. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Kierse confirmed.

“The cards…” She shook her head. “They didn’t like the market. It was like I was blocked by its magic from scrying you.”

Niamh patted her shoulder. “It’s a pocket of ancient energy.”

“I didn’t like it. I don’t think you should go back into that place.”

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