Page 39 of Brody
My fingertips tingled as I set the glass down, careful not to spill a drop.The world around me sharpened into crystalline focus, colors more vibrant, sounds more distinct.It was as if I could feel each individual neuron firing in perfect harmony, pathways connecting that had been fragmented moments before.
“How is this possible from such a small dose?”I asked.
“It’s the COL water,” he replied.
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve concocted several versions of the tonic.And the samples without the COL water did not have the same impact on Logan’s pre-feral symptoms as the tonic with the COL water,” he explained.“But I can’t shake the feeling that something is still off with my tonic, like it’s missing a vital component.”
I leaned against the counter, my fingers already sketching invisible molecular structures in the air.My heart raced as connections formed, hypothesis building upon hypothesis in rapid succession.That familiar electric current raced along my spine, the feeling that had accompanied every major breakthrough in my career.“Let’s talk it through together and figure it out.”
“What are you experiencing right now exactly?”Brody asked, watching me with keen interest.
I closed my eyes, cataloging the sensations.“Enhanced sensory perception.A sense of harmony between my human consciousness and my cheetah.”Opening my eyes, I met his gaze.“It’s remarkable.”
“And temporary,” he added with a hint of frustration.“Without the right botanical balance, the effects fade within hours.”
“Have you tried using just the COL water alone?Without any botanical additions?”I asked.
His expression darkened slightly.“You asked exactly the right question.Yes, the COL water was drunk straight.It was the first thing I tested after discovering the Mother Spring.”
“I’m guessing it didn’t go well,” I said, noting the tension in his shoulders.
“It was… intense.”He moved to the workbench, absently tracing a finger along the edge.“The pure water created an immediate effect.Logan’s tremors stopped completely, his inner animal calmed, his mind cleared.For about two hours, I thought I’d found the miracle cure.”
“But?”I prompted when he paused.
“But then it crashed.Hard.”His jaw tightened at the memory.“His symptoms came back worse than before, tremors so violent he couldn’t hold a glass, his inner animal so close to the surface that he nearly shifted in the middle of Main Square.When I tried again the next day, the effect lasted half as long.By the third attempt, he was getting maybe twenty minutes of relief, followed by hours of intensified symptoms.”
“Like an addiction response,” I murmured.“The body develops a tolerance.”
“That’s what I thought at first.But when I started experimenting with my grandma Una’s botanical formulations, something different happened.”He pulled out a weathered journal page protected in a plastic sleeve.“The effects weren’t as dramatic, but they lasted longer and didn’t create that crash effect.”
My mind was racing now, connecting dots.
“The water creates the same effect as the initial mate recognition,” I said, the theory forming as I spoke, “but without something to sustain that connection…”
“It fades quickly, like a mate bond that isn’t completed,” he finished, relief visible in his expression as I understood.“Una seemed to grasp this intuitively.Her journal entries talk about anchoring and binding the water’s properties.”
I reached into my backpack, pulled out a blank notebook, and began sketching a diagram of the human-beast relationship.“The botanicals in your tonic must act like a temporary mate bond.They maintain the harmony that the COL water creates, much like a real mate would do permanently.”
Brody retrieved another fragile page from Una’s journal.“She believed the COL water and certain plants evolved together symbiotically.‘The Mother Spring nurtures specific plants that, in turn, complete its healing properties.Neither is whole without the other.’”
I paused my sketching, the concept clicking into place.“The water activates compounds in specific botanicals?—”
“And those botanicals stabilize the volatile elements in the water,” Brody finished, stepping closer to examine my diagram.“That’s why drinking the pure Mother Spring water gives that amazing but temporary effect.”
“It’s like building a bridge with only support cables and no roadway,” I said, adding to my sketch.
“Exactly.”His gaze fixed on me with an intensity that made my heart rate quicken.“You understand what took me months to figure out.”
I shrugged, uncomfortable with his admiration.“Neural chemistry is my specialty.We don’t just need the COL water—we need to identify which botanical compounds stabilize its effects most effectively.”
“And that,” Brody said, his lips curving into a subtle smirk that did dangerous things to my heart rate, “is why I needed you here.Una’s traditional knowledge combined with your neurochemical expertise.”
My cheetah stretched beneath my skin, pleased by his acknowledgment.“When we visit the Cradle of Life, we should collect plants growing near the spring.If they evolved symbiotically?—”
“They’d be perfect stabilizers,” he finished quietly.“I knew you were the right person for this.”
