Page 17 of Of Potions and Honey
Another bark, and this time, a response came from just behind the bend.
“Is that dog leashed?”
Kayden shared a glance with Mira and grabbed Poppy’s collar. “She’s under control.”
They stopped and watched as two people rounded the bend, a short woman with a pinched, white face, and a taller man with a shock of red hair in a fashionable haircut. Both of them were wearing walking suits that screamed ‘we only just got these for our holiday’, and the man was carrying a lumpy messenger bag. They didn’t seem too happy to be here, glancing left and right into the woods. A few feet away, they came to a halt.
“Excuse me.” The woman looked them up and down. “You’re locals?”
Mira opened her mouth, then closed it again. Technically yes, but whatever they needed, she probably wouldn’t be of much help.
“We are.” Kayden sounded odd; too guarded. “Do you need help?”
“Just directions.” The woman sniffed daintily. “We heard there was a famous pond or something here.”
The man next to her looked like he had a tooth-ache, but nodded.
“The Sweetwater Spring?” Kayden pointed over his shoulder, to where he and Mira had just come from. “There’s a trail back there. Blackberry Bramble. But-”
The woman cut him off. “Thank you.”
She and her companion set off again at a brisk pace. Kayden called after them.
“Hey, that’s pretty far to start now, don’t you want to…”
They found the sign and took a sharp right, disappearing from sight.
“…wait until tomorrow.”
Mira looked after them. “That kind of tourist, huh.”
“Yeah. That kind.”
“Is the spring that far?” Mira glanced up to where the sun was still filtering through the leaves. “There’s still a few hours of light left.”
“It’s probably enough, but they’ll be cutting it close. I’ll let Emilia know, they’re probably staying at the inn. If they don’t show up for dinner, she can call a search.” He made a face. “I hope there’s not going to be a search. I’ve had a long week.”
“Why would you be needed?” Mira watched as he let go of Poppy, who began bounding ahead again. “Is she a search dog?”
“Well, if you want to call it that. She just got really good at sniffing things out after her. Ah. Accident.”
“That’s an odd side effect for sprite dust. I always thought it just made you really itchy.” Mira narrowed her eyes. “Was Uncle Lochlin making that up, too?”
Kayden chuckled. “No, that’s the case for people. With animals, it’s… Well, some do just get itchy, but usually, they react to it in some way. Change of coat colour, growing extra… bits, that sort of thing.”
“Oh, is that why I’m supposed to use it in the advanced fertiliser?” Mira wondered. “That makes a lot more sense now.”
“You do?” Kayden scratched his chin. “Honestly, I don’t know what goes into that sort of thing, that’s more Yoni’s area of expertise.” He grinned. “Hey, do you think you could mix something up that makes my tomatoes purple? That sounds like fun.”
“I… don’t know? I’m still trying to brew the things that I have actual recipes for. I’ll let you know once I get into the experimenting phase.”
“Awesome. I’m sure you’ll get there in no time.”
Mira wasn’t quite so sure about that, though she kept that to herself. Right now, the mood between them was light again, with Poppy going back and forth between them and whatever interesting things she found along the path and the afternoon sun making the day feel like early summer, rather than the middle of spring. No need to get gloomy again. And who knew, maybe the next time would finally be the charm.
Nine
“So,justoutofcuriosity, what do you need fifteen primroses for? Flower bed?”
