Trial by Fire

Lily sat up in Rowan’s bed, miffed. She felt like every time she used magic, she woke up twelve hours later wondering what bus had hit her. There had to be a way to do magic and remain conscious—and out of Rowan’s arms.

She made his bed and thought about how he had treated her last night. Like he cared about her. It was misleading of him to rub her back, tuck her in, and still think she was evil. Or maybe he was only nice to her because he needed her to do magic. The thought made Lily go still for a moment. She set aside the small, chilled feeling that settled in her heart and got dressed. Whatever Rowan thought of her, she’d still done something good. Her magic had given people clean water.

She washed her face in the bathroom and thought about the water purification ritual. She knew what herbs they’d used—bay, rosemary, thyme, hyssop—and which elements—carbon, chalk, sand, and silver. Lily knew enough chemistry to know that none of these things would really treat dirty water and make it drinkable. She could see the change she’d made in the chemicals, though. She hadn’t created any new elements. She’d only recombined them. It had to be some sort of science, she figured, just not one she’d had ever encountered before.

Lily went out to the main room to find Tristan, Caleb, and Rowan sitting around the kitchen table, the remains of a big breakfast spread out before them. Rowan’s shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and his hair was pushed up funny in the back, as if he’d been rumpling it with his fingers. Lily looked away quickly when he noticed her watching him.

Caleb lifted his mug to salute. “There she is!” He grinned at her, and Lily found herself grinning back. Caleb looked big and scary when he just sat there, but when he smiled he looked like a giant teddy bear. If teddy bears had muscles like sacs of coconuts, that is. “The sachem thanks you for your donation to the rebel front and would like to encourage you to—wait, what did he say?” He looked at Tristan, who shrugged. “Something fancy about doing well.”

“I take it Alaric’s okay with me learning to be a witch?” she asked. Lily went into the kitchen and poured herself some tea.

“I made pancake batter for you. You hungry?” Rowan asked, standing. Lily nodded and took a seat on top of the island in the kitchen while Rowan crossed to the stove. She could tell he was trying to change the subject.

“The sachem is very happy you’re learning to be a witch. Especially if you keep the water purifier coming,” Caleb said. “Even better? We could really use some of those tabs that rid the body of infection. There’s a fever going around.”

“It’s bad,” Tristan added, looking at Rowan. Lily saw Rowan’s brow pinch with worry before Caleb continued.

“And he wants you to know that he understands that you need to go home, and in exchange for your help, he’s trying to locate the shaman for you. I’ll let you know when we find him.”

“Thanks. Why do I need the shaman?” Lily asked over the edge of her mug of tea. Rowan poured four dollops of batter into a skillet and sprinkled blueberries in them. “I love blueberries,” she whispered. He smiled to himself—he already knew as much—and picked up a spatula.

“Rowan and I are Coven trained. And so is Caleb—well, a bit,” Tristan said, waving a hand to include Caleb and Rowan. “None of us have any idea how to spirit walk. Maybe two people in the whole world do, actually. You have to see a shaman for that, and there’s only one full shaman left.”

“What is spirit walking?” Lily asked. “I’ve heard you all talking about it, but I don’t think I understand it yet.”

“It’s where you separate your body and spirit and send your spirit elsewhere,” Rowan replied. “Even other universes.”

“Is it like astral projection?” Lily guessed. No one understood what she was asking. “No one knows how to spirit walk except for the shaman? Aren’t there more than one?”