A. Poison in the Blood

A.5. A Secret Workshop

Keira took a seat at the table. Jane's apartment had a delightful scent of fresh flowers and herbs. Her parents were florists. Which explained how she knew so much about plants and their properties in potionmaking. They had a heated discussion about it on the way there.

"Faery murdered near mage tower. All these murders, terrible." Jane's father said somberly, reading from the paper.

Jane stirred her tea. "I wonder why crime spiked so much."

"Crimes?" Keira looked up.

"Haven't you heard?" Jane asked. "There's been a string of murders and robberies the last two weeks."

Keira's stomach twisted. "What kind of murders?"

"Besides the faery, a mermaid-"

"A kelpie was poached near swampside too," her father added.

Pixie dust, siren vocal cords, kelpie hair strands. Keira almost jumped at the realization, her mother was responsible for these crimes. Keira knew what she was making. She knew what liquid her mother tried injecting her with.

Keira's head was spinning. "That-that .....is horrible," she managed to spit out.

"Yeah, you'd think people would have stopped doing such terrible things after the Realization War." Jane paused for a moment then added in a more hopeful tone, "Well at least we have the Powerines, we should be grateful they devoted their lives to protecting us. How noble."

The statement made Keira's stomach twist even more. Jane's faith made her feel much worse then it should have. As a Powerine she was supposed to be a hero, be courageous and bring justice. But facing her mother and punishing her for her crimes sounded scary.

"Would you like some more tea Keira?" Jane's father's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I am good mr. Sundew. I need to get going anyway."

.....

And I thought the forest was easy to get lost in. Keira thought, passing an old Powerine statue for the fifth time. She sat down at the bench before the statue, looking up.

Keira looked at the sorceress's face. The statue represented the values of a hero. She wanted to break down and cry at it's feet. It just reminded her of the difficult task she might not be able to do.

Keira wiped her tears, stood up and wandered another hour or so, trying to map the city in her head. Looking for somewhere to settle for the night. Though there was no place to serve you if you didn't have money.

A white haired girl bumped into her and dropped a folded paper. Keira picked it up.

"Excuse me! You dropped-"

But she already disappeared into the crowd.

Keira opened the paper. It was a map of the city. A red circle was drawn around, what Keira assumed, was her current position, and a cross was drawn a few blocks away.

Some writing in the corner caught her eye.

You can thank me later ; )

.....

At the cross was an alleyway between a apartment building and a bar, called the Jackalope's Horn. Keira looked around, nothing but trashbins and a graffiti sprayed dead end.

Poison

Keira searched the map, maybe she missed something. A small bit of writing was next to the cross.

Press the dot on the 'i'

Keira looked at the graffiti, reached to press it. The stopped. Is this a good idea?

She stood for a minute paranoid that this was a trap, then gathered the courage to press it.

Nothing.

Was this some kind of weird prank? Keira jumped back when the wall started moving apart, revealing a small downstairs passage. Keira swallowed as she entered.

The room was dark except for a dimly lit lamp on a table in the center. Two doors led to a smaller room and a bathroom.

A letter was taped to the lamp. It read:

Keira,

I know you're scared and probably in deep turmoil right now. So I figured you can use a place to stay.

This was your ancestor's workshop, he was also a Powerine. He built this hidden place to conduct alchemy experiments. So technically this place belongs to you now.

You're gonna need this place. You need to find a way to undo your mother's mind-control. I'm sorry to put this much pressure on you, but defeating your mother is going to rely on you.

You can trust me. I'll be watching over you.

-E⏳

Her hands were shaking. This is really happening.

She took the lamp and explored the room. The one side had a kitchen/workarea and the other had a couch with a mirror next to it.

She blew the dust off the mirror, revealing a faint reflection. Her filthy, gray dress and shoulder-length black hair was in contrast with her bright green eyes.

She turned to the couch, a blanket and a pillow laid neatly folded on it. A warm bowl of rabbit stew was placed next to the pillow, with a note.

I know it's your favourite. Well at least it will become your favourite once you try it. :)

PS Recipe at the back.

Keira sat by the table and tasted the stew. She smiled then quickly spooned the rest into her mouth. Whoever wrote this letter was right, this is the best thing she ever tasted.

She glanced at the letter.

defeating your mother is going to rely on you.

While it may be peaceful now, a war awaited her