Sarabande: River of Falcons Book 4

60. Poison

"Hi, Arnica, thanks for meeting us," Drift said, giving her a hug. "I wasn't sure you'd get my sending."

Arnica gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Of course I did," she said. "Tut tut," she added, turning to examine the others. "Summer, Sarai and June, you've all lost your magic? How did this happen? Well, never mind. You can tell me all about it in the morning. Let's see if we can fix you up. Come on, Onuma's waiting at the well."

They were standing outside of Arnica's cottage in the darkness. It still smelled like rain was on its way.

"Okay," Drift said, "but first, can you tell me about Yew? Is it sometimes used to mask a person's magic?"

"Um, excuse me," Ubi interrupted. "Drift, do you need me for this part?"

"Yew?" Arnica asked in surprise. "Why?"

"Um, Drift?" Ubi persisted. "If you fix their magic, then you won't need me to help you get them back to the Palace, right?"

Drift glanced at Ubi and nodded. "Sure. I'm fine. You can go back now if you want. Best to have you there to help the others guard the gate. Thanks!"

Ubi nodded. "Okay," he said. "See you later. Oh, and Drift?"

"What?"

"Be careful!" He gave her an unexpected hug.

"What's that for?" Drift asked.

"Just in case," Ubi explained, and Drift was surprised to see a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Bye." He shimmered into his Peregrine form again and flapped off into the night.

"Yew is poisonous, Drift," Arnica pointed out, returning to their conversation. "You shouldn't ever give it to anyone. Very tricky stuff."

"But does it mask your magic?" Drift persisted.

"Excuse me, Drift," Summer interrupted. "Should we go to the well now?"

"Yes, thanks. Please go on ahead. I need to talk to Arnica about something. We'll catch up in a moment."

June frowned. "Can't it wait?" she asked.

"It's all right," Summer said. "Come on." She led June and Sarai down the path, leaving Drift and Arnica to talk.

"But if you use just a little bit of Yew, what does it do?" Drift asked.

Arnica frowned. "Well, let me think. In normal people, even a little bit is enough to poison them. They'd feel very sick."

"But in a magic-worker?"

"Their magic would prevent the Yew from poisoning them."

"And while they were processing the poison, would they be able to use their magic for other things?"

"No, I don't think so. It would leave them temporarily unable to work magic. I suppose it would seem as if they had lost their powers. Well, they would lose their powers for all practical purposes. But just temporarily. The effect would last longer if they took more poison, of course."

Drift nodded. "I see. That's what happened to Summer. She's still recovering. They must have given her a big dose."

"Who did?"

"The farmers out in the Eastern Province. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Wonderful?" Arnica stared at Drift. "Why do you say that?"

"Because it gave me an idea. Come on, let's stop by Nautilus's old house before we go to the well. Is her garden still there? Nobody dug it up?"

"No, we just locked the door and left it. No one likes to go there."

"Good! She grew lots of poisonous plants. I'm sure we can find Yew. Help me gather some. We're going to need it."