A Court of Flame & Shadow - Eris x OC

The Middle I

It went like that for three months. Cassian came early in the morning and they would train until either her arms or legs would give out. Sometimes he would fly back to the Night Court for a late lunch, sometimes she cooked for him and they'd share a bottle of wine.

In the afternoons she worked on Glynn's antidote. The grey blood in the vial was viscous and thick like half-hardened glue. When he'd given it to her the blood had been liquid; dense but fluid. The sickness was progressing even here, even now, which meant it was connected to the blood itself, to the magic within. She split the sample into ampoules, ten attempts at figuring out a cure.

It was three months of mixing herbs and brewing potions. Of adding one ingredient at a time, and waiting for a reaction. There were some promising results initially. Wolfsbane slowed the coagulation of the blood, but the mix turned toxic a few days later. The smell of it was enough to give her the sweats. A tincture of Calendula flowers and Comfrey leaves seemed to reverse the thickening altogether, but she had to keep adding more and more of the mixture to keep up the effects as if the disease itself was building up an immunity against the herbs.

Some results were difficult to gauge by only watching the effect of the elixirs on Glynn's blood. So she'd taken to smearing the blends on a swathe of deer skin, though she wasn't sure what exactly she was looking for. She knew what she didn't want when part of the skin solidified and crumbled. One by one, the mixtures feel short. Two became poison, three had beneficial effects that were short-lived, three simply didn't do enough or anything at all, one only slowed the spread without truly stopping it and one stopped the spread but did not reverse the effects. She shook the small container around, watching the sludge swirl lazily. The other ampoules were rock solid. If Glynn was still alive, he was running out of time and she was out of attempts. This was the best she could do.

Vel scribbled a few words on a small piece of discarded parchment, which she then rolled up and tied. She pushed her chair away from the corner desk, littered once again with all manner of herbs and liquids. The wooden legs scraped on the worn floor and she wobbled a bit as she walked barefoot toward the door. Her muscles ached from this morning's training and she was feeling slightly lightheaded from the strong smell of the tinctures. The fresh air outside was a welcome respite and, despite the chill, she wiggled her toes in the wet grass, taking a second to fully appreciate the moment, the freedom. It was a cloudless night, with a bright full moon.

Vel let out a shrill whistle. A minute passed and a large eagle owl appeared over the treeline. It landed on her outstretched arm, the claws digging rather painfully into her exposed skin. With a grimace and much difficulty, she tied the paper to the owl's leg one-handed. She tapped his head and sent the image to his mind – a vision of Glynn, the noise of his forge, the timbre of his voice, anything she could think of that would help her messenger find the gargoyle. When the vision had finished and she hadn't given a location, the owl hooted indignantly.

"That's all I know. Start by going south, Winter, Summer, Spring." She recalled how Glynn had complained about the cold so she added, "I have a feeling he'll be in Summer." The owl screeched.

"Stop complaining. I'll give you fresh meat for a week if you find him quickly." She tapped her chest with one finger, pulling a tiny spark of magic, and flicked it to the bird. The owl glowed for a moment and then the light subsided. "Use this to winnow him here. I don't think he'll be able to fly."

The owl stretched out its wings ready to fly off. She wagged her finger at him. "Don't lose the letter this time. And don't abuse my magic." She probably shouldn't have said that, because the owl paused its flapping and stared at her with his orange eyes. Then he winnowed.

"Feathery bastard. I should have seen that coming. If he runs out of magic and can't bring Glynn here I will pluck him naked." She stomped back inside still muttering and closed the door slightly too hard behind her. The glass vials on the shelves rattled.