Mac and I followed her to a small pink door just tall enough for her to slip through. She was over a meter and a half, but not by much. I wasn’t that much taller, but I had to duck to follow her.
“I’m only letting you in here because you’re friends with Mac.” She flipped a switch, revealing potions that glowed with an unearthly light. “The witches specialize in a lot of these potions, so they’d kick my ass if they knew I was selling them.”
“You do not want to get on the bad side of the witches,” Mac said.
I imagined being hexed by some old crones and nodded.
“So, what do you need?” Eve asked.
“I’m thinking a freezing potion,” Mac said.
Eve raised her brows. “Going somewhere dangerous?”
“Maybe,” I said, hoping that Mac wouldn’t share my destination.
She didn’t.
“Well, this is what you want.” Eve pulled a potion off the shelf and handed it to me. “Uncork that thing and dip your finger in it, and you’ll be immune. When you need to get the heck out of dodge, throw it to the ground hard enough to break it. The mist it gives off will freeze everyone else in the room.”
“Thank you.” Dread uncoiled in my stomach. We were at the payment part, and I had no idea how much magic could cost. I had some cash in my bag and the wad in my pocket, but it wasn’t a lot. “What do I owe you?”
Eve tilted her head, studying me. She seemed unsure at first, and I wondered if she was trying to read my expression. “What can you do?”
“Like, magically?”
“Yeah.”
“I can touch things and people and get a read on their past and future. Sometimes on their present.”
“You can’t control which you see?”
“No.”
“You should work on that. But
yeah, if you want, you can trade me in service. Two object readings, one for each potion.”
I glanced at Mac for advice. Was this a good deal? She nodded encouragingly.
“Yeah, thanks,” I said. “I can do that. Now?”
“No, later.”
“Time to take your medicine,” Mac said, nodding at the potions in my hand.
I opened the suppressor potion swigged it back. The sour taste made me shudder, then it felt like all my clothes tightened horribly, holding me in. My gaze flicked up to Mac’s. “That’s weird.”
“Yeah. That’s why you’re going to want to learn to control your magic on your own. Suppressing potions are no fun. Now do the other one.”
I shoved the vial in my pocket and opened the other, dipping my finger into the icy liquid. I shivered and recapped it, then stored it in my pocket.
An idea flared. “What about a truth potion?”
“Oh, those are hard to come by.” Eve chewed her lip. “I don’t have any on hand, but I can make one and give it to you later. It won’t be powerful, and I only have enough ingredients for one. Still, that should get you a single answer from a person . . . if they’re willing.”
“And if they’re unwilling?”
“You’re shit out of luck. Like I said, truth potions are super rare and hard to come by. That’s why I don’t keep them in stock.”