“Think of it like a pregnancy test.” Alia handed Savannah the cup and
motioned toward a room at the other end of the loft. “The ba
throom’s back
there.”
Savannah’s jaw slackened, and then, glaring at me, she turned on her heel
and stormed toward the bathroom.
After five minutes, she returned and awkwardly handed Alia the cup.
“Wipe that grin off your face, Jaxson,” she said.
I most certainly would not. Savannah took great pleasure in irritating me
and was due for a taste of her own medicine.
“So how does this work?” Savannah watched as Alia plucked various
herbs from the table and crushed them in a mortar.
“It’s fairly simple.” Alia grabbed a tincture from the shelf and poured it
into a beaker, then sprinkled in a mixture of red and white powder and stirred
it with a glass stick as it fizzed and turned pink. “I’ll add the wolfsbane and
urine, and the solution will turn red if you have lycanthropy.”
Savannah put her hands over her face and sighed. “Can’t you just give me
the cure? I know it’s lycanthropy.”
Alia smiled. “I’m sure it is, but I need to be certain what you have before
I administer you a potentially toxic antidote. Now, please step back as I pour
in the wolfsbane. In concentrations like this, it’ll burn your eyes.”
Savannah didn’t need much convincing. She crossed the room and stood
beside me, arms wrapped around her. Alia put on a pair of safety glasses,
then opened the vial of wolfsbane and poured two drops into the beaker.
Even ten feet away, my throat tightened, and Savannah launched into a
coughing fit.
“Sorry!” Alia vigorously mixed the potion, adding in several more
ingredients. “As soon as I add the pee, the wolfsbane will be rendered inert
and it shouldn’t affect you.”
Savannah’s pulse was distractingly loud, and she nervously bit her lower