03 - Sworn by Kate Sparkes Read Free Book Online Page B

my own injuries, and...
    The thoughts died as she pushed a curtain aside and ushered me into her workspace. Equipment covered the rough wood counter, every piece of it filthy. The glass jars on the shelf sat un-labeled and almost empty.
    “Can’t get out much to forage these days,” the old woman said, and sniffed. “Not as spry as I once was. But you’re my assistant now. You can do it.”
    A deep, throbbing pain blossomed in my temples, and I realized I was clenching my jaw muscles tight.
    “Of course,” I said, eager to leave. “I’ll head out now and collect—”
    “No. First, you clean up. Then we’ll see what comes next.”
    She grabbed a glass jar half-filled with creamy ointment from the shelf and marched out the door with a lopsided limp.
    I set my hands on my hips and took in the mess. A large tin basin in the corner had an oil heater beneath, which I lit with a flint I found among the items on the counter. In spite of the drought, someone had filled the water barrel in the corner. I added water and soap flakes to the basin, but it would take time for things to warm.
    I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I would need hours to organize everything to my liking, but the place had the right feel for a Potioner’s workshop. Sad as the supplies may have been, I felt their potential calling to me.
    “I’ll make this work,” I told myself, and rolled up my sleeves.
----
    I LOST TRACK OF TIME , pulled into the silent world of Mama Bunn’s collection. The plants, dry and dull though they were after a long winter in storage, spoke to me, whispering their secrets and their potential. She’d left a brown sprig of death’s light lying out—a beautiful and innocent-looking vine, but fatal even at the brush of a finger. I wondered whether that was carelessness, or a test to see if I was a worthy assistant. I couldn’t help smiling as I searched for forceps to pick it up, and decided that the old woman might be fun after all.
    The light outside the windows was fading when the door creaked and soft footsteps approached.
    “She’s not here,” I called, and dunked a gunk-covered mortar and pestle into the soapy water in the basin.
    “I’m not looking for her.”
    Kel’s voice sent a pleasant tingle through my body. I glanced over my shoulder and tucked my hair behind my ear, leaving a trail of bubbles across my temple. “Sorry, I got busy. Did you find the lake?”
    “Such as it is, yes.” He leaned back against the workbench and crossed his arms over his chest. “Not deep enough for us to bother with changing, and absolutely filthy. We didn’t even try to wet our hands.”
    “I’m so sorry. Rowan couldn’t help call more?”
    “No. It’s as if she—I don’t know. She tried, then said she couldn’t feel anything to draw from, anyway. She seemed relieved about it. What do you make of that?
    “I have no idea what goes on in a Sorceress’ head.” I still suspected she was dealing with a case of nerves, or lingering shock. I might find something to help if she decided to speak to me about it.
    “Watch what you touch over there,” I told Kel. “I haven’t finished cataloging it all.”
    He pushed off from the counter and wandered around the room. I turned my attention back to my work, but listened as he took the lone book off the shelf and flipped through it, moved a few clay bowls around, and went to look out the window. Always curious. I kept myself from watching him, but couldn’t turn my mind away.
    I was lost in my thoughts when I sensed his gaze on me. He moved closer, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.
    “Everything good with you?” he asked.
    “Of course. Why?”
    “You’ve been washing that same bit of equipment since I got here.” He looked over my shoulder and watched me rubbing bits of leaf matter off of the dark stone pestle. “Actually, you’re not even washing it. More like stroking. Seductively.”
    I pulled a hand from the basin and flicked a handful of