Page 1 of To Hunt a Ruby Remedy

One

Scarlette

The cottage nestled in between the beech trees like it had grown there. The stone walls and roof made of clay tiles should have looked wrong in the middle of the forest, but instead, they fit perfectly. Charming, but not ordinary. No one stumbling across the house would be surprised to find it was situated on a magical node, the woman living inside a powerful healer who helped any who sought her out.

I had reached the end of my journey.

I walked up to the door and knocked. Then I waited. My hand slid into my pocket and gripped the nugget of glass within like the lifeline it was. The edges dug into my palm, the gently rounded corners of the cube a reassurance. Rosalia wouldn’t have made me bring this if she thought her grandmother wouldn’t make the charm.

The door swung open and revealed the scowling face of a man about my age. “What do you want?”

I gripped the cube tighter. The only thing soft and welcoming about this man was the thick black hair he left hanging loose to his shoulders. I wouldn’t let his stare run me off. I had dealt with worse. He wasn’t raging at me, and I had a mission.

I smiled as brightly as I could. “Beg your pardon. I’m looking for the healer. This is the right cottage, isn’t it?”

The man stuck his head out the door and looked both directions. “You see any others it could be? Yes, this is the right cottage. I’m the healer.”

“Oh.” Had something happened to Rosalia’s grandmother? I hoped not. For one, I would hate for anyone to lose a family member unexpectedly, even a relative stranger. I had lived with the fear long enough to have an idea of how devastating such news would be. More selfishly, though, I needed Grandmother Molle. “I’m sorry. You don’t match the description I was given. At all. I think I’m looking for a different healer. Is there another healer?”

The man continued to stand in the doorway, blocking my view of the interior of the cottage. Making my lack of welcome clear. “Depends. What description were you given?”

“A grandmother. Which you decidedly are not.”

He almost smiled. I was certain he almost smiled. Then he spoke, and I knew it. “I am a bit young to be a grandmother.”

“And rather . . . large.” My smile grew. Rough edges or not, this man wasn’t a danger.

He raised an eyebrow.

I wondered if I could coax a true smile out of him. “You have very big muscles for a grandmother.”

This time, he snorted. “You clearly haven’t met my grandmother.”

He sighed and looked inside the cottage, then stepped out of the doorway. “Come inside. You can tell me why you are seeking her out. You know we sell healing charms in the village? There was no need to come all the way out here. I deliver the charms to Wulfkin for that reason.”

I followed him into the main room of the cottage. The kitchen filled the back third, with a dining table and sitting area taking up the rest of the space. A hallway to my right led to the other rooms. The healer led me to the table, gesturing for me to take one chair before rounding to the other side.

“I need a very powerful charm.” I pulled the glass cube out of my pocket and placed it on the table, pushing it closer to him. “Rosalia told me her grandmother could craft what I needed.”

He picked up the glass and inspected it. “Of course she did. What kind of charm do you need that my twin couldn’t craft herself?”

He was Rosalia’s twin? There was a hint of family resemblance, I supposed, but plenty of people shared dark hair and green eyes without being related. I barely knew Rosalia, but it was hard to think of her growing up in the same environment as this man. Within a quarter hour of our meeting, she had been hugging me and offering to do everything she could to help.

I didn’t even know his name yet.

“I’m Scarlette,” I blurted, realizing I hadn’t shared my name either.

Like everyone who heard my name, he took a moment to stare at my deep red hair. A simple kerchief kept it out of my face, but did little to hide the wavy strands and their distinctive color.

The healer stared a little longer than most before replying. “More crimson than scarlet. Or maybe blood-red.”

“I am happy with my name not matching the shade perfectly. I should hate to be named Blood.”

Again, he nearly smiled, but quashed the movement of his lips before it was more than a twitch. “What kind of charm do you need, Scarlette?”

“You aren’t going to tell me your name?”

“Will it help this get moving a little faster? The sooner you explain what you need, the sooner I can create the charm and send you on your way.”

---