Page 50 of Swords and Curses

"The sooner Eli kills this witch, the better everyone is going to be," Rosa said.

"Time is already doing that. We only need to wait her out. Although I would like to face her in battle myself." Balthasar's grin was vicious.

"You and me both. I suppose I had better go and apologize to my teacher."

"Or find a new one. I'm sure Nimue could show you a few tricks. The way Eli tells it, she and Deryn could run circles around Eldon."

Rosa couldn't help but laugh. "I'd like to see that."

"Go to her." Balthasar lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it. "She needs a friend."

Rosa brought her lips to his, delighting in the way his stubble prickled against her in a combination of soft and sharp. "You're a wise and sexy man. If I were less of a woman, I'd have you naked on that bench right now."

"Is that so?"

"Without a doubt," Rosa said with a devious smirk.

He released her and gave her a gentle shove. "Go, Wylt, before I change my mind," he said, his dark eyes filled with promise.

It waslate in the afternoon when Eldon left the lakeside and trudged his way back to the cottage. His hand rested on the gate when he stilled at a sound he hadn't heard in centuries. Nimue was laughing so hard that she was almost choking. Rosa's loud protestations carried over the hedge, and Eldon couldn't help but smile despite her cutting him down to size hours beforehand.

"You need to concentrate," Nimue said. "Focus on the dormant life under the earth. Feel the seeds wanting to blossom. Slowly, try not to explode the garden this time."

"I'll explode you!" Rosa threatened.

"I doubt that you can't even get a pea plant to grow."

Eldon opened the gate as Rosa's hands started to glow pink. The magic vanished as soon as she spotted him.

"By all means, don't let me interrupt you," he said, taking out his tobacco pouch and rolling a cigarette.

Nimue sat on a bench, wrapped in a thick, knitted shawl, her hair the brightest thing in the dull grey garden. Rosa caught him watching Nimue, and a smug grin that Eldon didn't like spread across her lips.

"If you have any words of wisdom to add, Teach, now would be the time," she said as she flexed her dirt-stained fingers.

"My advice is to listen to Nimue," he said, earning him an eye roll from Rosa and the smallest of smiles from Nimue.

It's a start,he thought, surprising himself.

Rosa exhaled loudly before turning back to the wet earth. Eldon lit his cigarette and tried to act as if the scene wasn't filling his mind of his mother and Nimue. Deryn had taught Nimue the magic she was now trying to teach to Rosa. It was a simple sort of peasant magic, but it was still beautiful to watch. Deryn knew what it was like to be hungry during a long winter, and it was some of the first magic she had created to help the farmers in the area. The Lady of the Lake would never allow her people to starve.

Eldon caught Nimue's eye over the top of Rosa's dark hair, and they shared a knowing look, both caught up in memories of the woman that was a mother to both of them.

"This is stupid," Rosa huffed when nothing happened.

"You don't want to be able to grow your own ingredients whenever you want?" Eldon asked. "Use your passion to guideyou, Rhosyn. Deryn wanted to have food for her people. Caring for them motivated her the way creative cooking motivates you. Use that desire and try again."

Rosa put her hand back into the dirt and shut her eyes. After a moment, a wicked smile crossed her face, and her magic flared. Eldon started to laugh loudly as Rosa produced a loaf of muddy bread from the ground.

"Damn it! I wanted rosemary to make the stupid bread." She picked up the soggy mess and hurled it at him. "Stop laughing, Blaise!" He dodged the failed experiment, and it splattered across the paving stones making Eldon and Nimue laugh harder.

"I hate you both," Rosa said getting to her feet. "My hands are freezing. I'm going to get cleaned up."

Eldon opened the door for her as she went inside, muttering.

"She's a lot better than she thinks," Nimue commented. "You have done well to advance her skills so quickly."

"She loves magic. It's like all her dreams have come true, and she approaches learning it with childlike enthusiasm," Eldon replied.

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