Page 3 of Hunter

Kana obeyed, sitting at the small table the librarian gestured toward. He placed his bag with Mika in it on the chair next to him.

Weird place, Kana said to Mika and Sora.

It feels a bit like the other side, Mika replied. I don’t think we’re in the library anymore.

You’re not, and thanks for leaving me behind, Sora grumbled. He sounded as if he were talking to Kana from the other side of a tunnel. Any chance you can grab me? I want to see the pocket too.

The pocket? Kana asked, but he gathered his magic and opened the channel between him and Sora. A quick yank and Sora slid through the magic and landed in Kana’s lap. Sora was hidden beneath the table, but Kana still cast a quick obfuscation spell so no one would notice him.

Someone created a stable bit of humanity on the magical plane called a pocket. The denizens of the plane can’t access it, but I bet it’s connected to hundreds, if not thousands, of libraries all around the world, Sora explained.

Which doesn’t mean they’ll have the books you need, Mika added.

Kana chuckled under his breath. Of course, even a library available for the entire world wouldn’t therefore have almost every book on magic available. If his past coven was any indication, magic, particularly magic books, was hoarded like it was something precious. This library would only have the books magic users were willing to share. Still, it was more than Kana currently had.

The librarian returned, carrying three books. “This is what we have on sleep magic, dearie,” they said. They put the books down on the table. “Call if you need anything else.” They toddled off before Kana could say thanks.

Kana pulled the first book in the stack toward him. Herblore, Kana read off the cover. I think I read this book when I was in high school, he added.

Seems pretty basic, but maybe there’s something? Mika said.

Mika was right. Kana opened the back of the book to the index and ran his fingers down the rows of print until he found the section on promoting sleep. Chamomile was the first herb listed, which had Kana rolling his eyes. Chamomile was good for everything, as far as he could tell, and Kana didn’t need a refresher on that. Lavender was next, so Kana flipped through the book to the correct page.

For sleep, the book recommended lavender aromatherapy, particularly essential oils, although any sort of aerosol would probably work. Potential side effects included nausea and stomach pain. The book also warned the target patients for this treatment were those with low-level anxiety-induced insomnia, which definitely wasn’t strong enough for what Kana needed.

Magnolia root was next, and the book recommended a pill form. It was supposed to be the most effective sleep aid but could negatively interact with other drugs, so it wasn’t recommended.

Passionflower was listed, but the book couldn’t explain why. It simply said it helped with sleep, but not how or in what form.

The last one listed was valerian root, which was used mostly to help with anxiety. Given that was the main cause of the werewolves’ problems, Kana stopped skimming and started reading.

Valerian root is also one of the most commonly used sleep-promoting herbal supplements in the United States and Europe. However, study results remain inconsistent. Short-term intake of valerian root appears to be safe for adults, with minor, infrequent side effects. However, safety remains uncertain for use long-term. Side effects include diarrhea, headache, nausea, and heart palpitations.

The article didn’t say anything about how to administer valerian, nor how poisonous it might be. It also didn’t warn about how it affected magical creatures like werewolves.

I’m not trying to create my own spell, Kana said with a sigh as he set the book aside. This definitely confirms that would be too dangerous.

Agreed, Sora replied. What’s next?

The title of the next book was simply Sorcery. Kana didn’t have high hopes, but he popped open the table of contents. In the section labeled “Curses,” Kana found “Eternal Sleep.” He shut the book and set it aside.

The last book didn’t have a title, only the rune for study, which was the one typically used in reference to the study of runes, or runology. Kana already knew the rune that meant sleep, and if he wanted to put someone to sleep by force that was the rune he’d use in the circle he’d draw, but that wasn’t what would help the wolves. Still, he followed the index and turned the book to the correct rune, just in case.

The rune was pictured at the center of the page, and around it were arrows indicating the direction the rune was required to be drawn. The description said exactly what Kana was just thinking: used to forcibly put someone to sleep for an indefinite period of time. To reverse the spell, a separate circle with the rune for awake or alertness was needed.

Kana sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair. He was in a massive library, likely accessible to thousands of people, and there were only three books on the subject!

He stared down at the pages in front of him, hoping something about the shape of the rune would jog an idea in his brain. Sleep runes obviously weren’t the answer; there had to be another way to figure out how to help Ember’s wolves. Lack of sleep was a big issue, and not sleeping only exacerbated their problems, but the root of the difficulty was anxiety. Their fear was what was keeping the wolves awake.

There wasn’t a rune for anxiety, but there was one for calm. If Kana needed a spell to defuse a fraught situation, he would absolutely use the calm rune in his spell circle. That would definitely include calming individuals overwhelmed with anxiety. He flipped through the book until he reached the correct page.

The rune was at the top, with the little arrows that explained how to draw it properly. Below that was a simple description of what the rune did. Except, unlike the previous page, this one had a footnote.

Kana bent closer to the page to read the smaller print at the bottom.

“For use in healing spells, see The Compendium of Healing for Witches by Inofah Anderson.”

That was it! A book on healing spells for use in witches’ magic was exactly what Kana needed!

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