Page 33 of Autumn of the Witch

He went to get her something to drink and found Micah mixing something in a pot on the small stove.

“Hey,” Sasha said, smiling tiredly. “Meant to tell you, Yulia loved the dragon. And Timon thinks that boat is the coolest thing he’s ever seen. They’ll want to thank you, but I told ’em to wait a bit. Know how you are about strangers.”

Micah glanced over his shoulder. His eyes were shadowed and still too wide, but he gave a slight smile and a nod. “I’m glad they liked them. And that’s— Thank you.”

“It’s all good.” Sasha went to the stove and put a hand on Micah’s shoulder, gently, not wanting to crowd or push. “Thanks for coming to get me, yeah? I know that must have been hard.”

Micah breathed out, slowly, and nodded. “Yeah.”

“You okay?”

Micah stirred whatever was in the pot and was silent for so long that Sasha got a little worried. Eventually, though, he nodded again. “I needed someplace quiet. I’m okay. Thanks.”

“Sure.” Sasha dropped his hand, peering into the pot. “Whatcha making?”

“It’s a drink. It was in my book—tree bark with flowers. Um, it’s supposed to be good for fevers and for when you need more fluids.”

Sasha watched him, the way he concentrated and stirred, measured and checked the temperature. “You’re good at this stuff. That your chalk circle on my bedroom floor?”

Micah was too fair for Sasha to miss the flush on his skin. “It was supposed to help while I was looking for you. I don’t know if it did anything, but it’s for… protecting a friend.”

“A friend, huh.” Sasha smiled.

“Yes.” Micah glanced at him, and Sasha realized he might have said the wrong thing. “Isn’t that— I thought maybe—”

“We are definitely friends, boss,” Sasha assured him, giving him a pat on the back. “Viv thinks you’re the cat’s tits.”

“The what?”

“You know.” Sasha waved a hand. “Cats need those. Important and, like, super great if you’re a kitten?”

Micah blinked at him. “I— Okay. I’ll need to strain this. The little flower bits might not be good if she’s having trouble breathing or swallowing. Do you have something?”

“Uh.” Sasha thought about it, then nodded and found a piece of cheesecloth. “Viv uses this when she makes her potions and shit.”

Micah took it, and Sasha watched him as he strained the mixture into a mug. “Is she… going to be all right?”

Sasha almost,almostlied. Instead, he said quietly, “I hope so. It came pretty quick, this time.”

Micah slammed the pot down on the stove. “It’s not fair. She’s— I’ve never met anyone like her. Like you. Why do you— I don’twanther to—”

“Hey, hey,” Sasha said, quickly, before Micah could finish that sentence. “She’s tough, boss. She survives out of spite, yeah? The Lukoi way. And all the drinks and stuff you’ve been making? Your witch drinks? That shit’s helped, buddy. I can tell.”

“But she’s still sick,” Micah whispered, breathing hard, his hands gripping the edge of the wooden counter.

Whoa. There was clearly some other thing going on here. Sasha put another careful hand on Micah’s shoulder. “She is. She’s always been sick. But like I said, she’s also a fighter. Even more than me.”

Micah breathed out, slow and even. “Yeah. I didn’t even ask… Did you win?”

“Actually, yeah. You came to get me before I cleaned my face off, but for once? Wasn’t my blood.” He laughed, though it was strained, since it was hard to be as happy as usual when Viv was sick. “Won my first fight. Was prolly gonna lose the second, so, good timing.”

Micah didn’t smile. Instead, he turned to Sasha and said, bluntly, “My parents died of a fever. I tended to them both. They didn’t like me. I heard my mother tell my father she wished I’d go away, that I made her feel worse.”

Sasha stared at him. “What?What? The fuck. I hope your father told her to get a fucking clue.” Maybe that was mean to say about a sick person, but who the hell did that? Why did both Viv and Micah, two nice people, get such shitty parents? Time to tell his ma she’d need to adopt another one.

“He said I couldn’t help but make it worse. He thought I was sick, too.”

“Like, with the same thing they had?”

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