Page 35 of A Touch of Flame
“If that’s all it is.”
“I’m frustrated because you don’t know enough at this point to be able to cope well. And it didn’t help that the one person who was guiding you ended up caught by that witch-from hell.”
Once more, she rubbed her forehead. Her gaze shifted to the glass canisters of herbs. “I remembered smelling mint, lots of it.”
“Mint?”
“Yes, the air was full of it.”
Sheba meowed once more, another sign mint would be important.
Maeve moved toward her and Sheba immediately lifted up to sit on her haunches.
Maeve picked her up and not being a big cat, she held her against her shoulder like she would a newborn. Sheba had always given her great comfort.
She crossed to the jars and with one hand pulled the dried mint off the shelf. She settled it on the wood counter in front of her then waved Braden forward. “Come pop this for me.”
Braden moved in and eased the metal clamp back. Without thinking, she handed Sheba to him. Braden took the cat and as she’d done, he held her against his own shoulder.
Maeve reached for the canister then turned to stare at first Braden then her cat. “Dammit, she’s purring again.”
Even Braden looked a little startled as he craned his neck to look down at the cat. “I never liked cats before and definitely not since I’ve lived in Savage. But this cat is growing on me.”
Maeve smiled and some of the tension left her body. She even dragged in a deep breath. “It’s simple. She likes you.” Unfortunately, Maeve could relate. She liked the wolf, too. She always had.
She reverted her attention to the mint and picked up the small jar with both hands. She didn’t know what to expect.
She took slow, deep breaths. Through Kiara’s training, she focused exclusively on the herb and let each of its properties speak to her.
Within her mind, a list began to assemble, aspects of the herb, how it would interact with heralterwitchness, then to what other elements it was most strongly attracted.
Maeve had found that for her own particularalterwitch identity, she’d been able to apportion each herb, fungus, mineral, botanical or desiccated animal matter into one of four categories: Fire, water, pressure, or wind. Once an item had its place, she was better able to align it with like or opposing items and create the effect she needed.
She’d originally assigned mint to the water group. Yet, right now, because it had played a part in the release of her killing power, she wasn’t surprised that mint leaned toward fire. Yet at the same time, it seemed to also belong with both pressure and wind.
She set the jar down and let this information work its way through her entire system. She’d learned this from Kiara as well, that when inspecting anything that could be used in a spell, she had to let the substance move through her body completely.
She took a moment to prepare a soft suede pouch. She added the dried mint flakes, then closed it carefully. She ran a leather tie through the top of the flap then draped it around her neck. She could sniff the herb as often as she wanted.
Mint had been one of the first properties she’d analyzed. Perhaps because it had been early in what little training she’d received, she hadn’t assessed it clearly enough. She wasn’t sure. But as she closed her eyes, she spread her hands wide then paid close attention to all the responses in her body. Her breathing felt labored, her left hand tingled and warmed up, her legs lost any sense of weight at all, and her mind grew intently focused.
She kept all of these things in the forefront, and just like that she rose into the air. She opened her eyes and faced Braden. He still held Sheba and he was smiling and nodding.
She didn’t let go of what she felt right now, the complete absence of gravity. She took the next few minutes to practice what was the most amazing experience she’d ever known. She could levitate.
Now for forward movement.
“How do I fly?”
Braden frowned slightly. “It’s been a long time since I even thought about it. I’m trying to remember back to when I first acquired the ability. I know I slammed into a few walls and trees when I was first learning.” He was silent for a moment, then added, “It’s a matter of the will. Focus on your destination then see yourself moving there. Like all the way to the opposite wall, near the writing desk.”
She was able, though with some difficulty, to pivot midair and face the desk. She forced herself to calm down then focused on the far wall. As she did, her body simply began to move. Smooth and seamless.
She made the short trip back and forth a few times then sped up. “I can’t believe this, Braden. And all because I smelled some mint.”
“I can’t say I understand why the scent of anything would ignite your abilities. But I think I’d recommend you keep mint with you at all times.” Sheba pushed away from him slightly and he set her back on the worktable.
She glanced at the stone stairs then headed to the bottom step. She began her ascent, but took it slow. She made it easily all the way to the top, then descended. Thinking it might make for the best practice possible, she went up and down at least a dozen times then increased her speed once more.
