Page 58 of Bound By Blood
Nendri brought her what she requested. After she thanked him, she organized herself. The fire crackled and popped, warming her face and making her sweat. She tore some strips from her skirt and wrapped them around her hands so she wouldn't burn herself if she had to grab the skillet quickly.
This might actually work.
She peeled, chopped, and diced. As the water came to a boil, she added the ingredients in with care and precision as if every step of the process was a work of art.
Disa trotted back into camp, face flushed. She held up two grey sacks of clacking rocks. "I have them!"
"What?" Erryn nearly dropped the little knife. How had she gotten whispering rocks? She'd just made those up.
Disa handed her the two cloth bags. The smaller one with a red ribbon held the hag stones. Perfectly ordinary as best she could tell. The other held polished grey-blue stones that—she drew one out, aware of an eerie whisper rising from the bag. Were they actually whispering?
She frowned. "Wonderful. This looks perfect."
She leaned closer. Were they actually talking?
"Oh, look at my friend," Traelan shouted from below. "How funny she is! Pretending she doesn't know better than to listen to the curses and words of doom from the whispering stones. Very funny indeed. Now, stop joking and finish that soup. If this works, they've promised to let both of us go back to our very quiet lives."
"You heard him." Ilvan gave her a hard stare from below. "This is taking too long."
Disa sighed. "I'm afraid it is. You'll have to hurry, dear. We really can't waste much more time on this."
"This gets done when it gets done." Shaken, Erryn tightened the string and tucked the bags in her pocket. A cold unease passed over her. "Those go in later anyway—unless they talk me out of it. Thank you for getting them."
Ilvan did not laugh. Neither did any of the others.
Everyone was getting impatient. And she still needed time.
She continued with her tasks, making herself look as occupied and mystical as she could manage. Either Nendri or Thurra stayed on the other side of the fire, watching her as she tended to her tasks. Neither engaged in much conversation, and too many attempts to talk resulted in Ilvan threatening her once more.
Soon, the sun set.
Ilvan demanded an update. She assured him that she was working as swiftly as she could, but it wasn't ready just yet. The ingredients needed to meld more.
The minutes ticked by. The sky darkened.
Her skin prickled with anticipation, and the back of her neck tightened. With all the rest of the vegetables sliced and now in the cauldron, she sliced the fatback thin and fried up small strips. The cast iron skillet sat directly on the coals, heating up thoroughly as it accumulated more and more grease.
How much longer could she drag this out?
The burning logs shifted, cracking apart. Sparks rose, the coals glowing deep red as the wood charred soot-black and ash-white.
Ilvan strode to the side of the staircase next to Traelan. He set his hands on his ragged leather belt, both ominously near the swords sheathed on either side. "This is taking too long," he growled.
"You can't rush magical soup, all right?" She shrugged dramatically. "You've waited this long. You can wait a little longer."
"Portals are weakest in the hours before dawn. We are dangerously close now."
"Then let me finish preparing the soup, and we can open the portal tomorrow. Problem solved!" She lifted the spoon in the air to underscore her point.
"No." Ilvan turned to Disa. "You have all the ingredients she used?"
"Memorized." Disa tapped one tattooed finger to her temple. "Just a matter of proportions and time. We could probably get it with time, and we can keep the fire going with what's up there in case it does just need time." Her expression grew grimmer. "But time is the one thing we're running low on."
Oh. Erryn blinked. Polph. Telling them the ingredients had been a mistake. She shouldn't have said that was all.
"The soup isn't done, and you're breaking our agreement." She squared her shoulders, attempting to make herself as imposing as possible.
"You didn't deliver, human. Prepare to put her through, Thurra. Nendri, help her if the girl fights back," Ilvan called up. "Alrik, cut the kytobar."
