“Yes, that is life. No matter the world, it is all the same. I have faith in you, my heart.”
“Thank you.”
Jaak and I keep walking and the town grows larger with every step we take until we’re right in front of a welcome sign that tells us this town is Bitter Root.
Welcome to Bitter Root, where bitter is only a name!
Pop. 957
Established 1754
“Bitter is only in the name? That’s…weird,” I mutter. The sign is sky blue with white lettering. It looks perfect, something out of a storybook and when I look behind it I see the rest of town follows suit. Cobblestone roads, black antique lamp posts and colorful store fronts line the way into town. I see a few hay bales and pumpkins set out for Halloween too.
Jaak leads us to the right side of the road and scans the storefronts around us. There’s a toy store with a decent sized crowd of visitors. I know they’re visitors from the way they’re filming on their cell phones the puppet show the shop owner is putting on. Next to his shop there’s a cobbler with a big wooden shoe sign hanging above their door.
Jaak and I walk past the crowd and continue down the road. I look down the side streets and there are restaurants down each one. There’s plenty of activity here with visitors enjoying breakfast at one of the little spots we see. My stomach rumbles and I realize I haven’t eaten anything since last night. I didn’t even think of it this morning with the whole soul-bonding thing.
“You’re hungry.” Jaak immediately starts guiding me towards one of the restaurants and I swat at his hands.
“Yes, but it’s okay. We can’t just stop for brunch. We’re in mission mode.”
“Mission mode means nothing if you’re starved. I should have thought of this earlier. I’m not used to human needs yet, but I will learn.”
It’s sweet how concerned Jaak is about me, but there’s two things he hasn’t thought of.
“How are we going to pay? It’s not like I have any money on me that works out here,” I say like I have any money at all because I don’t. There’s no real need for it in town, not anymore. Everyone’s just been working together to make sure we all get what we need and enjoy but me offering to wash dishes in the pancake spot we’re in front of now isn’t going to fly in a town nobody knows me in.
“I have plenty,” Jaak says and pulls out a wallet I hadn’t realized he had. “I summoned this paper this morning. The mages that I mind-walked into gave me more than enough information for us to survive in Bitter Root.”
“Oh,” I blink in surprise at the sight of the wallet full of money. “Yeah, that’s money all right.” It’s green and paper, definitely the same kind of money the Outsiders use.
“Come, we can dine here. Get your strength up and then continue on.” Jaak walks towards a diner that has a massive pancake painted in the front window.Pancakes and Moreis painted to look like syrup across the giant pancake. Through the window I see families enjoying breakfast and when someone opens the door to exit, the smell of fresh baked biscuits and bacon makes my mouth water. Still there’s the second matter Jaak is overlooking as he charges right intoPancakes and Moreto feed me.
“Wait,” I grab his arm and pull him to a stop, “how are we supposed to eat something mages made? This place is mage central. How do we know they haven’t hexed the pancakes? For all you know we’ll end up spelled and turned into a frog or something.”
Jaak waves me off. “I would be able to detect something like that. We won’t be done in by a short stack, you have my word.”
I hesitate but Jaak’s earnest smile makes me give in. “Well, okay. I mean, you said I’m invulnerable now. One pancake couldn’t hurt, right?”
“We’ll be fine. There will be more than one pancake. A dozen at least,” he says, grabbing my hand and powering towards the doors. “And a plate of bacon. I’ve wanted to taste that for a very long time. And coffee. I need to taste coffee.”
I smile and let Jaak drag me on. He’s excited. “You’ve really never had coffee?”
Jaak shakes his head. “No, coffee and bacon are not things I have ever encountered. The only knowledge I have of them is through you and the few minds I’ve walked in since becoming imprisoned. Those have mostly been the minds of mages, but in every single one I know coffee is life-sustaining. There wasn’t a single one that didn’t utilize its powers to maintain life.”
“You can live without coffee,” I tell him. “But it does help.”
“It seems miserable to do so for humans.”
We enter the diner and the scent of warm coffee hits our noses, it's sweet and heady, energizing in the way that only a warm cup on a cold autumn morning can be. I take a deep inhale and relax immediately which gives Jaak’s observations on coffee validity.
“Yeah, I guess it is miserable without coffee,” I agree.
A waitress comes up to us with a bright smile. She’s pretty, dark-haired with brown eyes so bright that she’s the picture of a good night’s sleep.
“Hello, folks! Table for two?” she asks.
Jaak nods. “Yes, that would be agreeable.”
