Page 85 of Lake of Sorrow
“You’re such a skeptic.”
“We don’t need the druid honey to have health benefits for anyone except the plant. I want it to feel so vibrant and chuffed about life that it lifts the curse.”
“You think a plant has that power?”
“I’m hoping that plant does.” Kaylina held the back of her hand toward him to remind him how much power it had.
“All right.”
She grabbed her ladle and hefted the pot. “Come with me, please, to hand this up to me, then stand back in case I need help.”
“Shouldn’t I stand forward in case you need help?”
“No, because I don’t want you to get cracked in the head by a vine, zapped by branding magic, or otherwise maimed. If you think it’s necessary, I want you to run for help.”
“Run to whom?”
Kaylina hesitated, reluctant to bring any of the rangers into the castle when the curse wanted them dead, but who else did she know who would help her? No one.
“Vlerion. Or the ranger doctor. Or both.”
Frayvar looked at her with grave eyes, probably imagining scenarios that would require him to get the doctor. All he said was a soft, “Okay.”
More nervous than she’d been on her previous visits to the tower, Kaylina wiped her hands on her trousers a few times as they ascended the stairs and walked down the hall. She tried not to think of the man the castle had killed less than an hour ago, the body still in the vestibule.
“Was the tower glowing red or purple when you came in?” She wondered if it had turned back to red and that was what had made it grumpy enough to kill.
“Purple.”
“Hm.”
When they passed the window at the end of the hall and turned into the narrow passageway that led to the tower, Kaylina could see the purple glow for herself, seeping through the gap in the boards she’d made days earlier. More vines than before dangled down. One ran along the ceiling and down the wall, the end lying on the floor, the tip twitching slightly.
“I’ve invigorated it, haven’t I?” Kaylina asked.
“Feed it more honey, and it could take over the city.” Frayvar stopped well back. The way he eyed the twitching tip suggested he would have whether she’d recommended it or not.
Before committing to climbing up, Kaylina handed him the pot and walked close to the vine, wanting to see how it would react to her. Even though she believed the plant hadn’t marked her out of malice, despite the pain it had caused, she didn’t want it to hurt her again. Or worse. By now, it might have figured out that she considered Vlerion an ally. More than an ally.
The tip of the vine twitched toward her and rose a few inches from the floor. It reminded her of a hound with its nose in the air, sniffing the wind.
“I brought some special honey,” she told it.
The tip flicked toward the hole. An invitation?
Kaylina took a deep breath. That might be the most reassurance that she would get.
“My brother will hand it to me once I climb up to you,” she added, wanting to make sure the plant understood that he wasn’t an enemy either.
Again, the tip flicked toward the hole.
“Right.”
While avoiding touching the vines, Kaylina climbed the wall, using the rusty brackets that had once supported stairs. The floorboards creaked when she gripped them, but having made several trips up, she trusted them to support her weight. She swung her leg over the edge, and, with a grunt and straining of muscles, she pulled herself into the room.
The purple glow intensified, bathing her in its light. The plant had sprouted more branches and vines from its ancient soil, and several waved in the air.
Afraid one would grab her again, she kept an eye on them as she pushed herself to her hands and knees.