Brewing Trouble

by Katherine Kim

  Brewing Trouble

  Katherine Kim

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Books by Katherine Kim

  1

  Sarah listened to the wicker creak when she shifted in the patio chair. The sun poured down on her garden a few feet away, but she was comfortable under her umbrella with her toes just sticking past the edge to soak up some of the heat. It was late morning and she’d have to get up soon to head to work, but right now, everything was just so perfect that she was half convinced it was a dream.

  One of her Gran’s journals lay open on her lap to a page that was more of a recount of her garden adventures than anything especially witchy, but Sarah loved those pages more than the ones discussing magic or potions. They helped her feel closer to the woman she’d been kept away from for so long.

  Lord, was it only six months ago that I came here? The thought was staggering. It was like everything that happened to her in New York was someone else’s life, and she’d heard about it secondhand instead of living it personally. Since she’d come here, she’d lived in a world full of magic. She’d been adopted into a group of what she’d previously considered mythological creatures, faced down and defeated monsters, tapped into her own magic to fight a warlock, and rescued new friends from Hunters. Back in New York? Well…

  It sort of was someone else’s life in a way, she decided. She hadn’t made many of her own life’s choices thus far, after all. Her mother had, until recently, dictated everything from what classes she took in college, to where she lived and worked and who she saw socially. Sarah hadn’t realized how tightly controlled her whole life had been until she flew across the country to Los Gatos to claim the home her Gran had left her. Now, though…

  She ran her fingers down the page that was open in front of her. Gran had written about her garden that year: the tomatoes taking over the corner she’d had them in, the rosemary and calendula growing almost wildly bushy. It had been a very successful year for her and she’d had a bumper crop of everything, which she wrote about later on in the journal. Sarah knew every word, slowly memorizing them as she read and reread them, hearing her Gran’s voice chatting away in her mind.

  Now Gran was dead, old age and cancer having taken their tolls, and Sarah was caring for the garden. Not nearly as successfully, but then she had a lot of learning to do. Not just about gardening, but also about the magic she’d inherited, as well. That was also addressed in the journals. Notes on how to mix a potion or draw on the power of the world around her, how to channel that power into a spell. Snatches of philosophy about the right and wrong of using that power.

  When Sarah learned about it, she’d thought that her magic was like an ocean. Something to be drawn from endlessly, a never-ending source of power that she could somehow tap into. Gran’s journals and Doc’s patient lectures had set her straight soon enough. Now she thought of it more like a pipe or a hose that she could use to direct the flow of magic from one place to another. She could change how it flowed, if it was mixed with anything, how it left the pipe, but she couldn’t just draw on an endless source. And she needed to keep some of it stored away inside her in case she had nothing to draw from nearby. It kept her not only able to cast spells whenever she wanted to, but also kept her healthy, just like staying hydrated or eating right. It turned out, however, that she had a pretty big mixing tank to pull from, to keep the metaphor going.

  That was getting to be a bit much, and Sarah smiled at the ridiculous path her thoughts had wandered onto, but it was true. She had the potential to be a very powerful witch, once she really got the hang of it all. Doc was her teacher now, as well as her boss at The Apothecary tea shop, and was taking her at a somewhat rapid rate through all the things that most witches learn in childhood. Focus, intent, awareness. How not to drain the life out of something by accidentally pulling too much of its magic.

  Sarah knew how that went. She’d cast a few big spells, mostly in the defense of one of her new friends. The first time she pulled on her own power, she did it to save her boyfriend from a powerful and horrifying curse that was trying to destroy his mind and leave him trapped forever in his fox form with no memory of his own humanity. She’d been sick for days after that. It was like a mild flu, she’d been achy and ill and just slept unless she was eating the pho that Sebastian kept bringing her.

  Man, he loved that pho place.

  Sarah had to smile wider at that thought. Sebastian was convinced that most of the world’s problems could be solved with a bowl of that soup. Someday she might try to learn how to make pho herself. It’d be a fun surprise for Sebastian, and as hard as he worked to keep everyone around him happy, he deserved a treat. Right now, she was focused on mastering her power and picking up a few related skills. Like gardening.

  She was cheating a little, having Ellie come by once a week or so to help out. The half wood nymph was always looking for a way to discharge some of her own magic, and channeling it into the plants in Sarah’s garden made her happy, and Sarah got to learn about the various plants she’d inherited, and a few more she had gotten on her own.

  And And thank God for Doc, who was helping her with her brewing and learning about the herbs that grew out here. Sarah wasn’t sure what she’d do without the feisty woman’s guidance and friendship. Also, Doc was more of a maternal influence than Sarah’s own mother, not that that bar was very high in the first place.

  Doc was helping her with her brewing and learning about the herbs that grew out here. Gran had taught Doc in person, and Doc was now passing that knowledge down to Sarah. The calendula was not quite as enthusiastic as it had been when Gran wrote the journal entry Sarah was no longer reading, but it was still big and bushy, the sunny yellow flowers nodding in the faint breeze.

  Those flowers had helped Kai not too long ago. Well, the ones Gran grew last summer, at any rate. The medicines Doc had made from them had gone a long way to stave off the poison that had been seeping into his spirit, and the bright, sunshiny energy from the flowers had been one brick in the barrier against his decent into despair. Doc had also stitched up the wound that had contained the poison. Oil for the skin and tea for his stomach: a defense on two fronts, Doc had said.

  She was an herbalist, and was passing that knowledge down to Sarah, as well. Not all witches were, but Doc pointed out that with friends like theirs a little extra understanding of how to heal up a wound— magical or otherwise— was pretty handy.

  Sarah wasn’t sure she could ever feel comfortable sewing up skin, but mixing teas was definitely something fun.

  “Sebastian, really. Drop it, okay?” Gabe’s irritated voice broke into Sarah’s reverie.

  “Come on, Gabe—” Seb sounded like he’d been trying to wheedle his way for some time now.

  “I said I’d think about it,” Gabe cut him off as they came around the corner by the side of the house. “I’ve had a home for, like, a week. I’m still healing from all the bruises I got when David kidnapped me. Let me have a minute to catch my freaking breath, okay?” Gabe flopped down in the chair on the other side of the umbrella pole, dropped his head back to stare for a moment up at the gl
owing underside of the colorful fabric before flinging his arm over his eyes. He managed to make the gesture both petulant and careful of the fading bruises on his cheek.

  “Um, hey guys.” Sarah raised a brow at Sebastian who leaned down to give her a kiss.

  “I’m trying to convince Gabe to get his GED and take some classes at West Valley or San Jose City College or something. I mean, he’s eighteen!” Sebastian waved his arms and opened his eyes wide. “He should be out there figuring out what he wants to do with his life!”

  “I can take a few god damn weeks to breathe first, Seb!” Gabe protested from under his arm. “Sarah, tell him to lay off!”

  Sarah laughed. “I think we can table this discussion for the afternoon, at any rate. Gabe and I have to get in to work soon anyway. And didn’t you say you were going to have the inspector over at the clubhouse?”

  “Ugh, yeah. I should get going. It’s basically just a walkthrough before he signs off on everything. The roof stuff is next up, but not for a month or so.” Seb raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand up at all angles and Sarah grinned again.

  “Well, off you go. Leave Gabe alone now and we’ll all get off to work.” Sarah stood up and tucked the journal under her arm and hugged her boyfriend. After a minute of cuddling, he rolled his eyes and stepped back. The magic swirled around him and Sarah tipped her head, soaking in the familiar sensation. When it ended, the fox now at her feet yipped, butted his head against her shin, then leaped off toward the bushes at the back of her property. The jogging path that her yard backed up onto ran directly behind the Village at Rancho San Calafia apartment complex that Sebastian helped to manage, and was the easiest route to get there. Sarah couldn’t duck through the dense shrubbery, though, so she always had to take the long way through the streets.

  “He’s gone now,” she said to Gabe. She didn’t even need to see his eyes to know that he was rolling them. Sarah just grinned and collected her things to put everything away before work.

  “I don’t know,” Gabe groaned when he followed her in the kitchen door. “I guess it’s an okay idea. He’s just being really annoying about it.”

  “He’s adopted you. He’s having fun being a big brother for the first time.” Sarah shrugged. Gabe groaned and slumped into a chair at the table.

  “I went from having no family at all to having the nosiest, pushiest damn family ever.” Gabe thumped his forehead against the table gently and Sarah had to laugh.

  “What can I say, I guess you have questionable taste in relatives,” she said.

  “You’re no better, you know,” Gabe sat up and raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re the one dating him.”

  “True.” Sarah rinsed the last dish and wiped her hands on a towel. Everything was tidy, the sun streaming in to land on the counter and a small jar of rosemary garlic oil she was steeping. The whole scene made her happy. She was finally in a home that felt like one.

  “I dunno. I guess it’s just too fast. I was living in a cave, avoiding human contact, and being harassed by a guy who seemed a little too intense just a few weeks ago. Now I’ve got an apartment and two jobs and friends and…” Gabe shrugged and slumped over again. “I don’t know. I’m kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess. It’s too much good stuff too fast. I don’t… I don’t really feel like I deserve all this good stuff, you know?”

  “I really do,” Sarah took the seat next to him and tipped her head. “It’s a lot of change, very fast, and that can leave you feeling dizzy. Boy, am I familiar with that. When I first came out here, I was grieving and confused and a little aimless, and then I learn about all of this?” Sarah waved her hand vaguely around her and Gabe huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes.

  “Right? If my life hadn’t already been full of weirdness, I probably wouldn’t have believed them.” Gabe rolled his eyes. “Then again, Kai went all out.”

  “It is kinda hard to argue with a room suddenly full of giant coyote,” Sarah agreed.

  “It feels like I’ve been too lucky. I have a home now, for the first time in years, you know? I mean, I was a kid when I ran away. Now I have an entire apartment all of my own, and money and a bank account and—” Gabe took a deep breath and Sarah checked before she reached out to him. Gabe didn’t always like being touched because it could trigger a vision. He just glanced up and shot her a small smile and she hugged his shoulders. “I have friends who’ll literally put themselves between me and a crazy man with a gun. I mean, what have I done to earn that sort of friendship?”

  Sarah rested her chin on his head and smiled. “These guys are pretty overwhelming at first exposure. They’re both very protective, those Russell boys. Kai, especially, feels like he is responsible for keeping everyone in his territory— spirit or human— safe. That would include you, even if you weren’t such a cool guy.” She squeezed his shoulders again for a moment. “Now come on. We’re going to be late for work and Doc’s been training that new girl this morning. She’s probably ready to break out the magic missiles or something.”

  “Shit, you can do that for real?” Gabe’s eyes got wide.

  Sarah laughed. “No idea, but if anyone could, it’d be Doc when she’s down to her last nerve.”

  2

  Sarah and Gabe were laughing when they walked into The Apothecary, Doc’s tea shop. Gabe only helped out a few days a week now that he was working with Sebastian and Kai at the apartments. He didn’t need to wait tables anymore, and as a result of his schedule, it meant that he was working seven days a week. Still, he said he liked the atmosphere at the shop, and he’d rather spend a day off there anyway, might as well get paid for it. Sarah was just glad of the chance to hang out with him. She liked the kid.

  It was still early enough that the shop wasn’t open yet, so the fact that there was nobody in the dining room wasn’t a surprise. The fact that they stepped into the back room to grab their aprons and found Doc being fussed over by the new girl was.

  “Doc! What happened?” Sarah hurried over to inspect the scrape that ran up from the older woman’s elbow. Meg— the new hire— was dabbing at it with a clean tea cloth.

  “I’ll get the front set up,” Gabe said quietly so just Sarah could hear.

  “Some jerk on a bike damn near ran me over on the way here. Didn’t even apologize or slow down much. Just wobbled a bit and kept going, while cussing at me,” Doc scowled. “Like it’s rude for a pedestrian to be crossing the street in a crosswalk or something. Jackass.”

  “Hold still,” Meg stuffed the cloth into her pocket and started to turn towards the shelves. “Now where’s the first aid kit back here?”

  “I’ll get it,” Sarah said. Nobody wanted Meg rummaging around too much. All the shop stock was on the front shelves, but in the back of the room were Doc and Sarah’s more specialized supplies. It wasn’t always easy keeping a community of spirits healthy on a normal day, and in the past six months, abnormal had become much more common. Wights and Hunters and warlocks and… Sarah sighed and grabbed the small kit near the front of the shelving units.

  “Here we go, Doc. Get to break into the new batch of ointment yourself,” Sarah winked.

  “Wow, did you make that here?” Meg gasped, her eyes wide. Doc and Sarah exchanged glances.

  “Yep,” Doc answered. “Made it myself. I’ve studied herbal remedies for years.”

  “Oh my gosh, that is so exciting! I’m considering that path myself,” Meg gushed while she watched Sarah carefully. “It would mesh really well with my other skills. After all, I’m a witch, you know, and it just seems like such a perfectly witchy thing to do.” Doc’s eyebrows shot up her forehead and Sarah almost dropped the jar at this declaration. They exchanged glances and turned to look at Meg, who was holding out her hand to take the jar and peer at it curiously, completely oblivious to the other two women.

  Sarah reached out mentally, seeking a trace, a wisp of power to confirm the girl’s statement, and came up blank. Another glance at Doc confirmed that her m
entor hadn’t detected anything, either. They shrugged and moved on. Lots of women called themselves witches. It was a cool thing, or a spiritual thing, or a wishful thinking thing. If Meg wanted to call herself a witch and study herbal medicine, there was no reason to discourage her, after all.

  “My coven leader agrees that it’s worth pursuing,” Meg turned the small jar this way and that, as if she could figure out its secrets just from peering into it. “She’s really encouraging that way. It’s so nice to have that sort of guidance in one’s life, you know? Everyone should have a mentor of some kind, I think, even if they don’t have access to the magic of the deeper mysteries like I do.”

  “Well, if you want to learn a few things, I could tell you some. It takes a lot of hard work and focus though, if you want to really know much about it all. If you really want to pursue it, you need to learn a lot of biology and mainstream, modern medicine, as well,” Doc said. Sarah bit her lip to keep her laugher back and taped the square bandage over the scrape. It wasn’t bad enough for anything more than that, but it would annoy the older woman every time she bent her arm and noticed the tape.

  “Oh, do you mean that?” Meg was starting to really gush now, and Sarah smiled. “I’m sure that I’ll be able to pick it up quickly once you start teaching. I have a true connection to the energies of plants. My coven leader says she’s never seen anyone as inherently talented in the garden as I am. She loves it when I come over to help her out with the weeding and harvesting, she says that the plants always seem more lively when I’m done.”