by Robin Roseau
“Anything in particular? What is used in the lust charm?”
“Vanilla, cinnamon, and rose hips. I use both ground vanilla beans and vanilla extract. The cinnamon should be dried bark, but I grind it myself. The rose hips can be dried. But I want a variety. I need to learn and practice.”
“How much do you need?”
“I am trying to find a steady supplier,” I explained. “Someone I can count on. I’m not offering you charms to sell. I am offering them for the use of you and the immediate members of your family.”
“How much?”
“I don’t really know,” I said. “Freshness matters, but a little goes a long way, just like in cooking. What do you want for one jar of everything in your shop?”
“One jar? You only need a jar? A big jar?”
“No, no.” I turned and grabbed the nearest jar I saw. “This size. Half this for those things that don’t store well. After that, I’d let you know, but I might want a complete refresh periodically.”
“How often is that?”
“I don’t know. Every six months, maybe a year? I’ll probably ask for some spices far more than others.”
“You also mentioned incense. We have a variety.”
“Most charms like a little smoke,” I said. “I can use candle smoke, but incense is better, if it complements the other ingredients.”
“The jars are the most dear,” she said, “but most spices do best in a tight, glass jar.”
“I know.”
“Can someone wear more than one charm at a time?”
“Yes, but at some point they fight with each other. They have to remain against your skin, and they shouldn’t be touching each other, but they can be on the same leather if you fashion a way to separate them. You can knot the leather and slide a charm on, add another knot to hold it on the other side, then another knot a distance way.”
“I see,” Margie said. “How soon can I have four more of the evil ward charms?”
“And another lust charm?” Zeltari asked.
Lal Keshia handed me a pouch. Carefully wrapped within were several charms. I laid them out on the countertop. “I made these myself, without my old teacher. I’m told they should be effective.” I added one more charm. “We tested this one ourselves last night. I can’t say it is the same as the one I gave you last, because we didn’t test that one.”
“What else do you have in there?” Zeltari asked.
“Two more of the good luck charms. Did you explain that one to her?”
“It helps people make lucky choices,” Zeltari said.
“Yes, that’s a good way of putting it.”
“I want one of those,” Laurette said. “And when my evil ward wears off, will you make more for me?”
“Yes. Why do you need four more evil wards now? Laurette’s should be good for months.”
“I have a daughter,” Zeltari said. “We are now a household of five.”
I slid one of the wards to her. “This is a gift for your daughter.”
“Thank you,” Zeltari whispered. She gathered it to her.
Then Margie and I locked gazes. “You don’t have a clue what to charge, do you?” she asked.
“No, not really.”
“What else can you make?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I need to learn. It may take time.”
“I want to be your sole spice supplier.”
“I’m not trading enough for you to sell.”
“I heard you the first time,” she said. Then she unbuttoned her blouse, and I saw she was wearing the good luck charm, making a point. I nodded. “We know your lust charm works.” She gestured to the new one. “That was effective?”
“Definitely,” I said. “But it may not be the same. I will provide evil wards for the five of you. Let us say fresh charms every six months, but if we find they are becoming less effective, I’ll make them more often. I will depend upon you telling me if you need them more often. I can provide the good luck charms as well.” And then I fished the last two charms out and set them on the counter. “And as long as you promise me the lust charm is never worn by anyone but the three of you, I can periodically provide one, but I’m not sure I’ll be in a position to do so every two months. I may be doing some traveling.”
“If you learn to make more charms, you will tell me,” Margie said.
“Agreed.”
“I will provide you the spices you have asked for that we carry. If you find you need large quantities of the more expensive spices, we may need further discussion.”
“Can you ship?”
“You will pay any shipping fees, but yes, I can.”
“If I start asking for too much, you’ll tell me, and we’ll come to an agreement.”
“Our agreement is simple,” she replied. “You will provide to me any charms that are likely to be beneficial to my immediate family, right now, five of us. I will provide the spices you need. As you learn more charms, you will also provide those. If this agreement becomes lopsided in either direction, we’ll talk again.”
I smiled and held out my hand. We touched and smiled.
And then Margie’s hand snaked out, and she rescued the lust charm from Laurette. “You don’t need that.”
“Maybe I didn’t want you to have it,” Laurette said with a grin. “Seriously, Jeraya. A silence charm. A deafness charm. I don’t care.”
I laughed. “I can’t promise.”
“Laurette, prepare a crate,” Margie said. “You’ll need a porter, but there are always a few hanging around.”
“She should use Suzella,” Laurette said. “She could use the work, and no one hires girls.”
“See if she’s out there,” Margie said. “Then prepare a crate.” She began to bustle around her shop, piling jars on the counter, periodically opening a jar and commanding me to sniff.
“I need a mortar and pestle. Where do I find one?”
“Wood?”
“Stone.”
“I have marble,” she said. She retrieved a small box and set it on the counter.
Twenty minutes later found us back outside the shop, two wooden crates on the porter’s cart. Suzella seemed pleased to pull our things for us, and Lal Keshia paid her well once things were secured at the inn.
* * * *
“So.”
Jessine stopped in the doorway. “Hello, Jeraya,” she said gently. “I thought you’d forgotten me.”
“Long story,” I told her. “Did you want to hear it?”
“What happened to your accent?”
“It’s part of the story. Join us for dinner tonight if you want to hear it.”
She eyed all of us. “You have very unusual friends.”
“I know. Maybe you’re mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you,” she said. “I was worried, though. Where have you been?”
“It’s part of the same story.”
“This must be some story.” She gestured. “That one looks rather possessive?”
“This is Alyidil, and she is,” I said.
“You didn’t come here for a repeat.”
“I came here to see if you would come to dinner with us. Good food. Interesting conversation. Maybe an intriguing offer. Maybe not. No obligations.”
“All right,” she said. “Sure.”
“We’ll collect you. Here? Dress to impress. Six?”
“Sure.”
Later, it was apparent she had taken me seriously. We had, too, all seven of us looking quite nice. We had rented a large carriage, although it was cozy with seven. Still, no one seemed to mind.
I provided introductions during the ride, and was just finishing when we pulled up in front of the restaurant.
Inside we sat, with me between Alyidil and Lal Keshia, and Jessine between Mayolin and Burquiri.
We made small talk for a few minutes, but then she spent a long, long moment staring at Burquiri.
“She’s very exotic,” I said.
“She is,
” Jessine said. “You are. The four of you. Burquiri, right?”
“Yes.”
“Alyidil is your sister.”
“Right, and Mayolin our cousin.”
She turned the other way, and then looked past Mayolin to Filfoyss. “And you’re someone’s other cousin?”
“Friend,” Filfoyss said. “We’ve all been friends for a long time. Well, Jeraya is new for us, only several months.”
“Are we making you uncomfortable?” Burquiri asked.
“No,” Jessine said. “But I feel like the fly around a bunch of spiders.” She picked up her wine and sipped from it. Then she turned to me. “What’s going on?”
“You’re going to accuse me of lying. I promise you, I’m not, and I can provide some evidence, but not until later.”
“This should be good.”
I told her the basics. I didn’t mention midnight visits to steal me from my bed, or anything suggesting I wasn’t entirely willing. I told her the rest.
She cried bullshit a few times, but then she sat quietly, and I couldn’t read her body language.
“So that wasn’t really you,” she said when I finished.
“It was, and it wasn’t. I was along. I didn’t actually get to see everything. But the conversation about apprenticeships was for my benefit.”
“But she was doing the talking. I was making love to a goddess. You were a voyeur, watching in.”
“Are you offended?”
“I haven’t decided.”
“I enjoyed everything that happened, but it is unlikely I ever would have been brave enough to instigate any of that.”
She laughed. “I picked you up.”
“I distinctly remember two others, but I didn’t see how that happened.”
“Oh, that part was definitely you. You egged me on. Wait. She did. Not you.”
“I understood what you meant.”
“Two is good, but four is four times as good.”
I laughed. “It seemed like everyone enjoyed herself.”
“Why are you telling me all this, Jeraya? You are Jeraya now. You’re not some new god.”
“Entirely myself,” I confirmed.
“And them?”
“Entirely themselves, although Lal Keshia has her own story.”
“That’s an unusual name.”
“I’m from very far away,” Lal Keshia said. “It’s a different story.”
Jessine gestured back and forth. “I can’t tell whether you’re with Alyidil or Lal Keshia.”
“Both,” I said.
“Oh.” She looked left and right. “What’s going on, Jeraya?”
“Come on. You aren’t going to accuse me of lying.”
“You have to admit: it’s hard to believe.”
“Agreed. I can offer evidence, but later. Can we assume for the sake of this conversation I’m not lying?”
“Sure.”
I told her the rest, about making charms. And then Alyidil produced one and set it on the table. It got passed around until it was sitting in front of Jessine. “What does that do?”
“A ward against evil,” I said. “I have another one for you though.”
“What does that one do?”
“I’m not ready to tell you.” I gestured. “That’s safe to put on.”
“It clashes with the dress.”
“Your choice,” I said. “It’s a gift. It should last four to six months and must be worn against the skin. That’s why I talked to you about learning jewel craft.”
She picked up the ward. “I can see why.”
“That’s not it. I don’t care what they look like. But more powerful charms must be infused into the jewelry as it is made, and the structure of the design becomes part of the magic.”
Her gaze snapped up to me. “You’re not lying about any of this.”
“I’m being selective in what I’m telling you,” I admitted. “But I’m not lying.”
She eyed the charm. “This is really ugly, Jeraya. I’m a jewelry maker with a reputation to uphold. I can’t wear this. It’s hanging from a piece of leather! And it’s ugly. Did I mention it’s ugly?”
“I didn’t come to your shop and disparage your necklaces because they attract bad luck instead of ward it away,” I said.
“They don’t attract bad luck!”
“Oh? Wearing expensive jewelry doesn’t draw attention from people willing to steal it?”
She snorted. “That’s fair. You’re right. I’m sorry. But come on. You know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” I admitted. “And you’re right. They’re ugly. Most people would wear them under their tunic, I suppose. But so far, I’ve been giving them away, and I’m not going to buy expensive charms to magic.”
“I think we just arrived at the crux of the conversation, haven’t we?”
“Close enough,” I agreed. “I want to offer myself as your apprentice, but under my terms, not yours.”
I spent twenty minutes telling her what I wanted, and then said, “You might not be interested. If so, perhaps we can discuss a partnership, so at least I can make more attractive charms.”
She said nothing for a while, although she had long picked up the charm and was holding it in her hands, touching her palm. Finally, she said, “You promised proof.”
“Evidence,” I corrected. “You may not care for it. How daring are you feeling?”
“I think you’re full of shit,” she said.
“If I’m not?”
“I think I want to see this evidence.”
I shook my head. “If my evidence is convincing.”
“I don’t know, Jeraya. You’re asking me to leave Rosegrove. That’s not how apprenticeships are supposed to work.
“I’m asking you to consider it, but if you’re not interested in meeting me at least halfway, then we should discuss a simple partnership. Either way, you need to experience my evidence. Or maybe you’re not interested that much.”
“Sure,” she said. “Let’s see your evidence.” She waved the charm. “This isn’t it.”
“No.”
“I’m not going to wear this.” She handed it back to Burquiri, and it made its way back into my pouch.
Lal Keshia paid our bill, and we made our way to the carriage, and from there to our room at the inn, all of us crowding into the larger of the two rooms.
The charm was already waiting, and I collected it from the top of the dresser. Then I turned and walked to Jessine. “Tell me. If Burquiri had tried to pick you up, would she have been successful?”
“Seriously? You’re asking me that?” she asked. I lifted the charm. “That’s as ugly as the last one.”
“I know,” I said. “Do you want to know what it is, or should I just drop it over your head, and you can find out.” She waved a finger at me. I smiled. “It won’t hurt you. Well, you’ll be walking funny in the morning.”
“What is it?”
“Lust. It takes a few minutes.”
“You’re not serious.”
“If I’m lying, it won’t do anything. Care to call my bluff?”
“No.” But her eyes were fixed on the charm. “Is it really?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Is one of those why we had a foursome?”
“No. They work on the person wearing it.”
“So, if I told you to put that on?”
“Then Alyidil and Lal Keshia would find me quite ravenous for the entire time I was wearing it, until they take it from me, plus a little while longer.”
“Days?”
“Normally through the current fun,” I said. “So, another half hour.”
“Then you’re doing it wrong.”
“Not if you’ve already been at it half the night.”
She snorted. “Fair enough. So, you want me to wear that?”
“I would be quite pleased, but I wouldn’t try to force you.”
“And then I become your mewling kitten?”
“No.
And then you become Burquiri’s mewling kitten. Or maybe you prefer Mayolin. Or maybe one of them plus Filfoyss.”
“Why not all three?”
“Cousins.”
“Oh. You’re not telling me everything.”
“They’ve been sharing Filfoyss back and forth.”
She began laughing. “You’re a total pimp. A complete, utter pimp, and you’re trying to pimp me to your friends.”
“Yep. Going to go along with it?”
“So, Burquiri?”
“We’d alternate,” Mayolin said. “Or that’s what we’d like.”
“We both like Filfoyss,” Burquiri said. “If we don't interest you, or if this is too weird, we understand.”
“I’d give you the charm,” I said, “but frankly, I’m afraid you’d drape it over someone else’s neck. If anyone is wearing it, you are.”
“It’s ugly, Jeraya.”
“Do you really think you’re going to care five minutes after I put it around your neck?”
“No, but I will for those five minutes.”
“You’re stalling now.”
“Give it here.”
“Uh, uh. I want to do it.”
“Fine,” she said. “Someone help me take this off.” She pulled her hair out of the way and turned her back to Burquiri. A moment later, she had Jessine’s necklace off. I stepped closer, and she nodded, then ducked her head to let me lower the leather over her neck. I settled the charm between her breasts. She took the necklace from Burquiri and stepped to the dresser. Her shoes came off, and the necklace landed on the dresser. “I don’t feel a thing.”
“You’re so impatient.”
We watched her. She looked at me for a minute, then she moved to the window. I waited until she began to fidget before I nodded to Burquiri. Alyidil’s sister stepped over and set her hands on Jessine’s shoulders.
We waited another minute before she turned and looked at me. “You haven’t been lying.”
“No, I haven’t. If you don’t want what is going to happen next, ask me to come remove it. You probably can’t bring yourself to do it.”
She shifted her gaze to Burquiri. She lifted her hand to caress one dark cheek. Her fingers trembled.
“No one is going to touch you without permission,” I said.
“Everyone get out,” she said. “Not you.” She grabbed Burquiri’s hand. “You stay, too, Filfoyss. Everyone else out.”