Eleanor perked up as we came into view. Then, spotting the cart and children, her expression fell. She closed her eyes in pained understanding.

  "Those are the survivors?" she asked, her tone grim.

  I nodded, watching Henry bring the girl and boy over to Maya. "The kid thinks the raiders have hostages. For their sake, I hope that’s true. It'll make fighting harder, but..."

  Time stepped forward, his gaze scanning me carefully. "Hostages can be saved. The dead cannot."

  Tipping my head in acknowledgment, I dug through the bag for a potions book. "Exactly. Unfortunately, at least one of the raiders uses poison, so I’ll need to make a bunch of antidotes tonight. No telling how many of the hostages might be poisoned before we get there."

  I hadn’t seen any tomes with a potion bottle on the cover or anything obvious, but considering Silas’s extensive alchemy lab off his office, there had to be a book on potions in here. We didn’t have time for me to use my usual trial-and-error method, though.

  Then again, the bag was magical. I’d already sorted its interior once without knowing the exact names of the books I was looking for. Maybe I didn’t need to do this the hard way.

  Keeping my arm in the bag, I closed my eyes and focused, imagining something with herb in the title. My hand tingled for a moment—then something slid into my palm.

  I pulled it out and examined it: a thick, leather-bound book with a delicate herb embossed into the cover. The title gleamed in fine script:

  The Herbal Path

  Flipping it open, I skimmed the first few pages and bit back a grin. Not exactly what I’d been looking for—though the lists of herbs and their properties would definitely come in handy later—but this method of searching? Way easier.

  I nodded. “Yup! Not quite what I was aiming for, but close enough. I think I can figure it out from here.”

  It was basically like an internet search. Think of a word in the title and boom—results. Also like an internet search, I was probably going to get a lot of vaguely related junk too.

  Oh well. Still leagues easier than digging by hand.

  Eleanor smiled and shook her head. “I’ll leave you to it. The girl’s been staring at my wings, and something tells me I’m about to be asked several hundred questions. Better to go far enough that I won’t disturb you.”

  I opened my mouth to say she wouldn’t be a problem, but she was already walking away. Shrugging to myself, I turned back to my task. Setting The Herbal Path aside, I reached into the bag again and focused.

  Okay. Instead of herb, how about brewing...

  The tingle came again, only this time—nothing followed. Frowning, I pulled my arm out and flipped the bag upside down.

  “There’s no way he doesn’t have at least one brewing book—”

  I jumped back as not one, not two, but eight books came tumbling out of the bag. They thudded onto the dry grass in a scattered pile. Time bent down to neatly stack them, the corners of his mouth curling in amusement.

  “You would be correct, it seems.”

  Kneeling beside him, I bit back a jitter of excitement and looked over the titles.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Brewing Basics

  The Art of Brewing

  Brewing the Elements

  The Dark Side of Brewing

  Brewing for Battle

  Brewing With Beasts

  Mastery in Brewing

  Brewing for the Broken

  And those were just the ones with brewing in the title…

  Sitting down, I grabbed the nearest one and started flipping through it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Time doing the same. In what felt like no time, we’d sorted them into two piles: currently irrelevant and possibly useful for antidotes.

  Only Brewing Basics and Brewing for the Broken made the cut. The others, while fascinating, were either too advanced or focused on the wrong kinds of potions. I made a mental note to read them later.

  Opening Brewing for the Broken, I flipped to the table of contents.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter I - The Healer’s Burden: Tools, Ethics, and Patience - p.1

  Chapter II - The Anatomy of Suffering: Understanding Mortal Wounds - p.9

  Chapter III - Herbs of Healing: Foundational Ingredients for Potions Minor or Major - p.21

  Chapter IIII - Remedies for the Aspiring Herbalist: Antidotes for Poison, Infection, and Fever - p.37

  Chapter V - The Cursebreaker’s Crux: Brewing Against Hexes and Curses - p.54

  Chapter VI - To Save The Dying: Potions for Mortal Wounds - p.72

  Chapter VII - Rituals of Closure: Preparing for Loss and Letting Go - p.93

  Appendix A - Common Substitutes in Remote Regions - p.105

  Index of Ingredients and Afflictions - p.111

  Perfect.

  “Looks like I found our antidote recipe,” I said, flipping to Chapter IV and skimming through the section on poisons.

  Time hummed, focused on Brewing Basics. “Good. From what I am reading, antidotes are one of the simplest brews. They are often used to teach children. It should not take long to make a batch. Hand me the bag?”

  I passed it over, and he pulled out a dozen empty vials, setting them between us. He dug into the bag a few more times before finally nodding in satisfaction.

  “It seems we have all the ingredients.” He gestured to the line of herbs between us and picked up the first. It was vibrant green and bushy, its tips shades of blue and yellow.

  “This is Meadowveil. It neutralizes most common poisons.” He moved to the next: a blue mushroom with spongy, bubble-like clusters around its stem. “Bubblecap, found in forest caves and decaying plant life. This amplifies the effects of the other ingredients.”

  Lastly he held up a dark purple flower. Petals no bigger than my pinky nail branched out in every direction like a puff ball. “Last but not least, this is Blossomwort. It adds a faint restorative edge to the antidote. They are also used in minor healing potions.”

  “This is Blossomwort. It adds a restorative edge to the antidote. Often used in minor healing potions.”

  I nodded along, pulling the cauldron from the bag. “Sounds like we’ve got everything we need. Let’s get started.”

  Time passed me Brewing Basics. “Here, read the basic antidote recipe first, then compare it with the one in Brewing for the Broken.”

  I took the book eagerly. This—this—was what I thought I’d be doing when I agreed to come to Nexus. And while I hoped the antidotes wouldn’t be needed, it felt right to be making something to help.

  My night would be busy. But tomorrow?

  Tomorrow, we’d make a difference.

  We finished quickly, lining up the faintly shimmering green bottles under the moonlight. I put away the cauldron and leftover herbs, stifling a yawn against my shoulder.

  Time shot me a chiding look from where he leaned against a tree. “Sleep, Nikolas. We have done what we can. You will be of no use tomorrow if your mana has not replenished.”

  I raised my hands in surrender and lay down, ignoring the anticipation buzzing in my veins.

  Come tomorrow, those raiders wouldn’t know what hit them.