“The leach potion
wasn’t a tonic after all?” she asked, after they had walked for several minutes
and were nearly to the other side of the cow pasture. “Tonic implies something
good for you.”
“Exactly. The leach
potion wasn’t called the leach potion until the demand for it spread beyond the
kingdom where it originated, and a small battle erupted, to force the alchemist
who created it to share the recipe, so others could make it in their countries.
Several wizards joined forces and took apart the falsely labeled tonic to
discern the ingredients and process. That was when they realized it had been
designed to kill magic before it could finish blooming into life, not help ease
the process.”
“You think your
father made your mother drink it?” Ash asked, her voice dropping nearly to a
whisper.
“Oh, he wouldn’t have been that open. He put it in her food for maybe years. Killing her magic weakened her body and mind.” Leena’s mouth twisted, as if she fought not to say something. They climbed over the stone wall of the cow pasture, and ahead of them was the thatched cottage where Ash had lived when she first came to Castle Fairhold. “Just see the difference between Lathia and me, from prolonged dosing with the foul stuff. Mother’s family couldn’t do anything to help her, by the time they realized something was wrong, but they were able to do something for me. My patron had me cleansed, and I wear several defensive charms. Every once in a while, my father tries to slip some potion into my food, but he’s essentially given up on me as a lost cause. He couldn’t interfere when mother’s relatives helped me petition to join the warrior maidens, and he’s such a hide-bound fool, he thinks he can’t marry me off to better his fortunes. Everything rests on Lathia now, which is why he’ll do everything dirty and dishonorable anyone could imagine, to punish you and exonerate her.”
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