Brewing Trouble Read online

  “Sarah. Doc around?” Ellie’s voice was raspy and exhausted.

  “Not today. She’s home sick so it’s just me, but come on in. I can call her if I need to.” Sarah helped Ellie drag herself into the back room and sat her down on one of the stools, which she backed up to a shelf so Ellie could lean back.

  “Man, something must be going around right now. Doc’s sick, too,” Sarah stepped over to the hot water pot and flipped the switch to get it boiling before turning to Ellie and frowning.

  “So what’s going on? Don’t get upset, but you look kind of terrible.”

  “Unless Doc has some nature spirits in her family tree, she’s got something else,” Ellie sighed. She shrugged off her hoodie and held out her arms, which were covered in a greenish rash. “It’s all over my arms and legs, and across my belly. All down my back. I haven’t had Dryad Flu since I was a kid.”

  “Dryad Flu. Okay, that’s new to me. Hang on,” Sarah scurried back to where she’d been taking notes on Doc’s lectures about various spirit illnesses. There was a book back here that… Ah, here it was. Doc and Gran had been taking notes on the more uncommon troubles that they saw.

  “I know how I got it. It’s basically a common cold, except I haven’t been discharging my power much lately while I’ve been interning for my advisor. I’ve been basically either in the office or at home falling face-first into my bed for the past three weeks,” Ellie groaned.

  “Man, that sucks. Guess you shouldn’t skip out on our gardening day again, huh?” Sara flipped through the scribbled ‘index’ and found an entry. Thank goodness, otherwise she’d have had to call Doc for advice, and Sarah would rather her mentor got some rest to beat her own flu, or whatever it was. She put the book down on the workbench and skimmed through the notes.

  “Okay, so greenish rash all over the arms, legs, and trunk— hah, trunk,” Sarah muttered. She glanced up at Ellie. “Fever? Aches? Upset stomach?” Ellie nodded at each question.

  “Sorry for bugging you, Sarah. I tried to just rest up and let the flu medicine do its job, but ugh. It’s been two days now and I just feel worse,” Ellie groaned.

  “Okay, well, first off. You’re not bothering me. This is part of my job and besides that, you’re my friend. I’d rather you come to me than suffer all by yourself when you don’t have to,” Sarah hustled around the shelves, pulling bottles and jars and stacking them on the table. She pulled out the tea blending bowl. Then she pulled a shot glass off a shelf and poured a thick, dark liquid into it.

  “Second, how will I ever learn if I don’t do stuff? I wish you felt better, though. Here, drink this. I’m going to make you some tea and you sit there and drink it while I package everything up,” Sarah scooped out herbs into the bowl and muttered to herself. “Mint and nettle and chamomile… And then…” Sarah mixed the herbs together, then held her hands over the bowl and concentrated on her spell, feeling the magic flow through her body and pour over the herbs in the bowl, and scooped some into the French press to cover it in hot water to steep before scooping the rest of the tea blend into a large mason jar.

  “Okay. Take a shot of the elderberry syrup about every two or three hours, about how much I just gave you. You can even mix it into a drink or pour it over waffles or whatever floats your boat. Then the tea at least three cups a day. And when you leave here, I want you to go to my house and hang out in the garden for a bit. Sit in the sunshine and try to discharge some of that excess power,” Sarah handed Ellie both the jar and the bottle of syrup. Then she poured off the tea she’d made and handed Ellie the steaming mug. “Now, drink that carefully, and I’ll check in with you in a minute, okay?”

  “You’re my hero, Sarah. Thanks so much,” Ellie took a long sip of the tea. “Man, this is good.”

  “I’m going to go see what fresh horrors await me out front. Be right back,” Sarah grinned at her friend who had her eyes closed, inhaling the steam from the hot tea and visibly relaxing.

  The front was swamped again. Gabe was looking a little wild and even Meg was looking less than chipper as she was barked at by a tiny woman with two kids and a dog in a stroller. Sarah took a deep breath and waded into the confrontation. An hour later all three Apothecary employees sagged against the counter and blinked at each other.

  “Okay, I have to go check on—” the back doorbell chirped and Sarah sagged slightly. Glancing at the clock— it was only just after two— she let her eyes slide closed for a moment. Then she straightened and whisked into the back room. On the worktable by where Ellie notably wasn’t anymore, there was a note from Ellie saying she’d heard the noise out front and went home to bed to stay out of the way. Sarah would have to call and pester the woman again about going outside. Sleep was good, but keeping a nature spirit indoors for extended periods was asking for bad health.

  Opening the door revealed an exhausted woman holding a child wrapped up in a blanket and tearfully sniffling into her mother’s shoulder.

  “Oh, Marie, what happened, sweetie?” Sarah ushered them inside and got Marie seated on the stool Ellie had abandoned.

  “I fell off my bike. Mom said I should go to the emergency room, but I can’t stop it.” She sniffled again, more upset by her apparent lack of control than anything.

  Sarah frowned. “Stop what?”

  Marie’s mother unwrapped the blanket and revealed the scraped up arms and knees. Most of them were cleaned up with sparkly princess bandaids on them, but one just below her right elbow was just wrapped over with a towel and held on with a hair ribbon that wasn’t likely to see a braid again. The skin around the injury seemed to be shading from Marie’s human skin tone to the deep golden amber of her earth spirit form.

  “It hurts, Sarah,” the girl sniffled.

  “Okay, sweetie, I’m going to get a few things and then I’ll unwrap that towel and take a look, okay?” Sarah dashed out to the kitchen and grabbed a few tea cookies and a couple bottles of water, then hurried back to gather the first aid kit Doc kept in the very back, for more significant injuries. After the wight battle back in January, she’d practiced stitching up wounds on pork roasts and such, and while she could do it, Sarah really hoped she wouldn’t need to today. It was not a skill she felt comfortable with. Doc was a great teacher, but learning something like this through one intense first aid class and then backroom practice doesn’t really make her the best expert in Sarah’s mind. Nickname aside, Doc was not, in fact, a doctor.

  “Okay. Now then, why don’t you tell me about what happened?” Sarah put the plate of cookies next to Marie’s good arm and handed mother and daughter both a water bottle before crouching down to get to work. She listened carefully to Marie’s tale of daring-do and attempted stunt biking, and carefully tended to the worst of the wounds. It was a pretty bad cut, but Sarah felt that they could get away without stitches this time, thank goodness.

  The rest of the day was more of the same. Normally, there were only a couple of folks who popped in to see Doc, often through the shop, with something long-term like arthritis or itchy scales or something that they could hide from the human world and pretend was a discussion about tea. Sarah had three of those, and one more secret consultation in the back when Judah came in with a problem in his wing. Treating a griffon in the back of the tearoom was a challenge, but Sarah felt that they both rose to meet it admirably. Busy backroom clinic days did happen occasionally, but with Doc there they could usually cover it easily enough. By herself, Sarah felt more than a little nervous about how well she was doing.

  Then there was the actual tea shop business, which was having wave after wave of rush. Meg and Gabe were kept hopping, and every time Sarah stepped out to work the counter, it was nearly nonstop. Kai came in at one point, just to have a drink himself and say hi, took one look at the madness, and stepped behind the counter to grab an apron.

  “I have a meeting in a few hours, but I’ll help out as long as I can. I saw all Marie’s bandaids,” he said as he patted Sarah’s shoulder.

  “H
andsome and handy! Nice combination,” Meg said. She batted her lashes at Kai and Sarah had to actually stop herself from rolling her eyes.

  “Anything for my little sis,” Kai grinned, winking at Sarah. “Seb was planning to take you out tonight, but looks like maybe a night in with a movie and a foot-rub will be more your speed. I’ll let him know when I get back to the Village.” And with that, Kai stepped into the fray, bussing tables and calming patrons. Sarah could feel him sending gentle pulses of soothing magic through the room. It did help and the few hours he was there were busy, but smooth.

  Finally, Sarah looked over at the clock on the wall behind the counter and saw that it was almost closing time. She groaned when she heard the door open again but it became a smile when two girls bounced in.

  “Cassie, Sophie! What can I get you ladies?” Sarah leaned on her elbows, propped on the counter. Meg was closing out a couple of tables and Gabe was starting to perform the end-of-night tidying routine that would usher the last few customers out the door.

  “Whatever you think is good. We mostly came to ask Gabe for a favor if he has time next Thursday.” Cassie grinned. Sophie, as usual, stood a bit behind her friend and smiled shyly.

  “Well, we’ve got some of those tea cakes left, and a few cookies. We sold out of the daily blend though, how about some lemon chamomile?” Sarah stretched her neck side to side, feeling the pops down her spine as she moved, then rolled her shoulders when she stood. She started turning towards the display case to put the treats in a box.

  “You okay?” Cassie asked.

  “Yeah, just exhausted. It’s been a crazy day,” Sarah answered. “I’ve been going pretty much nonstop since I left the house this morning.”

  “Yeah, Kai said it was swamped in here.” The girls looked around at the last few customers finally filtering out. Gabe wished them good night, then locked the door behind them and flipped the sign in the glass door from open to closed and almost slumped in relief.

  “It was insane,” he said, coming back to lean on the counter for a minute. “And yeah, I have time tomorrow, what’s up?”

  “Food truck gathering, but it starts too early for Dad to take us,” Cassie said. “You guys should make sure you have a good dinner and get some rest tonight, you all look pretty done in.”

  “I think I’ll call my coven leader when I get home,” Meg didn’t quite bounce up to them like she normally would, but her smile was still bright and her enthusiasm was still written in every line of her body. “It’s so hard when it gets busy like that, and then there were all those deliveries and stuff, and Doc being sick… I bet she’s got some great self-care advice, and maybe a spell to help us all recover after a day like today. Oh! Or maybe even a spell to help make days like this easier from the beginning!”

  “You know, Meg,” Sarah put the box full of treats on the counter and turned to start the tea in to-go cups. “I’d be just as happy with a long hot bubble bath and a foot rub from my boyfriend as I would with a magical solution to a busy day. Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one, after all.”

  “Oh man. I have a bathtub now!” Gabe’s eyes were huge in his face. “I can totally do that! Well, not the boyfriend foot-rub part.”

  “But you could still take a magical bath! Light a few candles and place the right crystals around the tub…” Meg trailed off, deep in thought. The rest of the group glanced around and Sarah just rolled her eyes. She didn’t have enough energy to deal with Meg’s wannabe witchness.

  “Well, I don’t know about crystals, but candles are often fun. And I tell you what, Gabe. I’ll make up a couple of bath teas. They’re fun, too, and can be healing even without the magic.”

  Gabe grinned, “Really? You’d do that? I can’t even remember the last time I just soaked in the tub. It was…”

  Sarah reached over and wrapped him in a one-armed hug before he tipped further into sad memories. “You’re home now, Gabe. You guys finish cleaning up out here and I’ll go mix something up for all of us real quick. We’ve all earned a relaxing evening.” Sarah raised her eyebrow at the girls who kept glancing at Meg, then each other, then giggling. “And you two. Play nice.”

  “Yes, Sarah,” they answered, nearly in unison.

  5

  “Well, at least today wasn’t as crazy as yesterday.” Sarah locked the door and flipped the sign to closed before heaving a loud sigh of relief.

  “That’s true. That funny bath tea stuff you made us last night was amazing, though. I felt really relaxed and refreshed after, and it smelled so nice!” Meg chirped. “Oh, I did email my coven leader, too. She said she’d cast a spell for us to have more energy and stamina. And she’d see what she could do for Doc. I was hoping she’d be back in today already, but I guess even magic takes time sometimes.”

  Sarah was getting really tired of hearing about this coven leader woman. Considering that Meg had absolutely zero magic at all, it was doubtful that anyone she ‘practiced magic’ with did, either. This woman that Meg idolized was either a new-age hippie, or a con artist, and either way it worried Sarah that Meg was so deep into her hero worship.

  As far as actual magic went, Sarah had been casting a few spells to help Doc, and yes. The spells would take some time to be effective. She’d gone over that morning to enchant some tea for Doc and found her friend in bed, looking ashen and drawn. She’d had a fever that was almost bad enough to warrant a trip to the doctor, but had assured Sarah that she was feeling a bit better actually.

  “Seb just texted that he’s going to stop for pho on his way home, and we’ll take some over to Doc.” Sarah shrugged.

  “And it will be delicious,” Gabe chimed in. I’ll walk with you, if you’re heading that way.” He pulled the tie on his apron and hung it on the hook by the kitchen door.

  “Thanks. I have some papers to tidy up in the office then we can head over. Have a good night Meg.”

  “See you tomorrow, Sarah. I’ll talk to my coven leader about it again, too. Maybe she’ll know a potion or something.” Meg bounced out the door with a wave and Sarah locked it behind her.

  “I swear, after all the spirit clinic stuff yesterday, I was hoping to have today off, but now I’ve got to deal with a case of Coven Fatigue,” Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes.

  “Coven Fatigue?” Gabe frowned and tipped his head.

  “I am fatigued just hearing about her coven,” Sarah answered. Gabe snorted and followed Sarah back to the office. “I shouldn’t poke fun, but that girl wouldn’t know a spell if one hit her in the face. I wonder if her glorious coven leader has an actual name?”

  “Grumpy much?” Gabe perched on the edge of the desk while Sarah stabbed her fingers at the keyboard.

  “Ugh. Sorry, I’m trying not to let it ooze out into real life,” Sarah sighed. “Yeah. I got an email from Mom about an hour ago. Dumb phone pinged and I made the mistake of looking at it. I really ought to turn off the email notifications.”

  “Or just don’t read your mom’s emails. It’s not worth the stress.” Gabe chewed his lip for a second. “So, what’d she want?”

  Sarah grimaced and slumped back in the desk chair, her hands sliding off the edge of the desk to slap on her legs.

  “She wanted to know when I’m moving back to civilization, as she calls Manhattan, or at least when I’m planning to get a quote real job.” Sarah made large air quotes and Gabe snorted again.

  “Man. Seb told me about when he met her. She sounds like a real winner,” he said.

  “Yeah,” Sarah said. “I guess… I don’t know, I guess I can see where she was coming from. She’s never been comfortable with the magic and all this stuff, but she loved my dad so much. And when he died, she sort of just blamed all magic everywhere for his death. She didn’t want to lose me, too. She went about it completely wrong and ended up sort of losing me anyway, but I can see why she did what she did, you know?”

  “Fear makes people to awful things to their kids,” Gabe agreed quietly.

  “Yeah
. Being over-sheltered isn’t such a bad thing, considering,” Sarah reached out and laid her hand on Gabe’s knee. He was a seer, and when he was younger his mother had been afraid of his visions. She started beating him to make them stop, and almost sent him to some sort of religious camp to have the so-called demons forcibly removed. He’d spent years on the streets after running away from her and was just now feeling safe around people again.

  “Don’t compare us, Sarah,” Gabe shook his head. “Words can hurt just as badly as a hand. You have a quote-real-job.” Gabe made huge, sarcastic air quotes with his fingers. “What’s wrong with being assistant manager for a popular tea shop? Nothing at all. Not to mention, she knows that you’re a witch, and that you’re helping to take care of a whole community of spirits.”

  “I know. It’s just hard to turn off over a decade of only doing what she wanted me to do. I know she was trying to protect me, not… well I guess she was denying a part of who I am, wasn’t she? Trying to suppress something that makes me, me. Man.” Sarah flopped back in the desk chair again and huffed out a surprised breath. Gabe just sat there watching in silence. The understanding in his eyes said more than enough.

  “At least she’s trying, though?” Gabe said after a few minutes. He sounded hesitant. “I mean, she hasn’t cut you off completely, and she’s making an effort to give you choice even though it’s obviously hard for her, right?”

  “Yeah, because refusing to talk about Gran, my friends, or my boyfriend, then demeaning my life is so supportive.” Sarah rolled her eyes.

  “Well, no. But she’s not demanding that you move, she’s asking when you will. I mean it’s a really subtle distinction, sure, but… I don’t know. Your mom is afraid for you, right? She’s afraid that being involved with magic and spirits will end up with you hurt or killed. That’s the way I understand it, anyway,” Gabe frowned, but Sarah nodded.