Abducted [W&W Book 3]

Chapter 40

A male warlock of sufficient skill is capable of sucking the soul out through the eyes. The best defense against said terror is to not make eye contact. Female warlocks can ensnare a man with the merest glance if she so chooses. If a man has been so ensnared a mixture of seven parts toad spleen and four parts well aged ale will bring him back to himself if given on the first night of the new moon.

Ildri shoved the volume back on the shelf in disgust. Maxine had never taught Ildri to suck out a soul. Who would believe that rot? It was obviously nonsense, and how ridiculous was it to try to stop a witch with a potion? She might have thought many things that were not quite true about witches herself, but this nonsense defied description. Even in her most ignorant days she could not have thought such things.

At least the book was really old and covered in dust. That was encouraging, at least. She picked it up again. She would mention it to Lord Wildwood and perhaps he would decide to get rid of it.

The only other book that she managed to find that mentioned anything by way of potions was an old large volume called An Anthology of Seventeenth Generation Spells. Some of the spells were clearly potions. Perhaps the divide between warlocks and wizards had not been as pronounced in those days.

Ildri's stomach began to rumble unpleasantly and she realized how long she had been in the library for. She figured that it was about time for lunch.

Carrying the large and small volume and with Keziah perched on her shoulder, Ildri made her way back to the kitchen.

"Lunch already?" chef asked as she scurried around the kitchen. "It'll just be a minute, dear. Matt, get some vegetables for the parrot."

"Yes chef," Matt said as he quickly did as he was told.

Ildri looked at him as he brought over a small bowl. "Here you go," he said.

"Matt! You didn't stammer."

"W-what?" he asked.

"I think you're stammering less," Ildri said.

"R-really?" he asked.

Chef nodded. "I've noticed, too. It's mostly just when you're nervous, Matt." She ruffled his hair affectionately before continuing to bustle around the kitchen.

Matt seemed to want to do nothing less than discuss his speech. He glanced at the books on the table. "W-what are those?" he wondered.

"Warlock Fortifications and An Anthology of Seventeenth Generation Spells," she said.

"Oh..." Matt said and he turned his attention back to working on the tasks that chef had set out before him.

Ildri opened Warlock Fortifications and flipped through it while she was waiting.

"A warlock can see through opaque materials if they contain even trace amounts of metal?" she read out. "I didn't know that I could do that."

"Must be trouble if the warlock has a sword coming at him," chef commented.

"Yeah. But this book is full of nonsense like this," Ildri complained. She was going to read some more but the door swung open.

Kallie tumbled inside. "Sorry I'm late, chef," she gasped.

"That's fine, just be on time tomorrow."

"Now that you're gone I'm doing your job and Kallie's my assistant," Matt informed Ildri quietly.

Kallie seemed pale. "I heard that scouts discovered an army marching across the land," she said in a worried voice. "I'm scared."

Chef nodded. "So they're moving openly, now. It's about time, dishonorable louts. Don't worry, Kallie. Wildwood has strong walls and strong people guarding it. You're safe here. Wildwood would be the last place to fall."