Cipher Code {complete}

Chapter Thirty Seven: A Breath Of Poison •EDITED•

Esau let out another loud groan as he crushed the dehydrated leaves of k-grass and spirit lily in a palm-sized mortar.

His wrist was sore from pounding the plants over and over, pressing down on the pestle for minutes without pause.

"Tell me again. . ." he rolled his aching shoulders and scowled at his sister, "why you insisted on helping soldiers?"

The boy held up a stem of whispering jade, plucked it's leaves and tossed the stalk into the pot of boiling water in front of him.

"Why not let them die?" He blew on the heap of blazestones the pot sat on, fanning the invisible flames and coaxing wisps of heated blaze to rise.

Edythe ignored her brother's whining and squeezed the wet strip of cloth in her hands before putting it against the bleeding chest of one of the soldiers. Both men were unconscious so the twins weren't afraid of being overheard.

"You promised, remember?"

"Ha-ha," Esau wiped away the sweat streaking down his blonde brows and stretched his arms. He didn't forget the promises he made to her. He never did. "You never expected us to succeed in leaving on our own, did you?"

Edythe let out a snort and pressed hard on the wound with her palm to staunch the bleeding. "Like two children can survive a forest filled with monsters. Have you ever seen that before?"

"You tricked me."

"I didn't ask you to be stupid." Edythe got up and walked to the counter, a coy smile on her lips and an arrowhead clutched lightly in her gloved hand. "And no, I didn't."

"But everything we did tonight was for nothing." Esau watched his sister come closer and frowned. He pressed his fingers hard against the countertop. "We should have gone to the soldiers in the first place."

"It wasn't for nothing and we couldn't have gone to the soldiers. Just think about it." She tossed him the bloody arrowhead then grabbed the bowl that rested by the mortar. "This guy was poisoned."

Esau held the broken arrow up in the air then tilted his gaze to his sister. "Do I look like a poison expert to you?"

Edythe didn't laugh. Instead she crossed her arms, gave him a dark look then took the bowl away and walked towards the dark haired soldier slumped in the corner.

Esau sighed and set down his pestle.

"Okay then." He pulled a jar from beside a set of wooden hammers on the floor and dropped the arrowhead into it.

Turning back to the mushy pulp he had pounded, the nine year old took the stone mortar in his hands and tilted it above the pot, letting the liquid he had forced out of the herbs dribble down into the steaming water below.

Setting the mortar down, Esau took the pouch of blazestones in the drawer and threw it to the ground with a tired swing.

Let's get this over with, he thought and watched his sister work, chuckling when the soldier jumped and startled himself awake when the smell of the concoction in Edythe's hand finally hit his nose.

A smile touched Esau's lips as Edythe forced the awfully bitter liquid down the man's throat, effectively saving his life.

When he finally turned away, he reached for the reddening pouch on the floor, wincing slightly as the heat of the leather radiated into his palm. He pushed past the counter and headed for the soldier that had been hit with the arrow.