Dear Apothecary,
A month ago my husband Augustine purchased a bag of mushroom seeds from your store. He was delighted at first, and the mushrooms grew fast and looked surprisingly nice, the latter of which I was most happy about.
Now, Augustine would write you himself, but he is currently weeping in his office. The mushrooms will not glow, he informs me.
While Grace and Emma meet each other in their dreams, someone else pays much closer attention to the clouds drifting high above.
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'In the clouds, I see people. I see knights in armour, horses galloping and bucking, a battle. The swords clash against each other, but the sound doesn’t reach me. They’re too far above, but I can imagine.'
She takes a moment to consider her surroundings. What had she called this place earlier? Toad Expanse? What does that even mean? Okay, whatever, it doesn’t matter.
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Grace leans her chin on her knees. “I’m not sure exactly how it works.”
“Magic, I guess,” Emma says.
“Yeah.” Grace sighs and flops onto her back. She stares up at the empty blue sky.
“What? No, real magic doesn’t— Are you pulling my leg?” Jimmy stared at his fellow magicians. None of them looked like they were joking. For a moment, they all just looked at each other, then their expressions morphed into horror as they realised he wasn’t joking either. “Are you saying all of you have been using real magic all this time?” Jimmy’s voice came out hoarse and quiet. Derek, someone he’d known for years and considered a close friend, laughed brokenly.
“You’re saying you haven’t?”
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His father focused his attention back on mother. He seemed to be steeling himself for something. “Your mother wants to come over,” he said, no small amount of strain in his voice.
Dread pooled in Cody’s stomach. Grandmother was the most invested out of all of them in Kenny being a phoenix. His parents had managed to keep her away for the last three weeks, but they must be out of excuses. Grandmother could tell something was wrong, and she wouldn’t be deterred.
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The clinking of utensils against plates filled the room. Cody picked at his food. His parents were already halfway done with theirs, but Cody couldn’t manage to swallow a single bite.
“Where’s Kenny?” his mother asked, not looking up from her plate. In his jacket pocket, Kenny shifted into a more comfortable position.
Cody put down his fork. However much he wanted to, he couldn’t keep this from his parents. He took a fortifying breath. “Kenny burned again.”
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As his parents drew away from him in disappointment, Kenny was his only comfort. Even his grandmother cared more about being devastated than about comforting Cody. But as his family ignored him, Kenny was there for him...
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Cody desperately tried to keep his tears at bay as he looked at his hands. Not even a spark of light lit up between them. “Why isn’t it reacting?” Cody whispered, eyes still on the nothingness in front of him. His thoughts jumped to the stories he’d heard of other children not being able to use spells on spell day…
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The first time Kenny burned was, if not expected, completely normal. There was no cause for worry back then.
The second time was concerning, worrying. Cody tried to put it out of his mind after Kenny returned to normal, but he couldn’t. The worry kept swirling in his mind, and he kept a close eye on his familiar to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.
Still, it happened a third time...
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A year after Cody met him in the flower shop, Kenny burned for the first time.
He knew it was a possibility, but it still took him by surprise. It was common knowledge that phoenixes burned when they died, from old age or otherwise, and were reborn from their own ashes. What wasn’t common knowledge, was how long it took to happen...