‘Here’s the boiling water you asked for.’ Meg held the door open and stepped aside as Stephen staggered in behind her with a large cauldron. ‘And we have a paste of crushed woundwort leaves, and some poppy syrup for the pain. I guess that comes from opium poppies?’ she added, as she set down a shallow dish containing a green paste, and a cup of liquid.
Lev leaned over to sniff the syrup, then lunged forward to grab the cup. Callie knocked his hand away. She raised Lancelot’s head and helped him drink the potion, while El dipped a strip of linen into the boiled water and set about cleaning Lancelot’s wound.
‘So what was that dead rat all about?’ Meg asked.
‘A sacrifice to the Mother Goddess,’ El replied. ‘The spell doesn’t seem to have worked, though. Did you see that old woman down in t
