Free True of Blood (Witch Fairy Series) by Bonnie Lamer Page B

behind the house.  I quickly put the lid back on and bring the box into the living room.
     
    Kallen is still on the couch and Dad is examining his wound.  Looking up at Mom, he says, “I’ve never seen anything like it.  It’s as if a hole was burned straight into his body.  It’s about three inches deep from what I can tell.  What did you throw at them?”
     
    “Iron,” Mom says.  “It’s poison to a Fairy and reacts the same way a hot poker would on a human.  As soon as it touches them, the iron begins to burrow inside causing as much damage as possible.”
     
    “How did you do it?” I ask.  Mom’s a ghost, how did she throw something at the Fairies?
     
    “I have Witch’s bottles buried all around the house.  It’s just a matter of releasing them.” 
     
    Kallen looks at Mom with some degree of respect as she says this.  Obviously, she had planned ahead for some things.  Apparently it’s a good defense but I have no idea what she’s talking about.  “What’s a Witch’s bottle?”  Kallen doesn’t look at me with respect when I ask this.  His expression is condescending and annoyed.
     
    “Have you not taught her anything?” he asks Mom.
     
    Mom narrows her eyes and gives him a hard look.  For a second or two, I think she’s going to hex him or something but she chooses to ignore him instead.  Turning to me, she explains, “A Witch’s bottle is similar to a small bomb but it can only be called forth by the Witch who created it.  It’s rather simple in design.  A glass bottle is filled with whatever you need, in this instance I wanted to ward off Fairies so I filled it with iron nails, and then you mix in your urine to claim the bottle as your own and you can set it aside or bury it until you need it.  You call it forth with a simple incantation.”
     
    Okay, the ick factor of this conversation just increased by a million.  “You threw iron nails and urine at them?”  Gross.
     
    Ignoring the fact that I am thoroughly disgusted, Kallen turns to my mom.  “Are you wortcunning?” he asks.  Mom nods her translucent head as she looks into the box.  She has made her long blonde hair appear to be pulled back in a pony tail so it doesn’t fall into her face.  I don’t know if she had to or if she is just trying to seem as alive as possible.
     
    “What does wortcunning mean?” I ask.  Okay, if Kallen gives me one more of those looks, I’m going to poke him in his side.  The injured side.  It’s not my fault I wasn’t taught any of this stuff.
     
    Mom looks up from examining the things in the box.  “It means knowledgeable in the use of herbs and flowers for healing and magic.”
     
    “Oh.”  Let’s add that to my list of things I’m ignorant about, too.
     
    Mom is all business now.  Turning to Aunt Barb, she starts giving her instructions.  “Barb, please pour about a cup full of water into the bowl.  Then I need you to take a pinch full of angelica, willow, vervain, and mugwort.”  As she says each name, she points to the compartment containing each.  “When you have them all, use the blood stone to pound them and stir them together.”  She points to a stone that looks exactly like the one on the bracelet she gave me but bigger.  “This should be a strong enough unguent to start the healing process.” 
     
    Before I ask, she turns to me to explain.  “An unguent is a magical healing salve.  The herbs and flowers will aid in healing and the blood stone with stop the bleeding.”  I nod stupidly as if this is all making sense.  What happened to good old fashioned medicine?  It seems like some stitches and antibiotics would be better than some herbs stirred together by a rock but I bite my tongue so I don’t say that out loud.
     
    Mom is giving more instructions to Aunt Barb.  “Use one of the towels you got to cover his wound with the salve.  Pack it in as much as possible and then press the towel over it.”  Turning to me,