As bitter as Salem's potions were, the weary mages swallowed several small spoonfuls of nutrients and boosters. Magnus and Luci had black treacle on standby for when their tongues were lashed with bitterness. Syryn took the potions like a champ but he nearly gagged at the calming draught that went in last.
"Do you not know how to counter the taste of swamp nettle?!" Syryn choked on the acridness that stung his tongue. "This calming draught is taking my life!"
Syryn swore that Salem's smile was sadistic. The half-elf used a spatula to smack at the greedy hands that were emptying the jar of black treacle. "The difference between you and me is that I maximise the potency of my brews and you do not. You compromise on its concentration by balancing out the unpalatable taste. Do try and understand this Syryn, taste is inconsequential; what matters is its efficacy."
"How does efficacy matter when your patients can't even swallow the potion? Exhibit A," Syryn pointed to Magnus who was gagging at the sink. The poor fire mage had dragged himself through hell, both emotionally and physically, and now he had to drink Salem's poisons. Rowan and his sensitive tongue had also most likely seen a flash of death at the first taste of Salem's products.
"God, am I dying? I'm dying aren't I?" Magnus moaned into the sink. Luci was seated on the counter next to him rubbing circles on his back.
Though the draught had scorched his tastebuds, Syryn had to give credit where it was due. The calming effect was already seeping into his body like a heavy but soothing blanket. His own potion would have taken longer to trigger. Salem's deadly creations were premier medicines, unrivalled in their effects and taste. Syryn accepted that it was prudent to keep a batch of his companion's products for emergency use.
His own penchant for brewing tasty potions had come from Rowan's influence in his life. He decided to take a leaf out of Salem's book and put less emphasis on taste. Despite his alterations that favoured taste, the efficacy of his brews wasn't too far off from Salem's because Syryn was just that good. In a life and death situation though, Salem's potions were superior, and that was a humbling thought for Syryn.
Magnus did not wait for bedtime. His body felt like it had taken a pounding; like Rowan had dragged him through a long session of sparring. Salem's draught helped with the general muscle aches but he could now feel a throb in his temple that had everything to do with an impending headache. A scalding hot bath had relieved him of the tension that lingered from his jaunt into the city in panther form. It was no surprise to Magnus that he was currently being punished by his body for neglecting his panther.
The fire mage threw on a pair of clean cotton pyjama pants and slid into the cosy bed he shared with Lucien. When he was almost asleep, Luci quietly slipped in smelling like coconut soap. Magnus stirred awake, reached out, and cuddled the cool ball of sunshine that sneezed under the blanket.
"G'night Luci," his sleep roughened voice murmured to the boy who was squirming in his warm embrace. Magnus always felt hot to the touch - like he was running a temperature - because of his innate magic. Red could not bear to be under a blanket with the fire mage when the weather was warm. Luci though had higher tolerance and burrowed under Magnus' chin to get closer to the warmth.
"Night night," Luci whispered and drifted off into dreamland.
Months disappeared, taking with them the sands of time that slipped through their fingers faster than ever. Riha had donated several phials of blood to Syryn and Salem's research. They'd discovered that his blood made a fantastic addition to hemostatic potions.
On a particularly cold day, Salem dipped a finger in the blood and stuck it in his mouth, right in front of Syryn. This re-ignited the younger alchemist's slumbering desire for a taste of the selkie blood.
"The audacity!" Syryn loudly declared before he upended the entire phial of blood into his mouth. The tantalising nectar went down his throat, smooth and sweet like excellent wine. Salty notes of the sea rose above the scent of blood, and it lingered in his mouth like a cool wave from the ocean. It was absolutely delicious!
Salem made a face at how gross it tasted to him. On the flip side, Syryn looked like he was having a religious experience. The demonic boy savoured every last drop of it and smiled.
"Salem, we need more blood."
The blonde poured the rest of his selkie blood into a glass tube containing an acidic liquid. "Not for you to drink."
"It's your fault. Take responsibility and get me some more."
Salem ridiculed Syryn with a sharp smile. "You'd have tasted it one way or the other; It was just a matter of time. Don't go blaming me for the consequences of your greedy mouth." He accepted that his actions had catalysed Syryn's. Admitting it though? never. Syryn was the type that liked to squeeze benefits out of whatever situation he found favoured him. If Salem admitted to his fault, he would find himself at the mercy of Syryn, and that was something he had to avoid at all cost.
A light knock on the door pulled them out of their bickering.
"Is this a bad time?" Riha asked from the partially opened door.
"No, come in Riha," Salem replied as he decanted the selkie's blood.
Syryn was still basking in the afterglow of Riha's donation. To him, it definitely was a bad time for the selkie to show up. He observed Riha and noticed that the selkie was an objectively good looking man, and not just a person-shaped buffet. Large sea-green eyes and a luscious plum coloured mouth invited the observer for a bite. The light blue markings that appeared on his skin when he was exposed to direct sunlight, set him apart from a human but it made no difference to Syryn. An attractive man was an attractive man regardless of race or status.
"Riha, I drank it." Syryn held out the empty phial to the selkie. The younger alchemist was tempted to nibble on Riha's skin just to check if it was as delicious as his blood.
Salem's worried gaze shifted between Syryn and Riha when the selkie did not react to the provocative words.
"What was it like?" Riha finally asked, fixing Syryn with a curious look. Salem breathed a sigh of relief at that. He decided that the selkie would fit in well with their group of misfits.
"Like Ambrosia. It's a pity I'll never get to eat you." Syryn grinned at the selkie. "If you're willing to trade for more blood, I'm all ears."
Riha's answering smile was mild. How long could Syryn restrain himself against the temptation of taking more selkie body parts?
"On a scale of 1 to 10, how tempted are you to attack me?" He asked the boy.
"7"
"That isn't very assuring," Salem inserted.
Syryn walked up to Riha and breathed in the light scent that came off his body. He couldn't get much of the flavorful selkie smell due to the lack of open wounds or cuts on him.
"Don't stick around when I'm hungry. And if you suffer an injury, get as far as you can from me," Syryn told the selkie. "Unless you're feeling suicidal like you were when I found you."
"Understood," Riha answered. Syryn was impressed by the lack of fear in the selkie's eyes.
"What did you come here for Riha?" Salem asked.
The selkie turned to the half-elf and replied, "It's about Lumi. Ever since the rescue, not once has he shifted to human form. I tried talking to him but there hasn't been any response to my attempts at communication."
Salem thought back to the yellow bird whose wing had long healed. It watched them suspiciously and refused to leave the cage when prompted. He figured that It was time to force the bird into compliance and Salem knew just how to do it.
"We've respected your decision to leave them alone but I think it's time we took some drastic measures, don't you think?" Salem asked the selkie.
"It might hurt him," Riha replied after a pause.
Forcing a shapeshifter to shift against its will ran the risks of damaging the creature's body. Salem had no intention to hurt Lumi but the bird was already damaging itself with its stubbornness and that was a point that the selkie understood.
"Riha, I have a question for you," Salem had his palms resting on the counter, back stooping over slightly. He inclined his head to look at the selkie who had gone quiet.
"Why are you feeding Lumi's delusions about Aya?"
"What delusions?" Syryn asked, confused at the sombre mood that had settled between the other two men.
Salem was disappointed at Syryn's lack of awareness. Had the boy taken more than a cursory glance at the bird called Aya, he would have noticed that the bird was just that, an ordinary yellow bird. It was no shapeshifter. So did Lumi really have a sister called Aya? If so, where was she and why was Lumi lying?
Riha sighed, a weary sound that communicated his frustration. "When he came to me, Lumi was a grieving boy who had replaced his dead sister with a bird that reminded him of her. I did not have the heart to destroy his fantasy, at least not while we were still trapped and tortured by Zelli," his steady voice explained. "It comforted him. And we both needed that more than sanity."
Syryn's hand flew to his mouth. Aya was just a bird? Why did no one tell him?
"You did what you had to do with the circumstances that were presented to you. But now? What's your excuse, Riha?" Salem asked, arms crossed. The farce had to come to an end and Lumi had to accept that his sister was gone. It was unhealthy, not to mention creepy. Salem wasn't the most well-adjusted person in the world and he had some sympathy for the tragedy that Lumi had endured, but he believed that the bird had been given enough time to grieve.
A perturbed Syryn took a seat and pushed another chair towards the selkie. Who else had noticed? He wondered.
"Lumi was secretive but never paranoid like the way he's been acting," Riha began after taking the chair that Syryn was offering.
"From what I've been able to glean from him, they were captured during the war with a neighbouring tribe. His tribe was annihilated and Aya was gravely injured while protecting him. I believe that she passed away after their capture but the slave auctioneers replaced her with a bird to make a profit out of gullible buyers. Lumi who couldn't deal with the grief accepted the replacement for Aya. He has been through a lot, Salem. I don't know where to begin to help him."
"So what I'm understanding from your explanation is that Lumi's paranoia began after we brought him to us."
"Yes," Riha confirmed. "Until I find out what is causing his current behaviour, I cannot begin to tackle his delusional thoughts about Aya."
"So basically, Lumi is crazy," Syryn added. "I knew we couldn't have a single normal person in this house but it's frankly getting ridiculous."
People lied. Salem had found that out early in life when his mother told him he couldn't visit his grandparents because he had none. People used lies as a shield, even going as far as lying to themselves. This he knew because it had been his way of coping with the grief of losing everyone he loved.
"Perhaps I've been overly suspicious of him," Salem allowed. More than once, he had caught Lumi's gaze resting on him and it hadn't been dull or maniacal as the bird led Riha to believe. Lumi was either swinging between clarity and mania, or he was acting out the part of a troubled bird. Salem needed answers.
"The longer he stays in his bird form, the riskier it gets. I'll leave it to you to administer the transformation serum when it pleases you," Salem placed a tiny glass vial on the counter. It was filled with a transparent liquid.
"There's no need for it," Syryn interjected. "He sneaks out of the cage and transforms when everyone is asleep. I figured it wasn't any of my business so I didn't mention it to anybody."
"You figured it wasn't any of your business?!" Salem snapped. "This is your home and he's a suspicious person who we know next to nothing about!" He glowered at Syryn and continued, "he's mentally unstable and could be a danger to the occupants of the home."
"I had no idea he was mentally ill!" Syryn threw back. "It's just a shapeshifter. I can deal with him easily; why are you getting mad?" If only Salem could explain to Syryn how uneasy he felt around Lumi. The way he was watched by the bird creeped him out more than he would admit to.
"This is my fault," Riha got between them and mediated. "I'll speak to him now, and if he still continues to fight our efforts, you can kick him out of the house."
"Well that's a bit extreme," Syryn replied. A defenceless shapeshifter who was also mentally unstable just couldn't be let out into the wild.
"Salem is right about us knowing next to nothing about Lumi. For all the years I spent with him, there isn't enough familiarity between him and I. Lumi's thoughts are elusive."
"That's that then. Let's go now before Alka calls us for lunch." Fingers curled around the serum, Salem led the way out of the alchemy chamber.
If there was one thing that he hated, it was disorder, and that was exactly what Lumi presented. It was like waking up one day and finding the wrong labels stuck on his ingredient jars. Salem wanted, no, he needed to figure out Lumi - to restore the sense of order which had been missing in the home since the birdcage had arrived.