She opened the book to a page marked with a black ribbon. There, written in ink that seemed to pulse faintly under the light, was the section titled "A Warning to whom it may concern." Luna read aloud to herself, her voice low and reverent.
"Beware, of these most foul and deadly plants, lest you suffer the consequences of meddling with forces beyond your control."
Her lips curved into a knowing smile. Consequences only come to those who fear death, she thought, she had nothing to fear. Her eyes scanned the list, committing each plant's characteristics to memory.
1. Deadly Nightshade: Fatal berries of darkness, shrouded in mystery and deceit.
2. Wolfsbane: Repels lycanthropes, yet its touch brings death. Its power is a mystery, a secret known only to the initiated.
3. Mandrake: Twisted root of ancient power, rumored to hold the secrets of the earth.
4. Hemlock: Deceptive leaves hide deadly poison, a subtle killer lurking in the shadows.
5. Bloodroot: Healing power belies burning sap, a paradox of nature that can both heal and harm.
6. Aconitium (Monk's Hood): Fatal beauty, a siren's call to the unwary.
7. Datura: Seeds of madness hold godly power, a key to unlocking the secrets of the divine.
8. Henbane: Witchcraft's potent alkaloids, a tool for those who would wield the power of the craft.
9. Foxglove: Heart-slowing beauty hides deadly glycosides, a reminder that even the most beautiful things can be deadly.
10. Yew: Ancient secrets in toxic leaves, a guardian of mysteries that are best left unspoken.
11. Autumn Crocus: Healing mystery belies madness, a paradox of nature that can both heal and harm.
12. Black Locust: Underworld power in toxic pods, a key to unlocking the secrets of the unknown.
13. Brugmansia: Madness-inducing gods' power, a tool for those who would wield the power of the divine.
14. Devil's Trumpet: Deadly darkness in seeds, a harbinger of doom for those who would trifle with forces beyond their control.
15. Water Hemlock: Roots of death in underworld power, a reminder that even the most seemingly innocuous things can hold deadly power.
The page trembled in her hands as she read the final passage almost as if it was somehow alive but Luna knew it was impossible.
"It is said that Lurenata's was a mystical flower, granting control over nature, wills, and ferocity. Yet, beware mortal, for its power consumes. Those who would wield its power must first be prepared to pay the ultimate price."
It was the last of the ingredients needed to complete the brew and Luna didn't know how to go about finding the plant. She sat and thought of how to get it, she read the book ,there was nothing that mentioned anything about how to get the Lurenata's plant.
Luna was deflected, she didn't know what to do, for the first time in a long time she prayed to the moon goddess for guidance tears sliding down her face, she usually was not a religious person but for the first time ever she truly prayed , then stood up and got to work, she would work with what she had they answer may just be at the end of the tunnel.
Luna shuddered, though not from fear. The thought of paying any price to unlock such power thrilled her. Luna glanced over to the worktable she had carefully set with jars, vials, and herbs, each one painstakingly gathered under the cover of night.
The next page offered more than just warnings it was a recipe, hidden beneath faded sketches of each plant. Luna traced the instructions with her fingertip. "To create a toxin that bends life and death to your will, combine the essence of Wolfsbane with the venom of Mandrake, the burning sap of Bloodroot, and the madness of Datura. Temper it with Foxglove and seal it with the darkness of Devil's Trumpet."
She hesitated for only a moment, then set to work. Each plant was prepared with precision crushed, boiled, or distilled. The room filled with a pungent, acrid smell, the mingling of their toxic essences forming a brew as black as midnight.
When the last drop of Wolfsbane oil splashed into the cauldron, the mixture hissed, a small puff of smoke curling upward like a serpent. The candlelight dimmed as if the room itself recoiled from the deadly concoction.
Luna stood back, breathing heavily. She whispered to herself the words etched beneath the recipe:
"With this, nature bows to none but thee. Wield wisely, or be consumed."
But Luna had no intention of being consumed. Only of consuming others.
Luna's blood, tainted with a rare poison she had created herself was a toxin unlike any other poison so potent it could kill with a single drop. Her veins carried what some would have called a curse, but what she had always known was a weapon.
She held a knife to her palm, hesitating for the first time, she had never knowing hurt herself. A single mistake, and she could be her own undoing. But hesitation had no place here.
With a swift motion, she sliced her hand open knowing she could not heal but not letting it scare her, she knew this was the price she had to pay, the book would take is price. As Crimson droplets fell into the cauldron, there was a golden glow and the Lurenata plant formed, a golden flower more beautiful than anything she had ever seen.
Luna hissed as the pain from the cut hit her, She let her blood run into the boiling brew. The mixture turned a deep, inky black, its surface rippling like liquid shadow as the plant sunk into the brew.
She allowed her blood continue dripping as the moon rose to the highest peak, until Luna felt dizzy, drained , she was afraid her life may be claimed as price but when she thought the portion would drain her of all life the bleeding stopped and the area she had cut formed a blood red scar.
Luna knew that the scar and the blood she had lost was the price that was asked of her and she was all too glad to pay it. She knew the price could have been much more.
The room seemed to hold its breath. The candlelight dimmed, as if the very air recoiled from the power now brewing in the cauldron. Luna felt the burn in her veins, the curse responding to the ritual, but she gritted her teeth and stirred the potion.
Finally, she whispered the incantation scrawled beneath the recipe:
"With blood as my bond and poison my blade,
I command life to kneel, and death to obey."
The mixture roared to life, emitting a dark, swirling vapor that coiled around her like a serpent. Luna stepped back, her breath shallow. The elixir was complete a weapon born of nature's deadliest forces and her own cursed essence.
She held the vial up, the liquid inside glinting ominously.
"Let them fear me now," she murmured, a wicked smile playing on her lips.
Luna knew the next step would be to figure out a way to administer the vial without destroying the pack she had worked so much to try and save, those were her thought as she sank into the black abyss waiting to claim her.