Kalımıty

Chapter 24: Upper hand

Author's note: Very unedited chapter. Will be under revision.

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The birds are singing loudly as Kali rushes down the trail to the priestess' home. She nearly trips on the brick stairs as she climbs up, knocking twice on the door before opening it.

"Rala, I have your flowers," she calls out, looking around as the smell of mint hits her in the face. In the corner of the room she sees a pot boiling; mint leaves, rosemary, and a bunch of other things cooking inside of it.

It smells amazing, but also a bit off. She examines it, seeing a book beside it opened to a page that reads, "inner power." She tilts her head, looking more carefully at it.

"This is a very old spell and a very old book..." she whispers, right as the woman walks into the room. Kali looks at her surprised, taking in her appearance.

She has her hair stacked on her head like a crown, flowers sewn and weaved through it completely. Daisies and lotuses decorating every free inch. She looks beautiful, but Kali still feels uneasy around her.

"Of course it's old, your mother wrote it," Rala says nonchalantly, walking over to stir her concoction, "do you have my angel's breath?"

"My mother? What?" Kali frowns, ignoring Rala's question. Rala looks at her with an unamused expression, reaching over and grabbing the basket from Kali's grip.

"First things first, did you see the man in the woods?" She asks simpy, throwing the flowers directly into the stew.

Kali raises her eyebrows, "how do you know about that?"

"I know everything, keep up," she sighs, turning to grab some vials off a shelf beside her, popping open the corks and tossing the spices inside. "He only needs two more at this rate, you don't have much time. You can't be dilly dallying, otherwise the loss will be greater than you'd want."

"Who is he?" Kali takes a step forward, "why is he killing them?"

Rala ignores her again, throwing some leaves into the mix, leaning down to take a deep sniff before exclaiming excitedly, "yes!" She hurries over to the counter, grabbing a cup, then rushes back to the stove, dipping it inside.

"Answer me!" Kali yells, pushing herself up against the older woman, putting her arms on both sides of her as she corners her against the counter. "I'm tired of being ignored. Why is he killing them? What is he doing?"

Rala holds the full cup in her hands, staring intently at the young dragon. "I do not see faces, I can only feel the energy of what is going on."

Kali frowns, "I don't know what that means."

"Let me tell you, child, what your mother was unable to," Kali flinches as the woman's hard eyes bore into her. "Do you know what angel's breath is used for?"

"I don't know, Tate said something about it being used for bodies?"

"That's for weak souls, child. Do you know what it does to someone stronger? Someone like you?" Rala leans closer, looking up at Kali intensely.

"I don't know what you think I am." Kali says softly, leaning away a little.

"For a normal person like me, or that man in the woods, this lengthens life spans if still living. But for your kind, it strengthens your abilities."

"Ok, and? What does this have to do with the man?" Kali asks, tilting her head.

"Well, you found him near my angel's breath patch." She tilts her head back slightly.