it was too far up, and I could hear voices and what sounded like…singing?
Bastien moved to the alcove and came back with a glass chalice. It took on the gleam and color of the glowing symbols around us. With a glance at me, he started to dip the chalice in the basin.
I put my hand out. "Stop. I'll do it. Ivan's my responsibility."
Bastien handed me the chalice and I filled it with the liquid. It made the glass warm, and I wondered if the basin was heated from underneath. Carefully stepping down with some support from Bastien, I knelt beside Ivan and touched his face. "Ivan, I need you to hear me. To listen to me."
My Undine, still seated on my shoulder, moved to shine some of her blue light on his face. She kissed his cheek and he opened his white eyes.
I ushered the little mermaid out of the way and put the edge of the chalice to his lips. "Drink this for me, Ivan. It'll stop the pain."
Ivan brought his hands up to help balance the chalice and tilted it back, his eyes closed. I heard him swallow a few times before he lowered it and pushed it away. "Ugh…wow…what is this? Watered down hot sauce?"
The laugh that came out of me was half a sob. That sounded like my Ivan. I laughed and sniffed. "Tastes bad, huh?"
"Yeah, like you ran some of it through a rusty pipe."
:You have to drink the whole cup.:
Ivan jumped. "Whoa…is that Medbh?"
I lifted the chalice back up and told him to drink. He continued until he'd emptied it. Bastien took the chalice as I leaned in to Ivan. "You feel better?"
"Oh I feel great," Ivan said and opened his eyes.
They were brown again. Beautiful brown. "And you can see me?"
"Yeah…why wouldn't I see you?"
Narrowing my eyes, I said, "Do you know where you are?"
"Yeah. I'm in Faerie Land, and don't ask how I got here. All I did was try to grab that stick and wham! I was standing in some high grass and dudes on horses rode up, threw a net over me and dragged me behind them." Ivan's expression changed and he looked sad. "I remember what she did to me, Sam. I…I don't know this woman the way you do. My only experience with Faerie is Medbh and honestly, she creeped me out but she made me laugh. This girl…" he shivered. "She's bat shit crazy and she's sure you're going to take it all away from her."
"How does she know this? Why does she think this?"
"There's this guy with her. He's dressed in black, in a black robe and hood over his face. He told her what to ask me while she was…" his voice trailed off and I didn't prod him any further.
:That would be this man who calls himself the priest.: Medbh moved up to stand between Ivan and I.
Ivan spotted her and his new beautiful eyes widened. "Medbh? Sweet Lady you look impressive. You're mobile!"
:You like it? I do. Much better than the head,: she pointed at him. :You took care of my head, didn't you?:
"It's fine, Medbh, but this isn't getting us to Crwys." I stood and helped Ivan to his feet. He practically popped up like a prairie dog. His shoulders straight, a grin on his face.
:Not so fast. You, wolf boy. You should drink a glass too. And you really need to drink some, Sam. Your reserves aren't as good as they could be.:
"My reserves?" I looked at the chalice in Bastien's hand. "Was us drinking part of the deal Bastien made with Tzariene?"
:You'll have to ask him. I'm just saying if you want to be at full capacity to deal with crazy bird up there, then you'll need the boost.:
I looked at Bastien. He shrugged. "She didn't say not to drink." And as if to put a period on that statement, he dipped the chalice in and downed a full cup. When he finished he made a face too. "Merde."
So I took the chalice and filled it. I noticed there wasn't much left in the basin. I doubted what I left behind could even fill the chalice a quarter. I held my breath and downed the whole cup. I could taste it, and Ivan was right, it did taste like watered down hot sauce through a rusty pipe. I figured it was some kind of mineral water.
Wait…
"Lady Darksome!" I held the chalice out and stared down at Medbh. "We just drank