Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,90

bloody good orange sauce.”

“It’s called kaldereta,” Tala said, warming to the idea. She missed her mother’s cooking already. She’d be safe in London at least, in whatever place the Cheshire called his hideout. She placed her hand inside the bowl. “But that’s not even my favorite food. My favorite is called adobo, and it’s chicken marinated in this blend of vinegar and soy sauce, and it’s fantastic with white rice.” She could use one of her mom’s home-cooked meals right now. Tala closed her eyes, trying to will everything she remembered about her mother’s adobo, hoping to channel it into the dish. She missed her terribly.

Loki laughed. “I’m hungry already.”

“Let’s go,” Ken urged. “My mouth’s watering just imagining it.”

“So here’s—” Tala pulled her arm out of the cornucopia, only to come up empty-handed.

She tried again, with the same results.

“Maybe it’s broken?” West asked.

The curse, you fool.

“No,” Tala said. “It’s not.”

And then, much to her surprise, she burst into tears.

* * *

“Sorry,” Tala whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for,” Alex insisted. His shoulder was still wet from her crying, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Maybe if a couple other people had the foresight to remember how an agimat works,” he shot Ken and Zoe dirty looks, “this wouldn’t have happened.”

“We didn’t think,” Ken conceded, ashamed.

“We should be the one apologizing,” Zoe agreed. “I should have remembered. I’m so sorry, Tala.”

“No, don’t,” Tala said, wiping her eyes. “I just got a little overwhelmed, is all. I’m okay now.”

“If you’re sure?” Maybe it was because of what had happened earlier at the village, since Alex wasn’t always this protective. It felt nice, for a change.

“Positive. I just didn’t realize how much I miss my family. You guys better get your third meal for the day so we can start eating.”

“Well, what else is in here, anyway?” West asked, reaching down into the cornucopia himself.

Tala had never seen Ken and Zoe move so fast. The boy had clamped onto West’s wrist while the girl had taken a hold of his forearm, but it was too late; West’s hand had already plunged inside the cornucopia.

“Real talk, West,” Ken said hurriedly. “What’s your favorite food?”

“And please don’t say anything weird,” Zoe added. “Like bull testicles or flowers.”

“I had a really good dish made of borage flowers once,” West responded promptly. “It was a delicacy from northern Albion. It’s normally used for salads but the chef served it up to me on chocolate ca—”

“I swear by the goddamn power of Grayskull, West,” Ken threatened, “if your hand leaves this pot with a bouquet of flowers I am going to throttle you.”

“Of course not,” West said, injured. “That’s not my favorite food. It’s steak.”

Zoe and Ken glanced at each other, and both relaxed their hold on him.

“Good choice, West,” Ken growled.

“I’m vegetarian,” Zoe admitted, “but I’ll eat meat in an emergency. And since this didn’t technically come from an actual cow…”

“Steak tartare,” West finished proudly, bringing his hand out. “The rarer it is, the better it tastes.”

* * *

They cooked West’s steak tartare over the fire, leaving enough of it raw for West’s portion, and only his portion. Zoe had also set out into the nearby woods, returning half an hour later with a bundle of mushrooms Loki confirmed were safe to eat.

Tala sat on a small tree stump and watched them at work, feeling helpless. It was becoming very apparent that she had no outdoor skills to speak of, and felt she was only going to get in everyone’s way if she attempted to pitch in, especially after her adobo disaster.

“Is there a way to tell if the animals aren’t shape-shifters?” she asked. “It might be awkward if we do find an animal out here, only to, uh…”

“West would have spotted them immediately,” Zoe assured him. “Shifters recognize their own. And you can see their real forms if you stand them by a mirror, like a reverse vampire. I won’t eat them, so that really isn’t my problem.”

“But meat is delicious, Zoe,” Ken invited, with a wide grin.

Zoe threw a large twig his way. “Not my fault if you accidentally eat someone’s enchanted mother.”

Tala swept some snow aside with her foot. “Were there instances in Avalonian history of those?”

“Yeah, but they’re not so much accidents as they were punishments.”

Tala nibbled on a piece of cheese. Zoe was right; it tasted better than it smelled. “That sounds awful.”

“The other kingdoms don’t have the monopoly on wickedness,” Alex said, staring into the