Witchy Sour(23)

“I know,” I said. “But Gus has no clue, which in itself is quite strange. Normally Gus does all of the ingredient orders. He catalogues them and puts them away, but he told me he’s never been asked to restock Dust of the Devil. Our grandfather and Neil were the only Mixologists to make this potion, right? Did they ever say anything to you—a hint or a clue or something?”

Poppy shook her head. “If they did, I wasn’t listening. Mostly, I just wanted the potion to work. It’s not fun if it starts to wear off. The cravings get pretty bad, pretty quick.”

“It’s not fun for any of us,” Hettie said, waving a hand in front of her face to signal a noxious smell. “We’re forced to feed her raw meats, and that doesn’t sit well with her stomach if you catch my...drift.”

Zin snorted. “Clever.”

“Funny! You guys are really funny,” Poppy said sarcastically. “You try to live without half of the nutrients you need and tell me how that sits with your stomach.”

“It’s more like you ate a vat of broccoli, topped it off with a bit of asparagus, and then devoured a bathtub full of beans,” Hettie said. “I mean really, it’s impressive. That could be your Uniqueness if you wanted to be a Ranger.”

Poppy’s face reddened, and she opened her mouth to speak, but I interrupted first.

“I’ll find it, don’t worry,” I told Poppy. “I’ve talked to Gus in depth about it, and we’re on the lookout. He’s asking all of his suppliers for advice.”

Poppy sighed. “I appreciate it.”

We reached the end of the hallway made of metal, which was a good thing because I was getting so dizzy I couldn’t tell which way was left or right, up or down, but I could say for a fact that the contents of my stomach were about to come up.

“This is the lab,” Poppy said, pointing off to one side. “Lily, I thought you’d like this in particular.”

The metal had melded into a series of hallways made from clear glass. Sort of like a carnival fun house. Without Poppy, I would’ve knocked myself unconscious by waltzing straight into a solid, see-through panel. Thanks to her slow, guiding steps, however, we made it to the lab in one piece.

A glass wall surrounded the lab, and I stood as close as possible without smudging it. Inside, men dressed in sharp suits covered by white coats moved with purpose from one station to the next.

Small flames licked the top of one table, while another table held a container the size of a small whale filled with teensy glowing fish. Above the fire sat a series of eight vials, each of them different sizes and shapes. Some were tall, some were short, some were green, and some were gold. All of them sparkled as liquid bubbled and brewed inside.

“What are they making?” I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Poppy.

“I have no clue,” Poppy said. “It’s way over my head. I can try to get you a pass sometime though, if you’d like. It’s not unheard of to bring guests into the lab, and I bet they’d be happy to have you.”

I made a face. “I bet not. I’d just get in their way.”

“Wrong.” Poppy’s grin brightened her face. “Lily, don’t forget. You are the Mixologist. You can ask people to do things for you. A lot of folks would bend over backwards for the chance to share their work with you. This island has been waiting for the next true Mixologist for a while. We’re really happy you’re here.”

I sighed. “I don’t know about that. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I have no clue what I’m doing. There’s so much to learn, so little time to learn it, and so many things to accomplish. The list is so long, and I haven’t even gotten started yet.”

“You’re not alone. Gus is around to help, and so are we,” Poppy said. “You are practically royalty here.”

“Royalty...” I said with heavy sarcasm. “Definitely not royalty.”

Poppy waved a hand in dismissal. “You’re a big deal. People listen when you talk. Even if some don’t realize it yet, they will soon enough. Even Elle knew who you were before you introduced yourself.”

“I think that’s her job.”

“Yeah, well...” Poppy bobbed her shoulders up and down. “She didn’t know my name when I was first hired, and I’ve lived here all my life. Just ask Hettie and Zin. Speaking of… Hettie? Where’d they go? Zin?”

My head swiveled in all directions as well, but the two ladies were nowhere in sight. Though it was hard to imagine where they could’ve disappeared to, seeing how all of the walls were made of glass.