The bell above the door chimed once, a soft, incongruous sound that belonged in a different kind of establishment.
Willow & Root was warm and cluttered, wooden shelves lined with ceramic jars, a counter with a brass scale, the air thick with the scent of jasmine and something older.
Earthier.
The kind of smell that settled in your lungs and made you want to sit down and stay awhile.
“We’re closed.”
The woman behind the counter didn’t look up.
She was measuring tea leaves into a clay pot, her movements precise and unhurried.
White hair cascaded past her shoulders, bright as fresh snow against the dark wood of the shelves.
Dom stopped just inside the doorway.
“Joe sent me. I have something you need to see.”
A pause.
The woman’s hands stilled on the scale.
Then she lifted her head, and Dom got his first real look at her.
Mid-twenties.
Sharp cheekbones.
Full lips set in a line that defaulted to something between a smirk and a warning.
Her body was all curves beneath a loose apron, the kind of figure that drew the eye and kept it, but it was her eyes that stopped him cold—Crimson colored and tired in a way that had nothing to do with lack of sleep.
Her forearms, bare below rolled-up sleeves, were laced with chemical burns and old scars.
“You’re staring,” she said.
“Sorry. You’re not what I expected.”
“I never am.” She set the tea leaves aside and wiped her hands on her apron.
“You’ve got five minutes, kid. Make them count.”
Dom reached into his inventory and pulled out the Phoenix Tear Extract.
The crystal vial caught the dim light, and the single drop of liquid inside burned gold like a captured sunset.
Morgan went completely still.
Her crimson eyes locked onto the vial with an intensity that bordered on violence.
Then she crossed the room in three quick strides, snatched the vial from his hand, and held it up to the light.
Her fingers were trembling.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was a system reward for D-rank gate clear.”
“That should be impossible.”
“I know.” You are reading on g.com, the official source.
She turned the vial over in her hands, watching the golden liquid swirl.
“This is real.”
“Very real.”
“Who else knows you have it?”
“My sister, and no one else… I think.”
She finally looked at him, her crimson eyes boring into his like she was trying to read something hidden behind his pupils.
Then she walked to the door, flipped the lock, and pulled down the shade.
“Sit down.”
She leaned against the counter, arms crossed, the Phoenix Tear still clutched in one hand, and told him her truth.
“I spent seven years trying to make Elixirs from common ingredients, instead of legendary components: no impossible-to-find catalysts and other hassles. I believed healing, real healing, the kind that rebuilds a body from the inside out, shouldn’t be reserved for the ultra-wealthy. People who could afford to drop a fortune on a single vial.” Her voice was flat, clinical, like she was reading from a research paper she’d memorized years ago.
“My assistant believed in it too. Her name was Kiera. She was brilliant. Better than me even. She was going to take over the research when I retired. We were close to a breakthrough.”
She paused.
When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
“The experiment was sabotaged. Someone didn’t want me to succeed. Someone who benefited from Elixirs remaining rare, expensive, and controlled. The reaction went catastrophic. It killed Kiera. She died on the floor of my laboratory, choking on her own dissolved lungs, while I tried to stabilize the reaction. It should have killed me too.”
She gestured at her own face, a bitter smile flickering at the corner of her mouth.
“Instead, the ruined Elixir rewound my body to its physical prime. Fully restored. I walked out of that lab looking like I’d been blessed, and Kiera was dead. Since then I haven’t synthesized an Elixir. And that was eight years ago.”
Dom didn’t look away, how she looked finally making sense to him.
“You know who sabotaged it?”
“Not clearly, and I’ve spent the years trying to find out. Whoever it was covered their tracks well, but they’re still out there. People who benefit from scarcity. People who would kill to keep Elixirs out of reach.” She set the Phoenix Tear down on the counter between them.
“Which brings me to you.”
“I need an Elixir,” Dom said.
“My mother is dying of Mana Congestion Syndrome. Full cellular reconstruction is the only thing that can save her, from what Joe tells me. I have the Tear. I’m prepared to find the other ingredients. I need someone who can synthesize it.”
Morgan’s expression didn’t change.
“You did hear the story I just told you, yes? Even if you take out the sabotage, it’s still an extremely risky thing.”
“Joe said you were the only one who could do it.”
“Joe says a lot of things.” She set the vial down.
“I’m retired. And haven’t synthesized anything in eight years. A lot of different things could go wrong.”
“Then why did you let me in, and tell me all that story if you’re not going to help?”
Morgan’s eyes flickered.
“Because Joe asked nicely. And because I was curious what a broke hunter would have that was worth my time.”
“I understand there are risks, but you’re my only hope. Also, I’m not broke anymore.”
“So I’ve heard. I never said I wasn’t going to help; I just wanted to verify something.” Morgan studied him for a long moment.
“Joe did say you were stubborn.” Visit novelping.com for the full chapter.
“If it’s what it will take to get my mother back, then yes, I’m stubborn. I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m sure you have.” She picked up the vial again, turning it over in her fingers.
“I’m not agreeing to anything. But the Phoenix Tear is valuable to me; it’s one of the components I’ve been trying to replicate. Having a real sample to analyze could advance my research. So here’s what I’ll do: I’ll analyze the Tear. Verify its purity. Catalog its properties.”
“In exchange?”
“In exchange, you work for me when you return. Courier jobs. Ingredient sourcing, as well as protection when I need it.” Her crimson eyes met his.
“When?”
“Whenever you’re available. You said you needed an Elixir for your mother. That’s not a quick fix. That’s weeks of work, maybe months. I’ll need time to prepare.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow. I’m heading inside the Fracture. So I’ll be gone for a few days.”
Morgan’s eyebrow rose.
“The Fracture?
” That’s a very dangerous journey to go on.” She paused.
“When you get back—if you get back, come to my shop. We’ll discuss the Elixir. Until then, the Tear stays with me. I’ll keep it safe.”
Dom hesitated.
He was handing a legendary component to a woman he’d just met.
Morgan read his expression and let out a short, humorless breath.
“If I wanted to steal it, I wouldn’t have told you my life story first. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a thief.” She leaned forward, her voice dropping.
“When you come back from whatever job you’re walking into, come here. We’ll talk. But Dom—don’t talk about that vial with anyone else. There are people out there that would kill you for something like this. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
“Good.” She straightened up and gestured toward the door.
“Now get out of my shop. I have work to do.”
Dom stood.
At the door, he paused.
“Morgan.”
“What?”
“You’re going to analyze it whether I come back or not, aren’t you?”
It wasn’t a question.
Morgan didn’t answer.
She just picked up the Phoenix Tear and held it to the light one more time, the golden liquid swirling slowly and brightly.
Her expression was unreadable, but her hands had stopped trembling.
“Just make sure not to die in the Fracture,” she said quietly.
“I’d hate to have to find another courier.”