Her shadowy face was pinched in concern. Behind her, Jenks and David watched. I didn’t like David seeing me like this, but it wasn’t as if I had much choice. “Drink your tea,” she said, holding it up to me and putting my hand around it.

“My head hurts,” I complained, taking a sip of the bland brew. It wasn’t real tea, but something with flowers and weeds in it. What I wanted was a cup of that coffee, but I didn’t want to hurt Ceri’s feelings. “I feel like run-over crap,” I complained.

“You look like run-over crap,” Jenks said. “Drink your tea.”

It was tasteless but soothing. I took another swallow, scraping up a smile for Ceri. “Mmmm. Good,” I lied.

She straightened, clearly pleased as she picked up the washbasin. “Drink it all. Do you mind if Keasley tacks a blanket over your door to stop the draft?”

“That would be great. Thanks,” I said, but she didn’t leave until I took another sip.

Her shadow left the hall, and my smile fell into a grimace. “This stuff is tasteless,” I whispered. “Why does everything good for me have to be tasteless?”

David glanced at the empty doorway and the light spilling in. Jenks flew to land on his shoulder as the Were unzipped his backpack. “I’ve got something that might help,” David said. “My old partner used to swear by it. Begged me for some when he partied-too-hearty.”

“Whoa!” Hand over his nose, Jenks flitted upward. “How much bane you got in there, Johnny Appleseed?”

David’s smile grew sly. “What?” he said, his brown eyes innocent. “It’s not illegal. And it’s organic. No carbs, even.”

The familiar spicy scent of bane rose thicker in the small room, and I wasn’t surprised when David brought out a cellophane bag with a zippy top. I recognized the name brand: Wolf’s Head Organic. “Here,” he said as he took the cup out of my hand and set it on my bedside table.

Hiding what he was doing from the hallway, he shook a good tablespoon into my drink. Running his eyes over me, he shook in a little more. “Try it now,” he said, handing it to me.

I sighed. Why was everyone giving me stuff? All I wanted was a sleep charm or maybe one of Captain Edden’s strange aspirins. But David looked so hopeful, and the smell of bane was more appealing than rosehips, that I stirred it with my pinky. The crushed leaves sank to leave the tea a richer color. “What good will this do?” I asked as I took a sip. “I’m not a Were.”

David dropped the bag into his backpack and zipped it shut. “Not much. Your witch metabolism is too slow for it to really work. But my old partner was a witch, and he said it helped with his hangovers. It’s got to taste better, if nothing else.”

He stood to leave, and I sipped again, agreeing. My jaw relaxed; I hadn’t even known I had been clenching it. Warm and smooth, the bane tea slipped down my throat with a mixed taste of ham broth and apples. My muscles seemed to unknot, like taking a shot of tequila. A sigh slipped from me, and the soft weight of Jenks landing on my arm pulled my eyes to his.