According to Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, the nettle (Urtica dioica), also called stinging nettle, burn weed, and ortiga ancha, is a masculine plant, ruled by the planet Mars. It is most powerful in spells connected to exorcism, protection, healing, and lust. It can be used to reflect curses or repel ghosts. Its lusty properties are best invoked in the bath. But of course, fresh nettles must be handled with care. They cannot be eaten raw. Their leaves and stems are covered with tiny hairs called trichomes, which, when touched, detach and plunge themselves into the skin like little needles, depositing painful poisons. We weren’t planning to eat them raw, of course. We weren’t as dumb as all that.

But it didn’t matter how dumb we weren’t, because we couldn’t find any. We spent the morning walking around in the woods, heads down, until our necks grew sore. Whenever anyone spotted a toothy-looking plant, she called Janet to come touch it. Janet had assured us she didn’t mind the prospect of the pain. I think after a while she was looking forward to it. By what would have been lunch, we still hadn’t found anything, and we were already exhausted.

“It’s almost time for rota,” I said.

“That’s an excellent idea,” said Serena.

When Luke saw the four of us approach the fence, he stood, though not in greeting. Instead, he walked over to the door and locked it from the inside. There was something different about him that day. It took me a few seconds to realize that he wasn’t wearing his usual gardening clothes. He looked nice: jeans and a white button-down shirt. He looked clean.

“Luke,” Serena said. Her voice was sweet again. “How are you?”

“What do you need?” He seemed incapable of looking directly at Serena for long. He kept flicking his eyes to her, and then away.

“We were wondering where we could find some nettles.”

“Now what, I wonder, would you want with those?” he said.

“We’ve been reading about Milarepa,” Laurel said.

“I bet you have,” Luke said.

“They’re supposed to be really healthy,” I said. “There are nutrients.”

“Do you grow them in here?” Serena asked. She took a step forward.

“I don’t cultivate weeds,” he said.

“Help us search, then,” Serena said. “You know what they say: a young back is a terrible thing to waste.”

Luke snorted, and I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. “Nettles grow near water,” he said. “Find some water, find some nettles. Good enough?”

In answer, Serena pulled her dress over her head and let it fall to the ground.