Concoctions Of Love

Previously

…Suddenly, a sharp rapping echoed again, this time more insistent, more demanding. Zamia froze, her heart leaping into her throat. This was not a messenger. This was the sound of authority. The sound of the Inquisition. She scrambled to cover the cauldron again, her hands fumbling with the heavy drape. She extinguished the low burner beneath it, plunging the immediate area into deeper shadow. The rhythmic pulsing of the potion seemed to falter, as if sensing the intrusion. “Open your door, alchemist!” a voice boomed from outside, laced with a chilling authority. “In the name of the Holy Office, I demand entry!” In