Lois Drinks It

It can't be that bad, Lois told herself. If she's drinking it too.

The tea was bitter, somewhat grassy. Lois had drunk herbal teas before that reminded her of that before. For all that, it was mostly just hot water, the kind that washed the taste out of her mouth and soothed her throat. A pleasant heat began to spread from her stomach as Lois, thirstier than she though, drained the cup, leaving only lees of wet green things at the bottom.

She set it down...and Blaze set hers down, the liquid untouched.

Lois looked up at her in alarm. The secret smile met her gaze.

"Don't worry. It isn't poisoned. But one of us should remain...unaffected. You're going on quite the trip."

"What do you mean?"

"DMT is normally processed very quickly by the body. It takes effect within fifteen minutes, and the experience lasts about half an hour. Unless...as the shamans of South America discovered...you include an inhibitor. Then the little trip can last for two or three hours. They call the combination yagé or ayahuasca."

Yagé! Lois shook as realization hit her. William Burroughs had written about that ****. A powerful hallucinogen...with other effects...

Warm fingers clamped over the reporter's hand.

"Relax! Try and open yourself up to it. Many people find it a near-religious experience. The **** opens up the doors of perception."

Lois felt her pulse race...heart pound in her chest...but she didn't take her hand away.

"Did the other women take it?" She asked. "Did you give it to them?"

"They came to me looking for...cheap thrills." Blaze told her. "Clean chemical highs to escape their humdrum lives. I gave that to them. When they had paid everything they had, I gave them the means to earn more. As much as they want."

"How?" Lois asked, **** to learn all she could before the **** took effect. "Where are they?"