Page 10 of Hexes and Hiccups
“I don’t think so,” she murmured. “Though, I can’t quite remember. I could’ve sworn it was as right as rain.”
“And you’re sure it’s meant to find the entire book, right?” Tessa asked as she raised her head to the sky, staring up at the sign. Her eyes narrowed as she kept the sun out of her eyes, a knowing look passing her face.
Daisy could hardly pay attention. She was too busy recounting the recipe of her tracking spell, remembering hermother’s notes in the margins of her grimoire. None of it was out of the ordinary, or anything Daisy wouldn’t expect. She even followed what to do afterwards, with the beads and everything. Frustration began to nip at her. “Of course!”
Tessa sighed. “Looks like our job just got a lot harder.”
“What do you mean?”
Nodding towards the billboard, Tessa pointed towards the top. There was a tall ladder attached to one side of the erected pole, and a short and narrow balcony pointed out of the sign. At the very top, stuck within a crack of the railing, was a torn piece of paper, which shimmered in the light.
Golden edges!
“Well,” Daisy drawled, the dread settling into her stomach, “looks like we’ll be going up there after all.”
“Hey, wait a –”
“There isn’t anything else, Tess!” Daisy interjected, already walking towards the bottom of the ladder. “We came for the book, and found another torn page instead. Maybe we need more pieces to have enough strength for the potion.” She shook her head, the words sounding ridiculous and nonsensical. “Whatever it is, we need to get that page.”
Tessa released a dramatic sigh. “You think the Witch Council offers health insurance?”
Grabbing a hold of the metal ladder, Daisy planted her feet on the first step and lifted herself up. The wind seemed to pick up quickly, already whipping her hair around and causing the billboard’s legs to wobble. Beneath her, Tessa climbed forward as well, her trembling hands slippery against the steps.
“Relax, Tess!” Daisy called out to her, though there was an obvious shudder in her voice. “Just keep your eyes up and – ”
“If you say what I think you’re gonna say,” Tessa screeched, “I’m gonna do it!”
Daisy kept trudging upwards, pressing her lips tight together. They pushed themselves further and further, the ladder shaking as the wind grew stronger. Once they’d come halfway up the ladder, the steps began to creak and moan, bending at the center when Daisy pressed her foot against it. She yelped at the lack of stability, her shoes slipping from the grass.
“Oh!” Daisy’s balance wavered as her foot flew off the step, her hands already loosening their grip out of reckless fear. Moments before she could fly off the ladder, Tessa’s hand snapped out, snatching onto her foot and replacing it against the ladder.
“You can reach it, Daisy!” Tessa shouted, her eyes clinging to the rails.
The note had slipped down the crack it was shoved into during the time it took them to crawl up the ladder. It was on the verge of flying away, coaxed forward by the wind as seconds passed. Daisy breathed deeply, ignoring the wind that kept slicing by her skin, how her clothes seemed to fly behind her like a cape. Releasing the ladder, Daisy stretched out her fingers towards the edge of the railing, listening to the flapping page slip out from the crack.
“Almost–” Daisy hissed between clenched teeth, her foot still secure from Tessa’s tight, reassuring grip, “–got it!”
The page flew from the crack and Daisy snagged it out the air, jerking it towards her chest instantly.
“Alright, Flowers!” Tessa cheered, already shuffling down the ladder.
Daisy gripped onto the paper as tight as she could, following after Tessa. She kept her attention focused on the grassy floor, up until the very last second, when she finally leapt off the final step. The moment her feet hit the ground, relief washed through her, her head growing dizzy and legs wobbling. Beside her, Tessapressed their shoulders together, keeping each other afloat, even when neither of them could stand quite right.
“Blessed be,” Daisy breathed as she held up the page. “All that for this little thing.” She carefully tucked the page into her pocket, feeling the rest of the slips beside it.
Tessa sighed as she stretched her arms into the air. “I’m proud of us. We didn’t fall.”
“Sure,” Daisy murmured. “But I’ll be having nightmares about that for days.”
“It’ll be worth it,” she replied. “Hopefully.”
As they began to walk back towards the road, heading in the direction of Willowbrook’s busy main street, Daisy tried to imagine what their next steps might be.
“Maybe we need to just try again,” she finally said.
Tessa raised a brow. “With the beads?”
“What else is there to do?” Daisy shook her head, feeling like she hit a stump. “There’s still so much left, and if it leads us to another place, maybe it’ll be another page, but itcouldbe the book.”
