Page 18 of Hexes and Hiccups
“The cure for Riven’s petrified state,” Daisy clarified. “I know it is a difficult brew to master. Is it serving you well so far?”
“We have managed to collect a few of the ingredients,” Iskra said with a sigh. She didn’t meet either of their persistent gazes. “Though the rest of them are quite out of our reach. The Council has a few worldwide contacts that could gather them for us, but only time will tell.”
Though there was something concerning about how Iskra seemed to lack urgency when it came to the cure, Daisy only allowed herself to be glad that they were doing it in the first place. “Freeing Riven from the state he’s in might be the easier route to go down,” Daisy finally said. “You understand that, right?”
Iskra eyed her. “It is an option we’re trying to take.”
“It might be the best option.”
“Luckily for us,” Iskra continued, skipping over Daisy’s tone, “Riven is fully unharmed, and even unaware of the predicament he’s in.” Iskra stood up straight, as if she was getting ready to take her leave. “There was something I wanted to make clear to you both. Something that I believe you deserve to be on the same page about.”
The sudden seriousness and tension in Iskra’s voice caught both of their attention. Daisy felt the pit in her stomach grow, that feeling of unease and paranoia quickly returning to her.
“Until you manage to prove otherwise,” Iskra began to explain, “the Council is under the belief that Tessa Hala turned Riven to stone in order to stop him from telling anyone about her cheating.” She held onto Tessa’s stare. “The evidence is too blatant for us to ignore, not when we’re met with more questions than answers.”
“But…” Tessa began, though she quickly allowed her head to drop, the confidence seeping out of her.
“I willalwaysbelieve in innocence before immediate guilt, Iskra,” Daisy snapped, curving around the counter to stand behind her friend, placing her hands over her shoulders. “The only evidence you have is a matter of mere circumstance, nothing tangible. You and the rest of the Council should think aboutthat.”
Before Iskra could respond, her phone began to sharply ring through the store. She turned away as she pulled it out, flippingit open and pressing it to her ear as she stepped away from them. Daisy kept her arm tightly around Tessa, determined to let her confidence sink into her friend. Everything would so easily crumble away if Tessa didn’t even bother to believe in herself, something that Daisy was unable to do for her. As the silence stretched on, Tessa reached to place her hand over Daisy’s, giving her a tight squeeze.
At least there was one thing Daisy could be sure of, and that was that Tessa wouldneverbe alone throughout all of it.
Iskra rounded around the aisle, the color drained from her face.
“What is it?” Daisy asked.
The witch’s next words sent a chill through the air, a feeling Daisy would not forget anytime soon.
“They found another statue.”
8
Daisy
The neighborhood Daisy and Tessa lived in was rather close knit in comparison to the one they now found themselves in. The deeper one went into Willowbrook, the more spaced out the houses became, becoming more and more shrouded by tall trees and bushes. While Daisy didn’t venture that way too often, she knew the way as they drove to the address Iskra handed to them, after begging them to get to the bottom of it as soon as they could. Despite Iskra making sure they knew that the Council believed Tessa to have been behind Riven’s statue reality, they didn’t shy away from having her fix their problems.
The more distance they put between themselves and the shop, the easier it became for Daisy’s irritation to settle and simmer down. Tessa was rather quiet for the entire drive, staring out the window and hiding her expression. Daisy pulled up in front of a small, quaint house, one that had yellow walls and a wide garden blossoming on every side of it. There was another car parked in front of them, one that Daisy recognized though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. As she turned the car off, Daisy faced Tessa and reached for her hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“You alright?” she asked.
Tessa nodded, although her eyes looked rather faraway. “Do you know Fern Harper?”
Ignoring the fact that Tessa avoided answering her question, Daisy sighed and looked back towards the house. The mailbox at the edge of the driveway had Harper written on it with very neat handwriting. There wasn’t much she knew about Fern, other than the fact that she came into Fields’ Herbalsevery now and then.
“I think she can’t sleep well,” Daisy replied.
“Huh?”
“Fern made special orders for sleep tonics,” she explained. “Ones that were stronger than what we had over the counter. Maybe insomnia. I didn’t speak to her much, though. She came by once and we had the orders mailed to her ever since.”
Tessa held onto her chin thoughtfully. “Something about the name Harper rings a bell, although I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Really?” Daisy shrugged. “Might just be from the shop.”
“Could be. But…” Tessa sighed, and grabbed onto the door handle. “It’s probably nothing. Why don’t we start to head in?”
Daisy nodded. “Iskra mentioned there’d be another Elder here.”
