Page 28 of Hexes and Hiccups
“It’s from the book,” Tessa said.
Daisy swallowed again, her mouth incredibly dry. The phone was pressed to her ear as it rang. She searched through her brain for what she would say, how she could clean the words. But there was another fear beginning to string through her. If the Council was so sure that the gossip from the book was actually right, what did that say about Iskra? What did that say about the Council as a whole?
Despite being in the midst of summer, Willowbrook grew gravely cold as the sun fell beyond the horizon.
The other end of the phone clicked.
“Hello?”
13
Daisy
For the fifth time that early evening, Daisy dumped a bucket full of water over the sidewalk. The last few streaks of red paint slid down the pavement, washing away the rumor that once sat upon it. It streamed down Main Street quietly, taking away the shock for that evening, finally. The sun still loitered against the horizon, not entirely fallen, despite the moon looming overhead. It was pretty bright out, thanks to the summer season. A few groups of people lingered nearby, not entirely eyeing them but still curiously peering over their shoulders. Before anyone got too close, Iskra arrived with enchanted soap, hurriedly washing away the words that plagued her good name.
Iskra Veilshade uses dark magic.
Ever since she had arrived, the witch had remained incredibly quiet. There was a feverish look in her dark eyes, her sharply white hair almost glowing in the growing evening. Iskra had the soap enchanted by Zirelle, making sure that the culprit was rendered incapable of writing the same words a second time. Her cheeks were a bright shade of red when she arrived, especially as she looked over the words for the first time. Iskramumbled a few thanks as they got to work with cleaning it. Daisy was eager to talk, to press her about the rumor and the Council’s position upon on their case. Tessa remained quiet, but Daisy was in no mood to walk on eggshells.
Someonedeserved a well mannered and thoughtful apology.
As the last bit of the paint washed away, Iskra lowered her bucket, and released a heavy sigh. “I would like to apologize to you two,” she finally said, her eyes lowered. “As a matter of fact, the entire Council would like to apologize.”
Daisy crossed her arms. The exhaustion and tiredness threatened to turn her into a grouchy mess, but she held it in as much as she could. As if Tessa could feel her growing unrest, she stepped closer, the empathic magic already spreading between all three of them. Daisy held onto her annoyance as much as she could. If Tessa wouldn’t fight for herself, Daisy had every intention of doing it for her. The amount of times that Tessa defended Daisy over their years of knowing each other were innumerable. Daisy ignored the magic and kept her anger close to her chest.
“I don’t think anyone saw it,” Tessa said into the silence, her voice small but effortlessly kind. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”
Iskra chuckled humorlessly. “We will have no true way of knowing,” she replied. “If there is one good thing that might come out of this, it is that the Council is now more than aware that the rumors spread throughout town might not be true at all. We should have listened to you both long ago.”
Daisy almost let her true thoughts out, but she held them deep within. The last thing they needed was an outburst in the middle of Main Street, or something to turn Tessa’s mood sour. Daisy only wished for her friend to retain the confidence she once had in herself, and not be so run down by the Council’s selfish thinking. The only reason why they turned over a new leafwas because one of their own names had been drug through the mud. The moment the magic users of Willowbrook lost faith in their Elders was the same moment that unrest could take over the town. Unrest mixed with reckless magic was a recipe for disaster.
For Tessa’s sake, Daisy would try her best to move on. The feeling she carried would remain, perhaps left to be wielded on another day. For now, Daisy was far more intent on finding out the truth behind the gossip, and where Riven’s book might be. If anything, she only grew more and more determined to see the case solved with each passing rumor left for her to see. She remembered what Willowbrook used to be, and would not stop till it returned to what it once was.
“I can’t help but wonder why no one has seen the culprit,” Iskra murmured as she looked around.
Daisy’s brow furrowed. “I hadn’t quite thought about that.”
“Well,” Iskra continued, “we haven’t heard any reports about people painting on windows or sidewalks, have we? Or even the one you found on the side of a truck. How are those things able to go unnoticed like that?”
Tessa pressed her lips together thoughtfully. “An invisibility spell?”
“I think a paintbrush floating through the air would be more noticeable than the actual culprit,” Iskra said. Crouching down, Iskra’s white and thin overcoat flew gently in the air behind her. She pressed her fingers against the sidewalk, where the words once had been. Iskra’s eyes grew clouded and far away as she lingered there.
“Iskra,” Daisy whispered, taking a step closer. “Are you seeing something?”
Divination was an odd ability to be a master in. The foresight came and went, even if the user tried to reach out to it without both sides meeting in the middle. Sometimes, the power wasentirely elusive, and never showed itself for years. Other times, the ability was on the forefront, showing itself more times than it really needed to. Daisy wondered if Iskra was such a master that she could control it, giving herself glimpses of the future without needing to wait.
But Iskra shook her head, color slowly returning to her face. “No,” she murmured. “I’m afraid we might be on our own.” Her fingers continued to run over the pavement. “Are either one of you familiar with the ancient passageways that run beneath the town?”
Daisy nodded. “My mother used to tell me about them.”
“She knew them very well.”
“They have been around for a long time,” Daisy explained, noticing Tessa’s perplexed expression. “Perhaps even longer than Willowbrook itself. Old magic users built them for protection, to practice their power without being caught by normal people. They remain as strong as they did centuries ago, probably from the magic itself.” Daisy focused back on Iskra. “I didn’t think the passageways were accessible to the average townsperson.”
Iskra shrugged. “It isn’t like they’re closed off. Any magic user can find them. It’s up to the magic itself, or even the caster’s inherent power, to be able to use them.”
“We can get maps at Town Hall,” Daisy said. “I’ve seen them there before.”
