Page 5 of Hexes and Hiccups
Daisy’s heart broke at the sight of her. If the words written on the window were at all true, Anne would’ve never had sucha reaction to them. Not that she’d doubted the older woman before this, not even for a second. “You listen here, Anne,” Daisy said as she walked towards her, taking the woman’s shaking hands within her own. “You’re going to let us take you back to Fields’ Herbals,alright? Tess and I are going to sort this out for you. Don’t worry for one second.”
Though Anne meekly nodded, still letting the tears course down her button cheeks, Daisy knew that it would take a lot more than a few simple words to rid the woman of her fears. As Tessa began to slowly pull Anne back across the street, ignoring the eyes of onlookers that still clung to them, Daisy turned back towards the window, just as the salon door swung open.
Lora, the salon owner, stepped onto the sidewalk beside Daisy. “Good gracious,” she blurted. “I was wondering why I had a crowd outside the door.” She began to read the words, her eyes growing wider. “Golly! I can’t believe that –”
“Then don’t.”
“Huh?”
Daisy sighed, unable to find the anger any longer. She was merely distraught, by that point. The growing case surrounding Riven’s predicament had grown larger than she’d expected. There was another story resting beneath him being turned to stone, one that Daisy was growing more and more restless to figure out. She glanced over her shoulder to see Anne and Tessa almost at the shop. Seeing the people she cared for rendered into such a state of despair was far more than she ever wanted to see.
Daisy turned back to the salon owner, who watched her curiously. “Can you do me a favor, Lora?”
“Sure.”
Daisy nodded towards the window. “Can you take this down?”
“Believe me,” Lora said, “I don’t want it up here. For Anne’s sake.”
“Thank you, Lora. I’ll send you some extra ointment this week.”
After making sure she still had the slip of paper in her pocket, Daisy began to cross the street after her friends, each step filled with more determination than the last. Whatever was plaguing Willowbrook now would find its end at her hands, no matter what it took.
3
Daisy
Within the arcane room of Fields’ Herbals,Daisy loomed over a smoldering cauldron. A trail of smoke curled up from the center as the liquid bubbled and spat at her. A notebook was sprawled across her knees, her lips moving as she read the recipe in her head. The tracking potion was one she hadn’t needed in a long time. Despite the shop being full of potions and tonics similar to it, the one she brewed to uncover the book was only produced by special request. Its power was undeniable, and Daisy was in no hurry to hand it over to an unsuspecting witch or warlock.
Noise echoed out from the storefront as Daisy worked in the arcane room. With how busy it had been lately, Susy was working the counter alongside Tessa. Though it was summer break for the schoolgirl, she spent many days working at the shop, collecting a growing fund for when she’d return to school. Susy’s sweet voice rang out in the store constantly as she mingled with patrons and checked them out at the register. When they’d first come back to the shop, Anne had been forced to remain in the back room, her cries seemingly unstoppable.After a few cups of a soothing tea, Anne had returned to her normal state, but the frown on her face was unavoidable.
Daisy glanced at the recipe another time. “Dandelion roots and bay leaves,” she murmured to herself. “Check.” Her finger trailed down the list. “A sprinkle of salt.” She poured some in her palm before letting it trickle through her fingers into the cauldron. The brew smelt of something savory, like a roasting stew. “A few juniper berries –”
She plucked some berries from a jar beside her before smashing them between her fingers, then letting the skin and juice simmer within the brew. The scent turned utterly sweet in seconds as she dragged her wooden spoon throughout it.
“And, last but not least –” Daisy snatched up a leather pouch, pulling at the opening till she could pour in her final ingredient. “Powdered Quartz.”
Daisy cleared her throat as she straightened, holding her hands over the cauldron. Letting her eyes flutter shut, Daisy began to feel the magic course through her veins, growing stronger beneath her skin. The words came to her effortlessly despite not practicing the spell in years.
“Through the cloud and through the mist,” she began, her voice echoing through the arcane room as everything else faded away, “show me where the Book of Gossip is!”
The brew within the cauldron sputtered and swayed with her words, rising towards her outstretched fingers. The light in the arcane room flickered in and out, the cool liquid engulfing her hands. Smoke curled all around her as the magic grew to its apex, the spell using the potion to take shape into something else. Daisy breathed in deep before slapping her hands together, a puff of magic snapping through the air.
When she opened her eyes, the lights had returned to normal within the room, and there wasn’t a single drop of liquid left within the cauldron. While she knew she had felt the liquid riseonto her hands, she wasn’t the slightest bit wet either. She pulled her hands apart, and there was a pile of pearl-shaped beads resting within her palms. Though they weren’t pieces of jewelry, Daisy could’ve fooled herself. Beneath the light, they looked as if they were freshly plucked from clams, waiting to be strung together and wrapped around a slender neck.
“Don’t tell me you’re calling it the Book of Gossip.”
Daisy lifted her head towards the door to see Tessa leaning against the frame, her arms wound tightly over her chest. “Do you have a better name?”
Tessa considered it for a moment, tapping the edge of her pointed chin before she shrugged. “No,” she mused, “I think the Book of Gossip is the best we’re gonna get.”
Chuckling lightly, Daisy began to stand, keeping a tight hold over the beads. She walked over to the door as Tessa retrieved a pouch and held it open to allow the stream of beads to fall into it.
“You could sell those as pearls,” Tessa commented.
Daisy eyed her. “They’re meant to be eaten, Tess.”
“Well, I sure hope you flavored them well.”
