Page 8 of Hexes and Hiccups
“Well, I’m notentirelysure.”
Tessa raised a brow. “Well, you haven’t failed me yet.”
Moving at the same time, Daisy and Tessa popped the pearl-shaped beads into their mouths, letting them rest against their tongues. At first, it didn’t taste much like anything, except for a savory hint of salt. But, once it began to dissolve within their mouths, Daisy was overwhelmed with a sweetness, as if she had bit down on a ripe juniper berry. With her eyes holding onto the page, the magic began to swirl within her stomach before trickling down to her feet. Before they could even exchange a look, Daisy and Tessa raced from the alleyway and back onto the sidewalk.
The spell shot straight towards their feet, making them speed walk through main street relentlessly. All feeling and willpower over their legs were gone, the spell leading the way forward. People stepped out of their way, eyes wide and bewildered with how fast they were going. A few familiar faces appeared on the sidewalk, raising their hands and beginning to say hello.
Maria Blakey, a widowed mother of three, walked along the sidewalk with a few groceries in hand. “Daisy!” she exclaimed, waving at the pair of them. “Good afternoon, Tess! How’re you –”
Daisy couldn’t stop moving even if she wanted to. It was as if an invisible string had been tied around their stomachs, pulling them forward relentlessly. Daisy eyed the mother as kindly as she could as they passed her by, a wide smile stretching across her face.
“Hello, Maria!” she blurted. “Running late for…for…for…”
Tessa raised a hand to wave. “For the bathroom!” she shouted. “Wereallyhave to go!”
Leaving Maria behind with a bewildered expression, Daisy glared over at her friend.
“What?” Tessa asked with a shrug.
Daisy shook her head, holding back how much she actually wanted to laugh. “You couldn’t come up with anything else?”
“Oh, well,” she snapped, “I didn’t hear you coming up with any bright ideas!”
The pair kept going through Main Street before delving into the neighborhoods, slowly nearing the end of town. Though they would have normally been exhausted by that point, the magic did all the work for them. By the time they reached the outskirts of town, where the road would eventually curve into the rushing highway, the magic began to loosen and trickle away. Daisy almost fell forward as the urgency left her, her feet abruptly stopping in front of a tall billboard. She caught herself at the last moment, pressing a hand to her heart as she breathed in deeply.
“Good grief,” she mused. “That was way more than I thought it would be.” Daisy straightened, still holding the ripped note in her hand. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Tessa standing there, her head angled up to see the front of the billboard, a shocked expression on her face. “What’re you looking at?”
Tessa raised her hand to the billboard, her mouth wide open.
Following her gaze, Daisy took a few steps backwards to be able to see the top of the billboard. Across the sign that marked it as the end of town, words were painted across it with a sharply red color, just like the message that had been scrawled across the salon’s front window. Daisy’s eyes narrowed as she read it, her heart almost coming to a stop for a second time.
Marigold Shadowbrook is unstable and dangerous. No man should date her.
Daisy choked on her own breath. “That-That-That –”
“Oh, yeah,” Tessa murmured. “This isn’t good.”
Daisy gulped.
Thatwas an understatement.
4
Daisy
Biting back her laugh, Daisy did her best to remember the grief on Anne’s face when she noticed the writing on the salon window. Gossip, though tempting, was more harmful than it was good – a fact that Daisy was trying to hold on to. But as she stared up at the billboard, no longer paying attention to the ‘leaving Willowbrook’ sign, Daisy could only feel the slightest bit of retribution and pride. Perhaps there was a thing as karma, and it was working in her favor, rather than against.
Marigold Shadowbrook is unstable and dangerous. No man should date her.
Beside her, Tessa stared up at the billboard with her hands on her hips, a grin crossing her face. She shook her head slowly, not bothering to hold back her laughter.
“Well, I’ll be,” Tessa murmured. “Bless Hecate for some karma like this.”
Daisy eyed her. “Aren’t you one of the victims of this serial gossip, Tess?”
“I don’t think it’s the same.”
“Why not? Itisgossip, after all.”
