Page 6 of Heart Shaped Wreckage
“Bernie?” He jumped from his wooden perch on top of my altar and onto the ground as he waddled over towards my table by the simmering fire.
“She’s gone back to wherever she goes, Dandy. We’re on our own. I can totally do this. I’m not seventy years old, dude. I’m almost two hundred.”
“Child,” Dandelion jumped up onto the table and turned his beak away from the ghastly sight. “I’m ancient.”
“You are. But you’re also annoying.”
“Familiar!”
“Yes… I know. You chose me.”
“Bad decision,” he chirped happily at making fun of me. I was the butt of most of his jokes, but I knew how much he loved me. He would give his life for me if he needed to, without question. At least, I think he would. Ok, maybe there was a small question…
I flipped the page in my book. This was a very intricate potion with almost seventy ingredients. The Grimoire was a gift from my first teacher. It was one of a kind and had been passed down through the generations of her family. She was the last of her bloodline and brought me on as her apprentice after finding me playing with the clouds in the sky. She taught me a lot, but I hadn’t been very good at keeping the knowledge she shared. I was lazy most of the time. Magic scared me, which was totally stupid since I was made of magic.
Annelise was one of the most renowned potion makers in all the world. Witches came a long way to buy her powerful potions because they were the best in the world. They knew better than to knock on my door. But because of her book, I stayed away from most of my kind. They weren’t always trustworthy, and if they knew I had this book, they would do anything to take it.
“Too much. Pinch it says,” Dandelion pecked at my fingers as I crushed the Lethe’s Bramble. “Read the words!”
“This is a pinch! Hey, that hurts.”
“Too much.”
“It’s one of the most important ingredients. It’s underlined, Dandy. I just added a little extra.”
“Why did you not ask Bernie to help you with this?” He spoke so seriously that it made me turn and stroke his beak.
“She would try to talk me out of it. You know she would. Magic shouldn’t be used for human things. I am supposed to feel my emotions. But here’s the thing, Dandelion. I’m tired. I can’t keep feeling this way, can I?”
“Annoying.”
“Yes, I know. This spell will change all of that. I won’t even remember Myles.”
“Dangerous.”
“I know. But I still have to try.”
I flipped the page back over. “Dandelion? Can you see if we have a vial of witch’s tears? It should be over by…”
“I know.” He jumped from the table and glided over to the shelves in the back of my basement. I heard his claws click on glass as I added the extra Lethe’s Bramble I had crushed. It was better if he didn’t know. I needed this spell to be as powerful as it could be to counteract the emotions I had for Myles. They were strong – the potion had to be too.
“Empty,” He landed on the table, and the small dark vial rolled into my hand.
“Well, luckily, I am an emotional mess who is also a witch.”
“You should buy more – not yours.” He pecked at my fingers.
“Witch’s tears are witch’s tears, Dandy. I have plenty.” I turned and looked at the picture of Myles I had pinned to the wall. My tears came easily, and I added them to a small spoon. I grabbed my dropper and squeezed. My tears flew up into the small glass dropper. I took it over to my potion and dropped three of my tears into it. The color changed quickly to a vibrant purple.
“Why do you never read?”
“What do you think I’m doing? I’m staring at the fucking book, Dandy.”
“You’re editing as you go.”
“It says nothing here about using your own tears.”
“I can’t wait to see how well this potion works. Should be fun when it explodes and kills us all.” He flew up onto my shoulder. “Bernie… Wait for Bernie.”
