Page 8 of Heart Shaped Wreckage
Moon Cat pawed at my leg. I glanced down, and there on the floor was a tooth. He blinked at me.
“He wanted to make an offering to you.” Dandy shrugged. “He’s a weird kitty, but cool and throws a really great party.”
I bent down and scratched Moon Cat’s head before picking his small tooth off the floor and pressing it against my heart. “Per perforare la memoria e strappare via il dolore.” I dropped the tooth in the potion, and it instantly turned black.
“Black? That’s… Is that right?” I walked over to the potion and turned the page to find her notes. “The color of night,” I said to Moon Cat. “Thank you, sir. Only one ingredient left, and then in five minutes it will be ready.”
I grabbed the rat’s brain and pulled off a chunk. It was hardened and mummified with time. “Dimentica ciò che ti causa dolore e abbraccia una vita senza i sentimenti del passato.” I dropped it into the cauldron, and it bubbled as it broke apart. The potion lightened and slowly turned into a light gray.
I checked the book. Stir five times to the right and then ten times to the left, and let it sit for five minutes.
I wanted to jump for joy. I had done it, and it had only taken me most of the day. Annelise would be so proud of me. Here was a chance for a new beginning without remembering all of the pain I felt. Without that pain, I would be happy again. Myles would be no more, and I would be able to live my life without remembrances of what I once had.
He was a fucking dick. But I still loved him, and I knew that was stupid. Why should I stay in love with someone who didn’t love me? It was ridiculous, and I had the ability to fix it.
I pulled the book over to me and turned to the last page of the potion. “Three drops of the potion are applied directly into the mouth. No more – no less. It should taste like… oh… Well, that’s gross.” I read what she had written and underlined.
“What?” Dandelion sounded like he was bored.
“She said it tastes like baby.”
“Most of the powerful spells that affect the flesh taste like the flesh.” Dandelion ruffled his feathers and then jumped down to sit beside Moon Cat.
“But why did she write baby. That’s just… gross.”
“It is what it is.”
“How did she know what baby tasted like?”
“Don’t ask questions. She was hundreds of years old when she took you in.”
“You’re right. Better if I don’t think about it.”
“I think it’s time.”
“Why am I nervous? Well, you are shit at potions. Don’t die.”
I used a clean dropper and sucked up the potion slowly into it. I opened my mouth and took a deep breath. God… Don’t gag. One drop… yuck. Two drops… Oh, my God, it was gross. Three and then…
The world shifted.
My vision went blurry, and I stumbled backward.
“Moon Cat, you know what to do,” Dandelion said. “Sorry, my friend. I will find you again.”
The world went black, and I felt my body shifting through molasses.
I knew nothing. All I could do was scream as I left the world behind.
4
HEATH
“It’s cute. How long have you been here?” Lamass clicked her long fingernails on the table.
“Ten years. It’s nice to live in a magical community. It means I don’t have to move every ten years because I age so slowly. They're used to it. We have a warlock that’s lived here for over a hundred years. He’s a hedge witch, and honestly, not one of the best. He does make a very great salad, though.”
“Why are you still a vegetarian? You are on top of the food chain. Not all humans deserve to live. There are some pretty nasty pieces of work walking this planet, and they deserve whatever happens to them.”
