Page 25 of Brews and Banishments
As they drew near to the bickering pair, Steve glanced in their direction. His face lit up the moment he saw Tessa, whatever bother Richard had been giving him going in one ear and out the other. Tessa, on the other hand, was a bundle of rage, and was more than ready to defend her windchimes the moment she got close enough.
Daisy shook her head as she watched Richard, who was beginning to climb down his tall ladder. He was still calling things out to Steve, though the words were caught on the air and carried elsewhere.
“I wish someone could humble that man,” Daisy mused.
Richard turned while still holding onto the ladder, ready to unleash another slew of complaints now that he noticed Tessa had arrived. He pointed towards them when the wind brushed by, and the paint bucket resting on the roof’s edge wobbled. Before Daisy could say a word, the bucket moved a little too close to the gutter and fell on its side. A flood of pastel blue paint washed down in Richard’s direction like a waterfall, the sound of it splattering on his head so loud Daisy swore it would bring out the entire neighborhood.
As the paint settled against the neatly trimmed grass, staining the driveway and the path leading to their front door, Richard climbed the rest of the way down the ladder. He was entirely soaked with paint. It covered his expensive clothes, drenched his pointed shoes. His normally suave hair was flattened against his face and dripping with paint. He landed onthe ground with athud,the mess causing him to slip and slide if he wasn’t careful.
The trio standing at the side of Richard’s house were entirely gobsmacked. They all had slack jaws and wide eyes, staring at the mess without uttering a single word. Richard pressed his lips together, probably to stop the paint from going in his mouth, before storming off towards his front door. Though Daisy had no doubt he was mumbling all the way there, he ripped his door open and slammed it behind him.
Tessa burst into laughter. Steve quickly followed, removing his square glasses to swipe at a stray tear. Daisy allowed herself to laugh, though it wasn’t as boisterous as the rest of them. She had said it again, hadn’t she? She replayed the moments leading up to it in her mind. They’d talked about Richard and his angry tendencies, his unfortunate circumstances with his wife and cats. But she did say it.
I wish someone could humble that man.
The trio began to walk back across the street towards the Hala household. Daisy’s house was a few doors down, but it wasn’t much of a walk at all. She remained beside them as they arrived at the front porch.
“I don’t entirelywantto ask this,” Steve suddenly said.
Tessa’s brow rose. “Ask what?”
“Did either one of you have anything to do with that?” He pointed over his shoulder to the mess on Richard’s front lawn. “Because if you did -”
Daisy glanced over at Tessa before he could respond. The look on the empath’s face told her everything she needed to know. Whatever happened wasn’t a freak accident, even if it was the easiest option to believe. If they looked hard enough, Daisy’s magical fingerprint would’ve been written all over it. At least Richard and the rest of his family weren’t involved in magic.Thatwould’ve been harder to explain.
Steve crossed his arms disapprovingly. “Tessa,” he said in a stern voice. “How could you allow such a thing?”
“I -”
Daisy stepped forward. “Don’t be rash, Steve. Not before you know the story.”
He raised his hands and took a step back. “I don’t want to hear it,” he blurted. “Now, now, Tessie, don’t look at me like that. I may not be a warlock, but I know just as well as the both of you that harming another without cause is against the witch’s code.”
Daisy felt her stomach drop. After all this time, she’d never once stopped to consider the ramifications of the witch’s code. It was the law that bound magic users together, that held them to a higher standard. Weaving away from the code meant leaving the morally right side of things, disrupting the very flow of nature. If it came down to it and Daisy was accused of breaking the code, she didn’t have much going for her case.
But it wasn’t her future that worried her. Daisy glanced in Tessa’s direction. Tessa was in the process of gaining her empath certification. Anything Daisy did could stand in the way of her success.
“Look,” Steve said, “I’m not going to involve myself in things I can’t understand. But this?” He shook his head. “That’s something I never expected out of the two of you. Just,” he paused before letting out a tired sigh, “be careful.”
Without another word, Steve began to cross the front lawn back towards their house. The door shut firmly behind him.
“Tessa,” Daisy said. “I-I never meant to cause -”
Bumping her shoulder into Daisy, Tessa let a smile cross her face. “Don’t you dare say what I think you’re gonna say,” she interjected. “You and I are like two peas in a pod. What happens to one, happens to the other. Okay?”
“But -”
“If you think I’m going to let you solve this without me, you don’t know me at all.”
Daisy watched her closest friend with a heavy heart.
“In the meantime,” Tessa continued, grabbing a hold of Daisy’s hand, “that spell, without a doubt, did something to Richard. Till we know exactly what to do, be careful what you wish for.”
She took a shuddering step backwards. Barely a second passed and Daisy grew flushed with panic.
Tessa lurched forward, her hands gripping onto Daisy’s thin arms. “Relax, flower,” Tessa cooed, the old nickname from their grade school years sending a rush of ease through Daisy’s body. “We take this one step at a time. Tomorrow, after a good night’s rest, we’ll tend to it as we should. For now,” she paused, making a breathing motion, “we only inhale and exhale.”
Daisy’s trembles came to a stop. “I do not want to put you at stake.”
