Page 27 of Brews and Banishments
Daisy bent low, snatching up a twined bunch of dried sage before plunging one end into a flame. The smudging stick grew smoky instantly, a sweet and earthy smell filling the room. She swiped the smudge in different directions, watching where the smoke trail went and the symbols it left at the same time.
“Oh, Hecate!” Daisy shouted, her voice stronger and firmer than she thought it to be. “Show me the one who burdens your faithful servant!”
Tessa chanted: “From witches night and witches day, reveal the burden upon me!”
Daisy caught the chant herself, letting the words fill the air as the flames grew tall and strong. Their voices carried together like a symphony, growing louder and louder. And, as the candles shuddered from the heat they radiated, they shouted the incantation once more.
“From witches night and witches day, reveal the burden upon me!”
Outside, on the clear spring day, thunder crashed in the distance.
A burst of wind shot through the arcane room, blowing out the candles in an instant. The lights flickered on, sputtering for a moment, before returning to its naturally dim glow. Daisy blinked in the gentle light, the sage no longer burning. Acrossfrom her, Tessa was locked in place as the crystals clattered from their spots in the air and onto the floor.
At the center of the pentagram, where the wooden bowl was, a thin trail of deeply black smoke curled up around them. There was a very particular smell wafting off it, something like burnt rubber or plastic.
Tessa stepped forward and shook her head. “Don’t like the look of that.”
“Me neither,” Daisy mumbled, already disheartened.
Smoke was to be expected, but black like squid ink was something else. Daisy pressed forward and knelt within the pentagram. The dress she wore fluttered out around her. Undeniable energy hummed around her as the spell faded, the answer they had been searching for apparent in the wooden bowl. All that remained from the offerings presented was a smoldering piece of papyrus, the sprigs of rosemary and lavender, along with Daisy’s hair, were all gone.
Daisy reached into the bowl with a trembling hand. The paper, despite smoldering, was cool to the touch. She flipped it over to reveal a symbol, one that looked to have been branded onto the thick material. Running her fingers over it, Daisy jerked backwards, the heat burrowing itself deep within the rune.
“Look this one up,” Daisy said, holding the paper above her head.
Tessa snatched up a dusty book with frayed pages. She flipped through it for a minute before stopping halfway through, her index finger tracing the same symbol on the page.
“Well?” Daisy asked, eager to know. “What does it say?”
Tessa pressed her lips together. “It’s a scalding rune, Daisy.” She raised her eyes, the disappointment so strong it was almost palpable. “Whoever sent you that potion managed to cover their tracks incredibly well.”
Daisy pushed herself off the floor to peer at the pages in the book.
Scalding runes are leftover when a successful spell is being forced open by other magic users. While the original spellcaster did their due diligence to protect their identity, what a prying eye might be left with is a scalding rune, telling the peeker that - no matter how strong their efforts are - the truth is hidden from them.
“Great,” Daisy mumbled before falling into a plush chair in the arcane room. The unlit candles clattered over noisily. “Just when I thought we could’ve had this figured out before my date with Ethan tonight.”
“If you thought I’m going to let this get in the way of your big date,” Tessa snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at her, “you’re very wrong, flower!”
Daisy sighed. “You felt how much energy that used, didn’t you? I can hardly stand.”
“We’ll drink some orange juice,” Tessa replied with a shrug, though she wobbled slightly when she walked. “For now, we still have work to do.”
Daisy watched as Tessa stumbled around the room, careful not to step on any of the sharp crystals. She returned with a piece of paper before taking a seat on the floor beside Daisy. The color from Tessa’s face was drained, leaving a slightly red tint at the center of her cheeks. Their exhaustion was more than obvious.
“So,” Tessa began, using the rune book to rest her paper on, “the next best thing is to figure outwhowould want to curse you.”
“That’s too simple.” Daisy leaned forward. “To produce a scalding rune like that requires a skilled caster. Not just any witch or warlock capable of minor tricks. An old and strong power.”
Tessa’s brow furrowed. “Doesn’t sound like Willowbrook spellcasters at all.”
“They’re out there,” Daisy murmured. “Somewhere.”
Silence settled around them as they thought over the witches and warlocks in Willowbrook. Daisy was lost in a trance as she stared into the pentagram, as if the properties still hummed with a powerful magic. She thought back to the last meeting she attended of the Witch Council, where the Elders overlooked the town and the magic users within. Only the strongest spellcasters attended through invitation. The last time she went, though, Daisy remembered the sharpest of stares holding onto her, someone from her past. Someone like -
“That’s it!” Daisy snapped her fingers. “Marigold Shadowbrook!”
Tessa winced. “I hope for our sake it isn’t her,” she grumbled.
