Page 43 of Brews and Banishments
Daisy raised her hands, overlooking the crowds beginning to gather as the shops and restaurants slowly opened their doors. Her gaze landed on small groups of children, not too many adults with them. Hope rose in her chest. If there was one thing children wanted to do, it had to be to play with as many dogs as they wanted. And yet, Daisy watched them pass the adoption center by, not giving them a second glance. Her hands tightened into fists. There were posters hanging around the courtyard, a few within downtown itself.
Why wasn’t there a crowd at the adoption center already?
The thought that came to Daisy’s mind was dangerous and foolish, though she couldn’t quite get rid of it. While the spell resting against her skin was something with dark tidings, Daisy couldn’t shake the feeling of its power. Anything she wished came true, it seemed. What happened when she used it to her own will, shaking the curse into something more positive than negative?
She glanced over her shoulder at Tessa. The empath watched her closely, as if she could sense her thoughts from the energy wafting off her.
Daisy breathed in deeply. “I wish -”
“Hey!” Tessa hissed as she rose from the kennel, stepping over the rowdy animals to follow the path towards Daisy. Fur and stray hairs coated Tessa’s clothes, down to her feet. “You know you can’t say that, Daisy!”
“Why not?”
Tessa’s eyes widened. “That’s thinking that can get the Witch Council involved. You know that.”
“Does it make it inherently bad if I use the spell to get these dogs adopted?”
“I can’t answer that.”
Daisy raised a brow. “Why?”
“Because,” Tessa mumbled irritably as she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, “I would tell you to say the spell when we both know it isn’t the right thing to do.”
Daisy looked over the crates of animals. They whined and howled relentlessly for some sort of attention. Each sound broke her heart more. To her, there wasn’t a need for such despair, for the animals to be wallowing when they didn’t need to be. Countless families lay waiting for them, unaware that a stray dog was what they were missing. Was it so wrong for Daisy to help them find happiness?
She knew what she was going to do long before Tessa interjected and tried to get her to choose otherwise. Daisy thought about her night with Ethan, and how he made the argument for harmful magic that affected others, and how there was a fine line between morally good and morally bad. What she was set on doing was something good for everyone, from the smallest dog to Anne herself.
“I wish,” Daisy began, ignoring the feeling of Tessa’s hand clamping down on her elbow, “I wish all these animals could find good, loving homes.”
There was an eerie stillness all around them as Anne came back to the crates. She tossed toys into the pens, reaching in toscratch behind a few ears with a smile growing across her face. She waddled through the path till she came back to Daisy and Tessa.
“What are you two whispering about over here?” Anne teased.
Daisy had her gaze focused on downtown, waiting for the onslaught of people to arrive. A moment or two passed, Anne and Tessa deep in conversation, and not a thing had happened. The stillness remained, the animals beginning to settle down and curl up within their crates.
“Tessa tells me you’re disappointed in the turn out,” Anne said as she grasped onto Daisy’s wrist, pulling her over to them. “These sorts of things happen, Daisy. They happen more times than not.”
Daisy pressed her lips together. “Aren’t you upset?”
“If I was, would that help the animals any more?”
“I-I suppose not, but -”
Anne reached down into one of the pens and retrieved a golden puppy, whose paws were far too large for his small body. The rowdy dog yawned so widely that a sharp, high-pitched howl came out.
“These dear animals will remain, Daisy, even when the world seems to forget they exist,” Anne said in a gentle voice. “Sometimes, all we can do is build the bridge, but we are incapable of forcing people through. You understand that, don’t you? Whatever will be, will be.” She shrugged and held the puppy up in front of her face as he licked and nipped at her nose. Anne laughed, the smile filling her aged face.
Daisy watched the old woman’s interaction with the puppy, and could only feel herself grow seeped in dread. If the spell hadn’t worked at that moment, perhaps it had ill intentions only, and was so strong it rendered Daisy incapable of manipulating it. As the defeat began to sink into her, footsteps grew louderfrom the direction of downtown, muffled mingling growing more and more clear.
Daisy turned, and her eyes went wide.
A crowd of people, families and singles, came rushing towards the adoption center. The animals sensed their approach and grew rowdy once more, standing up on the sides of their crates, desperate to capture a bit of their attention. Anne placed the puppy back in its crate before throwing her hands in the air, rushing to collect adoption forms and meet the oncoming crowd. Before Daisy could offer help, Tessa snatched onto her wrist, pulling the pair away from the crates.
“You can’t pick and choose when the spell is good and when the spell is bad, Daisy,” Tessa muttered.
“Tell me this is a bad thing!”
Tessa shook her head. “You know I can’t. But I can’t tell you this is what we should be doing, either.”
