Page 50 of Brews and Banishments
“You hear how that sounds, don’t you?” Daisy shook her head at him. “One of the great members of the Crowe family, manipulating a grieving widow in order to get her into bed! What would the Council think if they knew a great warlock like yourself played the ‘nice guy’ in order to take advantage of a widow? What would they think, Sebastian?”
He stammered, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.
“If there’s one thing you can walk away knowing,” Daisy whispered, directly upon him, “it is that I will never,ever,succumb to the likes of you. My heart is mine alone, and it was never bound to you.” She leaned closer still. “And itnever will be.”
Backing away, Daisy breathed heavily, the anger leaving behind a rush of adrenaline that had nowhere to go. When she looked back up at Sebastian, he looked rather stunted, not like the man that they had chased, not the man that had watched them fall into the pit. He was simply a man scorned, one who’d faced the mistakes he made long ago, and who now had to live with every bit of the consequences they brought.
Sebastian snapped his mouth shut.
“Tell us about the spell you put on Daisy,” Tessa said.
He glanced between them. “S-Spell?”
“The potion,” Daisy snapped. “The one you mailed to Fields’ Herbals.The one that has cursed me. You’re going to remove it, or we’ll go straight to the Witch Council with everything we’ve learned.”
Tessa nodded determinedly.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Sebastian murmured. “What spell? I-I haven’t mailed anything to your shop!”
“Now is a terrible time to lie,” Daisy hissed. “Tell us the truth, or -”
Tessa’s hand snaked around Daisy’s wrist. “He isn’t lying.”
Flinging around, Daisy eyed the empath. “How can you be so sure?”
“I can just feel it,” she whispered with a shake of her head. “He isn’t lying.”
Daisy turned to face Sebastian once more. There was a pleading look in his eyes, though he didn’t dare speak unless spoken to. While she wanted to revel in the strength she found within herself, Daisy knew just as well as Tessa that he wasn’t the culprit they were looking for. Even after everything, it was as clear as day.
Daisy’s shoulders fell. “You’re right.”
“C’mon,” Tessa whispered. “Let’s get out of here before nightfall.”
Dejected beyond belief, Daisy allowed Tessa to turn her away from Sebastian and steer them back towards Willowbrook.
“H-Hey!” Sebastian called out. “You’re just gonna leave me stuck here?”
Tessa peered over her shoulder at him. “It’ll wear off in a few hours. Maybe you can use the time to think!”
As they moved closer to town, Daisy could only feel steeped in more and more dread. The person behind the spell placed upon her grew no clearer than before. If anything, she felt further in the unknown, more unaware of her future than she had been before tracking down Sebastian. She gripped onto Tessa’s arm like it was her lifeforce.
Blessed be,she thought to herself.
Hecate, protect me.
17
Daisy
Tomorrow is a new day.
Quite a common phrase, but it was one that Daisy had lived all her life hearing. Grandma Lotta, who resided in a delightfully small nursing home on the edge of Willowbrook, spoke the phrase almost on a daily basis, living each day by the simple words. After everything that had happened with Sebastian, Daisy found herself craving the phrase more often than not, desperate to hear it come straight from her grandmother’s mouth. While Tessa ended up going back to Fields’ Herbalsafter their rendezvous in the woods, Daisy could only wander home and slump in her bed, drifting in and out of a restless sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, all Daisy could think about doing was going to visit Grandma Lotta. Tessa met her on the driveway, already stocked with a small lunch and slices of cherry pie from Ronald’s. The busy restaurant used to be her grandmother’s favorite, where she would always find herself after long days at the store. When Daisy stumbled into the car, she ignored Tessa’s pressing questions and allowed the empathto sink contentedness into her mind. Perhaps that was all it took. Some swirling magic and the growing power of an empath, and Daisy felt almost as right as rain once more.
Tessa’s small car rumbled as they pulled up to the nursing home. It housed only a handful of seniors, each with bountiful magic still resting within them. According to the Council, witches like Grandma Lotta deserved only the best in her old age and retirement. They’d built the nursing home for spectacular witches and warlocks, ones who practiced their abilities and needed a safe space to do so.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?” Tessa asked as they walked towards the front entrance.
