Page 80 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

But the idea of me drinking any amount of his blood feels too intimate, especially after he said that he can’t be with me. I don’t know if he’s changed his mind, but it doesn’t matter in this moment. Adding his blood to my medicine feels like a violation.

I start to shake my neck but immediately wince. ‘No, that’s fine. You don’t need to do that,’ I quickly add, because I don’t want him to think that I’m opposed to the idea. ‘It wouldn’t feel right.’

He nods. I can’t read his expression; it could be neutral, or he might see this as a rejection. Which it kind of is, I guess.

‘I will finish the salve and the tea before you go home,’ Kate says. ‘You should feel better right away.’

‘So,’ I say, ‘how do we placate this boggart?’

‘Normally, we wouldn’t,’ Kate says. ‘Boggarts are stubborn and not in the habit of changing their minds.’

My heart falls a little. ‘Then what can we do?’

‘I will talk you through offerings to make, and hopefully it will accept your honest apology.’ She raises her eyebrows at me. ‘Assuming it is honest, of course?’

I quickly nod and immediately regret it. Kate’s medicines can’t work soon enough.

‘Of course! I didn’t even know I was awake when I asked for its name.’

Kate nods. ‘I will be with you when you make your offering and speak your apology. The brownie was likely already local when it moved in and so may well know my reputation.’

Bonnie looks at me. ‘You can also name-drop the Dreamcatcher and the Mara, since that gossip apparently spread quickly.’

‘That may not change anything,’ Leverett says. ‘As you said, the news spread quickly. The boggart is likely aware who you are.’

Bonnie scowls. ‘Sure, but if it’s not, she can try that.’ She looks at Kate. ‘Do I come, too?’

Kate shakes her head. ‘It was Esta who offended the brownie and caused it to change into a boggart. The apology and offering need to come from her.’ She turns to me. ‘While they are stubborn creatures, we won’t need much to appeal to it. We can go whenever you feel rested enough.’

I nod and stand. ‘Then let’s do it now.’

I’m ready to not be cursed anymore.

I feel strangely out of place, entering our house after everything that’s happened. It’s been so little time, but I feel like I’ve been away for weeks, if not longer. The new door isn’t in yet, of course, so it’s still the temporary wooden board. Was it the boggart’s influence that made me forget to check the carpet? I doubt I’ll ever know. Even the boggart might not know for sure—it’s possible its influence is passive, that it doesn’t pick individual moments throughout my day and throws some cursed energy at whichever ones it wants to mess up.

‘We should avoid the stairs to be safe,’ Kate says right behind me. ‘The fire didn’t spread into your living room or kitchen, so those rooms will be fine.’

I desperately want to curl up on my bed with Lady and sleep, but I get it.

‘Where do boggarts, erm, live?’ I ask as we step into the living room. How long did the brownie share this house with us, and we never knew? How many households have little helper spirits right now but have no idea? I shudder to think how easy it might be for any of them to slip up like I did.

Or maybe it’s the brownie who slipped up, since it was in my kitchen when I came down. Surely it heard me come downstairs? Our stairs are old. They creak. I must have tipped it off, but if my secret enemy told it to be here...

I don’t really care about the details or who ordered what. I just want it to leave so Bonnie and I can move back in, make up properly, and move on from all the nastiness.

‘Many prefer kitchens or conservatories, though there are exceptions,’ Kate says. ‘It might sound counterintuitive, as these are spaces we use often during the day, but brownies are good at not being seen.’ She ignores my raised eyebrow. ‘Boggarts have the same talent. They are all but invisible during the day and only come out at night because they don’t want to be seen. You will have to guess at the most likely place it’s chosen as its home. The quietest, least-used place in your home is most likely, I think. Even if we choose the wrong place, brownies and boggarts have a deep connection to the houses they inhabit. It will know you’ve made the offering, even if you guess incorrectly.’

I think of our attic. We hardly ever go up there unless we’re getting Christmas decorations down, and there are so many empty spots we don’t use at all, but that’s no use to us right now. We can’t go upstairs while there’s a chance the stairs might collapse.

‘The small shed in our garden?’

We use it so rarely that I keep forgetting we even have the thing. Neither Bonnie nor I are gardeners. I have my small herb collection, but I don’t remember the last time I cut the roses back. We only mow the lawn when it grows past our ankles, and then we fight over who needs to do it. We love having our garden, but looking after it and keeping it well-trimmed is another matter.

Kate nods. ‘That sounds perfect. I suggest we start with your offering.’

‘What do I do?’

I follow her into the kitchen.

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