Page 13 of A Witch’s Guide to Love and Poison

13

A few days passed and Bisma continued to puzzle over Luna and Mei’s poisonings. The two cases had been so different and yet the same person must have been behind both. In the meantime, Luna recovered. Her strength returned, and though her brown skin regained its warm color, there was a strange sort of emptiness in Luna’s dark brown eyes that scared Bisma. Luna was on edge, afraid.

The girls helped in any way they could, and the Forest, of course, helped as well, but Bisma remained troubled. Mei had bounced back completely after being healed, whereas Luna seemed to be struggling with something. She was quiet, startlingly so.

Anytime she asked her what was bothering her, Luna would give Bisma a brave smile and say it was nothing, but Bisma knew better. She supposed coming back from the brink of death wasn’t something one could easily recover from, and, as such, Bisma greatly admired Luna’s willpower.

Sometimes Bisma was filled with such a force of love for her sisters that she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to even know them, let alone be their sister. It felt like a gift to exist at the same time, at the same place as them, and an even greater gift to not only be allowed in their lives but to be counted as one of their closest relations.

For a week, Azalea kept her complaining to a minimum; Mei cooked the most delicious, comforting food; Nori did not cause a mess; and Deeba obliged everyone with extra kisses and cuddles.

Because it was getting colder and carrots were especially sweet this time of year, Bisma made them all a huge pot of gajar ka halwa, a sweet dish soaked in ghee that they all enjoyed as a special treat every late autumn, and she did not harass them about their chores. They all needed a bit of a break, anyway, so even lessons were suspended, much to Nori’s relief. Things were calm—perhaps a bit too calm.

Bisma felt it, the lack of the usual chaos, but she thought that was what Luna needed: a bit of peace.

Until one evening, when they were all gathered round drinking tea and eating the last of a spiced vanilla cake. Nori finished her slice and, when Mei wasn’t looking, swiped half of Mei’s slice, too. By the time Mei turned, Nori had already shoved it in her mouth.

Ordinarily, this would be when Mei would complain, Bisma would then scold Nori, and they would all get involved with mediating a suitable punishment. But because they were all doing their best not to cause a ruckus, Mei quietly pinched Nori under the table, to which Nori then quietly kicked Mei under the table in retaliation.

So ensued a silent battle that they were all trying very hard to pretend wasn’t happening.

‘Enough!’ Luna cried, pushing her chair back and standing up. ‘I hate how well-behaved everyone is being! Act normal, for god’s sake! Nori, that was so mean .’

‘I only took a bite!’ Nori exclaimed.

‘YOU ATE HALF OF IT!’ Mei cried.

‘You’re such a liar!’ Azalea said.

‘Azalea!’ Bisma scolded.

‘I mean, Azalea’s right,’ Luna agreed.

The spiced vanilla cake was very personal to them.

‘Thank you, Luna. By the way, you need to wash your hair, you look terrible,’ Azalea said. ‘I’ve been meaning to say that for days .’

Bisma gave Azalea an incredulous look as Luna’s mouth fell open in shock. But then Luna started laughing, sitting back down.

‘I know,’ Luna said, touching her greasy hair. Then she touched her cheeks. ‘I need a face mask, as well.’

‘I wasn’t going to say it, but yes,’ Azalea said, taking a sip of her tea.

‘Well then, let’s do it,’ Luna said. ‘Where’s the haldi? Baji, do we have yogurt?’

‘Ooh, face masks!’ Nori said, clapping. ‘Me want!’

So they mixed honey and turmeric into yogurt, then lathered the mixture over their faces, trying their best not to move their facial muscles as the masks dried, which of course, only made them giggle.

Later, as Bisma taught Nori basic math, Azalea let Luna use the special soap she had gotten from town to wash her hair, informing Luna that the soap cost her most of her allowance, so Luna now owed her. As recompense, Luna offered to read to her from her poetry book, to which Azalea vehemently shook her head.

‘Forget I said anything!’ Azalea pleaded, then reconsidered. ‘Actually, I’ll take you NEVER reading from that dreadful book again as payment.’

Luna gasped, affronted. ‘This book is EXCELLENT,’ Luna said, clutching it to her chest. ‘You just lack DEPTH.’

‘Riiiiight.’

And things were once again back to the usual chaos.

The next day, Bisma made plans to go to town, and asked Luna if she would like to accompany her, hoping the excursion would further lift Luna’s spirits. At first Luna seemed willing, but when Bisma mentioned they might stop by the bakery, Luna quickly changed her mind, letting out a quick and harsh, ‘No!’

Bisma was confused. ‘What do you mean? I was thinking of getting pumpkin cookies for everyone.’

‘No,’ Luna said again, this time her voice quiet. ‘I don’t want to go.’

Before Bisma could press further, Luna retreated to her room, her shoulders stiff.

‘Baji, take me,’ Mei said, getting up from where she was churning the butter. They all loved going to town.

‘Okay, sure,’ Bisma replied, running a fond hand over Mei’s silky hair.

‘And can I get a new cake pan?’ Mei asked, excited. ‘I’ve been saving my allowance!’

‘Yes, of course, love,’ Bisma said.

Saying goodbye to the others, they left the treehouse and began walking toward Old Town. It was a bright, sunny day, and she savored the warmth on her cheeks. Scorching sunlight and cold wind were one of her absolute favorite weather combinations, and she relished it now.

Mei skipped along beside her, humming to herself. When they reached a grapevine, Mei stopped to pick a few, popping them in her mouth.

‘Yuck,’ Mei said, immediately spitting them out.

Bisma furrowed her brows. ‘What is it? Sour?’

‘No. They taste weird .’ She picked one, handing it to Bisma. ‘You try.’

Hmm. The fruit in the Enchanted Forest was always perfect and ripe. Bisma approached the vine, touching some of the green grapes. They had an odd texture, and she saw that most of the grapes had already fallen, rotting on the earth.

‘That’s strange,’ Bisma said.

Further along, they passed an apple tree. Bisma picked one, biting into it, and it was just as sweet as always, so whatever was happening with the grapevine must have been an anomaly.

In town, Bisma completed her tasks, dropping off poisons and picking up payment, Mei accompanying her. She saw Frederick Chapman busy at work; she couldn’t tell exactly what it was he was doing, just that he seemed preoccupied, an entire team surrounding him.

Bisma paid him no mind. She went to the bakery, where Haru gave Mei a fresh cookie, then packed a dozen for the girls back home.

He looked as if he wanted to ask Bisma something—surely about Luna—but was too shy to bring himself to voice his question. Bisma put him out of his misery, offering the information up herself.

‘Luna was going to join us but she’s been a little unwell,’ she told him.

Immediately, his face contorted with alarm. ‘Is she alright? What happened?’ he asked, and he might have asked a dozen more variations of the same questions had Bisma not replied within the next second.

She explained how Luna had been poisoned and the only way to save her had been to bleed the poison out.

Haru looked crestfallen. ‘How is she doing? Can I see her?’

‘You know that no outsiders are allowed in the Enchanted Forest,’ Bisma said. ‘Don’t worry—I’m sure she’ll visit you herself, when she’s ready.’

‘If I write to her, will you give her the letter? And if she responds, could you bring it back next time? And then if I write to her again, will you take it?’

Bisma had no aspirations to be a messenger owl, and she doubted Luna would appreciate her sister being involved in such a personal, intimate matter.

‘I have a better idea,’ she said, inching closer as she lowered her voice. Haru came nearer to hear. ‘Leave a letter at the edge of the Enchanted Forest; the Forest will deliver it to her either through the soil or via a woodland creature. As for her response, that is up to her.’

‘Thank you,’ Haru said. ‘I will do that. And in the meanwhile can you tell her …’ He trailed off as he tried to decide what the best thing to have Bisma tell Luna would be. ‘Tell her that I am thinking of her.’

‘I will,’ Bisma said, her heart turning fondly for this sweet-faced boy.

‘Oh! And one more thing.’ He disappeared, then returned a moment later with a small box. ‘It’s a pumpkin cake, part of a larger catering order, but I doubt they’ll notice.’

‘Is that so?’ Bisma asked, smiling.

‘Well … better take it quick before I get told off,’ he said sheepishly.

She snuck the box into her basket, covering it with cloth. ‘I’m sure Luna will appreciate it,’ Bisma said.

‘And if there’s anything I can do or anything that she needs, please tell me.’

‘I will.’

Bisma put a hand on Mei’s back, making to leave when she noticed how busy the bakery was. As people waited in line for their orders, they chatted and gossiped.

‘Actually …’ Bisma turned back to Haru. He grew alert, and she motioned for him to come close so he could hear her. ‘If you hear anyone talking about us, tell me. I still don’t know who poisoned Luna, or Mei, for that matter.’

‘You’ve got it,’ Haru said, saluting her. ‘I’ll keep an ear to the ground.’

‘Thank you,’ she said.

As they left the bakery, she tried to think of her more extreme cases, husbands or fathers who had been killed by her poisons, but in all of those instances, it was mere speculation, or the wives and daughters would have been held to trial.

Bisma always made poisons that could not be easily traced or recognized. Other than Xander, no one had ever been able to recognize her hand. As much as he vexed her, as cruel as she could be to him, she knew he would never rat her out.

Unless …

Unless he had not done so intentionally? An idea turned over in Bisma’s mind, but it was not concrete. But it pointed in the direction of Eleanora Chapman.

But if whoever was doing this was doing it to exact revenge, why wouldn’t they come after her directly? Why go after her sisters?

To hurt her?

But to what end?

She couldn’t figure it out.