Page 14 of Hexes and Hiccups (Mystery In A Bottle #3)

D aisy

The sun was beginning to set on Fields’ Herbals .

Tourists who laid claim to Willowbrook’s bustling Main Street were making their way towards restaurants or home, desperate to be out of the relentless, record-breaking summer heat they were knee deep in.

Patrons no longer lingered within the aisles, no longer loitered beside the front door or filled the small storefront with their gossip.

Daisy inhaled deep and slow from her spot behind the counter, leaning forward to rest her elbows against the wood.

It was cool to the touch. Beside her, Tessa swiped a rag over the vintage register, her eyes caught on an exchange happening near the opposite side of the store.

Tessa bumped her elbow into Daisy’s side. “Take a look down there, Flowers. Hard work really does pay off, doesn’t it?”

Malric held the front door open with his foot, a few suitcases tucked beneath his arms. They were ratty and full of holes, obviously old and used a plenty of times.

He kept them together as much as he could, a look of concentration on his face as he diligently listened to the older woman across from him.

“There’s an unused room just gathering dust,” Anne was in the middle of rambling.

“My son, the Lord bless him, hasn’t been in that room for…

for…” Her chestnut-colored eyes were warm and loving as they narrowed, one finger tapping against her button chin.

Eventually, she shrugged the math off and gave Malric a beaming smile.

“For quite some time. Let’s just leave it at that, shall we? ”

Anne hadn’t stopped talking for at least an hour, by that point.

Daisy and Tessa had returned from their afternoon meeting with Malric, and they were on a mission.

At least, Daisy was on a mission, one that she was more than determined to see through.

The gossip that had been plaguing Willowbrook brought a shadow of darkness across the town she once cherished so much.

Not everything was sweet-smelling, despite how much she wanted it to be.

Daisy remembered a time when neighbors looked out for each other, even more than they might’ve looked after themselves.

Family friends had been just as loved as blood relatives.

No one had been alone, no matter the circumstances.

Learning that Malric’s parents tossed him out of their home struck a nerve within Daisy.

Not that she had ever experienced something as cruel, but it reminded her of a great sadness, one that she was more than familiar with.

The boy was barely an adult, and he had been forced to endure things no one should have to alone.

Daisy could recognize a sadness like that within a second, and had seen it within Anne.

Ever since the rumor about her dumping strays out of town was written on the salon window, Anne hadn’t cracked a smile in the way Daisy remembered.

Anne’s warmth and kindness had been whittled down to nothing, and that was the last thing she deserved.

Surprisingly enough, Anne took to the idea of having Malric stay in her spare room instantly.

She knew of the rumors surrounding him, of course, but barely paid them any mind.

Who was she to judge, when the town ridiculed her for something similar?

Daisy had never realized they’d be a match made in heaven, though she’d wished for it.

Malric’s willingness to live with an older woman was even more shocking.

Perhaps he was merely desperate for a home, but the longer that Daisy stared into his dark gaze, the more she became acquainted with the light that lived deeply within him.

“I’ll need to show you pictures of my grandson, Malric,” Anne said. “You remind me so much of him!”

Malric’s cheeks began to burn a bright red, his lips tugging into a smile so wide that dimples poked out. “I’d like to see those,” he replied, his voice quiet but heavy with emotion.

Anne, bless her heart, never noticed how he took her words to heart.

She was naturally kind, naturally insistent on delivering as many compliments as she pleased.

But there was a difference with Malric. He was not the usual subject of kindness, not trusted to live with a helpless old woman, not trusted around valuables without an extra eye focused on him.

Anne simply acted like her normal self, the person she had been before the Book of Gossip hit the streets and tainted her good name.

Daisy leaned over to Tessa, keeping her voice low. The thick scent of the oil they used to keep the vintage register in pristine condition filled her senses, bringing a wave of dizziness over her. “Who knew that a twenty-five-year-old like Malric could take to someone like Anne so easily?”

“Ah,” Tessa drawled before shaking her head. “Is that catering to gossip, I hear?”

“Oh, well, no, I –”

Tessa tsked and waggled her finger disapprovingly. “Stereotypes are just as harmful as rumors, Flowers. You know that.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Daisy bit back her laugh, more eager to hear the pair at the other end of the store. She gestured and began to creep towards them, not wanting to interrupt. Tessa, who could never turn down a bit of eavesdropping, followed close at her heel.

Anne slung her old purse over her shoulder. “You’re a tech-savvy boy, aren’t you?”

“Well,” Malric mused, the corner of his lip already pulling into a smile. “Just as much as the next fellow, I’d say. Is there something you need fixed?”

“My son got me a new television a few weeks back,” Anne was already blurting, barely waiting for Malric to finish his sentence, “and the darn remote has been set far too loud! I can hardly hear myself think anytime I want to watch the news!”

Daisy pressed her lips together, holding back a giggle.

Behind her, Tessa sounded as though she was choking on her breath.

Typical Anne, Daisy thought to herself. Any other young person might’ve turned her away at that point, far too annoyed by the elderly’s inability to understand the fast growing technology.

But, much to their surprise, Malric only listened as intently as before, nodding every now and then to let Anne know that he was paying attention.

There wasn’t a hint of frustration in his face, not in the slightest. In fact, his smile grew wider as the woman continued to ramble on.

“And don’t even get me started on emails!”

“What’s wrong with your emails?”

“The only reason why I got the thing is for the animal shelter.” Anne had her hands on her hips, shaking her head disapprovingly.

“All I need is to see the schedules, but I think someone’s hacked it!

And they are trying to fax me spam! Can you even believe that?

I ought to give the email company a call! ”

Daisy and Tessa held their breath, barely able to keep themselves quiet.

“Don’t worry about it anymore, Ms. Fairfax,” Malric politely replied, his dark eyes soft and gentle, much like the strays Anne specialized in rescuing. “I’ll take a look at those for you. And I know you mentioned a squeaky chair –”

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any tools!”

Malric’s smile widened. “I’ve got my own set, Ms. Fairfax. Consider it done.”

Anne sighed heavily, her shoulders sagging as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of her.

Without even a lick of hesitation, Anne extended her hand and grabbed ahold of Malric’s angular cheek.

She gave him a pat or two before a delicate pinch, her brown eyes glossy with growing tears.

Beneath her touch, Malric’s eyes grew incredibly wide, making him look more and more like a child.

“You really are a good boy, Malric.” Anne nodded to herself. “I’m sure of it.”

Malric instantly beamed.

“Well, now,” Anne mused, turning to face the approaching Daisy and Tessa – who both had hidden. “Close up now, you hear? You two need your rest! I’ll be making my famous roast tonight, if you girls want some, alright?”

Daisy and Tessa could hardly speak, too overcome with emotion.

How did a simple circumstance manage to create a bond like the one the pair already had?

They fit beside each other easily and effortlessly, and Daisy had no doubt that they’d both be feeling better in no time.

The despair they were both full of could be healed.

As Malric and Anne made their way down Main Street, Daisy locked up Fields’ Herbals behind her, shouldering her bag. Tessa followed suit and hooked her arm around Daisy’s once everything was closed.

“I’d call that a job well done,” Tessa said. “Wouldn’t you?”

Daisy nodded without the slightest bit of doubt in her mind. “Strangely simple, don’t you think?”

“Not strange at all,” she replied as they began to walk in the direction of their homes.

“You think so?”

Tessa shrugged. “Two broken hearts make one whole one. At least, that’s how I think of it. They were right for each other at that exact moment. Let’s just hope it stays that way.”

“It will,” Daisy murmured. “Otherwise, I might lose all faith in the world.”

The pair laughed together, then allowed silence to slowly overtake them as they walked through Main Street.

There were a few groups of townspeople heading to restaurants as they moseyed on by, a light summer chill filling the air.

Daisy felt at ease for the first time in a few days, no longer worrying about eyes being on her or rumors etched onto windows.

Nothing was solved yet, but Daisy was under the guise of things returning to normal.

It was spectacular how a simple moment such as Malric and Anne’s pairing could brighten a dreary mood.

Daisy almost wanted to take Anne up on having dinner with her, desperate to witness more of Malric stepping out of his shell.

“Good grief,” Tessa suddenly snapped. “You know, I’ve got no issues with chalk, but paint on the sidewalk?” She shook her head like a disapproving mother. “How careless do you have to be?”

“What are you talking about?”

Tessa pointed towards a point a yard or two ahead of them, where the sidewalk had a reddish hue to it.

From their distance, Daisy could make out some lines or swirls, but nothing much else.

It had definitely come from paint, however, from the smell still hanging in the air.

She waved a hand over her scrunched-up nose, beginning to feel the same annoyance Tessa had voiced a moment ago.

Daisy sighed. “I’ve got a bucket back home. We can…” Her voice trailed off as they drew nearer to the writing on the ground.

It was, in fact, not a drawing at all. Not a plethora of twirls or lines either.

It was a sentence, done in a similar fashion to the other bits of rumors and gossip left around town.

The words almost didn’t sink in, at first, the meaning behind them hovering in the back of Daisy’s mind.

She wished to ignore it, to ignore the approaching paranoia that threatened to grab her by the back of the neck.

Daisy shuddered as the feeling returned, realizing that she might never escape from it, at least, as long as the culprit still made their way through town.

Tessa’s arm fell away from Daisy’s and smacked against her side. “T-That can’t be what I think it is,” she whispered. “Right?”

“I-I-”

“We’re just seeing things, right?”

Daisy’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“Right, Daisy?” Tessa snatched onto her wrist fervently. “ Right ?”

“I…” Daisy gulped. “I don’t think we’re seeing things, Tess.”

Inching closer to the pavement, Daisy knelt down to get a better look at the short sentence.

Iskra Veilshade uses dark magic.

The words seemed to barrel through her, no matter how much she wished to ignore them.

The rumors from the Book of Gossip were far more dangerous than Daisy had made them out to be.

Sure, gossip here and there about cheating on tests or drowning in debt were embarrassing, but how harmful could they be?

Something like that, where an Elder on the Witch Council was being accused of using dark magic…

it changed things. Daisy felt a pit begin to grow in her stomach, swallowing up her insides the longer she stared at the red words.

Daisy, with a shaking hand, retrieved her phone from her bag, punching in Iskra’s number as fast as she could. “I’m going to call her,” she whispered.

“Daisy.”

Turning around, Daisy’s eyes fell on Tessa, whose complexion took on an eerie shade of white.

The empath crouched down beside a parked car, pulling a familiarly torn piece of paper from the tire.

It had shimmering, gold borders, marking it as a piece from the Book of Gossip.

Tessa held it up, her expression flushed and gaunt.

“It’s from the book,” Tessa said.

Daisy swallowed again, her mouth incredibly dry.

The phone was pressed to her ear as it rang.

She searched through her brain for what she would say, how she could clean the words.

But there was another fear beginning to string through her.

If the Council was so sure that the gossip from the book was actually right, what did that say about Iskra?

What did that say about the Council as a whole?

Despite being in the midst of summer, Willowbrook grew gravely cold as the sun fell beyond the horizon.

The other end of the phone clicked.

“Hello?”