She felt a prickling of unease and looked up. The same figure, a green mist surrounding it, like something rotten, was hovering at the edge of the forest, seeming more solid than it had last time.
All the magic in the world couldn’t prepare her for the fear that seized hold of her, as though she were drowning inside her heart.
Healing Salve
Apply this to minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Helps with inflammation and healing and works as an anti-infection and anti-microbial. Had to perfect this when the kids were little because they were like bulls in a china shop. Then, of course, Seth and Sadie turned out just the same.
Ingredients
2 T. coconut oil
2 drops each of:
tea tree oil
helichrysum
lavender
frankincense
1–2 tsp. beeswax pellets （optional, just makes the balm firmer）
1 oz. tin
Directions
1.?In a small double boiler, melt the coconut oil and beeswax until just melted.
2.?Take off heat and let cool for just a minute or two before adding the oils.
3.?Pour into your container, and then refrigerate to solidify. Apply as needed. Helps speed up the healing time and fights infection.
??10??
SADIE ESCAPED TO THE back porch, and three glasses of wine later she still wasn’t numb enough.
She didn’t have the heart to tell her grandmother about the garden. Gigi, who’d refused to wear the knot of Isis. Sadie had hidden it in her room, so at least it would be near her while she slept. But doubt had already crept in. Gigi was moving slower again, always with a hand to her back and a grimace on her face when she thought no one was looking.
Kay was louder than usual, and Anne was talking faster than a speeding train, filling every silence to say all the things before time ran out, even if those things didn’t matter. Uncle Brian had taken to fixing odds and ends around the house, muttering under his breath about Tava taking over the table with her sewing project. And Suzy had decided to clean and organize the hall closet. Seth, meanwhile, sat quietly next to Gigi on the couch; as always Abby was on her lap and Bambi at her feet.
There was a charged feeling to the air, everyone scattering to their respective posts, believing that if they could hang on to normalcy for a little bit longer, maybe their denial would waylay the inevitable. And Sadie couldn’t stand the taste it left in her mouth.
The screen door creaked open, and Sadie recognized Seth’s footfalls without turning around. He took the wineglass from Sadie’s hand as he sat.
“Fucking madhouse in there,” he said.
Sadie only nodded.
“What’s up?”
“For starters,” she said, pointing in the direction of the garden.
He squinted his eyes in the dying light and let out a sharp breath.
“Shit.”
“Yeah. And I don’t know,” she said, answering his question before he could ask who had done it.
“Okay, what else?”
“What do you mean ‘what else?’ That’s not enough?”
“You said, ‘for starters.’”
She looked sidelong at him. He was her twin; she couldn’t keep him out of her heart any more than she could keep her reflection out of a mirror. So she took a deep breath and spoke the words that had been weighing on her chest, like an anvil, ever since Jake had said them.
“Jake is engaged.”
“To be married?”
“Apparently so,” she said bleakly.
“Damn, sister, you can’t catch a break.”
“Oh, but wait—there’s more. She’s also pregnant.”
“I feel like this qualifies as asshole fodder. Or am I wrong? Is there something I’m missing here? This just doesn’t seem like Jake.”
“He tried to tell me. A few times, actually, but I kept—I don’t know—I pushed him away because I didn’t want to hear it. It doesn’t matter anyway.” She shrugged, taking the glass back and pouring another serving before drinking half of it in a single gulp. “The world I’ve been so carefully cultivating for the past twenty years is crumbling. Nothing is recognizable anymore. I’ve spent so long protecting my heart from the curse that there’s nothing in my life except for Gigi.”
“What am I—chopped liver?” he demanded.
She gave him a sharp, challenging look.
“You realize you have to forgive me at some point, right?”
“Don’t be stupid. I’ve already forgiven you.”
“We’re going to be okay, sister,” he said, putting his arm around her shoulders and stealing the wineglass back. “I promise.”