Lost Destinies

↳ 31: Sentient Brooms And Other Witchy Things

Claude just stared when he saw it, eyes electric with alarm. Minerva was hollow and nauseous and quivering, feeling that at any moment she might fly away with a particularly strong gust of wind, and she couldn't bring herself to look at anyone.

Ramona reached for her, and she wanted to jerk away, wanted to retreat from the poisonous touch of a stranger, but Ramona embraced her and pulled her close and Minerva found she couldn't move. Not a stranger, she realized. Minerva breathed in deeply. She held her like a friend. Like—like a sister.

Minerva had been embraced by her older sisters many, many times, enough that she knew something so gentle couldn't be trusted. Everything they'd ever told her raced through her head as a hot tear trickled down her cheek.

Carefully, Ramona pried her arms out of their tightly folded position, Minerva letting her. She examined the bloody stump. After a long pause, she murmured, "We're in Mab, right? I might know someone who can help." Her eyes flicked back up to Minerva's. "You're gonna have to trust me."

In her mind, Claudette and Paulette's sickly sweet smiles taunted her. But they couldn't manipulate her anymore.

"I do."

"You think she's still here? The, uh... reason you used to come here?" Claude asked, scratching the back of his neck. "Been a few years."

"I've said it before, Verelia," Ramona replied. "People like us don't change." She tossed the car keys to Lindsay. "Let's pick up the stray idiots and then we can go."

🙤 ˖ ࣪⭑ ┈┈┈┈ · ✦ · ┈┈┈┈ ˖ ࣪⭑ 🙦

"Who did this to you?" Penny looked to be plotting several felonies.

"If you would just let go of my arm." Minerva yanked out of her grip and burrowed back into her self-pitying shell. She wiped smeared black eyeshadow off with the back of her hand, sniffling a little. "Um. It's whatever."

"It's not whatever, oh my godmothers."

"Windsor, leave her alone!" Claude snapped, getting into the front seat. Ramona dangled a vial in front of her, and Minerva eyed it apprehensively.

"I'm no healer, but this should numb the pain for a while. Used to whip this up for severe backache. It's better than most painkillers, but you'll be a little tired."

Minerva knocked it back, wincing at the sting in her throat as it went down, and coughed. "I need to—redress the wound."

She moved to stand up, and Bear's hand on her shoulder shoved her right back down. Her eyes slid sideways to narrow at him. Traitor. "Cool it. I'm taking care of you now," Ramona told her forcefully. "There's no way you're doing anything without your right hand."

Lindsay peeked behind her as she began to peel off the makeshift bandage from before. "Oh, gross. That's so gross. Ew, ew, ew."

"Can you not? Baby, the washcloth—thanks."

Baby's calm, sure hand on her back was the only thing anchoring her in place as Ramona cleaned and bandaged her arm. "Duckie, the address!" Claude called from the front, gesturing to the GPS.

"Hang on!"

"Where are we going?" Penny demanded as Ramona finished up and wiped off her hands on her trousers.

"To meet with a friend."

"Another suspicious colleague?"

"Worse than that."

Ramona offered no further explanation, but to her credit, the painkiller did work. Minerva felt numb all over, although that may have been unrelated. White-knuckled, she didn't let go of Bear's hand the whole car ride through the city.