The Witch's Patron

Chapter 21

Noori needed to talk to Toddrick as soon as possible. The good news was that he would be back from his fishing expedition by now. The bad news was that Noori was still persona non grata at the harbor. Instead of running out to find her best friend, she and Keizsa sent word with Luck, who took off bravely to find Toddrick. In a tiny letter curled into a scroll that the humming bird carried clasped within his tiny talons, Noori asked Toddrick to meet her deeper in the city where they could talk in private. 

To distract Noori from the constant low-grade anxiety simmering just below her surface, Keizsa put her to work. Together they set up the space where the witch would work on the counter charm to break Minty's curse.

"Do you think Luck is alright?" Noori fretted as she helped Keizsa hang the silk. "It feels like he's been gone an awfully long time."

Keizsa breezed to her, landing a soft kiss to her cheek. "Give him time," she said in a soothing voice. "Luck knows how to take care of himself."

"What about Toddrick? Do you think he's safe? Do you think he'll come?"

"If he's half the friend you believe him to be, he will come."

Hours later, Luck finally returned to the studio with Toddrick's response clutched in his claws. Noori breathed a sigh of relief when she read his reply — he agreed to meet with her that very night. Though brief, the letter expressed his concern for her safety and confirmed his own. He wanted to know her side of the story, and for that she was so grateful she almost wept.

Noori spent the rest of the day anxiously pacing about the studio. She had only been there for a few days but already she found herself resenting the small space that was now her entire world. What had once felt like a whimsical refuge now felt like a cage. Noori wondered how Keizsa had stayed sane after being trapped here for so long.

"Noori, please," Keizsa pleaded gently as Noori made another distracted lap around the room. "I know you're worried but I need you to find some calm. This counter charm is an enormous endeavour and requires far more focus that my regular spells."

"I'm sorry," Noori groaned. She rubbed her temples in frustration. "I just can't stop my mind from racing. Do you think my father is safe? I should have asked Toddrick. What will happen to them if Minty finds out about our plan? I hate not being able to do anything."

Keizsa took her by the shoulders and held her still in front of her. "Believe me: no one understands how helpless you feel right now more than I do. But until the sun sets there's nothing more you can do. Be gentle with yourself until then and conserve your energy. It may be a long night."

Noori nodded, knowing full well she was right. All the worrying in the world couldn't keep the people she loved safe; she would simply have to bide her time.

She dragged the armchair from the fireplace over to where Keizsa was working. Giving her plenty of space, Noori curled up in the plush seat to watch. Luck fluttered down and nestled into her lap, puffing his feathers up around him like a cozy little blanket. The two watched in respectful silence while Keizsa set to work, arranging her tools and focusing on her intention. In many ways the act looked no different than when Keizsa painted her other spells. But Noori could feel the ways in which this practice was different. The witch's vision was grand and sweeping; she worked with her hands as much as she did with strange new brushes Noori had never seen before — foreign fibres and enchanted wood for the handles which carried incantations carved into them. Keizsa threw herself into her magic, mind and body; it seemed to change the very air around them. Emotions Noori had never felt before passed through her alongside memories and places she had never seen. Keizsa's magic was everywhere; the process, it seemed, was all-consuming.