• The Demon's Curse •

14: In Which the Bell Tolls

        The next morning, Portheaven sun shone brightly against the windowpane. Lily grew to like Portheaven much more than Market Chipping or Kingsbury. Something about the ocean soothed her. She wasn't much for swimming or fishing but listening to the sailors bark orders and the waves gentle rock the boat bells was peaceful. Ideally she thought magic would wreck havoc on the towns and cities but it seemed to be a common trait. Uncommon but not strange.
        Today Howl had once again disappeared, spending hours in the bathroom just before. He was off courting Lettie again, which surprised Michael and the demon.
"I doubt he really loves her." Michael said with a disapproving nod. He was hunched over a stack of paper with an ink quill.
        "Why won't he just stop breaking hearts? The longer he drags this on the harder it will be on her." Lily argued, finding another book to mend. This time Calcifer laughed.
"She must not have admitted her love yet. Howl lives for the chase you know." 
        Before she could argue with the demon and threaten to take away his log, the door creaked. 
"Portheaven door. They must be angry."
        Michael got up to cease the loud banging on the old door. He opened it to find a burly man with a thick bush of hair on his upper lip. His hand laid on his hip as he stuck out his palm full of green powder.
"This spell did nothing for my boat! Not a single catch was brought in over wailing seas!" He threw down the powder and stabbed Michael in the chest with a thick finger.
        Michael was politely apologizing while Calcifer peeked out of his grate. 
"I should demand to see that scrawny wizard and pummel the both of you cheats! I want my money back. Lily squeezed the leather binding in her hands so hard her nails dug into the leather. She didn't think the man was being very fair or that Michael deserved to be treated that way.
       Michael backed away from the door to find his coin purse, pulling out a more than fair amout to return to the man. The fire sucked on his tongue to make a hissing sound at the sailor. "I should feed you to a siren."
        The sailor immediately glared at Lily, "What did you just say?"
"The demon said it. Not me." she said simply shrugging at the fire.
"Very funny." He accused. "Anyone can salt the wood and make it appear blue. You shams are finished."
        Something in his tone felt threatening and highly annoying to Lily. She looked over and noticed the Skull chattering on the bench, catching Michael's attention as well. She looked back at the plump man with a quick snap of her head and glared. He didn't seem to waver at her stare but turned when an explosion erupted from behind him.
        A boat in the harbor was beginning to sink with a few sailors jumping overboard. The flaming mess couldn't be saved as it sank to the bottom. He quickly took a step back but pointed at Lily, "You wicked witch! The king will hear about this!"
After the escapade, Lily slammed the door shut. "How rude. You were much too nice Michael." She scolded, going back to her book.
        "I didn't blow up that boat." He said simply.
Calcifer looked at Lily and back at Michael. "Well it couldn't have been Lily. She can't do magic. Perhaps it was an attack from the western borders."
Michael shrugged absentmindedly, "It's possible."
        Minutes passed and Lily was fed up with poking her fingers with a needle. The book mender needed a break. She spotted Michael still hunched over a scroll of gold lining. It was old parchment but no matter what Michael did to it, it stayed perfect. No water smudged it and no fire burned it. 
        Michael looked to Lily who watched over his shoulder.
"I've been at this all morn. I can't figure out the ingredients or what to do with them."
Lily read the spell aloud:

"Go and Catch a falling star,
Get with a child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the Devil's foot.
Teach me to hear the mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.
Decide what this is about
Ol' Heartless Man,
Who swallowed the falling star."
        She read it over, thankful this spell was in english. The other spells she observed were much longer and straight forward, or required no words at all. This one was a puzzle. 
"Maybe it's literal." she suggested putting down the paper.
        "What do ya' mean?"
"I mean literal. An actual instruction." she repeated.
Michael stared at the paper expectantly. His brows knitted together much harder than before as he pieced an idea together. "So I should actually catch a falling star? Find a child with a mandrake root, and cut off the Devil's foot?"
Lily smiled to herself, "Well the star wouldn't be that hard, considering the shower tonight and there might be a child selling herbs in the market."
        "And the Devil's foot?"He asked eagerly.
Lily thought back. "Well. The Devil's foot isn't as literal. It was a case in the Adventure of Sherlock Holmes."
"Who's that?"
"He was a fictional detective. The greatest detective of his time. Solved impossible cases but anyway. Sherlock discovers that the victim was poisoned to death and the ground's keeper claimed it was the Devil. He later discovered that the Devil's foot is in fact a plant called Radix pedis diaboli that releases toxins when burned. It's only native to Africa."
        Both Calcifer and Michael stared at Lily, urging her on with their eyes. They were hypnotized by the story of an amazing man with no magic to solve mysteries.
"I suppose we could write down the past years or find something old with lots of meaning." Michael proposed.
        Lily shook her head. "It all circles back to the star."
"How would be even catch a falling star?"
"They are very fast you know." Calcifer chimed in. But that wouldn't deafen her spirit.
        Lily yanked out her Seven-League boots and showed them off proudly.
"Faster than twenty-one miles a second?"

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