When Bryony -- herbalist extraordinaire -- goes missing, Bella knows one suspect stands above the rest. The village's aspiring second witch, Daphne, comes from a family that's tried to take Bryony down before, and Daphne seems determined to carry on...
Searching both stoked and dampened her anxieties. Bella knew she was in the right place this time, lending a feel of productivity to the searching that she'd missed over the last few days. Each hour that passed fuelled her fears that the bog had taken Bryony, but though the Wights clustered in patches where they might be feeding off the energy of drowned creatures, none of those clusters were large enough to represent a human body. At least not a recent one. Then the sun rose, and the Wights on the bog retreated to the forest again, leaving Bella's flight and sightlines clear. She spread her wings wider and relaxed her pace. That too helped.
Midmorning eventually forced Bella to stop and find food. Her skill at this had rusted over the years, but thankfully not abandoned her altogether. Bugs and berries tasted no worse than they did when she snacked on them while out with Bryony, though finding enough to make a meal took several hours. By then, the exhaustion of lost sleep was catching up with her. Bella shook it off and returned to the sky. This time, halfway around the bog's expanse, she spotted something.
There was a person in the bog. Far out into it, picking their way over the peat, probing ahead with a stick and placing each foot carefully. Their other hand waved about as though sowing seeds. Bella flew closer. Her heart lifted, liquid relief nearly turning her wings to jelly. She would recognize that coat anywhere.
"Bryony!"
The Witch was too far away to hear her. Bella beat her wings against the morning's thermals and flew towards her keeper as fast as she could. It really was Bryony this time. The fog parted around her, leaving her outline sharp and solid in the sun. When Bella called again, her keeper's head snapped up. Bryony froze for a moment, then jammed her walking stick into the peat and lifted an arm for Bella to land on. Not her usual landing-arm—that hand was in her pocket now—but Bella was too relieved to care. She landed heavily and hopped up to Bryony's shoulder, rubbing her head into her keeper's hair.
"What are you doing here?" said Bryony.
"I came to find you in Solanum, but you weren't there. We've been looking all over for you. You scared me."
Bryony's expression darkened momentarily. "'We'?"
Bella faltered. Bryony had not wanted her to follow her here. Announcing that she'd done so with a whole party might be one step too far. "Me and Titus. But he didn't come the whole way." She headbutted Bryony again, wishing for a head-stroking. "You know him."
Bryony gathered up her stick again. "I wouldn't expect him to understand."
"Are you looking for your mother?"
Bryony wiped her eyes roughly and said nothing.
"Sorry," said Bella. "I trust you."
"Why are you here?"
Bella stopped. Bryony wasn't smiling. If anything, she looked annoyed at Bella's presence, though she made at least an attempt to mask it.
"Would you rather I left?" said Bella. "I just wanted to know you were okay. But you are, so I can go home if you want me to. If you're... if what you're doing is private, and you want to be alone."
Bryony sighed. "No, it's fine. You're here now. Thank you for worrying about me."
"You didn't want me to worry."
Bryony stayed silent for a long moment.
"So Titus didn't come with you?" she said at last.
"He kept trying to imply you were lying to me. Or up to something sinister. He tried to get Daphne on board to look for you, too. They were searching your house together."
Bryony's eyes flashed in alarm. "Did they take anything?"
She should never have let Daphne bring Bryony's notebook along.
"Please tell me they didn't take anything," said Bryony. "Bella, that kid is trying to revive her parents' investigation. We can't trust her."
"I kept her out of your private rooms," said Bella. "Titus, too."
"Are they back in Hyacinth?"
"They might have followed me."
"Did they know you were coming here to look for me?"
Lying to Bryony was hard. Bella yearned to tell the entire story, but something else possessed her tongue and forced it to keep spilling half-truths. She didn't want Bryony to worry, either. Though worry was not the emotion she could feel flowing off her keeper at the moment.
"They found a coded notebook," she said, and felt Bryony's whole body stiffen. "They couldn't interpret it, but Daphne thought it might lead to the bog. I noticed your boots were missing and flew on ahead to beat them here. They might be following."
Bryony cursed softly, looking back over her shoulder. "Thank you," she said. "I really don't want to run into them right now."
A familiar, fuzzy warmth softened the nerves beating like a second heartbeat just under Bella's skin. This was something she could do for Bryony. Her keeper still hadn't greeted her like she normally would, but if Bryony was stressed about being investigated, that would explain her response. Bella would do anything to help alleviate that stress.
Now she just needed that notebook back from Daphne's hands.
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