The Catalain Book of Secrets by Jessica Lourey

Author:Jessica Lourey
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-12-11T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Ursula

When Velda marched through the cottage door, knocking snow off her boots, Ursula felt her blood run cold and then drain out of her. Velda had never before visited her in her workshop.

“It’s me,” Velda had said.

Ursula stood behind the table where’d she’d been distilling anise, watching flakes dust her mother’s white hair, the setting sun outlining her petite shape. The air smelled like metal. Ursula and Velda had connected one day in their lives, the day they’d conspired to murder. “What do you want?”

Velda pushed past her oldest daughter. “What everyone wants when they come here.”

Ursula listened to her mother’s request, wondering why now of all times, promising herself she would say no, she would finally stand up to Velda, she was old enough after all and her own person, had been her own person since she’d begun raising herself back in March of 1965, but…soon enough, she felt the soothing comfort of Velda’s charm wash over her, and she was unable to resist the full power of her mother even though she was cognizant of the self-hatred burning through her cells.

She shrank to twelve all over again as she stirred the wild pink rose petals, clover honey, and brandywine under her mother’s watchful eyes, a little girl who wasn’t and would never be good enough. Ursula concentrated the liquids, strained the clear amber liquid into a pink jar, and corked it.

“Why do you even need this?” Her voice sounded whiny to her. She knew the answer to her question: Katrine was back in town, and her magic was making people reach for more than they thought they could. “Can’t you just use your regular charm?”

Velda took the jar as she licked her lips. “This is an especially tough nut to crack. I think he might actually love his wife.”

Ursula swallowed, her jaw set. “If he drinks all of this and you are the next woman he sees, he’ll be overcome with desire for you.”

Velda nodded. “Exactly what I want.” She put out her hand.

Ursula dropped the still-warm bottle into it. She did not want to know the name of the man who would be swallowing it. She consoled herself with the knowledge that at least this time, it wasn’t poison, and that because it was winter, the snakes couldn’t come.

When Velda left, Ursula felt wrong and ugly, so she opened the Book of Secrets. Despite turning to the first page, the book fell open in the middle. The borders of the paper were hand-painted with tiny lavender and pink petals threaded with finger-shaped leaves of dark emerald. The writing was elegant.

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