Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Clinging to that slim hope, I opened the front door and saw Rath standing there with a worried expression on his face.
“Um, hi,” I said uncertainly.
“Are you okay? Can I come in?” he asked.
I nodded and stepped to one side.
He came in and I shut the door behind him. Sebastian began twining around his legs at once and purring. Rath leaned down and stroked him absently, but his attention was focused on me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Fine except for a splitting headache and the sneaking suspicion that I acted like a complete fool last night,” I said. “Um, I’m afraid I said some crazy things after I drank that purple potion stuff…though I can’t remember all of them.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“That’s probably for the best. You were…not exactly yourself last night.”
I massaged my temples again with my fingers. More details of the night before were coming back to me and they were not pleasant.
“Did I really jump in your lap and, uh, shove my boobs in your face?” I asked, hoping it was part of the dream.
Rath nodded.
“In my mouth, actually. Which I wouldn’t have minded, except you were bespelled at the time.”
“Bespelled? Is that the magical version of drunk?” I asked.
“Kind of.” He nodded.
“I thought it was just a bad dream!” I shook my head. “Please tell me I didn’t also tell you all the awful details of the last time I tried to date!”
“Afraid so.” Rath looked at me sympathetically.
“Oh, no!” I groaned and put my hands over my face. “The part about the zipper and the police and the paramedics and everything?”
“Yeah, pretty much.” He still sounded sympathetic but I didn’t know how he looked—I couldn’t bear to look at him right then.
“Oh my God, how humiliating,” I moaned, my voice coming out muffled from behind my hands.
“Look, you don’t have to be embarrassed. We’ve all got bad dating stories,” he protested.
“Yeah, but you have to admit, mine is worse than most. And then the way I was acting—jumping on you like that and demanding that you…” I shook my head, unable to finish. “I’m just so, so sorry,” I told him, “I swear I’m not usually like that. I don’t know what got into me!”
“I do—it was that potion you brewed. In fact, I hope you don’t mind but I took a sample of it to someone in town.”
“You did? Why did you do that?” I looked up at him.
“To make sure it wasn’t going to cause you any lasting harm,” he said earnestly. “Like I said, I hope you don’t mind.”
“I guess not.” I sighed. “Who did you bring it to?”
“Madam Healer—that’s what we all call her. She’s pretty much everyone’s doctor here in Hidden Hollow,” he told me. “I brought her the sample last night after I put you to bed, so she ought to have had time to look at it by now.”
“Okay, so are you going to go see her or what?”
“Well, I thought it might be better if you talked to her,” Rath said. “With some help of course,” he added quickly.
“Please don’t say I have to go,” I pleaded. “I can’t handle any more strangers for a while—yesterday was a major overload for me.”
“I understand.” Rath put a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “Actually, I thought it might work if we FaceTimed her. Didn’t you say that was easier for you when you’re meeting new people?”
I nodded reluctantly.
“Yes, but I don’t know why I have to talk to her at all. I mean, I feel fine now and I’ve learned my lesson—I won’t make any more recipes from my Grandma’s Grimoire.”
“It’s not just the potion you brewed—it’s your magic,” Rath said patiently. “I think Madam Healer might be able to help you get unbound. Or at least she might be able to point you in the direction of someone who can.”
“What do I need magic for?” I asked stubbornly, still looking for an excuse not to interact with yet another stranger. “I’ve never had it before—why do I need it now?”
“Didn’t you tell me that Goody Albright said your voice was bound along with your magic?” he reminded me. “Wouldn’t you like to be able to talk to people instead of writing notes? People other than me, I mean.”
“Well…” I sighed.
He was right—everything he was saying was exactly what I had been thinking. It was just really hard to make myself get out of my comfort zone yet again, after going so far outside it the day before. But I knew if I didn’t do something about the binding on me—if there really was a binding—I was never going to be free of my Selective Mutism. And with all my heart, I wanted to be free of it.
“Okay, I’ll talk to her,” I said at last.