"Why can't she tell us what happened?"
"She's been bound." Mom circles the ghost again, professional assessment replacing maternal concern. "There's a spell muzzling her. A strong one."
"Can we break it?"
Mom tilts her head to one side. "We can try. But if the spell has been cast over her for a decade, the intention might be burrowed cell-deep.”
I stare at Davina and, like pieces clicking together in my head, the whispered conversation at Ashcroft Manor comes back to me?—
"What happened to Davina can't happen again."
"It won't."
"You can't know that!"
"Ohmygoodness." The word bursts out of me and I turn to Wylder. "When I crashed Laurel's secret meeting, I heard them mention the name Davina. They were arguing… saying what happened to Davina can't happen again."
Davina nods so vigorously her form blurs. She points at me, then gestures frantically to herself, then outward, tears streaming down her translucent cheeks.
"It's okay." I hold up my hands, trying to calm her as her form slips more with each panicked moment. "We'll figure out what you're trying to say, but you're hurting yourself by getting so wound up. We've got you. I promise we'll figure it all out."
"Can you tell us where you were?" Mom asks.
She shakes her head.
"Do you know who took you?"
She shakes her head again. She tries. Goddess knows she does try. Her mouth moves as her hands flail, gesturing out from herself over and over, desperation making her flicker like a candle flame.
But no matter what she tries, we don’t understand.
“Could she write it down?” I ask.
Mom shakes her head. “She doesn’t have the strength to affect the physical plane to hold a pencil.”
“Then we need to break the silencing spell."
Mom frowns. "Poppy, I don't know if?—"
"We have to try!" My hands ball into fists. "If Laurel has some kind of cabal kidnapping young witches, what Davina knows might help us find Lily and Violet."
"I understand that, Poppy, but a muzzling spell like this isn't simply about breaking it. Unweaving the threads of a spell like this will hurt her, and by the looks of things, she's suffered a great deal already."
Davina waves Mom's concerns away.
"I think she wants to try anyway," I say.
Davina nods frantically.
Mom doesn't look convinced, but positions herself in front of Davina, gesturing for me to stand beside her. "Place your hands near her throat chakra. Try not to touch her. Leave space for your spirit energy and the Goddess Mother’s intention to move."
I do as instructed, holding my palms a few inches from Davina's translucent neck as I call forth my power.
Please, Goddess Mother, help me help her.
Power crackles to life under my skin, and it takes a moment to settle the rush so I can concentrate. Having my magic dammed up for years means it comes to me in tidal waves, but I'm learning how to harness the influxes.
"Focus on unraveling the binding," Mom instructs. "Envision the spell as a network of threads woven together to trap her voice. You need to loosen them one by one."
