When I woke, it was morning and Zenayda was curled around me, but Griselda was already up and starting to warm the breakfast. I sniffed at Zenayda and pawed at her face to wake her up before darting outside to make water. I spied a mouse taking advantage of the warm sphere around our cottage and thought Reggie could use some food, so I caught it on my way back inside.

Griselda took the wriggling mouse from me and dropped it into the snake’s cage. He looked uninterested in it and didn’t move, but perhaps the cold was making him lethargic. Or he was smart enough to realize the mouse had no where to go, so he could eat it any time.

“We need to get to town today! We’ll have a quick breakfast before we go. Shadow, I need you to come with us. Remember I showed you the snake anti-venom and how to use it, Zen? We must take a good bit with us. We’re going to settle their rash of snake bites,” she explained while she ladled out portions of food and fed the birds.

As usual, Griselda carried her basket with her. Zenayda had some new shoes and a thick cloak that Griselda had made for her. I sensed she was a little apprehensive about returning to the village, but Griselda reminded her of her spells and helped ease her mind as we travelled.

We left the forest and approached from a road cutting through some fields surrounding the town. No one bothered us, but I did hear a few people mutter about ‘bad luck’ under their breath. I tried to ignore them, but I had to wonder about it as it seemed to plague my life.

“Nevermind them, Shadow! You’re not bad luck. They may have a bit more respect for you after today!” hissed Griselda under her breath. Griselda seemed to have a destination in mind. There was a large house to one side with a guard. She walked right up to the door, but was stopped by a large man with a sword. I thought for a moment it was Xenir since he was burly and armed with a long sword like he had been.

“What's your business?” the man asked gruffly, pushing Griselda back. I hissed at the her treatment, but she waved her hand to me to settle me.

“I'm here to help with the snake bite victims,” she said. “Your victims, you mean,” the man accused.

“Don't be ridiculous! We’ll find the snake nest for you as well. Let me talk with the lord mayor so we can help!” she said evenly. The man huffed, but allowed her past.

“Wait here,” she told us and we did with the surly guard eyeing us most distrustfully.

“Come!” Griselda barked as soon as she came back out and into the street. “No time to waste!” We hurried after her.

She went up to another house and knocked on the door. A pale faced woman opened the door peering out at us.

“Oh, thank Heavens you’ve come!” she said, opening the door wider and allowing us to enter. “The healer is here!” she called out. “He's in the back room,” and she indicated a short hallway.

There was a small boy lying on a bed looking very pale and moaning. The room smelled stuffy and acrid and I sensed great pain all around us.

“Where are you bitten, boy?” Griselda asked him.

“M-my ankle,” he said trying to shift but moaning. Griselda immediately uncovered his feet and found the ankle swollen to double size with red streaks going up the leg almost to the knee.

“Give him the potion, Zenayda. Let him take one and she how he responds to it,” she instructed. Zen pulled out the right vial from her basket and held the boys head up so he could drink it down.

Almost as soon as he had finished swallowing it, the color of his face returned nearly to normal and the red streaks on his leg began to reduce.

“Oh, Gods! I feel so much better!” he said, smiling. His mother made a whimpering sound behind us.

“You're treatment is not done yet, boy. That will get the worst of it. Zen, remember to draw out the poison with the poultice like I showed you,” she instructed. She turned to the woman behind us. “We need some fresh water and towels, bring them straight away.” The woman hustled out the door.

“Now, tell us where you were bitten, boy,” Griselda asked, but I felt she knew the answer already.

“I... I was playing with some boys from the orphanage. They dared me to go into the very back of the cellar... I... It was stupid. And they denied all of it after, but I was in so much pain...” he rambled, but Griselda held up her hand.

“I might have known. Don’t worry. I’m going to take care of the root of the problem. Zenayda will watch over you and take care of you, alright? We’ll be back in a bit.” She pulled out a bag from her basket and indicated I should follow her.

The boy’s mother looked upset as we left, but Griselda said her son was in good hands and promised to return.

I felt the fury in Griselda as she marched down the road, taking a few turns before entering a small courtyard where she picked me up without slowing. There were some children in ratty clothes running around who all stopped to stare as we passed.

An older woman looked like she would stop us, but a glare from Griselda had her back off immediately.

“Where's the cellar?” barked Griselda. “What business do you...” the lady started.

“Where is it? You’ve got a diamond back living there. You want it to bite someone else?” Griselda snarled and the woman’s mouth dropped open and she pointed to the back of the place. There was a rickety ladder sticking out of a gap in the floor. Griselda helped herself to a candle and quickly but carefully went down the stairs with me in her arms.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

She dropped me to the ground and lit her candle, placing it on a nearby shelf. She crouched down to me and held her open hand out to me. I was confused as to what she wanted. I could smell a drop of her blood oozing from her skin.

“It will help, Shadow. It’s okay. Have it,” she demanded. I licked it quickly from her and noticed a scar etched across her palm only partially healed. She took something from her pocket and scattered it into the back of the cellar muttering a few words.

There was a distinct smell of earth and, behind it, snake. I hissed and turned towards it. The dirt was well packed near the ladder, but looser toward the back. I stalked my way to the back of the cellar.

“Careful, Shadow. It’s going to be fast and not friendly like our Reggie,” cautioned Griselda. Some globes of light floated over me and into the back of the place and I saw two eyes shine out of the dark. They moved in a flash and luckily, I had already jumped, so the head struck the ground where I had been standing. I jumped on its neck before it could get its coils up underneath it again and smelled and tasted blood in my mouth as I bit it hard.

I jumped again, some instinct warning me, as another snake struck where I had been. The first snake was not completely dead yet, but it rolled over in a death throe. It’s white underside glowing in the bit of light in the back part of the root cellar. My attention distracted from the live snake a moment too long and I had to leap out of the way of another strike. I hissed in annoyance and no small amount of fear.

The second snake seemed to have boundless energy and it was very quick to gather itself up for strike after strike. I was only just keeping out of her reach. I needed to get on the offensive to end this before I grew tired or wasn’t fast enough. I hissed and we both leaped at the same time. My claws caught its body near the head and I turned in midair to land on her back keeping my teeth firmly clamped on her.

I landed a bit off balance on my back feet, but held tight. I bit and ripped at the back of her neck and she stilled beneath me. The other snake had finally bled out as well and it lay motionless nearby.

“Bring it to me, Shadow. Good work!” Griselda called. I dragged the she-snake over to her, then went back for the other. “Two?” she asked. “I'm glad you took my blood. You are quick, friend, but I’m glad I could help you. Show me where they were.”

I strode back again, worried about more snakes. There was some smell still lingering in the air at the far back. Griselda made her orbs of light reach into the far depths.

“There!” she pointed and I could make out some light colored ovals. “Bring me those eggs, Shadow. Or we’ll have to come back and deal with more of the same later.”

I easily picked up the small white leathery things and brought them out to Griselda. I didn’t stop until I couldn’t smell any more. She tucked the eggs and the dead snakes into her linen bag and into her belt so she could pick me up and carry me back up the ladder.

She placed me on the floor when we got our heads out of the cellar.

Griselda pulled the bag from her belt and let the two snake heads hang out of the sack. The old lady covered her mouth with her hands and took several steps back from us as if they would come back to life and bite her.

“Pay more attention to those bullies! They like to play dangerous games! They might get someone killed next time!” barked Griselda. We continued on out and I thought I caught the smell of that bully I’d cut before he faded into the shadows behind the building.

The kids in the courtyard screamed and made a fuss over the snake heads as we walked past. Griselda simple stalked on back to the house of the bitten boy, her fury hardly abated.

We rushed into the back room where we could smell Zenayda and our patient still were. The swelling in the boy’s leg had gone down significantly, all the redness of it gone.

“Good work, Zenayda. How do you feel, boy?” Griselda asked.

“It only hurts a little now,” the boy said grinning, even though he still looked pale.

“Darmen,” Zenayda emphasized the boy’s name. “took two vials of anti-venom. I’ll need to put a fresh poultice pack on before we leave, I think. Do you think he’ll be okay now?”

Griselda put her hand on Darlen’s head and peeked under the patch of poultice on his leg. She nodded and the boy’s smile got wider.

“You're out of the woods, Darmen. Another day and you might not be so lucky! Why wasn’t I sent for?” The boy’s mother was lingering in the room behind us and it was clear she addressed her now.

“Well, rumor was you’d set the snake on the boy,” she mumbled, looking at her feet.

“I suppose you’ll know what to do with rumors next time, yes?” Griselda eyed the woman. She seemed to shrink back under Griselda’s glare.

“I...yes... I can pay you...” she muttered, but Griselda smiled which seemed to catch the woman by surprise.

“Don't worry about it. I’m only glad we came in time. You can spread the word that Zenayda is my apprentice and she’s turning into a good healer. You send for either of us next time, alright?” she said, patting the woman’s shoulder. “We can still heal a grippe or a cough, a snake bite or a burn! Don’t forget it! I won’t always be traipsing through town for no reason,” she complained.

“Oh, bless you, Healer. May the Ice Crowned God bless you both,” she exclaimed.

“Thank you, dear. Zen, I’m going to a few shops for some things. Stay with our patient. When I get back, we put on a fresh poultice and see how the bite looks,” she instructed. She put the linen bag with the snakes into her basket and took out a small coin purse and another linen bag to take with her.

I watched her leave the house and jumped up on the bed to smell the boy’s wound.

“Shadow, meet Darmen. Darmen, this is Shadow,” she said and I butted her arm in greeting. She giggled and petted me. She picked me up and sat down on the bed with Darmen, placing me in her lap. They chatted together about the orphanage bullies and the goings on in town, but I was only half listening to their conversation since I was tired and feeling comfortable and sleepy on Zenayda’s warm lap.

When Griselda came back I realized I had napped for a while. The women looked at the boy’s leg and determined that a fresh bit of poultice would remove the bit of venom remaining, so they cleaned the leg and renewed the bandage over it.

“You know where to come find us if anyone else is bitten or sick, right?” Zenayda asked Darmen as we were preparing to leave.

“Yeah, the witch’s...,” he stopped and glanced at Griselda quickly. “I mean, the cottage in the deep woods, right? On the way to Panther Peak?”

I saw a smirk on Griselda’s face, but Zen pretended like she hadn’t heard anything strange. “That's the one!” Zenayda told him, smiling. “Anytime!”

The boy answered her smile with his own.

“Thank you, Zenayda,” the boy told her and I thought it strange he didn’t address Griselda, too. But she didn’t seem to mind and was nearly out of the room. I hopped down off the bed and followed Griselda. In the front room, the boy’s mother stopped before we could leave.

“Miss... err, I have me some eggs from some chickens I keep out back. Would you like some in trade for your help with my boy?” she asked. Griselda smiled at her.

“That would be lovely, thank you,” she replied. The lady indicated a small pile of eggs on her counter. Griselda tucked them into a place in her basket before heading out the door and back down the street the way we had come with Zenayda trailing close behind.

Griselda’s anger seemed to have dissipated and she had a small smile on her face the whole way back to the cottage.