Chapter 14 #2
“Just for a few weeks longer. I’m sure once they’ve grown a bit, Mum will be happy to show you her brood,” I promised Shona.
“They’re just a touch shy and protective about it when the bairns are so wee.
” It was completely unnecessary to add that I was dying to see the hoglets too.
With their white, fluffy faces, soft spikes and pink feet, they’re just so adorable.
“What can I help you with today, Zara?” Shona asked, holding the door open and stepping backward.
“Mitch, find door.” Zara directed Mitch forward and followed him into the greenhouse. “I want to start a pepper plant, as I think it would be quite fun to grow.”
“Och, they’re grand, they are. I’ve got a few options that might suit.” Shona glanced at me. “Are you okay to wait a minute? I’ll just get Zara sorted and then we can have a look at what you’re needing.”
“She may just need an aloe,” Zara stage whispered, and I laughed.
“I promise not to kill whatever plant you assign me.”
Both women regarded me with suspicion and I laughed again. “I swear it. I’ll sign whatever I have to. I’ll put reminders in my phone to water it.”
“There is a really great app you can download. Tells you when to water, rotate, and feed each plant,” Zara suggested.
“Yup, no problem at all. I’ll add it. I promise.”
“Mitch, forward.”
When the dog didn’t move at first, Zara glanced down, tilting her head. “Mitch?”
Mitch’s back was arched and a heaving motion rocketed through him. I didn’t have to be a vet to know he was about to vomit.
“Oh no, I think the lad’s about to be sick.” I came forward and then paused, not wanting to touch the dog without Zara’s permission. “We should maybe get him outside, I think he’s about to throw up.”
“It’s fine, he can be sick on the floor here. I’ll clean it up,” Shona rushed out, worry on her face.
I stiffened as I saw the foam at his mouth. This wasn’t just being sick from eating a bit of grass. This was far worse.
“Zara, can we get Mitch out of this harness? I’m worried he’s ingested something serious.”
“Oh no.” Zara gave me a stricken look before bending to unharness Mitch as he heaved. “I swear he hoovers when I’m not looking, but almost never when he’s working. What do you think he got into?”
I crouched by the dog, helping to finish removing the harness, and slid a hand under his gums to check. I glanced up in time to see the gnome with the tattoos peek out from behind a table leg, his hands full of mushrooms, a guilty look on his face.
Bloody hell, depending on the mushroom, this could be serious. Sending the gnome a furious look, I glanced up at Shona, indecision roiling.
I didn’t have what I needed here to induce vomiting, and even so, the poison could already be working its way through Mitch’s system. Reaching out, I grabbed a mushroom from the gnome’s hands, startling it into running away, and shoved it at Shona.
“What is that?”
“Bloody hell, I’d been growing these as an option for natural pest control.” Shona gave me a worried look.
“Bad?” I mouthed to her.
“Use your magick,” Shona whispered at my ear and then turned to a now whimpering Zara.
“Mitch! What do we do? Dr. Fletcher, can you help?”
“Of course, Zara. If you don’t mind, I’m going to carry Mitch outside where I have room to work on him.
Shona, will you help Zara while I get my first aid kit out?
” I was entirely lying now, as I didn’t have a kit with me in my handbag, but Zara didn’t need to know that.
I wasn’t sure how impaired her vision was, but judging from the commands she gave her dog, I was certain she wouldn’t be able to see my use of magick.
My pulse hammered as Mitch continued to heave.
Mushrooms could be quite toxic to dogs, but if it was the one I was thinking of, not only would I have to work fast, but I’d also have to protect myself.
Otherwise I could accidentally poison myself too.
Bending over, I gathered Mitch in my arms and lifted him, barely strained by his weight. I was used to lifting animals of all sizes, so my muscles were well developed. Rushing outside, I laid the dog out on the grass as he continued to heave and knelt by his side.
His warm brown eyes met mine, a plea in them.
“I’ve got you, buddy. I know this is really scary, but just hang on for me, okay? Zara needs you.”
Threading my fingers through his soft fur at his stomach, I closed my eyes, reaching for the magick I held deep in my core.
It always answered my call, like a flower blooming in the sunshine, and I breathed a sigh of relief as gentle healing light flowed through me.
My hands warmed, and I sent the power inside Mitch, seeing in my mind’s eye how the silvery light surrounded the sticky sludge of poison that threatened him.
Slowly, the light surrounded the toxin, crisscrossing over and over, like a spider wrapping up its prey, and when I was certain I’d found all traces of it in his body, I took a deep breath.
“By Mother Moon and Sister Sea, I call on my shield to surround me. Protect my body and my soul, let no pain take its toll.”
Normally, when healing, I’d take the pain into me and then redirect it elsewhere, if possible, or deal with the aftereffects later—like the bruising I’d had after I’d helped heal Oban.
But toxins were different, particularly once magick was involved.
They could mutate, enhance, and evolve, and taking them into your system was never a smart thing to do.
Mentally keeping a strong hold on the sludgy ball of poison wrapped in my web of magick, I tugged, hard, and ripped it from Mitch’s body and whipped it into the air.
It tried, briefly, to jump to me, but it bounced off my shield and flew up, before shattering into a swarm of tiny black gnats.
They buzzed around my head briefly before a strong gust of wind tore them away, and then Mitch rolled, gagging into the grass, heaving up the mushroom he’d eaten.
“There you go, boy. That’s a good lad. You’ll be just fine now.
” Sweat ran damply beneath my jumper, and I stroked Mitch’s back lightly as he finished heaving, scanning his body with my mind.
I couldn’t find any other traces of the toxin in him, and feeling comfortable enough to pull back, I retracted the threads of my power and furled it back inside me, tucking it in its safe space deep in my core.
Mitch turned and licked my hand.
“You’re welcome, bud. Scary stuff, eh?” I’d have to have a serious talk with Shona about her gnomes. This was unconscionable, what they’d done, and if she kept them about, they’d properly hurt someone one day.
“Is he okay?” Zara called, her voice panicked. I glanced over my shoulder to see Shona doing her best to comfort Zara.
“I was able to induce vomiting and he seems to be doing well now that he’s cleared it.”
“But what about toxins? His liver? Aftereffects?” Zara gripped Shona’s arm as she stepped forward. “Should I be worried?”
“It really looks like he’s cleared it all. If you’d like, I can take him home with me to monitor him for a day, but I don’t think it is necessary.” To prove my point, Mitch had sprung up and was racing across the lawn to Zara.
“Oh, buddy. You scared me.” Zara dropped to her knees and hugged Mitch but turned her head when he tried to kiss her. “Ew, vomit breath.”
Shona’s eyes met mine over Zara’s head. She raised her eyebrows in question, and I gave her a quick nod.
“The mushroom must have been a different variety from what I thought. Thank goodness.”
“He’s usually pretty good when he’s working, but sometimes he can’t help himself. I’m just glad it wasn’t more serious. Can you grab his harness for me?”
“I’ll go get it.” I went inside the greenhouse, closing the door behind me, and darting a quick look over my shoulder, I crouched.
The gnome looked up at me, still frozen, and I grimaced.
“Listen, you little shite, if you ever do something like this again, I’m going to punt you into the loch. Understood?”
The gnome shifted into life and threw his hands in the air.
“Och, I swear I didn’t know. I swear it. I was just giving the dog a treat so he wouldn’t bark at us. I was worried it was going to give us chase and cause his owner to fall.”
“You swear it? Because I saw him almost pee on you,” I hissed, holding my hand in a fist over the gnome’s head.
“I swear to the goddess! Och, I’m not a fan of the wee beasties. They’re always trying to piss on me, but I would never harm one. It’s against our code. We’re garden gnomes. We protect all creatures.” The gnome seemed to be serious, and I narrowed my eyes at it.
“I’m watching you.” I used two fingers to point at my eyes, and then at him.
“I’m sorry. I really am.” He seemed contrite enough and there wasn’t much else I could do. Grabbing the harness, I went back outside to where Zara cuddled Mitch on the ground.
“He seems fine,” Zara said, rubbing her hands down his side.
“He should be. But I’ll give you my number and you can call with any concerns.” I handed Shona the harness and she gave it to Zara.
“Listen, Zara, why don’t I drop you at home real quick and that way you can cuddle up with Mitch and make sure he’s doing okay?”
“You’ll want to monitor if he’s drinking water and eating normally,” I instructed.
“Yes, that’s probably best. I’ll wander back down another day this week.” Zara dug in her pocket and handed me her phone. “Can you add your number?”
“No problem. I’ll save it as ‘Vet. Dr. Faelan Fletcher.’” I punched in my number, saved it, and handed the phone back before crouching to give Mitch one more rub. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just pet him with his harness on.”
“That’s fine. I haven’t called him back to work yet.” Gripping the harness, Zara stood. “Mitch, forward.”
“I’ll be just a few minutes, Faelan,” Shona said. “Have a look at the greenhouse if you’d like? The hedgies are in their nest in the back room if you want to check on them.”