Dark Corner

Chapter 14

A Fairy Ring

Now that the Leaf & Page had reopened and was fit for business, Abigail, Pixel, Tracker, and I returned to the cabin. It gave me time to train Abigail and time for Agatha Hollows’s magic to assimilate into Abigail’s magic. I preferred the peaceful quiet of the cabin to that of the bustle of the village. In earnest, I felt I couldn’t trust Abigail to hide her magic from the humans. Abigail grabbed a basket and opened the front door. We were planning to gather herbs. She went to step over the threshold— I stopped her when I heard the telltale rattle. A large brown-and-black timber rattler was curled up on the wood porch. We froze, then Abigail reached for the walking stick next to the door. She lifted it.

“No, Abigail,” I said.

“I can kill it, Terra,” she said.

“Slowly back into the cabin and close the door,” I said, keeping my eyes on the pit viper. Abigail did as I told her.

“I could have killed it, Terra,” she said.

“Yes, but if you had, its mate and offspring would come back and take its vengeance. It will leave on its own,” I told her. “Count the number of rings on its rattle.”

“Five,” Abigail said as she stared out the window.

“That’s the number of times that rattler has shed its skin, meaning that it could have up to twenty offspring. That’s a lot to haunt us, Abigail.”

We waited for the snake to uncoil itself and slither away. After it left, we headed outside, this time with Pixel tagging along. We followed the stream, searching for herbs essential to our potion.

“Abigail, wait a moment.” I pointed out a tall green plant with bright orange-and-red flowers growing along the bank. “Abigail, this is jewelweed or wild impatience. It contains a natural soaplike chemical. Its scientific name is saponin. It works like an anti-inflammatory. When you apply the juice of the flower on your skin, it’s good for mosquito bites, chigger bites, and even poison ivy.”

As we strolled, I pointed out many of the plants that Agatha Hollows had shown me. “This unassuming green weed is called broadleaf plantain. It’s also good for insect bites. It grows everywhere.” I saw some yellowroot, growing along some rocks. “Abigail, you see this leaf, it’s triangular with feathered edges.”

“Yes, Terra.”

“It’s called yellowroot and is good for upset stomachs. It releases a chemical called berberine. It helps with mouth sores and bacteria.” I kept looking while we walked. “This tree is a dogwood, Abigail. It grows all over the Carolinas. They make a tea from the inner bark to help with migraines and reduce fever. It contains a chemical called cornic acid which is similar to the chemical used in aspirin.”

Pixel listened in, eager to learn. He nibbled at each plant as I taught Abigail. “Abigail, everything you need to survive you can find in these woods. You can’t always count on your magic.”

Abigail sat on a log. I leaped up next to her. “As powerful as you are, Abigail, there are limits to your magic. Each time you use your magic, you enter a refractory period giving your body time to recharge. The more elaborate the magic, the longer the refractory period. One day you might need to survive without your magic, you understand?”

“Of course, Terra. I survived on the street for years without using magic, just my wits and good looks,” she said with a wink.

We came across the first ingredient for our potion, its white flowers pointed upward similar to a daisy. “Abigail this is bloodroot. Take a pinch. It has many uses including inducing vomiting, emptying the bowels, and reducing tooth pain. However, we need it to open the blood vessels to help absorb the rest of the potion.” I stopped at the next plant, a long white flowered plant that resembled a pipe cleaner. “We need a thimbleful of black cohosh. Just a thimbleful because it might upset our stomachs. It’s another blood conditioner.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Abigail said.

“The ladies used it when they were going through the change of life to help with hot flashes. It’s also known as rattlerot,” I said passing my knowledge onto her. We spent the rest of the day, identifying plants and herbs until we gathered all our ingredients.

“Terra, have you seen Pixel lately?”

“Come to think of it. I have not. He was with us, examining each plant.” I sniffed the air but could not smell him. I was worried.

“Pixel,” Abigail shouted as we traced back our steps until we heard Pixel’s laughter. We followed his sounds into a clearing where we saw him running in circles. He stopped out of breath.

“Terra, come run.” He caught his breath and then continued his sprint around.

“What’s he doing, Terra?”

I stepped closer to him. Pixel had found a fairy ring, at least that’s what the mountain folk called it. It was a large growth of mushrooms in a perfect circle at least thirty feet across. He finally exhausted his energy and plopped down in front of me. “Terra mushrooms.”

Abigail knelt down and examined one of the mushrooms. “Terra, why do they grow in a circle like that?”

“Part of the fungus that grows in the ground absorbs the nutrients in the soil. This breaks down larger molecules into smaller ones. The fungus continues to move outward as it exhausts all the nutrients in the center of the circle. The center dies forming a living ring around it as the mushrooms grow farther away from the dead earth.”

Abigail started to step inside the circle. I knocked into her and she stumbled. “Don’t do that.”

“Why not, Terra?”

“The mountain folk believed that the fairy ring was a result of pixies or witches dancing in a circle at night.”

Abigail laughed. “Well, I’m a witch.”

“Better not to step inside,” I told her. “According to Appalachian folklore, it could be a trap.”

“C’mon, a trap?” Abigail stuck one toe inside the circle to aggravate me. She began to shake as if she were possessed.

“It’s not funny, Abigail. Haven’t you seen enough magic to know that anything is possible?”

She pulled her foot back quickly. “I guess you’re right, Terra. Better not to take chances.”

As we finished talking, I saw Pixel on his hind legs, dancing in the circle. “Me fairy.”

Abigail looked at me, and then she jumped in the circle, grabbing on to Pixel’s front paws as if they were waltzing. Pixel couldn’t stop laughing. Abigail burst into laughter. I stuck one paw in the circle and sniffed the ground. I had seen mushrooms grow like this all over the mountains. It probably was what it was—just mushrooms. I jumped in the circle and joined the dance. Tracker danced around the outside, barking.

When we got back to the cabin, Abigail started up the stairs, then stopped, searching for the rattlesnake. Thankfully it had not returned. She hurried into the kitchen and measured all the ingredients for the potion.

“Terra?” Pixel’s voice was quizzical.

“Yes, Pixel.”

“What you make?”

“Abigail is making a special potion for you and me.”

“What for?”

“It’s called a forget-me potion. It helps people not see us, rather they see us but forget we shouldn’t be there.”

“Be where, Terra?”

“Anywhere, Pixel, that cats shouldn’t be.”

“They no like cats?”

“Of course, Pixel, everyone loves cats, but if we drink this potion, we won’t have to wear our emotional support animal vest.”

“Me like vest.”

“Yes, I know you like the vest, Pixel, but even so this will allow us to be with Abigail.”

“Me love Abigail.”

“We all love Abigail, Pixel.”

“Terra?”

“Yes, Pixel.”

“You’re a good dancer,” he said before swatting me. I chased him around the cabin.