Page 77 of A Light in the Dark
Both men sighed but hurried up the hill to go retrieve their vehicles so we could venture out to the hardware store, the furniture store, and anywhere else my greedy little heart desired.
TWENTY-THREE
That harpy is sneaky.
Three hoursafter exposure to Elenora’s death cobbler, the first of the symptoms struck in the form of a mild headache. As I valued my life, I wandered the furniture store until I located Lois, Meri, and my boss, who were determined to try every reclining chair in the place. “It seems I have developed a headache.”
Both women looked me over, and Lois hopped up, grabbed my hands, and inspected my skin, which had paled somewhat from exposure to the toxins. “I’m genuinely impressed with your resilience. If this were me? I would have been vomiting and suffering from blinding pain within twenty minutes.”
Joel, who’d developed puppy tendencies and insisted on following me everywhere, snorted. “I am disturbed that she might have been slipping in this crap with your other death cobblers.”
“Ingesting this would be a good way to develop aresistance to it through minute exposure,” the doctor confirmed. “Meri?”
The other woman nodded. “This one is actually more dangerous if it’s handled versus digested. The acids in our stomach break down the toxin, where it reacts aggressively with our skin oils. The contact toxicity is high, and I’m betting you weren’t handling the cobblers for long—or you licked the juices off your fingers promptly. The counteracting compounds are also found in our saliva.”
I raised a brow at that. “I could have eaten it and been better off than just washing my hands?”
“Had you licked it off your fingers and hands, you would have dealt with an upset stomach from the other toxins in the cobbler, but you otherwise would have been fine.”
“That… that harpy issneaky,” I informed Joel. “I am going to make her a blanket.”
All the luna moths sighed.
“What?”
My boss patted my shoulder. “You’re supposed to be angry she poisoned you, not trying to thank her with crafted goods.”
“But she gave me a pretty casserole dish, she’s going to make me good death cobbler, and she was really doing something kind in a rather horrific fashion. And as there is no way I’m going to the hospital unless I absolutelymust, she gave me a lot of money to play with. That’s true play money. She told me to spend it on crafts.”
“You won’t have to go to the hospital,” Lois assured me, and she lifted her purse. “All the toxins used are friendly in terms of treatment. We don’t even treat the contact toxicity of the primary one unless you start having other symptoms.I’m going to give you the lightest dose I can before we leave the store so Joel sleeps tonight rather than following you around.”
Joel glared at the woman.
“I think he wants to hover tonight,” I informed her, laughing over the insanity. “You can hover at my house if you really want, Joel. I make no promises that you won’t be targeted with commentary involving yourself being a man of the night, servicing damsels in distress, though. Because that isexactlywhat Elenora expects of you.”
“You’re laughing over this!”
“It’s hilarious. I knew she was getting me sick, but it’s delicious death cobbler, and it turns out she was trying to make sure I survive Stonecreek in a rather unique and creative fashion. I respect that level of dedication to my safety.” While being monitored for surviving her poisoning me wasted some time, I would be able to start working in earnest on checking into the background and history of the refugees who’d applied to work for my company—and make best guesses over who would be at highest risk.
“Safety?” Joel burst out.
My boss lost it, shook his head, got up, and headed towards the front of the store. “I’m going to buy two chairs. If my wife kills me, please remind her that one is for her. She’ll love it.”
“I’ll try to remind her that you were hard to catch, and if she kills you, the next man will probably be even harder to catch,” Meri replied.
“Thanks, I think.”
As I had two chairs, a couch, six bookcases, two end tables, a coffee table, and a monstrous crafting station to buy,I trailed behind him. “I have decided what I’m getting, so I will follow his lead.”
“Come on, Valerie. She could have killed you,” Joel complained.
“But she didn’t. The level of headache isn’t even worth wasting a painkiller on at this stage. The fact she gave me money to deal with the consequences is saying a lot about her ethics. Is she possibly insane? Yes. Did she mean well? Also yes. I’m not against people doing things like that, although being used in a twisted science experiment wasn’t something I expected to experience.” I offered Joel a smile. “It’s sweet you’re so upset over this. I’m not worried about it. I mean, if we get any refugees moving in on our street, I’m going to suggest that Elenora get consent from her target before starting her plan to feed them death cobbler. But I’ve been promised a piece of cobbler a month, and so help me, if you come between me and my cobbler, we’re going to have words!”
“You are not the first person I’ve met with an obsession with strangleberry,” Lois admitted. “Also, please ask her where she’s sourcing these things. I’d like to make certain some adventurous people I knowdon’tfind out where she’s getting it.”
I knew exactly where she was getting her poison supply, as she’d told me herself several times. “She’s going down to the flood plains and drainage zones during harvest season and freezing it.”
“Of course she is,” Joel muttered.
