From the very beginning it was all Toad's fault. A blundering, quick-talking thief, he was the one who cut a deal with the dangerous Edward P. Owl: track down the ingredients to the Seeking Solution, or else. Twenty-five thousand gorents, he'd said...
A loud whirling filled Melena's ears and a kaleidoscope of color swirled about her, as if she had flung herself into the center of a psychedelic tornado. The swirl of color made her stomach churn even worse so she pinched her eyes shut. She only felt Toad's vice-like grip upon her arms and Hazel's cold form pressed against her chest.
Without warning, her feet hit firm ground and her knees buckled.
"Good gracious!"
Melena opened her eyes but squeezed them shut again as blinding white light stabbed her brain like needles. The stranger's voice was unnaturally loud in Melena's ears. She felt a pair of hands grip her elbows, helping her stand.
"Agatha, you could have warned me we were having guests," the voice scolded. It belonged to a woman. "I would have put the kettle on."
Melena tried to focus, but the woman standing before her remained stubbornly blurred.
"I'm Izzie Groot," said the woman. "Are you friends of Agatha's? Doing a bit of sight seeing?"
Agatha? Who was Agatha? It was so hard to concentrate. Her head throbbed, every noise a splintering stab.
The spider.
The woman's face swam in and out of focus. She was going to throw up and what would the woman think then?
"Melena!" Toad shouted very loudly and a pair of arms grabbed her as her legs gave out.
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"Would you like another? I was worried I added too much rosemary."
"Nah — they're great!"
"Oh, thank you. Have as many as you like. With it just me here, I always end up with too many and they go stale so fast in this humidity."
Melena found the voices bothersome. She wished they would be quiet so she could sleep.
"It's a lucky thing Agatha was with you. Your friend would have become seriously ill without treatment."
"But she'll be okay now, right?"
It was Toad. But who was he talking to? Melena's eyes remained shut, as if the lids were glued closed. What were they talking about? Where was she?
"Oh, yes. She'll be right as rain now. She had ingested a very powerful sedative. Highly addictive. It's the withdrawal that's made her sick. The tonic I gave her will help soothe the symptoms."
"And Hazel?"
There was a pause. Though the fog remained firmly wrapped around Melena's brain, her heart pumped faster.
"The dragon ... the dragon is quite ill. Hazel, you call her? She will require more care. That potion was never meant for Spit-Fires."
Something was wrong with Hazel? Why was ... why ...
