He tried to calm himself. Alan knew there weren’t many venomous snakes in the U.S., and as far as he knew, only a rattle snake would be in this region. He’d grown up in the south central region on a creek, so cotton mouths were something to watch out for, possibly even a copper head in wooded areas. Rattle snakes usually made their presence known, but not always.

There were three small spots of blood on his ankle, arranged in a triangle. They weren't large, and looked nothing like any snakebite he knew of. Most snakes would bite if stepped on, and it wasn’t likely this one was venomous. He sighed in relief and decided to confirm what kind of snake had bitten him, just to make sure. He slowly walked back to the wriggling, jerky body and stared, not quite sure what he was seeing.

There were three pieces of the snake, all wriggling separately. Its skin was shiny and he couldn’t see any scales, but it was reflecting the ground around it helping it blend in perfectly. It was most definitely NOT a rattle snake. Alan’s remaining tension eased.

“We need to go. Right now, get the tent out." Randall was now the one in panic.

“Why, it’s not a rattler." Alan kept watching the wriggling pieces, trying to figure out why it WAS in pieces…and not bleeding. It shouldn’t have broken like a stick when he’d stepped on it. Then the pieces began to move together and reattach themselves. Alan’s eyes went wide.

“It’s a western glass snake. They’re like the joint snakes found in the southern states, but unlike a joint snake, these ARE poisonous.”

“Venomous. Poison is ingested or absorbed, venom is injected," Alan corrected, “but I’m not sure it really got me. There’s 3 marks, but they’re tiny. Not like a snake's fangs at all. They don’t even hurt.”

“It got you for sure. Glass snakes have three small fangs. It’s a manamal, and their poison…er…venom works through mana. If you were mundane, it wouldn’t be a problem, but you’re a mage now and you have mana flowing through you all the time whether you’re actively using it or not. Trust me, we need to go now and we can’t fly back. There’s no time.”

Alan’s heart hammered. As soon as he saw the snake, he knew in the back of his mind it had to be a manamal, but it hadn’t occurred to him it might be venomous. He rushed over to his backpack knowing exactly what Randall intended him to do. He was relieved he hadn’t unpacked anything he’d thought he wouldn’t need.

Alan quickly pulled out a flat packed fabric bag and unzipped it. “I’m assuming we need to get to Nox?”

“Yes, right away. We’ve got to get to Alina’s place. I’m sure she’ll have what you need.”

Alan pulled out the thin, fabric covered spring frame and unfolded it, setting up the portable changing tent in seconds. He’d purchased it several years ago to allow models to change outfits in privacy when taking product photos in rural or woodland settings. When Randall had first introduced him to the ‘gate’ spell, he’d tested using the tent as a portable way to make a gate between doors in different locations. It had worked perfectly, and allowed them to take extended trips into the wilderness to gather materials and still return home quickly and easily for sleep or resupply.

When he’d taken his first trip out with Michaela, she had been skeptical of using a portable tent as a successful gate, since it wasn’t a traditional door. Alan had been badly injured on the third day. Had he been thinking clearly, or if Randall or Michaela had been used to the portable gate, they might have used it to get back to the mage town of Nox much faster. But none of them had considered it, since it had already been packed and they were thinking about keeping Alan conscious on the trip home. Later, Alan had pointed this out and they all had a good laugh about it, but Alan swore never to forget it.

“Gate!" Alan said, having taken the wand out from his shoulder holster and pointed it at the zippered door of the tent. He took a step towards it and stopped. “Son of a bitch!”

“What’s wrong? We need to go." Randall pleaded.

Alan stepped on the heel of his left shoe to remove it, and bent down inspecting his foot. Two of his toes had fallen off and were loose in his sock. There was no blood and they still had feeling, but they were definitely not connected to his foot.

“My toes fell off! Why are my toes falling off!”

“That’s what the mana venom does! It will work its way up your leg and pieces will fall off at the joints. Just leave your sock on and let’s go!”

“Dammit Randall! If I lose toes or my foot because you conveniently forgot to warn me about some unknown manamal I’m going to snap you in half.”

“Calm down. You’ll just fall apart faster. It’ll be fine. Just get us to Alina’s and bring any pieces that fall off.”

At this moment, the last thing Alan wanted to hear from Randall was ‘It’ll be fine’. He’d long since learned this warning flag and was only angry with himself for not being more aware from the start. He was sure one of these days Randall was going to get him killed right after he said things would ‘be fine’. Alan hobbled to the newly created gate that connected his portable tent to the public gate in Nox. His foot didn’t hurt, but a third toe had since fallen off and squirmed around loose in his sock, so hobbling along seemed the thing to do.

Alan stepped out onto the stone courtyard, brushing the feeling of cobwebs from his face. He’d forgotten in his haste to swipe the shimmering opening of the gate with his hands before stepping through. Now he was doing the ‘get it off me’ dance once again just as he had his first time stepping through a gate. This time, however, it was done while holding one shoe in his left hand and hopping on one foot with loose toes flopping around in his sock. Another toe fell off.

“Oh hiya Alan. Geeze Louise what happened?”

“Oh for the love of pixie piss, not her!" Randall whined.

“Hi Jen. Got myself in another predicament. Really need to get to Alina’s. You know if she’s in?" Alan said, ignoring Randall’s comment but feeling the same.

Jen was nice enough, but just couldn’t shut up. He’d met her when returning with Michaela after an altercation with a couple of griffins. Jen was guarding the outer east arch entryway into Nox that night, as her position as a town Star officer required. At the time, Alan had been pretty out of it and couldn’t quite place her accent, but since then he was pretty sure it was Minnesotan.

“Oh, ya, you betcha. Seen her walking by this mornin’ on her way to her shop. Always amazed by all the little doodats in there, ya know. Say, why ya holdin that shoe?”

“It’s a long story Jen, but I really need to…Ah!" Alan yelled, falling forward.

He’d tried to hobble past Jen in attempt to get away but his foot just fell off. Fortunately Jen was able to grab him and help him stay upright, but now Alan was hopping on one foot looking at the other foot wiggle in his sock a short distance away.

“What the H, E, double hockey sticks did you get into, Alan!" Jen yelled seeing the sock squirm trying to catch up.

“Got bit by a glass snake. I told you, I really need to get to Alina’s." Alan bent down and snatched up the loose foot by the sock, holding it like a sack, all while trying to maintain his balance.

“Just go. She’ll never shut up, you just need to go!" Randall yelled.

“Oofta. Out on another one of your trips then. You really should have taken someone with ya, don’tcha know. Where’s Michaela? I remember the first time I met you, ridin’ on the back of her flybike. You were in a bad way then, too. Seems like every time I see you, you got big troubles." Jen was now following along with Alan, seemingly unsure if she should help, as he continued hopping out onto the main street.

Alan, determined not to let Jen slow him down, had started hopping in earnest with big jumps to cover more ground. “Yep, guess I’m cursed! See you later!" He yelled, now outpacing Jen.

“Okie dokie then!" Jen yelled after him, taking her post back at the courtyard entrance.

“How did she ever get to be a town Star?" Alan asked as he continued hopping down the street with his shoe in one hand and his sock dangling in the other.

“I think she’s related to Eddie in some way. Guess it pays to be related to the chief Star.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I guess people don’t call for help unless they really need it at least." Alan would have laughed at the idea of Jen responding to a Star request and talking the caller to death, but he was getting worried.

It wasn’t much farther now, but his shin had just fallen off at the knee and Alan decided to just drop the shoe and pick it up later. He picked up the shin in his now free hand and redoubled his effort to get to Alina’s Apothecary. If the venom spread much farther, some very important parts would soon be falling off.

Alan made it to Alina’s without losing any more of his leg, and burst through the door as best he could, holding his shin under one arm so he could work the door handle.

“Help!”

A woman with long, curly grey hair and a kind face popped out from behind the counter to see what commotion had just come through the door. She peered at Alan through small, round framed glasses, with a slight squint that deepened her crows feet. “Alan? What in the world have you done to yourself!”

“Alina, please tell me you have antivenom for a glass snake. I think my hip joint is feeling loose." Alan was in a near panic.

“Of course, I should have guessed with you carrying your leg there. I assume that would be your foot in that sock then? Got all the toes?" Alina asked as she helped him to a chair to sit down.

“I think so, never took them out to check. You can get them back on, right?”

“At least you haven’t lost your manhood yet." Randall snickered.

“Sure, if they haven’t stopped moving. But that takes quite a while. The way that sock is twitching I’d guess it’s not been long at all." Alina assured as she went to a shelf behind the counter and started looking along a wide variety of different bottles, all containing various colored liquids or powders. She selected a small bottle of mint green, which Alan noticed also had silvery swirls when she handed it to him. “Hurry up now, down the hatch.”

Alan wasted no time removing the stopper and downing the bottle of swirling liquid. “Yuck, I hate celery." He said, making a face and sticking out his tongue. It didn’t really taste like celery, but it was as close as Alan could describe it.

“Sorry, nothing I can do about the taste. Make sure you drink it all, if you want to keep your leg anyway." Alina instructed before walking back to her shelving to search for something further.

Alan tipped up the bottle and made sure to get every last drop. It wasn’t the first remedy he’d gotten from Alina, and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be his last. Randall was sure to see to that. Alina was just returning with a large, lidded jar when the shop’s door burst open once again.

“Alan, what the hell were you thinking?! You went out gathering by yourself, didn’t you?! Pendejo!" Michaela stood in the door glowering at him through her cat’s eye shaped glasses, fists on her hips and holding one shoe…the shoe he'd left on the street.

She was still wearing her work clothes, heavy canvass overalls and a long sleeved flannel shirt rolled up to the elbows. Bits of sawdust still clung to her dark, wavy curls as her hair bounced with her angry stride. She must have come straight from work, Manaña Mana Wood, which was owned by her father Max.

“Oh, hi Micha. That was fast." Alan blushed with a sheepish reply.

“Please, Nox is a small town. I doubt you were half way here before Jen sent word you came hopping through the gate carrying your foot." Michaela’s tone was still harsh.

“Any town is a small town if Jen is in it. The woman lives for gossip" Randall added.

Michaela glanced at the wand in Alan’s shoulder holster and glared. She was the only other person who knew about Randall, and had learned how to hear mana from Alan. It allowed her to communicate in thought with Randall as well, so long as she was fairly close. But both she and her father had been close friends of Randall before Randall died, or , and she’d agreed to keep the secret, understanding the dire circumstances if other mages found out.

“I know you instigated this, Randall. You should be ashamed of yourself." Michaela admonished.

“Actually, I was carrying my shoe when I came through the gate. My foot fell off after Jen slowed me down on the way here.”

“Well Michaela, I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to glue Alan’s extremities back on, so you can give me a hand." Alina couldn’t hear the silent communication with Randall, but Randall had gotten better about not talking as much in front of other mages just in case, so he never replied to Michaela’s scolding.

“Sure Alina. What do you need me to do?”

“Wait, glue? You’re seriously just going to glue my leg back together?" Alan had expected something more elaborate to reattach body parts.

“That’s all you need. Once the potion restores your mana flow, the joints will reconnect themselves naturally. Just need to hold them in place for a few minutes while the potion does its job." Alina was rolling up the leg of Alan's jeans.

“Here, give me the foot." Michaela held out her hand and wiggled her fingers expectantly.

“It’s my left foot, so don’t get the toes out of order." Alan said as he handed over his sock, getting a giggle out of Michaela and Alina both. Alan was getting adept at diffusing Michaela’s anger with humor.

Alina handed Michaela a small, flat wooden spreader stick and dipped her own into the now open jar sitting on the floor. She picked up the shin and turned it back and forth a couple of times to determine which end was the knee before spreading on a liberal amount of light pink paste to the end. This was the first time Alan had gotten a good look at the detached limbs. It was odd to see both ends completely covered in skin, just like his knee. There was no evidence of cutting, no blood, no scars…nothing. If a mundane had seen his knee and not the missing pieces, Alan was sure they would assume he’d been born that way.

Once the pink paste was applied, Alina unceremoniously stuck the shin to the stump of Alan's left leg. The skin immediately started to regrow naturally around the joint and it easily reattached itself. It just grew back together like it was the right thing to do. The amazement must have shown on Alan’s face.

“What, have you never seen a leg reattach itself before?" Michaela giggled.

“First time. And the last too, I hope. Hey Alina, I don’t suppose I can buy an extra one of those potions, could I? Maybe the next time I go out, I can be better prepared." Alan looked up to see Michaela reattaching his toes.

“Sure, but it’s best to wait till you make a trip. They’re only good for about 6 months, but I keep a fresh stock on hand.”

“Great, but I still need to get back and get my things. I left it all sitting in the middle of nowhere where I was working. I don’t plan on stepping on another glass snake, but I didn’t plan on stepping on one in the first place. They're damn hard to see.”

“The potion you just took should work as a prophylactic for a couple of days at least. I wouldn’t worry about it." Alina assured.

“Alan, quit wiggling your foot. I can’t get this toe in place. You really need to trim your toenails." Michaela said while trying to wrestle the foot into submission.

Sorry, I can’t help it. I think it tickles, but it’s hard to tell for sure.”

Michaela finally got the toe in place and started working on the last one. “I suppose you left your new flybike there too, didn’t you?”

“Well yeah. After my first toe fell off, the last thing I was thinking about was getting it or anything else back. I came straight here.”

“Good on ya for that. If you’d waited much longer we’d still be picking up pieces from the road." Alina said.

“He’s lucky he made it back to town at all. What were you out getting anyway?" Michaela asked.

“Jackalope fur. It should have been an easy day trip, or so I was led to believe.”

“It’s not my fault you don’t watch where you step." Randall couldn’t remain quiet.

“I warned you. I told you to let me know and I would be happy to go with you on gathering trips. It’s just too dangerous to be in the wild without a partner. And I’m going with you, back to get your things. No argument.”

Alina lifted up the newly reattached leg as Michaela bent down to connect the foot. Alan wiggled his toes in relief as his sensation returned in full. He could actually still feel the detached pieces when they fell off, but it was somehow distant and diminished. Not an experience he was eager to repeat.

“Fine, but your dad is going to be mad at me for a while so you have to bring the next order of wand wood to my place.”

“Pop? He nearly fell over laughing when he heard what happened. He’s had a run in or two with glass snakes. It’s not that busy today, so taking a half day off won’t be a problem. But I’m still happy to bring you wood next time." Michaela flashed a sly smile.

She did that a lot, still teasing like she had when they'd first met. It took him months to realize they both liked each other. He liked her flirty teasing, even if they were already an 'item'. Sometimes he flirted back, but usually he just played innocent and made her work for it.

“OK, but it’s a long trip back." Alan relented.

“Stand up and give it a little weight." Alina instructed.

Alan did, and found the leg felt pretty much back to normal. “Still tingles a little, but seems OK.”

“The tingle should be gone in a few hours, but I think you’re fine. Just don’t exert yourself; no running or jumping. I want to make sure the joints have plenty of time to fully regrow." Alina stood and took the jar back to the shelf while she gave her recommendations.

“Sure, no problem." Alan said as he sat back down to pull on his sock and shoe before rolling his pant leg back down. “What do I owe you?”

“Five G’s. Three for the potion and two for the glue.”

“No problem. Can I bring it by later tonight? I left my wallet in my bag." Alan knew she meant 5 gold bills of mage money. He’d taken to carrying a few ‘G’ bills in his wallet for emergencies, but had taken the wallet out and put it in his bag since it was uncomfortable in his back pocket when riding his flybike.

“Tomorrow is fine too if you get back too late. I know where to find you." Alina laughed. Her shop was only a few buildings up the street from Alan’s wand shop.

“I can bring it by. I need to come in tomorrow for my monthly potion anyway." Michaela offered.

“I’ll have it here waiting. See you tomorrow, dear.”

“Thanks Alina." Alan called as he walked towards the front door, still stopping to shake his leg every few steps to test it. "Be sure to come by the next time you need a wand. I know a guy that can cut you a deal.”

Michaela followed behind as they walked out the shop’s door. It had barely closed before she lit into them. “I want to know every detail. I can’t believe you let him talk you into this. I warned you Randall would do this. Pendejos! Both of you! A glass snake!”

It was going to be a long trip home.