Page 30 of Hex You

“How could I forget? Abigail grounded me for a month when she caught us. Butworth it!” They both grinned.

“Wine coolers?” Khenti asked from the backseat.

“Think wine that’s watered down and too sweet,” said Mercy.

“Sounds terrible,” Khenti said as they bumped up the dirt road.

“Totally!” Mercy said and Emily laughed. “Em, see the tire tracks I left the other day? Right over there?” Em nodded. “Just follow them and you can park not far from the tree.”

Emily did so, and soon they exited the car and approached the old banyan.

“This tree is spectacular,” said Khenti. “I have never seen one quite like it. Are there many of them in your realm?”

“Yeah, but not in this part of our world. The only reason this banyan lives here is because my ancestress summoned it to guard the gate. Illinois winters should kill it,” Mercy explained as they approached the impressive tree.

“But magic keeps it alive?” Khenti asked.

Mercy sighed, and then coughed as the scent of sulfur and decay hit her. “Yeah, well, magic issupposedto keep it alive, but it’s definitely not doing well.”

“Yuck, the smell is way worse than at the palms.” Emily held her nose as she gagged and backed several steps away from the tree. “Hey, do you need me in there with you?”

“No, it’s okay,” said Mercy as she took a fat stick of dried and bound juniper from her spellwork basket and a long rectangular box of wooden matches. “You and Khenti can wait by the car. I can already tell that the tree is sick. I’ll cleanse it with smoke and then pull some energy from the ley lines to bolster it—then I’ll be back at the car.”

“’Kay, I’m definitely waiting in the car,” said Emily.

“I shall accompany you,” said Khenti, moving to Mercy’s side.

“You don’t have to. Really. I can handle this just fine by myself,” said Mercy.

“I have no doubt about your magical prowess,” explained Khenti. “But I am curious about these other gates. The only one I have seen is my own—and, of course, the Norse tree.”

“Xena took you there today?” Mercy asked as she and Khenti entered the shadows under the thick canopy.

“Yes, I asked her to. I know how much it means to you. I also thought it would be a safe place for Xena to hunt her delectable sparrows—though I was confused when she killed the first one. They are so tiny!”

“Bloody hell, Khenti! She didn’t make you eat it, did she?”

“Oh, no! She said she’d rather not share, and I said I wasn’t hungry.” Khenti grinned.

“That cat…” Mercy muttered. “Okay, seriously. Like I said, from now on don’t eat anything Xena offers you, ’kay?”

“Okay. What can I do to help you with this gate, Green Witch?”

“You can catch me if I pass out or hold my hair back if I start to puke after I greet the tree,” said Mercy.

“If you fall I will catch you—of that you need never worry. I am here for you.”

And Khenti was. He was there, just a few feet behind her, lending her strength and support as she approached the main trunk of the banyan. Because of its cluster of trunks the banyan could be mistaken for several trees growing in a tight group like the doum palm, but it was only one very old, very large tree with several joined trunks and vines dangling from what was usually a thick, verdant canopy of dark emerald leaves. Today Mercy noted the dead leaves crunching under her feet and how so many of the vines had fallen to the ground—as if they couldn’t bear to touch the sick tree.

Mercy shifted her juniper stick and the matches to her left hand and pressed her right palm against the tree. “Hello, banyan. How are you doing?” Instantly sickness poured from the tree into her palmand through her body to take up residence in her stomach. “Oh, bloody hell!” She turned to the side, bent, and puked up the salad she’d had for lunch.

“Just breathe. I’m here. All is well.” Khenti held back her hair and put his arm around her waist to support her.

When she was done retching, Mercy stood and with a shaky hand wiped her mouth. “Eesh, I hate to puke. I shouldn’t have left my basket in the car. I always have a bottle of water in there for—”

“Here! Here!” Emily’s voice was nasal as she held her nose and ran to them, a water bottle held in front of her like a shield.

“Thanks, Em.” Mercy washed out her mouth and then took several long swallows of water as Emily raced back to her car—still holding her nose. “Okay, before I pull energy up through the ley lines I’m going to fill this whole area with juniper smoke.”