She finished chopping the root and mixed it in with the fruit filling, then prepared the crust. Her hands shook as she thought of Laksmi taking a bite of the pie. She cackled like a hen at this and then began crooning softly to herself. She sounded an awful lot like the root. Soon the pie was ready for baking, and Jani lit a fire in her oven before gathering the debris from her preparation into the cloth.

She began to have second thoughts as she went outside to bury the waste. Perhaps this wasn’t as good of an idea as it initially seemed. In a way, this would prove Laksmi right; she would be a murderer. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind. It didn’t matter any more. She had tried to deal with Laksmi peaceably and had exhausted her resources. This was her life; she had no choice.

Lost in thought, Jani tripped over a fallen branch behind the shed. She threw her arms out in front of her, releasing the bundle of cloth into the air. The cloth opened, scattering waste everywhere. As she landed painfully in a heap, she felt something hard hit the back of her neck. She reached for it and screamed as pain ripped through her hand. She pulled back and stared in horror at the head of the root, still alive and biting through the glove and into her flesh.

Fire coursed down her arm as the magic worked its way into her body. She opened her mouth to scream again, but choked on the green smoke that poured out of her mouth. Her eyes felt like they were boiling in their sockets, and her brain was going numb. She felt like she was shrinking and through her burning eyes she saw her skin thicken and turn brown. The root let go of her hand and rolled back into the hole from whence it came, and the last thing Jani heard was its harsh, cackling laugh.

THE END