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4-6
Illustrated by
James E. Madsen.
Yearning to use his apothecary talent to create cures, Raffa discovers a new vine that gives his patient, a wounded bat, the power of speech. But Raffa's cousin Garith takes the vine to the city, where it's exploited to train animals to attack humans. The plot never works up much menace, but Raffa's dreams and hopes will earn him readers' sympathies.