Magic, New Mexico Boxset books 1-3

Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Lacey gingerly set Alfred back down on the end table next to the couch. She made sure she kept one eye on the huge creature standing in front of her. She wondered which one of the kids created the spell this time. She bet it was one of Tory’s boys. The twins were always experimenting when her older cousin wasn’t looking. This looked like one of Joseph’s pet lizards.

Whatever they were trying to do, she needed to undo before Tory and Simon found out, otherwise the boys would be grounded for another week. With a wave of her hand, Lacey quietly muttered an enlightening spell to see if she could unwind what was done. She frowned when nothing happened. Biting her lips, she tried another spell.

“What are those two up to now?” she growled under her breath when nothing happened again. “Not even those two are strong enough to prevent a ‘Show me now’ spell from revealing which one they used.”

She stepped back when the nearly seven foot tall reptilian creature snarled again. Her natural protection immediately leaped out and shocked the thing. While it had the head of Joseph’s pet gecko, it did not have its body or temperament. It was almost like it was trying to say something to her and there was an awareness in its eyes that Larry the Lizard had never had before.

“Okay, I guess I’m going to have to do this the hard way,” Lacey muttered in frustration. “You have been a very, very bad lizard. You scared poor Ginger and me, crashed through my door, and broke the table Uncle Lyle made me for my wedding present. If Simon, not to mention Tory sees you, the boys will be grounded for life!”

The creature snarled menacingly at her again. Lacey rolled her eyes. The kids had gone to see the new Godzilla movie the weekend before. That was probably what gave them the big idea this time. At eight, the twins were getting more creative. With a flick of her finger, she snapped the huge lizard’s mouth shut so she could think of the best way to turn him back.

“Hush for a minute, please,” Lacey sighed. “I’m trying to figure out what they have done and your growling and snapping is not helping.” Lacey snapped her fingers and turned back with a large grin. “I know! Reverse the spell that has been done to change the shape to the original one.”

Lacey held her breath as the simple but powerful spell slipped from her lips. Sometimes, simple was better. There was always a catch with the more complicated spells and the boys surely had to use a whopping one to get Larry this big!

A dark scowl crossed her face when nothing happened again. In aggravation, she glared down at Alfred who was swimming around in circles in his plain, clear bowl. With a click, fresh gravel, plants and a miniature castle appeared in the bowl.

“Well, it isn’t my magic,” she grumbled in frustration, looking back at the large green, leathery back of the lizard as he turned and walked into her kitchen. “Hey, where are you going?” Scrambling over the broken bits of coffee table, Lacey hurried after him.

Frost rose from where he had been kneeling. Taar’s footprints led to the small set of buildings. He knew there was trouble when three large mammals raced by him ten minutes before. He could practically smell the fear rolling off their hair-covered bodies. Tightening his hand on the small explosive charges, he stepped out of the shadows of the trees heading toward the large brown building first.

He stopped when a furry creature poked its head out of the rectangular hole cut into the bottom of the set of large, double doors. A moment later, the small round bundle of golden fur fell face first into the dirt before scrambling up on short legs to charge at him.

Frost bent and scooped the round ball of wiggling fur up with his free hand when it started making whining noises. He quickly had to use his other arm to contain it as it tried to lick his face. A grimace of distaste and a twinge of amusement went through him at the determination of the little mammal to mark him with its tongue.

He glanced at the closed door and deduced that if Taar had made his way into it, this creature wouldn’t have survived the first minute. Turning in a half-circle, his eyes swept the immediate area. He froze, his arms tightening on the creature in his arms, as he spied the drinking cup on the ground.

“Quiet, beast,” he murmured. “This is not a good place for you. Go back into your brown building until I have taken care of the situation.”

The small bundle wiggled again, but was quiet at least. Frost carefully set the creature back down on the ground and pushed it towards the barn. He walked over to the cup and picked it up, noting the dark stain in the soil and small footsteps mixed with Taar’s larger ones. The tracks led to the white building. His face darkened when he noticed the door to the front of it had been smashed in.

He sprinted toward the building, only slowing when he heard Taar’s sharp snarl followed by a soft, annoyed voice. He caught himself as he stumbled in surprise. It was not Taar that caused him to be startled, but the annoyance in the voice of the native inhabitant. It was obvious from the soft, lilting voice that it belonged to a female. A female that should have been screaming in terror.

Frost cursed when a tiny streak of golden fur flashed past him into the dwelling. He had been distracted by the cup and tracks and didn’t realize the small mammal hadn’t gone into the building as he ordered. He watched as it slid on the slick floor before bouncing off to the left. He was sure that was where he would find Taar.

“Hey! Stop that! Bad Larry. Very, very bad, lizard,” Lacey scolded as the door to her refrigerator was ripped off its hinges. “I swear the boys are going to get an ugly old toad back if you don’t behave.”

Lacey threw her hands up to protect her face as a jar of pickles flew over one leathery shoulder. She gasped as another container, this time of yogurt, sailed past as well to splatter against the wall. Her cry of rage went unanswered as the green menace turned its attack to her freezer when it didn’t find anything it wanted in the refrigerator.

“No!” Lacey wailed in dismay as ‘Larry’ scooped out a pile of her Rocky Road ice cream with one claw before it tossed the container to the floor. “That is my favorite de-stressor! That does it,” she snarled. “I’m going to… to…”

Lacey fell back as the monster lizard turned. This time, it held a very long and very sharp knife in its claw. She had forgotten to take it out after chipping the ice when the power went out after the storm last night. By the time she discovered the breaker had also tripped, the freezer had begun to defrost, leaving the ice in the ice tray all stuck together.

“Larry, put the knife down now,” Lacey whispered in a soft, desperate voice as she raised her hands. “Lizards shouldn’t play with knives.”

Taar’s lips curled back. Nothing! There was nothing worth eating in the food preparation area. His mouth still burned from the bitterness and his stomach cramped from the rocks and water he had swallowed. Fury burned through him. There was no meat in the cold container. The only satisfaction so far was that he had found a primitive weapon. A weapon that finally brought the look of fear to the female’s eyes.

“Finally,” he growled. “Perhaps if I cut you up I’ll be able to eat on your flesh without you poisoning me. If not, at least it will shut you up.”

A rumble of pleasure escaped him when she stumbled backwards as he stepped closer. He would bury the sharp blade through the female’s heart and cut it out. Gripping the wooden handle of the long, thin blade in his right claw, he started to swing the blade when something grabbed the end of his tail.

Pain exploded through him as a series of sharp teeth sunk deep into the tip of his tail just short of the short, poisonous spikes near the end. The very tip of his tail was the only vulnerable area of his body. The flesh was softer and unprotected by the hard, leathery scales that covered the rest of him. Most adversaries avoided that part of his body because of the poison contained in the rigid spikes, unaware of the sensitivity in the lower tip.

A howl of pain and rage shook the kitchen as he lifted his tail in an attempt to shake off whatever was biting him. His eyes widened when he saw a miniature replica of the furry creature from earlier hanging on to the end. Only this one had a massive head filled with teeth attached to an extremely small body.

“Let go of me!” Taar roared, swinging his tail frantically as the creature continued to hang on to the end with its foot-long teeth. “Release me.”

With a snap of his tail, the creature flew through the air. Nausea and pain flared as the tip of his tail went with it. The loud cry of the female mixed with his as she grabbed the flying furry mass in midair, twirling on her heels to keep her balance as she caught it. Taar stepped forward, the blade clenched tightly in his hand. Now, it was time to kill.