I summoned my magic to my hands but it wasn’t near full strength. If I used too much too soon I’d be in trouble. I took a deep breath, then pushed just a little out. Golden glitter floated in the air and then shot out in every direction.
I bit my lip and waited.
Nothing.
My magic found nothing.
“SHIT,” I yelled and stomped my foot. Mud splashed halfway up my dress. I groaned. “TEGAN? Tegan, can you feel me? I’m here!”
Olli’s head snapped up. He stared off to the right of us and I saw his nostrils flare as he sniffed. My stomach tightened into knots. His brown and white dipstick tail curled up like a scorpion’s and the fur on his back stood tall. My pulse quickened.
“What is it, baby O? What do you see?” I whispered to him.
His ears perked up, making him look like a mean baby elephant. A low growl rumbled from his chest and it vibrated against my arms.
Shit, shit, shit. Whatever it was, my magic hadn’t picked up on it. So it probably wasn’t a demon.
The bushes rustled and then strange little animals jumped out of it. There had to be a dozen of them and they couldn’t have been more than a foot tall. I frowned. What are you? They stood on two back legs but had two short arms. The underside of them were yellow but the rest was a bright green, they actually almost blended in with the bushes. They looked like snakes with legs and arms. Or like featherless green chickens.
And they just stared at us.
Olli sniffed and growled.
“What the hell are you—”
The one in front lunged for me. It opened its mouth and sharp white teeth glistened in the sunlight. It moved faster than I expected, biting down on my leg before I could move. Its teeth were razor sharp even through my linen dress. I screamed and kicked it away. The other green-snake-chickens hissed and charged from me. I leapt backward and it was all the distraction my hound needed. Olli wiggled and thrashed his way right out of my arms.
He dove toward them, landing in the mud with a thud and a splash. The green-snake-chickens attacked but Olli was fierce. He growled and snatched one in his mouth, shaking it side to side so fast his ears flopped.
“OLLI!” I screamed as the other little monsters jumped on his back.
I reached down and grabbed two off his back with my bare hands and then threw them as hard as I could into a tree. I didn’t relish hurting animals but these green-snake-chickens were attacking us first. And over my dead body would anything hurt my Olli.
Olli pounced on the monsters, tossing a few into the air and trampling the others. He spun in tight circles, slamming his butt into them and knocking them over. When there were only three left, he growled and snarled and they just turned and fled from my little furry monster.
I knelt down and pulled Olli into my lap, running my hands over his fur to make sure he hadn’t gotten injured. But no blood came off on my hands. “Good boy, O. That’s a good boy.”
Thunder rumbled over our heads…except, it didn’t sound quite like thunder.
I frowned and cocked my head to the side. The sky peeking through the towering trees was bright blue. More thunder cracked but it sounded closer. Then another and another. What is that? Olli whined and nestled into my chest with his tail tucked between his legs.
Thunder rumbled again — that’s not thunder. It was…something heavy falling. I looked to my left just as the sound came again…and the puddle of water in the mud beside me rippled.
A memory flashed in my mind.
Before my curse was broken, Bentley had come to the park with Atley and Peabo. The four of us sat on the sofas in The Coven’s Lookout Tower watching movies…movies about giant monster animals…there were like five of them we watched in a row. Jurassic Park or Jurassic World. I remembered it vividly because I had never heard of such creatures.
There was a scene in the first movie that had stuck out to me…the one where the water rippled from the heavy footsteps of the — I gasped. My pulse kicked into overdrive as I watched the puddle. The thuds were growing closer and quicker. Each one made the ground tremble and the water ripple. Oh no. No, no, no. It was the