Page 110 of Dead Heat

I looked at Kane. “Time to test the new ward. Want to watch?”

He uncuffed a sleeve and rolled it to his elbow, exposing his sinewy forearm. “I’ll keep my flaming sword on standby.”

We stepped onto the porch in time to see Posy kick the bottom of the gate with such frustrated force that her pink pillbox hat shifted in response.

“Problem?” I called.

She adjusted the hat pins. “I’m here to see you, obviously, but I can’t open your stupid gate.”

“It’s designed to keep out vermin and reptiles. Which one are you?”

Even from this distance, I could see the intensity of her glare. “Your file doesn’t say anything about a sense of humor. I’ll have to amend it when I get back to the office.”

I sauntered to the bridge. “I’m surprised to hear that. Pretty sure Mathis thought I was funny.”

“Mathis thought you were gullible.”

I harrumphed.

“Either let me in or…”

“Or what? You’ll huff and you’ll puff and blow my house down?”

Her eyes glinted in the fading sunlight. “It would be an improvement.”

“Wow. Somebody didn’t get her vitamin C shot this morning, and it shows.”

Kane joined me on the bridge. “I thought you were exaggerating. She really does look like a Barbie doll.”

Posy slammed the heel of her hand against an iron bar. “Let me in or I’ll have no choice but to use deadly force.”

“Toddler Tantrum Barbie,” Kane remarked. “Haven’t seen that one in the stores.”

I folded my arms. “Oh, please. You’re a recruiter. I guarantee your orders are to bring me in alive.”

“Maybe so, but my orders don’t say anything about unharmed.”

“She’s smarter than she looks,” Kane said.

Posy curled her slender fingers around the iron post of the gate. “I’ve seen a list of the magic users in this backwater town. I bet I could break this measly ward with only a few sharp notes.”

“What makes you so sure I shopped local?”

She let loose a whiny laugh. “Gimme a break. You only dare to leave your fortress when absolutely necessary.”

“Do you think she can break it?” Kane asked in a low voice.

“I honestly don’t know.” There was only one way to find out and I wasn’t looking forward to it.

Posy opened her mouth and released her first note. An amplified G10. I winced at the cracking sound behind me.

The siren tried to open the gate but was met with the same resistance.

“Looks like you hit a sour note,” I yelled.

“Is it wise to taunt her?” Kane asked.

“No, but it’s fun.”

---