Page 16 of Boundless Magic

Using her thumb to indicate LJ, she said, “I thoughthewas the trade.”

“Sorry, hon. But I’m gonna suggest you’ve got a three-headed dog wandering your woods,” LJ replied. “And the bitch of it is that they have a natural-born cloaking ability. You won’t see one unless it wants you to.”

“Tell me this is a nightmare I’m going to wake from soon.” She sighed as she stretched the tension from her neck. “Keaton, call Coop and tell him to be on the lookout for this thing, or rather evidence of this thing.” With a questioning look for Knox, she asked, “You saw no giant poop piles anywhere around when you went to look for them initially?”

Despite the severity of the situation, Knox laughed. “None, but Keat called me back right away.”

With a nod, she took a screenshot of the spell. “I’m going to call it to me with a slight modification.”

“I can help with that one,” Spring offered. “I?—”

Their attention was caught by a shuffling and a growl from the top of the stairs. When Autumn ducked her head around the corner to peer upward, she sucked in her breath. “Found it,” she croaked. “Don’t know how it got in the house, but it’s here now.”

“Likely it was nappin’ somewhere close by,” LJ told her, turning thoughtful eyes on the beast.

“That explains the oddball indentation on the daybed,” Autumn murmured.

The thing was gigantic. Solid black, it was the size of a Mastiff on steroids. Each of its three pairs of eyes were focused directly on her. Jaws agape, the beast drooled yellow-tinted saliva onto the floor, and it made a hissing sound with every droplet that hit the ground.

“Is its saliva toxic?” There wasn’t much she feared, but acid spit ranked at the top if she were being forced to make a list.

“Yes,” LJ replied grimly. “Don’t let it bite or lick you.”

“Lick? Is it just being friendly or testing for taste?”

“They’ve been known to do both.”

Alastair moved to stand beside LJ, jockeying positions with Autumn. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

Surprising them all, he whistled and smiled at the beast. “Come, Cerberus. Come, uh,”—he shifted his head and looked toward the underside of the dog—“girl.”

The monstrous canine studied him for a moment, judging his worth, then she tucked her heads and whined.

“I think the openin’ is too small for her to get downstairs.” LJ spread his arms wide, and the walls shifted as the steps lengthened, creating a larger staircase. “Call her again.”

“Impressive,” Alastair murmured with a nod of his head. “I’ll need to try that when I have more time.”

“It’s simple enough.”

The beast inched down the steps, her eyes locked on the two Alastairs. When she’d reached the bottom, she gave everyone a wary look.

“Are they mistreated in your world?” Alastair asked his twin in a low voice. “She appears to be skittish.”

“Their acidic saliva makes them unwelcome in most cases.”

“I see.” To the beast, he said, “Let’s do something about that, shall we?”

“You plannin’ to turn wine to water, so to speak?”

With a cheerful grin, Alastair approached the beast. “Exactly that, LJ.”

11

Keaton had never witnessed anything like the two formidable warlocks, essentially clones from different worlds, casually talking about a three-headed monster as if they were discussing tie colors.

Inching forward, he gripped Autumn’s hand and drew her farther back, behind the others. Her fingers tightened over his in understanding, but her gaze remained locked on the giant canine.

With no concern for his own welfare, Alastair tugged up his pants legs and squatted, then held out a hand. The beast’s wicked jaws clamped shut, and she tentatively stretched forward to sniff. Lowering her head, she lifted solemn eyes to his as if she feared to trust.

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