Enchantment (107 page)

Cha
p
ter
T
w
en
t
y
-
Nine

It
w
orked
better
than
he
could
have
p
o
ssib
l
y
imagined!
Ecstatic,
Jager
glanced
out
the wind
o
w,
silent
l
y
cursing.
The
gargo
y
l
e
s
w
ould
be
outside
waiting
for
her
to
exit
the
store.
If Paddy
didn’t
exit
the
store
pronto,
the
y
’d
co
m
e
in
after
her.
Still,
to
u
se
m
agic?
With
an indifferent
shrug,
he
unrolled
the
scroll
Thalius
had
supplied
hi
m
.
It
was
a
recipe,
of
sorts.
He quick
l
y
read
the
instructions.
A
vial
of
red,
m
ur
k
y
liquid
w
a
s
rolled
up
in the
scroll.

H
ope
this
works.

With
Pad
d
y
’s
unconscious
bo
d
y
s
ecure
l
y
hidden
behind
the
counter,
Jager
reached
d
o
wn and
pulled
out a f
e
w pieces
of her hair
and stuffed
it in the vial
along
with a piece
of his own. He gave
it
a
quick
s
hake
and
chanted.
“As
Paddy
Beaver
is,
I
will
n
o
w
be.”
Then
he
d
o
wned
the contents.

G
r
i
m
acing
at
the
tickle
racing
over
his
bod
y
,
he
jolted
when
he
caught
his
reflection.
He looked
at
his
beaver
bod
y
,
which
m
irrored
Pad
d
y
Beaver.
There
was
no
t
i
m
e
to
w
a
ste.
He
could hear
the
gargo
y
l
e
s’
powerful
win
g
s
flapping
closer
and
closer.

Jager
bent
d
o
wn
and
picked
up
the
bags
Paddy
had
dropped.
With
the
rounded
bel
l
y
and
s
hort
legs
of
the
beaver,
his
balance w
a
s
off.
Tipping
into
the
counter,
he
s
wore
under
his
breath.

H
ow
the
hell
do
these
beavers do
anything
in
a
body
like
this?

Careful
l
y
,
he
picked
up
the
bags,
s
et
his
jaw,
and
shuffled
a
couple
of
steps.
Walking
w
a
s going to be interesting,
but as long
as
he
didn’t
try to lift
his feet
too high,
he should
be ok
a
y
.
He heard
one
of
the
garg
o
y
l
es
land
on
the
ground
and
the
s
ound
of
people
scur
r
y
i
ng
to
get
out
its wa
y
.
Jager
waddled
out
through
the
bead-covered
doorwa
y
.

The
garg
o
y
l
e cocked
its
head
to
the
side.
“Are
y
ou ok
a
y
, Mrs.
Beaver
?
”

Jager
felt
his
heart
drop.
What
if
it
realized
s
o
m
e
thing
was
up?
The
thing
was
enor
m
ous. Fuck!
He
w
a
s
never
s
weet.
This
wasn’t
going
to
be
ea
s
y
.
Still,
he’d
give
it
a
shot
if
it
m
eant
he could
get
his
hands
on
that
s
weet
bit
of
m
eat.

“Oh,
y
o
u
big
giant, I’m
great. I
love to
shop,
y
o
u
kn
o
w,” Jager
g
u
shed.

The
garg
o
y
l
e stood
silent
for
a
m
o
m
e
nt as
the
other
two
s
wooped
right
overhead. “Are
y
o
u done
shopping
no
w
?
”
the
gargo
y
le
asked.

He
couldn’t
believe
h
o
w
well
this
w
a
s
going.
M
a
y
b
e
he’d
have
a
little
t
i
m
e
for
so
m
e recreation.
Snickering
to
hi
m
self, he
nodded.
“
Y
es,
I
think
I’m
going
to
go
ho
m
e.” “Oka
y
,
M
r
s.
Beaver.”
The
gargo
y
le took
flight.

Nervo
u
s
as
hell,
he
now
he
had
to
waddle
all
the
way
back
to
the
Beaver
house
with
a da
m
ned
tail.
Jager
w
obbled
his
way down the
street.
The
gargo
y
l
e
s
were
fl
y
i
n
g
m
uch
lower
than they
should
be,
probably
because
he
a
l
m
ost
landed
on
his
face
m
ore
than
once.
Th
e
y
see
m
ed
to believe
his
identi
t
y
,
but
would
Todd
Beaver,
Meeka,
and
who
m
ever
else
he
m
ig
h
t
run
into?
H
e hoped
so,
or
he’d
be
in a
w
orld
of
trouble.

The
house
stood
in
the
distance.
He
was
al
m
ost
there.
H
e
tripped
one
m
ore
t
i
m
e
and dropped
one
of
the
bags
he
was
carr
y
i
n
g.
“
S
hite!”
He
s
wore
as
he
bent
to
pick
it
up,
tensing
w
hen
he
noticed
the
large
gargo
y
le once
again
staring
at
hi
m
.