Fabian snapped his fingers. “Damn. You’re the missing Vizzini slayer.”
I froze. “How could he possibly know that, Grams?
“Aphrodite, the slut.”
Crap. The traitorous bitch had shacked up with a Dragos hunter before a demon
ate her. I turned to face him. “What do you want?”
“You.”
I wanted to smack that obnoxious smirk off Fabian’s face. “Honey, it’s never
gonna happen.”
Implacable resolve stamped on his face, Fabian retorted, “I will have you in my
bed by the end of the week.”
It was Thursday. What an arrogant prick.
“Fabian is trying to stall you,” Grams warned.
Damn. She was right. My eyes narrowed on Fabian’s left hand. He had a ring
similar to mine. Smart guy had given himself the antidote to my tranquilizer and was
getting ready to jump my ass.
It was time to teach the man-whore a lesson. I casually raised my sword and did
my version of a stun gun. “Cuidam suis.” A second later, a blue bolt struck Fabian in the
chest, knocking him flat. “Nice try, Romeo.”
“You didn’t kill him,” Grams complained.
48 | GAIL KOGER
“If you want me to start my training tomorrow, not another word.” I shot a longing look
at Fabian’s now limp penis. I bet he could do all sorts of naughty things with it.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 49
Chapter Eight
I parked my rental in the circus parking lot and took a deep breath. I loved the
smell of popcorn, the sound of the calliope playing and children laughing. The big top
rose over the food booths and rides. I headed for Grams’s spiffy motor home.
“Hank broke his leg. I need you to take over the ticket booth,” Grams said the
instant I walked into her motor home.
“What? I’m not a performer.”
“You are now. I put the costume on my bed.”
I groaned. All the ticket takers dressed as clowns. “But, Grams…”
She gave me the stink eye.
“Yes, ma’am.” I handed her the hex box and headed down the narrow hallway to
the bedroom. This was my punishment for not killing Fabian.
My cell phone chirped. I glanced at the number, and my stomach clenched. Shit! It
was Fabian. How had he gotten the number to my burner phone? I grabbed the
scrambler Uncle Bobby had made for me and attached it. His deep, gravelly voice said,
“Joe’s Bar and Grill.”
Fabian growled, “Surrender by dawn or face the consequences.” The line went
dead.
“Grams, we might have a problem. I just got a call from Fabian on my supposedly
untraceable cell phone!” I shouted down the hallway.
“The phone is untraceable, and he’s only trying to rattle you. You need to be at the
ticket booth in twenty minutes.”
50 | GAIL KOGER
“Yes, ma’am.” I quickly stripped off my butler uniform and pulled on the clown
jumpsuit. Oh yay, it was a shocking pink with hideous red flowers. Add in a neon-
yellow wig and bright-red nose, and I would resemble something out of a horror movie.
“Don’t forget the shoes,” Grams called.
The long clown shoes were, of course, yellow. Walking in those would be so much
fun. I pulled off my scratchy face mask and sighed in relief.
The front door to the motor home crashed open, and Antonio bellowed, “Where is
she?”
Oh, crap. Should I run or should I hide or should I kick his ass?
Grams snapped at Antonio, “Sit down!”
“I’m the enforcer for this clan. Mariah had no right to interfere,” Antonio snarled.
It suddenly got very quiet.
Uh-oh. Grams was doing her famous mental Vulcan death grip. It hurt like a
mother.
“Go out the trapdoor,” Grams instructed.
“Yes, ma’am.” I applied the face paint and fastened the red ball on my nose. Yep,
children would run screaming when they saw me.
* * * *
Four hours later, and I was ready to start screaming obscenities. A lot of them.
Every one of the Vizzini hunters had come up to the ticket booth and spat at me. Ugh.
The glass now resembled a bug-splattered windshield.
My revenge? I gave them all jock itch. Magic did have its uses.
A fist appeared out of nowhere and hit the window. Crack! The glass shattered.
I jumped about a foot.
His face twisted with rage, Antonio commanded, “Remove the spells. Now!”
CATCHING DRAGOS | 51
“When the hunters apologize, I will,” I shot back sweetly and conjured up a
balloon dog filled with sleeping gas. The cranky ass was in serious need of a nap.
His hands balled into fists.
I grabbed the balloon.
Grams, in her Madam Zelda gypsy garb, strolled up. “Is there a problem?”
“No, ma’am,” we said in unison.
“Good.” Grams surveyed the damaged glass and the globs of spit. “Tell those
fools it’s never a good idea to disrespect a slayer.”
Antonio gave a stiff bow. “Yes, madam.” He stormed off.
“Jock itch?”
I shrugged and hid the balloon. “Seemed appropriate.”
“Your talent for provoking men is unsurpassed,” Grams said.
“They mess with me. I mess with them.”
Grams sighed. “One day you will meet a man who won’t put up with your
foolishness. He will tame you.”
Tame? Like I was a fractious filly? “It will never happen,” I stated, utterly sure no
man could ever best me.
“The Dragos hunter has the strength.”
“Fabian? You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“But, he is Dragos,” Grams added sadly.
“Next you’ll be trying to fix me up with Antonio.”
Grams shook her head. “No, you’re too strong for him.”
Thank God for small favors. Time to change the subject. “You want some
doughnuts?”
My grandmother immediately perked up. “Don Fredrico’s? The chocolate ones
with sprinkles?”
52 | GAIL KOGER
“You betcha.” We both were chocoholics, and Don Fredrico’s doughnuts were to
die for.
“I would love some.”
Some? Between the two of us, we could eat a dozen easily. “Good. I’ll get my
wallet and change into something more appropriate.”
“There’s no need. Fredrico loves clowns.” Grams held out her car keys and a
twenty.
Yay, I was stuck in this outfit for another hour. “Will two dozen do?”
“Make it three,” Grams said, giving me another twenty.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” I headed for her pink jeep. A sense of unease prickled
my skin, and I quickly scanned the area. I couldn’t sense anything. Weird, it was almost
like I was in a dead zone.
A newspaper tumbled across the parking lot and slapped against my legs. I picked
it up. Emblazoned in bold print across the front page, the headlines exclaimed
Supermodel Fabian Exposed as a Thief and Con Man.
Whoa! Fabian’s modeling days were over. An arrest warrant had been issued for
him. He was charged with the theft of Ethel Rossi’s medallion.
My psychic senses suddenly went on red alert. Shit! Fabian was here. “Grams,
we’re about to get hit.”
“Impossible.”
Boom! A sonic blast of magic knocked me flat and scrambled my brains. My vision
began to dim. I had to hide. But where? Under. I managed to crawl beneath the jeep
before the blackness claimed me.
CATCHING DRAGOS | 53
Chapter Nine
God, why did my head hurt so much? I opened my eyes and stared in confusion at
the pink undercarriage of a car. A groan broke from me as memory came thundering
back. We had been attacked, and I was hiding under Grams’s jeep. Not the smartest
move I had ever made.
“I want every inch of this circus searched. She has to be here!” Fabian roared.
Oh shit! I quickly threw a “nobody’s there” illusion spell around me and held my
breath while several of Fabian’s heavily armed hunters searched the parking lot.
A big bull of a man raised his radio and reported, “Parking lot is clear, sir.”
Fabian ordered, “Check the woods.”
“Yes, sir,” the man answered, and the Dragos hunters obediently trotted off.
Wow. Color me surprised. Fabian was their commander. Who would have
thought?
If I was going to go mano a mano with Fabian, I needed a healing potion. I pulled
a small blue bottle out of one of the many pockets in the costume and opened it. I took
one small sip. Shazam! My headache vanished, and I had one hell of an energy buzz.
Woo! I was ready to kick a certain hunter’s butt.
The sounds of a major battle had me running toward the ticket booth. I needed the
balloon dog I had conjured up. It was full of knockout gas.
“Run. Save yourself!” Grams cried suddenly.
“I’m not leaving you behind.”
“You have no choice. They bound my magic.”
54 | GAIL KOGER
Shit. Only a few witches were powerful enough to pull it off. My grandmother
and Serafina, the matriarch of the Dragos clan. She was one tough bitch. “Did they hurt
you?”
There was a tremor in Grams’s voice. “I’m fine, but they captured our hunters. All of
them.”
“Don’t worry. The invisible woman is gonna even the odds.” I grabbed the balloon and
tucked it inside my costume.
“No! There are too many for you to fight. Leave. Now. If Fabian catches you, all is lost,”
Grams warned anxiously.
My cell phone rang. Gee, I wonder who it is. I hit Answer.