Pour Some Magic on Me: A Shoplifter's Guide to Wizardry by Ty Burson

Author:Ty Burson [Burson, Ty]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Argento Publishing, LLC
Published: 2021-09-08T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

"What the fuck?" Amanda yipped.

I automatically pushed her behind me. "Whoa, what's going on?"

"No one takes a brother's hat," Barney said tightly. "That's a cardinal rule, sister."

The circle of little men grew tighter, effectively cutting off our retreat. I didn't think we could get away before they'd be all over us. We had to try diplomacy. "Look, fellas, we didn't know. We told him we wanted to find Barney, that the weed was for him…"

Barney put up an arm. "Hold up, boys. You told Russell the weed was for me?"

Russell, really? Okay. “Yes, absolutely. And we were just lucky to get his hat off him…"

"You better stop lying," Barney said. "No human, no ordinary human can take a hat off a gnome, not without some magic."

Their circle got tighter still. "I didn't use any magic. I swear. I was chasing him and hit his hat with a rock. I wasn't even trying to hit the hat, but when it fell off, he froze. We intended to give it back. I promised him I would after we talked to you."

Barney thought over what I'd said. He sniffed, and then he reached out and grabbed Amanda's wrist, the one with the bracelet. She screamed.

"This, this I smell," he said as he pointed to the bracelet; however, he didn't touch it. "This lets you see us. You had it on the other night; now, she’s wearing it. So, how come you don't need it anymore?"

"I have no clue," I said. "Honestly."

"Give me back my arm, asshole," Amanda said as she tried to pull away.

Barney let go and held up a finger and pointed at me. "I believe you, but that doesn't explain the hat."

"I don't understand."

"Ain't you listening, sister? Magic. Magic is the only way to get a hat off a gnome. Something fishy is going on, or you're lying to me."

"Well, I'm not, so get over it, or let us go."

Barney smiled. "All right, sister. You've got stones. Give me Russell's hat, and we can parley."

I nodded to Amanda.

"You sure?" she asked.

"We were always going to give it back. Yeah, give it to him."

Amanda passed it over. Barney took it and tucked it into a pocket in his shorts. The gnomes relaxed, though they still had us surrounded. "Stand down, boys," he ordered. "Crisis averted. George, go get Russell." One of the gnomes ran off while the rest went back to their previous doings.

Barney pointed to a picnic table. "Take a load off, ladies."

"Come on," I said to Amanda.

Barney brought over a twelve-pack of Coors and set it on the table. He patted the cardboard case. Then, he handed over a can for each of us. "All right. We're all friends again. So, what's this all about?"

Amanda took the can, which was covered with a thin, white frost, and wiped it across her forehead before popping it open. I took a swig of my own. It was ice cold despite the warm night. I guessed these guys provided their own refrigeration because I didn't see an ice chest.

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