Pet Psychic Mysteries Boxset Books 5-8 (Magic Market Mysteries Book 2) by Erin Johnson (simple ebook reader .txt) 📕

wall, and my boots slipped every few steps on the slick, mossy stones. Peter spelled the locked gate open, and our footsteps thudded along the wooden planks to the end of the dock.

A thick mist hung over the water, sticks and grasses barely poking out over the surface of the dropping sea. In the distance, a few faint lights twinkled among the shadows that made up the tiny human village on the shore. Peter muttered a spell, and the tip of his wand glowed blindingly bright. He shone the light out over the murky water as Daisy stood with her paws at the very edge of the dock, ears pricked, whining with eagerness.

Where is she? Where?

A few bubbles surfaced next to the dock, and she jerked her head toward them, body tensed.

I narrowed my eyes and scanned the water where Peter’s light touched. Pearl had a head start on us—she might even have reached human lands by now. If so, it’d be hard to find her.

Peter wouldn’t have jurisdiction, and it took a lot of paperwork and special permits to even be allowed to set foot on human lands, much less use magic to track someone. No one I knew had ever been across the water. If Pearl made it, she’d probably get off totally free. And even though our merkles weren’t human currency, they were made of gold, so… she’d be rich, too.

I frowned down at the cloudy water. If she were smart, she’d use a spell to breathe under water and stay under the surface to be even less detectable. Then again, you’d have to be a pretty good swimmer to pull that off, and from what I’d seen of her on stage, she hadn’t looked the most athletic.

“There!”

Peter’s voice startled me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to find him pointing. I followed his gaze and searched the pool of light his wand cast, about halfway between us and the shadowy land on the other side.

Pearl’s terrified face whirled around to look back at us. I leaned forward, peering into the semidarkness and caught sight of her dragging a large brown sack behind her. She thrashed away from us, submerged to her chest in dark water.

A flash of red light burst from the end of Peter’s wand. It warmed my cheek, then zipped out across the water and exploded a few feet away from Pearl. Her eyes grew wide, then narrowed.

“Duck!” Peter threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to the ground. I dropped into a crouch beside him, my palms pressed against the wet, rough wood of the dock to keep from falling forward. An icy blue spell whizzed over my head.

I shot him a grateful look. It’d have hit me square in the chest if I’d still been standing.

Daisy barked. I’m going to bite you, you witch! She launched herself off the dock and crashed into the water, then chugged forward, ears back, swimming faster than I’d have guessed possible.

“I have to cover her!” Peter leapt to his feet, firing spells over Daisy’s head at Pearl. The woman kept thrashing forward through the water, turning now and then to fire spells back at us. I bit my lip, antsy. I longed to help, but without magic, I could only stay crouched to avoid being hit. I clenched my hands into fists and bit my lip, willing Daisy on.

Peter kept Pearl distracted enough with his attacks that she didn’t notice Daisy until she was only about twenty feet away from her.

“Get her, girl,” I muttered.

Pearl lowered her wand at the dog and hit her, dead in the nose, with a poison green spell.

Daisy yelped.

“Daisy!” Peter cried, as I leapt to my feet screaming, “No!”

The dog rolled onto her side and floated, unmoving, on the surface. Pearl, still lit in the glow of Peter’s wand, smirked, then turned her back and dashed away.

Cold dread flooded my stomach. Was Daisy alive? Could she breathe, floating in the water like that? Peter let out an anguished moan. “Daisy!”

I eyed the cold water and curled my lip, then reached down and yanked my boots off. Peter bent over and lifted the bottom of his pants, revealing tall, tightly laced leather boots. He fiddled with the knot with trembling fingers. I threw my jacket off, then yanked off my shirt so I stood in only my bra and jeans. “Really?”

“It’s police code,” he grumbled, stopping every few seconds to look Daisy’s way.

I unzipped my jeans, stepped out of them, and ran to the end of the dock. I dove in, wearing only my underwear and socks. I came up gasping at the freezing cold water, goose bumps covering every inch of skin. I didn’t have time to pause to catch my breath or ease in. I put my head down and kicked, my arms slicing the water in sharp strokes.

A flood of warmth hit me, like stepping into a hot bath. I turned my head and glanced back. Peter stood at the end of the dock, using one hand to yank a boot off, the other holding his wand, which was pointed at me. I shot him a grateful grin for the warming spell. “Keep her lighted.”

Peter nodded as he teetered on one foot, and I swam forward, pumping my limbs as fast as I could. I lifted my head now and then to make sure I was still headed in Daisy’s direction. As I neared the dog, a big splash sounded behind me. Peter, shirtless, churned through the water which, tall as he was, only reached his waist. He pointed the light of his wand on his dog.

Daisy’s wet fur shone in the bluish light, and I noticed, with gratitude, that her side rose and fell with her breath. I reached her and slid one arm under her head, the other over her middle, and hugged the huge mutt to me, righting her.

I whined. Days? You okay?

She looked up at me, then closed her eyes tight,