But all hope would be lost if he failed to fix the tail, he argued with himself. Unless he could stall them. “I . . . um . . . ,” he began.

The dog barked and started sniffing around in the under-growth. He barked a few more times, then backed out from under a bush, pulling something in his mouth.

“Did you find the tail?” the giant rock rumbled, rolling closer to the dog and nudging Aaron away from the tube.

Aaron stumbled forward. The dog kept tugging as Aaron’s hopes sank. Eventually the dog pulled hard enough to reveal the source of his endeavors. It was a vine.

“There,” said the rock.

The panther looked on with disdain that slowly turned to interest. After a moment she leaped over to the dog’s side, snapping at it until the dog retreated. Then the panther bit hard on the vine, severing it in two places to form the right length. She turned and screamed at Aaron, startling him.

His nerves frayed, Aaron jumped to pick up the vine as the panther circled him, edging him even farther away from the tube. Aaron knew now that there was no way out of this. The panther was sure to attack him if he tried to run. Aaron had no choice. He was about to get eaten, or at least ripped to shreds. It was only a matter of time. Once they figured out he was a phony, it would be all over.

The thought of confessing briefly came to mind, but Aaron dismissed it. He wouldn’t want to live after showing such cowardice.

Bravely, he examined the stretch of vine. He bent down and picked up a sharp stone to try to streamline the tip of it. “For better balance,” he said, but he was only buying time. Death was inevitable.

The panther paced between Aaron and the tube, swishing the stub of her tail in awkward, jerky movements that chronicled her growing impatience. It was becoming extremely clear to Aaron why these creatures were kept away from everyone else. They were living, breathing, percolating claw-and-tooth fests just waiting to explode.

Finally, with shaking hands, Aaron beckoned to the panther. “Come here, then,” he said, his voice squeaking. He felt the blood drain from his head and hoped that, once the creature attacked, he’d simply pass out before the pain took hold.

The panther darted to Aaron’s side, hissing wide-mouthed in some bizarre, backward show of appreciation . . . or maybe just to show Aaron her dripping fangs. Aaron wobbled as he squatted next to the creature, and he put his hand on the panther’s back to steady himself. “Breathe,” he whispered, angry about his fear. “Calm down.” He took in a few breaths. “Okay,” he said, louder. “Hold still, Panther.”

The creature obeyed.

Aaron gripped the panther’s shortened tail in one hand and the vine in the other, knowing all he could do now was wish for the impossible. He pressed the thick end of the vine to the broken end of the panther’s tail, wishing and imagining with all his might that a miracle would take place. “Please,” he begged under his breath as drops of sweat fell from the dark ringlets framing his face.

He closed his eyes, knowing it was only a matter of seconds before they’d all realize it was a scam, and only a minute or so after that he’d be dead. He swallowed hard and gripped the two parts in his sweat-damp hand. “Come on,” he said. “Heal up. Just please magically heal.”

Aaron wanted it so badly he could almost feel the two pieces meld into one inside his grip. But he knew it was impossible, and he couldn’t bear to look at his failure. Soon the strain of the silent anticipation and tension grew so unbearable that slowly he let go. Crippled and faint with fear, Aaron dropped backward onto the jungle floor and bared his neck, giving up. He hoped only for a merciful kill.

The panther’s scream chilled Aaron’s blood, and he knew his wait was over. Everything went black.

» » « «

When Aaron opened his eyes, the panther’s face was right in front of him, her ivory teeth just inches from his neck. Slimy drool dripped from the panther’s jaws. Aaron emitted a bloodcurdling cry, choking from the dryness in his throat.

The panther jumped back.

Aaron screamed again, and then, when he realized he wasn’t dead, lurched wildly to his feet and lunged, disoriented, in the wrong direction, running smack into the corner of the giant rock and falling flat on his face. Stunned, he got to his feet and tried again, the rock moving out of his way just in time. Aaron tripped over a vine and fell, and then, after finally locating the tube, he resorted to scrambling on hands and knees toward it.

The rock, panther, and dog all began to shout and howl. The panther charged after Aaron. As Aaron dove into the tube, he turned and looked at his pursuer, and as he reached for the button, he noticed one very interesting thing.

The panther’s tail.

Long and supple, the tail swished back and forth as the panther bounded past Aaron, around the tube, and up the nearby tree to test out her balance.

Aaron stared from his sprawled-out position at the bottom of the tube, his chest heaving, sweat pouring off him. He wiped his eyes to see better, and it was true. Somehow he’d done it.

Without any components, without uttering any magical chants or spells, Aaron had turned a vine into a tail. As the howling and yelling around him subsided, as the realization of what he’d just done took hold, and as a new surge of power coursed through his veins, Aaron Stowe closed his eyes and leaned his head against the glass, thinking, I’m going to take over the world.

The Book

Alex stared at Spike. He couldn’t get the thought out of his mind.

Later, when he was walking along the shore with Sky, looking at the beautiful orange moonlight on that matched her eyes, his mind kept returning to it. What if Spike really could come to life? He thought back to the day in Mr. Today’s office when he’d told the old mage he didn’t want to take over Artimé.