Sorceress Rising (A Gargoyle and Sorceress Tale Book 2) by Lisa Blackwood Page B

a hand to shield her eyes from the bright light.
    One of the dogs,
a wiry haired terrier and the smaller of the two, jerked away from its handler
and streaked pass both Lillian and the pooka with barely a glance. Nose to the
ground, it leaped over an old rotted stump and vanished down the path leading
toward Gregory. The last Lillian saw was its short tail wagging hard enough to
snap off.
    Its handler
cursed, flexed his fingers like he was checking to see if they were all
accounted for, righted his jacket, and then glared at Lillian as he stomped
past like it was all her fault.
    “Gregory,” Lillian reached for his thoughts, “there’s a small dog coming up
your trail, and his handler will be not long behind him. Watch yourself.”
    A mental chuckle
was his only reply. Lillian didn’t have time to interpret his mood, the other
dog was alternately sniffing, barking, and lunging at the pooka in a way that
had Lillian worrying for its little doggie life.
    For his part,
the pooka was playing the role of spooked pony too well. He bolted in a half
circle, dragging Lillian along for the trip. He slammed his shoulder into a
large, bearded man with a really big gun pointed at the ground. His fatigues
registered on her senses a moment later. Next to the soldier, the surprised dog
handler fell backwards with an astonished expression. Lillian spotted RCMP on
the shoulder patch of his dark jacket. The pooka spun around, pinned his ears,
lowered his head, and kicked out at the next closest human.
    With a yell, the
man dodged to the side. He stumbled into the man next to him before finally
coming to a painful-looking stop by slamming into a conveniently located tree.
While the newcomers fell like dominos, she felt the itch of the pooka’s magic,
confirming the source behind all the chaos.
    Swearing,
Lillian turned to the pooka in time to see him strike the police dog. The blow
glanced off the dog’s flank, leaving a mark in the fur and probably a nice
bruise come morning, but it wasn’t a killing strike, which told Lillian the
pooka was playing nice. The dog rolled away with a yelp but circled around,
coming at the pooka from a different direction. The pony swung his neck to face
the still barking dog. A wash of the Fae’s power slid along Lillian’s skin,
then on past her, to where the dog continued his mad barking.
    Lillian knew the
exact moment the pooka’s magic impacted the dog. It jerked its head to the
side, tucked its tail so far between its back legs it was a wonder she didn’t
see the tip between the front two, and loosed a mournful whimper before belly
crawling back to its handler where he was picking himself up off the ground.
    The pooka
snorted, shook his mane out and then trotted back over to Lillian’s side,
entirely too pleased with himself. Belatedly, Lillian’s shocked mind realized
several sets of eyes, both human and canine, were focused on her.
    “I’m so sorry!”
She rushed the words together as she pulled the pooka over to a tree where she
proceeded to tie him up. He snorted with displeasure, but she didn’t care and
tightened the knot.
    “You should
have used a quick release knot.”
    “Shut up!
You’ve done enough damage. I’ll be lucky not to get charged for assaulting a
police officer with the stunt you just pulled.” Lillian ignored the pooka’s angry snort and faced the humans. Her cheeks burned
with heat, and her body was bathed in nervous sweat. She would have preferred
to face one of the Riven—at least they would not make her fill out paperwork.
    “Hi,” Lillian
ventured into the silence. “Sorry about the fuss. Your dogs frightened my pony.
He’s worked up over getting loose and losing his way in the forest. He can be a
touch reactive on a good day. Is everyone okay?”
    Grumbles and
cursing echoed in the forest. A gruff cough was quickly followed by a clipped,
“Miss, this is a quarantined area. You don’t have authorization to be here.”
    Lillian glanced
at the speaker. It