Free The Wizard Returns: Book Three of the Wizard Born Series by Geof Johnson

his plate of half-eaten food.
    “Did you have track practice today?”
    “Mm hmm.”
    Carl waited for Jamie to elaborate, but he didn’t seem to want to. “Did you do okay?”
    Jamie only shrugged without looking up.
    “Are you still worried about Rollie?”
    Jamie sighed and glanced at Carl. “He wants me to find a way to strip him of his magic, or at least block it, so that he can go all out at basketball practice without cheating, or whatever you want to call it.”
    “He’s afraid he can’t control it, so he’s holding back?”
    “He said it’s messing him up, totally. He can’t play his best at practice ’cause he’s all freaked out, but if he doesn’t play good at practice, he won’t get to play in the playoff game this Tuesday.”
    “I see how that could be a problem.” Carl rubbed the end of his nose and stared at his own plate for a moment. “I want to take John Paul fishing this Saturday. Can you make a magic doorway to his house for him?”
    “Where are you going?”
    “North Mills River. He’s never been trout fishing before.”
    “Do I have to make a doorway there, too?”
    “I think we can drive that far. We just need a doorway to Thibodaux.”
    “Whatever happened with that bear? Did the park rangers trap him yet?”
    “Not that I’ve heard. But it won’t be a problem, if that’s what you’re worried about. We won’t be anywhere close to it.”
    * * *
    The demon caught the scent of fresh meat nearby, and his stomach growled. He stood up straight to gauge its location, then dropped to all fours and lumbered down the trail toward the moonlit clearing.
    He slowed when he spied the source of the smell. It seemed to be coming from a large metal cylinder that rested on its side on a wheeled frame. He sniffed it cautiously, then squeezed his massive shoulders supernaturally narrow and pressed inside the open end. A hunk of meat was hanging in the back of the enclosure, and when he snatched it with one hand, something clanged behind him.
    He grunted and stretched one foot back to find a barred door blocking the way. He pushed at it, but it held firmly. Enraged, he kicked hard and it broke away.
    His anger grew as he backed out, and when he dropped to the ground, he snarled and struck the cylinder with one huge fist, putting a deep dent in it. Then he roared and attacked it ferociously, pounding it into a wreck, and with a furious kick, sent it flying onto its side.
    He stared at it while he panted in the moonlight, until he realized that the meat was still inside. With one final howl, he drove his fist through the metal, then peeled it apart with both hands. He snatched the meat from the trap and loped away.

Chapter 8
    John Paul stepped through the magic doorway from his house in Louisiana into Jamie’s family room, two fishing poles in one hand and well-worn orange plastic tackle box in the other, a big smile on his normally-serious face. Carl greeted him with a smile of his own as Jamie closed the portal.
    “I don’t think I have the right tackle for trout,” John Paul said, “but I brought it anyway.”
    “That’s okay,” Carl said as he handed him a small white card. “Here’s your temporary license. I’m going to show you how to fly fish today. You can use my spare rod.”
    “Dad, I think I hear your phone,” Jamie said. “Sounds like it’s in the kitchen.”
    “Hold on. I’ll be right back”
    Carl walked away and John Paul said, “You coming with us?”
    “I don’t like to fish,” Jamie said. “I can sense their pain when the hook penetrates their mouths.”
    John Paul winced. “Wish you hadn’t told me that.”
    “Sorry. I guess it’s one of the disadvantages of being a sorcerer, or at least one who’s good with animals.”
    Carl returned a few moments later with his phone in hand and a bleak expression. “Um, we have a bit of a problem. Remember that bear trap, Jamie?” He showed Jamie the screen. “Check this out.”
    Jamie inspected the image on