Free Blonde With a Wand by Vicki Lewis Thompson Page A

turned on the computer and tried to do research. Ridiculously, her throat tightened.
    “I’ll definitely check this out,” she said. “Thank you. I completely forgot about going on the Internet. Thanks for the reminder.” She minimized the screen again. “Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?”
    Jasper painstakingly tapped out another message.
     
    LEVE LID UP

    Jasper had finally come to the inescapable conclusion that he’d been hexed by a witch’s spell, and he wanted it rectified immediately. Working the computer without opposable thumbs hadn’t been easy, but at least he’d been doing something. Now he was forced to let the witchy sisters take over.
    From listening to Anica’s side of the conversation when she called her sister, Lily wasn’t responding well to the summons. Tough shit.
    “She has to take a shower to wake herself up,” Anica said as she clicked the cell phone closed. “But she’ll be here.”
    It wouldn’t be soon enough for him, but he had limited control in this situation. Very limited control. Then Anica let Orion out, and Jasper’s focus shifted from Lily’s impending arrival to escaping death. Orion was one scary cat. Plus he hated Jasper’s guts, which in all fairness Jasper understood.
    To add fuel to the fire, Anica hauled out another chicken breast, cut it up and nuked it for Jasper, while Orion was stuck with something Anica said was low-fat and probably tasted worse than it looked. Once Anica had put food out for both cats, she left to take a shower.
    Orion ate the miserable food in his bowl lickety-split, which meant he had plenty of time to pace back and forth in front of the counter and growl at Jasper, who took his time with the chicken. After all, he had nothing else to do until Lily showed up.
    He peered down at Orion a few times, and each time Orion hissed and glared his intention to take Jasper apart at the first opportunity. From this vantage point, Jasper could evaluate Orion’s bulk. Even when his fur wasn’t sticking out, he was big. Fat, actually. He might be lazy by nature, but he probably didn’t have much motivation to exercise, either.
    Jasper finished his chicken and wondered what else he could do to pass the time. If he stayed here on the counter he’d start thinking about his situation, and that was counterproductive because he couldn’t do a damned thing about it without a witch on hand.
    He could, however, work off some of his stress and some of Orion’s flab at the same time. His leap from the counter landed him right in front of Orion, who hopped backward in shock. Jasper let loose with a taunting hiss. Then he ran like hell.
    Because Orion was no match for Jasper’s speed and agility, Jasper paced himself so the pudgy cat wouldn’t give up. Staying just out of reach, he raced through the apartment. When Orion got a little too close, Jasper launched himself at the first available high place. If a few things scattered, so be it.
    Then he was off again, tearing from room to room like a maniac. It was the best he’d felt since Anica zapped him with her wand. An elliptical had nothing on this kind of workout. He’d spent too much time in a gym. Once he got out of this mess, he’d round up some guys and play touch football every weekend.
    Anica walked into the living room in her terry robe, a towel wrapped turban-style around her hair. She glanced at the scene of the Great Chase. “Holy shit.” She smelled like oranges and flowers, but she sounded like a drill sergeant. “Jasper! Orion! Stop that right now !”
    Jasper leaped to his favorite spot on top of the bookshelf and studied Anica’s thunderous expression. Had he been a man, he could have coaxed her back to the bedroom and made sure she forgot all about the destruction he and Orion had caused.
    But he was a cat, not a man, and besides he was furious with her, so he didn’t care if she was upset. With a certain degree of satisfaction he surveyed the damage he’d inflicted on