Free Don't Hex with Texas by Shanna Swendson Page B

spell apparently ended. Just at that moment, I turned to see the cloaked figure slip out through the emergency exit in the front of the auditorium. I was tempted to follow him, but I knew I wasn’t equipped for taking down a wizard. Sam was outside in the square, watching for cloaked figures, so I left it to him and went back to my seat.
    Once the sleeping spell was gone, I was the one who had to be elbowed back to life at the end of the movie. As the lights came up, someone in the back of the theater shouted, “My wallet!” Then at the front of the theater, someone yelled, “Is this it?” Owner and wallet were soon reunited, although the wallet had been stripped of cash.
    “It was probably some kid,” Nita said as we left the theater, still munching our leftover popcorn. “The crime rate has really gone up in the last year or so. Some of the kids have even tried to form a gang. Not that they know what to do with a gang, but it’s a lot of pranks like that. I remember when you could leave your purse on the seat beside you during a movie and it would be totally safe.”
    “Yeah, kids these days.”
    The two of us were still giggling about sounding like old-timers when Nita shrieked. “What is it?” I asked.
    She didn’t bother answering. Instead, she grabbed the wooden advertising sign from in front of the antiques shop next to the theater and beat it on the ground a few times, all the while shouting, “Take that, and that, and that!” Then she grabbed my arm, shrieked again, and took off running across the square. I had to struggle to keep up with her.
    “What is it?” I asked again when she’d slowed down enough to talk.
    She pointed shakily toward the sidewalk near the movie theater. “Snake! There! Sidewalk! Dead now!”
    “You killed a snake on the sidewalk by the movie theater?” I translated.
    She nodded furiously, and I couldn’t help but look for something high to stand on top of. “What kind of snake was it?”
    “Dead. If you really want to know, you can go look for yourself, but I don’t think much of the head is left.”
    “I’ll take your word for it.” I had a feeling there wouldn’t be anything to find, though. I hadn’t seen a snake at all. I suspected it had been little more than an illusion, but was Nita the target, or was I? I looked up to see Sam sitting on a tree branch nearby, and I felt a lot safer. His job was protecting people against magical threats, and I had a feeling he’d know what to do with a snake, too. “Are you okay?” I asked Nita.
    “I need ice cream,” she announced. “Killing snakes makes me hungry.” We got into her car and went to the Dairy Queen for sundaes, then headed back to the courthouse square so I could get my truck and go home. Unfortunately, my truck wasn’t there.
    “Boy, you were right about the crime,” I said, staring at the empty parking space. I didn’t care enough about the old truck to be too sad about it being stolen from me, but it was going to be inconvenient.
    “Look, there’s something on the curb,” Nita pointed out. A piece of paper sitting on the curb fluttered from under a rock placed on top of it.
    I retrieved the paper, then moved under a streetlamp to read out loud: “Sis, borrowed the truck since Sherri left me stranded. I still had a key. I’ll get it back to you later. Get a ride home with Nita. Dean.” I looked over at Nita. “Can I get a ride home?”
    “No problem. That just keeps me out later, which is okay with me. Too bad there aren’t any bars in town so we could make it a real girls’ night out.”
    “We both have early mornings tomorrow,” I reminded her, “and seeing as we both snoozed a little during the movie, I don’t think we’re up for a late night. Besides, your mom would kill you if you went out drinking, and then she’d be convinced I led you to your ruin.”
    “I have
got
to get away from here. I’m too young to act like a senior citizen. Well, come on, let’s go.”
    When we