Spells on Shelves

Chapter 24 || Getting Dirty

Paxton tilted his head, assessing the golem. "So we gotta cut through it?"

"Cut through it?" I repeated, incredulous. "That thing is the size of a small house! You can't cut loose earth. It'll swallow you whole."

"Any better ideas?" he asked. "We can't stay in here forever and I doubt you can outrun this thing."

"Um..." I hesitated, clutching jade stone.

Okay, don't overthink it. Just do it.

My breath hitched as I lifted the pendant from around my neck. The chain trembled slightly in my hands, and I held it out.

Paxton stared at it long before something shifted in his expression. Without a word, he tugged his sweatshirt over his head.

Okay...

Now I was glad the golem blocked most of the light, or I would have blushed.

He tossed the sweater into my arms and began to transform. His neck thickened first, muscles rippling as golden, brown, and black fur flowed over his skin in a wave. His frame expanded, broadening, and a massive were-jaguar stood before me.

He crouched low so I could place the pendant around his neck. Then, without warning, he hoisted me over his shoulder fireman-style.

"Wait, what—Stop treating me like luggage!" I yelled, blood rushing to my head.

He didn't answer, sprinting forward. Dodging another swipe of the golem's massive arm, he slid straight through its legs.

We burst out into the open forest. The ground trembled beneath its truck-sized feet as it turned to follow, faster than I thought something that size should move.

Paxton made a low growling sound, somewhere between a snarl and a curse, and dove right. The light rain hit the back of my neck as he leaped. The motion—swinging upside down—did strange things to my stomach.

He catapulted us onto a nearby tree, ran along a thick branch, and jumped to the next.

I groaned, shutting my eyes tightly. Being tossed like a sack of potatoes was not helping. Then he shifted me, grabbing me beneath my legs and wrapping his other arm around my back.

"More comfortable now?" he asked in a growly voice.

I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers pressing into his fur. "Very funny."

The golem paused, its head moving from left to right before lumbering in our general direction.

"Seems like it tracks us through the ground," I said.

Paxton nodded, then set me down on the branch. "Stay," he growled. After a final glance at me, he dropped to the ground and vanished into the trees.

I caught sight of Paxton crouching on the golem's shoulder. His claws dug deep into its earthen body, anchoring him as the creature roared and shifted beneath his weight. Then, in a heartbeat, he was gone, swallowed whole by the shifting mass of clay.

Minutes passed.  The drizzle had turned into a steady downpour, slicking the bark beneath my legs. Carefully, I shifted further along the branch, stuffing his sweatshirt under my jacket.

The golem froze. Its massive hand held its midsection as cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

In an instant, the mountain of clay crumbled into a heap.

At the center of the debris, a smaller dome stood intact. The protective ward dissolved, leaving Paxton behind—shirtless and coated head to toe in wet clay.