The only excitement came when Bobo decided that for some inexplicable reason the sheriff’s highly polished boots belonged to him, and proceeded to mark his property in the time-honored tomcat fashion. Luckily for Bobo he was a good deal faster than the sheriff or any of his men.
Meanwhile Malkin stood around looking smug, Anna was wide-eyed with terror and Widder Hackett hurled abuse at the searchers at the top of her nonexistent lungs. Unfortunately the searchers couldn’t hear her. Even more unfortunately Wiz could. By the time the sheriff’s men finished, Wiz was a nervous wreck.
“Well?” the sheriff demanded as he strode into Wiz’s workroom. “Are you done in here?”
The two guards who had been tapping the floor for loose boards nodded in unison and stood up. “Every place but this table,” the guard in front said. “You want us to dig up the garden next?”
“What’s wrong with this table?” demanded the sheriff.
“Looks as if it’s magic like.”
“That’s my desk,” Wiz added. “You’d better not touch it.”
“Bah!” barked the sheriff.
“Hey, I won’t be responsible . . .” Wiz began, but the sheriff was already reaching for the pile of parchments.
No one but the very brave, the very skilled or the very foolish messes with a wizard’s working equipment. The sheriff might have been brave but he was certainly not at all skilled.
As soon as his hand moved over the top of the table there was a twisting in the air and a small green demon materialized below the glowing letters. A small green demon with a very large mouth. Lined with large, pointed and very sharp teeth. Before the sheriff could react the creature chomped down hard on the proferred hand.
The sheriff yelped and jerked his arm away. On the back of his hand in a neat semicircle were eight round puncture marks. “It bit me!” he screamed.
“Actually there are eight of them, so that’s a byte,” Wiz said, examining the wounds.
The sheriff pulled his hand back. “That’s what I said!” He pointed toward the table with his good hand. “Arrest that thing!” he commanded.
The demon crouched on the edge of the table and grinned at them. It had an unusually large grin that showed off its pearly white and pointy teeth to excellent advantage. All three rows of them.
The guards shifted back and forth but made no move toward the grinning entity crouched on the table.
“I dunno,” the first one demurred.
“Law says we’re only supposed to arrest people,” the second one said.
“Don’t say nothing about things like that.”
“You can arrest strayed livestock,” the sheriff retorted. “Well, impound them anyway.” He gestured at the demon again. “Impound that thing.”
“Don’t know that it’s rightly livestock,” the first guard said.
“Don’t think it’s strayed either,” his companion added.
“It’s right where it’s supposed to be,” Wiz added helpfully.
“Well, then,” said the second guard.
The sheriff was nearly beside himself with fury. “This is an outrage! A complete outrage against the majesty of the law.” He was bouncing up and down and his face was so red Wiz was afraid he was going to have a stroke. He decided it was time to pour some oil on the water.
“Look sheriff, you can see there’s nothing on that desk but papers. No stolen property, right? Now I’m sorry the demon hurt you, but I’m sure he won’t do it again. Why don’t you and your men go down into the kitchen and Anna will see to your wound.”
“But, but, but . . .”
“It looks nasty, sheriff. The only cure for a demon byte is to have it flushed by a beautiful woman. I’m sure she can find some ale for you and your men while she tends to it.”
The sheriff glared at the demon, who glared back. He glared at Wiz, who smiled. Then he glared at his two subordinates. Without a word he turned and stalked out of the room with the guards close on his heels.
Wiz collapsed against the wall and let his breath out in a great whoosh.
“Don’t know what you’re so worried about,” Widder Hackett’s voice rasped in his ear. “Malkin had the stuff out of the house before they got in the door.”